Chiltern Birder

The heavy frosts before Christmas brought a lot of birds into the garden but mostly more of the same. A few stray house sparrows appeared from time to time and a solitary long tailed tit made a single visit to the fat feeder. On Christmas Eve a walk down Bottom Lane was interesting. About a quarter mile from the nearest house there were some bullfinches in the hedgerow. The first that I have seen locally, while a red kite spent a lot of time overhead. I don't know what is happening about the crazy idea of redesignating the cluster of bridleways between Botley and Waterside as "byways open to all traffic", I just hope it has died the death it deserves. Boxing Day gave a brief glimpse of a blackcap on the lilac in the garden but the movement as I reached for the bins to get a better look frightened it off. The statutory family visit that afternoon gave a nice view of a buzzard along the M10

I had to make a trip to Stoke Mandeville Hospital this morning. In slightly misty conditions there was only one red kite to be seen, just on the Aylesbury side of Wendover. At the hospital itself there were redwings on the grass just outside the room I was in, with one being very close giving a superb view of the plumage. I haven't seen any around the village for a few years, I don't know if this is due to the birds being absent or my being absent at key times. In the garden the pair of collared doves finally returned after a prolonged absense. They make a nice change from the wood pigeons, as long as they keep quiet. The pinhead oatmeal in the ground hopper is proving popular with a song thrush who has returned to the garden several times. Normally it is quite unusual to see a thrush in the garden. There were only two robins around today but they kept up a fascinating dance around the feeders. The dominant bird (clearly brighter red plumage) would visit the feeder while the ot

With some cold dry weather there has been a lot of activity on the feeders this weekend. With three different robins visiting the garden there have been fewer fights than I would have expected. The sight of the weekend has been a robin regularly visiting the starling feeder with a pair of beady eyes peeping over the top of the fat bar. As I had run out of sunflower hearts I topped up the ground hopper with pinhead oatmeal which seems to have been very popular. I even had a song thrush inside the cage which is a first. Althogther the weekend has included goldfinches, chaffinches, great tits, blue tits, coal tits, marsh/willow tit (I must learn how to distinguish those), blackbird, song thrush, robin, dunnock and wood pigeon. Unusually for this area a heron also flew across the garden during the day. I haven't seen any long tailed tits or greenfinches around here for a while and there wasn't a single house sparrow around during the weekend.

A business trip to Oxford today showed just how commonplace the red kite has become. I am not complaining but I saw pairs at Chesham, Askett, Longwick, Thame and the Oxford Services. The clear weather meant that in several cases the colouring of the plumage was distinctly visible. After last years dry autumn it was good to see the water meadows around Thame flooded this year. Even nicer was a flock of lapwings in a field just above the water level. The trip meant that I had an opportunity to see my garden feeders in daylight. While having breakfast I saw chaffinch, blue tit, great tit and coal tit. That made me think it was time to expand the feeding and now have one seed feeder, one fat bar and seed on the ground tray.

I decided that it was time to start feeding seriously again and filled the main seed feeder with high energy mix and put a scoop of "blackbird mix" on the ground tray. The dunnock that was in the garden at the time showed a singular lack of interest. Later I heard the sound of a wood pigeon taking to the air and had a look out of the window. A pigeon was feeding from the ground tray and a starling was on the feeder. Within the next few minutes the feeder was visited by a pair of marsh or willow tits (too difficult to tell apart in the rather poor light this afternoon), a great tit and a blue tit. Altogether an encouraging start for the season.

October is probably the quietest month for garden feeding. It seems a little busier than previous years, I put out a small amount of food in one feeder and it vanished in a week. I have filled one seed feeder now and food is being taken. With the lighter mornings now the clocks have gone back I have noticed a robin and a great tit but the garden is still generally quiet. When this batch of food is taken I will put out another feeder as well. I haven't had any real birding opportunities this month and neither have I seen much while travelling around. A brief glimpse of a large bird of prey on the M25 (probably a buzzard) and another even more briefly glimpsed near Leighton Buzzard (possibly a kite). The one nice sighting a couple of weeks ago was a pair of lapwing flying across the road on the flat land just on the Hemel side of the Leighton Buzzard by pass.

