Having not given the patch a proper working since Boxing Day, I was able to get out for a decent session before work this morning, the sunshine joining me after days of rain.
On the drive to Mill Pond I noticed 6 gulls in the field at Ham Lands - all Common Gulls - the first I've had on the deck since last spring. This species has interested me as, last year, the numbers feeding on the fields rose and rose until an incredible crescendo of over 150 in March. These birds may well roost on the coast, some 40 miles directly south, and work their way north as the winter goes on, exhausting the farmland through Sussex and south Surrey before reaching Thorncombe Street. I expect the numbers to rise as the weeks go on, and it wasn't surprising to see 6 flying N over the Ridge later in the morning.
My main aim was to check the mixed finch and bunting flock on the Ridge, and as I was climbing up I could hear Reed Buntings (8 in total), Goldfinches (10+) and Chaffinches (c.30). Upon reaching the top, and taking in the beautiful, fog-shrouded valley, it didn't take long to find a Brambling, with a female showing well on the south side. Another female was in the hedge near the Pheasant feeder on the north side, and there were at least 10 Greenfinches present, good numbers following on from the big flock yesterday.
2 Red Kites were loitering on the south side, to the angst of the local Jackdaws, and 26 Black-headed Gulls flew high south, no doubt with their eyes on the south coast. A pair of Egyptian Geese flying north over Rowe Barn Farm rounded off a decent morning.
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| The drake Goosander at Cutt Mill this morning (D Carlsson) |
The overwintering Great Grey Shrike was seen again at Thursley Common this morning, with the bird reported near Shrike Hill at 09:30 (DCs).
Nearby, at Cutt Mill, there were 4 Goosander (1 drake), down from 7 on the 3rd and 9 on New Year's Day (DCs).
