TUESDAY 10 NOVEMBER
A very damp day with poor light conditions and cool temperatures (9 degrees C). No wind to speak of and intermittent light drizzle.
CHESS RIVER VALLEY, BETWEEN GREAT WATER AND CHORLEYWOOD
The juvenile OSPREY remains present, being seen on and off all morning and eventually flying off east early afternoon. It did NOT roost this evening and was not seen after 1330 hours.
LITTLE EGRETS (an adult feeding in the stream south of Limeshill Wood and then later at the Cress Beds with two further birds feeding at dusk west of Chenies Bridge. Interestingly, the latter two flew off east to roost at 1647 hours in almost total darkness)
Grey Heron (3 at the Cress Beds)
Mute Swan (2 adults just north of Sarratt Mill House)
Red Kite (3)
Common Buzzard (1)
Common Kestrel (a male at the cress beds and another at the Three Valleys Pumping Station just SW of North Lane)
Moorhen (33 between Sarratt Mill House and the stone bridge)
Black-headed Gull (large numbers flighting south towards Broadwater GP)
HERRING GULL (25+ with the above)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (35+ with the above)
Woodpigeon (28 in one gathering)
TAWNY OWL (one hooting from the SE corner of Baldwin's Wood towards dusk)
RING-NECKED PARAKEET (2 by Sarratt Mill House)
Green Woodpecker (3)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (3)
Meadow Pipit (1 in flight near Sarratt Mill House)
Grey Wagtail (3)
Wren (5 territories)
European Robin (2 by Bridge Cottage and at least 6 more in valley)
Song Thrush (2)
REDWING (26 roosting in evergreen trees south of Sarrattmill Bridge at TQ 037 976)
Mistle Thrush (3 including a male in full song)
FIELDFARE (4 near Sarratt Mill House)
Common Blackbird (7 noted including 3 by Mill Farm Barns)
Long-tailed Tits (22 in total in 3 feeding flocks)
COMMON TREECREEPER (1 in trees just north of Sarratt Mill House - a scarce species in the valley)
Common Magpie (6)
Jay (3)
Chaffinch (18 at roost in evergreen trees south of Sarrattmill Bridge)
SISKIN (1 by the cress beds)
LESSER REDPOLL (1 by the stone bridge)
BULLFINCH (1 in Sarratt Bottom)
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
OSPREY putting on a good show
The OSPREY is still present today; this morning it commuted between Little Chalfont village and Great Water and this afternoon was back again in the Chess River Valley, roosting just east of Chenies Bottom village. It later returned to Mount Wood before flying east into Chorleywood
OSPREY all set to overwinter
After a four-day sojourn, I arrived back mid-afternoon to a call from Anna and JT. They had just found the OSPREY perching high in a dead tree in the Chess Valley.
Unloading Carmel's suit-cases as quick as I could, and briefly greeting the cats, I raced over and joined the two girls. The OSPREY was still there and showing well - providing me with the most prolonged views I had ever had of it and enabling me at last to confidently age it as a first-winter.
It looks as though this may well be its roosting site - and it sat in this dead tree at the west end of Mount Wood, NE of Chenies, until dark (at TQ 026 987)
DIRECTIONS: At the west end of Chorleywood, turn in to North Lane and continue for half a mile to the bottom of the valley just NE of Sarrattmill Bridge. Take the public footpath NW to the end of the lane and then walk a further 250 yards through the cow field to view NW from the bridge over the river.
A total of 5 LITTLE EGRETS flew to roost, as did a local record of 8 RING-NECKED PARAKEETS (there have been a remarkable 18 in recent days).
A WATER RAIL skulked along the east bank of the Chess, there was 1 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Coot and a LITTLE OWL at dusk. A male TAWNY OWL also hooted at dusk
Two flocks of REDWING totalling 34 birds were also seen
Unloading Carmel's suit-cases as quick as I could, and briefly greeting the cats, I raced over and joined the two girls. The OSPREY was still there and showing well - providing me with the most prolonged views I had ever had of it and enabling me at last to confidently age it as a first-winter.
