Wednesday 24th November 2010

The tetrad gap filling continued today - I hoped to get some of those missing species for the East Malling tetrad (TQ75D).  Bradbourne House was in my sights, but I stopped off en route to see if I couldn't locate the Blackcap that Greenie had seen earlier in the week.  No sign of it, but not surprising considering the disturbance caused by road laying operations been carried out nearby.

Bradbourne I quickly connected with Goldcrests and a couple of tit flocks, which to my relief contained a Coal Tit....but then I realised this was just over the tetrad line and it was actually in TQ75E, a gap filled for that tetrad, but still one in my own!  I persevered and after following another flock of Long-tailed Tits, this time in TQ75D I found one tucked up by the bridge over the stream...phew!

The best views I had of Coal Tit...but still, it's a gap filler for TQ75D!

On the way back home I had the misfortune to find a freshly-dead Badger across my path.  There was no indication what had caused it's demise, but it was still warm so I moved of the track and into the hedge, a sad end to the day.

Friday 5th March

Nice crisp morning and pleased to add Coal Tit to my 'walk in' year list - fliiting around the trees bordering the North Pole allotments, Barming.  3x Great spotted Woodpeckers, chasing each around the treetops by the Water Tower, making a hell of a racket!  At lunchtime I added another 2 Coal Tits to the day list, this time by the footpath crossing the railway just east of East Malling railway station.  Also a few pairs (not parties) of Long-tailed Tits.  Fieldfares are still hanging around, with 25 seen on the orchard floor with a single Redwing. 

I headed off to Bradbourne, passing the South Park plot on the Research Station which was being ploughed.  A few Black-headed and Common Gulls followed the plough, but a larger flock sat out in the adjacent field, 80-90 Black-headed Gull and....a Mediterranean Gull....yeh hey, at last, about bloody time!

6th gull from the left - OK he's looking away - but nice, darkest black hood, all the way down the neck (compare to Black-headed gull above it, with brown-dull black hood) and nice red legs.  No black on wing tips, and if you could see his face, nice big red bill and white eye surrond.

A smart adult, almost in full summer plummage, and only the third record for site.  Unfortunately it was a fair few metres away across the open field and I couldn't get close enough to get a good picture......as ever!  Visit Tony Morris' St Margaret's Blog to see how it should be done (http://stmargaretsphotodiary.blogspot.com/2010/02/looking-at-page-of-bockhills-latest.html)! 

This time 11th from the left, almost in the centre.  Nice dark hood again, and if blow pic up can even see a red bill!

I moved closer an old plane growled over sending them all up in the air, ironically I got a better pic of that the gull (come on Twisden, what is it?  Harvard?  Grumman?).  This flock of gulls is viewable from the public footpath that runs north, along the research station road, from East Malling Church to Ditton Church.

I zipped down to the lake to see if the Med had dropped in there, but was met with just 25+ Black-headed Gulls, and another new bird for site for the year - a Mistle Thrush! 

Also I've heard from Dave Walker in Barming who was kind enought to send me a photo of one of three Harris Hawks that are frequenting the west Barming area.  He's seeing them on an almost daily basis - so if you see a large raptor floating over the A26, it could well be one of these!  Thanks Dave.

Sunday 7th February

A quick jaunt down the River Medway first thing with the kids, we managed to flush 3x Snipe on a marshy area just west of Barming Bridge this morning, and the noted the remnants of a Blackbird and a coughed up pellet (Sparrowhawk?) nearby.

Later I escaped to do the late visit for BTO Atlas Tetrad TQ65R. I started in the hamlet of Pizien Well, just west of Wateringbury. A few of the gardens were well-stocked with feeders and was continually visited by Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Goldcrest and a Coal Tit, but no sign of the Marsh Tit or Blackcap I'd seen on the earlier visit. The owner of the garden saw me scanning his bird table and came out and asked if I wanted to sit on the bench in his garden to watch the birds....how many places do you get residents making an offer like that! He then produced an impressive list of all the wildlife he'd had in the garden over the last 20 years. The list included Tree Sparrow, Hawfinch and most surprisingly Hoopoe that he told me had landed briefly on the lawn of the adjacent garden a few years back! I wasn't to be so lucky today, and as I left the hamlet the weather deteriorated - I tramped through the derelict orchards which were deserted, not a single Fieldfare or Redwing, amazing has I'd seen 200+ a couple of days ago near East Malling.

Up Park Road, skirting round the grounds of Mereworth Castle and towards the Triumphal Arch (contour 108), I was lucky to get a covey of Bullfinches (7 in total) and a single Redwing. No sign of the Common Buzzards I'd expect on this patch and only another single Goldcrest by the old East Peckham church. Things weren't looking too good, I seemed to be well down on the species count of 34 I managed on the earlier visit. However things were to take a turn for the better. I nonchalantly scanned a small pool that is cut in half by the southern axis of the tetrad where I added Mallard and Moorhen to the list, but was amazed to see a drake Mandarin Duck sail past - then another, and another and then a squabbling group of another four - eventually I saw 9x drakes and a single hen - what a result! I ended up with 30 species, but some shocking omissions such including Magpie!

