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 4th May

Garden Warbler - the song is more exciting than the plumage!

A bitterly cold NE blew against me all the way into work - a Garden Warbler was the only thing of note, but Chiffchaffs and Blackcap, all  good coppice birds were singing.  A scout of the paddocks around at lunchtime East Malling checking all those fence posts turned up a Little Owl, a couple of Song Thrushes and a Pied Wagtail.  On the way back home a couple of Swallows skimmed the paddock opposite Kiln Barn Farm and, at last, a Cuckoo heard from the South Street Orchards in Barming and a couple of Whitethroats near the railway line.

Spot the Blackcap - another leaf warbler that can be very well hidden.

Wednesday 24th January

Nice start to the day, seeing a steam loco coast past the East Malling Research station - for you train buffs it was 70013 Oliver Cromwell on 'Sussex Belle' duty (even manage to get bloody branches in the way on my steam engine photos - consistent eh!).  Another site tick - and would have seen it from the office if I'd been in (directly below square roof in centre background, The Downs beyond).

Back in the office I was pleased to hear and then see a Song Thrush singing at full throttle - it stayed there most of the day and was still singing at 18:00 this evening!

I managed another quick visit to Bradbourne Lake at lunchtime, a Little Grebe was shooting the rapids, the poor light put pay to any decent photos again. 

Further along a Little Egret posed long enough for me to get another crappy  (this time through the car windscreen) - and confirmation at last that it wasn't just a plastic bag - 

before it took flight, giving me some more fantastic photographic opportunities (and you thought those Shoveler photos were bad!!!) 

Not much else about in the brief respite from the heavy showers, though the House Sparrows were making the most of the puddles.

Tuesday 23rd February

Wow wee - 3 (three) Song Thrushes in the garden this morning - small sand all that, but I was pleased when one returned in December, and the last time I think I can remember seeing more than 2 in my garden was probably 1984, so a big event for me!  There seem to be good numbers around at the moment, let's hope they stop and breed successfully (if the cats don't get them).  Got a snap of two of them above.

I tried something different at lunchtime today, and instead of turning left at the research station gate I went left.  A 40-minute jaunt took me off under the railway and then parallel with it and back to East Malling church.  Despite the looming rain there seemed to be plenty of things on the move.  Seven Blackbirds, 3 Song Thrushes and a Green Woodpecker all hopped around a field just SE of the railway bridge.  A GS Woodpecker did a undulating fly-over one of the gardens at Kiln Barn Cottages.  All the usual suspects were seen including good numbers of Blue Tits, however the best find was a murmaration of 500+ Starlings feed voraciously in the paddocks near Paris Farm.  Fieldfares and Redwings were mixed in with them, but it seems like quite a roost has built up here. 

Friday 12th February

Four Snipe just west of Barming bridge this morning and a Kingfisher grooming on the north bank of the River Medway from the bridge first thing this morning. 30+ Fieldfares sat out on the railway embankment trees, a GS Woopecker drummed on the riiverside willows and a Song Thrush tapped away on it's anvil.

A brief visit to Ditton Quarry at lunchtime wasn't too productive, although some pellets were found, possibly Kestrel (anyone want to comment?). No sign of Bullfinches, but a small flock of Redpoll were seen in flight across the orchard just S of the quarry

Monday 11th January

Winter Thrushes on the cane supports of the concept Pear Orchard

(bit washed out, but click to enlarge)

Back at work, masses of Fieldfares and Redwings at usual and another feeding frenzy brought on by the snow - it really is something to behold, the noise of hundreds of Fieldfares and redwings squabbling over fallen fruit is quite something. The ratio of Redwings to Fieldfare seemed to have changed with more Fieldfares than of late. Opposite the Great East Hostel I was pleased to see a small parcel (13) of Linnets with 5+ Skylarks pecking amongst the same herbs. In the orchard alongside I was suprised to see a gaggle of 90+ Greylag Geese, picking over the apples that the winter thrushes had been feeding on last week (see Monday 4th January blog). The Genebank (orchard at back of East Malling Church) held good numbers of Blackbirds, and the orchard nearest the main Laboratory building held a few Song Thrushes, Chaffinches and Green Woodpecker amongst the assembled flocks and crowds of Fieldfare and Redwing. A male Kestel was also about.

Thursday 31st December

A cat had cornered something behind my shed this morning, and going out to investigate I was suprised to see a Jay cowing behind some pots and trays. I shooed the cat off, but the Jay seemed reluctant to fly. I wondered if it was injured, so picked the bird up, it seemed to be in shock more than anything. I showed my two lads, they were fascinated by it's electric blue coverts and dusky-pink colour, James took a photo (above) before I let it go. It hopped around the lawn and then flew up to one of the Field Maples before flying off south, apparently none the worse for it's feline encounter.

The morning remained overcast, with occasional drizzle, as I set of to do an Atlas TTV in nearby Pizien Well/Mereworth. Despite the weather it was a lovely walk, without another soul in sight, taking in the hamlet of Pizien Well, some of the surronding orchards and wooded areas on the perimeter of Mereworth Castle.