It looks as though this may well be its roosting site - and it sat in this dead tree at the west end of Mount Wood, NE of Chenies, until dark (at TQ 026 987)
DIRECTIONS: At the west end of Chorleywood, turn in to North Lane and continue for half a mile to the bottom of the valley just NE of Sarrattmill Bridge. Take the public footpath NW to the end of the lane and then walk a further 250 yards through the cow field to view NW from the bridge over the river.
A total of 5 LITTLE EGRETS flew to roost, as did a local record of 8 RING-NECKED PARAKEETS (there have been a remarkable 18 in recent days).
A WATER RAIL skulked along the east bank of the Chess, there was 1 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Coot and a LITTLE OWL at dusk. A male TAWNY OWL also hooted at dusk
Two flocks of REDWING totalling 34 birds were also seen
Belated report - Coleshill 6/11
Another interesting morning whilst working in the garden at Coleshill.
Before I started the endless task of raking the leaves up at the property I work and live at I had a quick scout around the grounds and found the following-
A pleasing sight of 23 Starlings perched together in the top of a now leaf bare Horse Chestnut started the morning off, they were chattering and clicking quietly amongst themselves with the odd whistle thrown in for good measure. A good group of Finches that I accidentally flushed from a row of wild Rose bushes contained roughly 18+ Greenfinches and 16+ Goldfinches which circled up and in to some of the nearby trees, this gave me the chance to see what they were feeding on and found that some of the larger hips had softened up and contained some large seeds in, some of seeds in the biggest hips were almost as big as sunflower hearts which must be attracting them, there's about 25 of these large Rose bushes and still plenty of hips on them. 2 Jays were soon the next on the list as they squabbled over Acorns in a nearby Oak followed shortly by 2 Resident Mistle Thrushes which were 'rattling away' at each other. So by 8:30 a mini orchestra of bird song and calls are simmering away soon to be joined by 20 or so Redwing high up in a Horse Chestnut and adding their 'tsseep' calls to the mix. During this time a Blackbird has hopped across the lawn in front of me 'tutting' as it disappears in to the bottom of a bush. It was at this time that I realised I should've started work and before I got a rollicking headed off armed with my rake ready to take on the piles of fallen leaves, tedious to say the least but a good chance to observe nature as it unfolds.
At 9:00 a Green Woodpecker can be heard calling from the garden next door and a quick peer through the hedge finds it sat on the rear lawn with 2 Pied wagtails bobbing across the grass a few metres away from it, the leaf raking is now not such a mundane job, okay it is but I'm getting a few fringe benefits along the way and as long as I don't get caught whipping my bins out from beneath my coat every time I hear or see something I'll be fine.
The resident Robin has now joined me and is sitting on the wheelbarrow handle with it's head tilted towards the ground as I clear the leaves, it's watching for the slightest movement before darting down and grabbing a worm and returning to the wheelbarrow handle. It's very tame but won't come to my hand to feed yet, I'm hoping that by Christmas I will have trained him up and then I can get some good photos for this years Christmas cards.
It was very grey and overcast when I'd started but by 9:30 a few spots of blue sky could now be seen poking through the clouds and the wind had dropped completely, a Grey Heron gave me a shock as it called from overhead, it continued west probably heading for the local village pond. Not long after 5 Siskin then passed over heading North calling as they went and shortly after a Magpie flew over. During this time the Starlings, Finches & Thrushes were still calling but getting louder, I'm not sure if this is to do with ambient sound from traffic and human activity but it seemed to happen just a the roads became busier. It got to a point where they seemed to be trying to outdo each other and I stopped to listen just as a flock of about 150 maybe more Redwings appeared overhead. They started circling round and seemed to pick up some of our Redwings that have been in the garden for a week or so from the nearby trees, Finches then took to the air and the noise was incredible and seemed that each and every one of them was calling. They circled round a couple of times separating into smaller groups with birds going off in different directions, I wondered if a predator was in the area but there wasn't anything in the sky except hundreds of Redwing & Finches. The Redwing circled round 4 or 5 times before forming a loose flock and heading off north leaving 20 or so Redwing to settle back in the tops of the trees, presumably the same birds that have been in the garden for awhile. It's great to see spectacles like that and a real sign of 'visible migration' on a small scale.