With the days getting shorter it is only getting dark as I come home and only just light in the mornings. I was was just thinking this morning that I would probably start seeing muntjac in the dark when one walked slowly out in front of the car. The real surpise was that I hadn't actually left the village at that point. Although I have had damage in my garden this is the first that I have actually seen among the houses. With the numbers around Chesham this year red kites hardly seem worth mentioning but I did see one being mobbed yesterday. By a trick of the rather poor early morning light they seemed quite close and giving the impression of a single blackbird or starling doing the attacking but, knowing the size of a kite, I assume it was a crow.

Red kites are becomming quite commonplace over Chesham now. This morning I had an excellent view of one circling over the town centre and have seen several others recently. Once in the town of course it is the colony of jackdaws that is obvious with a chorus of "jack jack jack" as the soundtrack for any shopping trip. Out of the town jays suddenly seem more obvious as several have crossed my path in the last couple of days. Autumn is finally making an appearance with leaves starting to turn and a good crop of berries on my rowan tree. I wouldn't normally expect any garden birds at this time of year but I have seen suggestions that the rather odd seasons that we have experienced by disrupt feeding patterns so I may put a little food in one feeder to test reaction.

There is not much to see in the garden at this time of year. The usual selection of yellowhammers, swallows, starlings, crows, magpies and pheasants can be seen on the drive to the station. A trip to Yorkshire last month showed how buzzards seem to be flourishing as I sa w two along the A1 in the vicinity of Peterborough. At Whitby there was the usual selection of sea birds, dominated by herring gulls as usual. I was very lucky when taking a walk on the East Pier at high tide as there as a seal fishing between the pier and the rocks. Luckily I had the camera in my bag. Earlier today I was pleased to see a red kite flying above Chesham as I hadn't seen one in the area for several months

Being in Essex today it seemed a good opportunity to drop in to Gunpowder Park in the Lee Valley. Desipite the continual noise from the M25 it is a nice peaceful place. There is a wonderful display of wild flowers and a variety of habitats. In the open areas the main element of bird life seemed to be the magpies although we were lucky to see a kingfisher fly across looking like a jewelled exocet. The flood relief channel on the western boundary was home to coot and mallard but the water was clear showing us some huge fish (carp?) on the bed. Among the carefully mixed habitats were an osier beds enclosing a shallow pond. None of the promised birds were on the water but four herons were fishing. I think they were all juveniles but without bins I could only be sure of two. At home, like last year, the kites seem to have vanished from the area. I have finished feeding for the summer and am seeing very few birds in the garden but yellowhammers and goldfinches are a regular sight as I drive

I glanced out of the window as I was sitting down with my dinner and thought "that's and odd looking collared dove". A second look picked out the striped patches on the neck and the colour of the wings and I realised that it was a turtle dove. I then realised that I had heard it calling earlier but it hadn't registered at the time. Its the first time that I have seen or heard a turtle in this area and have never seen one so close. The robins have a brood, I saw one taking food away. A blackbird was feeding its chick and the young blue tits are now feeding themselves. Starling numbers have dropped slightly, groups are mostly in single figures and haven't seen anything like the 20 plus groups cleaning the feeders out in hours a few days ago. A one litre fat bar has lasted all day and there should be some tomorrow as well. Other birds in the garden today have been wood pigeon, house sparrow, chaffinch and goldfinch. Out and about there were three kites over fields j

Its time for a few "aaahhh" moments at the feeders. As well as the starlings being out in force both blue tits and coal tits brought their chicks into the garden to feed. The blue tits came out into the open and occasionally pecked at things around them but made no move to feed themselves. Not even the one who took refuge in the hanging cage containing one of the fat bars. The blackbirds must have chicks nearby as both male and female were in and out of the garden either taking worms or gathering what they could from the ground tray. A solitary wood pigeon made some entertaining efforts to take seed from the feeders but after the ground tray was topped up returned to that. At one point he was pecking quite viciously at the starlings and keeping them off. Both chaffinches and goldfinces were also present for most of the day. In late afternoon a female pied woodpecker put in an appearance and flew off with a beak full of fat. Never having seen one locally until this month this

