I am now going to take a brief break from my America blogs to round up what has been happening in the last few weeks. Birdfair was a brilliant occasion with more young birders than ever before attending however the birding was rather dull to say the least, however it was great to catch up with everyone again. It was also great to be able to go to David Lindo's talk about his new book and it is inspiring to see someone else who has had success with Urban Birding in his life. I have since also brought his book and although i am only a few pages in i highly recommend that you order a copy. I have also been doing some work for the BTO however at the end of the Summer i will write a blog post about that with everywhere that i have visited. Now back to Totteridge and with no patch year tick since the beginning of June i was starting to wonder if i would ever manage to get into the 100 club. A group of Tufted Duck on Long Pond had been my 98th Bird of the year however since then most of the water courses in the valley have completely dried up. However on the 17th of August the first new thing for me in the valley was in fact a Butterfly Species. I was in old Gropper Warbler Field and i spotted something out of the corner of my eye just flutter up from the grass and land just off to my left hand sand. When i got closer i was surprised to see a Brown Argus in very decent condition. This is the first record in the valley for a little while but it shows that they are spreading as the original sighting was about half a mile away in Owl field. Above: Brown Argus Also on that day i saw my first female Common Blue butterfly, which considering the amount of males i have seen is quite an odd first for me. Butterflies in Totteridge seem to have benefited from the long warm and dry spells which we have had this summer and some bird species have as well. Above: Female Common Blue So now onto Monday the 20th August. I had a bit of free time in the afternoon and so i decided to head out into the valley. Long Pond had the usual Mallards and Moorhens along with one of the local Grey Herons making the most of the shallow water to try and get at the carp. I headed down to Cow field where i immediately set about scanning the 'Migrant' hedge. At first it looked as though there were only a couple of Chiffchaff. As i looked closer i could see movement from other parts of the hedges. Eventually 6 Willow Warblers gave themselves up along with a few Lesser and Common Whitethroats. An interesting warbler that i didn't see to much of i think was a Garden Warbler rather than a Reed (The later being very rare here with only 2 records). I was just about to move on when i heard a soft 'seep' type noise coming from the top of the bush. At first i didn't see anything until it flew out from its perch and tumbled through the air, returning with a nice juicy fly. It was a Spotted Flycatcher and after a few minutes it was eventually joined by another. I watched with excitement as over the next 20 minutes they continued to fly catch quite successfully along with a couple of the Willow Warblers. This was a new species for me for the year in the UK and also Totteridge and so it put me one away from the still distant 100 club. It also takes me up to 171 for the year in Britain. Above: Spotted Flycatcher Below: Lesser Whitethroat Above: Garden Warbler After this i headed into Owl field and then old gropper field only finding a few more Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Chiffchaffs, and a Blackcap so i headed for home. During the week at Belmont Farm i have had nearly 20 Yellow Wagtails flying over in the space of three days which is quite something. A Tree Pipit was another great flyover find and 2 Spotted Flycatchers appeared in the hedgerow along the path from St Paul's when i was moving the Alpaca on Thursday giving yet more great views of this now quite hard to find species. Now onto today Saturday the 25th. Whilst i was waiting the bus i messaged some of the local birders telling them that i thought it was going to be a great morning for migration. Well lets just say that it wasn't the best in terms of quantity, but the quality of what was moving was definitely on my side. I met up with Tony just before the Orange Tree and we headed down towards Owl field in the crisp clear Autumnal sunshine. Honestly we didn't see much at all until we were down in the lower part of the field near where we had the White Storks fly over last year. A Whitethroat caught our attention as it rustled about low in the bushes picking berries off as it went. While i was watching this bird Tony told me that he had a large Gull flying towards us and within a few seconds of that a few words that are not for writing on this blog were said as he realised that it was in fact an Osprey. As soon as he had announced this i swung around and got my binoculars on this rare passage migrant as it flew effortlessly over the tree line in front of us showing the pale white underneath and pristine head markings. I We watched as it headed towards Darlands Lake where it started to circle and gained height over the lake before heading due South, which rather frustratingly would have taken it straight over my house on route to probably leave the UK somewhere in the vicinity of Beachy Head. It was starting to sink in at this point that this was in fact the 100th bird species that i have seen in the Totteridge Valley this year. It is also my first British Osprey since one at Rainham on the 31st of March. It was amazing to watch this