Crisp Clear London Weekend - Hengistbury Head, Totteridge Valley - 18th - 21st October 201823/10/2018 The Weekend started with a scorching afternoon spent at Hengistbury Head on Thursday the aim was to try and find my self a couple of lifers which should be turning up in the next few weeks however I didn't manage to find them yet however a few patch ticks were in order with Turnstone and Ringed Plover found along the rocky outlets. A large amount of Sandwich Tern and Med Gulls were also on the move and 5 Firecrest in the woodland was a new high count. Otherwise I have to admit I was just out to soak up the stunning Dorset Scenery before embarking on a weekend long visit back to the capital on Friday. Above: Black-headed Gull Above: Male Kestrel Above: Male Stonechat Below: Ad Med Gull Above: Ringed Plover Below: Oystercatchers Above: Redshank Below: Turnstone So today I decided that I would head out at first light in the hope of some visible migration in Totteridge something that has been a little bit inconsistent at Hengistbury Head and never seems to be particularly good when I am there bar that one morning where there was 30 minutes of pure joy. This morning however was perfect for migration with a gentle South Westerly breeze a touch of frost and clear blue skies all of which aid migration at this time of year. My original plan was to head to the Owl Field however when I reached the Old Gropper Field I was stopped in my tracks by the first sign of Movement with a flock of Linnet and Chaffinch heading over. Before too Long I was immersed in birds and I have to admit at one point there were so many birds moving in so many different directions that it was truly overwhelming. Chaffinches moved over head calling and the odd screech of a Brambling could be picked out in the flocks. There was a good mix of Finches moving and in quite good numbers as well. Next to appear in the sky were the Woodpigeons with over 1000 through in the space of 30minutes. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of the Pigeon, however for a couple of days ever year they become a sight to see when they travel in their thousands. I believe the estimate is that the UK population is boosted by 6 Million Scandinavian birds in Winter and I had circa 1,700 of those through earlier this morning. After this the Thrushes started moving with flocks of both Redwings and Fieldfare heading over which is something I have been deprived of on the South Coast. The biggest flock of Redwings that came through was counted at 111 birds and these flocks also occasionally held the odd Song Thrush and a Mistle thrush. These were later joined by not one but two Ring Ouzel which like the Brambling are my first ever here and a welcome patch tick. The first bird flew over heading W at 09:02 however presumably this bird came back over and dropped just over the hedge from where I was into the riding stables. Then at 09:41 what I presume was a different bird shot out of cover from behind me and spiralled high into the sky before heading strongly South and finally what I presume was the first bird showed again briefly at around 10am as it flew around a couple of times before diving into the cover and being lost from sight. This was an amazing sight and actually ends a drought in the valley for this species with none since April 2016 after having at least one every spring prior to that. What happened next was more surprising. Earlier in the day I had had 3 Cormorant over however when I picked up 14 birds flying in a loose V formation the last thing I would have expected it to be was Cormorants. Sure enough 14 Cormorant were battling their way West smashing all previous record counts for the species and if that wasn’t enough less than five minutes later another 12 flew over in a tight v formation bringing the count to 29 birds which is 24 more than the previous highest count which I have to say is mind boggling in itself. Finally after this excitement I wasn't done yet with a steady trickle of Meadow Pipits, Wagtails and the odd Skylark establishing itself from 9am till my departure. All in all it was a truly unforgettable experience and one that I will never forget. My totals are below: (07:25-10:00) 441 Redwing W, 16 Song Thrush W, 325 Chaffinch W, 27 Linnet W, 9 Brambling W, 47 Meadow Pipit W, 221 Fieldfare W, 12 Alba Wagtails NW, 54 Goldfinch, NW, 158 Starling NW, 3 Redpoll W, 22 Siskin W, 25 Stock Dove S, 4 Grey Wagtail NW, 1700 + Woodpigeon SW, 29 Cormorant SW, 2 Greenfinch W, 43 Jackdaw SW, 13 Skylark N, Reed Bunting N, Mistle Thrush S. Also 2 Ring Ouzel dropped into Western end of Old Gropper Field 09:11, one then flew off high S at 09:41. Above: Fieldfare Below: Woodies Above: Fieldfare, however I have only just noticed that there is either a Blackbird or Ring Ouzel with them (far left handside bird). If only the photo was better... Below: Cormorants It didn’t end there though with a Firecrest singing from the bushes next to me majority of the time that I was vis migging. I also had