My bird of the month nomination is rather unsurprisingly the 3 White Stork that Tony Clancy and I had over 'Owl' field on the 2nd. It was amazing to think that we even managed to pick them up in the first place and if it weren't for the perfectly positioned Sparrowhawks that had drawn our attention thermalling below them they would have stayed hidden. We could see them flying through very high and it was the sort of warm day that you would expect to find something large and soaring coming through. In their journey NW one kept trying to break formation and head North, but each time would return to the other 2. It turns out that these birds were probably the same as the ones seen drifting in off the sea at Beachy Head, Sussex 2 hours earlier. Anyway this month is one of the best recorded in the history of the valley with now five people regularly watching the valley. This means that we have data in the month of September that we have never had access too before and it also suggests that the more time spent out in the field the better the rewards and records and 1st's have been had this month as a reward for the hard work and effort. Whinchats had a good month in the valley with 2 on 1st, 1 on 2nd, 1 on 3rd, 1 on 12th, a large amount of 3 on 13th, and then finally singles on the 16th and 17th. Despite none of these being record breaking counts it is the most times this species has been recorded in the valley in the last few years. Wheatear on the other hand did break records with the usual spot in the valley attracting large amounts. With only 1 on 1st it looked to be a dismal month, however the 10 seen the next day on the 2nd broke the previous record of 8 the year before suggesting that they are becoming increasingly common on migration. Numbers then trailed off with just one on the 6th and a final group of 4 on 17th dropping in briefly between the showers. ommon Redstarts were still numerous during the month with 2 on the 1st and a male on both the 2nd and the 19th suggesting at least 4 more individuals coming through this month. This month I decided to take a look into the amount of times Rooks are being recorded. With 30+ on the 2nd being the most seen during the month. 25 were seen on 10th and 16th, and then this was followed by lower counts, with 13 on 6th, 3 on 12th, 5 on 13th, 4 on 21st, 1 on 22nd, and finally 19 on 27th. Chiffchaff numbers peaked mid month after a dip in numbers either side. This most likely reflects the varying weather conditions during the month. 26 were seen on 2nd, with 12 on 3rd, 4 on 6th, 7 on 12th, 11 on 15th, and a dramatic increase to at least 35 on 16th. This influx didn't last for long because by the next day only 2 were seen, with numbers slowly recovering towards the end of the month with 14 on 21st, 12 on 22nd, and 9 seen on 27th. Stock Doves were seen to be moving about during the month with a peak count of 76 on 2nd which included a flock of at least 53 individuals. Goldcrest numbers had some ups and downs during the month suggesting some movement through the valley with the most being 8 seen on 2nd followed closely by 5 on 21st. As September is one of the best month for migrating Swallow and so I decided to have a look at the total amount seen throughout the month. 31+ were seen on 2nd, with 80+ on the 3rd being a mix of residents with nests still active and also those that had started to migrate through. 53 were seen on 6th, 7 on 10th, 7 on 12th, 11 on 13th, suggests that there was little movement in this time and a few locals were still about. On the 15th the first wave of migrating Swallows was present with 65+ W/SW, followed by 104+ S on 16th, 65+SE on 17th, 10+W on 18th, 1 on 22nd, 5+ SW on 23rd, 20+ S on 26th showing that things had started to round off by the end of the month. Kestrel showed well during the month with 4 on 2nd, 2 on 16th, 5 on 17th, and 1 seen on the 27th. It was another great month for Hobby in the valley with 3 on the 2nd being the highest count, singles were then seen on 3rd, 17th, 20th, and 27th, with a pair seen on 6th, 15th, and 16th. 3 Tree Pipit flew E over 'Cow' field on the 2nd, but the rest of the month failed to add to that total. Teal numbers started to build through the month with 2 records from Long Pond, with 1 on 2nd and 2 dropping in during bad weather on the 21st, being very unusual records. More normally Darlands saw the usual amounts of Teal start to stack up, 1 was seen on 3rd, followed by 2 on 10th, 6 on 20th, 6 on 21st, 7 on 22nd, and 8 on 27th. Yellow Wagtail were unusually seen throughout the month with; 2 E on 2nd, 1 W on 14th, 1 on 22nd, and a very late one S on 29th. Willow Warbler also showed throughout the month in varying numbers and usually mixed in with the Tit flocks; 2 were seen on 2nd, followed by 1 on 3rd, 1 on 6th, 1 on 10th, 1 on 12th, 2 on 15th, 4 on 16th, 1 on 22nd, and finally 2 were seen on the 23rd. Again this month proved that Treecreeper are easy to see at this time of year, with 1 on 2nd, 1 on 6th, and 1 on 13th. Blackcap numbers were still decent during the month with 4 seen on 2nd, 3rd, and 12th, and singles were seen on 6th, 10th, 27th, with 3 on 22nd. Suggesting that there is a brief cross over period between the summer migrants and the winter migrants. Common Whitethroat numbers slowly dwindled with 2 on 2nd and 1 on 15th the only sightings of them during the month. Now to another big mover this month with potentially over 1000 individuals seen during the month. House Martin were noted moving west or south west almost everyday with 6 on 2nd, 10+ on 3rd, then on 12th there was only one noted, however this suggests that the locals had cleared out by this time, but the migrating flocks hadn't come through yet, and so on the 15th the first day of movement was noted with over 358 W/SW, 145+ S on 16th, 60+ SE on 17th, 64+ W on 18th, 40 S on 20th, just one was however then seen on 21st, before 20+ SW on 22nd, 560+ SW on 23rd, then finally numbers started to round off yet again with just 1 S on 26th, 13+ S on 27th, and 29+ S/SW on 29th, making it a very decent count of over 1308 birds seen passing through the valley! September is often one of the best months to see Sparrowhawk in the valley and this year unsurprisingly was no exception. 