Chiltern Birder

I was walking on Ley Hill Common today and had just stopped to admire the bluebells when I saw a deer walk onto the path ahead of me.   The photo doesn't really show the scale, it wasn't fully grown and for a second I had thought it a large muntjac. It stayed still without any interest in me for a long enough to allow me to get out the phone and take the picture. Still unaware of my presence in then walked into the woods across the path and I approached much closer but without the opportunity of a photo. Finally it realised that I was there and bounded away with some wonderfully balletic leaps. With the Covid-19 lockdown I have been taking some longer walks. On a byway between Latimer and Flaunden I was lucky enough to see a yellowhammer on the hedgerow. While I have often seen these birds perched on the hedges while driving down the local lanes this was the first occasion when there hasn't been a sheet of glass in the way. The number of birds singing on that walk...

I decided to set out on my daily exercise walk earlier than usual so that there might be a greater chance of seeing some wild life. There were certainly fewer dog walkers about and no families walking at breakfast time. Wild flowers were showing well in the hedgerows and birdsong drowned out most residual traffic noise. I was heading for Codmore Wood which involved skirting the former Meadhams Farm brickworks site. A goldcrest teased me by calling from the trees above my head, skipping from branch to branch without coming into sight. A few minutes later I had a short glimpse of a small animal vanishing into the long grass at the side of the path. I think that it was most likely a bank vole but still with less than 50% certainty. There were also canada geese on nearby pasture, this is the second time in recent days that I have seen them on the dry upland fields around here. I had Codmore Wood to myself. Having seen deer before at times like this I was being as quiet as I could. Pas...

I took a trip down to Leigh on Sea yesterday. Timing was based on weather and personal committments and, as usual, I ended up being there at the wrong state of the tide. I parked at Two Tree Island and saw teal resting on the creek bank as well as the usual redshank and a few gulls. Walking down to the old town there were quite a few redshank around but I didn't see or hear any other waders, they were probably at the water's edge on the other side of the Leigh Sand. The first thing that struck me was the absence of turnstones around the cockle sheds. These have been a feature of this location for many years. Unlike my last couple of visits there were no egrets in Leigh Creek either. On the mud there were plenty of gulls, black headed, herring and both lesser and greater black backed. There were no brent geese visible on the mud and talking to locals I was told that they had all left. However, walking towards Chalkwell I saw two parties on the foreshore. Luch of course meant ...

There are times when parts of Cowcroft Wood feel more like the Buckinghamshire Bayou although a rather chilly one today.. When I stopped to look at this fallen tree I disturbed a large bird of prey. It was difficult to get a clear id through the branches but I think a buzzard rather than a kite. There wasn't much visible in the way of birds otherwise apart from some corvids on the fields but I did disturb a roe deer. I have seen them in fields by Bunn's Lane and several times in Codmore Wood but this was actually the first time that I had seen one in Cowcroft. What was striking was how quietly she ran. I don't know if landfull has started at Meadham's Farm but  landscaping of the surrounds has been done:   I still think that the old clay pits, cut into the side of the hill, would have been a better site for new housing than on green fields behind Hilltop. 

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.

This morning had some very interesting moments. I went down to Rickmansworth to take a walk around Stockers Lake. Making my way up from the car park I saw that the black swan was still in residence, this time on Bury Lake with a group of mute swans. The songsters were in fine voice and  I was lucky to see a garden warbler singing. On the water were the usual selection but I only saw chicks with the coots. The common terns are returning and in a wooded area a wren managed to beat the warblers on volume. When the flags come into flower the display around the lake edge will be magnificent. Driving home I stopped at Codmore Wood to take a look at the bluebells which are now fully out. Walking in the wood I saw a group of three roe does. They were wary but I stood still and they did not run, giving me the best view of the species that I have ever had. The large mobile ears were very striking giving, for a moment, the imression of a very elegant donkey. They kept a wary eye on me, th...

A brisk cold but bright day after early snow. There has been little in the way of birds but walking along Bunn's Lane where it zig zags towards White End two roe deer suddenly ran across the field in front of me. The white rumps were clearly visible as they bounded across the stubble. By the time that I reached the next leg of the lane where they were headed there was naturally no sign of them. What was striking was the way that dog walkers have vanished with the cold weather. Walking for over an hour I didn't see another person on foot or horseback until I reentered Ley Hill. This is the first clear view that I have had of roe deer here although as I have remarked before I have probably dismissed brief glimpses while driving as muntjac.

The autumn colours are changing rapidly now, there are far more gold and copper colours visible. A trip to Thame today by bus was suprising in that the only kites seen were over Thame itself. The watermeadows outside the town were partially flooded which is more than I have seen for a while and gulls were present in greater numbers than is normal around here. On Saturday, driving back from Haddenham late at night I saw a small deer beside the road at Cadsden. I had a better view than is usual at night and realised from its elegant look that it was a roe as opposed to the rather pig like appearance of a muntjac. I now wonder how many times in the past I have dismissed brief glimpses of roe deer as muntjac. In the garden I haven't seen any activity on the fat bar but there are a few beak marks so something is taking it when I am not looking.