9th April - Thursley Common, Surrey

Just under a year ago the National Nature Reserve at Thursday in Surrey suffered an horrific fire.  The blaze started on the 30th May and took four days to bring under control.  The fire burned through about a third of the overall area of the reserve.  It also destroyed many parts of the board walk that stretched out across the bog and provided access to the many pools.

This was my first visit to the reserve since then and also my first trip outside of Hampshire for over six months, a sign of the times we currently live in.  Walking from the car park at the Moat you were immediately faced with the continuing impact of the fire.

These were areas of gorse and heather that would ring around the Moat Pond, more specifically the "Triangle" area which was always good for the heath specialties, Nightjar and Dartford Warbler.

Around 200 to 300 species are thought to have been impacted by the fire.  From rare mosses and ferns to dragonflies and reptiles.  Fortunately the fire wasn't in the prime reptile area and those that were would probably been able to find holes in which to shelter.  But although the fire was devastating there is the hope that natural regeneration will return the heath to something like it's former self, maybe enhance the habitats in places

But I wasn't here to see the impact of the fire, I was here to hopefully see the latest Thursley specialty, Colin.  As I walked south from the car park the Moat Pond looked superb i the morning sunshine.  It was a cold morning with the last effects of a Frost and some gorgeous blue sky and sunshine

I was heading for a location known as Parish Field, it isn't shown o any OS map, but with a little research I had managed to find the spot and was making my way there along the footpaths.

A Willow Warbler singing stopped my progress, this was my first of the year and the bird was quite close.  With a short search I managed to find it singing from a small Birch tree.

Early arrivals always look at their best, with lemonish green upper parts and a pale yellow wash on the under parts.  The Willow Warbler has longer wings and pale legs that distinguish it from itsd close cousin the Chiffchaff that has dark legs.

I left the Willow Warbler and walked on.  So who is this Colin I had come to see?  Well Colin is in fact a Cuckoo that has been coming to this location for seven years now.  It is a very confiding male bird that frequents the trees around Parish Field.  It soon became clear that I had found the right place as I walked up to a field with several photographers already in place.

Colin the Cuckoo's fame has spread far and wide and now birders, photographers and the general public are all aware of him and many come from far and wide to experience the opportunity of a close encounter with a bird that is usually secretive and difficult to see in the open, normally giving their presence away by their familiar song.

As I found my place facing the tree stump and branch positioned in the field, the mumblings were that so far he had not shown and that maybe he ate too much yesterday.  Behind me a male Redstart sang from the very top of a Silver Birch.  A couple of photographers announced that they were going off to photograph Redstarts that were dotted around the field.  As they walked away a stunning male flew into the stump.

Apparently this is how all this started, locals were putting meal worms out to attract the Redstarts and some how Colin became aware and the rest is history.  The Redstart stood on the stump watching all around his red tail shivering in classic Redstart fashion.  Without young to feed at this time of the year he fed quickly before flying back to the trees on the perimeter of the field.

I had arrived at the Moat just after 8:00 am, it was now approaching 10:00 am with no sign of the Cuckoo, still I was in this for the long run.  A Red Kite caught the attention of the photographers as it drifted over, for me the angle was all wrong.  A pair of Mistle Thrush were mobbing a Magpie behind me, and one flying across the field had me thinking the Cuckoo had arrived, they look so similar at first in flight.  yA Buzzard a little later went over my head.

A ripple of conversation went up amongst the photographers, a Cuckoo had just appeared in the trees on the perimeter of the field, directions were given and I managed to pick the bird out on the edge of the branches.

Suddenly there was an air of anticipation as we were all focused on the cuckoo.  Eventually the Cuckoo flew from the tree and came across the filed low and up into a birch close to the assemble.  It then announced its arrival with a series of "cuckoos".

Finally it flew to the taller post, its arrival accompanied by the sound of camera drives.

