Sunday 13th. January 2013

Well , even with the helpful suggestions from fellow Bloggers , I still can't upload any photos as the 'browse' button still hasn't re-appeared on the 'select a file' page . I spent most of yesterday trying to download Firefox and then Chrome , often getting to a point when I felt like throwing everything related to the computer out of the window . Four times I tried to download Firefox , only to have the download stopped because 'network time had expired' , then on the fifth attempt , it worked . I then tried to sign into my blog to see if the 'browse' was working there , only to be informed by Firefox that 'the page wasn't redirecting properly and that it had been detected that the server was directing the request to this address in a way that will never be completed' . Once again everything nearly went out of the window . After a break , I attempted to download Chrome , and after 45 minutes , the screen froze , at that I gave up , apart from looking at the 'Something is broken' Blogger forum and seeing that I am just one of many , some being unable to upload photos since before Christmas . One entry says that a solution should be out this week , but I for one am not holding my breath .
On the wildlife side , another Siskin , a male this time has visited the feeders , and the Greenfinch , Goldfinch and Chaffinch numbers have really increased , but still no sign of a Brambling or Redpoll , although one of the other volunteers on the Common has over a dozen every day on the Niger seeds . Talking of the Common , I met up with a fellow enthusiast the other day whilst having a walk around , who told me that he had been seeing a juvenile Common Buzzard in one of the horse fields on the bottom lane , thanks for the info David . I visited later on and photographed the bird in far from ideal light conditions , but it has been around for some days , so if some better light conditions do come about , and not at the weekends when the fields and lanes are busy , I hope to get back and get some more shots . The same goes for the Hawfinches at Barming .
Whilst walking near Keston , I found my first flowers of the year , Winter Heliotrope / Petasites fragrans , and a little while later the first Snowdrops / Galanthus nivalis , in flower . The first furled leaves of Lords and Ladies / Arum maculatum were also found .

Wednesday 9th. January 2013

Can anyone please help with this posting problem ?
Whilst drafting a posting , I attempted to insert a photo using the symbol to the right of 'Link' on Blogger's tool bar .
The 'Select a file' page appears , but the 'browse box' does not appear .
In the area where it would normally appear , are the words ' You can upload a JPG , GIF or
PNG files ' .
Down the left hand side of the window , the usual 'Upload' , 'from this blog' , 'Picassa Albums'
'phone' , 'webcam' or 'URL' still appear .
So I am unable to upload any photos .

Any ideas ?

Thursday 3rd. January 2013

Firstly , a WARNING to anyone going down to Barming to see the Hawfinches reported on Adam's / East Malling , Ditton and Barming blog . Make sure that you know exactly where you are going , I can confirm that there are no guiding arrows above the trees favoured  by the birds .

I found that out this morning when I arrived at Church Lane , not a single arrow in sight . In the

gloom of an overcast day , I was welcomed by a male Kestrel on top of one of the power line posts , but not a lot else . The car park at the end was empty , so I started a search for the 'unmarked' trees .
I did eventually find them , but no sign of a Hawfinch , not even one of the Greenfinches that were seen flying with them . I decided to have a look at the Field Maples further along South Street , another place where Adam had found them feeding , but nothing seen . Down by the bridge , just before the river , a feeding flock turned out to be Chaffinches , and on my return back up the hill a couple of Greenfinches were sighted , but only accompanied by Starlings . I returned to the car park , still empty and scanned the still empty 'unmarked' trees . Another birder arrived , but seemed intent on finding the birds whilst seated in his car , along with a couple of dog walkers . After a short time , I was the only one left again and sat in the car to have a cup of coffee . Whilst drinking it , the Kestrel

seen earlier made a low pass over the car park and landed not 15 mtrs. away from the car , and posed nicely for a few seconds , before disappearing from sight again . Coffee finished , I got my gear together and headed into the graveyard , to get what little light there was behind me , in anticipation of loads of Hawfinch photographs . Unfortunately it didn't work out like that , as although a few Greenfinches flew into the 'unmarked' trees , no Hawfinches arrived . I noticed another birder arrive , but he just had a look from the car park and left after a short while . Another couple of birders pulled into the car park just after midday , and shortly afterwards , a check on on another two birds that had

just flown in , got the result I wanted , as one of them was a Hawfinch , silhouetted against a grey

sky . It stayed for a couple  minutes , so I was able to fire off several shots , but what I would have given for some sunshine . The bird flew off a couple of times but returned , this time on it's own . I

