tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14328373141325720422024-03-12T21:39:08.552-07:00Nonsuch BirderWelcome to David Campbell's blog, documenting bird sightings from Nonsuch Park, Cheam, Surrey.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-46457850859693542062009-02-27T08:54:00.000-08:002009-02-27T08:57:11.992-08:0017/02/2009My first trip in months! I've been addicted to Beddington SF.<br /><br />2 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Siskins</span> around The Ave and the main grassland area<br />5 Green Woodpeckers, mainly at and around Warren Farm<br />several Stock Doves and Coal Tits<br />1 Nuthatch<br />1 Kestrel at Warren Farm<br />c20 Fieldfares near the ponds with a large number of Redwings<br /><div menubottom="0" menuright="0" menutop="0" menuleft="0" activeid="-1" expanded="0" style="display: none;" id="divCleekiAttrib"></div>David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-85695673652080844062008-11-10T07:00:00.001-08:002008-11-10T07:02:53.454-08:0008/11/2008A brilliant day with four local patch ticks, bringing my Nonsuch Park list to 61.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LESSER REDPOLL </span>c3 showing well in low vegetation at Warren Farm<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LINNET </span>c4 at Warren Farm<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MEADOW PIPIT </span>c5 at Warren Farm<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SKYLARK </span>1 over<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">+ </span></span>1 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Little Owl</span>, Green Woodpeckers, Jackdaws etc.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span>David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-27843404724506524462008-10-27T12:45:00.000-07:002008-10-27T12:54:19.931-07:00Recent watching<strong><em>27/10/2008</em></strong><br /><br />2 <strong>Siskins</strong> near ponds with Goldfinches<br />1 <strong>Redwing </strong>over<br />2 Mistle Thrushes near ponds<br />4+ Green Woodpeckers (second no dogs area, around woods etc)<br />1 Great Spotted Woodpecker near ponds<br />3 Nuthatch (1 woods, 1 gardens, 1 ponds)<br />c5 Goldcrest (gardens and woods)<br />1 Song Thrush (gardens)<br />6 Stock Doves<br />2 Coal Tit (1 gardens, 1 near 1st no dogs area)<br /><br /><strong><em>19/10/2008</em></strong><br /><br />1 <strong>Little Owl</strong> (heard north of mansion house)<br />1 <strong>Grey Heron </strong>(over edge of Cheam park)<br />1 <strong>Pied Wagtail </strong>(Cheam Park)<br />c10 <strong>Redwings</strong><br />1 <strong>Nuthatch</strong><br />4 Green Woodpeckers<br />1 Song Thrush<br />1 Sparrowhawk (gardens)<br />2 Mistle ThrushDavid Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-74934281346091730592008-10-04T09:16:00.000-07:002008-10-04T09:20:30.722-07:00Nonsuch Park in the movies!From Friday 2nd to Saturday 4th October the Mansion House and the Gardens in Nonsuch Park were used as a setting for filming of a sequence in the family film 'From Time to Time' with Timothy Spall and Maggie Smith. Not good news for me because there were tonnes of caravans which were putting the birds off and blocking the cafe and some essential footpaths. Anyway, it will be interesting to see Nonsuch on the big screen.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-46932078317329076082008-10-04T09:09:00.000-07:002008-10-04T09:15:48.831-07:0003/10/2008Another good day.<br /><br />1 <strong>Pied Wagtail </strong>(something like 3rd or 4th record here for me), 2 Nuthatch (1 near Mansion House, 1 near ponds), 1 Kestrel (male north east of ponds), c15 Goldcrests (gardens, ponds etc), 1 Coal Tit (gardens), 9+ Mistle Thrushes (around Mansion House), 1 Stock Dove (over), 1 Chiffchaff (ponds), 2 Moorhens (ponds)David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-33933084810557614442008-10-04T09:02:00.000-07:002008-10-04T09:08:03.977-07:0030/09/2008A quick after school trip for an hour produced to good quality Nonsuch birds, including a Nonsuch lifer for myself- Great Black-backed Gull.