Dodgy Birds

Yep, more iceland gull

2012-01-30T09:19:00.000-08:00

Down the farm today and the temperature was most certainly on a downward curve, if anyone had visited the farm then you will know that our hide doesn't have a front so it can get a tad nippy!!
There had been a Caspian and ad Yellow Legged before this 2nd winter Iceland showed up. during the course of an hour it came slowly closer till it ended up about 60ft away. The shot of the day was an adult Med Gull flying over the Iceland but i was to busy warming my hands up and missed it!! Still.......

Iceland gull

2012-01-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

There are currently 3 iceland gulls at the farm. A first winter and 2 second winters. One of the second winter birds seems to like one particular area of the lake which is quite close to the hide, if you havent seen an iceland gull yet this year then its worth popping down for a look from the permissive path.
This particular bird that i photographed today actually called at one point ( sounded likea gull tbh ) and spent a lot of time doing absolutely nothing..

Kestrel

2012-01-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

Having some time to kill i thought i would start to organise my photos into some kind of order. During my time as a photographer i have managed to loose so many pictures with double naming and such like stupidness on my part!! So today i was working on which Ketrel photos to keep.
We still have two pairs breeding on the Farmlands though in 2011 the Western pair failed to produce any young, not sure why. The eastern pair had no such trouble and produced three youngsters. One of these birds was probably fledged for around a month before it vanished of the scene.
Over the winter period we have had visits from a particularly dark female, though always at distance and as of yet no pictures taken.
some pictures below.

Gulls and Gulls and Gulls oh and some Gulls

2012-01-24T10:57:00.001-08:00

Started out with intentions of pics of white wingers but got side tracked into making a new video - same old software and same old pics really - basically the same

Blah Blah blah

An interesting peg

2012-01-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

Just before the New Year i had this Peregrine over the farm. This bird has an orange ring with black writing on the left leg and what looks like a silver ring on the right... The only rung peregrines i can find with an orange band so far are from Derby Cathedral.
Question is how far does a Peg roam from its breeding grounds

Peregrine roaming map

This shows that they can roam a huge distance and almost loop back on themselves. These i think are first winter birds.

Shall contact the Cathedral and see what they think..

n.b. year list is now 77

This picture shows a close up of the ring on the left leg. The barring on the flanks and breast indicate an adult bird with quite coarse barring so probably a female. (?)

Below shows a rather brave gull. You can just make out the pale rump, which is another indicator of an adult bird.

The games a foot

2012-01-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

Well the new year is upon us, time to dust down the book and start another new year list at the farmlands. This year there is big money riding on it, £1 each between Tank, Frank and myself !!!

So far im ( 21/01/2012 ) im at 73 birds, none of which except maybe Brent Goose could prove a problem to get later in the year...

A new year begins

2012-01-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Well hoping you all had a good xmas and start of the new year. The farm has been quite for so long now that i'm starting to think the wind has got stuck in a westerly direction!!! We are so dependent on extreme weather to get any sort of movement across the skies.
I have decided that birding is done on three planes of view.. 1) ground level, the one i struggle with, not sure why but so hard to look down lol, 2) birds drifting across the farm, like the thousands of gulls 3) the exciting zone, this is where i like to look, generally about three pylons high and above. Why am i telling you this? simple my new year resolution is to try and look at the ground more, not sure about looking at the gulls though as after years of staring at them they still all look the bloody same!!!

My list is on 44 so far for the year which isnt great. Hoping it gets to 150 by december, we shall see..

Merry Christmas

2011-12-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

Well i havent been out with the cameras much recently, West winds are to blame. Still i have put together quite possibly the worst xmas video in existence!!!!! Lets hope Santa isnt put holding his migration back as well......

Its Christmas

Just whats happening!!

2011-10-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Just put together another video using photos and videos from the last year and a bit. Have a look hope you like it.

Pure Imagination

ok -- guess the bird time

2011-10-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday i had this birdie flutter past at about a thousand feet. Any ideas? i think with the short tail, white tip to tail its a woodlark

At last a day to remember

2011-09-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

When i left the list stood at

14 Ringed plover
1 Ruff
1 Dunlin
1 Curlew Sandpiper
9 Wheatear
1 juv Caspian Gull
1 Yellow Legged Gull
70+ House Martin
60+ Swallow
100 + Sand Martin
1 Greensand
1 Hobby
1 Peregrine
2 Little Stint
Have to admit not a bad day. I see on the pager there is an Arctic Skua hanging around Bough Beech as well - maybe just maybe. Oh if you want to see photos, wrong blog, i was of my game today and missed nearly everything!!!!

So

The juv Kestrel that is about at the mo is getting very brave and perching up so close sometimes its impossible to focus

Its raining Herons and Wheatears

2011-09-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Managed to drag myself down to the farm much later than anticipated today. Had set the alarm for 5 but a glance out of the window and for some reason it just didnt feel like anything was going to happen, so back to bed for a few more hours lol.
   So when i finally got there i wasnt surprised to hear that not much had happened. After a couple of hours the rain started to fall and fall and fall. At one point a heron decided to head for the high ground, obviously worried about the impending flood that was bound to occur.
   Another hour or so later a Wheatear crash landed on one of the islands and joined up with the LRP's, for a while they stood next to each other bobbing up and down and checking each other out.
   Back tomorrow so, well its obvious, bound to be an Osprey.....

Please sign this petition

2011-09-02T11:28:00.001-07:00

After the death of a family friend a petition has been started. It needs 100,000 signatures to get it started though. So could you please follow this link and add your name. Much appreciated if you can. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/5005

Nope cant think of a title

2011-09-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

Haven't really been up to much this week except working :( still been high pressure so not the end of the world. Managed to acquire a Surrey Tick the other day, think this puts me on about 24 birds for Surrey so not bad going there.

Below are some pictures of the said Surrey Tick.

Still no Osprey

2011-08-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Well another day has passed without my target bird appearing. Apparently one flew to the West the other day ( and ). Havent given up all hope as of yet as there is still the weekend before its back to work on Monday. Not much in the way of highlights either lol, a few Swifts still Swifting about, 2 Lrp on the North Lake and thats about it.
As i was leaving i went through bikers field, got on to what i was sure was a fly catcher lifted my bins to the old eyes and never saw the bird again !!! What a tosser....

Another Osprey 2

2011-08-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Yep again another day passes without an Osprey. Still a good day for raptor movement. I think there were 24+ sightings of Buzzard today obviously some would have been the same birds but there was a group of 9 together!!! While watching these birds i picked up another Falcon - now it wasnt a Hobby or a Kes or a Peg the photos are crap but have a look and let me know what the general view is.

Another Osprey

2011-08-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

Thats right another Osprey failed to turn up at the farm today which i think is quite rude!! Still got another 6 weeks to find one. Caught up with our first Winchat of the year, was an illusive little bugger though and vanished towards the end of the morning.
   Frankie and i decided to photograph the Wasp Spiders on the Southern slope. We managed to locate 33 of them !! but all the photographs were rubbish so i will have to go back and try again at some point. There must be many more on the mound as we only searched a small are. Whilst looking for the spiders we had 3 Yellow Wags fly over and head of West.
   The Swift numbers are still good with 60+ birds present. Also had Swallow, Sand Martin and House Martin. Towards the end of the day Derek and i picked up 2 Hobbies and a Peg causing havoc with the Corvids..
   Back tomorrow and hopefully Osprey...

quiet day

2011-08-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well my prediction of an Osprey failed to materialize. Had two buzzards today and the second one looked good for a while as it started to drift in towards me. But it wasnt, so moving on i decided to photograph the Garganey that spends most of its time asleep. There are still around 20 Swifts kicking about, the Hobby still patrolling and nabbing the odd Sand Martin that isnt paying attention and the Wood Sands are still present.
Back on Saturday. Predictions - a very quiet day ( lets hope that works )

itsy bitsy tiny buggies

2011-08-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

So hot today, apart from three Wood Sands that dropped in nothing else was showing so i went of bug hunting. With absolutely no idea what i was looking at i just took some snaps. Hope you enjoy them.

