The Hawfinch saga continued this month and therefore it isn't really that surprising that they have remained my bird of the month for the 2nd month in a row. There were however only 2 records this month referring to one in the trees near the sheep/ goat pens at Belmont farm on the morning of the 28th before flying towards Belmont School at 10:20, and another was then seen on 31st in Owl field. Redwing were recorded 14 days during the month with the most notable sightings 280+ on 9th, 200+ on 13th, and 265+ on 28th. These are some of the largest flocks that we have had this early in the year for a long time and if the continued run of cold weather movements from the continent we could be up to record breaking numbers by the spring. Fieldfare numbers also slowly increased to around the average number being recorded on 12 days during the month. The most notable counts were 75 on the 5th, 72 on 9th, and 80 on 15th. Pied Wagtail numbers slowly decreased during the month from 3 at the beginning to just 1 being reported after the 5th. Skylarks were only recorded once during the month with 3 on the 1st. Siskin numbers fluctuated this month between a flock of 20 recorded on the 5th to a more humble pair on the 30th. This suggests that there might me a roving flock in the area this winter and hopefully the sightings of these birds will become more regular. Rook numbers despite being present throughout the year for perhaps the first time in recent decades the wintering numbers this year are yet to live up to the full potential. A total of 50 at the beginning of the month and 50 at the end of the month were interspersed with counts of 43 on 9th, and 74 on the 24th. This suggests that this winter there might be another area locally that the flock is both feeding and roosting!? Canada Geese have taken hold this winter with a large flock split between the fields at Folly Farm and also the Fields at Belmont Farm. The Flock at Folly Farm is the biggest with 81 counted on the 24th, and the flock at Belmont Farm numbers 39. This suggests that there could be as many as 120 in the valley at the moment which could be close to a valley record. The Geese flock at Folly Farm this month has held the Greylag Geese along with the 3 Farm yard white geese. These Geese have been present all month and are know locally as the Finchley Five (even despite never stepping foot in Finchley) and they have also been recorded at Brent Reservoir. Mandarin Ducks have had a good month with 10 drakes and 3 females on the 1st, 5 on 9th, 6 on 24th, and finally 7 were seen on the 29th. Teal had an interesting month with numbers fluctuating dramatically suggesting that there are other feeding grounds during the day that they head off to. 13 were seen on the 1st, followed by, 3 on 3rd, 6 on 5th, 2 on 9th, 1 on 15th, 10 on 24th, 1 on 30th, and 6 on 31st. The wintering Chiffchaff at Belmont Farm remained in the willows until at least the 3rd. Goldcrest numbers peaked at 9 on 24th, with other high counts of 8 on the 9th, and 6 on the 3rd. Grey Wagtail were still frequenting the area around Sheep Wash Pond with 2 on the 3rd, followed by one there the rest of the month. Treecreepers were seen twice during the month with one on the 3rd, and another seen on the 31st. Mistle Thrush were seen more regularly during this month than the previous ones with a max count of 5 on the 8th, suggesting that the wintering population this year is of a decent size. Common Gull numbers have been slow to reach the heights that they normally reach in winter, with flocks now starting to return to the fields at Belmont, Folly, and Firth Farms. the largest count was of 115 on 5th. Black-headed Gull are also starting to return with a decent count of 49 heading to roost on the 3rd. Also on the 3rd the 3rd valley record of a Goosander occurred with a presumed female flying in the direction of Darlands Lake/ Long Pond at 15:36 . This is an interesting record as it is the 2nd of the year and also suggests that they fly over the valley more often and simply go under recorded. The 2 young Common Buzzards remained in the valley, however they were only recorded twice during the month proving hard to see. The only Lesser Redpoll of the month came as a surprise on the 9th when one was recorded near the Southern edge of Owl field. A good number of Bullfinch are spending the winter with us this year with a pair recorded on the 9th, and 24th, and 3 on the 31st. Starling are a bit hit and miss at the moment, probably due to the large range in the valley that they are covering. 