got a few more shots . Just as the other birder arrived , who I could now see was Mike H , no sooner had he got the bird in his binoculars , it took flight , heading past the church spire and into the distance . We were soon joined by another birder that we both recognised from Sevenoaks Reserve and Bough Beech , so it was becoming somewhat of a 'mini twitch' . Unfortunately , the Hawfinch sightings described were the only ones up to 1500 when I left . That was even with the attendance , twice , of 'The Arrow Man' himself , Adam , and Chris , who I met at the 'tree-laying' event early last year , or it might even be longer ago than that . The shame was that between 1300-1400 , the sky

lightened considerably , but the Hawfinch did not return , but the local Dunnock was making the most of it . Other interest seen during the wait included Sparrowhawk , Goldcrest , a flock of LTTits and two Song Thrushes that were competing against each other , jumping up from the power cables to snatch the Ivy berries hanging above them .
I feel very lucky to have seen and photographed the Hawfinch , and thank Adam very much for putting out the news .

Wednesday 2nd. January 2013

Gone was yesterday's sunshine , but with a promise of half a day without rain , I set off to see if I could find the Smew that I saw posted yesterday , not for from a site where the Surrey Hedgelaying Group worked a few years ago . Spynes Mere was where we worked , but I was heading for Mercer's Lake close by , and used through the warmer months for aquatic sports . Although the car park was closed for the Winter , I soon found another entrance which could well be called 'The Somme' , as the footpath , although on a good gradient , proved something of a challenge . The report told of one drake and 1/2 redheads , but the lake is a good size and attracts a lot of gulls , not exactly what is needed when looking for the drake , an almost white bird .The footpath got somewhat better half way round , but no Smew were sighted , not helped by the thickly wooded banks of the lake , providing plenty of hiding places . Eventually I slipped and slithered around to the Water Sports Centre , where at least I was able to have a good look around from the vantage point . It seemed that every floating

platform was covered with gulls , with a high number being Greater Black-backed , like these two , and needless to say it was quite noisy . Along with the expected Coots , Moorhens , Cormorants

and Little  and Great Crested Grebes , there were lots of Tufted Ducks along with a few Pochard and various types of Mallard , but not what I was there for , until , from nowhere , a white blob popped up

out by a fallen tree , the drake Smew . But , as quickly as he appeared , he disappeared again , where to I don't know . Scanning the lake again , I failed to find him , but right over the other side I could just make out a redhead , tucked almost into the bank and the overhanging trees . I decided to trudge back to see if I could get a shot of her from the elevated footpath behind . Carefully , I managed to

get into position without spooking her , only to find that she wasn't alone , the drake was with her . I managed a few shots , but a dog walker with two dogs , closely followed by another birder came by and the birds saw one or both or all four , and flew off . I managed to follow them as they flew back towards the fallen tree and touch down just beyond . I followed , my boots now feeling like two blocks of concrete . On reaching the Centre , there was no sign of either bird , but once again the drake 'appeared' phantom-like , just beyond the tip of the fallen tree . A few minutes later , the

redhead appeared and had a wash and brush up , before rejoining the drake , then the two paddled off together , back across to the other side of the lake . I had to pass by again to get back to the car via 'The Somme' , and had a quick glimpse of the redhead but no sign of the drake . Back at the car the promised rain was imminent , but I decided to have a look around another couple of lakes , more open , with a housing development on one side and a landfill site on the other . There wasn't a great

deal to see , but there was a very tame Great Crested Grebe that posed quite happily just 15 mtrs. away , with no cover between us , most unusual , and several pairs of Gadwall , the males not looking

quite so dapper without the sun on them . I was about to call it a day , or should that be morning , when I met a local birder who said he was on his way to check out a spot where 8 Jack Snipe were seen at close range yesterday , so I asked if I could tag on . As it turned out , a good search by the two of us was in vain , as not a single 'bob' was seen , but if you don't look , you don't find . Getting back to the car it started to drizzle , which turned into rain on the way home .

Tuesday 1st. January 2013

What with the weather and the festivities , trips out have been few and far between . But , even when I have got out , very little of interest was found at either Hayes Farm , Keston Ponds or South Norwood Country Park . The feeders in the garden had only been attracting the usual Greenfinches
























 and Goldfinches , until Christmas Day itself , when , whilst helping with the dinner , I noticed a smaller bird arrive with the Greenfinches , which turned out to be the first Siskin in the garden this
