There are those that are very dismissive of these contrived situations.  I have struggled with this since I first heard of Colin, but finally decided that if I can feed the birds in my garden, and encourage them to come close, even feed from my hand why can I complain about others using similar tactics.  The Cuckoo is free to do what it wants, it has just learned to exploit the humans in the same way that others consider the Cuckoo is being exploited.

From a pure birder's point of view and despite the fact that I enjoy taking photographs of the birds, this is what I consider myself to be, it provides a wonderful opportunity to get close to a special bird, whose numbers are declining in the United Kingdom.  Without this opportunity I would have to be satisfied with a fleeting glimpse as a Cuckoo flies through the trees or just the frustrating sound of its song as you search for a view.

He sat there with that expressionless sulphur yellow eye taking in the surroundings, ensuring all was well before taking the next step.

Happy that all was well he flew to the stump, which was where the meal worms were.

In al the photographs I have seen of juvenile Cuckoos being fed by there foster parents I am always taking by the striking orange red gape.  I always thought this was a feature of the juvenile bird to encourage feeding, I never considered that te adult bird had the same colour gape, but they do.

From the stump it then dropped to the ground where it started to pick up some of the escaping meal worms, but also was attracted by a photographer who was throwing meal worms towards him.

I had moved from my original position as the Cuckoo moved across the grass.  A male Redstart flew into the post and offered a brief distraction.

But it was back to the main attraction who was coming ever closer.  The photographer's stash of meal worms had run out, but I had the foresight to bring some of the many meal worms I have, so it was now down to me to provide some interest.

Appearing from below one of the many rabbit holes.

How often do you get the chance to take a portrait view of a wild Cuckoo?

From the grass it then hopped onto another strategically positioned set of posts.  Here he remained quite still, as if taking the time to settle the meal he had just had.  This is probably what Cuckoos do in normal circumstances

As time went on the head shape changed as the feathers on the forehead relaxed

Then he was off, flying across the field back towards the trees from which he came.  He had been present for about twenty minutes and I had to pinch myself that here in this unassuming field I had just witnessed a truly remarkable experience.  The photographers present all relaxed and is almost always the case when a few have shared an experience such as this we started to talk, all in agreement that it was amazing and assuring each other that despite the contrived situation it is still very worth while the effort to see.

I had a decision to make, should I stay or should I go.  The Redstart were still singing around the outside of the field and I would like to get some more photos of the males, so I decided to walk around the field.  Earlier as I waited for the Cuckoo I had seen and heard Woodlark and a very distant Tree Pipit, it would seem that this particular part of Thursley had a fair bit to offer.

Walking down around the perimeter I stopped for a strange singing Blackcap, but it was a Blackcap.  At the far end of the field movement in the grass turned out to be a very smart male Wheatear.  I was able to lay on the ground as it moved around the Rabbit holes and ant hills.

Next, I came across a pair of Woodlark that allowed me to approach quite closely.

Finally having decided to leave the field and explore some more of the reserve I had to turn back to pursue a singing male Redstart.  It gave me a bit of a run around but I managed to catch it as it sat on a lower branch of one of the trees on the perimeter.

My want to get some shots of the Redstart satisfied I left the field with a Willow Warbler singing from the highest point of a Silver Birch.  Coming out on to the heath I could hear the scratchy song of Dartford Warblers.  The time of year and sunshine meant they were much easier to locate and showed very well on top of the gorse bushes.

I was heading towards Ockley Common.  In preparation for this visit  i had checked whether the Little and Rustic Buntings that had been present through out the winter had been recently reported, the last report on Bird Guides had been the 29th March, so I had assumed they had gone.  However chatter at Parish Field had revealed that there were still two Little Buntings around.

Crossing Ockley Common I was taken by how much it reminded me of the savanna of the Serengeti and Masai Mara.

On reaching what is known as "Bunting Corner" I was informed that the Little Buntings had been seen recently and that they were singing.  Apparently the reports had been suppressed as it was considered they may breed.

The area is of bushes and scrub surrounded by burnt out gorse and open mud.  Another strategically positioned branch has been placed in front of a bare patch of ground that was attracting Reed Buntings, Goldfinch and a cock pheasant.  Here yet another contrived situation, seed has been put out over the winter, but not for the last few days.