4 were seen on the 2nd followed by; 2 on 3rd, 2 on 6th, 3 on 10th, followed by 1 on 15th and 16th, and finally 2 were seen on 27th. Common Buzzard were recorded on 14 days during the month making it one of the best recorded month for them. The most seen were 6 on 16th and 5 on 23rd, with most of the other records referring to the 2 local birds that performed well during the month. A Kingfisher was seen 3 times during the month on 3rd, 15th, and 20th! As per usual during September Grey Wagtail turn up to spend their time in and around Sheepwash pond. Sightings usually refer to 2 birds however 3 seen on 3rd was the only interesting record out of the other 6! Unusually the Egyptian Geese were only seen once with 3 on 3rd the only record of them this month. Augusts Common Sandpiper was still around at Belmont Farm on 3rd, but the 2nd valley record for the bird was noted as being rather flighty and sure enough it had soon moved on! Starling numbers started to increase during the month suggesting that it is going to be a good winter for them. With 26 seen on 6th, 50+ on 17th, and 55 on 22nd! There was a notable number of Long-tailed Tit scattered throughout the valley on 6th with at least 79 counted in the valley, which could be the most ever recorded and it proves that a run without particularly harsh winters is very good for this species. For some reason this month has come up as quite a bad month for Coal Tit, however it probably proves that the locals have left and the winter visitors haven't yet arrived with 2 on 6th, and 2 on 21st the only sightings that I have for them! This month was good for Tawny Owl with one heard calling on 10th and one alarm calling on 12th. This good count has also been reflected in the surrounding areas as well! As always Bullfinch were hard to find this month however one of the 2 sightings involved as many as 6 birds on 10th suggesting a good breeding year for them. The only other sighting of them was 1 on 19th. Sand Martin were only seen twice during the month with 1 S on 10th, and 2 S on 16th the only sightings. Meadow Pipit had an unusually good month in the valley suggesting that in recent years there passage through the valley may have gone under recorded. There were 11 sightings this month with the first being on the 12th. 16 on 16th and 34 on 27th were the most notable counts of the month! Little Owl had an unusually poor month for recording them with just 1 on 13th and 2 on 20th. Just outside the recording area for the valley for the 2nd Autumn in a row a Black Redstart was seen at Mill Hill School. This species is still one to never actually be recorded inside the area despite the fact that they are a common summer visitor to the capital and also a scarce winter visitor as well. Stonechat have had a particularly good autumn so far this year. Unusually they were recorded several times throughout September and very unusually a peak count of 3 was seen on 16th all of them being Males. Other sightings included a female in the 'cow' field on the 19th and on the 22nd another or the same female was seen in 'owl' field on the 22nd. Mistle Thrush had a rather poor month with just one seen on the 16th. Mandarin Duck also had a poor month with 3 on 20th, however it is likely that the immense cover that now surrounds Darlands Lake may account for this. The first 2 Common Gull returned during bad weather on the 21st, however they weren't subsequently seen after this. A Reed Bunting dropped into 'cow' field during a brief rest bite in the bad weather on the 21st, but that was the only sighting this month marking a poor autumn for this species. Rather unlike the most of the country Fieldfare were recorded unusually early with 1 NW on 22nd, and 3 on 26th around the Belmont Farm area. However unusually most of the other birds seem to have been held up on the continent and still as I write this in November they are only just starting to arrive in their large numbers. Only one Red Kite was seen this month and that was on the 23rd, this suggests that the local population might have become migratory and this is something that I would like to research into fully in the coming years. The first 2 Redwing were back on the 26th and into the new month the numbers slowly started to build. Skylark are having a poor year so far this year and therefore the one sighted on the 27th at Folly Farm was a surprise to many. Contributed by Samuel Levy 09/11/17 Above: 2 Rook chasing a Hobby Below: Whinchat Above: Common Buzzard Below: Male Stonechat Above: Long-tailed Tit.
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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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