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GODSTONE PARISH MAGAZINE ARTICLES- 2009
These articles are written for
the Godstone Parish magazine and reproduced here with the permission of
the author, Keith Brandwood (01883 742740). If you would
like to reproduce them in your magazine, it would be courteous to ask
him - he would be very happy to give permission if he gets a credit. He
would also probably be able to adjust the article to suit your own area
as these are generally aimed for the Godstone and Bletchingley areas.
Back to Parish Magazine
Articles for 2010
NOVEMBER 2009
Towards the end of October the national newspapers and television reported
the first sighting of an eastern crowned warbler in north
east England. The finder initially recorded the bird as a yellow-browed
warbler, but with the advantages of digital photography the local experts
were able to re-identify the bird as an eastern crowned warbler. Eastern
crowned warblers have only been recorded in Europe four times the first
being in 1843 in Germany, the second record was in Norway in 2002, the
third record was in Finland in 2004 and the last previous record was in
Holland in 2007. The normal habitat of the eastern crowned warbler is
in south east Asia, but with a natural westward drift of some warblers
from the east on the autumn migration it was thought that this bird could
one day turn up in the British Isles.
Another first for England was the sighting of a tufted puffin
in Kent in September. Tufted puffins breed in relatively abundant numbers
in the north pacific, nesting in colonies from British Columbia, throughout
south east Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands
and throughout the Sea of Okhotsk. They once nested as far south as southern
California, but now nest in a few scattered colonies off the northern
edge of California. A tufted puffin was reported in Sweden in 1994, and
it is thought that the westward movements of these birds maybe because
of the fact that the northeast passage across northern Russia and Siberia
has in recent years become completely free of ice during the warmest summer
months, a possible indication of global warming. In recent years there
have been a number of records of birds such as Pacific diver, glaucous-winged
gull, and long-billed murrelet from the Pacific turning up in Europe and
the British Isles.
Our local winter visitors are now arriving in good numbers. By the end
of October siskins had been seen in the local area with
some birds already coming into gardens to feed. Look out for lesser
redpolls among the flocks of siskins as last winter saw many
redpolls feeding in gardens by the end of December. Further
north large flocks of both redwing and fieldfare had been reported by
the end of October and these birds will drift further south as the winter
progresses. A few have already been seen in our area. Numbers of crossbills
have already been seen in our area and slightly further afield a great
grey shrike has been seen on Ashdown Forest with snow
bunting being seen in Kent. Jack snipe have
been seen in a number of areas in Surrey, locally the sites of Mercers,
Holmethorpe and the Moors at Redhill can be good for jack snipe although
as they are rather a skulking bird that can be difficult to see.
The last group meeting this year is on December 9th at the White Hart
Barn, Godstone starting at 8.00pm. This meeting is our Christmas social
where we have photos and stories etc by local members and partake in festive
refreshments. Everyone is welcome, admission £3.00.
The December field trip is on Sunday 13th to the RSPB Reserve at Elmley
on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, looking for winter wildfowl and waders.
Meet at Godstone Green car park at 8.00am.
OCTOBER 2009
'Chats' is the collective name for stonechat, whinchat, wheatear and
redstart, the name chat referring to the harsh chacking notes made by
many of these birds. These are relatively small birds where the males
are attractively plumage during the breeding season.
Stonechats are locally common breeding resident birds in Surrey preferring
open areas of poor or low habitats, such as gorse and heather. Although
some stonechat hold territory all year, birds from more exposed areas,
particularly in northern areas of the British Isles, desert these areas
and move south for the winter with some birds migrating as for south as
Southern Europe and North Africa. In Surrey stonechats tend to be found
in the west side of the county, but in our area birds tend to be seen
on migration as they pass through, although occasionally overwintering
birds can be found in suitable habitat. Stonechat populations tend to
suffer badly in severe winters.
Whinchats are a colourful bird of the open country and are primarily a
long distance migrant over flying the Sahara to winter in tropical Africa.
Although formerly a breeding species in Surrey, whinchats are now seen
on spring and autumn migration as they pass through the county to and
from their breeding sites further north. Many whinchats that pass through
south east England in the autumn are from breeding areas in northern Europe
and have arrived here on easterly winds.