Little Bunting is a lifer for me and I have no idea why I haven't made the effort to come earlier in the year, probably because it meant leaving the confines of Hampshire, not sure.  Any way I was here today.

Several others were present and we managed a brief view of one in the scrub.

While I could identify it I wanted a better view.  Those present had either seen it earlier in the day or consistently over the winter, shortly they moved away and left me on my own.  I could hear song but couldn't make out where it was coming from.  I moved to one side and noticed a small bird singing while sitting in the middle of a small tree, surely it couldn't be?  But it was.

Exposure was the problem here and I tried several different over exposures until it was about right, the other difficulty was the branches and I kept moving to try and get a clear view.

The first Little Bunting appeared the middle of October and was followed by a second just before Christmas.  I was a little surprised about the possible breeding claim as from the books I have read it is not detailed how to distinguish male and female.  I only saw one at a time and quite possibly could have been the same bird, but I did think I heard two birds singing.

Little buntings have a large range. They breed from far north-east Europe to the far east of Russia in coniferous woodland. It winters in northern India, southern China, northern south-east Asia where it is typically found on farmland.  It is a rare autumn visitor to these shores, with 30 to 50 being seen from September to March.

On the first view the Little Bunting appeared like a Dunnock creeping through the bushes, but when I caught up with the singing bird the main features were clear. The main confusion can be in winter with a female Reed Bunting.  Paying attention to the head the main differences are the lores and eye coverts are distinctively chestnut in tone, but this can vary, here in spring this bird has bright coverts.  Next the eye ring which is obvious in the Little, a clear buff eye ring.  A black eye stripe encircles the the rear of the ear coverts, there is also a pale spot at the rear of the eye coverts.  The supercilium is a pale buff and has a square end, in the case of this bird it is a little more chestnut or orangy..  Finally the crown is more defined than the Reed Bunting with brown lateral stripes and chestnut central stripe.

A behavioral difference is the habit the Reed Bunting has of flicking open its tail sideways revealing white outer tail feathers.

I was pleased to find that when I reviewed the photos at home I did manage to get a really good one despite the exposure and branches.

With these views I decided it was going to be hard to get any better so opted to walking back to the Moat car park and heading home.  A lifer and incredible views of Cuckoo and Redstart, what a day

POST SCRIPT

I did manage to get out earlier in the week, and on the 8th April walked around Alresford where I managed to find this Green Sandpiper on one of the streams, not always an easy bird to find in Hampshire, I felt the sighting should have a record.

3rd April - North West Hampshire and Fishlake Meadows, Hampshire

I had managed to get some information on a site in the north west of Hampshire where there were Stone-curlew.  These are extremely rare breeding birds in Britain, let alone Hampshire so I am not giving any locations in this part of the blog.

And so it was that Ian arrived at the site just after sunrise on an overcast, windy and cold morning.  Needless to say the habitat was agricultural chalk down with fields with crops just beginning to show.  A footpath led between the fields and as we came out of the cover of trees and hedgerow we started to scan the area.  We had been advised to bring 'scopes as the views were likely to be distant.

Scanning the fields there were plenty of Rook, a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls and of course Woodpigeon.  Along the edge of the fields rectangular patches had been left and we gave these some careful attention without out any luck, the only thing of note present being a couple of Roe Deer.

Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting sang from the hedgerow, the latter a welcome year tick and the opportunity to get up close.

The Corn Bunting population fell by just under 90 percent between 1970 and 2003 mainly due to the lack of seed and insects on the farmland that they would normally inhabit.  In addition they are a late nesting species so many nests were destroyed during the harvest of by cutting.

The Corn Bunting desperately needs the following management to ensure the right habitat for it to recover:

1. A nesting habitat which remains available until the late summer    

Corn buntings nest on the ground in cereal fields, set-aside, grass field margins or unimproved grassland. They start nesting late in the spring, usually June or July, and can have flightless chicks in August.