<br />1 <strong><em>Great Black-backed Gull</em></strong> (juv/1st winter type) over, 1 <strong>Lesser Black-backed Gull,</strong> 1 <strong>Common Gull </strong>(1st of the winter excluding the July bird), 2 <strong>Grey Wagtails</strong> (second for Nonsuch), 2 Nuthatches, c3 Goldcrests, c3 Coal Tits, 9 Stock Doves, c15 JackdawsDavid Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-55588317873405881042008-09-27T11:53:00.000-07:002008-09-27T12:08:05.088-07:0027/09/2008I think I broke my day list record for Nonsuch Park today with 34 species seen or heard.<br />Some of these species were great patch birds. Species in <strong>bold </strong>are occasional visitors to the site, others are resident or seasonal but in low numbers.<br /><strong>Swallow </strong>(1 south <strong>1st site </strong>record for me)<strong> Pied Wagtail</strong> (1 over near ponds, 3rd site record), <strong>Grey Heron </strong>(regular in winter but scarce in autumn), 24+ Jays (all over the place), 2 Green Woodpeckers (1 near ponds, 1 at north end), 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, (mainly around ponds), 3 Nuthatches (2 in gardens, 1 c500m north of ponds), 10+ Goldcrests (mainly around gardens), 1+ Chiffchaff, 1 Kestrel (near ponds), 1 Sparrowhawk (over ponds), 1 Moorhen (ponds), c10 Jackdaws, 2+ Mistle Thrushes, 2 Stock Doves.<br /><br />So, in summary, an awful lot of patch scarcities but no decent migrants despite 4 hours of almost non-stop thorough watching. I am surprised I didn't have another Buzzard or Peregrine as it looked pretty good for raptors with Gulls circling on thermals. No sign of the Hobbies today... perhaps they've left. I think they probably have as it was a clear, sunny day with a fair number of dragonflies and still no sign...David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-69321291648272289322008-09-20T12:45:00.001-07:002008-09-20T14:27:50.013-07:00What a day: 20/09/2008<div align="left">This has probably turned out to be the best day at Nonsuch Park this year, if not ever, with two much needed and very exciting Nonsuch lifers for me and a lot of other good local patch birds. <br />Here are the highlights:<br /><br />1 <strong><u>COMMON BUZZARD</u></strong>, flying north over at 4:43pm. 1 female <strong><u>PEREGRINE </u></strong>from the north then drifted towards Sutton mobbed, by presumably one of the regular, <strong>Hobbies </strong>which went into full blown high speed dives at the Peregrine. The former two are Nonsuch lifers for me. I expect the Peregrine was the Sutton bird. I saw another Peregrine from the same viewpoint, at Cheam Park, about 3 miles away, attacking a Gull (to no avail). I don't know if this is the same bird or not.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248217560557223586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iN8SpNzUlJYIiXAcSNW7v5vh3VA7VDrEhPvpmPg7eNeztolwyx_xpL737MTp7X5ds3jzUrRC_siR7Bai5d0fR1vzP7ZPNznAPHQWcMdrLma4xSM8Cglks7oxIn0eeEVIqKKfpVehm50/s320/peregrine200920081.jpg" border="0" /><br /> Above: Peregrine<br /><br /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248217560815573634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V2tvAzaIE7oT2WaUepvDQEDT6xVik4lUG8cX0NZxAyyiKp0IvGyUj8LKHw-7KYNZrjCB2RnePuz-uNkWRO8Mjn77u9T1hl_f2ZCGF8NCb3gTeND20-eedPfVa3RfybBqxlapbnxL4ik/s320/commonbuzzard20092008.jpg" border="0" /> Above: Common Buzzard </div><div align="left"><br />Also present today: 2 Green Woodpeckers (1 heard at the gardens and one flying over the enclosed area, no dogs area, 2 by the southern most car park), 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard in the gardens), 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull (with Black-headed Gulls at Cheam Park), 14 Jays (all over), 17+ Jackdaws (mainly around the gardens), 1 Nuthatch (heard at the gardens), 4 Stock Doves (2 over main grassland area and 2 in dead tree near mansion house) , 1 Chiffchaff (in hedge at second no dogs area which is the enclosed area by the southern most car park), 7 Mistle Thrushes (open short grass area overlooked by the Cheam end car park) and 1 Blackcap (heard alarm calling by the first dogs area, the enclosed area near the Cheam end car park).