Chiltern Birder

We have had very hard frosts for the last few days and I have been twice to Rickmansworth. Yesterday was simply a walk around Bury Lake but today was some serious birding on Stockers Lake. Parts of the lake were frozen and with a bright sun mist was rising off the ice. As usual in the middle of the day it was difficult to identify anything on the water from the north side of the lake with the sun so low although the wigeon were audible. Once on the south side with the sun behind things were much clearer. A red crested pochard was beautifully illuminated to show all the plumage and the bright red beak. There was a party of the birds among the islands as well as shoveller close to the shore. On the open water there were the usual mallards, gadwall, mute swans, tufties and coot as well as the flock of wigeon.

Activity has picked up a lot over the Christmas period. Suddenly the blue tits are out in force. A group will perch on a bush and one after the other will make the short dash to the feeder, grab a sunflower seed and return to the bush. The goldfinches and starlings dominate the feeders but we have also had brief visits from greenfinch, chaffinch, great tits and long tailed tits. Robins, blackbirds and dunnocks are regulars on the lawn and flowerbeds although the wrens haven't been seen for a little while.

After days of dank misty weather it was clear and crisp today, autumnal rather than wintry so I decided that some exercise across the fields was in order. Just for once I remembered to pick up the bins. There wasn't a lot going on at first apart from a lot of noise from the rooks but on the return leg I was walking along Bottom Lane and looking up towards Cowcroft Wood I could see a small party of deer grazing on the late summer planting of brassicas. The field glasses revealed five roe does. From the Cowcroft and Ladies Wood sides they were well concealed in dead ground but visible in the long view from the valley. They were far enough away not to be disturbed by me especially as the wind was in my face. This is the only the second time that I have been able to study roe deer in daylight and as they were unaware of me I could get views at all angles as they moved. Further on I left Bottom Lane to walk along the path on the ridge towards Tylers Hill. Apart from another view on

I happened to find myself near Rutland Water yesterday and decided, on the spur of the moment, to stop for a look around. Naturally I chose totally the wrong location for birding. With few people about there was a large flock of wigeon grazing on the short grass between the car park and the lake. Rather than frighten them I took a walk along the tarmac path that was set back from the shore. A good decision as I found that there was a flock of fieldfares in the hedgerow. Back home there seems to be a lot of thrush sized birds around staying too far away for identification. Judging by the behavour these were probably redwings. Nothing exotic has been happening in the garden although the wrens must have bred well this year as I keep seeing them in both front and back gardens. When seen close too they seem, if anything, to be even smaller than when observed from inside the house.

With the mild weather we are not seeing a lot of birds in the garden yet. The fat feeder in the front garden is seeing very little activity. In the back the starlings are busy with the fat feeder and goldfinches are regulars on the sunflower seeds. There are random visits by blue tits and this morning I was lucky enough to see a coal tit pay a very brief visit. At ground level a pair of wood pigeons stamp over the plants and a dunnock and a wren occasionally come out of hiding. Not far away in the fields there is a lot of activity. A flock of skylarks was busy among recently sprouted brassicas while yellowhammers were flitting through a hawthorn hedge. It was pure chance that one was still for long enough to be identified with the naked eye. Normally I only see them from the car when they find singing posts on roadside hedges in the spring. Away from home the River Chess is in a fairly poor way, at the moment rising from the spring by the Water Meadow car park in the town. It is sh

The fat block on the feeder in the front garden has been taken very slowly and it was only this week that I actually saw a blue tit feeding although that probably has more to do with the fact that I normally do the washing up in the evening. I did decide that it was time to order my winter feeding supplies (fat bars, sunflower hearts, dried mealworms and raisins) and start feeding in the back garden. The first fat bar went out yesterday and I was rewarded this morning by the sound of squabbling starlings (are there any other sort?). There were four or five, this years brood judging by the state of the plumage, on the fat feeder. I returned to checking my emails, sitting with my back to the window when a large shadow swept across the screen. At the same time the noise was cut off. Looking out of the window I could see one hiding under an overhanging branch in the hedge and one on the fence looking up at the sky. It had since gone quiet but I returned to the window before hitting the

I had quite a suprise driving back from the garden centre this afternoon. In the road between Latimer and Ley hill was a flock of ten juvenile pheasants, 7 cock birds and 3 hens. They proceeded to run down the lane away from the car milling back and forth across the road. One eventually ran down the side of the car and some of the others made for the hedgerows. As I carried on at walking pace the rest ran in front of me, one or two finally diving into the verge and the rest finally remembering their wings and taking flight.