Wheatears are moderately common passage migrants through Surrey. Numbers
seen on the spring migration in east Surrey are usually much higher than
numbers seen on the autumn migration and in some years very few birds
are seen during the autumn. The North Downs east of Chelsham can be a
good area to see these birds from early March through to early May as
they move north to their breeding grounds in north west England and Scotland.
Wheatears formerly bred in Surrey, but very few nests have been recorded
in the last thirty odd years in the county.
Redstarts are a locally common summer visitor, breeding each year in the
western half of Surrey. In East Surrey redstarts are a relatively rare
spring passage migrant with numbers even rarer during the autumn. Redstarts
breed in woodlands, often old deciduous and mixed woodland areas and further
north in England and Scotland and also in old pine forest areas. In recent
years it would appear that redstarts have become an increasing breeding
bird on Ashdown forest. Redstarts winter just south of the Sahara with
a minority wintering in southern Europe and north Africa.
The group indoor meeting in October is on Wednesday 14th at the White
Hart Barn, Godstone starting at 8.00pm. The speaker will be Mike Read
who will give a talk entitled “Red Kite Country” the wildlife
and landscape of unspoilt mid-Wales through the seasons. Everyone is Welcome,
admission £3.00.
SEPTEMBER 2009
The peregrine falcon is one of the most magnificent birds to grace our
skies. To see a peregrine soar above the cliff tops, or watch it as it
glides over our hills and towns is an unforgettable sight. It has taken
over thirty years for peregrines to recover from the devastating effects
of pesticide poisoning and the persecution of the bird in bygone days.
Today we can see peregrines back at many of their original nesting sites,
with birds now nesting in many of our cities and towns, with good numbers
nesting relatively locally in Kent, Sussex and even reports of nesting
in Surrey. During the winter months peregrines can be seen frequently
in east Surrey as birds move out from their breeding areas.
However the RSPB is reporting that this year looks like being one of the
worst years on record in recent times for crimes against peregrines. So
far this year there have been over fifty incidents reported and investigated
of birds being shot, poisoned, trapped and nests robbed, with more incidents
waiting to be processed. In the year 2007 there were seventy nine incidents
reported for the whole year. Although most of the reported incidents are
from areas further north in the British Isles, these crimes affect the
country’s overall numbers of this magnificent falcon. The popularity
of being able to see this bird can be gauged by the numbers of people
who visit viewing sights in such places as the Tate Gallery in London
or Chichester Cathedral and many other areas where the RSPB have set up
viewing facilities. Peregrines have been shot and or trapped on their
nesting sites, poisoned bait has been laid around nesting sites and other
areas used by hunting peregrines, eggs and young birds have been stolen
from their nests, and nests destroyed.
That this persecution of peregrine falcons is still going on in the twenty
first century is a disgrace These birds like other birds of prey are protected
by law. The Government has recently made the persecution of birds of prey
one of the UK’s wildlife crime priorities with emphasis on five
key species, namely golden eagles, hen harriers, goshawks, buzzards and
red kites. The RSPB believe that peregrines should now be added to this
list. There is an urgent need for the Government to place peregrine falcons
on the list of priority species for wildlife crime enforcement and to
ensure that captive birds are properly registered. These crimes are committed
by a minority of people and completely unacceptable today.
The September indoor meeting is on Wednesday 9th at the White Hart Barn,
Godstone starting at 8.00pm. The speaker will be Gordon Lansbury a well
known wildlife photographer who will give a talk entitled “Wild
Florida” about the wildlife of this popular American holiday resort.
Everyone is welcome, but I am afraid the admission as from September will
be £3.00 due the increasing cost of getting good speakers.
JULY 2009
The weather so far this year has been generally much more pleasant than
the last two years. Spring produced an abundance of blossom on berry bearing
trees and shrubs such as rowan, hawthorn, pyracantha and cotoneaster,
hopefully providing a wealth of berries in the autumn to attract the birds.
After two poor breeding years for blue tits and great tits, this May has
seen good numbers of juvenile birds of these species about. Great spotted
woodpeckers and nuthatches seem to have had a good breeding season, although
nuthatches have become increasingly less common in recent years with birds
spreading further north, turning up on the Isle of Mull in western Scotland
for the first time last year.
