Chiltern Birder

The sultanas on the ground feeder are being eaten. On two occasions today I saw a hen blackbird hop up to it and take one or two. She would take the sultana and hop away with it and then return for the next one rather than eat at the feeder. When I put out some more fat treats a robin was down almost before I moved away pecking at the dried mealworms embedded in them. Next time I looked out they had all gone. I am guessing a magpie as there are plenty about but I haven't seen one take them. I might try suet pellets instead when these run out. After driving out to the farm where we always buy our Christmas bird we did some shopping in Thame. The water meadows on the edge of the towm were flooded with a large flock of black headed gulls in residence. Not much else to see apart from the usual crop of red kites throughout the journey.

I was about to go out at noon when I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue came on the radio so I decided stay in for another 30 minutes and break my habit of doing the washing up in one evening session. This meant that the fat feeder on the quince tree was actually visible for a change. A great tit was feeding on it but the excitement was a pair of long tailed tits, the first of the winter to be seen in the garden. They worked over the tree, ignoring the feeder and returned a little later to repeat the process. Also ignoring the feeder a female great spotted woodpecker spent some time on the tree. In the back garden only a robin has been seen on the fat feeder while fat pieces keep getting taken from the ground feeder when I am not watching. Whatever is doing it defintiely doesn't like the sultanas which still seem to be untouched.

Driving around the M25 this morning I had an annoyingly brief glimpse of a flock of lapwings taking flight from the fields between junctions 26 and 25. Any other spiecies and I might have been hard pushed for the identifictation but there is no mistaking the way lapwing wingws curl in flight or the pale flash on every beat. Flocks like that are far less common these days. I also had another glimpse on the egret on Boxmoor. If I was a determined twitcher I could note three spiecies of egret within a short drive at the moment which is something that still comes as a suprise. At home the blackbirds have stripped the rowan tree and have, I assume from where they take flight when I come home, been sampling the few fallen quinces that I failed to remove from the lawn last week. I put a fat block in a feeder on one of the quince trees a couple of days ago and there are some beak marks on it but I have yet to see any birds on it. In the back garden, having finished the box of fat treats I

A rather damp misty day today with that grey light that seems to drain the colour from things at any distance. Giving the front garden some much overdue tidying I was distracted by a pair of blackbirds taking berries from the rowan tree in the garden. There was a good crop this year and most have now been taken although this is the first opportunity that I have had to see this in action. While I was watching I realised that there was a lot of activity in the treetops in Broomstick Lane and saw a flock of redwing making their way along the canopy towards Ley Hill. They stayed in the high branches and followed the line of the lane very precisely with none spilling out to the lower trees in the gardens.

Driving through Hemel on my way to east London yesterday I spotted a hunched white shape on Boxmoor as I turned from London Road into Station Road. I had no chance to determine what species of egret it was but recent sightings in Gadebridge Park nearby suggest that a little egret is most likely.  A red kite over St Alban's Road is no longer a cause of suprise but despite the clear afternoon I saw none beyond the Park Street roundabout on the A414. Crossing the Lea valley as dusk approached the passage of gulls to roost wasn't at its most impressive but I could see group after group heading south over a fairly narrow band between the river and Epping Forest. After Bell Common Tunnel there was one stray group following the east side of the ridge and then only the occasonal singleton.

There is not much activity in the garden during the day but there was quite a little flurry at around 9:30 with a succession of blue tits and one great tit taking fat from the feeder. When they moved on all activity seemed to cease although some fat treats that I put on the ground feeder were taken without me seeing anything there. That is something that has been happening all week. Walking into Chesham a kite circling over the White Hill Centre was making a lot of noise calling almost continuously.

Still not much action on the feeders but there are some hints of winter around. There are thrushes flocking however, I saw some crossing Botley Road today, too far and high to identify the species unfortunately. Its time to keep a good look out for fieldfare and redwing. There wasn'n a lot of damage from the recent gale but everything in Cowcroft Wood seems to be covered in a layer of fallen leaves and small branches. In places the surface of the ponds looks no different to solid ground, as I found to my cost today.  

