It is quite hard to pick this month between two birds for the bird of the Month award. I am going to give it to the Raven which I had on the 24th as it flew in at 17:50 cronking loudly whilst circling over the sheep fields before proceeding to roost with the other corvids and it is definitely something that I am not going to forget in a hurry. This is the 3rd Record for the valley since 2011 and marks a recent recovery of this species in this part of the UK. Redwings this month produced some good counts including 104 on 9th, 220 on 14th, and 99 on 25th. The Egyptian geese pair stayed for the beginning of the month mainly at Belmont Farm, bar an outing to Sheepwash Pond, however after the 11th they then went missing. The Coot on Sheepwash Pond remained the only bird of this species in the valley and it was last seen on the 25th just before the cold snap! Nuthatch numbers varied dramatically during the month with 3 on the 4th being the most notable count. Goldcrest numbers started to dwindle towards then end of the month perhaps due to some starting to migrate, although more likely it could be a consequence of the cold weather. The highest count during the month was 6 on 3th. The other contender for bird of the month was the Yellow-browed Warbler which spent at least the morning of the 3rd with a flock of Goldcrest in Oakfields. It was quite an interesting individual with a yellow patch under its wing, however its brief stay didn't help with the potential for further ID. This is only the 2nd record for the valley following one in late 2016. Little Egrets were seen on 3 occasions during the month with most sightings rather interestingly coming from Frith Riding Stables. There was still at least one over wintering Grey Wagtail throughout the month at Belmont Farm. It was an unusually poor month for Fieldfare sightings after what has been a bumper year for them. The maximum this month was 62 on 14th, and another decent count of 53 on bth the 4th and 20th. It was all rather odd, however towards the end of the month during the colder weather Fieldfare were dropping in and migrating West to get out of the Beast. An example of this was the group of 25 seen flying west on the 28th. Common Gull numbers started to increase and reached a healthy 268 by the 20th, before rounding of significantly when the fields froze over and they were forced to return to the local Reservoirs to feed. The only Red-legged Partridge of the month was one on the 4th. Siskin numbers were very good during the month with atleast 15 present at Darlands throughout the month. Although there weren't as many Bullfinch this month there were however some good counts including 5 on 9th. The only sighting of Linnets during the month and the only sighting so far this year was of a group of 12 in the trees surrounding Camden Playing fields on the 4th. Teal numbers ranged from 13 to 11 during the month suggesting that some birds are likely to be moving between other locations away from the valley. Coal Tit were scarce as per usual with the only records this month being 2 seen on the 4th and one on the 11th. As for Common Buzzards 3 on 4th and 3 on 25th were the highest counts and at least two of those individuals are last years youngsters still hanging about. Canada Geese started to disperse during the month. With 44 on the 4th the highest count. By the end of the month all of the valleys ponds had at least one pair nest building, with the only exception being Darlands Lake. Black-headed Gull numbers weren't exceptional during the month however during the cold snap on the 28th at least 102 birds were seen flying East. The only other notable count was 65 on the 20th. Rook numbers were interesting during the month with a bird a Belmont Farm on the 4th not being the first one to wander a bit in recent times. The only other counts were all of birds heading into roost with 39 on 20th, and 62 on 24th. A female Stonechat briefly popped up at Belmont Farm on the 4th which was a grateful and early addition to the year list for this species, although in recent years some birds have over wintered. Treecreepers were easily seen during the month in the woodland surrounding Darlands Lake with at least a pair there for majority of the month. A Female Reed Bunting was encountered in the owl field on both the 8th and 9th. Mandarin Ducks appeared to have slowly dispersed during the month with their numbers ranging from 7 on 9th to 2 by the 25th. A female Peregrine was seen on the 9th near Camden Playing fields carrying a prey item, and another was seen hunting over Frith Lane on the 28th. Starling numbers keep fluctuating dramatically from as little as 3 on 24th to as many as 145 seen on the 20th. The only other high count was of 100 on the 25th. Meadow Pipits continued to use the roost sight however there numbers have started to drop. 21 were seen on the 9th with 19 seen on the 24th. What I can only assume is the re-emergence of the Autumns Barn Owl occurred on the 9th when it was seen flying over Elern Meade Bus Stop at 18:00. Cormorants were seen on 3 occasions during the month marking the continued rise in sightings. The first Red Kite of the year was seen over Belmont Farm on the 14th. Two Skylark were seen on the 15th with another heard calling over Frith riding stables on the 28th. Lapwings had an interesting month when 7 were seen in Lapwing field briefly on the 20th before the start of the cold weather movement towards the end of the month. This saw 5 fly West on the 24th, 21 North West on 25th, and 20 W on the 28th. The Hawfinch saga continued yet again this month with; one perched in tree E of Burtonhole Lane on 20th, one flew over Belmont Farm calling at 08:55 on 25th after a female was seen nearby in Mill Hill Cemetery. Two Lesser Redpoll were seen on the feeders near Laurel Pond on the 24th marking the first sighting of the year for them. The only Kingfisher of the year so far was seen on the 24th. A Common Snipe flew through Cow Field at 18:17 on 24th marking the first sighting since October and my first ever here. The 4th Record of Goosander also occurred this month with a pair seen flying high and South over Cow field on the 24th. The only Little Owls of the month were on the 24th with 2 heard in Cow field. Also on the 24th over 450 Jackdaw came into roost which is very close to a record breaking count in the valley. Finally the only Woodcock of the month was one that flew towards the substation during the snow on the 28th. As for other animal sightings a Muntjac and Wood Mouse were both seen on the 3rd, and also Rabbits and Foxes remained numerous! Contributed By Samuel Levy 13/04/18 Above: Teal Above: Little Egret Below: Hawfinch Above: Lapwing
Below: Rook
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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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