Tuesday 5th. February 2013

I made a morning visit to Sevenoaks Reserve today , but although the sun was shining , well to begin with anyway , very little out of the ordinary was found . Coots , Gulls and Geese were the most abundant birds seen along with the many Lapwings , all vying for position on the few islands still above the vastly raised water level . The most colour was provided by the Willows around the lakes ,

with their orangey hue . 2M and 1F Bullfinches were seen , heard but went un-photographed between the fishermen's car park and Tyler Hide , no doubt a case of them seeing me first . The Alders on the way to Sutton Hide were Siskin free , as were the other Alders I checked on my way around the Reserve .One day I hope to open a flap at Sutton Hide and find a Bittern right outside , but today it was a small gaggle of Canada Geese taking their morning ablutions . A scan of the small inlet did

produce three very static , well camouflaged Common Snipe , but couldn't make up for the lack of a Bittern , or even an elusive Water Rail . On the other side of the East Lake , I did come across one of

the Marsh Tits , a change to find one away from the feeders . Not much further on , a Magpie looked

almost metallic in the Winter sunshine .Mind you , by the time I reached the far end of Long Lake , that sunshine was being throttled by ever increasing cloud . Even Willow Hide couldn't produce a surprise , but on my way back to the VC , the Scarlet Elf Cup / Sarcoscypha coccinea didn't let me

down , appearing on moss covered branches on the ground . A scan of the West Lake failed to find the hoped for drake Goosander which had been seen recently , or any redhead of the species either .
Mind you , as I put my gear back into the car , a Robin , not 5 mtrs. away was trying to tell everyone

that Spring was just around the corner , and in a chink of sunshine too .
On the way home , I called in to one of the other volunteers from the Common work party , who told me last week that he had good numbers of Lesser Redpoll coming daily to his feeders . Having failed to get one in the garden and not seeing one in the wild this Winter , I couldn't resist 'doing a Warren' , and taking up temporary residence in his garden shed . Three Redpolls flew from the feeders as we made our way to the shed , so things looked good . It wasn't long before the odd bird returned , the

first being a male , and after another short wait , a female turned up to feed on the Niger seeds in a

feeder that was being blown about by the strong wind . A maximum of 5 Redpolls were seen during the visit , but male Blackcap , Goldcrest , Blue Tits , Starling and several Goldfinch , relatives of the

Redpolls also came in to feed , all in all , a most enjoyable visit .
On the way home I checked on the juvenile Common Buzzard , finding it on a fence post at the back of the horse field , with a definite 'do not disturb' look about it .

Sunday 3rd. February 2013

A catch up post on the last three days , started with a search on Friday for two small flocks of Waxwings in the Croydon area . Despite a good look around the areas , not a single bird was seen . On the way home , I went to check on the juvenile Common Buzzard , with the bonus of the sun coming out on my way there .No sign to begin with , but after a short time , it swooped down for a worm , but flew straight back into the trees at the back of the horse field . More waiting and another couple of worms brought it a bit closer , but still too far to photograph . I must admit , I was about to

give up , when it flew straight towards me and landed no more than 15 mtrs. away . Another worm

and then it flew onto one of the fence posts , and posed . Chatting to one of the local residents earlier , he had asked what it was eating and suggested Pheasants , as there were plenty about . I said that I had only seen it eating worm , and had never seen it attempt to take anything else . This was proved to be the case , as just before I left , it flew back to the trees at the back of the field and landed in a

tree , in which two female Pheasants were already perched lower down , and they didn't bat an eyelid .
With wall to wall sunshine promised for the morning , I left the house early to see if I could get some Hawfinch shots in better light conditions . I arrived at 0730 , before the sun rose and before the magical half hour when the birds are most active according to Adam / East Malling , Ditton and Barming , and he should know as they are almost on his doorstep . I wasn't the first there though , Nick , who is a fellow reptile surveyor up on the Greensand Ridge , had been there for some time already . There was some cloud about , but as the sun showed for the first time , it wasn't long before one then a second Hawfinch flew in , perching right at the top of the Ash tree . Not the best lighting