Winter . Not the best of shots , but it was pouring and the light was really bad at the time . I kept my eyes on the feeders for the rest of the day , but the Redpoll didn't appear , nor the Brambling that I was hoping to arrive with the Chaffinches to feed on the path , but as Meatloaf didn't sing , 'One out of three ain't bad ' .
With the sun out this morning , I headed for Sevenoaks Reserve , and although chilly , it was good to be out again . A Bittern had been seen from Willow Hide on Sunday , so I headed straight there , checking out an almost birdless West Lake as I passed . On arrival , I dropped the flap to see what was about on Snipe Bog Lake , which was quite a good few species , but no sign of the Bittern . The most noticeable thing was the bitter wind that was blowing straight in off the lake . Seven species of duck were on view , the best being a pair of Wigeon , together with the usual three species of goose , two Grebes , Coots a plenty and Moorhens . Making my way down towards Long Lake , I tried , and failed miserably , to photograph a Goldcrest , but did manage a Song Thrush fossicking for it's

breakfast , whilst being over flown by two of the Mistle variety . No Kingfisher sightings , but the usual RRParakeets were occupying their usual space at the end of the track . Turning and heading

back towards the VC , four Mute Swans flew by and landed on the East Lake , three of them being juveniles , just starting to come into adult plumage . From Tyler Hide , a large gathering of Common and BHGulls , and tucked away in the gloom of one of the islands still to receive the rising sun , several Common Snipe . The islands down towards Tower Hide were occupied almost entirely by

Lapwing , and as I passed , they all decided to take off , and after a few circuits of the lake , return to

where they started from . Tower and Slingsby Hides produced very little , so it was back to the car park , still without any sign of a Siskin . The car park was now full , but I grabbed a few minutes in

Grebe Hide , managing to get a few shots of one of the Marsh Tits . Lots of Blue and Great Tits were

also coming to the feeders , along with a somewhat larger species , that made the others disappear .
48 species , nothing special , but it was good to be out in the sun .

Monday 24th. December 2012

Friday 21st. December 2012

After being stuck in yesterday , and probably again tomorrow , and with two sightings of Waxwings reasonably locally over the two previous days , I was out early to see if the Winter visitors were still about . The first was down the A21 between Locksbottom and Green Street Green , but a good sweep of the area failed to find any sign , so I moved on to the second at the junction of the M25 and the M20 . A small flock had been seen in the edge of an industrial area , by a passing birder in yesterday's rain . Again I drew a blank . With no other plans , I decided to try a third site , an orchard near Horsmonden , just off the A21 , not far from Lamberhurst . 75 birds had been reported there on the KOS site . At least the cloud was starting to break up on my arrival , and unlike EMRS , there were still plenty of apples left on the trees and carpeting the ground below too . A wander along one of the many footpaths that criss cross the area found lots of

Fieldfares , once again , proving very difficult to get near to , and with most of the leaves having fallen from the fruit trees , very little cover to approach and only too quick to give an alarm call to announce my presence . After about half an hour , I was in my own little world listening for any trilling , when a big black Labrador came charging towards me barking .It stopped well short , but the barking had put up the Waxwings that I was searching for , just as I met up with the dog's owner ,

another birder . About 40/50 Waxwings were now on the wires , but as quickly as they appeared , they disappeared , heading out of sight , right over the highest point of the orchard . I spent the next hour or so walking the paths over in the direction the had flown , failing to find them . I made my way back to the car for a coffee and as I reached the lane trilling could be heard , and there was the flock , high in a tree almost over the car . As I got closer , they started to fly in small groups , heading for the area where I had seen them previously . Coffee was forgotten about as I followed them ,

finding them feeding , but with the rows of trees , it was very difficult to be able to focus on them .

Something then spooked them again , and up onto the wires they went again , this time almost

overhead . It was good to get them against the now blue sky , but they were quite high and I was looking fom underneath . A few minutes later and they were gone again , this time out of sight downhill . I headed back to the car for a second time , and this time did manage to get that coffee .
I felt resonably happy with the shots I had managed to get , turned the car around and headed downhill down the lane . As I got almost to the bottom , I pulled over to get a better look at a large

number of birds , once again high up some 50 mtrs. into the orchard , it was the flock again . Another cup of coffee as I watched them start to drop down to feed again , this time on the trees at the end of some rows . Coffee finished , I made my way along the track , finishing up under the tree and within 15 mtrs. of the feeding birds . The next hour or so was magical , as keeping still whilst feeding and moving when they all returned to the tree top , they seemed to accept my presence , and I was able to photograph them face on . The following shots are just a few of the many I was able to take , before once again the flock departed .

As I got back to the car , I must admit with a big grin on my face , another birder arrived . I was able to tell him where the flock's favoured perches were , but was unable to tell him where the flock was . I hope he was as lucky as I was .