<br /></div>David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-43067990268661325542008-09-13T11:38:00.000-07:002008-09-13T11:50:26.344-07:0013/09/20083 hours from around 2:30pm to 5:30pm gave me the following highlights at the park:<br /><br />1 <strong>Little Owl</strong>, 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Nuthatch, c8 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, c3 Jackdaws, 1 Moorhen, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, c20 Ring-necked Parakeets.<br /><br />Directions for anyone interested:<br /><br />The <strong>Little Owl</strong> was in the thick young plantation adjacent to the gardens, near the mansion house.<br /><br />The Kestrel was around the old oaks c200m north of the mansion house along the main concrete path.<br /><br />The Sparrowhawk flew over the Cheam end car park and appeared to settle in the woods.<br /><br />The Nuthatch was heard calling near the ponds.<br /><br />The Green Woodpeckers were as follows: 2 near Cheam end car park, 2 at the first no dogs area near the aviary, 1 at the edge of the woods, 2 at the old oaks c200m north of the mansion house, 1 at the second no dogs area near the south car park. Though some of these could involve the same birds.<br /><br />The Goldcrest was heard singing around the edge of the gardens from a conifer.<br /><br />The Coal Tit was calling around the Cheam end car park<br /><br />The Lesser Black-backed Gull stayed for 3 minutes (4:33pm-4:36pm) at ND2, my 8th record for the site.<br /><br />The Jackdaws flew over the old oaks c200m north of the mansion house.<br /><br />The Moorhen was heard amongst the Reeds at the ponds.<br /><br />The Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling from the area of scrub north of the ponds.<br /><br />The Ring-necked Parakeets were all over the place.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-40165102355223816982008-09-02T13:55:00.000-07:002008-09-02T13:59:27.613-07:002nd September 082 <strong>Hobby</strong> around Mansion House 16:00hrs. Also 4 Stock Doves, c20 Ring-necked Parakeets, 5 Jays (3 near mansion house 2 in gardens), 1 Nuthatch (north of mansion house), 3 Mistle Thrush (around mansion house), 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker (near balancing ponds) and 1 Kestrel (north of mansion house), 1 Moorhen (ponds)<br /><br />The Hobbies were briefer this time. First 1 was seen flying by the first no dogs area and landed in a tall tree in plain view in the woods then 2 were seen hunting around the gardens at 16:00hrs.<br /><br />Still haven't found myself a Whinchat yet....David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-27960247452878436762008-08-29T04:26:00.000-07:002008-08-29T04:34:24.322-07:0027th August 08Today's highlights:<br />2 <strong>Hobbies</strong>, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Kestrels, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 5+ Stock Doves, 1 Moorhen, 40+ Jackdaws, 13+ Ring-necked Parakeets, 38 Magpies<br /><br />The Hobbies were very good, at first I saw only one hawking around but on my way back there were 2 circling for quite a while, going for the passing Gulls, is one newly arrived or just been elusive, or it has been on the nest while the other has been hunting!?!? A possible breeding record here! I think that one of the birds must be last September's juvenile; less than a year on, back from Africa at the same site and possibly breeding! 