Spelthorne - Queen Mary's Resv - Ring A Ding Ding Yellow Browed Warbler!

I have been a member of the Hersham Ringing Group for just over a year now. Their operations are based at Queen Mary’s Reservoir in Spelthorne. There are a variety of habitats situated below the reservoir ranging from woodland, open scrub, mixed trees and scrub and areas of reed-bed. Tony Beasley is the co-ordinator of the group activities and can only been described as a machine when it comes to ringing and data processing. Since the COVID-19 outbreak the group has not met as one but days of the week have been divided up between the members allowing the reserve to be covered on most days.

I work under Tony s supervision which allows us to meet up every Tuesday for a ringing session. The training is on a one to one basis which has resulted in a steep rise in my ringing learning curve. We put up nets in the areas of the pylons which is mainly mixed scrub, trees and a small river that runs at the back of the net runs.

I do not usually post about ringing activities but have been given the green light to share an amazing day which yielded 62 birds, 11 species including a ringing rarity Yellow Browed Warbler (YEBWA) in the nets.

The YEBWA was a ringing tick for me and had us both beaming and chattering like school-kids about the wonders of the bird and being able to look at it closely in the hand. I was quite amazed that I remained perfectly calm processing the bird with the wing formula confirming the species from a “Hume’s”. This was the second bird in two years on site. The first I saw but was down the order to process it.

After the excitement of photographing and releasing this gem of a bird Tony’s plan B came to fruition with Lesser Redpoll falling into the nets on the pylon mound. The Redpoll was processed and released together maintaining the flock size!

The grin on Tony’s face was priceless. Mission accomplished!

Amongst the regular species an early Goldcrest was processed. This species will move through the site in numbers during October.

As a general rule the first three letters of the first common name and second two letters are used in the ringing species code.

The days tally including re-traps shown in (-):-

YEBWA 1 (0), BLACA 20 (2), LESRE 19 (0), CHIFF 11 (0), GOLDC 1 (0), GRETI 1 (2), BLUTI 3 (4), GOLDF 3 (0), DUNNO 2 (1), BLABI 1 (0), GRSWO 0 (1).

Epsom and Walton Downs - Wheatear With a Grandstand View!

It has been a very testing couple of weeks which has left me drained and my internal batteries in need of a re-charge. During my working life I found I could re-set the balance in my mind by immersing myself in the splendors of the natural world by watching birds. I would then return to the madness refreshed and ready to take on the evil within the world! I have found this process still applies to me today as events unfold and uproot memories from the past!

I chose my location very carefully today seeking solitude away from mankind. I took a now familiar circular route around Epsom and Walton Downs. There was an element of ground-hog day to this as I picked up a Wheatear on the course in front of the Grandstand. There were Meadow Pipit, Linnet and Pied Wagtail in this area.

I moved on around the racecourse towards Langley Vale and spent time in a mixed area of scrub and trees. This area has looked good for chats and today did not disappoint with a couple of Stonechat that were using tops of shrubs to view potential meals on the ground below.

There were certainly more migrants around today. Chiffchaff were seen moving through patches of woodland that are scattered all over the site.

At Langley Bottom Farm Swallow dropped down during a short shower hugging the tops of the fauna as they negotiated the fields. Another Stonechat was located within the confines of the Farm. The burst of foul weather did not deter it from grabbing lunch.

The weather deteriorated as the afternoon progressed but Nuthatch, Treecreeper, the resident Red Legged Partridge were all seen. Thrushes were also taking advantage of the abundance of berries on the bushes.

Thirty five species were recorded in total. eBird list Here

My thoughts are with the families that have lost someone dear to them! 

Kent - Isle of Sheppey - Owls that for an American Golden Plover!

An opportunity to spend a day out of the smoke is always a welcomed event. Pete and I ventured into Kent spending the day on the Isle of Sheppey in search of migrants. We hit the road at stupid o clock to maximise our time in the field which paid off as our journey time in the mobile observatory was around an hour.

Leysdown coastal park was our first port of call with a thorough bush kicking exercise which failed to produce anything out of the ordinary. ebird list here We then moved down to The Swale and Shellness NNR to catch a rapidly approaching high tide before returning to the salt marsh and field area to bag the American Golden Plover which has frequented the area for a while now. 

There was a trickle of movement off The Swale with Gannet and two flocks of Common Scoter. A Short Eared Owl came in off the sea but once again I failed on the photo front! See Petes blog

It is difficult to describe or capture the spectacle of the movement of the vast numbers of Curlew from The Swale onto the Salt marsh but once again it had both the adventurers taking their eyes off the sea to take in this amazing sight. ebird list here

After taking lunch in what is now considered our local trip chippy and seafood bar. The extensive journey of six minutes was taken to check out Warden Point. This area is a mix of scrub and sparse woodland situated on top of a now rapidly disintegrating cliff. It is well known as a migrant trap and most conveniently has a caravan and camping park set back from the cliff edge! Nothing much in the way of migrants beyond a lone Stonechat but a life butterfly tick for me a Wall Brown which was extremely obliging for the duffer behind the lens! ebird list here

Capel Fleet was our final stop of the day where the fields were littered with Red Legged Partridge all obliviously ready for the forthcoming hunting season! This provoked a discussion on the pros (there are some!) and cons of game hunting.