 situation , but better than being just a silhouette . During the morning a possible third bird was seen , and by the time Adam got there , it was already a mini twitch with 8/10 birders in attendance . It was just as Adam arrived that I got probably the best shots that I managed , but would loved to have got

just one without twigs in the way and not looking upwards . In all , about 15 birders arrived whilst I was there , probably more through the afternoon . Don't be fooled by the blue sky on the last shot , there was a lot more cloud than blue sky around , but at least I was lucky enough when I took those shots . By 1130 it was all clouds , so I headed back home for lunch .
This morning , I did the Down House bird survey in overcast and chilly conditions . Not a good result , with just 15 species recorded , but bankers such as Blackbird , Greenfinch ,Starling , Wren Dunnock and any species of Thrush failed to show up , which would have made it more respectable .
On my way round , a few signs of Spring were found , Dog's Mercury / Mercurialis perennis , a

member of the Spurge family , already in flower , if you can call it that , and also pushing through the

leaf litter on the woodland floor , Bluebells . A quick look at Keston Ponds on the way back found nothing apart from the usual species , and no sign of the Buzzard either , but there were several

Redwings , I haven't often said that this Winter , in the horse fields along with the Mistle Thrushes and local Corvids and Woodpigeons .
This afternoon whilst on a walk with Carol , we found the first Lesser Celandine flowers on a roadside verge , along with two yellow Crocuses , probably dumped with garden rubbish in the past , and in a front garden , the first Daffodils of the year in full flower .

Wednesday 30th. January 2013

Knowing that I was going to have to make a journey 'up to the smoke' sooner or later , I have been watching reports of Bearded Tits in Hyde Park on the London birds page . Then , on Sunday , Marianne / The Wild Side visited the site , and posted a report and pictures on her blog , so this morning I decided to bite the bullet and travel up to London with what seemed like everybody from my neck of the woods . Having sorted out my business first , I headed by tube to Kensington , then a short walk to Hyde Park and the Serpentine . Fortunately , it would appear that the reed bed directly below Princess Diana's memorial is about the only one on the banks of the Serpentine , so it was not difficult to find . An obvious problem from arrival was a very strong wind , at times almost laying the reeds horizontal , but at least there were good periods of sunshine . I walked up and down the short reed bed a few times , finding no sign of the birds , and to hear them 'pinging' over the wind would be almost impossible . Another birder arrived and set up a scope , the back of the reed bed being no more than 5 mtrs. from the path we were standing on , perhaps he didn't own binoculars , but I didn't even use mine as the distance was so little . I spotted the two females low in the reeds , but one

disappeared lower still , whilst the other one posed atop the swaying phragmites , showing the ring which was fitted last Autumn at Rye Marsh . The second bird then joined it and they both took off , but only to land at the far end of the reed bed , to start working their way back along it's length . Often , both birds would disappear , especially after a particularly strong gust , but after a few

minutes would reappear , some times feeding at water level , unfortunately behind the iron railings . With no sign of the wind abating , it became a matter of waiting for the few moments of less movement between the strong gusts , and hoping that the birds were posing nicely , but more often

than not , they were back on to the camera , but not always . A couple more birders arrived and passers by stopped to find out what all the fuss was about , but numbers didn't seem to bother the

birds , although we did get a few looks from one of them , but it wasn't us that ruffled it's feathers . They didn't like it when one of the parks gardening vehicles went by , and kept out of sight for some time . It was difficult in the conditions to get one of the birds in focus feeding whilst swaying in the

 wind on the reeds  , even harder to get both , but it was managed a couple of times . By the early afternoon , and with more people stopping and looking , the birds stayed to the back of the reed bed , and impossible to focus on through the reeds , so I headed off to the tube to make my way home , after a couple of satisfying hours of photography . I'm sure it will take a lot longer than that to process all the shots taken . En route home ,  a wait for my connection at London Bridge station

afforded a shot of The Shard from the end of the platform . Even with the lens down on 70mm , I could only get the upper floors in the viewfinder , and a sore neck .

