Just over a week ago
I met up with birding and botanical guru Steve Gale who gave me a guided tour
of Epsom Downs Surrey. Follow his blog here:-
http://northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/
I was pleasantly surprised at the potential of the place
as a migrant trap and decided to take an early morning walk over the Downs. I
did not expect much but wanted to gauge the popularity of the area with dog
walkers, hikers and if the historical goings on in the area would impact on
someone who just wanted to find and count birds!
I did not arrive at
the crack of dawn but early enough to take some counts of birds frequenting the
area. The morning was clear and sunny but there was a hefty SW wind which would
keep birds low down in the scrub.
The first count
involved the scattering of gulls that were loafing on the racetrack and the
open area of the Downs. The majority were Herring with Black Headed and a Common
Gull. Small groups of Corvids were also
amongst the gulls.
I made my way across
to the stubble fields and was surprised at the number of Skylark singing and sparring
with each other in flight. A few Goldfinch and Greenfinch were noted in flight.
As I made my way down the gallop Redwing were noted feeding in the trees and
bushes that were loaded with berries.
A total of twenty
species were noted with only a couple of dog walkers encountered once away from the
main area of the racecourse. An interesting walk which only took a couple of
hours to complete, giving me some food for thought come spring and Autumn 2019!
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