Research into the avian history of Staines Moor

It was back to the Darwin Centre in the Natural History Museum today for Pete and I, this time to the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity library, to carry out some research into my patch, Staines Moor, in preparation for an article (Pete was attending a course on Diptera - see here). I concentrated on the London Bird Reports, which started in 1936 (and have remained almost unchanged in format ever since). There's a lot reports to get through and I only managed to read to 1951, nevertheless, I found some interesting records and trends.

Staines Moor once held large breeding and wintering populations of Tree Sparrows (up to 150 in winter), a breeding population of Corn Buntings, breeding Red-backed Shrikes, a few pairs of Whinchat, and good numbers of wintering waders such as counts of 200 Golden Plover! Notable records include a Kittiwake found dead on 21 February 1937, 2 Twite on 29 September 1948, a Temminck's Stint on 27 April 1949, a flock of 35 Ringed Plover on 20-28 May 1950, 60 White-fronted Geese on the deck on 20 December 1950 and a Knot on 26 March 1951. For a rarity-starved inland patch worker like me, these records are pure fantasy!

Patching is by no means a new concept, with the same initials appearing time and time again for the moor. Without the dedication of C. A. White in particular (who watched the moor both before and after WWII), there would be far less data on record for the moor and so I'm grateful for his many years of commitment. Some of the old English names also made interesting reading - White-breasted Barn Owl, British Willow Titmouse and Fire-crested Wren to name a few.

Cover of the first ever London Bird Report

The first illustration in a London Bird Report -
Great Grey Shrike in the 1946 report by the
legendary Richard A. Richardson - who used
to watch St James Park before moving to
Norfolk. Richard also visited Staines Moor

This Lesser Yellowlegs was one of two that visited Staines Moor and Perry
Oaks Sewage Farm in 1953 (photo by G. des Forges)

A female Sparrowhawk flying in front of the iconic Natural History Museum as we were queuing to get in was the only notable wildlife sighting of the day. I've got a lot more research to do so I'll be back to the library in due course. Looking forward to seeing what else has turned up at the moor in the past.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2013

With the temperatures rising and the snow now gone, it's not surprising that bird activity in the garden this morning for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch was much less than of late. The Fieldfare was a no show (last seen yesterday morning) and yesterday 3 Greenfinches visited the sunflower hearts but not today. The final tally between 08:15 and 09:15 was: 1 Collared Dove (a garden mega!!!), 2 Woodpigeon, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch, 4 Chaffinch, 8 Goldfinch, 2 Robin, 1 Dunnock, 2 Blackbird, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit, 1 Coal Tit, 2 Long-tailed Tit and 4 Ring-necked Parakeets.

I've not recorded a single Starling this winter and I've never recorded House Sparrow in my garden in 13 years! Both of these reflect national declines (Starling down 80% since 1979 and House Sparrow down by 66%!) Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Woodpigeon are all on the up though, and we usually get around 10 Woodpigeon in the garden. Find out how others have fared on Twitter here.

Afterwards it was back up to the nerve centre of British natural history, the Natural History Museum, for the 2012 Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, oh, and a coffee or two!

Weather: Overcast (7 oktas), moderate SW wind, cold, wet and lots of rain overnight.

Cetti's back at the patch

Another day that I'd rather just forget frankly. 1 ringed Cetti's Warbler foraging along the Colne was my first sight record at the patch, and the first I've heard here for a long time. It showed well out in open on the vegetation overhanging the river for about an hour, but was just a little too distant for pin sharp photos. Also 1 Water Pipit (seen in flight calling), 1 Little Egret, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Common Snipe, 1 Chiffchaff, 2-3 Goldcrest, lots of Wrens, Robins, and Long-tailed Tits, and 1 Little Grebe were also seen along the Colne.

My first sight record of Cetti's Warbler at Staines Moor. The bird was on the
opposite bank of the Colne so these images are heavily cropped.

This bird is ringed but unfortunately I couldn't make out the number

It was very showy at times and seemed to find the impeccably clean Colne a
good foraging spot

Little Egret late afternoon along the Colne

Overhead, 70 (53S, 13N, 4NW) Fieldfare were logged, 1 Skylark S, and c8 Linnet came in the from the west and landed on the moor. A splash around in the floods produced just 2 Common Snipe (and some prints) and 1m Pheasant. Also seen: 2-3 Short-eared Owls (2 accidentally flushed and another, or one of the same, seen a little later), 1m Stonechat, 3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1+ Grey Heron and a Red Fox.

Common Snipe prints in patch of snow on the south flood

3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers giving each other hassle!

On Stanwell Moor 1 Redwing, a few Fieldfare, 1 Pied Wagtail over E and a Water Rail was heard, and at Stanwell Moor Village 1f Siskin in with a Goldfinch flock and 1 Little Egret were noted.

I left the moor at 16:00 as I was freezing by this point. Half an hour later a ringtail Hen Harrier was seen by another birder quartering the moor and catching prey. Hen Harrier is one of the birds I was hoping to find at the moor this winter (along with Long-eared Owl). It seems my run of bad luck continues and I am completely and utterly gutted!

