Early Winter Bird Survey - North West Zone 12/12/18

This morning was the start of a real cold snap here in Sussex, which always seems to tie in with our North West Zone bird survey transect. Tom F. and I set off along the northern side of the airfield fence a little after sunrise, giving the birds some time to get moving and active. Tom commented right away that this was a spookily quiet morning...

A group of Meadow Pipits are typically the first birds we come across, bouncing along the airfield fence. A Robin and several Dunnocks called sporadically, hidden away along the banks of the River Mole. Our first red-status species was a Song Thrush, giving it's subtle 'tseep' alarm call as it fled, nipping down into the river bank vegetation.

Song Thrush - RSPB

Down on the floodplain it truly felt bone-achingly cold. The reed beds seemed devoid of life, then a fiesty Wren struck up an alarm call as it faced us off from the top of a reed. Finally, a Reed Bunting called, although only faintly and with no replies forthcoming. It really felt like the birds hadn't got out of bed yet.

Further along the floodplain, we caught the distant calls of Water Rails. These secretive birds seem to be more vocal in winter, and their call is highly weird. If you happen to be standing right next to one when it sounds off, it's pretty alarming!

Water Rail - RSPB

Over to the scrub west of Brockley Wood, a few Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits were foraging together on the woodland edge. A sole Green Woodpecker headed off calling and a group of Wood Pigeon broke from the trees. Over in woodlands, a distant Nuthatch called.

This sheltered patch of grassland is one of my favourite spots in summer, dense in long herbaceous vegetation and absolutely humming with invertebrates. In winter however this tends to be the favourite patch of another highly-secretive and red-status bird; the Woodcock. We flushed one from the low scrub; its low, whirring flight really does give the appearance of a giant bat. 

Woodcock - RSPB

Poking our heads into the north of Brockley Wood, we were hoping for some Redwing activity, however the flocks were conspicuously absent from the site this morning. The collective alarm calls of  Blackbird, Magpie and Wren indicated the presence of an avian predator, likely a perched-up Tawny Owl or Sparrowhawk. Whatever it was then moved off, as the alarm calls rapidly followed it through the wood.

Our final section of grassland along the River Mole turned up two Common Snipe, which had been well hidden in the rushes. One put on an amazing display, flying a wide loop over the environment bund and then skimming low past us at about waist-height. This whole transect was again peculiarly quite, and surprisingly one of the most numerous birds was Bullfinch; we counted a total of 6.

Bullfinch - RSPB

At the very end of the transect we had a buzz of excitement in the form of a perched Sparrowhawk, apparently causing upset with the resident Ring-necked Parakeets. It casually took off over the trees, leaving in its wake a string of songbird alarm calls.

Final species count = 34

Common name	Species
Blackbird	Turdus merula
Blue Tit	Cyanistes caeruleus
Bullfinch	Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Buzzard	Buteo buteo
Carrion Crow	Corvus corone
Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs
Coal Tit	Periparus ater
Dunnock	Prunella modularis
Goldcrest	Regulus regulus
Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis
Great Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos major
Great Tit	Parus major
Green Woodpecker	Picus viridis
Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea
Jackdaw	Corvus monedula
Jay	Garrulus glandarius
Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus
Magpie	Pica pica
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
Meadow Pipit	Anthus pratensis
Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus
Nuthatch	Sitta europaea
Reed Bunting	Emberiza schoeniclus
Ring-necked Parakeet	Psittacula krameri
Robin	Erithacus rubecula
Siskin	Spinus spinus
Snipe	Gallinago gallinago
Song Thrush	Turdus philomelos
Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus
Treecreeper	Certhia familiaris
Water Rail	Rallus aquaticus
Woodcock	Scolopax rusticola
Woodpigeon	Columba palumbus
Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes

Early Breeding Bird Survey: North West Zone 24/04/18

While I often deliberate wearing gloves and scarf, the chilly early mornings don't bother the breeding birds, and in April you are almost guaranteed a lusty dawn chorus.

Tom Forward beginning our bird transect in the North West Zone

We began our survey sometime after the dawn chorus ends, as this is when birds are more active and getting on with their day. Along the first section of the River Mole, one of the first species for the list was a warbler; a male Common Whitethroat in the scrub where the river pops out from under the runway. A loud scuffle between two male Reed Buntings caught our attention, then a moment later we heard something quite different; a manic chattering and trilling call from a hedgerow...

A Sedge Warbler! Our very first for this site survey (and hopefully not the last!)

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) RSPB

A Blackcap sang from another hedgerow, Blue Tit and Song Thrush were calling as we passed by. Rounding the bend of the river, Linnets were calling overhead and we spooked a Green Woodpecker, which shot off with a yaffling cry.

The wheel ruts along the track have become especially deep in the past year, which is good news for the frog population. We often get both Common Frog and Marsh Frog on site here, but these look like the usual Common Frog tadpoles.

While Tom is distractedly checking Reed Beds for our elusive Water Rail, I sneak a peak under one of our reptile refugia...

Grass Snake (Natrix helvetica) juvenile, less than one year old

Keep your head in the game Rachel, back to the birds! 