As the weather seemed fine this morning we made a snap decision to visit Leigh on Sea. On arrival at mid day the tide was close to its fullest ebb and the waders were represented by a solitary redshank in Leigh Creek. The brent geese were present in large numbers on the flats very close to the edge of the creek. This was by far the best naked eye view that I have ever had of brents which let me observe some very agressive behaviour between individuals. In Leigh Creek there were a number of little egrets, I think 6 but they insisted on wandering behind moored fishing boats so I wouldn't be 100% sure. Again it was one of the best views that I had and it was striking how brilliant white they looked when juxtaposed with gulls. It was interesting to observe how they moved around stabbing at food rather than waiting like  heron. While the trees that we observed on the journey were well into the autumn change with some brilliant reds those on the south facing slope at Leigh were all s

With a forecast of good weather I decided see how the autumn colours were coming on. With a stop at Thame to visit the farmers' market I drove to Oxford University's Harcourt Arboretum. On the birding side the arboretum is home to a flock of feral pea fowl. I saw this fellow just as I came in. Despite the notices I am sure that enough visitors feed them to encourage them to lurk near the car park. There were too many leaves to see much in the way of small birds. Red Kites are now common enough for the one circling overhead to be unremarkable. I did disturb a green woodpecker and among recent planting I also started a solitary roe deer. It was a little early for much in the way of colour although the young trees in an area of new planting were all turning and the acers were well on the way to looking spectacular although the mature native trees were still largely green.

High summer and early autumn is always a quiet time for birds in my garden. I no longer feed after my summer holiday as I have ended up throwing away far to much mouldy fat or seed. Normally I would wait until November before putting the feeders back out but a party of long tailed tits appeared in the front garden today so I think that it might be worth while trying a single fat bar for the moment. For the past couple of weeks I have seen a lot of roadside signs saying "beware of deer" in places where I wouldn't normally see them. Last weekend I decided that they might be justified when I encountered a herd of roe deer in the road between Ley Hill and Latimer. While muntjac are seen often enough the roes tend to be shy and this was only the third time that I have had a good look at some in all the years that I have lived here.

Three days ago I heard a house sparrow on the gutter of the house opposite mine. Yesterday a cock sparrow was in my rowan tree, which is the first time that I have had one in the garden for more years than I can remember. The wrens in my bat box seem to have raised a brood. I have had bat boxes at two different properties and in both wrens have raised chicks. I have never had a single bat!

  I visited College Lake again on Tuesday. There was little difference in the birds from my previous visit although the wild flowers made some nice displays. My new phone proved its worth for taking photos. I still haven't heard a cuckoo this year but, annoyingly, one had been both heard and seen at the lake just before I arrived.  I did see a party of swifts which were my first of the year. At home the juvenile starlings made their first appearance. I large party were working over the front lawns and I was able to see them finding insects. Another party made a serious dent in the fat bar in the back garden. The wrens are still in residence in the bat box and I hope that they will manage to raise a brood.

With the hot weather at the weekend a walk among the bluebells was thought a good idea. With a perfectly still warm day the scent of the flowers hung in the air and in the Chilterns the flowers were still at their best. The following day we went to College Lake near Tring. I hadn't been to this reserve for the best part of two decades. When I first visited it was just a hole in the chalk full of water with a few coot swimming around. Now it is landscaped and well populated although the layout makes the whole thing feel staged at times. In the hot weather on Sunday light and heat was reflecting off the chalk and made walking in some parts quite uncomfortable. In the shady parts there were some nice displays of dog violets. Islands created in the lake had attracted a lot of breeding water birds. Terns were very much in evidence, a marked contrast to Fishers Green where the black headed gulls seemed to be monopolising the tern rafts. We also saw oystercatcher, redshank and lapwing

Not much to say except that I saw a polecat last night, the third occasion in my life. Driving home up the hill from Boxmoor to Bovingdon around midnight a mustelid ran across the road in front of me. It was dark but the glimpse that I had of the face was that of a polecat or polecat-ferret.

With the warmest day of the year so far and magnificent displays of bluebells locally I decided that a walk in the woods with the camera was called for. The abandonment of traditional hedge laying allows these wonderful sculptural forms to develop over the years   To get back to birding I was also lucky to see a hobby fly across the path of the car and perch on a nearby power cable. The swift like silhouette was quite unmistakable. In the garden the wrens do seem to be in residence in the bat box, as I was standing close to it one went past my left ear at speed to perch in the rowan tree.