The day quickly closed out and another adventure into the wilderness was complete. Just need to keep our fingers crossed that Capel Fleet does not become completely immersed in solar panels!

Epsom and Walton Downs - A Day on the Downs!

I have recently been confined to barracks whilst some repairs are carried out on my house. Today I escaped the carnage and spent most of the day on Epsom and Walton Downs. I had no intention of returning home any time soon therefore decided to kick every bush in search of migrants!

I decided on a circular route starting at Tattenham Corner working my way down past the Grandstand where migrants of the day were found. 

A couple of Wheatear was parading themselves along the white railings as if they were waiting for a race to pass by.

It turned out that this was the norm with Pied Wagtails also lining the route. I’m not sure what the going was but the menu was appetising as birds swooped down to snatch insects that ventured beyond the cover of the turf.

The cloud was low for most of the morning which should have kept any migrants low in the sky but there was a complete lack of Hirundines. As I made my way through Langley Bottom Farm the migrant list was still lacking.

I then ventured through the fields towards Langley Vale Wood and spoke to a Volunteer with the Woodland Trust who confirmed what I had just experienced a lack of migrants through the area so far this autumn.

The search continued through fields and patches of woodland with the evening spent on The Gallops scanning the horizon. Meadow Pipit passed overhead but still no hirundines. I took a Tattenham Corner Fish and Chip break returning to watch the fields that the farmer had started reaping. I wonder if the geese will return to these fields to feed and roost! No geese today, but it was the first day of cutting.

The last interesting fact of the day was no thrushes seen the local birds must still be in heavy moult.

A tough but very enjoyable day in the field with 9hrs spent in the field with 9.54 miles covered and 37 species noted ebird list Here!

North Kent - Isle of Sheppey - Part 2 - The Business End of The Day!

Capel Fleet on the Isle of Sheppey oozes birds and the migrant hunters were not to be disappointed with a fall of birds as the weather front closed in. I am not sure what was in the can of pop Pete bought in Leysdown but he went into overdrive as we filtered through the wildfowl and shorebirds of the flood by the sharpe bend in the road which leads to Harty Ferry!

He also secured a plumage tick locking on to a juvenile Little Gull that had sought refuge on the flood!

As we moved through the gate which housed EL TORRO several Whinchat were noted along the fence line near the pens. He did not look that pleased to see us so we did not venture too far away from the gate!

A couple of Water rail including a juvenile which was likened to a “Weka” with its overall brown plumage was noted in the shallower margins of the flood. I can’t remember having seen too many juvenile birds before!

A Great White Egret was initially distant on the flood but later moved to within camera range adding to the day’s photo collection.

Shorebirds were represented by Black-tailed Godwit, Avocet, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Snipe, Lapwing, and the arrival of a Greenshank and Little Ringed Plover completed the days set.

This area is also good for Corn Bunting, birds were heard before a handful were spied on top of a low bush!

Yellow Wagtail was moving overhead with a Marsh Harrier intermittently stirring up the masses on the ground!

This seemed like a frantic couple of hours but the species logged here bolstered the days total of 89 species after a full day in the field. Some regular species were missing from the list which had us both wondering if we could have topped the one hundred mark.

An excellent day was rounded off with well earned fish and chips in Leysdown. The chippy situated on the corner of the amusement arcades never fails to produce top quality food!

North Kent - Isle of Sheppey - Part 1 The Search for Migrants Begins!

 The crew of two (Pete and I) spent yesterday in North Kent searching for migrants on the Isle of Sheppey. The Island has diverse range of habitats which is perfect for re-fuelling tired migrants. The Swale separates the island from the mainland and is an important feeding ground between the tides.

The morning was perfect for checking patches of tree and bushes surrounding Leysdown FC and the environs of Priory Hill Campsite. It was not too long before migrant of the day a juvenile Pied Flycatcher showed itself whilst hawking low flying insects from a bush situated close to the campsite. The bird exited stage left finding a taller tree to perch on before continuing its feast.

There were plenty of passerines in the area including several Willow Warblers who chased low flying insects from scattered bushes. Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat were also present along with most of the common species.

It was good to see so many Blackbird moving around. This species becomes very shy and becomes almost Pitta like hopping around during their period of moult.

After a fry up in the mobile observatory we walked The Swale and Shellness NNR positioning ourselves at the bunker at the point to watch the tide come in. Reasonable numbers of Sandwich Tern were present with only a single Common Tern. Around 3000 Oystercatcher had taken up a familiar position on the bay before a jetskier decided to interrupt their roost by landing amongst them!!!

A Little Stint was the find of the high tide roost along with a Knot that patrolled the shoreline. Small groups of Dunlin and a couple of Sanderling were also noted.

Ringed Plover were numerous in the area with Dunlin taking flight with them when groups briefly took to the skies.

Behind us on the salt marsh Curlew gathered as the tide rose. It was a fantastic sight to see so many birds together in one area.

Mid afternoon we moved to Capel Fleet and Harty Ferry in search of more migrants. (Part 2)

We returned to the Harty Ferry side of The Swale NNR during the evening to watch the Black Tailed Godwit moving from the roost at Oare Marshes along The Swale. There was a handful of Bar Tailed Godwit seen along with a Mediterranean Gull.

Part 2 to follow!