More sparrows

2011-07-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Oh look more Sparrows

More Sparrows

2011-07-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Nothing going on at the farm so perched upto near the feeders. I have a particular shot that i want to get of the Sparrows, did i get it? Nope... not even close lol. Still one more day off work tomorrow so i will try again. U never know i may get lucky....

Another wet day

2011-07-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

Another day rained of from work so what better place to go then the farm and sit in an old tin shed. When i arrived John was watching 3 LRP and as i was asking if anything else had been about 5 Blackwits flew through. During the course of the day there were another 5 Blackwits through, they could of been the same birds - who knows. A couple of Dunlin flew through as well and a Hobby put on a nice aerial display.

Blackwit for the day

2011-07-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

Joined John down the farm this morning. Heavy rain had forced me to abandon work for the day. John had had 10 Blackwits through earlier in the morning and there was a Greenshank still on 100 acre so a bit of wader movement.
The rain kept falling and at times it was a case of straining the ears as the odd snippit of a call could be heard. Most of the time it was the young ducks making the calls but one was a medium size wader that landed alongside the reed bed next to the ' Taliban ', all i got was a quick flash of white on the trailing edge of the wing. Could of been a Common Sand.
After a couple of hour this Blackwit flew across the lake and headed South, i commented to John that i would be surprised if it kept going as the rain was turning heavy again. After a few minutes it came back and headed upto 100 acre where it appeared to go down.

Whats that bird there?

2011-07-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

Met up with a couple of people on the permissive footpath today who were looking for the Tree Sparrows. I kindly pointed out that they were standing next to them and that the little brown birds were indeed Tree Sparrows. ' No not Sparrows ' they said ' the ones in the paper'. After a few minutes i think i had pointed out the differences between House and Tree Sparrows.
But it got me thinking, its easy for me to recognize the little blighters but i guess if you havent seen them that often it could be difficult ish. So i have stuck a video up on www.beddingtonfarmlands.org.uk site showing the most obvious differences.
Hope it helps.

Tree sparrows

Tree Sparrows

2011-07-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

Could you help?

Seen one of these birdies in your garden? If you have let me know...

This link helps with the id

London Tree Sparrows

And you thought Vettel was fast!!!!!

2011-06-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

Nothing happening down the farm today so thought i would try for the thousand time to try and photograph swifts. Sounds easy, cant be to hard!!! As the numbers of Swift have basically collapsed and the amount we have these days can be counted on one hand it is a long waiting game and just when you look away from the camera one inevitable flies past.. Bugger..

I think out of 300+ piccies i got 10 i like. It then got to hot for me so i went home. May go back later to try again. Must get lucky at some point.

Look out your window i can see his light...

2011-06-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Well the title sums up this post. Well it does if you know the song... Anyway with no birds deciding to visit the Farm, Surrey or London i have been watching the stars in the evening. Good thing is they seem pretty constant in when they will surface ( weather depending ), still havent managed how to photograph the buggers though. But i have got some crap shots of the ISS as it passed over.

It cant be that hard to photograph a star can it? Well the things keep moving... hmmmm

Review of 2010

2011-05-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

As per usual i have put together a photographic review of 2010. If you have been watching the videos and blog for the last year or so then you would have seen most of the photos. But pull up a comfy chair open a beer and relax for 6 minutes.
As for the farm well like most London local patches not a lot is happening. Good to see lots of young birds flittering about on the water and in the trees.

review of 2010

Quick visit

2011-05-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick visit to the farm today. There has been an increase of LRP with 4 birds now present looks like 2 males and 2 females. I had missed two Red Kites earlier in the day and it was a long wait till the one pictured here breezed through.

Was that it !!!

2011-05-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

I think migration this year kinda missed us at the farm, or if it did happen it was so slight that it never really registered on the radar. Most of the birds at the farm have had there first broods and the herons are flying around trying to gobble everything up as soon as possible.

Best news so far is that the Sand Martins seem to be using the Taliban for nesting. With no pairs resident last year this is really good news. Will have to try and make a count of the birds soon.

Apart from that not a lot else to report...

Subbuteo!!

2011-05-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

That doesnt relate to that crappy forever repulling the cloth tight crappy plastic football game of the 70's that hurt your finger nail, but the lovely bird that came to the farm this afternoon. There had been a Red Kite earlier in the day and a slight splattering of Buzzard to keep the day moving ish. But this little bugger made the day worthwhile.
I hope they have the forecast right for tomorrow, early rain followed by showers and the bto reporting movements of Bee Eaters..... who knows eh

A trip to Dunge

2011-05-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

I met Neil at Mikes house for an early morning trip to Dunge. The main aim of this trip was to get Pom Skua. Just over the hour mark and we were sheltering and cowering alongside the hide in a brisk wind. What seemed like moments after we arrived the first of many ( 38 in total ) Poms made there way past battling into the wind. These were followed by Arctic Skua, Bonxie, Scoter Common and Velvet, Kittiwake, Common, Arctic, Little and Black Terns, Bar Wits, Shoveler, Fulmar, Gannets and other besides.
After a quick bite to eat we made our way to the reserve, but the wind was so ferocious that all the birds were keeping there heads down and out of sight. So it was just a quick walk round. On leaving and just approaching Boulder Farm a Heron was seen to go down into a ditch just to the left of the car and as we slowed to a halt a lovely Purple Heron took to the sky. I jumped out and grabbed my camera and took some shots, im sure if i had left the sun guard on they would have been lovely but instead just a load of rubbish lol, that was my lesson for the day.

Dunge video

WTF!!!

2011-05-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well it made me laugh anyway....

nice lense

Down to the coast

2011-05-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well arrived at the farm at 5.30 this morning but nothing appeared to be moving so decided a trip to the coast was in order. Met up with Gary in a piss smelling bus shelter in Rustington and between the hours of 6.15 and 12.00 we had 8 Poms ( just a distant set of blobs ) 4 Bonxies, 4 Arctic Terns, 34 Little Terns, 710 Bar Wits, 93 Whimbrel, numerous Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Sanderling. Im of to Dunge tomorrow with Mike and Neil so hopefully more bits to come.
Shame the birds are so far away though lol.....

Another Crane

2011-04-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well the birds finally started to turn up today. With a small movement of raptors early on, 2 Red Kites and two Buzzard i was hoping that something good would drift over - i wasnt disappointed!!!!

Another video for ya'll

Hooray its now working!!!

Where are the birds

2011-04-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so the low down for the last few weeks regarding birds, well there hasnt really been any. Have managed to not see two Groppers one at Canons and one 6ft away from me at the farm the little bugger!!! Where are the birds.

Another weekend limps by

2011-04-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Not a lot happening yet so here are some photos.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

2011-03-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

A Yellow and a White Wagtail seem to be the sum total of Summer migrants at the farm at the moment. Even though within the next few weeks the flood gates will open, it just cant come quick enough. The usual fare down the farm at the weekend with fly over Buzzards in good numbers.