Osprey as it headed South and was well worth the early start to the day. Above: Osprey We now had an extra spring in our step however 'Migrant' hedge only held 2 Blackcap and a Chiffchaff which signalled a departure of migrants locally over night. Tony and i headed past Finchley Nurseries where a large flock of Swallows, a Swift, and the odd House Martin had gathered to feed. We the headed down Burtonhole Lane picking up several Buzzards. We then stopped in at an area behind Camden Playing Fields as it had its own slightly milder micro climate. We had a sift through the Tit flock that had gathered here and found a Chiffchaff and a few Goldcrest. Then all of a sudden a Spotted Flycatcher appeared from nowhere and started to flycatch literally meters from our heads. It was amazing to watch and marks quite a good passage of this species this year. Eventually some horse riders came from the other direction and flushed the Flycatcher. Above: Spotted Flycatcher After no sign of the Flycatcher for a few minutes we then decided to head down to Old Gropper field. On the way we were however delayed by a Common Darter and Migrant Hawker which showed very well. The reason for this is due to the fact that there hadn't been enough day time heating for them to be fully active. Above: Migrant Hawker (i think) Below: Common Darter We then headed through the old gropper field however it was quite here bar the odd Chiffchaff and Blackcap. We then followed the still bone dry Folly Brook towards Darlands passing a brief glimpse of a Weasel near John's field. One thing that Ian told me and i hadn't realised about Darlands is the fact that it isn't actually grass which has started to grow on the dried up mud, it is in fact Reeds! Honestly i can't decided if this is a good thing or not. The positives are the fact that it increases that chance of Reed Warbler and Sedge Warblers inhabiting the area in summer. It also increases the chance of attracting Little Grebe, Water Rails and also given how little disturbance there is during the week there is now a good chance that a Bittern could be seen from time to time especially as they are now slowly starting to increase there range in the UK. It also increases the chance of a Sandpiper or Snipe attempting to over winter or dropping in on passage. The Negatives are the fact that the lake will silt up more potentially increasing the risk of flooding. It also will significantly decrease the amount of open water on the lake meaning that we could risk losing the over winter Geese, Mandarin, and Teal populations. One thing that is for certain is that only time will tell and all of these things do actually require the lake to have water in, which it doesn't have at the moment. Today on the lake however there were only 3 Moorhen however the odd Willow Warbler was also about in the Tit flocks surrounding the Lake. With a final Common Buzzard through over head along with a large flock of House Martin we decided to call it a day and head home to a celebratory lunch. Honestly i thought my 100th bird in the valley this year was going to be a Redstart, however and Osprey is way better! What a Day! Above: A final Common Blue
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Monday started off bright an early and i managed to get onto the River wall at about 8:15 to begin the day with a small bit of river watching. Apart from all the usual Gulls, i managed to pick up a nice Juvenile Mediterranean Gull as it flew down river. Then i picked up what was quite a hefty tern that was flying off the RSPB Reserve. It was a Sandwich Tern and i watched as it flew down river and then disappeared inland just before the Dartford Crossing. There were a few other Terns fishing out on the river with 2 Common and i wasn't quite sure if there was a young Arctic with them as well. The wind wasn't helping things and so i headed to the visitor centre to meet up with the others. Above: Sandwich Tern Below: Common Tern Above: Little Egret When i arrived at the visitor centre i met up with Arjun, Kabir, Calum, Alex, and Ben who were coming on the very first London Young Birders meet up. (I will be adding a link to their Twitter pages and blogs at the bottom of the page). We headed off along the river wall towards Aveley Bay and the first notable thing were at least two Seals feeding out in the deeper water. Reed Warblers and a few Whitethroat were feeding in the bushes along the river wall and also 2 Yellow Wagtails dropped in near to the centre from high. Above: Kabir's photo of a Reed Warbler When then continued along to Aveley Bay where it was now low tide. Here we had around 70 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Dunlin, a Redshank, and a load of Mallards and Shelduck. A few Yellow-legged Gulls loafed offshore along with the Herrings, Lesser Black-backeds, and a small amount of Great Black-back Gulls as well. Above: Black-tailed Godwit taken by Arjun Below: Redshank Above: Dunlin We then headed into the reserve and passed the dragonfly pools where Bearded Tits pinged but weren't seen. A few Reed Warblers were about along with the usual flock of Starlings that fills the sky on a regular basis and a flock of Goldfinch were out and about on the Marsh feeding on the Thistles. We then headed up to the Butt's hide. Target Pools was still bone dry and therefor the best bird was the left over carcass and a Kestrel off in the distance. The winter pools were still full and were full of life with Shoveler, Teal, a Wigeon, Gadwall, 6 Little Grebe, a few Pochard, Lots