18 were seen on the 9th followed by a flock of 64 on 28th. Meadow Pipit had a poor month however they have maintained a decent amount of months that they have been recorded in this year, with 2 on 9th, 1 on 24th, and 1 on 31st. The valleys population of Little Owl were heard on several occasions during the month, mainly around the Cow Field area, with the usual three on 24th, and 29th, and one on 9th. Rather surprisingly the only Tawny Owl sighting was one calling on the 9th. After drawing a blank in November a Red Kite was seen on the 14th drifting NW at 11:12 before u-turning and heading E, and another or the same individual was seen the next day heading SW over the Owl field. A Stonechat was seen for the first time in the valley since October with one seen on the far fence in Lapwing field on 24th. A female Merlin flew through Cow field and attempted to catch a Redwing before flying towards the medical research institute on 24th. This is an interesting sighting as it marks only the 4th submitted record for the valley and potentially the first in the 21st century. Woodcock as always were hard to pin down, but one flushed from cow field on the evening of the 24th was followed by another flushed from owl field on the morning of the 31st. Egyptian Geese remained at Belmont Farm throughout the month with 3 on the 28th being the most seen. The usual 3 Red-legged Partridge were still around at Belmont Farm on the 28th and these seem to be the only birds being seen regularly in the valley suggesting a potentially bad breeding season elsewhere. And finally the only Kingfisher of the month was seen on the 30th. Contributed by Samuel Levy 01/02/18 Above: Drake Teal at Darlands Below: Drake Mandarin at Darlands Above: Ring-necked Parakeet in the snowy scenes at the beginning of the month
Below: Stock Doves
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My bird of the month nomination for November is the Hawfinch. With 12 sightings submitted during the month referring to 62 individuals. These reports are as follows; In 2017 a national influx occurred due to the suspected failure of Horn Beam Trees in Scandinavia. It was however not until November that we got in on the action. The Records are as follows: 15 were seen heading east from ‘Owl’ field between 15:30 – 16:45 on 3rd Nov; 9 were then seen heading south east over Belmont Farm at 08:50 and presumably the same 9 were then seen at 16:30 circling over Darlands before heading west on the 5th Nov; One then flew west over the Ridgeway at 14:10 on 9th Nov; one was then seen in ‘Owl’ field dropping down into a blackthorn bush on 10th Nov; 7 were then seen on a vis-mig between 07:15- 09:45 on the 12th Nov; 3 were then seen perched by Mill Hill School Sports Centre on the morning of the 13th Nov; followed by another the next morning; 4 were then seen flying over the Ridgeway on 16th Nov with another the next day; Another then flew west on the 22nd tried to drop down on trees by the Sports Centre at Mill Hill School before being blown back SE at 16:15; A sky watch on 26th produced yet another which came in at 07:40 from the South East and appeared to drop down in the trees surrounding Darlands Lake it was subsequently searched for but not found; The Hawfinches continued to dominate the news with a flock of 10 in the trees by Mill Hill Sports Centre on the 27th until they were flushed by a Magpie at 08:58 and didn’t return. Teal numbers unusually declined during the month from 12 on the 3rd of the month to one on the 26th. This is unusual and probably due to the unusually large amount of Canada Geese that are roosting on the lake and also due to the below average water levels that remained throughout the month on Darlands. Tawny Owls were heard easily during the month with 6 on the 3rd, 1 on 12th, 2 on 15th, and 1 heard on 26th. Marking the usual up serge during the month. Little Owls were also not just heard but seen during the month with 7 on 3rd, 2 on 12th, 2 on 15th, and 1 on 19th. Despite our efforts this autumn the only rare owl that was seen this month was Simon's Barn Owl which decided to linger in the valley until at least the 3rd. It was seen at the same time and same place as it was 4 days before and also was much appreciated by those who managed to see it! As previously mentioned Canada Geese numbers continued to rise throughout the month with 26 from 3rd till 12th soon being joined by another 8 raising numbers to 34 by the 19th. Skylark have had a decent run of sightings despite low numbers earlier in the Autumn with, 3 on 3rd, 1 on 6th, and 2 seen flying North on 12th. A single Grey Wagtail seems to be spending the winter with us this year and it was noted on 8 occasions during the month. Starling numbers peaked at, at least 93 on 3rd before finishing the month with only 51 birds. However the flock was quite mobile and so it is possible that they all remained in the valley. Stock Dove numbers peaked at 53 on 3rd with another high count of 40 on the 26th being of note. Meadow Pipits are having one of their best runs of sightings for the last few years with at least 21 dropping in to roost on the 3rd. Other sightings involved 1 on 9th, 9 on 12th, 4 on 14th, 5 on 19th, and 2 on 26th suggesting that some might stay the winter this year. Common Gull numbers still remained low however they are slowly returning with 4 on 3rd, 