Picture from http://unmitigatedengland.blogspot.com/2007/08/lost-in-woods.html

Halfway along the walk I happened upon the overgrown Triumphal Arch for Mereworth Castle and then the equally isolated St Michaels Church, East Peckham (www.stmichaelseastpeckham.co.uk/index.html), high on the hill overlooking Hadlow and Warren's patch at Pittswood (http://pittswoodpatch.blogspot.com/), but I couldn't see his Goosander, forgot the scope ;-). Pheasants were numerous as might be expected as a regular shoot takes place at the Castle, but the number of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes was a real suprise; I logged 51 and 16 respectively, with 9 of the latter species seen in a single flock. Common Buzzard, Meadow Pipit and Marsh Tit were all unexpected finds, giving a total of 34 species in total.

As I drove back down South Street, Barming I noted a few Redpolls still feeding in the Silver Birch.

Sunday 20th December

Another inch or so of snow fell overnight, refreshing the stained snow of the last couple of days. The number of bird species in the garden looked to have increased when I looked out the window at breakfast; Starlings (very irridescent today), Woodpigeons, Jay and Song Thrush (always good to have in the garden) were all present, picking and feeding on anything they could find. I managed some snaps through the kitchen window of the braver birds that fed on my homemade cheese-lard-sultana-breadcrumb treats (brave to eat anything of mine that was homemade or brave to come so close to the house!).

I don't know what was going on with the Woodpigeons; they were having a feeding frenzy in the ivy at the back of the garden, probably on seed I guess (unless a misplaced shot by one of the neighbours had deposited half a loaf of bread in there).

I still couldn't get my car off the drive in South Street, Barming, so I walked my lad up the road for a lift to a birthday party he had been invited to. I glanced at the Silver Birch at the top of the road and immediately picked out a Redpoll, though I couldn't make out if it was Lesser or Common. I quickly dropped James off and rushed back for the camera. By the time I had returned to the tree there were 3 birds; 2 were Lesser, the 3rd I could quite make out. I tried to get some record shots but failed miserably.....grrrrr. The birds suddenly took flight with some Redwings and so I decided to check out the nearby churchyard and orchard. The churchyard held more Redwings and the orchard was full of Fieldfares and Blackbirds (21 individuals in one row). One Fieldfare had the misfortune to end up as a Sparrowhawk's breakfast; I got a quick glimpse of the raptor on the orchard flew before it flew off with Fieldfare in it's talons. I looked through some of the plucked feathers that littered the ground, black and grey, a sombre combination reminiscent of a guardsman's great coat (see pic below), but smart when they're still attached to the bird!

I managed a glimpse of Barming Bridge through the apple trees, there seemed to be a large flock of Canada Geese milling around the bridge - where there's people there's food I guess! Going back to collect James I checked out the South St Silver Birch again - 6x Redpolls now. I managed some pics but no sure that Common (Mealy) was in there with them; most views were of the undersides which glowed persil-white in the snow-reflected sunshine.

I know I harked on about this yesterday but the icicles today were fantastic - drip, dripping everywhere.


James snapped one of the church porch (just after I'd told him not to) - it was about half the size of him.

The fresh layer of snow looked beautiful, I took more pictures knowing that it would all probably be washed away tomorrow. The evening light on the snow made it look almost like a foaming sea, I've got pictures like the one below from my holidays in Cornwall!

We finished the day with more sledging until it got too dark, the last rays of sun catching the River Medway below our sledging slope.

Monday 14th December

Lots of Song Thrushes around at the moment, with my first in the garden since the Spring this morning, and another three (one singing) on my walk into work. Eight Common Gulls were among 23 Herring Gulls and 90+ Fieldfares on the pasture near Kiln Barn Farm and a couple of Pied Wagtails flitted around the barn.

Over Ditton Quarry at lunchtime I eventually connected with the Redpoll flock. They were very mobile on the Alders and interspersed with Goldfinches. I managed to see 5+ Lesser Redpoll, I'm sure the Mealy was in there were with somewhere buttime and light conspired against me and I had to get back to work before finding it! Another five Song Thrushes over the Quarry, with Jay, Bullfinch and Green Woodpecker all adding a dash of colour.

Tuesday 1st December

The bridleway from North Pole Road, Barming through to Kiln Barn Road, Ditton was alive with birds this morning; Bullfinches (x4), Redwings (x7), Song Thrushes (x2), Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits - but fuelled by my advent chocolate and running late for work I had to zip by most of them. The first frost of the ground frost of the winter in Barming had obviously pushed everything into foraging mode.

Ditton Quarry was due a long overdue visit, and within minutes of arriving there at lunchtime I picked out a Lesser Redpoll...and then another....and another! A small group of 5 birds was feeding on Alders in the SW corner. I attempted some photos (always difficult little buggers to photograph as they're so high up) and then wandering further around the Alders and Silver Birches I started picking out more Redpolls. They were very active, as Redpolls usually are, and mixing with a large charm of Goldfinches. In total I reckon there were at least 20 individuals, all Lessers, but I'm sure there's a lot more on site.

Sunday 17th May

I thought it had gone quiet of late, and when I went to the back of the garden I discovered why - a dead Song Thrush, the one that had most likely been singing from the trees at dawn and dusk over the last few weeks. A sad sight indeed and a real sense of loss. As a kid they'd been as common as muck and I took them for granted, but since their decline I came to really appreciate what beautiful birds they are (notice the orange on the underwing, something I'd never noticed before). A feeling also felt for the equally 'uncommon' Small Tortoiseshell butterfly.