October 2011.

October is traditionally top migration month with bird movements generally south. South from higher altitudes for birds like Redwing and Fieldfare and south from here for our summer migrants. By now most of the movers south from here are on the move or gone. Early in the month about twenty swallows were flying south over Balham, heading back down to Africa.

Was there much movement over the common?
Robin.

10th October.
Of note were the abundant Goldcrests. There must have been a 'fall' overnight as these are the first I've seen here for over a year. I must have counted at least 15. There was still one singing Blackcap and a Chiffchaff.

15th
A few Goldcrests still but otherwise much as normal.

20th
An early frosty start with a brief look around the pond.
A Little grebe was on the pond, a first on the common for me.
Cormorant and a plane.

24th
A fair walk, a car burnt out by joy riders on the Triangle, the bird count wasn't bad, 32 species and there was a female Bullfinch at the far end of the Triangle. A rarity in these ere parts. Presumbaly, it was the same one that dropped in by the pond an hour later.
Female Bullfinch, shooting straight into the sun.

Robin.

A rat by the pond.

August and September.

August saw me back again in Libya. What was supposed to be a fairly relaxed assignment in the Jebel Nafusa became a full scale assault on Tripoli and the complete downfall of the regime. It was coming and we had an intense month. Not much time for birding.

Birds: Lesser crested tern, Little, Pallid, Alpine and Common swifts, Sardinian warbler, Bee-eaters, Hoopoes (abundant), Linnets, Raven, Spanish sparrow, Crested lark, Black wheatear, wheatear sp plural, Woodchat and Southern grey shrike (the most common bird in Tripoli, certainly the most visable).

The best bird for me was the Rufus-tailed bush robins at the hotel in Tatouine, Tunisia, where I overnighted on the way into Libya.
They were very confiding and joined the guests for breakfast.

Rufus bush robin, Tatouine, Tunisia.
Southern grey shrike, Tripoli zoo, Libya.

R&R in Cley (September).
A lazy week from the 12th September, sticking pretty much to the Cley, Salthouse and Blakeney patch.
Winds weren't great, though strong. Westerlys throughout which was surprisingly good for sea watching. Others saw much more than I, though I did see Arctic and Great skuas. Given how little effort I put in generally, (I ran out of steam after a couple of days) 90 species was fair. Best birds were Pied fly and Firecrest in Walsey Hills on the 18th, Hobby over the farmland behind Cley (19th) and a cracking Barn owl over the marshes one early morning. Others of note were Spoonbill, 000s of Black-tailed godwit, Pink footed goose, Curlew sand and Little stint.

Common Sandpiper, Cley.

Catch up, June and July.

Little tern, Benghazi, Libya.

Lesser crested tern at sunset. Benghazi, Libya.

For most of June and part of july, I was back in Libya again. We were based in Benghazi for the most part and didn't get out into the field much.

There was some consolation in the abundance of Lesser crested and Little terns around the port and the promenade. Though the smell of sewage around the port was off putting. Others of note were Southern grey shrike, Spanish sparrow, Crested lark and a Kentish plover on the beach, Hoopoes common.

Great spotted woodpecker, Tooting Bec Common. One of the six nests found.

For the rest of July I was on holiday in Tuscany...
A small species list but all quality: Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Sardinian, Fan-tailed and Melodious warblers, Black winged stilts, Alpine swift, Little and Cattle Egret amongst the more exotic.



Barn swallows in the rain...

Dead thrush!

Walking across Clapham Common, there was what looked like a mobile hanging from a tree. In fact, it was a Mistle thrush hanging by it's neck from kite line or similar. I can only assume that the line was caught in the tree and the thrush got caught in the line. Macabre!

Another strange site is the 'bog eyed' cat in the neighbour hood. There is something wrong with the skin around it's left eye which gives it a circumspect appearance.

Birds: The two Whitethroats are still on the Ecology pond and the young woodpecker has left the nest. I've only seen the one. In the same bit of Cafe Wood there were also at least three young Nuthatches.

During a brief visit to Richmond Park (28th), I saw a Common tern, Mandarin duck and Red-crested and regular pochard on the Pen ponds. All three woodpeckers, a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk being mobbed by parakeets...

Warblers continue!