First signs of reverse migration

2011-03-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Cold start at the farm today, met up with Gary who had been watching the Chiffchaffs on the Mile Road Bridge. It wasn't long till we realised that there was a small movement of passerines passing over. These small flocks were high and distant which didn't help with the identification. Chaffinches seemed to be the dominant number of birds and there was the possibility of one or two being Brambling ( did anyone else get a similar movement today? ) we ended up with 338 passing over.
The sun then decided to draw a couple of Buzzards out. One passed over head and looked like a Harrier as it came in. The wind had changed the jizz of the bird and it looked thin winged and long tailed from a distance but then it turned and fanned itself out.... Bugger. Still it was a nice adult. Check out the moulting feathers and dark iris.
That was about it of interest, back at work tomorrow, but how long till the text comes through and its a mad dash to the farm.

Bye bye Arsenal!!!!

2011-03-12T11:51:00.000-08:00

Rather slow day at the farm. Missed the Dunlin again and had nothing for a few hours till the first of three Buzzards drifted over. I though the day would have produced more but nothing else showed till i was packing up when the Stonechat pictured below turned up. Very inquisitive bird.

Have included another video for you all to have a look at - there are no photos or films of birds. Its just me playing with software.

Tick Wars

Good couple of days

2011-03-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

Early at the hide on Sunday, it was bloody freezing and after the first hour and nothing showing i thought i may have wasted my time. At about 8.30 the Starlings formed into a big ball which in turn put up the Gulls which in turn put up the Corvids, i scanned and scanned but could not pick up anything in flight and everything started to settle down again i turned to walk back in the hide when the starlings came pouring over the lake and cutting straight through the middle of them was a gorgeous male Merlin. Superb !!!! Quick dash to the camera and managed a couple of shots of its arse as it disappeared through the pylon wires and away North...
Monday wasnt brilliant for its quality of birds but the sun was out, i had Peregrine and Med Gull displaying. Three Buzzards came and went one West one North and one South West. Just wish that wind wasnt so cold !!! Supposed to be at work tomorrow but after an accident at work i have to see what the doctor says in an hour or so. Im in two minds with what i want him to say lol.........

Cold and Grey

2011-02-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Popped into the farm on Saturday where i met up with John and Steve. Not a lot going on at the moment, but Steve managed to tick the two Firecrests that are kicking about near Mile Road Bridge. Apart from the usual Shelduck the only other bird of note was this ad Caspian Gull.
With the onset of March banging on the door it wont be to long till some migrants start appearing.... cant wait!!!!

Ya another video

Another video

2011-02-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

Thought i would share my latest video. It shows some of the people you could bump into down the farm. Have a look and enjoy.

Birders

Grey skies

2011-02-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

A visit to the farm today produced a single male Peregrine and not a lot else. With these grey skies any photos taken look dull and lifeless and are almost immediately deleted. Lets hope the sun comes out soon.

Arisen from the sick bed

2011-02-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

After spending the last couple of weeks or so in my sick bed i finally managed to drag myself down to the farm. Met up with Frankie in the hide and was joined later by Mike and Prof. Bird wise the day was uneventful to the point of boring but at least the sun came out and blew the cobwebs of me.
Tomorrow 4 of us are going to Dungeness to see whats about, sounds good just hope the cafe is open.

Travelling light

2011-01-10T09:17:00.000-08:00

Last day off before im back to work. Started of at the farm where Frank, Gary and Myself saw nothing so a change of plan was required. A quick couple of calls saw us at Mikes house with Kojack and a return to the Bewicks at Cobham. We were lucky to get them as Factor had already got there and with his reputation ...... well enough said. From here to check for the Grey Partridge but no sign so a jaunt along the road to Thursley hoping for Great Grey Shrike. Had only been there about 10 minutes when Frank and i got onto the bird as it flew from pylon 35 and disappeared over the trees behind us. Mike and Kojack were a distance behind so missed the birds. A stroll round produced Redpolls, Siskin, and then Mike called a Hen Harrier as it flew across giving us great views. It appeared to go down but never saw it come up again. I didnt have my camera with me as it is a big old lump to be lumping around so no photos and Kojack was to busy drinking to take a pic lol !!! But another two great birds to get.

Off to Cobham

2011-01-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Just about to leave for the farm today when i got a text from John telling me that 18 Bewick Swans were over in Cobham. Quick change of plans and i found myself heading down the M25 and up the A3. The swans were quickly located in a flooded field, woohoo. Miracle of miracles KojaCk then appears on the scene. A quick recovery from his operation if you ask me. We then went down to Compton to get Grey Partridge, as we pulled up in the said lay by the birds were sitting about 10 metres away and showing very very well. What an easy tick that was. Tried again for the Great Grey Shrike but no luck so ended up scanning a resi for Goldeneye and Scaup and there sitting in the middle were the Bewick Swans!!! Now if they are slowly moving East will they come to the farm? Who knows.

Cracking Fire

2011-01-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday i finally managed to catch up with the Firecrests just of the Mile Road bridge. They have been very elusive since news years eve. All we need is some sunlight now to get better pics.....

Norfolk delights

2011-01-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

A text to Mike yesterday evening and before i knew it, i had booked a place in his car to go and see the Northern Harrier. Meeting at 5.30 it was a quickish jaunt up the motorway till the a10 then snails pace as usual. Got to the site just after day break to the chorus of Curlew, Oystercatcher, Grey Plover and thousands of geese as they flew over. After a wait of a couple of hours. A wait that was filled with sightings of Marsh Harrier and a cracking Male Hen Harrier Mike picked up the bird coming in low from the North West. It was a gorgeous bird to see cruising over the marsh, it stayed distant so the shots are crap but at least it showed.
We were joined by Pete Clement and he kindly took us on a tour of the North coast, i missed the Rough Legged Buzzard at Holkham, but a quick trip to Cley produced a lovely male American Wigeon.
Following the geese in land to a sugar beet field produced a Ross's Goose and Bewicks feeding with 5000 odd Pink Feet. Back to Holkham for another look for Rough Legged produced a Barn Owl and some distant White Fronts and then to Titchwell for bacon sandwiches and coffee. Pete left us and Mike and i wandered up the bank towards the sea picking up Scaup and Spotshank. On the sea was a raft of Common Scoter that must have been thousands of birds strong, it was so large that i thought it was breakers at first. Managed to get Velvet Scoter flying past and an unidentified diver that basically was a dot. What a day

Thanks to Mike for the lift and the company and thanks to Pete for being so generous with his time. Now the question is do i go back and hope for better photos of the Harrier?

End of year

2010-12-31T10:08:00.000-08:00

The last birding day of the year saw Frankie, Grant, John, Pete, Roger, Neil and myself at the farm early. The day started off with a pair of fly over male Pintail. They circled a few times and maybe would of landed if it wasnt for the Gulls plastering the lake. Not long after and a Cream Capped Marsh Harrier flew over, this bird stayed around the area for about 20 mins before finally heading of East. Grant then picked up two Whitefronts from the South, these birds were a tick for Pete and some other bloke ;) at the farm and a tick for John for his year list. A lot of cheering ensued for some reason. During the afternoon i got on to another group of 6 Whitefronts as they headed South. These birds were also picked up by Paul in his garden as he was hanging out his mankini on the washing line!!!!!
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching gulls go backwards and forwards until a large flock of ducks came in from the West. They were all Wigeon which is certainly an impressive sight. A later check of a photo showed there were 44 birds in the flock.
As we were heading back up the path to leave a Firecrest crossed the path in front of me, while we stopped to admire this bird another one popped up on the other side, amazing....

Yesterday i was just packing up to leave after a rather uneventful day, walked out of the hide looked up in the sky and there was a ringtail Hen Harrier, a nice bird......

Review of 2010

2010-12-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

Well it came and went. Some days were warm, some were cold and i saw some birds. That sums it up i think.