In the month of May I saw lapwing in two places locally, in areas that
would be suitable for them to attempt to breed. I gather a pair of jackdaws
nesting in the porch of Godstone church created much interest. Jackdaws
have become much more common locally in recent years. Cuckoos have been
heard in Godstone and Bletchingley, but their numbers are still well down
on past years. Although the vole numbers are down this year, indications
show that tawny owl, barn owl, little owl and kestrel are all breeding
locally. Buzzards continue to increase in numbers, with increasing breeding
in several areas.
Red kites are becoming a regular visitor to East Surrey and I saw one
flying north east over Godstone on 1st June. Whether these are birds from
the re-introduction programmes that have been going on in England, or
birds on migration from Europe to Scandinavia, is perhaps a matter of
debate, although it is quite probable that red kites will be found breeding
in East Surrey over the next few years. At Mercer’s Park, the only
large wetland area in East Surrey, greenshank, dunlin, whimbrel, knot
and little ringed plover were seen passing through in May along with good
numbers of common tern and on 13th May six black tern were seen passing
through. Two common tern were also seen over the Bay Pond at Godstone.
This spring has seen an increasing number of bumble bees and butterflies.
As reported in the national press, large numbers of painted lady butterflies
have migrated up through Europe and are now in good numbers in our area.
Hopefully they will stay with us throughout the summer. Another butterfly
to look out for is the small tortoiseshell. In recent years this once
common butterfly has declined dramatically, but I have had several in
the garden in the second week of June, so hopefully with a good summer
their numbers will recover.
The group indoor meeting in July is on Wednesday 8th at the White Hart
Barn, Godstone starting at 8.00pm. The speaker will be Richard Pople who
will give a talk entitled “Birding in Gambia”. The group does
not have an indoor meeting in August. The September indoor meeting is
on Wednesday 9th at 8.00pm. The speaker will be Gordon Lansbury a well
known wildlife photographer who will give a talk entitled “Wild
Florida”, so do come and see the wildlife of this popular American
holiday resort. Everyone is welcome, admission to the July meeting is
£2.00, but I am afraid the admission as from the September meeting
will be £3.00, due to the increasing cost of getting good speakers.
JUNE 2009
The house martin breeds across western Europe as far east as western Siberia, and from northern Scandinavia south to the western Mediterranean coast of North Africa. It is generally thought that house martins winter high over the forests of tropical Africa. Although over a quarter of a million house martins have been ringed in Britain and Ireland, only one bird has been recovered south of the Sahara.
The house martin has been a common sight during the summer months over our villages, being one of the few bird species that virtually depends on man for the provision of breeding sites, with most now nesting on buildings, and very few birds still nesting at their traditional nest sites on cliff faces. House martins usually arrive in the south east of England in the first few days of April, then seem to disappear before reappearing, sometimes as late as mid May to start nest building. The nest of the house martin is the well known mud built nest under the eaves of houses, usually favouring north or east facing walls. Nest building can take up to ten days, with both male and female bird collecting sometimes over a thousand mud pellets from the edge of pools to complete one nest. Sometimes the birds are able to reuse nests that have survived the winter and this can mean that a pair can save up to a week of nest building.
House martins often nest in loose colonies with a number of nests close together. Throughout the summer a pair of house martins can raise two or three broods of up to five young per brood. Often late broods are still in the nest in mid September, with the young from earlier broods sometimes helping the parents with subsequent offspring.
House martins' nests, including artificial ones, are protected by law. One can only clean or remove the nests after the birds have left on their autumn migration. The problem of bird droppings under the nest sites can be partly overcome by fixing a shelf under the nests in the hope of preventing the droppings from accumulating on the ground. The shelf can then be removed and cleaned down once the birds have departed for the winter. Parasites can sometimes be a problem with old nests, placing pyrethrum round the nest should prevent any parasites leaving the nest.
The numbers of house martins returning each spring appear to be declining, not only in Britain but also across Europe. It is thought it is unlikely that this decline is due to factors in the bird's winter quarters, but more likely to the reduction of insects in their breeding areas and the changes in agriculture and farming methods.