The run of warblers continues with a Whitethroat at the Ecology pond, which is my first of the year here. Having just spoken to Peter W there have been a pair here for nearly a month and he suspects they may breed. A heron was heard overhead and a pair of Lesser black backs flew over. Another Great spot nest was found (Cafe wood).

Peter White's monthly and annual bird reports from Wandsworth and Tooting Commons can be found on the Wandsworth council website. For some reason I cannot post the link, but if you 'google' Wandsworth council bird reports, they will be the first links.

Osama bin Laden's house and back.

A Black drongo on Osama bin Laden's electricity cables...

White male, Asian Paradise flycatcher.

Away again... A short notice departure to Pakistan on account of Osama bin Laden being found and killed in Abbotabad. I had hoped it would also give an opportunity to spend some time running around the Margalla hills that border Islamabad. We did get up there a couple of times which was better than none. They are a fantastic place for birds both in variety and number. Some of the goodies are the abundant Grey hooded and Hume yellow browed warblers as well as Blythe's reed warblers this time of year. Other highlights were the Long tailed minivet which is a fantastic colour and probably the best picture was a white male Asian paradise flycatcher in Abbotabad.

Other news from Tooting. First Common swifts were over Balham on the 30th April and the Lesser spot was still drumming away up until I went away. Looking for it on the 15th May and again today unsuccessfully. Not sure what it means, hopefully, that he found a mate. Also on the 15th was a low hunting Sparrowhawk, otherwise not much else apart from a few singing Black caps and Chiffs. Today was better, at least 15 swifts, two Herring gulls, a calling Garden warbler at the back of the Triangle and a singing Reed warbler by the pond was the highlight. There are lots of Long tailed-tit chicks kicking around at the moment and there are some big Great spotted woodpecker chicks in a nest in Streatham wood. As for the ducks and swans on the pond it is another story. The Mallards (including the returned Farm duck) all appear to have lost there chicks as have the second pair of Egyptian geese. Alas, it also seems the Mute swans have had another unsuccessful year with the female having abandoned the nest... What happend?? You can't blame it all on the giant Pike.

FOUND! Peter White.

Lesser spotted woodpecker drumming.

I have been testing a new camera (Fuji x100), very good for quick, candid observational snaps.

A dog walker and a giant dog!

Self portrait on Tooting Bec road.

Rubbish left after a picnic. I am astounded by what people throw away: Plates and knives and forks. Such waste!

Outings over to the common on the 8th, 10th, 11th and 20th were all productive and I had a week in Cornwall in between.

Top spot for me on the 8th was Peter White who I hadn't seen for ages. He had had a productive morning seeing a male Pied flycatcher in Cafe wood. This was after he had seen two Reed buntings and remarkably the Lesser spotted woodpecker. The male Pied fly is a good looking bird and an unusual migrant on the common and we went to have a look for it. Unfortunately, it had moved on. The Egyptian geese have two chicks, though Peter said it was four a week ago. Within a few days it was down to one and when I went past yesterday I couldn't see the geese at all.

9th-11th. Three early visits hoping to find something similar. I found the Lesser spot three times (9th), firstly at a corner of the Triangle and then twice by the lake area. Always a male so probably the same bird. There was a good smattering of migrants, Willow warblers and Chiffchaffs and 15 male Blackcaps and at least two females which is a good number. The Lesser spot was still on the same tree on the Triangle on the following day so I persuaded Brian, who still hadn't seen it to come over the following morning. True to recent form it was in the same tree at 7am, punctual, and we had good view.

20th. Lesser spot still drumming persistently on the Triangle. Hope he finds a mate. Hobby over at about 08.00 heading north was a year first for me and almost in exactly the same place as I saw one last year though a couple of weeks earlier. Of continuing amusement is the aggressive male swan, protecting his partner who is on the nest, presumably with an egg. He spends the whole day chasing seemingly one Canada goose in particular. An annual ritual. No Barn swallows yet over the common but at least two passed over Balham (8th).

March 2011.

Red rumped swallow, near Ajdabiyah, Libya.

Subalpine warbler, Libya.

Greater crested terns, Bosasso, Somaliland.

Sooty gull, Bosasso, Somaliland.

I was away from the end of February through March and into the beginning of April. What started out as a two week gig in Somalia ended up being six weeks away with the last three weeks in Libya.