Over the next hour or so I'd seen 2 Nuthatch, Bl & Grt Tit, 12 Chaffinch, 1 Black-h Gull heading south, only my 2nd sighting of Ring-necked Parakeet in the area as 2 flew over from the east and headed west, 1 Red Kite, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker and heard 2 Goldcrests. By 10:45 the Robin had acquired a friend and both were watching me from the garden wall, a few worms that were unearthed made a tasty treat and as they weren't fighting I presume that they are a pair.
The skies were now quite clear and mainly blue and whilst gazing in to the distance I noticed a large group of birds heading towards me from the south, a quick scan with the bins showed that they were Wood Pigeons and quite a few of them. Within a minute or so they were approaching overhead but difficult to count as they were widely separated and a best estimate would be somewhere in the region of 200-225 birds which flew over heading north. As there is a lot of Wood Pigeon migration at the moment It seemed a bit strange to see them heading in that direction rather than south, I don't think they are local as I only seem to see handfuls rather than flocks of 25 upwards. An added bonus was finding a Tawny Owl pellet in the garden to add to the 2 I've found recently near local woodland. So it was quite an interesting morning despite the fact the Oak trees still haven't shed their leaves yet and so I've got it all to do again!!!
Ashley Stowe
Before I started the endless task of raking the leaves up at the property I work and live at I had a quick scout around the grounds and found the following-
A pleasing sight of 23 Starlings perched together in the top of a now leaf bare Horse Chestnut started the morning off, they were chattering and clicking quietly amongst themselves with the odd whistle thrown in for good measure. A good group of Finches that I accidentally flushed from a row of wild Rose bushes contained roughly 18+ Greenfinches and 16+ Goldfinches which circled up and in to some of the nearby trees, this gave me the chance to see what they were feeding on and found that some of the larger hips had softened up and contained some large seeds in, some of seeds in the biggest hips were almost as big as sunflower hearts which must be attracting them, there's about 25 of these large Rose bushes and still plenty of hips on them. 2 Jays were soon the next on the list as they squabbled over Acorns in a nearby Oak followed shortly by 2 Resident Mistle Thrushes which were 'rattling away' at each other. So by 8:30 a mini orchestra of bird song and calls are simmering away soon to be joined by 20 or so Redwing high up in a Horse Chestnut and adding their 'tsseep' calls to the mix. During this time a Blackbird has hopped across the lawn in front of me 'tutting' as it disappears in to the bottom of a bush. It was at this time that I realised I should've started work and before I got a rollicking headed off armed with my rake ready to take on the piles of fallen leaves, tedious to say the least but a good chance to observe nature as it unfolds.
At 9:00 a Green Woodpecker can be heard calling from the garden next door and a quick peer through the hedge finds it sat on the rear lawn with 2 Pied wagtails bobbing across the grass a few metres away from it, the leaf raking is now not such a mundane job, okay it is but I'm getting a few fringe benefits along the way and as long as I don't get caught whipping my bins out from beneath my coat every time I hear or see something I'll be fine.
The resident Robin has now joined me and is sitting on the wheelbarrow handle with it's head tilted towards the ground as I clear the leaves, it's watching for the slightest movement before darting down and grabbing a worm and returning to the wheelbarrow handle. It's very tame but won't come to my hand to feed yet, I'm hoping that by Christmas I will have trained him up and then I can get some good photos for this years Christmas cards.
It was very grey and overcast when I'd started but by 9:30 a few spots of blue sky could now be seen poking through the clouds and the wind had dropped completely, a Grey Heron gave me a shock as it called from overhead, it continued west probably heading for the local village pond. Not long after 5 Siskin then passed over heading North calling as they went and shortly after a Magpie flew over. During this time the Starlings, Finches & Thrushes were still calling but getting louder, I'm not sure if this is to do with ambient sound from traffic and human activity but it seemed to happen just a the roads became busier. It got to a point where they seemed to be trying to outdo each other and I stopped to listen just as a flock of about 150 maybe more Redwings appeared overhead. They started circling round and seemed to pick up some of our Redwings that have been in the garden for a week or so from the nearby trees, Finches then took to the air and the noise was incredible and seemed that each and every one of them was calling. They circled round a couple of times separating into smaller groups with birds going off in different directions, I wondered if a predator was in the area but there wasn't anything in the sky except hundreds of Redwing & Finches. The Redwing circled round 4 or 5 times before forming a loose flock and heading off north leaving 20 or so Redwing to settle back in the tops of the trees, presumably the same birds that have been in the garden for awhile. It's great to see spectacles like that and a real sign of 'visible migration' on a small scale.