1 Kestrel was c200m north of the mansion house near the mature trees and another was by the ponds. Green Woodpeckers were pretty spread out but 2 of them were at the second no dogs area which is adjacent to the southern most car park. The Stock Doves were spread out throughout the site, the Moorhen was by the ponds. The large group of Jackdaws were in the same area as the 1st Kestrel I mentioned and Ring-necked Parakeets and Magpies were obvious throughout.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-60060188070063632812008-08-26T11:24:00.000-07:002008-08-26T11:53:58.827-07:0026/8/08<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKbhHsFlx2V2K-_VSOJPrqd0lbZMfJ9BeAw91C1XZ_wx_lFu8Fn91blWjjnJMOUjNO0oSyNmivbwLI39R9LH2LDo88fD2o4SQQRd40VgZhgsH8koqQck4KxbWWdBChPToNRVNTGn6O2Y/s1600-h/treecreeper1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238901191806971538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKbhHsFlx2V2K-_VSOJPrqd0lbZMfJ9BeAw91C1XZ_wx_lFu8Fn91blWjjnJMOUjNO0oSyNmivbwLI39R9LH2LDo88fD2o4SQQRd40VgZhgsH8koqQck4KxbWWdBChPToNRVNTGn6O2Y/s320/treecreeper1.jpg" border="0" /></a> Above: Treecreeper</div><div align="center"><br /><div align="left">Today's highlights: 1 <strong>Treecreeper </strong>(my second site record) (c200m north of mansion house), 3 <strong>Lesser Black-backed Gulls</strong> over (my 7th site record), 41 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Kestrels, 2 Sparrowhawks, c5 Stock Doves, 1 Nuthatch, c40 Ring-necked Parakeets, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Jays, 3 Green Woodpeckers, c2 Goldcrest.<br /><br />The Treecreeper was the first I've seen here for a few years and was in a large Tit flock. I guess this species is heavily under recorded at the park and they may well breed but it was a great bird. It froze when I stumbled upon it for the second time and allowed brilliant views.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-61513386619430534042008-08-21T12:25:00.000-07:002008-08-21T12:37:46.161-07:00The month ahead: Nonsuch Park in SeptemberThe attention at the park turns from young Kestrels to large numbers of Jays with peak counts of around 30 (total of nearly 100 sightings in the few visits I've made in this month). Autumn migration is still in full swing and you have a very good chance of gripping me off with a potential Nonsuch lifer for me! Kestrels are still around but more wary. Gulls start improving with records of settled Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls rising in number. There's a chance that someone will find a Yellow-legged or Mediterranean one of these days. The prime area for Gulls is the playing fields at Cheam Park.<br /><br />Below is a list of the 36 species of birds you may come across in September based on my records. The number is the difficulty to see each species (1 is hardest, 5 is easiest)<br /><br />Black-headed Gull (5)<br />Blackbird (4)<br />Blackcap (1)<br />Blue Tit (2)<br />Carrion Crow (5)<br />Chiffchaff (2)<br />Coal Tit (2)<br />Dunnock (1)<br />Feral Pigeon (2)<br />Goldcrest (2)<br />Goldfinch (3)<br />Great Spotted Woodpecker (4)<br />Great Tit (4)<br />Green Woodpecker (3)<br />Greenfinch (2)<br />Grey Heron (1)<br />Herring Gull (2)<br />Hobby (1)<br />House Martin (1)<br />Jackdaw (4)<br />Jay (5)<br />Kestrel (4)<br />Lesser Black-backed Gull (1)<br />Long-tailed Tit (1)<br />Magpie (5)<br />Mistle Thrush (1)<br />Nuthatch (3)<br />Ring-necked Parakeet (5)<br />Robin (2)<br />Song Thrush (1)<br />Sparrowhawk (1)<br />Starling (4)<br />Stock Dove (2)<br />Wheatear (1)<br />Woodpigeon (5)<br />Wren (2)David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-18962415289421703132008-08-21T12:08:00.000-07:002008-08-21T12:25:10.133-07:00August at NonsuchAugust at Nonsuch Park sees the tame young Kestrels that are very photographable. They seem to appear at the begginning of the month and disappear pretty strictly around the end so if you want good Kestrel pictures, this is the time and the place to visit.