of Coots, and a few Little Egrets dotted around the edge of the pool looking for any fish that might give them selves up for long enough. Above: Little Grebe Below: Teal Above: Wigeon and Shoveler We then headed towards the Northern board walk where i had a close encounter with the Bearded Tits the on Saturday. Sure enough as soon as we arrived there was one in exactly the same place as before showing equally as well. Whilst we were here we also clocked up a few Marsh Frogs, a rather tame Mallard, Reed Buntings, and at least 10 Bearded Tit. Above: Reed Bunting Below: My poor shot of a Bearded Tit Above: Tame Mallard Below: Arjun's shot of the Reed Bunting Above: Calum's photos of the Bearded Tit Below: Kabir's photo of the Marsh Frog We then moved on towards Aveley pools with a Water Rail heard calling from the reedbeds along with yet more pinging Bearded Tit. From the 1st viewing platform we had a green wing tagged Juvenile Marsh Harrier fly over from the Butts hide and then back towards Wennington. Although none of us managed to get a clear enough view of the tags we believe that Green Wing tagged birds originate in the Norfolk area and thus it is a migratory bird. Out on the pools Yellow Wagtails could be seen mixed in with the Starling flock feeding on the muddy banks. A Peregrine flew through as well as a large flock of Canada Geese. Wader wise there were 30+ Lapwing, the Black-tailed Godwits from the river were now feeding and roosting around the pool, 3 Ruff, 5 Dunlin, a Little Ringed Plover, and a Common Snipe. We then moved onto the second viewing platform. From here after a scan it was more of the same however more Herons, Egrets and Teal were view able from this angle. I then picked up a small duck in flight as it crossed the pool. A few of the others were also looking at this duck and eventually as it came closer you could see that it was infact a Garganey. Within a split second it had dropped down just behind a flock of Gadwall and wasn't seen again. If my memory severs me correct i think it was just Ben, Calum and i that managed to get onto it before it disappeared. A few Sand Martin flew through over head and a Kestrel hovered off to one side. Above and Below: Canada Geese in flight We then moved onto the Ken Barret Hide, however there wasn't too much about with a few Gadwall, Coot, and Pochard the best. Moving on to the Barn Owl Box where as per usual the Barn Owl was sitting on the edge of his box. Also whilst we were here we had a few Common Blue Butterflies as well. Above: My shot of the Common Blue Below: Arjun's photo of the Common Blue Above: Kabir's photo of the sleepy Barn owl We didn't go very far before most of us found ourselves watching what would be a new species of Damselfly, with 2 Willow Emerald's showing very well by the Troll Bridge along with a supporting cast of a Darter which i think is a Ruddy and also several Marsh Frogs. Above: Willow Emerald Below: Darter sp Above: Marsh Frog Below: Arjun's much better photo of the Willow Emerald Above: Arjun's photo of the Darter Below: Below: Calum's Photo of the Willow Emerald Above: Calum's photo of the Marsh Frog Below: Ben's photo of the Willow Emerald Above: Ben's photo of the Darter Below: Ben's photo of the Marsh Frog We then headed to the outer loop of the woodland where Kabir saw his first ever Linnet. We also saw a Blood Moth, 2 more Willow Emerald, a Shield Bug sp which landed on Ben as well as a few Chiffchaff, Blackcap, and a large amount of 22 Spot Ladybirds. Above: Blood Moth Below: Shield Bug sp Above: Willow Emerald Damselfly Below: 22 Spot Ladybird We then headed back towards the centre with Reed Warblers, and Chiffchaffs calling from the bushes around us. We could see rain coming in our direction and so we made a very speedy dash for cover and just as we all got inside the heavens opened. Lunch was had before we headed back out briefly to see the Whimbrels roosting on the posts in front of the centre. We then all said our goodbyes and headed our own way home knowing that most of us will see each other again at Bird Fair. Just before i put in the links to everyone's accounts and blogs i would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who came along as it was probably as great an experience for me as it was for everyone who came and it was really good to know that there are other people out there from the same generation that are interested in wildlife as much as i am. I would also just like to say a big thank you to all the kind comments on the group photo on Monday and for young birder who hasn't seen it yet it is defiantly worth reading the comments to show that there is support out there! For all the young birders reading this keep doing what you are doing and don't give up! Above: Arjun's photo of the Whimbrel
