Bird of the month is a very hard one with lots of interesting sightings appearing including a Bittern just outside the valley recording area. Given that it was outside the area the Bird of the Month award will have to go to the Female Garganey which was first seen at Darlands Lake on the 20th of February, but not officially identified until the 14th of March due to obstructed views of the bird upon the first two sightings. This bird put the valley on the map to such an extent that it even drew in the famous Lee Evens for what I think might have been his first visit to the patch and thus I have a lot of sightings to go through. Due to the Garganey some other birds that are equally as rare or even rare have been bumped down the list and therefore I will try and keep this as concise as possible despite reports from almost everyday of the month. Lapwing had an interesting month and due to the cold weather at the beginning of the month numbers swelled before tailing off and appearing like we may end up with our first non breeding year. Reports are as follows: 17 W on 1st, 5 on 14th, 2 on 21st, 4 on 26th, Redwing also suffered from a similar pattern with: 24 W on 1st, 169 on 4th, 88 on 7th, 86 on 11th, 6 on 13th, 40 on 14th, 5 on 16th, 40 on 17th, 22 on 18th, 18 + 15 E on 20th, 49 on 21st, 39 on 22nd, 2 on 23rd, 40+ on 25th, 67 on 26th, 11 on 30th. The cold weather at the beginning of the month brought with it the first sighting of Great Black-backed Gull since 2011 with 2 heading Low and E into the Totteridge Valley at just after 9.20am on the 1st. This might just be the second record of this species for the valley, however it is very likely that this species is under recorded and is possibly near annual. Fieldfare had a rather odd month given the time of the year. They started the month with high counts of 82 on 4th, and 62 on 7th however this tailed off to just 6 on 30th. I was going to leave Pied Wagtail out of this round up, however 8 on the 25th was a good count for the time of year. Woodcock had a record breaking month which could have easily made headline news if it wasn't for the Garganey. One was seen on the 4th flying through frith riding stables in atrocious conditions, this was then followed by 3 in Cow Field on the 14th and at least 5 seen on the 21st. Little Egret appeared twice this month back in the usual area on the 4th and 21st. Sparrowhawk were seen on 8 dates during the month with the highest counts being 2 on 4th and 16th and 3 on the 20th. The Teal were present all month with a max count of 18 on 25th and other high counts of 15 on 26th and 23rd. Siskin had another decent month with 15 seen in the trees surrounding Darlands on the 16th being the most seen. The Hawfinch sage continued yet again with the sightings as followed: 4 near substation on 4th as well as one perched briefly at Belmont farm by the show pens then flew E towards Darlands 12:15, one flushed from the bottom of old gropper field near folly brook on 7th, another was seen perched in trees near the substation and then flew towards Partingdale Lane on 14th, 3 were then seen the following day at the tops of the oak trees at the top of the footpath near Laurel Pond, one behind substation off Burtonhole Lane on 17th, 4 were seen along the path from Laurel Pond on the 18th, 3 were again seen in the oaks just down from Laurel Pond on the 21st, on the 24th a group of at least 35 gathered in the oaks to the right of the path from Long Pond between 12:50 and 13:10 before presumably heading off to roost, another attempt at counting those heading into roost was surprisingly successful with 46 seen flying NE between 14:00 and 16:00 on 26th, in poor weather on the 29th only 3 were seen heading into roost briefly, 7 were seen down from laurel Pond on the 31st. Bullfinch numbers in the valley remained high with 7 seen on both the 14th and 15th before the winter flock presumably split up into their respective territories for the start of the new breeding season. Meadow Pipit roost numbers were lower during the month with 17 on the 16th being the best count, however there was some movement noted over head on the 25th which saw 20 birds head E. Common Buzzard number started to rise as some migration was noted on the warmer stiller days with 8N on 11th, 9N on 13th, 9NE on 16th. Other high counts included 9 locals on the 26th. This is another contender for moment of the month due to that fact that it surpassed all previous by more than double the amount. Common Gull numbers soared to a staggering 800 individuals on the 14th with at least 780 still present in the evening. Other triple digit counts from the month were as follows: 164 on 7th, 185 on 25th, and 150 on 26th. Rook numbers steadily rose towards the end of the month with 11 pairs taking up residency for the 2nd year in a row at Darlands Lake which was only the beginning of another successful breeding season for this species. Greylag Geese just about made it into the records for this month with 2 on 4th and 9th and then finally 1 on he 25th. The Farmyards were however seen a little more often with 3 on the 4th and 2 on the 7th, 9th, and 11th. Canada Geese numbers peaked at 45 on both the 4th and 18th with numbers slowly rounded off as pairs started to take up their positions ready for the breeding season. The final winter roost count saw 7 Mandarin Ducks on the 4th with a pair seen then after mainly in the farmland at Folly Farm. Stock Dove had yet another great month with peak counts of 62 on 7th, 61 on 21st, and 48 on 26th making the valley one of the best places to see this species inside the M25. Tawny Owl were only heard twice during the month which unfortunately marks another poor month with 1 on the 4th and 23rd. A Monk Parakeet of unknown origin came in with a flock of Ring-necked Parakeets to roost at 16:22 on the 4th however it hasn't been seen subsequently. This is the second record of