Friday 3rd December 2010

An early morning visit down to the River Medway in Barming turned up 10x Snipe, a Lapwing and Grey Wagtail crouched down in one the streams that ran down to the river just west of Barming Bridge.  A Cormorant fished on the river and a male Sparrowhawk sitting in a tree next to the railway bridge at the bottom of South Street eyed up the Blackbirds and Song Thrushes (x3) that were flitting back and forth on the road.

Back to work today after spending an enforced day sledging with the kids!  The snow had really collected in Oaken Wood, 16" or so, which made it hard work to walk in but had left lots of tell tale signs of what had been around.  It was absolutely silent - not a bird to be seen, no Redpolls, no Bullfinches, nothing.  By Kiln Barn Farm Barn a couple of Pied Wagtails and Chaffinches fed around the hay that had been left out for the cattle, and with 2x tolerant Robins....a tolerant, non-territorial Robin - things must be getting desperate!

At lunchtime I checked out the orchards on the East Malling Research site.  Plenty of Woodpigeons, Chaffinches, Starlings, Blackbirds and Fieldfares but not in numbers I'd expect in such harsh conditions. The churchyard held high numbers of Redwings feeding in the Yews and Goldcrests were heard calling.

I then met a couple scanning the genebank at the church and asked if they'd seen anything of interest.  They told me that there was a big flock of what they thought were Chaffinches feeding to the west of the road to Park Farm.  Hoping for a Brambling amongst the flock I set off and quickly located the birds they had told me about feeding in a weedy plot to the west of the road.

There were a number of Chaffinches (20+), but also a few Goldfinch (5+) and lots of Linnets, probably 60-70 birds.  However, alongside the plot and on the road were a collection of birds I didn't instantly recognise, but one of the birds took the air and sang....Skylarks!  I'm not sure if it was because they were away from their usual habitat or just the sheer number of them, 52+ but I was completely thrown out!

Some of the large exaltation of Skylarks feeding on one of the Research station roads (click to enlarge)

Walking alongside the fence, checking the finches I noticed what I thought was the back of a hen Pheasant crouching in the weeds, I walked closer and up flew a Woodcock!  It flew silently (apart from it's wing beats) across the plot and round the back of me towards the Bullock Yard.  At last - I'd heard a few reports of one on site, I was just glad to connect with one at last!  Suddenly a Sparrowhawk glided low from the east and put everything up in the air, and had me wondering if it was me or the Sparrowhawk that had flushed the Woodcock.

Sparrowhawk spooking Skylarks

I carried on towards Bradbourne House, skirting the stream to check for Snipe...and bingo, a Snipe took flight from the edge of the waterfall pool - a species needed for the East Malling Tetrad (BTO Winter Atlas).  I thought today would be the day with so many Snipe being reported from around the county.  Bradbourne Lake had the usual Coots, Moorhens, Canada Geese and Black-headed Gulls as well as a pair of Gadwall, an infrequent visitor to the patch.  The last part of the patch was to check near the bridge to the Pavillion at Bradbourne where I expected a Grey Wagtail or even another Snipe, but was extremely surprised to flush another Woodcock sitting out near a Yew at the side of the bridge - this one shot across the boundary wall, over New Road and towards the Clare Park Estate.

The day was just getting better, but was topped off by a Lapwing drinking from a puddle in the Bradbourne House car park, an occasional flyover species but quite rare on the deck.  What a day!

Friday 19th October 2010

Nothing in the mist this morning about from a flock of calling Herring and Black-headed Gulls near Kiln Barn Farm.  With the fog lifting mid-morning I made a concerted effort at lunchtime to get Coal Tit on the East Malling Atlas Tetrad.  I reckoned my best bet would be the yews/conifers in and around the churchyard in East Malling, but after 30 minutes, with various near misses with Blue and Great Tits I realised it wasn't going to happen today!  Still I managed a nice brace of Thrushes, with 2x Mistle Thrushes, 5x Song Thrushes (amazing number!), 2x Redwing and 30+ Fieldfare and even better for the patch - a Grey Wagtail on the roof of Court Lodge in Church Walk - not the the most obvious place to look for one, perhaps I should have gone looking down the stream for the Coal Tit!

A Sparrowhawk flew into the churchyard and perched high up and partly obscured, but his bright eyes gave him away!  He managed to put everything into the air so finally putting a nail in the coffin for my Coal Tit....but I've got until the end of February so no rush.

There is a Sparrowhawk in there...honest!

Moving into the next Tetrad to the west, Mill Street and West Malling, I hoped to  pick of a Greenfinch or Goldfinch or two - again another species missing off the Atlas and within 10 minutes got 3x Greenfinches, 12x Goldfinches, 1x GS Woodpecker and 2x Jay - all gaps on the winter distribution map.  I'll get the East Malling area dark green before the winter's out!

Tuesday 17th November

I wandered onto the Bald Birder's old patch for a change today. Bradbourne House and Lake, East Malling was looking resplendent in the November sunshine with a suprising number of trees still holding leaf despite the weekend gales. Along the stream that leads to the Lake I was suprised to see a pair of Wagtails - Grey Wagtails to be precise, always where I'd expected to see them but somehow had never managed to before! A new site tick. Further on a female Sparrowhawk tried to take a Fieldfare out but it somehow managed to escape.