For the first time in quite a few years I was able to find time for a trip to Leigh on Sea. I hadn't checked the tide tables and took my good bins but not the scope so I didn't see a lot but there were some old favorites taht I hadn't seen for a long time. On arrival we parked in the car park on the marshes. This was free last time I was there but the princely sum of one pound wasn't going to break the bank. An old boat, partially sunk in the mud was totally covered in redshank while another, afloat this time, seemed to be home to most of the resident turnstones. There were some changes around the cockle sheds but in the old town itself Osbornes were still providing traditional sea food and the wonderfully old fashioned Strand Cafe seemed unchanged with soft roes on toast on the menu just like my last visit. Its always a hard choice between the two. As the tide went out the turnstones swarmed along the shore while the brent geese just seemed to put their feet down

Laying in my bath this morning I was rather disturbed by what seemed to be a very tall caller tapping at the first floor bathroom window. Looking up I them saw a succession of tits landing on the vent in the window pecking at insects between the vanes of the fan. Because of the frosted glass I wasn't sure if these were blues or greats. I thought that the garden was quiet a few weeks ago but it is even more so now. The occasional visits to the feeder seem to have ceased and the only interest was a green woodpecker flying over the house last week. In the fields however the skylarks are still vocal and the autumn colours are a magnificent mix of greens and golds.

Driving home from Chenies today I had a strange encouter with a buzzard. On the lane between Flaunden Bottom and Ley Hill a buzzard was flying, in the same direction as me between the hedgerows persued by a crow. Unfortunately I couldn't take in the full effect of this as I had to negotiate oncoming traffic in the single track road. Yesterday a buzzard was circling above Cowcroft Wood and making a lot of noise. Apart from crows and kites there was not much else in the way of birds but there was a rather handsome puffball in the pasture between Broomstick Lane and the wood. I had left my phone on charge so I didn't manage a picture. Last week I visited Fishers Green and again not much to report. It was a little early for winter migrants and there was the usual selection of water fowl but far fewer gadwall than last year. In the garden I have had a few sunflower seeds in the feeder and these have been gradually taken, mostly by robins. I have added a small fat bar today, I

The first hints of the autumn colours are now appearing, particularly last week on Boxmoor Common. The other, less welcome, autumn colour was the purple droppings on the car bonnet after parking under a tree. The garden is quiet as usual but one unusual sight was a buzzard over the M11 / M25 junction in Essex. That's the first time that I have seen one in the Roding Valley. Mentioning bird droppings I was in St Albans a couple of weeks ago and walked around the lake in the Verulam Park. I was struck by how clean the path was compared with that around Skottows Pond in Chesham. I assume that the local authority has been pricking goose eggs as there were only about a dozen canadas visible in the whole park.

I haven't been paying much attention to the birds recently but driving back from Yorkshire I saw a pair of red kites just east of Otley. The releases have been on the Harewood estate which was only a few miles down the road so this is a very likely location for kites in the area. Coming back on the A1 we saw a kestrel and there was a surprisingly large flock of starlings on a grassy bank at Birchanger Green

Yesterday I saw a kite swooping across a field in their usual manner. A crow came across the field in flying in a straigt line and I could see that they were on a collision course. When the crow came close the kite suddenly swerved away while the crow continued on its way without any change of course. The skylarks were giving their usual chorus. Both yesterday and today I found myself walking through clouds of meadow brown butterflies along the woodland edges.

The feeder seemed to go mad yesterday with a dozen starling chicks trying to get at the fat. At one point they were even standing on top of each other. Apart from that the coal tits obviously have a brood as I keep seeing the adults taking beakfuls of food away. Also in the garden I saw a small copper butterfly. Driving home in the late evening on Tuesday I saw something large for a stoat but small for a ferret running away from me on the road from Latimer to Ley Hill. I didn't get a frontal view but judging by the colour I would guess a juvenile polecat. Across the fields it would have been less than half a mile from the other individual that I have seen here. Walking across the fields today there were three or four skylarks visible but only one singing.

