Chiltern Birder

I took a trip to College Lake near Tring yesterday. With lots of invisible songbirds in the bushes I really should make an effort to learn a few calls. On the islands the common terns were very visible while the lapwings had clearly nested successfully as there were a number of chicks around. I did get a nice view of one parent driving off a crow. I hadn't realised how well camouflaged the redshank were until I had a glimpse of what looked like a pair of disembodied red legs at the waters edge. After a quick lunch I took a walk on the towpath of the Grand Union Canal as far as Marsworth. There was nothing unusual visible on the reservoirs but coming back a heron flew past a few feet above the water following the line of the canal. At home I woke early today and went to put the bins out at 6am. Without much disturbance the birdsong was very loud with, faint in the distance my first cuckoo of the year. In the garden a pair of bullfinches seems to have taken on the role on "b...

I recently treated myself to a new spotting scope and monopod . Taking these on a walk round Stockers Lake was a dream, they were so light and compact that they could be packed in a rucksack until I was in a good viewpoint, just right when taking a walk with good birding opportunities rather than settling down at a single point with a heavy tripod. The walk round the lake revealed some early signs of spring. I came across a patch of coltsfoot in flower while the grebes were in full breeding plumage and a goldcrest was in full voice. The herons were also nest building and with the benefit of a scope rather than bins I got a nice view across the lake of one settled in a tree. The surprise was not one but two pairs of Egyptian geese.One pair flew away on the other side of the lake while the other pair swam close to me. Other birds on the lake included shoveller, tufted duck, coot, greylag geese, canada geese, common pochard, lapwing, mallard, black headed gull, herring gull, cormorant ...

With a nice clear brisk day it seemed like a good idea to go for a walk around the lakes at Rickmansworth. Bury Lake by the car park had its usual collection of mute swan, mallard, tufties and gadwall. At a distance away in the trees was what sounded like a ring necked parakeet but it was heading away so I didn't get a view. Moving onto the north side of Stockers Lake the low sun and clear sky made visibility difficult. The open water seemed pretty clear anyway but I couldn't make out any details although from the calls it was clear that there were no wigeon present this time. Once I reached the west side things became clearer. Come of the smnaller islands had been cleared of trees and undergrowth to make them suitable for ground nesting birds. A flock of around 30 lapwing were well hidden until they suddenly took to the air and spent several minutes wheeling around the lake before returning to land swooping past an inpurtbable heron. This more than made up for the lack of...

Driving down the Chess valley on Monday the sight of yet another little egret started me thinking that they were becoming more  ubiquitous that herons. That seemed to be the key to several unusual sightings. On Monday I saw a juvenile heron standing in the middle of the tarmac path between Bury and Stockers Lakes. Then on Tuesday I went to Thame by public transport. Walking down White Hill in Chesham one flew low overhead and landed on top of a tree in one of the gardens between White Hill and Esksdale Avenue. The branch was barely strong enough leading to the huge bird gently bouncing up and down. Later on the bus from Aylesbury to Thame there was another standing in the middle of a ploughed field near Dinton. This morning walking along Botley Road a redwing landed on the path in front of me as if it was posing for a picture in a field guide. I was able to have by best ever look at the the colour and markings before it finally flew into Codmore Field. On Monday the cold sn...

I paid a return visit to Stockers Lake near Rickmansworth today with the benefit of a pair of wellingtons. It was an interesting visit, the lake had all the usual waterfowl with coot, tufted duck, mallard, gadwall, mute swans and herons. I didn't see any shoveller this time but the wigeon were a treat as I hadn't expected them on a lake without adjacent grazing and a real surprise were the red crested pochard which I had not seen in the wild before. At one point a row of stakes in the water, each one topped by a gull gave me the opportunity to include leg colour in identification but they were all black headed. From talking to other birders I seem to have missed some goldeneye and an escaped black swan. In the adjacent scrub there were the usual woodland birds with a small flock of redwing and a probably female reed bunting.

When I spotted that the forecast had changed and this afternoon would stay dry I decided to sample the lakes at Rickmansworth Aquadrome. Water levels were very high and some paths flooded. Bury Lake produced little of special interest with mute swans, tufted duck, mallard, coot. black headed gulls and a heron. The latter was close to the path keeping totally still and totally unfazed by passers by. He kept so still while I took a couple of pictures with my phone that I was beginning to think that it was a model but then he finally turned his head slightly. I wasn't wearing boots which made, the potentially more interesting, Stockers Lake mostly inaccessible but from the tarmac path on one side I did see a pair of shoveller and a pochard. The low sun made it difficult to identify most of the birds from that angle. I don't know if I was just unlucky or if they don't like the area but I didn't see any red kites. I had been wondering how far towards London they were sp...

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.

For the first time in months I have actually seen some birds in the back garden. First a great tit and then a flock of blue tits landed on the feeder brackets and seemed to take insects sheltering in the joints with the pole. It seemed like a good idea to pick up some peanuts while I was shopping and put a feeder out again. Has anything come to the feeder? Of course not. A neighbour seems to have had a far more interesting visit, as I was returning with the shopping I saw a heron land in the back gardens opposite. Quite a suprise on a naturally waterless hilltop. The pond owner's fish are probably a far more expensive food than my bag of peanuts.

Actually a scattered selection of observations over the past week or so. The front garden has been attracting a variety of birds and last weekend I realised that something was nesting in the bat box fixed to the front porch. I was soundly scolded by both coal and great tits while I was gardening and wasn't sure which was using the box. This weekend I was able to observe a great tit flying to it, perching first on the edge of the porch then dropping down, out of my line of sight but with the box the only place it could go. I also noticed great tits appearing to have an arguement with a chaffinch last week. I hadn't thought of chaffinches as a threat to nestlings but the tits may have thought otherwise. On the subject of mobbing, this weekend I saw a crow going for a heron above Ferry Lane in Walthamstow. It reminded me of an incident many years ago on Hampstead Heath. I flock of crows was mobbing a heron which finally landed in a tree. The first crow to go for it suddenly found ...

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 ...