I took the short journey to Epsom and Walton Downs to learn
there had been a race meeting the previous evening. The course was being
watered and cleared of any rubbish by a line of workers. The birds were taking
full advantage of the situation with many gulls and wagtails on the racecourse in
front of the Grandstand.
As I was making my way down the slope to sift through the gulls I heard the “honking” of Canada geese from the area behind the
car park. I always enjoy watching geese flying in their energy efficient “V”
formation but you rarely see significant numbers together in Surrey to add the
extra wow factor to the experience. On this occasion the formation was a bit
messy with ninety one and one obvious hybrid bird counted within the flock. I
always carry tally counters “clickers” with me for counting flocks.
There was nothing special amongst the gulls and the Pied
Wagtails were mainly juveniles. No Wheatears were spied feeding in the grass
but there is always a chance of one at this time of year.
A Linnet that was resting on the white fencing created some
interest but having been processing this species during banding (ringing)
sessions at Queen Mother Reservoir did not take long to confirm a juvenile
bird.
The rest of the morning was spent looking for and sifting
through mixed flocks of passerines. The sun eventually broke through the cloud
and the few birds that were singing fell silent as they sat tight waiting for
the temperature to subside.
As I was walking back to the car park from the Gallops I
checked a group of corvids to find a Rook amongst the group.
I recorded thirty one species during my four hour visit and
added two new species (Canada Goose, Rook) to my Epsom and Walton Downs tally!