One of the stranger sights on the fat feeder is the pigeons who have really taken to the fat bars. At one point there was a wood pigeon on the feeder being pecked at by a starling and totally ignoring him despite some breast feathers being pulled out. That indivudual was identfiable for several days by the feathers. The juvenile starlings are appearing on the feeders now making a lot of noise and sometimes sitting on the fat bar itself and demanding to be fed.

As we often do on the Spring Bank Holiday we visited Bampton in Oxfordshire. The lack of swifts over the village was noticeable during the day. On one occasion a grand total of three flew overhead. Then just before five the sky seemed to explode with them although numbers still seemed low when I tried to count, not an easy process as they insist on moving all the time. In previous years I have regarded this as very much on the edge of the range of the Chiltern red kites but this time there were several individuals over the village for most of the time. I was also lucky today to see one perched on a lamp post on Gore Hill in Amersham. You seldom have an opportunity to see the bird in a context that gives you a true guide to its size. On the same journey a kestrel was, sadly, an unusual sight for me hovering over the roundabout by the Beaconsfield motorway services.

Looking back over previous posts this seems to be the normal time to hear a cuckoo in the hills around here. Walking across the field between Broomstick Lane and Cowcroft Wood I could hear one in the direction of Tylers Hill Road. In the woods the bluebells were making a magnificent show but birds could only be heard rather than seen. In the garden we seem to be getting starlings, blue, great and coal tits, blackbirds, robins and dunnocks. Magpies have started coming into the garden and a pair of wood pigeons seem to be resident rather than just visiting.

Between Sunday and Thursday the bluebells have come out. Walking in Cowcroft Wood at the weekend the bluebells were all still green but driving back from Cheinies yesterday there were lovely displays in the woods and verges. I saw several herons along the Chess but no egrets. At home the balance of species at the feeders has changed. A magpie now comes and uses the fat feeder every day while starling numbers are increasing. The blackcap hasn't returned from some time and the long tailed tits seem to have moved on as well. We are still seeing blue and great tits and a coal tit made several visits today. A wood pigeon using the starling feeder was quite amusing while various small brown birds flitting rapidly in and out of shrubs may have been house sparrows.

After the cold weather it is now very warm. Garden activity is much the same with occasional starlings and long tailed tits as well as dunnocks, blackbirds, robins and blue and great tits. A chaffinch made a brief visit this morning, the first that I have seen in the garden for a while. The blackcap hasn't returned but I saw one by the side of Botley Road this morning as well as swallows swooping over the paddocks nearby. Both great spotted and green woodpeckers have been audible but none have been visible.

We took a trip out to Marsworth this morning. Plan A had been to walk around the reservoirs but, being the first nice day of the year, the car park was full as were nearby laybys. The number of people carrying scopes suggested that something rare had been sighted. Finding a parking space on the other side of the village we walked along the tow path towards Leighton Buzzard and saw a solitary swallow skimming the water. There was nothing else of note on the walk but back home the blackcap has been returning to the feeders. Always the cock bird.

With the warmer damp weather I was delighted to see a blackcap in the garden for the first time in over five years. It was a cock bird which returned to the fat feeder several times during the day. The robins have responded to the end of the cold snap by becoming far more agressive towards each other. We have also had the usual selection of birds with great tits, dunnocks, long tailed tits and blackbirds. In the garden the shrubs seem keen to catch up after the cold spell, the forsythia is finally in flower and the buds are breaking on the quince trees.

The prolonged cold spell has meant that spring is only just arriving. The crocuses have just come out and I am still waiting to see some blossom on the forsythia. In the garden we had a brief visit from a small group of house sparrows at the weekend. Apart from that the garden birds have been much the same as normal with blue and great tits, blackbirds, robins, dunnock and long tailed tits.

The recent unseasonable weather has brought back the snow, holding out a promise of a white Easter. It also brought a suprise with a pied wagtail coming to the starling feeder. When a wagtail does something other than run up and down with its tail wagging it does cause you to think about what you are looking at for a second. Certainly my first thought was that there was something odd about the "woodpecker". What has beem missing from the feeders has been the starlings. The main visitors at the moment seem to be the blackbirds and long tailed tits.