The group indoor meeting in June is on Wednesday 10 th at the White Hart
Barn, Godstone starting at 8.00pm. The speaker will be David Darrell-Lambert
who will give a talk entitled 'Improve your bird-watching skills' - useful
tips on enjoying birding, identifying birds and keeping records.
The June field trip is on Sunday 14 th to Stodmarsh and Grove Ferry, in
Kent, meeting at Godstone Green car park at 8.00am. An evening field trip
to hopefully see nightjars and woodcock on Ashdown Forest has been
arranged for Friday 12 th June, meeting at Godstone Green car park at
8.00pm or the Long car park near the old air strip on Ashdown Forest at
8.30pm.
MAY 2009
The spotted flycatcher is one of our latest summer migrants, not arriving in good numbers until the second week in May. The southward migration in the autumn of British summering birds starts in late July with a peak in mid August to early September, followed by a second peak movement mid September to early October. Many spotted flycatchers spend the winter south of the Sahara in the western coastal regions of Gambia to Nigeria, with some birds moving south east into the Congo Basin and Angola.
The spotted flycatcher is a generally sober looking bird, appearing uniformly grey-brown on the back with a paler front and underside. Up closer the grey -brown is slightly enriched by warmer brown areas with pale streaks on the wings and its paler head and breast are clearly marked with darker streaks. Its name is somewhat misleading. The adult birds have small streaks on the throat and breast as described by its scientific name - Muscicapa striata - but it is the fledged young birds that are more spotted in appearance.
The spotted flycatcher is a delight to watch as it flits out from its perch on a tree or wall to catch flying insects. Its speed is amazing as it zooms to within a few inches of the ground or shoots skywards chasing its victim, at times hovering for a few seconds as it grabs its intended prey before returning to its favourite perch. Once a common sight during high summer, spotted flycatcher numbers in Britain have declined by 80 percent in the last thirty years. Its nest is normally placed against a tree trunk, or a hole in a tree, a crevice in a wall or on a ledge, often in a situation that is partly concealed by ivy or some other creeper. Usually four to six eggs are laid and take some twelve to fifteen days to hatch, the young leaving the nest after about a fortnight. A pair of flycatchers will raise two, sometimes three, broods in a summer. While nest building the birds appear very secretive and are likely to abandon the nest if disturbed, only to start a new nest within a few yards of the original site.
The decline of the spotted flycatcher in our gardens may be due to many reasons, but some things that may help to attract more flycatchers could be the provision of suitable nesting sites, increasing the numbers of insects by growing flowers that are known to attract insects, avoiding disturbance when the birds are nest building, and by reducing the availability of predators to easily predate the nests. The sight of a spotted flycatcher in a garden was part of an English summer and it would be nice to see the return of this sight.
The group indoor meeting in May is on Wednesday 13th at the White Hart Barn, Godstone. The guest speaker is Patrick Coulcher who will give a talk entitled 'Mountains of Scotland' - a natural history of the highlands and islands.
The May field trip is by coach to the RSPB Reserve at Minsmere in Suffolk. The coach leaves Godstone Green at 7.30am, The cost of a ticket for the coach is £15.00, contact Richard Lowe on 01342 835354 for tickets and information on the trip.
MARCH 2009
By the time you read this article, probably the first week in April, our spring will be well under way and the first of our summer migrant birds will have arrived. Chiffchaffs will have arrived in our area by the third week in March and their familiar chiffchaff calls should be heard almost any where. Blackcaps will also be singing, their song similar in some cases to the garden warbler which can cause confusion, but generally garden warblers do not arrive until the middle of April, so the trick is to listen carefully to the early blackcaps singing and get to recognise its song and then note the differences to the garden warblers song when they arrive. Both Blackcaps and garden warblers are found in woodland areas.