New video

Happy new year

Answers on a post card please

2010-12-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

A quiet day at the farm to begin with. Couple of Golden Plover then a call had me looking up to a Lesser Spotted Pecker flying over head !!! The first this year and almost a year to the day that i saw my last one. I think John got onto it though he may have just seen a dot in the sky. Pete came back from the mound and discovered this gull. As it says ' answers on a postcard please ' what is it?

Well the weather outside is frightful!!

2010-12-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

So what do patch watchers do? Thats right go and stand in a tin shed without a front to look for birds. There has been a steady movement of birds during this cold spell. Over 2 days we have had nearly 700 Skylark, 150+ of Redwing and Fieldfare, flocks of Linnet and Yellow Hammer, new Gulls and Ducks. The list is growing, and the weather is steadily providing the birds for us. Now bring on the Brents, Smew and Goldeneye :)

Slowly getting a new video together.

Preview Beddington December 2

Not a lot

2010-12-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

With an early flyover of four Goosander things were looking promising. But when the sun broke through the day just lulled into nothing. Still it was nice to sit in the sun for a bit. More North winds for next week could be a bonus.

More winter birding

2010-12-08T08:16:00.000-08:00

Well the Crane hung around for a few days but no sign of it today. It may have moved into the park, who knows. Still the day was brightened by the arrival of a flock of Redpoll and yes there was a Mealy among the troop. as usual the photos are all crap, ( a ) it wouldnt keep still, did it not realise it was bad light so slow shutter speeds!!!! and ( b ) the bloody tree was in the way. Still Koje, Bage, Frankie and myself saw enough of the bird so thats good. A Curlew flew through towards midday and apart from some distant geese / swans flying South East that was that.

Another video

Dec 2010

lads ive got a fckin crane here

2010-12-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

The immortal words of Frankie!!!!!

Common Crane video

Well a most unexpected bird at the farm today. 2nd one in a year which is amazing. About 100 people came and went for this bad boy during the course of the day - Wow

Pete does it again

2010-12-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Spent the morning at the farming freezing my bits of for very very little. Highlight of the morning infact was leaving to go home. Caught the bus , got in, put kettle on, look at bird feeder and catch a brief glimpse of either a Willow or Marsh Tit !! Never even had the time to see the bird again before the phone goes off ' Pinpoint has a Snow Bunt on the mound !!! Having left my car there as it was sliding on the ice and knowing there wasnt much light left i entered panic mode. Over taking joggers and power walkers i made my way to the main road to be greeted with the 127 disappearing into the distance, bollox. Phoned Kojack and yes once again he put on his super hero cloak met me in Wallington high street and gave me a lift to the farm ( eternally grateful mate ). A quickish march up the mound through a good couple of feet of snow in some place joined up with the lads and there in front was the little beauty. Took some dodgy shots as the light levels were getting bad and thought i would check out the last vestiges of open water that we have. Was just looking onto the North lake when a Barn Owl flew past !!!
Back tomorrow there are reports of swans all over London, the Linnet flock needs checking out and who knows what else can turn up.

nb..... Pete has now found me Lapland Bunting and Snow Bunting. It can be no coincidence that they occur on the same page of the Collins field guide. The third bird on that page is Rustic Bunting so im expecting a call from him very soon lol... Cheers Pete

Wader day

2010-12-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

After the joys of yesterdays birding there was a throng gathered in the hide. Frankie, Pete, John, Nick, Kojack ( eventually ) and myself. The usual slow start was spent counting Wood Pigeon movement. I think we ended up with 300 - 400 in several flocks moving generally North. Nick picked up 5 Redshanks as they came in and landed on the frozen pond followed quickly by 3 Ruff. These were followed by a single Grey Plover, this bird as calling as it came in ( makes it easier ). I do struggle with these light conditions to identify the birds as they come towards us. The reflected light from the snow seems to make everything glow. There was a female Wigeon on one of the open bits of water ( hopefully Smew and Goldeneye will grace these soon ). A Water Rail moved past us and eventually ended up about 3 ft away poor bugger must be starving. Last decent bird of the day was a Curlew that just appeared from the trees ( so Frankie says ). As this bird departed it was joined by a second.
The forecast for tomorrow is -7 degrees during the day. Hope not.

Full of beans

2010-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

For the first time ever i had to catch a bus to the farmlands as my car was snowed in and wouldnt move. Met Frankie outside the cafe and John was already staking out the lake. It was cold, bloody cold with a strong north easterly wind which didnt help. But as any watcher at the farm will tell you its the best weather for birdies.
   Not much had happened early on, Frank wandered off and i half followed. Thought it would be a good idea to throw a snowball at him, bent down picked up some snow, moulded it into a lovely snowball looked towards him and could see some geese coming in from the West.. Shouted to Frank and John and we were all soon watching 12 Bean Geese as they flew East from the farm!!!!!!! Amazing. After looking at the photos i walked out of the hide, looked up and picked up 3 Grey Plover flying West, then Frankie got on 50 Skylark South and 100+ Fieldfare North. Not long after this i picked up a Male and Female Goosander high West. All this happened within half n hour or so.
   The only other birds during the day were 3 Dunlin South and some Lapwing moving all over the place.
   I have now photographed 143 species at the farm for my year list and my patch list stands at 172. With Holmethorpe picking up Pintail, Goldeneye and Smew, the Thames picking up Skuas, Divers and other bits and pieces im hoping tomorrow is just as rewarding...

The sun has got his hat on

2010-11-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

Which i doubt, unless it was made of asbestos or a really good fire retardant material! Well the sun did come out today, the birds didnt but at least we could stand with the sun upon us. The farm was well frosted first thing but soon melted away and with no birds showing i decided to photograph the tree sparrows. As a red list species its good to see a thriving population at the farm with at least 20 birds on the feeder at one time and many waiting in the wings ready to take over.

Good day at the farm

2010-11-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

Well the forecast was right. Heavy wind and rain from the South East. Met up with John, frank and Grant in the hide for a stake out. setting the camera up on iso 800 jpg meant only record shots for the day. First birds of note were a Caspian Gull and Yellow Legged Gull on the main lake. Next through were 13 Dunlin, they came in from the North East and appeared to land but couldnt be relocated. They were followed by another 10+ group, then a 30+ group, then 2 smaller groups. How many in total is hard to work out as they could have been flying in a circle. Next over was a House Martin which was a surprise. 3 Redshank came in landed and promptly flew of again. A possible 1st winter Little Gull flew West but disappeared as quick as it was seen. I saw a gull come down through the clouds fired off a few shots and looked back for the gull but it had gone!! Closer inspection of the images showed an Adult Little Gull. I then got onto a group of what i thought were ducks coming in from the North West i joked to John ' more Pintail coming in ' its a bird i need, they werent Pintail but a flock of Sawbills. They flew over South hopefully to Holmethorpe.
As im writing this i have just been text to say that Devil Birder has got a Hen Harrier on his patch. With the light fading fast there will be no chance of getting that bird.
Tomorrow is forecast Easterly Winds with a bit of rain, will my Pintail turn up?

A few pics

2010-10-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

On Sunday while standing on the mound a Jackdaw came and landed next to me. Strange, so we shared a packet of crisps and he then flew off. Hopefully i can train it to alert me when a new bird turns up. Oh an a couple of pics from the excellent ' Hawk Conservancy ' in Andover. Its well worth a visit.

Interesting morning!!!