The birdsong is becoming more and more noticeable. Skylarks are present over the fields while the usual hedgerow selection is very obvious. Walking today I was lucky to see a partridge, I assume a red leg, running across a field. It then took flight with very rapid wing beats, making me think of a very large bumble bee. Badgers seem to be active judging by fresh digging and bedding scattered around but I have only seen road kill lately, and far too much of that. The garden feeders are not getting much trade. A couple of starlings and a handful of long tailed tits play very occasional visits but apart from that its the usual blackbirds, robins and blue and great tits.

For the first time in several years I spotted a goldfinch in the garden. It perched on one of the fat feeders, looked at the seed feeder full of sunflower hearts and then flew away. I don't think finches are really happy with hanging feeders. Apart from that I have been seeing blackbirds, blue tits and robins on the feeders. The starlings and long tailed tits seem to have moved on.

After the last snow melted it was very spring like. The birdsong was loud and the pasture near my house was full of fresh mole hills. While walking I was lucky to both see and hear a skylark. Walking yesteday with fresh snow everything was quiet again, I was quite struck by the silence at some points. Bluebell leaves were pushing through the snow and I came across some snowdrops in Bunns Lane, well away from any housing. One sign of spring has been the kites which have suddenly become far more vocal. In the garden the long tailed tits and starlings seemed to have vanished for a while but both have reappeared in the last couple of days. Certainly consumption has been far less than I would have expected.

The snow hasn't brought anything exciting to the garden. For the last couple of days we have had starlings, blue tits, robins and blackbirds and one brief glimpse of a wren at the bottom of the garden. Out walking yesterday it was cold and foggy. Just the usual woodland birds but in Cowcroft Wood a fox trotted out into the ride in front of me. It was a handsome beast and, in the still air, hadn't caught my scent. After a couple of seconds he became aware of me and loped off without much obvious concern. There were lots of signs of activity in the snow, particularly creatures digging down to get at the earth underneath. I assumed that it was foxes after beetles. There were also footprints of deer and rabbits had occupied a badger set, the droppings standing out clearly in the snow. What was also clear was that a some of out human neighbours regard farmland as a glorified theme park as there were several toboggan tracks going out into a sloping arable field where new crops wer

After yesterday's snow I took a rather muddy walk today. Temperatures were a little above freezing and I didn't have much opportunity to creep silently up to wildlife while squelching through deep mud. Walking along the edge of Cowcroft Wood these boisterous young chaps came to see if I happened to have a couple of sacks of cattle cake about my person. Bird life was not much different to the garden. Robins and blackbirds pretty well everywhere, a jay in the wood. It always seems odd the way such a large bird flies under the canopy. Along Bunns Lane there was a flock of long tailed tits while blue and great tits turned up all over the place and a solitary chaffinch appeared in a hedgerow. The red kites overhead pretty well go without saying these days. I did rather like this fungus that I saw on a tree in Ladies Wood.

Yes, finally I have seen a starling in the garden, something that hasn't happened for over a year. With snow falling for most of the day we had the unusual sight of long tailed tits and a blackbird sharing the fat feeder. We also had a brief visit from a blue tit, something else that has been ususual in the back garden recently while the robin is still the main consumer of sunflower hearts. And finally, late in the afternoon a solitary starling appeared and spent some time on the feeder.

Driving down the Chess Valley earlier today my attention was drawn to a pair of swans on the river and just beyond them on the bank was an egret. I couldn't take my eyes off the road to be sure of the species of course. I don't get along this section of the valley often enough to be sure if this is a vagrant or a resident in the area. The last one that I saw in the valley was seven years ago . Later, returning home via Latimer and Ley hill there was a deat muntjac by the road which would have provided good feeding for the kites if the lane wasn't so well trafficed. At home there has been no new variety although the regular flock of seven or eight long tailed tits always make enjoyable viewing on the feeder. With the recent wet weather there is now an excellent flow in the Chess above the Town Bridge and the mallards seem to have taken up long term residence. After the long dry spell, with a weir cutting off the upper reaches there are no fish visible any more.