2. Lots of seeds throughout the year

Adults feed mainly on seeds, especially cereal grain. Places where they can find seeds include rotational set-aside, harvested root crops, winter stubbles, newly-sown crops, weeds in the crop margins, areas of spilt grain or places where cereals are fed to outdoor cattle. They are becoming extinct in some pastoral areas of the UK.

3. Insects and spiders to feed to chicks in the spring and summer  

Corn buntings take insects from crops, set-aside, grassland and field margins to feed their chicks. Breeding success relates directly to the availability of insect food

The RSPB have been working with Farm Owners to try and turn around the decline of this iconic farmland species.  It jangling song associated with open farmland

A few Fieldfare were still around, their clucking calls bring attention to them in the bushes before they flew out and away across the fields.  We walked the main bridleway scanning as we went.  Coming back we could see the scrapes in the ground surrounded by what looked like electrical fences powered by solar cells.

It was cold with a very brisk, biting, northerly wind, the sun was trying to break through but there was no real sign of blue sky.  In these conditions it was hard to think we were in spring, but a reminder passed us in a Swallow, our first of the year, heading north very quickly, low across the field.  There was another reminder as Ian scanned the fields yet again, a pair of Wheatear in one of the fields.

Hope was fading as we stood at the top of the path looking back along the path we had walked.  Another scan of the protected sites could reveal anything despite us checking over and over again lumps of soil and flint.

Then as I was checking my phone Ian started to scan the fields on the other side of the bridleway we had come down.  We had been told to turn left and this field was on the right, a stubble field.  Then Ian said he had something, initially it looked like another lump of mud, but as increased the magnification on the scope I could see this looked to be more like the real thing.  A little more and I could see white markings on the wing.  At last we had found not one but two Stone-curlew.  The views were distant as we had been promised, but there was the chance we could get closer as they appeared to be close to the footpath.  As we rushed down the hill we pondered on the irony that we had walked past them when we arrived.

We quickly located one of the birds, the view wasn't brilliant but acceptable, the problem being it was low down amongst the stubble.

Looking at the position of the bird and the footpaths we decided that we could probably get a better view by moving to a place where we would look north.  Another dash and the leaving the 'scopes behind and we were in position where at last the Stone-curlew showed really well.

As mentioned it is a scarce visitor and very localised breeder in Hampshire, however Hampshire has about 18% on the the breeding pairs in Wessex.  In 2019 there were just over 30 pairs confirmed nesting in the county.  The RSPB monitor the breeding with volunteer teams.  These birds were well away from the protected nesting area.

The stone-curlews, also known as dikkops or thick-knees, consist of nine species within the family Burhinidae, and are found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world, with two or more species occurring in some areas of Africa, Asia and Australia. Despite the group being classified as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.

A strange, rare summer visitor to southern England and East Anglia, the stone-curlew is a crow-sized bird with a large head, long yellow legs and relatively long wings and tail. Active at night, its large yellow eyes enable it to locate food when it is dark.

Movement was at a premium as it appeared to settle down amongst the stubble, Ian and I referred to our Stone Curlew shuffle as we moved back and forth along the path in an effort to get a better view through the stalks

Then it turned and faced in the opposite direction, allowing the head to come out from behind the stubble and show the large yellow eye.

The name "stone curlew" was first recorded by Francis Willughby in 1667 as a "third sort of Godwit, which in Cornwall they call the Stone-Curlew, differing from the precedent in that it hath a much shorter and slenderer Bill than either of them”. The name derives from the bird's nocturnal calls sounding like the unrelated Eurasian Curlew and its preference for barren stony heaths.

The species name oedicnemus comes from the Greek oidio, to swell, and kneme, the shin or leg, referring to the bird's prominent tibio-tarsal joints, which also give it the common name of "thick-knee".  Unfortunately we couldn't see the the legs today

When Ian first picked them out from a distance we were sure there were two birds and after some searching we managed to find the other bird.  Hidden well down amongst the stubble the yellow eye gave it away.  You can see though how difficult it is to find them as they remain stock still with immaculate camouflage from the plumage.