Somalia, Bosasso, the capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland was a difficult assignment and we didn't get out much. One day we did, I took a couple of pictures of Sooty gull and some Greater crested terns. Preferring them over the very similar Lesser crested on size compared to a Sandwich tern.

Libya was a different kettle of fish entirely where we were able to get out quite a bit. As for the looking at birds, this was still tricky and most sightings were made out of the car window dashing along at 90mph. Every now and again we did stop and I was able to identify the abundant larks seen evading our car at regular intervals along the road: Short toed and Desert.

Some of the other good birds were abundant Hoopoe (called Hood hood in Arabic), Subalpine warblers, Marsh harriers a Pallid harrier, Pallid swifts, Red rumped and Barn swallows. Two species I wasn't expecting to see in the desert were Raven and a Curlew (probably disorientated in a sand storm). It would have been great to have the freedom to go out wandering without the fear of artillery and tank fire...

February 2011

An almost good picture of Snow buntings at Salthouse, Norfolk.

I write this as I am waiting for a cab to take me to the airport. Off again...

It's been a dull cloudy month so far, one day with sunshine as far as I can remember. In spite of the weather the male Dunnocks have begun singing in earnest all over Balham and the commons. Walks were had on Clapham and Tooting commons and there was also a brief trip to Norfolk. Waxwings were still about and were seen at Tower Bridge (4th) and on the M4 by Heston service (7th).

Shoveler numbers on the common (TBC) were up to 12 and Black headed gulls over 120. A lone Shoveler was seen on the small pond by the main road on Clapham common. 2 Pochard on Tooting (14th) is unusual also a couple of Common gulls and a Herring gull. There are always more Common gulls on Clapham and at least a pair of Lesser blacks and Herring gulls. A male Sparrow hawk was seen regularly (TBC) and there are still fair numbers of Green and Goldfinches. The owls were out again (14th) as were Green and Great spot woodpeckers.

Norfolk was more for r&r but a few hours was spent photographing the confiding Snow buntings at Salthouse. Next time I might get it right...

The months highlight so far was a Mediterranean gull seen by Duncan on the pond on Tooting (8th).

January 2011

Robin beside the pond.

One of the two Little owls in Cafe wood.

I was away for the best part of three weeks during the month (Sudan) and amazingly the Waxwings that were around before I went away were still around when I got back. At the start of the month they were feeding beside Waitrose in Balham and drinking on the roof of the Post Office. They even perched in a tree in the garden, 'garden tick'....

On the 28th a flock of 60 or so were on the common (first time seen on the common), perched on a tree beside the railway bridge at the bottom of the Triangle. I was heading over to Tooting to pick up a sander to finish the floor and outside the floor shop, later in the day, presumable the same group were feasting on the berries by the Primary school at the bottom Sistova road. Who'd have thought it?

29th, presumably same group though more like 80 were in trees opposite the doctor's on Bedford hill. Part of the group came across the road from the High Street end, presumable feeding in gardens somewhere in there. Two groups of Goldfinch on the common (back of the Triangle and a group of about 12 by the football pitches) which is unusual. Thought Siskin heard but couldn't find it/them. 12 Shoveler, 100 Black heads, 1 Common, 1 Herring (overhead) and a Cormorant on the pond.

31st, sunshine!!! Both Little owls seen warming themselves on a branch in the usual tree. Green, Great spot and Nuthatch all also in Cafe wood.

A Snipe flying down Longley Road on the 2nd worth a mention.

December 2010

Waxwings in Balham!!!!

Waxwings near Pegwell, Kent.

Grey heron on the pond.

Robin by the pond.

Another busy month with few opportunity to get out. However, there were a good surprises and unfortunately one of the Robins down, due to a Sparrow hawk. Once again, heavy (ish) snow and the common was covered. Clearly, I had to go and take a 'Robin in the snow picture'. I was in the middle of it, when two Robins started scrapping, continuing into a nearby bush. Whoosh!!!! And before I could register what was going on, out came a female Sparrow hawk and only one Robin...

Otherwise: Little owls (2), were heard calling on the way back from Brian's on the 5th. Not seen at the usual tree yet. A Dozen Redwings beside the pond (23rd). The pond has been largely frozen trough out, though on the small open patch has been Cormorant and Shoveler (8) and 60 Black headed gulls.