3 on 5th, 8 on 12th, 2 on 19th, and finally 26 on 26th. A male Peregrine on the 3rd was the only sighting during the month, however due to the large amount of Pigeons during the month one would assume that it made more appearances, but went under recorded. The two young Common Buzzards remained during the month being noted on at least 3 occasions. Rook numbers tended to dwindle during the month with 26 on 3rd, 9 on 12th, 20 on 14th, and finally 13 on 25th. Goldcrest were notably recorded on 15 dates during the month with notable counts of 12 on 24th and 7 on the 12th. Mandarin Ducks are always quite hard to see at Darlands due to the large amount of cover that the lake has, however now that the trees have lost their leaves the amount of sightings tend to increase with, 3 from 3rd till 12th, a female on 14th, and 5 were seen for the remainder of the month. Redwings were recorded on 21 days during the month which is probably due to their delayed arrival from the continent. Rather than listing all the counts i will skip to the most notable. This included 127 on 12th, 110 N/NW on 14th, and finally a new valley record of 436 on 26th with birds literally dropping in from all angles and disappearing into the cover. Linnets were seen on 3 dates during the month with 2 on 3rd, 1 on 9th, and 5 on 12th. Three Bullfinches were regulars in and around Owl Field at the beginning of the month before being joined by another by then end of the month and so they look set to winter in the valley this year. Both the reports of Chiffchaff this month respond to the bird that looks to be spending the winter with the Tit flock at Belmont Farm, although others are surely still around, but just not being seen. Pied Wagtail numbers remained high at the beginning of the month with 6 on 5th before numbers slowly rounded off to just a pair by the 30th. The two Egyptian Geese remained in the valley at Belmont Farm and look set to winter again this year. Woodpigeon numbers peaked at 500 seen flying W/SW at dawn on 6th, followed by another 150 S on 9th. Numbers elsewhere in London were similar this month. Fieldfare numbers slowly increased during the month and they were recorded on 10 days during the month. This included notable counts of 30 on 12th and 47 on 26th. There were two sightings of Brambling for the first time since April 2016 including one calling high up over the bottom of Cow field at 10:55 on 9th and another on the 12th over Frith Riding Stables. Siskin have had a good autumn so far with birds seen one vis migs and also visiting the alders around Darlands. This includes 1 on 9th, 1 North on 12th, 3 on 19th, 1 on 26th, and 1 on 30th. Lesser Redpoll are also in a similar situation with 2 on 9th, 3 on 12th, 1 on 19th, and 11 on 26th making what is usually a scarce winter visitor to the valley actually quite common. Despite large numbers of Coal Tits arriving in the UK this Autumn we remained with just the regulars with 1 on 12th and a pair on 14th. Cormorant sightings were more regular than usual with 2 on 12th the highest count. one was also noted on both the 19th and 26th. Perhaps suggesting that there are still water shortages in some parts of the local area. A potential contender for bird of the month if the Hawfinches hadn't turned up was the female Marsh Harrier that drifted from Long Field towards Cow Field at 15:00 on the 15th, marking perhaps only the 2nd record for the valley. Pure White 'Farmyard' Geese have gradually turned up in the valley and look to be spending the winter alongside the Canada Geese Flock with 3 appearing by the 24th. Before this year there had only been 4 previous records of Greylag for the valley, however a pair have turned up and appeared to be spending the winter with the Canada Geese population in the valley. They first appeared on the 24th and are still present. And finally a Kingfisher was seen on the 25th marking the only record this month. Contributed by Samuel Levy 12/01/18 Above: The 2 Greylags and 3 'Farmyards' on Long Pond
Below: Canada Goose. This particular one has an interesting story as it is permanently stuck on Long Pond as it cannot fly. It was unfortunately struck by a car when it was younger. It also has in the last month gone miss so either it has made a miraculous recovery or unfortunately nature might have taken its toll. Either way it will be missed by both me and the local fisher men! |
What can I expect from this blog?A Monthly summary will be written each month starting from May 2017, with photo's and reports of interesting species that have been found, as well as an update on the bird life in the valley. Sightings can be contributed via uploading to London Bird Wiki under the heading Totteridge Valley. Any pictures that have been taken can be submitted by email (This can be found on the contact us page)!!! We thank everyone for their contributions so far! Good Luck! Archives
December 2018
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