I finished off the afternoon by driving home via Teston Country Park to scanning the area check for a Barn Owl that had been reported just west of the bridge. I saw the smart new owl box and roost pole but no sign of the bird itself. Something to check for again.

Sunday 3rd January

Looking after the kids again so a stay at home day. A pair of Coal Tits visited the garden feeders, I'll have to get a box up for them soon and keep my fingers crossed. Quite a common bird to other bloggers but I just can't get enough of this sprightly little gems. The olive-grey mantles and wash of orange on the flanks really stood out out in the sunlight. The snow soon arrived, and I took the kids out snowballing in the nearby orchards. Masses of Fieldfares and Redwings as usual and a couple of Cormorants over, battling against the snow. I also finally got a chnace to check out the Redpolls in the Silver Birch tree at the top of South Street, Barming. Before Christmas I'd found a 'Mealy' after looking up into the tree to see where the drift of seeds was eminating from. With scope in hand I set up and spent a good hour observing the flock of Redpolls taking care not to point the scope towards the windows of the neighbouring houses! There were 12 individuals, separating in 2 distinct groups of 4 and 8 birds

.

Spot the Redpolls (Lessers) - I've become adept to spotting them from the car as I drive past now!

The birds all appeared to be Lesser with the exception of 2 birds in the smaller group which seemed to show some characteristics of Common; paler overall appearance, distinct white wing bar with no buff colouration, pale cheeks, white eye stripe, pale rump and distict white tramlines on mantle, lack of buff colouration on flanks. However they didn't appear much larger or bulkier than than their companions and didn't have the frosted appearance of the birds I'd seen in Ditton Quarry in early 2009. I give up, real hard one to call! I'll keep an eye on them to see if they wear through to 'frosted' plummage. Some poor shots below:

Saturday 2nd January

Back over the ground I covered for the Atlas TTV (just W of Wateringbury) with my family today. A lovely crisp day, with a hard frost. There were more birds on the move tha when I visted on the 31st Dec, and I was glad to see another Marsh Tit amongst a flock of other Tits (Long-tailed, Great, Blue and Coal).


We visted St Michael's Church, East Peckham which holds some fantastic memorials and gravestones if you're in to that sort of thing (if only I could read Latin)!
Lots of interesting Lichen on the stones and branches, but that's a whole new discipline to get into, probably save that one for retirement!
On the walk back I was pleased to see 2x Common Buzzard soaring high overhead.

Friday 1st January

All attention was on the garden again (in Barming) - my wife was working and the kids wanted to stay around home today so I found myself staring out the window (hoping for Hawfinch). We'd made some fat balls yesterday and I was interested to see what would be th first to feed on them. A Coal Tit! This is a bit of a garden Mega for me, I managed a poor record shot of this very smart and unexpected bird as it moved onto the seed feeders - a good start for 2010. I'll be looking out for it tomorrow and hopefully get some better pics. Later we visted the orchards, masses of Redwings (300+) and Fieldfares, and a quick scan of the South Street Silver Birch showed up 6+ Redpoll, all looked like Lesser to me.

Thursday 19th March

Another sunny start - 12x Chiffchaffs calling along the eastern and northern perimeter of Oaken Wood, Barming. Also a new tick for the year, Marsh Tit which really brightened up my day! 2x Goldcrest, numerous Great Tit & Blue Tit, 3x GS Woodpecker and 4x Green Woodpecker all calling and then on the pasture just north of Gallaghers Quarry 5x Common Gull with 17x BH Gull, the Common Gull's being another new year patch tick - I was doing well! A couple of Jays but in an appearance just as I left the wooded area by Gallagher's Gallop, and then another year tick, Little Owl in the barn opposite Kiln Barn Farm. What a day! Pied Wagtail added to the tally, flitting on the roof of the house on the corner of Kiln Barn Road.

By lunchtime it had clouded over and gone cold - reminding me we were still in March. I took a trip back to where I'd seen the Marsh Tits, no sign, but yet another year patch tick - Coal Tit! All common birds I know, but that's the beauty of patch watching. Feeling lucky I moved onto scan across the various paddocks between Oaken Wood and East Malling hoping a Wheatear or Swallow might be picked out, but I was really pushing my luck and neither were seen. However I did hear what I though was a Barn Owl shriek from a small copse - this was at 13:00 afternoon, surely not?!

Back at the research station, East Malling I managed 12x Yellowhammers sitting in one of the alder windbreaks by the Conference Centre, they're feeding in the fallow field just south of the footpath.