Blackcaps tend to sing from high in the crown of tall bushes and have an upright stance, whereas the garden warbler is a more sulking bird of thick shrubbery and woodland edges, and usually more difficult to see when singing as it avoids open exposed positions. Our only summer migrant duck the garganey is another early arrival which starts to pass through our area by the middle of March. Although it has very occasionally nested in Surrey, it tends to stop briefly in our area before moving further north. One or two garganey are usually seen most springs at Mercers Park and Holmethorpe areas. Another early arrival is the little ringed plover which is also seen locally by the end of March. It first bred in England in 1938 with the spread of sand and gravel extraction sites during the latter half of the twentieth century, creating suitable breeding areas for this little plover. It has bred in the Godstone area and a small number breed each year at local sites. The sand martin which also favours similar breeding areas as the little ringed plover will have arrived in small numbers by the end of March. The first ospreys and wheatears will have passed through Surrey by the end of March on their northern journey.
The first half of April will see a tumble of summer birds arriving, the willow warbler, an increasingly declining species in southern England, can be heard singing in the first week of the month, its song being considered the mark that the spring has duly arrived. Swallows and house martins start to arrive in increasing numbers, and the cuckoo should start to be heard from the middle of the month, although it is becoming a declining sound of our spring. Whitethroat, sedge warbler, reed warbler, lesser whitethroat and the occasional grasshopper warbler will all arrive during April, and the first hobby could be seen by the middle of the month. Towards the end of April turtle dove, swift, garden warbler and spotted flycatcher will start to arrive.
The group indoor meeting in April is on Wednesday 8th at the White Hart Barn, Godstone. The guest speaker is Glen Jacobs from the RSPB who will a talk about the RSPB reserves and the attractions of nearby South Essex. This meeting is preceeded by our AGM - usually a very short affair. Everyone is welcome, admission £2.00.
The April field trip is to the RSPB reserves at Northwood Hill and Cliffe in Kent on Sunday 19th. meeting at Godstone Green car park at 8.00am. We also have a field trip to Seaford Head in Sussex meeting at Seaford Head at 6.30am, for a sea watch on Sunday 26th April.
JANUARY 2009
The spell of cold weather at the beginning of the
year will, hopefully, eventually bring some interesting birds into the
local area (See the photos in our gallery - Ed). There have been good
numbers of siskins about, and hopefully more will turn up at garden feeders
in February as they run out of their natural food. This winter has seen
good numbers of lesser redpoll feeding in gardens - they are very fond
of niyjer seed . The first part of this winter has seen relatively small
numbers of both redwing and fieldfare, but hopefully their numbers will
increase as the winter progresses, as it appears there were quite large
flocks in Kent at the start of the year. The last autumn saw a large influx
of waxwings into Scotland and northern England and as the winter progresses
these birds will get pushed further south. In years when there are good
numbers about, we normally start to see them in our area in January and
February. Eleven waxwings were reported on January 9th at Upper Warlingham,
and there have been several reports of small flocks seen across the southern
counties of England. At Mercers Park smew, goldeneye, goosander and a
first winter Iceland gull were seen in the first fortnight of the year,
and both peregrine falcon and barn owl have been seen on a number of occasions
in the same area. There are good numbers of common snipe each winter in
the Moors area at Redhill, and usually amongst them there are one or two
jack snipe. The local woods usually have a few wintering woodcock. These
are normally continental birds that get pushed into southern England as
the weather turns colder in Europe.
This time of year it is worth scanning through flocks of gulls to see
if there are any rarer gulls amongst them such as Iceland gull, glaucous
gull, Caspian gull, and Mediterranean gull. These have all been seen locally
in recent years. The local flocks of our commoner duck sometime attract
in small numbers of more unusual duck. Little egrets are a regular visitor
to our area, but this last month has seen several reports of a great white
egret in various parts of Surrey (six egrets seen just over the border
near Westerham Jan 23 - Ed).
The group indoor meeting is on Wednesday February 11th at the White Hart
Barn, Godstone starting at 8.00pm. The speaker is Barry Kaufman-Wright
who will give a talk entitled “Seasons of Woodland” - Enjoy
the flora and fauna of a typical English broad-leaved woodland. Everyone
is welcome. Admission £2.00.
The February field trip is to Pagham, Selsey and West Fields RSPB Reserve
on Sunday February 15th. Pagham is a good spot to see Slavonian grebe,
and Selsey can be good for divers and sea duck.