At least one brood of starlings have been regular visitors to the feeder and today the fledglings got the hang of taking the food for themselves. Other broods must be less developed as adults were still taking away quantities of fat. The tits aren't so common at the moment, I don't know if this is because they have dispersed, if wild food is available or if pressure from the starlings has driven them off. Single blue tits are dropping in fairly regularly and a coal tit took fat away as well. The woodpecker seems to have become a regular visitor and still has a brood to feed. He definitely comes before the starlings in the pecking order and keeps them off the feeder until he has finished. The new feeder with perching rings is popular with the chaffinches and the goldfinches, the latter suddenly seem to prefer the high energy mix to the nyjer seed. With all this demand for feeding young ones the fat is going down very rapidly and I am putting larger quantities out on the ground t

I put a block of fat out on the ground tray this morning and within two minutes there was a greater spotted woodpecker gathering a beak full. It then promptly flew off, presumably taking the food to a nearby brood. Varous writers have remarked on the early breeding of robins this year and, as mentioned in previous posts, I have already seen a juvenile in the garden. The adults are carrying off more fat so it looks as if they are raising a second brood. The starlings are also still carrying food away although I will expect to see juveniles within the next fortnight. There have been a few swallows around Ley Hill but for swifts the place at the moment seems to be Ferry Lane in Walthamstow as there are huge numbers over the reservoir there.

The driver's seat of a car is not the optimum position for bird watching. A lot of birds do cross the field of vision but there are only a few that are distinctive enough to identify at speed. The red kite is one of these and today I had to travel down to Goring on the Thames between Reading and Oxford. This involved following the edge of the Chiltern escarpment at around 8am this morning. Most journeys that I make in that area are going towards Oxford and I typically see between 1 and 3 kites. Today I saw 12 with groups of 3 at Watlington and 4 at Benson. It was striking how they seemed to be concentrating over the larger villages. Coming back the concentration over Watlington was even higher, they were mostly at chimney pot height and I couldn't make an acurate count but there were at least half a dozen. As they crossed my line of site at close range in a traffic queue, I was able, for a change, to appreciate the full beauty of their plumage but it was more than a little dist

As I was in Chesham this morning I wondered what the state of the Chess was after several dry weeks. Was the flow we have been seeing all run off or had there been some recovery of the water table? It seems that we are seeing groundwater from the springs higher up the valley. The flow was stronger than ever, at Water Lane it was right up to the path. Not only that but the mallards had raised a brood but there was also a grey wagtail active among the weeds. I had always regarded the return of a grey wagtail as a sign that there as life in the river again. Passing through Chesham Bois I thought there was something odd about the display of bluebells on the common. Stopping, I realised that they were in rather unnatural clumps and on closer inspection found that somebody had been "improving" the environment by planting the Spanish variety out in the wild! At home the robins have raised a brood, while I was weeding the garden this afternoon a juvenile suddenly appeared and perched

Heard my first of the year this evening while standing in the back garden. Nothing else to write but I just wanted to make a note of the date.

Yes its bluebell time again. The woods around here are full of them. It is also the time for suicidal baby rabbits. One sat in front of the car this evening, obviously trying to escape detection by staying perfectly still. I backed up for a couple of feet and it finally decided to move. On the bird front I haven't seen a lot, mainly because I haven't had much time to spend looking. I discovered why there are no sparrows in my garden, they are all at the other end of the village where the older houses have real hedges rather than fences and conifers. My lilacs and crab apple at the back and rowan at the front are not sufficient compensation. Travelling around during April I have seen a few birds of prey. On Good Friday there was a buzzard above the M25 at junction 23 and later in the month there was a red kite at Great Missenden and another near Thame . A trip on the south side of the M25 last weekend gave a puzzling glimpse. There was a large bird of prey near Clacket Lane Se

With the roads quiet for the school holidays yesterday I was lucky to see a red legged partridge near Ley Hill. Just for a change he decided to run into the adjacent field rather than the usual partridge trick of running directly away from the car along the road. With spring here no doubt I will be seeing the usual crop of baby rabbits and squirrels among the road kill. The main garden visitor seems to be the dunnocks which love the ground blend except for the dried fruit. That has to wait for the blackbirds which don't seem as common as last year. The suet treats that I have been trying only seem to get taken by blackbirds and a handful is lasting several days. The nyjer seed is hardly being taken at all now, the goldfinches seem to have moved on. The tits are not coming in great numbers but I am still seeing long tailed as well as blue and great. Starlings are very occasional visitors at the moment, no doubt when the young ones are fledged they will swamp the fat feeder as they h

