This month has been quite a quiet month and therefore i have found it hard to nominated a bird of the month award. The bird of the month would have almost certainly gone to the Hirundinidea sp that flew low and South over Mill Hill school at 14:25 on 15th January, however without a proper id i am reluctant to give it the status it might deserve. It was presumed to be a House Martin which would be the earliest/ latest record in London. It is highly possible that in the future some House Martins will winter with the Swallows that stay along the South Coast, but for now we will have to leave this record as a question mark in the history books which is all too frustrating. I am therefore going to give the bird of the month to John's Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which he found in a tree along the Dollis Brook near where it meets Fursbury Avenue on the 18th. It was searched for in the following days, but a combination of bad weather and also a lot of suitable habitat to check mean't that it didn't reemerge in the end. Fieldfare this month had some pretty special counts coming in from various places in the valley with reports of 100+ on 18th, followed by 202+ on 20th, and then 269+ on 24th which are again some very good counts for the time of year, especially as we expect our highest counts from mid March to early April, so this year could potentially be quite special. Redwing were also still around in large numbers, however the highest counts were down a bit from last month. 215+ on 7th was still a good count followed by, 187+ on 20th, 180 on 21st, and 99+ on 24th before numbers started to become shockingly low for the time of year. This suggests that they are covering a wider area this winter and also perhaps suggests their usual roost sight is now more convenient for large thrushes such as Fieldfare. Mistle Thrushes were still about, however they were hard to find with just the odd one or two noted during the month. Mandarin Ducks continued to use their traditional roosting site in the valley with a highest count of 18 on the 20th. Another notable count was 11 on 12th with an average of 7. Looking at the weather conditions more closely the higher counts came on those days that had frost or ice! Teal numbers fluctuated dramatically during the month partially due to the flooding that took place allowing them to spread out more and feed in a wider variety of locations. This made them hard to track down and despite 12 being recorded on the 12, most counts were into the single figures for much of the month. Proving just how difficult they can be to track down 3 were seen feeding on the small pond in John's field on 26th. Sparrowhawks have been patrolling the valley all month with a least 2 seen throughout the month. Goldcrest numbers are high at the moment with the vast majority in the trees surrounding Darlands. 5 on 5th and 6 on 26th were the largest counts. The usual Grey Herons were in the valley mainly at Belmont Farms pond with a max count of 3 there on 20th. Reed buntings have marked their recovery in the valley with a female seen in owl field twice during the month on the 5th and 20th, showing perhaps an early returning bird to breed!? Throughout the month the wintering Canada Geese flock started to pair up and disperse to their normal breeding grounds with a pair back on Sheepwash Pond and Long Pond from 26th. The roving flock started at 53 on 5th and rose to 79 by 20th followed by the slow dispersal from there with just 10 left by the 29th! Rook were easy to see as they headed into roost, however they seem to have changed their feeding grounds at the moment to the Dollis Valley meaning that they can only really been seen and heard around dusk. There were also some odd records of individuals with one seen at Belmont Farm and 2 at Frith Riding Stables during the month. Little Owls made regular appearances at dusk with 3 on 5th, 2 on 12th, 1 on 24th, and finally 4 on 26th marking another good month for them. Bullfinch numbers were much higher than average during the month with 5 on 7th, 3 on 10th, 1 on 12th, 1 on 18th, 5 on 26th, and they were spread out between Old Gropper Field and also Owl Field. A record count of 8 individuals were seen on the 24th in Owl Field at dusk and to be honest there could have been more as the habitat is perfect for them to hide in and feed in at the moment. Kestrels suffered quite a poor month sightings wise with just 3 on 7th, and 1 on 10th! The pair of Egyptian Geese were present all month moving between Sheepwash ponds and Belmont Farms Pond. Cormorants are often a hard species to see in the valley however this month there were 4 records referring to at least 4 individuals flying over the valley. Common Buzzards continued to patrol the area with 2 on 7th and 1 seen on 26th. Pied Wagtails were regularly seen during the month with a max count of 3 on the 26th. Grey Wagtails were seen on the 7th, 14th and 21st and these referred mainly to the individual over wintering at Sheepwash pond, bar one bird seen near where the Folly Brook meets the Dollis Brook. Little Egret were found in a number of locations during the month with 2 on 10th, 1 on 18th, 1 on 20th, and another 0n 26th. The Greylags and Farmyard Geese were still in the area this month with 2 and 3 respectively. They also have been seen at Brent Reservoir on occasion and for some bizarre reason are now being called the Finchley Five despite never being seen in Finchley. Common Gull numbers have slowly crept up and have been recorded on everyday of the month. The highest counts were 180+ on 10th, 112+ on 20th, 146+ on 24th, 180+ on 26th, and 160+ on 30th. The first returning Coot of the year has been on Sheepwash pond since the 12th, however his mate is still yet to return despite him having already got a few potential nests in place. The only Tawny Owl was heard calling from Woodridge on the 12th. The highest count of Song Thrushes during the month referred to several seen on the 30th. Nuthatches were seen sporadically during the month with 2 on 14th, and 1 20th, however i recon they were under recorded during the month due to the fact they were often heard and not seen! The highest count of Stock Doves during the month was 26 flying North on the 14th. Starling numbers continued to fluctuate during the month with just 3 on the 14th, quickly rising to 70+ on 20th, 111+ on 24th, and finally 100+ on 26th. This was perhaps due to the presence of predators on certain days. The only Red-legged partridge of the month referred to the usual 3 seen at Belmont Farm on the 14th. A very high count of Blackbird was recorded on the 20th with at least 70 seen and honestly they were in every bush so there could have been many more. Chiffchaff sightings this month referred to a new individual along the Folly Brook at Woodridge on the 20th, followed by the usual wintering individual at Belmont Farm reemerged on the 21st. The only sighting of Treecreeper during the month was one seen at Darlands Lake on the 20th. The Meadow Pipit Roost was counted twice during the month with 47 on 20th, and 58 on 26th which is the highest count since 67 were seen in 2006! Siskin numbers started at 2 on 20th, and rose to 15+ by the 30th. Although these were the only sightings i recon that they have been present all month at Darlands. Black-headed Gulls were also present throughout the month with an interesting max count of 115+ on 26th. And finally it has been a bumper recording month for Woodcock in the valley with a record count of 3 on the 26th, with one flying low over Darlands and two circling the lower end of Cow field making for an interesting end to the month! Contributed by Samuel Levy 08/03/18 Above: Redwing Below: Sparrowhawk Above: Little Egret Below: Canada Geese alongside the Finchley Five (Spot the pheasant in the back ground!) Above: Redwing Below: Robin Above: Little Egret and Black-headed Gulls
Below: This Fox nearly gave me a heart attack when it crept up on me!
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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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