2010-10-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

Just back from a holiday in Portland with nothing to show for my efforts i returned to the farm. The weather looked good with a strong Easterly biased wind blowing with low cloud. Wack the iso up to 1200 and hope for some record shots of slow moving birds. After an hour or so with nothing to show for the efforts Grantie turned up in the hide, he had done the mound and not really got anything. A stake out begun... tick followed tock followed tick.
First sign of movement was a ball of Passerines flying high South West, the camera wouldn't lock on with the grey cloud so i watched them fly away. Next a single wader high East still couldn't lock on. I know i have some damp in the camera from the holiday but this was getting silly.

At 10:14 i decided to eat an apple, almost predictably my first bite and i could see some Geese coming in from the North West, not being able to talk i just pointed and Grantie got on to them. The camera took a few shots and they carried on their way South East. A quick look at the screen and with no visible markings we passed them of as Greylags. Another hour passed Grantie had left and Petie had turned up. I told him about the geese and he wanted to see the pics as some Whitefronts had gone through Barnes. This was a problem as i had deleted them - bollox!!!! I swapped memory cards as there was a chance that i could rescue the deleted images.
Long story short - home - sandisk rescue pro - create album - open lightroom - import album - open image - crop - crop - crop - increase exposure - increase contrast - increase clarity - increase vibrance - reduce saturation - tone curve - sharpen - reduce noise - and there they were Whitefront Geese !! Thats tick 168 for the farm ( watchout Frankie ) and 134 photographed for the year. A quick phone call to Grant and he goes up to 175.

Lads, i've got three Gannets here

2010-09-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

A slow day at the farm today ( Saturday 25th ) Kojack, Badge and myself sat on top of the taliban for most of the day and had 1 Wigeon and a Dunlin for our efforts. What kept us there was the occasional news from the pager that Gannets were starting to move inland.
   Oh by the way Chelsea lost which is always a bonus, so i had to keep reminding the other two about this. But 3 o'clock came and nothing showing so it was home time. Not long after and the pager had gone of again ' 3 Gannets along River Thames flying West ', a quick call to Kojack to make sure that he was watching the bird news coming in. Quick text to Pete to keep an eye out. Pete was already on the farm !!!!!! That was it Kojack phoned me back and we made our way to the farm.
   When we got there Pete was making his way of the mound so we once again stood on the Taliban and waited. I hadnt even set my camera up when i butted into to the others conversation with the words ' Lads, ive got three Gannets here !!! ' and there flying in from the East were three Juv Gannets. You will have to excuse the quality of the pics but i was actually shaking as i took the pics. The birds could not have been more then 60 or 70 ft above us.
   The weather looks good for tomorrow as well, so hopefully i will be shaking again then lol. Tick 166 for the farm. As Kojack would say WWWOOOOHHHHOOOOOOOOOO.

Another post

2010-09-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

Just a catch up post really. There has been a few bits down the farm recently. A couple of Lapland Buntings and juv Pectoral Sandpiper being the highlights. There have been small numbers of other waders, Common Sand, Green Sand, Greenshank, Dunlin, Knot, Ruff, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Golden Plover. The usual Buzzards have been gliding over with some days recording double figures.

So where are the birds then

2010-09-07T11:33:00.001-07:00

Sums it up really - fuk all about. More birders than birds. So here are some photos.

The sun still shines

2010-09-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Met Grant in the hide this morning, the sun was just starting to rise with not a cloud in the sky. Hmmmmm not so good for viz migging then. Within 30 mins though we were standing in a dense fog wtf!!! Still managing to pick out some ringed plover and dunlin, locating them by there calls and waiting for them to pass in front of the heavily filtered sun. Grant found 3 wigeon which are new in and he decided to walk over to the lagoons for a look. He hadn't gone when a single peep call alerted me to a single golden plover flying about 20 ft above my head, tried in vain to get some shots as it disappeared into the fog but the focus system wouldn't lock on. Called to Grant but he couldn't get onto the bird and it vanished into the fog. Just as quick as the fog appeared it went, leaving a warm sunny day. Rain forecast for next week so fingers crossed...

Buzzard

2010-09-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

This Buzzard had a nice surprise as it came into the farm. The corvids usually alert us to any raptors approaching and then escort them of the site. The day before had seen 13+ Buzzards over the farm tying in with an influx on the East coast. Honey Buzzard sightings should go up then!!!

The Straits of Beddington ( again!! )

2010-08-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

On a cold, wet, North wind blowing morning i met Grant at the hide at 5.55 am. Expectation was high. If you have been bored enough to have followed this blog over the course of the year you will understand that Beddington seems to have a good fall of waders when the wind is right and the rain begins to fall. So after an hour the count was 11 Yellow Wagtails and 5 Ringed Plover. I could here Grey Plovers some where and was looking towards the tip when Grant got onto the flock as it passed over going North, their calling pulled the Ring Plover off the lake and all was quite again. Another half an hour John turned up and as you can imagine his language wasnt for the meek as he had missed a Surrey year tick. That was nearly it for the morning, Bulldog and Frankie had turned up when i started taking pictures of a bird coming in from the North, at the same time Bulldog called ' Osprey ' it was the bird i have taken snaps off ( you can have that one Roy lol ). Thats the 4th Osprey i have had this year.
   I left to do some work, but with the winds like this i was soon back at the farm. By now John had fallen asleep in the hide ( hangover ) and we were debating who should get the teas in from the cafe. As John wanted some nurofen he volunteered and heroically headed off. Not 5 minutes had passed before i picked up another raptor coming in from the North, at first i thought it was a Marsh Harrier, it appeared all dark and the general look was to big for Buteo. It then turned and revealed itself i called ' My mistake - Honey Buzzard ' cameras, bins and scopes turned on the bird and Frank got hold of John. What a bird.
   The photos seem to show a 2nd cy female? - the primaries are tipped as opposed to full black fingers as a juvenile would have. The carpals are oval, but im sure i can see a yellow cere in some of the photos. Cant make out any detail in the eye colour though. The moult of the remiges seems to show p 1,2,3 as shed, along with s 1,2 & 6 - 10. Anyone got any other ideas as to the age please?
   Later in the afternoon i got on to another raptor, another Honey Buzzard this time though a stunning male and as can be seen from the photos it has obviously flown over a Royal Estate.
   So we ended up with: juv female Peregrine, juv Hobby, male and female Sparrowhawk, male kestrel, male and female? Honey Buzzard and an Osprey - oh plus some other bits and pieces.

To the farm

2010-08-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

A quick text from John this evening had me driving down to the farm, he had put out a text to say that a ' Spot Fly ' had been discovered behind the cage. When last years was found i didnt have my camera with me so i didnt get any pictures.

A mad dash down found me standing with Kojack and John as the bird flittered around, as they do. Never coming to close for a good picture and with settings of iso 400 and shooting speed of 1/60th sec i got the best shot i could. Compared to the Garganey the day before at least you can see the bird....

Well i was supposed to be at work!!

2010-08-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Noticed last night that the Northerly winds were carrying into Monday so thought i would give myself the day off. Arriving at the farm at 6.00 am it looked good, North wind, low cloud and expectation was high. By 10.00 am i was thinking that maybe i had been a bit hopeful. I was joined in the hide by Roy and we both sat and looked at not a lot. There were 16 Green Sands, 4 Common Sand, 3 Greenshank a slight increase in Teal and Shoveler and the Peregrine put in an appearance for a few minutes. We then noticed that there seemed to be a movement of small birds through the trees, this consisted of ( rough numbers ) 20 Chiffchaff, 3 + Willow Warbler, 2 + Blackcap, 6 + Sedge Warbler and numerous Blue and Great Tits all briefly stopping for a photo. This was followed by a male Brown Hawker Dragonfly and then fly over Lion, Penguin and Flamingo balloons lol. I left happy having got some good photos.