On Saturday i headed up to Rainham Marshes for this years Hen Harrier Day. I left my house at 630 in the morning and to be honest i am lucky that i did since when i got out the tunnel at Shadwell i received a notification on my phone telling me that the Northern Line was now shut due to a signal failure at Camden Town. Phew! If that had of been the case when i left home i probably wouldn't have been able to make it to Rainham. In the end i reached Purfleet station at about 8am and then headed to the river wall to see what was about. A nice Adult Common Gull was with a group of Black-headed Gulls and around 31 mainly Juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were offshore mixed in with both Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A few Cormorants were fishing as were a couple of Little Egrets as well. Above: Common Gull Below: Little Egret I decided to headed into the reserve for a very quick walk round before the main event. The best birds were a Lesser Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler in the Cordite Store as well as a lot of House Martins with the odd Swallow and Swift over the main Reserve. The Bearded Tits were out in full force today and i saw around 13 individuals including a very tame one that very briefly perched on the railing next to me. 2 Ruff, 59 Black-tailed Godwit and a Hobby were also around Aveley pools since this is still one of the only places on the reserve with any meaning full water and muddy banks. Above: Coot and Pochard Below: Reed Bunting Above: Reed Warbler When i was passing the Butts Hide i noticed a small Butterfly fly up from the grass land and when it landed i was surprised to find my first ever Brown Argus sitting in the grassland. These are quite stunning little Butterflies and they are a part of the Blue butterfly family which includes the likes of Common Blue, Holly Blue ect. Rainham Marshes is one of the last remaining places that you can see them in London, however because of their size i reckon they probably go undetected in some places! Below: The little Gem itself the Brown Argus I have to admit that in recent times i have become quite interesting in the Butterflies of the world as well as the birds. Just before i headed into the field where the main event was taking place a Blue-tailed Damselfly and Marsh Frog were seen. Above: Blue-tailed Damselfly Below: Marsh Frog So now i will explain a bit about the event. Hen Harrier Day has been occurring for the last five years and has been getting more and more attention from the media which means that in some way we are winning. The main issue is that Game Keepers in parts of England kill anything that will effect the amount of income that they can get/ kill their game. In most cases this falls to the illegal killing of Raptors which are protected by Law. Hen Harriers in England had at one stage fallen to 3 or 4 pairs which is scarily close to extinction. Now in 2018 we had 9 pairs nesting this year which you could say is progress, but with this rate of increase it would take till around 2068 for us to get the amount of pairs that there should be in England which is not good enough in my opinion. The event also had a series of speakers including the likes of Chris Packham, Mark Avery, Natalie Bennett (Green Party), RSPB Director of Global Conservation Martin Harper, Ruth Tingay and also a last minute word from the Shadow Sectary of state who's name i cannot remember at this precise moment. I personally have only seen two Hen Harriers in my life and i can remember them precisely because of just how amazing these birds are. My first was a Ringtail that drifted over my head when i was near the MDZ at Rainham back in late October 2016 and i watched until it was a small spec over the A13 and beyond. My only other sighting was also a Ringtail and it was also at Rainham. In early November 2017 i was just walking up to the Serin Mound when i heard a Kerfuffle going on behind me and when i turn there being persuaded by six Carrion Crows was the Ringtail Hen Harrier. It zoomed past me and then dip just over the mound the runs from the Serin Mound and while i scrammbled up to the Serin mound to try and get back on it i phoned Howard who was in the centre. Eventually when i reached the Serin mound we all managed to get on what was now a tiny spec over the A13 and i watched until i couldn't see it any more. A truly magical and unforgettable experience and one that i hope in the future more and more people will be able to enjoy and see for them selves. For now though these are my closing thoughts on the issue are that if we are to see Hen Harriers successfully re-establishing themselves in the UK driven grouse shooting needs to either be licensed or stopped completely so that people can be trusted not to kill Hen Harriers. The farmers have an unnaturally high amount of Grouse on their land just so that people can shoot them which in its own sake is sickening to see and the plight of not just the Hen Harrier, but also species such as Buzzards and Golden Eagles depends on us taking action. So if you love wildlife join Chris Packham for his for his walk for wildlife on the 22nd of September (in Hyde Park?). After the speaches we all then headed back to the visitor centre for some lunch via some Marsh Frogs and both Blue-tailed and Small Red-eyed Damselflies. A Curlew flew in from the Thames as did a few Lapwing and a Redshank, and 2 Common Buzzards flew over miles up. Above: Marsh Frog Below: Small Red-eyed Damselfly Above: Common Buzzard When we got back to the centre and were having lunch Magnus pointed out that there was a Budgie on the bird feeders. This bird presumably an escapee adds to the long list that Rainham boasts which includes African Grey Parrot and also Zebra Finch. I then had a nice chat with 'The Urban' birder and then eventually headed for home via 2 Whimbrel on the foreshore of the Thames. What a day! Above: Budgie and House Sparrows
Below: Whimbrel and Mallards |
AuthorI have been a birder since I was 8 however only really started to be able to go out to places by myself in Summer 2016 (Blame the parents) My blogs will be from all over the place, but mainly from RSPB Rainham Marshes and Totteridge Valley! Photography done by Samuel Levy aged 18. ArchivesCategories |