Noted on the way home: 1 Common Buzzard E over M25 near M3 junction, and a Tawny Owl flew E over the A3 just south of Esher junction.

Weather: Overcast (8 oktas), calm a.m. & SE wind freshening p.m., cold (just above freezing).

Fleeting patch visit

Quick visit to Staines Moor at lunch time today produced 1 Short-eared Owl hunting in NE corner and being mobbed by Carrion Crows (1400h), 2m Pheasant and a Grey Heron (no Fieldfare movement noted in this very quick visit). On Stanwell Moor a Water Rail showed briefly on the willow chocked pool and a male Sparrowhawk flew past, but no sign of the reported Bittern. On the way a Red Kite drifted W over the M25 just south of the M3 junction at 13:20. Most of the snow melted now.

Saw a birder trespassing on Stanwell Moor, approaching the reedbed near the board walk by the entrance to Staines Moor, presumably looking for the Bittern. I was on the path and initially I walked past him as I was due back at work for a meeting. Within seconds I decided to turn back to confront him, during which time he had hid and chose not to answer when I called out. There's always one idiot that crosses the line isn't there?

Fieldfare exodus

A great winter's day at Staines Moor today with a strong cold weather movement of Fieldfare throughout the day, moving south in groups up to 130 in number, with a few dropping down to feed or rest for a few minutes before continuing on. By the end of the day I'd counted a conservative 1,192! This beats the previous highest count for Staines Moor of 1,000 on 15th April 1977.

Other birds moving overhead included 1 Curlew E, 40 Siskin N, 1 Northern Lapwing W, 1 Common Snipe E, 2 Skylark S, 1m Reed Bunting N, 1 Jackdaw N (scarce here), 1 Pied Wagtail E and 1 Greenfinch N.

Fieldfares streaming south! Click to enlarge

2-3 Short-eared Owls were still present and 2 showed well hunting along the east side early afternoon. Also seen were 2 Water Pipits along the Colne and on the frozen southern flood in the company of 3 Meadow Pipit, 3+ (2m, 1f) Stonechat, 3 Song Thrush still feeding along the banks of the Colne, 2 Common Snipe flushed from the Colne, 1 Little Egret, 1 Little Grebe and 1 Goldcrest.

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

3 Song Thrushes have spent the last few days foraging along the banks of
the Colne where the ground is less frozen

Stanwell Moor added 2 Golden Plover E (appeared to drop down onto King George VI Reservoir), another 44 Fieldfare (mainly S), 2+ Lesser Redpoll feeding with 5+ Reed Bunting, 3 Common Snipe, 4 Gadwall (came off King George IV Reservoir), 1 Northern Lapwing, 4 Greenfinch over (mainly S), 8 Goldfinch N and 2m Pheasant.

Fieldfares on the move

About 75 Fieldfare were seen moving west over the garden today. There was probably a lot more that passed over, but I was working from home and so didn't have much time for skywatching. This was part of a much wider movement across the south-east and most London sites reported small numbers moving west. Some of the larger counts were 120 west at the London Wetland Centre, 302 west over Canons Farm, and 808 at Beddington Farmlands. But near Worthing on the south coast, Gary Messinbird reported a whopping 10,000!! One bird took up residence in the garden this afternoon, feeding on the apples I'd put out and aggressively chasing away any Blackbirds that came too close. I also had a garden tick in the form of a Peregrine over NW carrying prey.

Fieldfare - one of my favourite thrushes anywhere in the world!

Unfortunately I was shooting into the light most of the time

Photography is not easy in my garden. We live in a 1st floor maisonette and
getting pics involves contorting oneself out of the window with a long lens.

Buying and cutting up countless apples has finally paid off!

Birds concentrate along the Colne

A lack of any cold weather movement to speak of this morning, however, a walk along the Colne at first light produced 2 Water Pipit, 17 Northern Lapwing that flew off high N, 5 Common Snipe, 4 Gadwall, 1 Common Teal, 5 Mallard, 6 Little Grebe, c7 Mute Swan, 3 Stonechat, 3 Song Thrush, 3 Meadow Pipit and 25+ Black-headed Gull.

4 Gadwall along the Colne this morning flew off north

17 Lapwing along the Colne early morning all moved off north

1st year Mute Swan - around 7 birds present on the Colne this morning

A quick search of the river-side vegetation for Jack Snipe resulted no Jack Snipe but instead a dislocated knee (fortunately it popped back in)! A painful limp back along Bonehead Ditch produced just a single Common Teal and overhead 3 Fieldfare S, 1 Cormorant E and 1+ Grey Heron S were the only birds seen moving in what was now almost a whiteout, so we decided to call it a day (no Short-eared Owls seen this morning). At Stanwell Moor Village, 1f Reed Bunting was along the stream, and c7 Fieldfare were on the bank of King George VI Reservoir.

Back home the feeders were busy, with 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch, 3 Greenfinch, 3 Chaffinch, several Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, 2 Coal Tit, Blackbird, 3 Robin, Ring-necked Parakeet, several Woodpigeon and a Magpie.

Stock Dove in the garden