We were treated to the fluttering display flight of a Common Whitethroat on top of the riverside willows. Over in the scrub west of Brockley Wood, we added Chiffchaff to our list of warblers heard today, with it's easily recognisable, onomatopoeic song.

Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) RSPB

Along the bases of these hedgerows grow the strongest smelling spring flowers; Wild Garlic or Ramsons (Allium ursinum) is an incredibly pungent plant, very much like onion or garlic in its taste. Much to Tom F's dismay, I can never resist chewing on a leaf or two.

We set off again in an oniony-fugue, with Tom determinedly keeping upwind of me. As the day was warming up, the scent of Bluebells began to hit us and they were smelling great (even if I wasn't).

Brockley Wood

At the woodland edge, we picked up another Chiffchaff and the excited song of a Goldcrest, our smallest bird species. We haven't had a single record of Firecrest at Gatwick, but as their range is seemingly expanding, I'm betting one will turn up here eventually.

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) RSPB

Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus) RSPB

Back out onto the floodplain, and the Reed Warblers were chugging their songs from deep within the reed beds. Our first Swallow of the year flew low overhead, calling relatively quietly so we were lucky to spot it. We were a couple of kilometers into the transect when a strange rattling call came into range; the call of Lesser Whitethroat is pretty unmistakable!

We don't tend to get high numbers of Lesser Whitethroat, so it's always a real treat to hear one. Our next warbler on this warbler-fest was Garden Warbler, which was singing heartily while being chased around by a territorial Blackcap.

Adjacent to the reed beds of the River Mole are dense stretches of Water Mint and nodding heads of Cowslip... even the refreshing smell of crushed mint doesn't mask the Ramsons though.

Nearing the end of the final transect, we witnessed an incredible performance by a Reed Warbler incorporating perfect Blue Tit alarm calls into its song. We then came along another Sedge Warbler near the Long-horned Bee bank; could this be a new breeding territory? Our final warbler of the day was Willow Warbler, bringing our total number of warbler species to 8: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler and Willow Warbler. That's quite a high number, so we think that perhaps this day was a 'fall of warblers' and some of them may only be passing through. It will be interesting to see what turns up again later in summer.

Full bird list (39 species):

Blackbird	Turdus merula
Blackcap	Sylvia atricapilla
Blue Tit	Cyanistes caeruleus
Bullfinch	Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Carrion Crow	Corvus corone
Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita
Coot	Fulica atra
Dunnock	Prunella modularis
Garden Warbler	Sylvia borin
Goldcrest	Regulus regulus
Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis
Great Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopus major
Great Tit	Parus major
Green Woodpecker	Picus viridis
Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea
Jackdaw	Corvus monedula
Jay	Garrulus glandarius
Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus
L.Whitethroat	Sylvia curruca
Linnet	Carduelis cannabina
Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus
Magpie	Pica pica
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus
Nuthatch	Sitta europaea
Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus
Reed Bunting	Emberiza schoeniclus
Reed Warbler	Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Ring-necked Parakeet	Psittacula krameri
Robin	Erithacus rubecula
Sedge Warbler	Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Skylark	Alauda arvensis
Song Thrush	Turdus philomelos
Stock Dove	Columba oenas
Swallow	Hirundo rustica
Whitethroat	Sylvia communis
Willow Warbler	Phylloscopus trochilus
Wood Pigeon	Columba palumbus
Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes

Early winter bird surveys - Dec 2017

A round up of our early winter bird surveys (and a photo series of Tom F looking very cold in different habitats at Gatwick).

North West Zone

Tuesday December 12th: 8am

We hopped out of the car to find the ground was pretty much frozen solid. At around -3.5 degrees, this was the coldest morning of the year so far.

All seemed very quiet, with our first record being Blue Tits feeding on seed heads along a tall herb stand. Down within the channel of the River Mole, a flurry of activity and some strange calls indicated that we had just spooked a Water Rail...

Taxiway Juliet, adjacent to the River Mole

Further along the river, we came to a wet field with stands of rushes. Along the hedge line, a group of three Roe Deer carefully squeezed their way through a broken fence. As we walked steadily through the field, we kept our eyes peeled in case we flushed some winter visiting waders. The lumbering ecologists enjoyed a partial success with one noisy Common Snipe...

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) RSPB

Further along the river, Dunnock, Wren and Reed Bunting called from the reed beds and a small group of Fieldfare shot over our heads, their colour catching brilliantly in the morning light. Several more Common Snipe nipped off as we headed further down into the floodplain and upon reaching the water's edge a small group of Teal took flight. This is the first time we've seen Teal here since our bird surveys began in 2012.

River Mole floodplain grassland

In the grassland and scrub adjacent to Brockley Wood, we flushed another winter visiting wader; a Woodcock looks rather similar to a Snipe, except that it is a much bulkier bird and they prefer to feed under the cover of scrub and woodland.

Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) RSPB

Winter sun, northern edge of Brockley Wood

Rounding the north of Brockley Wood, a pair of Ring-necked Parakeets were calling loudly and then making quieter sub-vocalisations. This non-native seems to be increasing its range along the transect, and so might soon become a new breeding species in Brockley Wood.

Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) RSPB

Fieldfare and Song Thrush put on a good show along the lines of scrub of the River Mole valley, with only a few Redwing apparent today. Mixed flocks of smaller birds such as Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests were also enjoying the dense scrub. A Great Spotted Woodpecker torpedoed past us while a pair of Goldfinches were feeding busily on the river bank teasels.

River Mole floodplain grassland

Toward the end of the transect, things seemed to go rather quiet again. Pushing through the woody vegetation on the riverbank, we caught a view of a group of small birds pursuing a Sparrowhawk above the treeline. The group about-turned and passed back over our heads, their calls identifying to us a victorious band of Goldfinches.

Final count: 36 species (just one off our winter bird survey record):

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Bullfinch

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Common Buzzard

Dunnock

Fieldfare

Goldcrest

Goldfinch

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit

Green Woodpecker

Jackdaw

Jay

Kestrel

Magpie

Mallard

Meadow Pipit

Moorhen

Nuthatch

Pheasant

Pied Wagtail

Redwing

Reed Bunting

Ring-necked Parakeet

Robin

Snipe (Common)

Song Thrush

Sparrow Hawk

Teal

Treecreeper

Water Rail

Wood Pigeon

Woodcock

Wren

Land East of the Railway Line

Thursday December 12th: 8am

Flood attenuation area, Gatwick Stream

A marginally warmer day, but with a stronger breeze meant the cold was still felt by this weather-hardened ornithological pair. 

Bring zipped right up to the top helps stop the teeth chattering

Being coffee-d up to the eyeballs certainly helps though, and it is always with a sense of excitement that we stomp our way through the relatively young grassland habitat here. Sadly, we didn't manage to flush any Snipe this morning, instead just a few Wood Pigeon and Carrion Crow were about as exciting as it got, and a flock of Goldfinches bouncing over our heads.

Flood attenuation area, Gatwick Stream

Things took a quick upward turn however, when I found us a new species to the airport! It was while standing next to a thick stand of Soft Rush that I saw something my brain refused to register... 

'Erm, Tom, is that a melanistic Long-tailed Tit, or a Dartford Warbler?!'

Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata) RSPB

This feisty little bird put on quite a show, so Tom clapped me on the back and I felt that warming smugness of being the first to spot a new species on a survey.

The dense stands of Soft Rush in the flood attenuation area

We left the low lying floodplain and trekked into the Upper Picketts Wood, the entrance of which was busy with ground-feeding Song Thrushes and Redwings. The center of the woodland was much quieter, and some sudden Blue Tit alarm calls caused us to look up high; a Red Kite was skimming low over the tree tops. This is another new species for the transect.

Red Kite (Milvus milvus) RSPB

A roving tit flock moving through the canopy included a noisy group of Lesser Redpolls, which are becoming a more frequent occurrence here in recent winters. A skirmish between three Nuthatches caught our eye, with undersides flashing orange in the sunlight, causing us to give a double take...

But this was not the orange-coloured bird that we were looking for.

Bee hotel and dead hedge in Goat Meadow

Pushing through Goat Meadow, we unfortunately didn't turn up our trusty Marsh Tits, despite hearing them here regularly. In a clearing next to Lower Picketts Wood, I was distracted by a loudly alarm-calling Fieldfare which I then followed, hoping to spot a bird of prey. While I was busy looking the other way, it was then that Tom F spotted something sitting up proudly on a massive old Hawthorn bush...

Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) RSPB

This was most definitely a new species to the airport! Hawfinches are incredibly elusive around these parts, with most being winter visitors and very few resident or breeding in the UK. They are rather shy and their calls are almost Robin-like, making this a tricky one to I.D. by sound. We knew there had been an unusually large influx of birds flying in from the continent this winter, with many sightings across Surrey and Sussex.

I have known Mr Forward a long time now, and he is a very honest chap, so let the record state that he recorded Gatwick's first Hawfinch (but I got the first Dartford Warbler).

Twisting Hornbeam, Lower Picketts Wood

Continuing through the woodland strip, we turn up our trusty Chaffinch calling from the same corner every year. The other finch species frequently present here is Bullfinch, and we glimpsed of a pair of white rumps disappearing away from us. At the end of the transect, by the railway line bordering the western edge of Horleyland Wood, we were treated to a mega-flock of Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Tree Creepers and Goldcrests.

So that makes 3 new species to the survey; Red Kite, Dartford Warber and Hawfinch, the latter 2 being new to the airport. These surveys never get dull, and I'm already excited about the next ones in February!

Final count = 36 species (again)

Blackbird

Black-headed Gull
Blue Tit
Bullfinch
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Coal Tit
Collared Dove
Common Buzzard
Dartford Warbler
Dunnock
Fieldfare
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Green Woodpecker
Grey Heron
Hawfinch
Jackdaw
Jay
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Meadow Pipit
Mistle Thrush
Nuthatch
Pied Wagtail
Red Kite
Redpoll (Common/Lesser)
Redwing
Robin
Song Thrush
Stonechat
Treecreeper
Wood Pigeon
Wren