this species and unfortunately may not be the last either. A female/1st winter type Black Redstart was found on the farm buildings at Belmont Farm at opening time before flying to the lambing shed and wasn't seen again. This is the first record of this species in the valley itself despite an almost annual appearance of one or two individuals in Autumn across the Ridgeway at Mill Hill School. Starling numbers varied widely throughout the month however the stand out total was of 780 on the 30th with 700+ at Folly Farm and 80+ at Frith marking the biggest flock in the valley for centuries. Grey Wagtails continued to frequent the brooks and Sheepwash Pond with 2 seen throughout the month. The Barn Owl was still around this month and was showing exceptionally well at times in its usual place the sightings are as follows; m hunting in owl field on 7th 17:40, it was then seen hunting in owl field on the 14th at 18:06, on the 21st it was seen again hunting over Owl field at just before 6pm, on the 24th it was again observed hunting in owl field from 17:40 onwards by a mixed group of Brent Birders and Totteridge Valley Birders. Kestrel sightings remained steady throughout the month with at least one pair in the area. Peregrine sightings were yet again on the increase with 2 on 7th circling over Frith riding stables followed by a female in the same area on the 18th. Goldcrest numbers peaked at 5 on the 26th with other decent counts of 4 on both the 7th and 14th. Mistle Thrush also had another good month with 3 on 11th being the best count. Next up was the Garganey and here is the sightings of the bird from this month; an interesting 'Teal' was first seen briefly on the 20th of Feb and then again on the 7th. It wasn't until the 14th that it was seen next and when it was it was found out in the open and finally it was ID as a female Garganey, making it not only one of the earliest in recorded history in London but also the first since 1974 in the Totteridge Valley. It was seen up until the 26th of March and then reappeared on the 1st April. It has been quite a big draw for the valley and has seen quite a fair amount of 1st time visitors to the valley including the infamous Lee Evans! The Coot returned to Long Pond this year with a pair frequenting the area throughout the month. Egyptian Geese were also noted nesting in a tree near Folly Farm however despite the hard work of the parents it would appear that the nest eventually failed. Firecrest numbers this year despite no confirmed over wintering individuals suddenly took a spike in spring with a male singing behind the show pens at 16:00 on the 11th. A female was then found in the hedgerows down from Laurel Pond on the 16th in the holly and ivy bushes close to the path, while the Male was still behind the show pens on the 18th but that was however the last time it was seen or heard. Another or perhaps the same Male was reported on the 20th from the back gardens of Michelham Down, the female still remained in the hedgerow just down from laurel farm pond on the 21st, 22nd, and 24th. Despite the fact that it was outside the recording area.... Just. The record of a Bittern which is potentially the first record for the area and quite an unusual one as well, s it flew low over Mill Hill School heading West during poor weather on the 12th at 14:44. Greenfinch numbers were unfortunately low again this month with 3 on the 14th the best count. Little Owls had a good month though with 3 heard on the 14th, 21st, and 23rd. Jackdaw also set a new valley record this month with 600 into roost on the 14th which makes me wonder if the Beast from the East had an effect on all of the record breakers!? Coal Tit had a decent month with 3 on the 14th and 21st. Treecreeper sightings ramped up during the month as they started to sing with at least two singing birds seen on the 14th being the best count. Lesser Redpoll numbers slowly rose during the month which is unusual for the time of year from just 1 individual on the 15th to 6 on 24th and final 12 on 30th including a couple of singing individuals. The female Reed Bunting that over wintered remained in the area until atleast the 26th and a Kingfisher at Darlands Lake on the 15th is quite an unusual one. A pair of Linnet was seen on the 17th hopefully returning to the valley to breed again. A Male Wheatear was seen on the 18th on the path to Long Pond which is the earliest ever record in the valley and a rather odd one given that I turned up during snowy weather, another or the same Male was then seen on the 23rd feeding in diminishing light. Red Kites started to return to the area ready to breed with the first returning from the 18th, A Drake Goosander was also seen on the 18th on the deck at Darlands Lake, albeit briefly. This is the 5th record now with 4 of the 5 records coming in the last year. A Common Snipe was observed by multiple observes as it flew North at dusk on the 21st. Cormorants were noted on 4 occasions during the month including a high of 3 on the 30th. It would appear that Ravens have moved into the area with one seen soaring with 5 Common Buzzards between 11:30 and 11:45 on 25th, another was then seen distantly soaring with a Common Buzzard on 29th while being mobbed by Crows over Ellern Mede Farm. Chiffcaff numbers started to build from the 26th with at least 6 singing that day. The usual Red-legged Partridge were seen at Belmont Farm on the 26th with 2 seen. And finally the first returning Blackcap was seen on the 26th and it was a Singing Male. Butterflies: The Only other news from the month reported to me regards the first Butterflies with a Red Admiral on the 14th and a Brimestone on the 16th. Contributed by Samuel Levy 26/01/19 Above: female Garganey
Below: Hawfinch
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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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