Over the next hour or so I'd seen 2 Nuthatch, Bl & Grt Tit, 12 Chaffinch, 1 Black-h Gull heading south, only my 2nd sighting of Ring-necked Parakeet in the area as 2 flew over from the east and headed west, 1 Red Kite, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker and heard 2 Goldcrests. By 10:45 the Robin had acquired a friend and both were watching me from the garden wall, a few worms that were unearthed made a tasty treat and as they weren't fighting I presume that they are a pair.
The skies were now quite clear and mainly blue and whilst gazing in to the distance I noticed a large group of birds heading towards me from the south, a quick scan with the bins showed that they were Wood Pigeons and quite a few of them. Within a minute or so they were approaching overhead but difficult to count as they were widely separated and a best estimate would be somewhere in the region of 200-225 birds which flew over heading north. As there is a lot of Wood Pigeon migration at the moment It seemed a bit strange to see them heading in that direction rather than south, I don't think they are local as I only seem to see handfuls rather than flocks of 25 upwards. An added bonus was finding a Tawny Owl pellet in the garden to add to the 2 I've found recently near local woodland. So it was quite an interesting morning despite the fact the Oak trees still haven't shed their leaves yet and so I've got it all to do again!!!
Ashley Stowe
Friday, 6 November 2009
No sign of the Osprey by early afternoon
FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER
CHESS RIVER VALLEY
Checked the Chess River Valley in its entirety between Chesham Sewage Farm and Chorleywood and up until 1215 hours, there was no sign whatsoever of our late-staying perhaps even over-wintering Osprey. Wind was in the NW with dry and fairly clear conditions. At least seven observers searching.
The following species were encountered -:
Little Grebe (1 first-winter on Great Water)
Grey Heron (7)
LITTLE EGRET (the wintering four: three in the Mill Farm area and another east of Bois Mill)
Mute Swans (14 on Great Water)
Tufted Duck (13 on Great Water)
Common Buzzard (2)
Red Kite (4)
Common Kestrel (2 males)
Woodpigeon (226 over in one large flock but probably local birds moving feeding areas; no obvious passage particularly)
Stock Dove (6 in Chorleywood)
Green Woodpecker (2 at Latimer Place)
Eurasian Skylark (1 south over Sarratt Bottom)
Pied Wagtail (2 in Stony Lane paddocks including an adult male)
COMMON STONECHAT (the wintering pair showing well in Mill Farm Water Meadows)
Long-tailed Tit (8 at Latimer Place)
Coal Tit (1 in Stony Lane)
CHESS RIVER VALLEY
Checked the Chess River Valley in its entirety between Chesham Sewage Farm and Chorleywood and up until 1215 hours, there was no sign whatsoever of our late-staying perhaps even over-wintering Osprey. Wind was in the NW with dry and fairly clear conditions. At least seven observers searching.
The following species were encountered -:
Little Grebe (1 first-winter on Great Water)
Grey Heron (7)
LITTLE EGRET (the wintering four: three in the Mill Farm area and another east of Bois Mill)
Mute Swans (14 on Great Water)
Tufted Duck (13 on Great Water)
Common Buzzard (2)
Red Kite (4)
Common Kestrel (2 males)
Woodpigeon (226 over in one large flock but probably local birds moving feeding areas; no obvious passage particularly)
Stock Dove (6 in Chorleywood)
Green Woodpecker (2 at Latimer Place)
Eurasian Skylark (1 south over Sarratt Bottom)
Pied Wagtail (2 in Stony Lane paddocks including an adult male)
COMMON STONECHAT (the wintering pair showing well in Mill Farm Water Meadows)
Long-tailed Tit (8 at Latimer Place)
Coal Tit (1 in Stony Lane)
Chaffinch House early morning
31 Common Starlings, 27 House Sparrows, 19 Collared Doves and once again, WOODPIGEONS streaming over in large flocks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