Good weekend

2010-08-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

Two visits over the weekend, so early today ( Sunday ) it was still dark, must remember to change the alarm. A few signs of migration with Hirundines and Cormorants moving through high. Birds of the weekend were 2 x Marsh Harriers, both were female / juvenile birds, 1 Ruff, Osprey, 2 Common Tern, Wheatear, Greenshanks, Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers.

here comes the rain

2010-08-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

Woke and looked out of the window to a rain swept Wallington and thought that the farm could be rewarding today. Must be the first bad weather that we have had for about 8 weeks. I knew that the lads were already there as Kojack had sent a text about a Red Crested Pochard and Common Tern and knowing the brothers they probably got there before it was even light.
The first signs i had of any movement were some Martins high flying South, about 60 swift could be seen feeding very high up and the Caspian Gull and Red Cr Pochard the only birds of note on the lake.

After about an hour i picked up some small waders as they came in from the North, they dropped quickly down by the tern raft and looked as though they were going to land on one of the islands, there were seven birds but the light was so poor that nobody could clearly see what they were, i fired off a few shots ( iso 600 ) a quick look revealed that they were Turnstones ( 161 farm list ) !!!!!! Not long after another 5 went through and then Pete phoned to say that two Black Wits were circling the lake. Another 2 Turnstone followed and then 3 Greenshank - wow lets hope all autumn mig is like this.

Goodbye my friend

2010-08-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

For the last 11 or so years my constant birding companion has been my dog Tyler. There cant be many people who have met me and not met him. Sadly though on Friday night he passed away. He really was a gentle giant and brought me so much pleasure over the years. Even found me my first woodcock at the farm. He will be so sorely missed.

White thing at Rainham

2010-07-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

Got a text from Kojak asking if i wanted to go to Rainham for a White Tailed Plover that had turned up. Needing no second invitation we agreed to leave around 4pm, but luckily he managed to get our of work early and needless to say we were on our way pretty quickly. Got to Rainham and bumped into John and Frankie from the farm as they were relaxing having a coffee in the visitor centre and after quick hello's we marched on down to the given location. Kojack as usual was powering along and im sure i was even jogging at one point to keep up with him. A few other familiar faces were around and Roy pointed us in the right direction. The bird was moving up and down the far bank having a little feed. A lapwing was obviously annoyed about being upstaged and was forever trying to flush the bird away, which was handy for us as we were getting good views of the feather patterns.
After a bit of time we left and then sat in traffic for an hour just to get out of Rainham !!!!! What a mare !!!!

Rye Harbour and Denge Marsh

2010-06-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

Early meet with Frankie today as we were going down to Rye Harbour, mainly so i could get Little Tern. After an uneventful journey down there we arrived good and early. Almost the first birds we came across were Terns, and among the little group was a magnificent Little Tern !!! A lovely little bird, we watched it for ten minutes or so as it dived into the water around Rye. Moving on along the beach we came across a small group of Sanderling and all round were Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Med Gull, Bar Wit, Black Headed Gulls, Redshank, Dunlin, Ruff and Grey Plover. We carried on through the reserve also picking up Cuckoo, Sedge and Reed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Hobby and numerous others.
In the car park we decided to see if we could catch up with the 1s Red Foot Falcon at Denge Marsh. It was by chance that we then bumped into a mini twitch for a Purple Heron. Both Frank and I needed this bird so we decided to wait and see if it popped up. After 30 mins or so two large Raptors appeared behind us, almost looking into the sun it was hard to work them out to begin with, but then the penny dropped, 2 Honey Buzzards had just come in off the sea and were now heading South East. Amazing. Then 10 minutes later the Purple Heron flew across the front of us, crappy photos though !!! distance and heat haze.
We never did bump into the Red Foot though which is a shame, but i dont think we will complain to much though.

Red Foot hunting

2010-05-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Went upto Wilstone Reservoir today. After good reports coming on the pager that the bird was showing well i thought it could be worth it. The weather was appalling regarding photos. Heavy wind and heavy skies made it almost impossible to get a decent picture. At first the Falcon was sitting up in a Hawthorn Tree in the middle of a field and to distant for a good picture so i went for a little walk. Got my first Cuckoo of the year, Red Kite and Buzzards everywhere and on the way back to the reservoir there were Hobbies all over the place. Managed to get the Falcon as it left the Reservoir and made its way back to its tree.

Its slowing down

2010-05-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well it appears as though Spring migration is coming to a halt down at the farmlands. Still its not to long before the process is in reverse again. Only been a few new birds touching down recently. The most exciting is a possible Turtle Dove that was seen flying towards the recycling plant, so i will see if i can track this bird down. One bird last year was seen a couple of times coming from a certain part of the farm so i will check that place out first i think. Early mornings are still turning up waders with Ringed Plover, Red Shank, Common Sand, Sanderling and a Ruff.
Did a good spell over the weekend hoping for a fly over Honey Buzzard but no such luck, 2 Buzzard on each day but that was all.

We came 2nd !!!

2010-05-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday was the annual ' oystercard bird race day ' round London. Starting at 6.00 am and finishing at 5.00pm at the London Transport Museum. You can only use public transport - game on. Peter, John, David, Russell and myself met at Beddington Wildlife hospital too bright and to early for my liking and made our way through the park and into the farmlands picking up species as we went. A quick stroll had already produced 70 species so we made our way to Mitcham Junction to catch the train to Barnes, more species were added there. Then a dash to Hyde Park to get the birds of the day. Sitting up high in a Horse Chestnut tree were 4 Tawny Owlets, we must have looked a sight with all the scopes and bins as numerous people approached to see what we were upto and most were surprised to see the Owlets. Another tube journey took us to the Transport Museum. Most welcome sight was a table stacked with food and drinks, i was starving by then. We had a tally of 86 birds but were beaten by a team with 90. They had got 10 birds in the last hour of watching - bugger!!! Still it was a good day, oh i almost forgot springwatch were there filming though im quite sure we wont be on the program.

On Sunday i popped to the farm for a couple of hours. The 'LRP's' are displaying well, but that was it for the day.

Still the waders come

2010-05-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Having missed work yesterday i woke and look out the window at the drizzle that fell from above, the North wind was still blowing and i knew today would be good. All the way to work the phone kept going off, Bar Wits and Whimbrel on the lake, Ring Plover and Dunlin over. Now this i could deal with, having had my fair share recently. But then the big one came through ' Curlew Sand on the lake ', i had only been at the customers for 5 minutes or so. What to do - - well needless to say i was outside the hide within 15 minutes and there in front of me was a gorgeous breeding plumage male ( 118 ). It was a life bird for me as well, which isnt bad as i only bird at the farmlands...

Kitti returns

2010-05-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Started at a reasonable time today at the farm. The wind and rain were still falling and the day showed good promise for some movement. After a few hours with only a Black Wit to show for the groups efforts i decided that i had had enough and went home. But as to be expected at this time of the year, it wasnt long before i received a text telling me that another Kittiwake was on the main lake. Even though i had had one only ten or so days ago i thought i would go along to take some photos, but as i havent worked on them you will have to wait to see them. The Kittiwake apparently just fell from the sky into the lake in front of the hide, it was exhausted having battled with the wind ( Graham make sure you check the gulls where you are ).