Sunday 27th.January 2013

The change in the weather yesterday to mild and sunny , meant that the postponed Byfleet hedge was finished , and as a bonus , nobody got stuck in the field . Strange to think that we have just four more days hedgelaying with the Surrey group , and that will be the season over with for another year . Mind you , a couple of emails received recently asking for some help 'tree laying' again , should once again prove interesting , to say the least .
The good weather albeit with strong winds , after heavy overnight rain , continued this morning , and with limited time , I headed off down the bottom lane , hoping to find the juvenile Common Buzzard back on it's patch in the horse fields , now that the snow had gone . Scanning the fence posts and it's favoured perches from the lane at the first opportunity , there was no sign . As I turned the corner , I thought I saw the bird on the ground , right at the back of the field , near to where the deer and fox was seen , but by the time I got alongside , there was nothing showing . Once again , I scanned the fence posts , and well camouflaged , just about as far away from the lane it could get , I was pleased to spot the bird . Being the weekend , many more people were in and around the fields , so it was probably keeping out of their way , but the important thing was that it had survived the severe conditions , and now with the ground no longer frozen , it was back in it's old routine of spotting

worms from it's perch and swooping down to catch them . A few times it landed and stayed still for a

short while , looking very majestic . Things were definitely back to normal when the Buzzard strayed

too far down the field , when the local Corvids swooped in to let it know who actually own the turf . Just before I left , the Buzzard did move on to one of his previous favoured posts , and posed nicely ,

as the clouds started to gather . Those clouds produced a couple of heavy showers , finishing up with thunder and hail . But the important thing was that the Buzzard was still around .

Friday 25th. January 2013

Looking through the sightings on the KOS site last night , two entries caught my attention . Seven Common Cranes were seen from the raptor viewpoint at Capel Fleet and Adam / East Malling , Ditton and Barming , had obviously released one of the Hawfinches from the box , to have a fly around the churchyard at Barming . I decided to marry the two together , and set off early this morning , arriving at the churchyard shortly after 8 o'clock . I wasn't too hopeful , as there was no bike resting against the churchyard gate , but got my gear and had a wander around the site . It was very cold and the light was poor , and for an hour and a half , no sign of a Hawfinch . I was getting ready to give up , when a single bird in the trees at the back of the churchyard caught my attention . I

hadn't seen it fly in , it seemed to just appear . I had just enough time to raise the camera and fire off a few shots , before it was gone again , heading down towards the river . I waited another 20 minutes or so , but it did not return . During the visit , I also had two Mute Swan , two Lapwing and a single Cormorant fly over , and Adam's feeders were busy , but only with Tits and Robins . A Goldcrest was 'ballet dancing' in the trees alongside the car park as I left . I arrived at Capel Fleet in slightly better conditions , but only slightly . Three birders were parked up on the top of the hill before the Fleet , who informed me that the Cranes were 'out there' and also that there were good numbers of White-fronted Geese 'out there' as well . Unfortunately , 'out there' is quite a big place at Sheppey , so I did my usual slow cruise past the raptor viewpoint and down to the Ferry Boat Inn , not finding a lot to be truthful . I turned around and headed back to the viewpoint , seeing Red-legged Partridge and lots of Woodpigeon on the way . I parked up at the viewpoint , to find a mixed flock of Reed Bunting ,

Meadow Pipit and Corn Bunting in the reeds along the roadside ditch , a female Reed Bunting pictured . Later , in the same ditch , two Green Sandpiper and a Little Egret were also seen . Walking

up to the viewpoint , a male Marsh Harrier flew effortlessly by , no doubt struggling to find food with most ditches still frozen over . With six or seven pairs of eyes searching , it wasn't long before the Cranes were spotted , at a good distance and alongside vegetation which made them almost invisible . A short time later , all seven took to the air , this time landing on the edge of a snow covered field ,

which made them more visible , but the light and distance was the problem . A few minutes later , and they were off again , but in flight it was easier to get some detail on the birds . This became the

norm , landed for 5/10 minutes then flying around , sometimes landing back in the original pace . I didn't mind though , as it was my first sighting of the species . The White-fronted Geese could also be seen from the mound , but they were even more distant than the Cranes . In the other direction , 3 Bewick Swans were in the field over towards Leysdown , but once again , distance was the problem ,

the Bewicks are the three on the right of the poor shot . The Crane sightings became more and more distant , and my extremities were getting colder and colder in a bitter wind , so I decided to get back to the car and moved down the lane towards the Fleet for a sandwich and cup of hot soup . On the

way , I passed 22 Corn Bunting sat on the wires , with a single individual atop a Bramble bush . Whilst having my lunch , the Cranes lifted off again , this time , after flying in circles for some time , headed way into the distance in the direction of RSPB Elmley . I was also treated to another Marsh

