A visit to Chesham today revealed that the Chess was flowing at Wey Lane. Not very much and the stream was badly clogged by willow herb but it was flowing. You certainly wouldn't believe the flow there was once powerful enough to turn a sawmill. A walk down Duck Alley revealed that the flow was continuing through the water gardens but I didn't have time or energy to continue down to the moor.
Locally there hasn't been much in the way of birds apart from the kites. The fields locally have been harvested, ploughed, reseeded and the first leaves of the winter crop are already showing. I saw a large flock of what seemed to be finches or sparrows. Even with binocularsI couldn't be sure but I think there was a mixture of species.
Driving between Latimer and Ley Hill yesterday there was a large bird of prey sitting on one of the posts carrying a power line. The back and wings seemed quite grey. I only had it in sight for a second and can't be sure of id although it seemed large for a sparrowhawk.
I haven't been posting much due personal matters but still have my eyes open. One thing that has struck me is the eastward spread of birds of prey. I have seen buzzards over Havering-atte-Bower but the big suprise in the past month as been a red kite over the M25 near Stapleford Abbotts in Essex. The skys still look empty by Chiltern standards though. A nice little spot last week was a goldcrest during a visit to Kew Gardens. I have downloaded the Merlin app which supposedly identifies birdsong. I have had little opportunity to try it out but a quck test in the garden showd that it correctly told me that I could hear jackdaws and a robin. I look forward to using it on the coast to see if it can distinguish the various waders for me.
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