Of more note, were the Waxwings seen in the area. I had a job in Folkestone and popped up to Pegwell to look at the Waxwings there (published in The Times) to see an email from Duncan on my return, who had seen a group of around 50 in the trees beside his house near Streatham Hill (17th). Go figure! Brian and I went for an early look the following morning to no avail. Luckier for Duncan who had 150 there later in the morning. Over 50 were also seen by Clapham south tube on the Friday, presumably the same group. I finally tracked them down on the Sunday 100 apprx, (19th) on Hanson Close, just off Balham High Street. Not my find, but pleased to see them! They stuck around for most of the week and when I went to the sorting office this morning (31st), 50 were feeding on the berries besides Waitrose, brilliant!!

November 2010

Waxwings in Norwich, a group of around 60 and part of a huge national invasion. Stunning birds!!

A Robin on a frosty common, published in The Times.

Tawny eagle, Nakuru National Park, Kenya.

Lesser flamingos, Lake Nakuru. The colour was stunning, difficult to capture and translate the sense of scale and richness in colour.

Kittlitz plover, Nakuru National Park, Kenya. An amazing park with huge amounts and variety of birds, this is a very small sample. Highly recommended!

October was a write off as I was away on a job in Africa. Fortunately, I managed to squeeze a few days safari in Kenya which was brilliant. The impressive Kenya Wildlife Service were very supportive in my modest efforts at wildlife photography.

I got back at the end of the month and motivation was low to get out and about, partly because of a heavy work load, but also perhaps due to having been spoiled in Africa. Coupled with some DIY at home, meant there also wasn't really much time.

Did get a stroll out on the 7th, though didn't see much. Shoveler are back on the pond (12) and there were Cormorants (8) perched on the dead tree, two herons were on the pond and another flew over. Mistle thrush (6) and a Sparrowhawk were also seen. Little owls didn't seem to be back yet. One of the Robins was published in the paper during the first cold spell.

Also of note, Waxwings everywhere in the north and East Anglia. During, a short trip to Norfolk I had a look at a lively group in Norwich.

9 October.

Kitty found... More crazy signs on the common.

Railway tunnel to the Triangle.

Autumnal tree over the Triangle.

Another nice cloudy, misty morning but again very few birds on the common. One new one though, following on from the 2 Meadow pipit on Clapham yesterday, 1 was heard over the pond this morning. Otherwise, 2 Mistle thrushes and 2 Pied wags were the only other mentionables.

8 October 'Change of scene'

Clapham common.

A spider outside the house.

It all sounds much more dramatic than it is...

Having had another walk around Tooting earlier in the week and seeing next to nothing, I decided to have a wander around Clapham common.

A fine misty, Autumnal morning and had a couple of good (ish) birds. Two Meadow pipits over head were new ones in London for me, a Grey wagtail over and two Goldcrests in that dodgy bit towards Battersea Rise, where 'Ron Davis lost his keys'.

Possible Lesser spot calling, but it was very faint and only called once. The Goldcrests are the first I've seen around here for donkeys. Two Cormorants were flying around as was at least one Grey Heron.

Might go back...

3 October

White-winged black tern, swimmers and the cafe, Hyde Park.

White-winged black tern, Hyde Park.

White-winged black tern, Hyde Park.

Just back again from Afghanistan. Not too many birds seen, though lots of Lesser whitethroats, parakeets and some as yet unidentified Phylloscs...

While I was away I heard about a White-winged black tern in Hyde Park. A rare bird nationally, more so for London. When I got back I went to see if it was still there...

A Swallow flew south over Balham in the afternoon. Three for the year!!!

7 September

Railway cottages, during a brief moment of sun.

Hiding from the rain with a big red umbrella.

Swan in the rain.

Coot.

A month ago now, what can I remember? I was testing a new Canon camera, the all singing all dancing 1D MKIV. An excellent camera and far superior auto focus and shutter burst to my 5Ds. At over £4000 a pop though...

It was a damp and rainy day and there have been so few birds on the common, despite a national influx of vagrants and on going migration. There has been nothing. Oh, no I did have a pair of Swallows over high. These are the first seen this year!!! There were five or six singing Chiffs and a large mixed tit flock moving around, though nothing obviously with them. Two herons were on the pond and three over yesterday. A pair of Cormorant and that's challot.

Some pictures...