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| Common Blue in Hive Field |
I managed some video, but the bird was rather quiet and very hard to see, and is only just audible in the clip that's linked. Despite this, I was pretty delighted to add another patch lifer this spring, bringing my personal total to 132. It's also a mighty fine bird for the year list, and continues a hot streak these past 5 days, with 3 year ticks bagged, as well as the third ever Curlew on Sunday.
Elsewhere, on a muggy, largely cloudy day with an occasional welcoming westerly, it seemed a late fall of warblers had occurred, with a much larger than normal tally of Whitethroats throughout (sadly no Lesser, a bird that still eludes me on patch...). Both a Herring Gull and Cormorant flew over Hive Field, as did 4 raptor species. The Surrey Wildlife Trust have begun to move into Bonhurst Farm, and sadly one of their first actions was to mow the lush grass meadows that had benefited from a sheep-less spring. Full highlights:
07:15-08:40; 09:45-12:20
Mill Pond: 2 Tufted Ducks (♂♂), 5 Mute Swans, 1 Mandarin (♀), 1 Little Grebe, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff and 1 Grey Heron.
Winkworth Arboretum: 1 REED WARBLER (sub-singing in S end of Phillimore, 07:35-07:50 at least), 1 Cuckoo, 1 Marsh Tit, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Tufted Duck (♂), 7 Blackcaps and 2 Chiffchaffs.
Gatestreet Farm: 19 Greylag Geese, 2 Red-legged Partridges and Blackcap.
Bonhurst Farm: 1 Whitethroat, 5 Greylag Geese, 2 Red-legged Partridges, 3 Linnets and 1 Blackcap.
Scotsland Brook to New Barn: 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Whitethroats, 1 Marsh Tit, 2 Chiffchaffs and 2 Blackcaps.
Hive Field (10:25-12:00): 1 Herring Gull (N at 11:27), 2 Whitethroats, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Skylark, 5+ Swifts, 1 Cormorant (N), 1 Sparrowhawk (♂), 5+ House Martins, 8 Swallows, 2 Red-legged Partridges, 10+ Buzzards, 4 Chiffchaffs and 3 Blackcaps.
