Beddington Farm - Bogdump Strikes Again!

I bit the bullet this morning and teamed up with Peter Alfrey and joined him at Beddington Farm. The process of getting there booking in with all the safety gear and the thick mud had me seriously questioning my sanity! On the plus side there was no land-filling which meant the horrible stench was missing from the air and the sun was beaming in an almost cloudless sky.

Bird of the day a Raven has usurped the pictures and story line about possibly the last Tree Sparrow at the Farm. Pete and I were walking what will be the public footpath on the east side of the North Lake when the crows became very agitated taking to the sky. There was nothing obvious until we both heard the Konking of a Raven. We both looked at each other and without a word both put the cameras to work. 

I did manage a few shots of the only Tree Sparrow of the day, once a species that littered the Farm which is now hanging on by a thread. It is a shame this iconic symbol of Beddington Farmlands has not been better looked after during the transformation of habitat over the last few years!

Other highlights of the morning were a first winter Caspian Gull, a couple of Green Sandpiper and a very grey looking Chiffchaff that even if it did call would not have been heard over the din of the water pumps attempting to keep the water levels down on the proposed wet grassland!

See Peters blog on my blog list for pictures of the Caspian Gull and better Chiffchaff photos!

I had to leave early afternoon to put on another hat which is as black as a Raven, Sutton Utd U19 were victorious 3-1 over local rivals Carshalton Athletic!

By the end of my Beddington session I was actually talking about a return to the site. This is exactly how this place lures you in! I used to blame the key I held but that method of entry has long gone! Uh Oh!