Chiltern Birder

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...