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
2 Comments
Deb
3/2/2018 09:43:57 am
Samuel, do you have a map of the fields that you often refer to? I have visited the areas occasionally for many years but I am not familiar with them. Thanks.
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Samuel
4/2/2018 07:42:35 pm
Hi, I am affriad I don't at the moment, however this is one of the things that I am in the process of doing.... I hope to have it ready for the summer!
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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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