To give some idea of the needle in the haystack that Ian found, here is a view of the filed they were occupying.

Then, totally out of the blue something disturbed them and they flew off with an alarm call, both birds flew across the field and I just managed to catch one as it landed showing the dark wings with a white stripe.

We walked around the field to see if we could find them from the path and did, but despite trying to get some height the stubble obscured them very well.  We decided that it was time for a cup of tea and returned to the car elated with what we had managed.  These were the first Stone Curlew I have seen away from Norfolk and Suffolk, in fact the first for sometime, ten years in the UK, I did manage one in Majorca and one in India.  So it had turned into a good day and the freezing fingers had warmed up without me noticing.

After tea we returned and found them back in the same place we had originally seem them although with not such a clear view.

It was a little more mobile, but reminded me of a sloth in the way it slowly took its steps.

We stuck it out hoping something different might happen but aside from a burst of song it stayed pretty much covered by the stubble.

We then left it and walked the track in search of Grey Partridge that proved unsuccessful.  Coming back we re-found one bird again, stood and watched it some more.  A tractor started ploughing the field and we hoped this might generate some action, but no.  In the end we decided it was lunchtime and time to move on.  We had some great views and some stunning shots when you consider where they could have been.

As we made our way back to the cars a Red Kite drifted over heading to where the tractor was ploughing.

After lunch we decided on Fishlake Meadows for the afternoon.  On walking from the car park we headed towards the original viewing point, along the canal path a singing Blackcap distracted us as it posed nicely for some photographs.

As we came up from the canal path there is an area alongside the road that appears to have been cleared allowing the lake and reeds to be visible.  A Great Egret was on the shore, unfortunately as we tried to get closer it flew off and all I could manage was this record.

From the viewing point there was a fair bit to be seen.  Above the water there were all three Hirundines, the most numerous being Swallow and Sand Martin, but we did manage to find one House Martin.

On the water Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Greylag and Canada Geese, Little and Great-crested Grebe and a female Marsh Harrier that came across the reeds and settled in a small tree by the side of the water.

From the viewing point we walked back to the canal path.  Like last week at Titchfield the Cetti's Warblers were very vocal and showing well, although I would miss them when they would come out so I had to be happy with slightly covered views.

They have cleared a lot of the old ash trees and others from alongside the path so there are now great views across the marsh, more hirundines moved through and Buzzards could be seen circling above the distant trees.

Chiffchaffs sang from both sides of the canal their repetitive song seemingly everywhere.

We walked down to the centre of the reserve and then cross to head towards the screens.  A showy female Stonechat was around the reed bed.

At the screens it was the usual story, not much about.  A pair of Pintail, Tufted Duck, several pairs of Teal and Greylag Geese.  The highlight being a couple of Snipe and this drake Pochard that swam across the lake, only to turn, get spooked and fly all the way back.

Swallows and Sand Martins moved overhead, but that was about all.  We decided to walk back.  On the cross path we stopped as a strange song was above us.  It turned out to be a male Stonechat.

Back along the canal path, the Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warblers were still in song.  We stopped at the second viewing platform to scan the skies.  This proved to be successful as we found at least three Red Kite and up to six Buzzard.  Unbeknown to us, beneath us there was a Wryneck.  It appeared to a lucky few later that afternoon!

A little further along a pair of Bullfinch were ripping in to the blossom of a Cherry Tree, my attention went to the spectacular male Bullfinch.

At one time these birds were considered a pest in the fruit growing counties such as Kent and Herefordshire and were persecuted as a result.

The Bullfinch pair then flew off and we turned to another red breast, a very confiding Robin.

At the first viewing platform there were more Buzzards and another Red Kite.  We were also treated to an aerial display by two Peregrine.

As we walked back to the car we were blissfully unaware of the Wryneck and finding out later took a little shine off the day, why I am not sure but it did.  Reflecting now it is not every day you get to see Stone-curlews as we did today, so it must go down as a good one.