I returned to
England late last week and was surprised how mild and potentially stormy it
was. This could be a good opportunity for a Surrey Vice County (SVC) tick having missed a couple while I was away in the form of Black Crowned Night Heron, and White Stork. I was living in Paraguay when the Farm Storks appeared.
This Autumn I had not missed anything of the same magnitude at Beddington Farm. There had
been reports of movements of Hawfinch in Surrey and from Steve Gale in the
Ewell area. As the crow flies the Farm is not far away from his patch. The Farm
is not known for attracting this species but having missed a bird in the Storm
tanks a couple of years ago it was time for a stake-out. A fly-over bird was
more likely so my corner and the hide were to be the points to maximise the
viewing.
Thus far there have
been no Hawfinch and the highlight so far is a Redshank that came in today as a
result of a downpour. I put my hand to some phone scoping without the aid of a
safety net and turned out a slightly shaky image.
Little Egret, Water
Rail, Skylark and flyover Cormorant were the best on offer today. The numbers
of duck are on the up with Mallard, Pochard, Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, and Wigeon
all present. Snipe are secreted about the islands with only a couple visible
usually when they are flushed by a Heron.
There is stormy
weather forecast for later on this week which means eyes cannot be taken off
the Farm just in-case that late October MEGA decides to grace us with its
presence!
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