Another great day ( added too )

2010-05-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well that sums it up really, another great day. Huge fall of shore birds at the farmlands as they flew into an oncoming storm front. Starting with Bar Wits and Wimbrel, through Dunlin and Ringed Plover then a small flock of Knot, Common and Arctic Tern, Greenshank, LRP and to finish off a possible Pacific Golden Plover. I picked this bird up as it was coming through the ' ikea ' towers and after getting everyone else onto it i took a series of shots. Originally called as a ' Grey ' then a ' Gold ' then a ' who knows ' luckily the photos showed that it was a Pacific Golden Plover. John phoned through to other London birders to inform them that a possible ' yank ' was in the vicinity and about an hour later it turned up at Barnes. I think that the last time one was seen in Surrey was 1840ish when it was shot and stuffed. Luckily my shooting was a bit more humane.

You had to be there

2010-05-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show off my new Life, Surrey and Beddington ( 155 & 112 ) tick. A long story associated with this bird and when im not so tired i will tell all. Still have a look at a Common Crane as it flew over the farmlands during our birdwatch day.

Warning Warning

2010-04-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

You may ask yourself, why is this post called ' warning warning '? And i have to admit that you are wise to question this. The reason is simple, the following photo of an Oystercatcher ( 111 ) will astound you with its beauty and i recon you will well up with emotion at its sheer beauty. If im not put forward to the wildlife photographer of the year competition i will be most disappointed. Well not even put forward, just presented with the trophy.
Apart from the ' Oyk ' there hasnt been much going on. In fact its been so boring that i went back to work early just incase the weather gets better and i need to rush back to the farm. Today a Nightingale was found on Hangmans bridge, the bird must be from the ' leaflike ' race as no matter how hard i looked i couldnt see it.
Tomorrow is race day !!! so im sure the weather will be crap. Meeting up with Peter & Paul ( The Apostles ) at 5.00 am for the dawn chorus walk which will leave from Mitcham Golf Course at 5.30 am. So if you happen to be awake at that time ( why would you be ) then come along, just dont expect much conversation at that time.

Finally reached 110

2010-04-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

After a good weekend i finally managed to reach 110 species photographed at the farm. This weekend provided Yellow Wagtail ( 107 ) Grey Wagtail ( 108 ) Whinchat ( 109 ) and Common Tern ( 110 ). With this shift in wind conditions though it will slow down a bit i think.

Black Tailed Godwit update

2010-04-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

Following on from the photos taken of the Black Wit yesterday i had an email from Jose. He was quite surprised that the bird had left Holland and only made it to Southern England, as Icelandic birds would normally stop over in Scotland.

> LW-LGflag was ringed as adult female (details on the top line) and

> recorded since at:

>

> 14.11.08 Alhos Vedros (South Tank), Tagus Estuary, Setúbal, W Por

> 28.02.09 Montijo, Tagus Estuary, Setúbal, W Por

> 10.07.09 Cudmore Grove Country Park, West Mersea, Essex, E Eng

> 11.07.09 Cudmore Grove Country Park, West Mersea, Essex, E Eng

> 13.07.09 Cudmore Grove Country Park, West Mersea, Essex, E Eng

> 15.07.09 Cudmore Grove Country Park, West Mersea, Essex, E Eng

> 17.07.09 Cudmore Grove Country Park, West Mersea, Essex, E Eng

> 18.07.09 Cudmore Grove Country Park, West Mersea, Essex, E Eng

> 26.07.09 Cudmore Grove Country Park, West Mersea, Essex, E Eng

> 20.01.10 Moita Harbour, Tagus Estuary, Setúbal, W Por

> 27.01.10 Alhos Vedros (Gas Station), Tagus Estuary, Setúbal, W Por

> 10.02.10 Moita Boavista, Tagus Estuary, Setúbal, W Por

> 03.03.10 Moita Boavista, Tagus Estuary, Setúbal, W Por

> 11.04.10 Landje van Geijsel, Ouderkerk a/d Amstel, Noord-Holland, W Neth

> 24.04.10 Beddington Farmlands, Croydon, Greater London, SE Eng

Man United 3 some other team 1

2010-04-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Another long hot day down the farm today. Woken up at 7.00am by a text from Grant saying that there was a Black Wit on the lake followed pretty quickly by another text saying that a hobby had just gone over flying North. Well as i need both i was standing by his side in the hide within about 30 minutes. The Black Wit ( 106 ) seemed to be having slight problems walking and did try to fly off at one stage but came back, i think it was one pretty tired bird. As you can see from the photos it is a ringed bird and a quick look on the net revealed that it was ringed in Iceland as a chick. I have sent the photos off so i expect we will have more information soon. Not much else happened during the day, a few Buzzards came and went and a couple of Red Kites. With the forecast of light rain for the morning im hoping that a tern finally appears.

Long day rewarded

2010-04-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

After getting to the farm for 5.30 this morning i was starting to get a bit despondent when nothing had shown or called by 8.30. With a fly by LRP and Wheatear things were finally starting to pick up. Luckily Frankie managed to pick out a Dunlin ( 103 ) on the Tern ( or should that be lack of Tern ) raft. Then i picked up a still unidentified wader coming up of the lake and flying towards the lagoons, not good when they fly between you and the sun!!! Size wise and bill structure looks good for Ruff. Frankie decided to walk up to 100 Acre to see what else was moving ( mistake ) and it was while he was gone that i had a Kittiwake ( 104 photos 154 farm list ) fly over and head North. Straight on the phone to him but he couldn't pick it up in flight. When he returned we scanned the lake a few times but the bird had gone. Just as i had packed my camera away and was deciding to leave all the gulls and crows went up. This is normally a good sign that a raptor is on its way over, they dont always do it for Buzzards, i think they are getting used to them. But this time everything went up so we knew it was going to be a good bird, Frank picked it up over the lake, a nice female Marsh Harrier ( 105 ) a couple had already been seen this year so it was a good claw back bird. This was followed by a couple of Buzzards and then a Red Kite which flew of South, then another couple of Buzzards and then nothing it all stopped and we went home.

Tickety de tick

2010-04-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

A good morning today. Managed to get four photo ticks for the year, they were Ringed plover ( 99 ) Lesser Whitethroat ( 100 ) Sedge Warbler ( 101 ) and last but by no means least Reed Warbler ( 102 ). The only downer on the day was a Grasshopper Warbler that gave out about three trills and then silent !!! Would have been a patch tick. Quite a few hirrundines moving through and usual Buzzard movement.

But still no Ouzel or Tern

At last

2010-04-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Met Frankie about 7 am in the hide. There were a pair of Little Ringed Plovers displaying round the Northern lake but proved almost impossible to photograph as the birds were between me and the sun. We decided to stand on the mound for a while. From here we have views all the way to London, easy to see Wembley to the North West. Whilst walking up there we had a couple of Wheatear an obliging Skylark and a Green Sandpiper on the Lagoons. Frank picked out a Swift ( 96 ) over Sutton. After a few hours with only a single Buzzard and a couple of Yellow Wagtails ( heard ) we decided to go back down to the hide. As we got there the unmistakable call of a male Pheasant ( 97 ) caught our attention and there in between the gates a nice male was walking up and down ( a very hard bird to get at the farm ). A few more Yellow Wags passed over, a Common Sand ( 98 ) landed on the raft and some House Martins passed high through the wires. As for Buzzards, ended up with 17+ sightings, once again all Juv birds. Back again tomorrow, any chance of a Tern?