Harrier flyby , this time a female , and also by an almost equally sized Great Black-backed Gull . On the way back up the hill above the Fleet , several Winter Thrushes were fossicking under the

hedgerows , having stripped just about every berry from the bushed that were heavily ladened on my last visit . It was very evident the lack of Redwings this winter , with the Fieldfares the dominant species by far . I had intended to see if I could find the Cranes again on Elmley , but found the reserve closed , no reason given . I diverted back to the churchyard on my way home , but with it getting even colder and duller , if that was possible , just Greenfinch , Chaffinch and Goldfinch were seen , not their sought after relation .
Tomorrow , weather permitting , we hope to finish the Byfleet hedge , postponed from last Saturday by the weather , that is if everyone can get there !

Wednesday 23rd. January 2013

Yesterday , I spent most of the morning at the Barn Owl site , in the hope that , given the recent weather , they might have been forced to hunt during the day , having read several reports of this happening . Needless to say , the only thing I got was very cold , apart from a flyover Grey Heron ,

looking even greyer against a very grey sky . Heading back towards the car , and some warmth , four

Long-tailed Tits were busy at a feeder , but a few seconds later , they were on their way . Still haven't

found a Brambling this Winter , but this Dunnock was doing a good clean up job under another feeder .
Today , I decided to have a look at Sevenoaks Reserve , in the hope that a winter visitor might have dropped in . From Marianne's recent post , I knew that many of the lakes were frozen over , and so it proved , with West , North , Snipe Bog and Long Lakes all looking like skating rinks , but surprisingly , the East lake was almost ice free , so I headed off towards Tyler Hide . A few of the expected species were seen , when all of a sudden , everything took off from the islands as a low flying Sparrowhawk flew across from the direction of Willow Hide . What was surprising was the number of Common Snipe that appeared from their tucked away positions on the islands , some 25/30 in my estimation , then as a flock , did a couple of circuits of the lake before the majority heading off over the far corner where the RRParakeets nest , and seemed to drop down into the fields behind .

The odd one or two returned to around the islands like this one , but I think I would prefer to have my feet out of water in these conditions . Leaving the hide , another birder told me he had seen 1 perhaps 2 redhead Goosanders at distance from the viewing ramp , down towards the clay spit . I headed off towards Tower Hide , constantly scanning the spit area , but without any luck . The only birds seen

from the hide were this pair of Gadwall , tucked up against a cold wind down the lake . The water behind Slingsby Hide was another skating rink , so I did the loop back to the main track , hearing , but not seeing , Siskins on the way . As I got back towards the viewing ramp , I spotted the two redhead Goosander just off the island . I stayed  under cover and they came closer , eventually

swimming around the island , where I managed to get the closest shots . Having swum around the

island , they emerged from the far side and then flew off heading down the lake , seeming to splash down amongst the islands beyond Tyler Hide . I followed them down the lake , and soon found them feeding in amongst the islands . They were a good distance off , but it was interesting watching them

dive , with an 'entourage' of Black-headed Gulls in attendance , no doubt hoping to pick up a free meal from what the Goosanders had stirred up . One bird did come a bit closer , but with the light

conditions as they were , they didn't do justice . Beyond the feeding Goosanders were several

Shoveler , most of them dozing , but this pair seemed more energetic . Lunch was calling , and it was starting to snow again , so I left the Goosanders to theirs as I headed back to the car park to get mine . I did stop very briefly at the feeders at Grebe Hide and in a matter of a couple of minutes , most of

the expected species showed up , including the super little Marsh Tit , and a very inquisitive Robin .

With the snow getting heavier and the light getting worse , if that was possible , I headed off home . Both yesterday and today , I looked for the juvenile Common Buzzard on my way home , but failed to find him on either occasion , so it's still fingers crossed .