The local mallard population seems to have discovered the improved state of the River Chess. In recent days I have seen them swimming on the river at Chesham Moor and taking off from the vicinity of the water gardens. Downstream I regularly see large groups of swans on the water meadows around Latimer. Despite the recent cold snap the feeders are not being cleared at the rates I would have expected from previous years. I am still getting a good selection of birds in the garden however, today I have seen robin, dunnock, starling, house sparrow, goldfinch, wood pigeon, blue tit and long tailed tit. One dunnock chose to sing from the tip of a tree this morning which had me hoping for a new visitor for a second until I was able to get a better look. Driving back from the garden centre today I saw a large bird of prey over Latimer Bottom. I didn't get a clear view and am not sure if it was a buzzard or a red kite. I have seen both in that area before.

Yes, it is actually light when I set out for work now so I am starting to see more birds. Plenty of corvids of course and assorted sbjs in the hedgerows plus the occasional suicidal cock pheasant wandering around in the middle of the road. Yesterday I was pleasantly suprised to see a heron right by the side of the road in the water meadows at Latimer. I think some hedgerow must have been cleared there as I don't remember a view into the field at that point. I think it is about the closest that I have ever been to a standing heron. He would have been away in a flash if I had been on foot. I think I have only seen cormorants at this point on a couple of occasions but I did see one flying up the valley recently. After birding in the Lea Valley it seems odd to think of a cormorant as unusal but they are nowhere near as common in the Chilterns.

A heavy fall this time, closing local schools and making driving very difficult in the village. As well as a sudden abundance of sledges in the str eet there was a lot of activity on the feeders. The ground tray was covered and almost impossible to identify but a little work with the spade uncovered it once it had stopped snowing. Earlier I had thrown food under the hedge where the ground was partially exposed and had the sight of wood pidgeons shovelling the snow aside with their heads in order to find seeds that had fallen through. The starlings were very active on the feeders as well as tits and robins. There were one or two sparrows but they were greatly outnumbered by the chaffinches which seem far more common this year. The pleasant surprises were a coal tit and a song thrush. The thrush is seen occasionally but the resident blackbird usually chases it away. The goldfinches abandoned the nyjer seed this afternoon and suddenly took to the high energy mix on the main feeder. This i

I managed a trip to the Lee Valley Country Park yesterday. Not an intensive birding session, just a gentle stroll with the bins around the northern end of Forty Acres, Holyfield and back down alongside the Flood Relief Channel. Works to reprofile the islands and remove scrub meant that I saw flocks of lapwings in Forty Acres, something I have missed for the last few years. Somebody with a scope mentioned snipe as well. On the lake were a pretty standard collection of water fowl, but then unless you see a bittern or rail in the reeds that lake is normally quite predictable. Up at Holyfield I was surprised not to see any goosander, which are normally present at this time of year, and hoped in vain for smew. I did see a party of ruddy duck, a mature drake, a juvenile and a female. The high point was seeing a grebe take a fish. Of course he kept his back to use while I was trying to photograph him with the fish in his beak. Surprisingly there was not a single gull perched on the boom at Ho

The first snow of the winter came today. Not too bad up here but the need to earn a living meant that I had left the house before the birds were about. I did see a very handsome fox sheltering under a bush as the train was entering Rickmansworth though. With recent storms the Chess was finally well filled when I drove through Waterside last Sunday. It will be interesting to see for how long the flow is maintained through the spring and summer.

I had to pay a visit to my company's Chesham branch to day so, after the heavy rain over the bank holiday weekend I spent a little of my lunch hour checking out the state of the River Chess. Due to flash flooding a number of local premises had been sandbagged but under the Town Bridge the river had a flow that would have once been more appropriate to high summer. Finally there is water flowing in the river above Wright's Meadow. I won't feel that the river has recovered, however, until I see a grey wagtail in it again.