Patch Walk Delights.

My patch walk at Epsom Common this morning started with Wren and Blackbird singing at the car park. No activity on the Stew Pond apart from three anglers hoping for a bite! Blue Tits called as I climbed the steps to scan over the Great Pond with the sun directly ahead making it difficult to discern the colour of any shapes on the water but I picked out Mallard, Coot, Moorhen and two Grey Herons. A Kestrel flew over and a few minutes later was followed by a Sparrowhawk with a Carrion Crow in tow.

Directly to my left were a pair of Canada Geese; the male on sentry duty while his partner enjoyed the fresh green grass. One was colour ringed (YYS) but I couldn't read the BTO ring number. 

Grey Heron patrolling the distant pond margins.

I then walked round to the other end of the pond and with the sun behind me was able to easily pick out a pair of TUFTED DUCKS, 5 Teal and then a pair of MANDARIN DUCKS briefly emerged from the pond-side vegetation but quickly disappeared. Then I heard the call of a Mandarins overhead and a group of 9 circled over the treetops and promptly headed off westwards. My earliest recorded sighting was 12 March 1997 but last year I didn't pick them up until the 31 March so this visit was obviously well timed to log their return!

Skirting further around the pond I eventually managed a distant (cropped) view of a male Mandarin while also logging a second pair hidden amongst a stand of willows out in the water and then disturbed a female Pheasant who flapped her way deep into the woods.

  

Coot.

With little else on offer I headed along the northern boundary of Ashtead Common overlooking Rushett Farm and picked up several Skylarks joyfully singing, Magpie, Woodpigeon, 2 STOCK DOVES, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits with one carrying nesting material. Several Nuthatches were heard calling plus Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Treecreeper, Jackdaw and Parakeets.  

Evidence of the tree management work; some heavily cropped crowns and others have just had a haircut but a many of the old veterans have been left alone apart from having had their understory cleared away. First butterfly sighting for this year was two BRIMSTONES flitting through the woodland glades. I then retraced my route back to the Great Pond and as luck would have it the group of Mandarins that I had seen flying off earlier returned and after a quick circuit deposited themselves on the water but promptly swam out of view under the overhanging branches. As I crept slowly and quietly closer I could hear them chatting to one another and then they all erupted in flight across the pond.

I counted 10 males and the reason for their visit was to court one unpaired female who definitely didn't want to play their games as she constantly flew away with her numerous consorts following her every move.

Female Mandarin Duck.

So todays surprises lifted my patch sighting total for 2011 to 44. Now all I need to hear is the song of some returning LBJ's.   FAB.

Gulls Galore.

A drive southwards to Hayling Island on Friday to visit Anita's parents provided an opportunity for me to take a stroll at the disused Oyster Beds.

The early 19th century was probably the hey day of the Hayling Island oyster beds but in 1902 when new drainage / sewerage pipes were laid to meet increasing housing development the outfall into the harbour nearby caused major pollution and the oyster business failed. In the 1980's a large volume of rubble was 'dumped' into the beds. Many of the 'bunds' have been breached so nearly all of this previously protected area is now tidal. 

Despite high tide being some hours away there was very little on the water apart from two species of gulls: the more common Black-headed (Larus ridibundus) [bottom RH image] which is poorly named as in breeding plumage it has a dark chocolate brown head and the gull that does sport a black head, the MEDITERRANEAN (Larus melanocephalus) plus a thicker and blood red bill with its distinctive white eye. When this species stretches its head the black cap can appear to extend much further down the neck.

With a very strong westerly wind I attempted a couple of digiscoped shots [above and below] of  the Meds out on the closest bund and  estimated that at least 30 individuals were encamped on this rubble island and constantly moving the Black-headed Gulls away from their space. 

Eventually an opportunity arose to capture this special species in flight with the DSLR and 70-300 lens.

Other species sighted included Grey Heron, Little Egret, Cormorant, Mallard, Red-breasted Mergansers, Little Grebe, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Greenshank, Common Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Grey Plover, Curlew and the usual Dark-bellied Brent Geese plus Kestrel, Crow, Magpie, Greenfinch, Mistle Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker.   FAB.

Barnes WWT bathed in sunshine.

Earlier this week (Tuesday) I enjoyed a few hours in the sunshine at WWT Barnes. 

Whilst the centre was alive with school children enjoying various activities including pond dipping the hides were very quiet probably because most of the birds were fairly distant. 

After half an hour in the hide overlooking the waterlogged scrape the only close visitors were a pair of Canada Geese who settled for a few minutes before taking flight.

and a couple of male Tufties.

The view from the Peacock Tower over the grazing marsh was somewhat similar so I headed towards 'Wildside' on the other side of the reserve.

Coot with some damaged feathers strutting across the grass.

Moorhen enjoying a cool drink.

I stopped for a while to capture some of the 'collection' species including Red-crested Pochard, a male White-headed Duck and the Goldeneye with a red head Smew in tow. As I wandered the pathways the striking call of a Cetti's Warbler pierced the air and Goldfinches twittered above my head.

Once again there was very little activity from the furthest hide apart from a couple of Dabchicks (Little Grebe). On my return route there was a small collection of people staring across one of the water channels at the distant reedbed. A search through the bins (I'd decided to leave the scope at home!) and I eventually located the distinctive brown camouflaged outline of a BITTERN well hidden in the reeds. It maintained its station while occasionally preening for some 20 minutes but then decided to move out into the open.

Unfortunately it was really too far for the 70-300 lens and the overhead sun didn't help focussing but I managed a cropped record shot that will have to do for the time being. Within a few moments this elusive species was out of sight .... until another day perhaps.  FAB.