I had a rather nice suprise this morning, before breakfast I glanced out the living room window just in time to see a blackcap on the feeder. This is the first that I have seen in the garden for three years. Wrens have been active in both the front and back gardens and one was singing in the front as I prepared breakfast. Last week thy seemed to be active around the bat box but I am not sure at the moment if they have actually nested there.

A distressing aspect of driving in this area is the number of dead badgers by the road side. It was refreshing therefore to see a live one on Saturday night. It was about midnight going up Frith Hill from Missenden towards Chesham. Not much activity in the garden, just the usual visitors. With the mild winter I am not replacing foods as they run out and the goldfinches and squirrel have cleaned out the sunflower hearts already.

It has been quite a few years since I have had greenfinches in the garden but today a trio suddenly appeared on the feeder taking sunflower hearts. Despite having four ports on the feeder the pair feeding would not allow the other anywhere near although as they squabbled they did change places from time to time. Eventually they all suddenly flew off to be replaced by a sollitary goldfinch. When I moved here over 20 years ago I never imagined that greenfinches would be unusual and goldfinches an everyday occurrence. At the front of the house a great spotted woodpecker was on the feeder as I came down to breakfast but flew off as soon as I moved near the window. The great tit who promptly came down wasn't so concerned.

With a brisk clear morning I decided that it was time to get out for a little birding after all the rain so a drive down to Rickmansworth was in order. There seemed to be fewer birds on the lake than I would have expected. Plenty of tufties but only one pair of red crested pochard, no common pochard and one or two wigeon although there were a fair number of great crested grebe. A kingfisher was a welcome extra, presumably preferring the lake to the turbid waters of the Colne which was in full spate. Away from the lake birdsong was becoming far more spring like and a wren and a goldcrest were nice suprises. At home the robins have paired off and I suspect that a wren (or a pair) has settled in the ivy on the side fence. I suspect that it won't be getting the haircut that I had planned to give it a couple of weeks ago if the weather had permitted. The feeders are getting a reasonable amount of activity with goldfinch regular visiters as well as the tits. My stock of fat bars will p

A visit to Leigh on Sea at the weekend was pleasant. We arrived when the tide was at its lowest ebb and, naturally, there was very little around looking across Leigh Marsh from the car park on the road to Two Tree Island apart from gulls and crows. A solitary redshank was wading in what little water was left in the creek and we could hear a curlew in the distance although we never managed to see it. At Bell Warf things perked up with more redshank and a ringed plover. There is something about that location that the ringed plovers like as I have had more sightings there than anywhere else that I have visited. With over a quarter of century of visits to Leigh it certainly isn't the same individual. After a little sightseeing and our customary plates of roe on toast at The Strand Cafe for lunch the tide was visibly on the flood and more birds were appearing. The only brent geese were in the far distance, visible only with the glasses but there was a cluster of turnstone on a drift

In May 2012 I posted that I had seen a bullfinch in the garden for the first time ever. The second one appeared this afternoon! The cock bird took some fat from the feeder and then spent a long time on the ground around the feeders. The amount of greenery reminded me that everything has kept growing through the winter and I need to do a lot of weeding as soon as the ground is dry enough to walk on.

I was entertained this morning by a robin taking fat from the feeder in the front garden. He wasn't too happy trying to perch and ended up hovering like a rather ungainly hummingbird to feed from the side of the block. He was also rather agressive with the tits and chased a coal tit off the feeder. First thing this morning I saw a great spotted woodpecker on the feeder who was quickly replaced by a flock of long tailed tits. Naturally they flew away when I fetched the camera only to return when I got on with making breakfast.

The winter has been so mild that the fields near the house which were ploughed at the end of summer are now totally green. Out walking between Christmas and New Year skylarks were singing and there were a host of small brown birds on the fields that kept just too far away to identify. In the garden things are getting a little more interesting with goldfinches and long tailed tits regularly visiting the feeders. Some other birds were managing some interesting contortions including a robin taking sunflower seeds and a blackbird on the fat feeder. On the ground the wood pigeons are taking most of the dried meal worms which at least keeps them off the fat feeders (I did read somewhere that they were vegetarian!). This morning a magpie tried to chase one off the ground feeder but when the pigeon stood its ground and the magpie gave up. Yesterday we had a green woodpecker on the back lawn. This is the first time that I have seen one come into the very enclosed back garden although I do o