a Reed Bunting over and a few Bullfinch in the bushes around me. I then headed off towards Darlands Lake to the sound of Goldcrest digging up 19 in total which makes me think that there had been a bit of a fall over night. Darlands Lake and the Folly Brook are now both full again however 3 Mandarin Ducks were the best that I could manage along with a Grey Heron which is quite worry a normally at this time of year there should be a decent number of Teal around, however if the water level was still low when they first turned up they probably would have kept going which is a shame. On to Owl Field and here it was eerily quiet until I stumbled upon a young Kestrel and also a female Stonechat flycatching from one of the oak saplings which was my first here since January. The rest of the walk was quite quiet until I reached the ploughed field at folly farm where here a mixed flock had gathered to make the most of the bare ground. 127 Black-headed Gull, 15+ Common Gull, Fieldfare, Skylark, starlings, Redwings and also Meadow Pipits and Chaffinch were all feeding in this field alongside the Rooks and Carrion Crows as well. A bonus Lapwing dropped in whilst I was there however with it nearing 12 o'clock I decided to call it a day picking up 2 Chiffchaff on the way out near the nurseries. On what was a truly amazing morning I got my Totteridge Patch List up to 102 species for the year and I have to admit I will be heading back tomorrow for some second helpings. Hopefully it will be good! Above: Female Stonechat Below: Male Pheasant Above: spot the Fieldfare Below: Mixed flock of Common and Black-headed Gulls Above: Common Buzzard Below: Rook I have to admit that I gave in this morning and went out for another round of vis migging (or bus mugging as auto correct wants me to write, apologise if I have missed any auto correct mistakes). I decided that I would get up that small bit earlier and head to the vis mig spot before first light and so at around ten past 7 I found my self in the same spot as yesterday. The only slight problem was that I couldn’t actually see anything for the fog had rolled in since I arrived. This meant for an interesting wait. At around twenty past 7 the Redwing started to come through low over my head occasionally passing just a whisker above me as they tried to Continue their journey. For some the fog was too much and all of a sudden a calling mass would tumble out of the fog and into the vegetation Beside me. Occasionally the fog would clear up just for a small while and lure the birds into a false sense of security as they would then take to the skies only for them to be replaced by another flock of birds when the fog returned. In one such gap a few Fieldfare dropped into the bushes just in front of us and at around 0840 one of Yesterdays Ring Ouzels popped up out of a bush to check us out before heading towards the riding stables hot on the heels of the local Redwings. All this time some quite large flocks of Chaffinch chanced the gaps as well as one hefty Woodpigeon flock. Starlings were also a notable mover today, however unsurprising everything else came in a little below par. A Brambling was still a good record as was a Redpoll which flew over calling during the dense fog. At around 9am the fog started to clear and we were left with a glorious day and lots of Goldcrest in the bushes around us. To be honest it was another truly unforgettable experience and I have to admit that I am not looking forward to heading back to the south coast especially since I haven’t had a single winter thrush down there yet which is rather disappointing to say the least. Here are my totals from today: Totteridge Valley: (07:10-09:40): 229 Redwing W, 8 Song Thrush W, 8 Alba Wagtail E, 114 Chaffinch W, 18 Black-headed Gull W, 10 Common Gull W, 5 Meadow Pipit W, 7 Stock Dove NW, 5 Fieldfare W, 71 Starling W/NW, Brambling W, 12 Goldfinch SW, 11 Siskin SW, 107 Woodpigeon SW, 5 Greenfinch W, 4 Grey Wagtail NW, Redpoll SW, 3 Linnet S, 2 Skylark W. Also Ring Ouzel in Old Gropper Field still. Above: Fieldfare And so the only other birds of note was a Little Owl calling out whilst we were vis migging and a slight increase in Coal Tit numbers. Just as I was arriving home after the mornings session a Reed Bunting flew over my house which is a new species for me here and a very good one for suburbia.
The rest of the day was spent with a pointless and frustrating trip up to Covent garden where we didn't end up getting to see one of my favourite comedians due to the fact that the organisers failed to give information of when you could go and collect your ticket and somehow managed to run out of them despite us having an allocation of three. At least the birding means that in the end the train fair wasn’t wasted and to be quite honest it has been great to spend some time with my family after not seeing them for a month. See you in Reading week London.
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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 |