Beddington Farm - A dip then some glory!

The forecast was for a northerly blow which would make life slightly uncomfortable on the corner but it had to be done having missed the Hawfinch yesterday. There was hardly any movement of birds compared with the previous day but this wind has a habit of producing something on or over the Farm.

I was joined by Nick who took me to a place which is even higher than Kojak’s corner some twenty foot in fact! Brambling, Lesser Redpoll, Siskin, Meadow Pipit and a few pigeons were noted before Nick made his way to cover the SE corner and the landfill.

Swifty was the last entrant through the gates and with him came the rain and a subsequent dash to the hide for cover. A group of corvids are strategically positioned on a high tree at the NW end of the lake. They are very quick to defend the Farm from intruders making our life easy to spot raptors that get drawn within the boundary line.

 On this occasion it was a Short Eared Owl which had to fend off the mob as it made its way south.

Within the confines of the incinerator another group of corvids had been set to work but we could not see the centre of their attention. A few moments later Nick announced a Raven being heavily mobbed over the landfill site. I took a short dash back up the slope and pictures were secured of this Beddington rarity. With so many Raven now nesting in Surrey we would expect to see more of this species visiting the landfill, but this is not the case as this was the first record of the year!

The Raven was more hardy than most species ducking and diving its way through its smaller cousins and even looked as though it had seen off the opposition at one point. Then another obstacle was put in front of it. Mind the chimneys!! The late JA (five years missing in action) always said to us try and get a feature of the Farm into your pics so that there can be no doubt as to the validity of it. Well this obstacle is hard to miss these days!! 

I have now beaten my highest species year tally at Beddington Farm with time to spare to break my own record! Woo Hoo!