Its still to windy

2010-04-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Arrived today about 6.30, was just scouring the South Lake when i got a text from Frankie telling me that there was a Barnacle Goose on the North Lake. Quickly making my way over, the goose was standing on an island about half way across the lake. I know it cant be counted as a tick as a single bird raises concerns about wether it is a wild bird or from a collection. It didn't stay to long before flying off. John turned up about 10 minutes later and while scanning the area where the goose had been a Greenshank ( 94 ) popped up and quickly fed along the shoreline before also flying off eventually going down on Jim's Bed.
A phone call from Ian alerted us to the presence of a Yellow Wagtail and Lesser Whitethroat in the South East corner. As i had ' dogzilla ' with me i couldn't walk over but John and Frank went to investigate. Just as well i didn't as after about 30 minutes i picked up a wader flying from the lake, quick burst with the camera and i had captured a Ruff ( 95 ) it flew of South at first but quickly came back and also looked like it had gone down around Jim's bed.
The forecast for the weekend is for sunny days and the wind finally settling down. Hopefully with a lighter wind and change of direction it might be enough to finally start pushing the migrants through, may even get to 100 before the weekend is over.

A quick hour

2010-04-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Managed a quick hour down the farm today. John was just leaving said he had been falling asleep so i didnt think there would be much about. Still hour to kill. Well he was right, nothing of note about - and i forgot my bins !! So who knows what flew past at height lol.

Love is in the air

2010-04-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Something was stirring down the farm today. Decided after a couple of dull days that i would go and do some work for a change. Had only managed a couple of hours when the text came through that a Whimbrel had flown South over the lake. Executive decision time, work or farm? Guess what 30 minutes later i was sitting in the hide, waiting, expectant but unrewarded in the end - and oh my, it was freezing almost bitter. Our hide doesnt have a front to it. Its great when the wind is from the South or West, almost cosy you could say. But when that wind decides to come from the North its time to get the winter clothes on, except when you come from work with just a flimsy fleece. Still tomorrow will be better im sure - hope - please !!!!

These two put on a display which was amazing. But why do they have to turn there backs on me when they create that amazing heart shape? Oh, and why does it have to be so cloudy that iso is nearly 400... As i say tomorrow will be better.

93 Species Now

2010-04-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well not alot going on over the weekend, the buzzard movement came to an end with a shift in the wind direction. How disappointing, still we had about 32 birds over three days so it was good to see. On Saturday at one point there were 4 Buzzards in the air together, looking at the photos its apparent that some of these birds must be roosting up somewhere local. There is one bird ( Agnes ) her tail is missing half its feathers so she is easy to pick put at distance, i saw her on three different occasions on three days so im sure she is a local bird. I call her a ' she ' as the first time i saw her she was displaying with a suitor over the main lake. When i get time i will put some photos up and if anyone recognizes her then let me know. Best bird over the weekend was a Red Kite that came in low from the South, the every ready Frankie picked it out while it was a tiny dot in the distance ( ish ). Have managed to add House Martin, Greylag and Whitethroat to the list now. Only down side is that its only about a week till Kojack is back and i still havent closed the list on him!!!!

Raptor watch

2010-04-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

With sunshine on the forecast and a slight north wind it could only mean one thing down the farm and thats raptor time. Last year we had over the space of three days 50 odd buzzard come over the farm, biggest group was 6 birds with the lead bird mewing as it went overhead. Well today we had 17 buzzard, it could be start of displacement from there winter roosts, and luckily for me they seem to like coming over the farm. It could be the flocks of gulls in the air that attract them in or the stinky rubbish tip we just dont know. The birds which are not often picked up by Graham down in Holmethorpe or David Lindo at the scrubs, seem to come down for a little look at the farm and can then be seen rising back up on thermals to shoot them across London. They leave us and go off in a North Westerly direction. I think last year only two of the birds were adults, which you would expect as they should all be holding territory now.

The hide in skaville

2010-04-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

After yesterday when nothing of note was seen, today was a welcome surprise. With a strong south westerly wind blowing and only occasional sunshine it was good to be kept entertained by a near constant flow of hirundines. With a total of 80+ Sand Martin ( 90 ), 50+ Swallow and a single House Martin its good to think that the days will be getting warmer. Only a single buzzard in large raptors. But a 1st year female Peregrine kept the corvids on their toes with some nifty aerial acrobatics. Weather for tomorrow looks good for large raptors so hopefully a Marsh Harrier will come into view.

Total now 90 Birds

Frankie no tick !!!

2010-04-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

Day started with a text from Grant telling me that two pintail had just flown over, bugger i need them as a farm tick. As i woke and heard the rain lashing against the window i thought i would have another hour or two in bed - its the price you pay lol. When i got to the farm i had a singing Willow Warbler ( 87 ) singing just off the bridge so got a couple of photos of that. In the hide not much was happening really, John had gone off for a walk, Grant was going to the cafe and i was thinking of going to watch the football, then the call of a Curlew could be heard and there not far away were two Curlew ( 88 ), they continued South West - did holmethorpe get them? Grant left not long after and as to be expected an Osprey ( 89 ) came in from the South, i say as to be expected cause Grant still needs Osprey having dipped on 5 or 6 occasions by leaving just a tad to early lol. Also through the day were Chiffchaffs, Snipe, Shellduck, Greensands etc etc. Migration is upon us at last.

Year total is now 89 birds photographed

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well im hoping it is a happy easter.. Nothing today of note. Did see the GC Grebe catch a fish which is amazing as i didnt realise there were any in the lakes. Recently have added Little Ringed and the GC Grebe to the total. Its now standing at 86 birds, but with a few easy ( or so i thought ) birds to get im hoping to get the list moving along again. Holmethorpe are doing well this spring, and Devil Birder managed to get two Black Redstarts on his patch - so fingers crossed.

tick tick tick tick

2010-03-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Been a good couple of days. Yesterday ( Tuesday 23rd ) got a text from badge saying that Nick had got a firecrest on mile road bridge, luckily i had finished work and was already driving home from Raynes Park. But as can be expected every learner, red light and roadwork had to be in my way!!! Eventually got to the farm where the bird showed amazingly well. Didn't have my camera but managed to get a rubbish shot with my phone camera ( yes that how close it was ). Back again on Wednesday morning incase it was still around. Paul was already on the bridge but the bird didn't show, in compensation i got a blackcap, even hand holding in poor light its still ok. Decided that i would remove the 1.4 x converter from the camera for the day as i noticed that some of my photos were showing slight signs of degrading. Not sure it made any difference though ( just a dodgy camera man ). Still on to bikers field. Before i even got to the woodland i could hear a nuthatch, and as that was the target bird i was happy with that. The bird stayed high in the trees but i managed to get a couple of shots. next on the list was a redshank that Paul had found on 100 acre, couldn't locate the bird from ' stringers perch ' so a phone call later and the bird was found sitting on the back of the island. It flew around for a little bit but with such poor light and hand holding the 500mm the photos leave a little bit to be desired.

The peregrine above is either carrying nesting material or the pigeon that it bumped into left some feathers behind.
Had a walk around this evening with Kojack and got Water Pipit so the year total is now on 83 species photographed. Things are hotting up with reports of Hobby and Bar Wits over London. Watch this space.

Migration has started

2010-03-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

A good weekend down the farm. Starting on Saturday with a small movement of Sand Martins. The low cloud and drizzle kept the birds quite low so it was easy to pick them up as they flew through. 16 in total for the day, didnt get any photos though as the light levels were so bad that i couldnt get a fast enough exposure time. Im sure its a bird i will get later in the year though. A couple of Egyptian geese briefly visited the north lake in the morning and male and female peregrines played havoc with the gulls and starlings.
On Sunday Neil found a group of wheatears on the mound, though they initially kept there distance with a little patience one male came close enough to get a good photo. There were about 4 buzzards seen during the day but none close enough to photograph. Back at the lake and Neil got on to a kingfisher, i was amazed that i got a photo as it was only seconds as it flew past. Ok i know it wont win any prizes, but its another year tick.

Total now is 78 birds.