<br /><br />Throughout the park, birds seem to be very quiet; even the Chiffchaffs have fallen silent (mostly!).<br /><br />Swifts are making a move and the most you'll get is small numbers very high up, migrating but they are hard to spot. Other summer migrants are still around but are very hard to locate. Blackcaps are probably the most obvious (and the only ones you are likely to see) with their alarm calls.<br /><br />Gull flocks grow in size, but at this point mainly contain Black-headed Gulls. You have to be lucky to get a settled Herring Gull (though these are frequent fly-overs) let alone a Common or Lesser Black-backed at this stage. These will come later on in the year.<br /><br />This is a good month for passage migrants, with birds like Whinchats on the move in August across the country you stand a chance of seeing one in the park (they have been seen in the past, but by people other than me unfortunately!).<br /><br />Here is a list of 38 Birds that you are likely to see in August (based on my own records). Note that August is a poorly recorded month because I go on holiday in this month for half of it and I only started recorded the site thoroughly in the last year or two so these do not fully represent the birds to be found this month, though they do give a rough idea.<br />The numbers represent difficulty to see (1 being hardest, 8 being easiest)<br /><br />Black-headed Gull (5)<br />Blackbird (7)<br />Blackcap (1)<br />Blue Tit (4)<br />Carrion Crow (8)<br />Chaffinch (5)<br />Coal Tit (1)<br />Dunnock (2)<br />Feral Pigeon (7)<br />Goldcrest (4)<br />Goldfinch (3)<br />Great Spotted Woodpecker (5)<br />Great Tit (2)<br />Green Woodpecker (6)<br />Greenfinch (4)<br />Grey Heron (1)<br />Herring Gull (2)<br />Hobby (2)<br />House Sparrow (2)<br />Jackdaw (5)<br />Jay (4)<br />Kestrel (7)<br />Little Owl (1)<br />Long-tailed Tit (3)<br />Magpie (8)<br />Mallard (1)<br />Mistle Thrush (3)<br />Moorhen (1)<br />Nuthatch (2)<br />Ring-necked Parakeet (6)<br />Robin (6)<br />Song Thrush (1)<br />Sparrowhawk (5)<br />Starling (5)<br />Stock Dove (6)<br />Swift (1)<br />Woodpigeon (7)<br />Wren (3)David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-88386742562874418792008-08-21T11:27:00.000-07:002008-08-21T11:34:44.328-07:0021/8/8Highlights from today: 1 <strong>Hobby</strong>, 1+ Sparrowhawk, 1 Jay, 4 Stock Doves, c30 Ring-necked Parakeets, c9 Green Woodpeckers, 2+ Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Song ThrushesDavid Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-59559751323531608752008-08-21T11:19:00.000-07:002008-08-21T11:27:26.845-07:00Rarer birds of Nonsuch ParkJust for the interest of it I searched through my Nonsuch records on birdtrack and found some of the rarer Birds for Nonsuch, that take a bit more searching, with just a few recent records. Here they are:<br />Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 1 record<br />Wheatear 1 record<br />Grey Wagtail 1 record<br />House Martin 1 record<br />Pied Wagtail 3 records<br />Hobby 2 records<br />Lesser Black-backed Gull 6 records<br />Common Gull 8 recordsDavid Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-53538529342496951022008-08-19T07:36:00.000-07:002008-08-19T08:21:47.690-07:0019/8/08<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2Kkhi-h4mOZ-1go3I3XAj046WPSOutqZ6WI9UEAMO-9m1vXpyERNvqX6s_CNvGiCI2QGDhtsxFeeZlZFEevjYGC-bl3iJC07eRoAH4Tpq36yghK4nltRNPIXbE2IUXqIAORrVMHuXB4/s1600-h/GreenPecker1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236244786926956306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2Kkhi-h4mOZ-1go3I3XAj046WPSOutqZ6WI9UEAMO-9m1vXpyERNvqX6s_CNvGiCI2QGDhtsxFeeZlZFEevjYGC-bl3iJC07eRoAH4Tpq36yghK4nltRNPIXbE2IUXqIAORrVMHuXB4/s320/GreenPecker1.jpg" border="0" /></a> Above: Green Woodpecker<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlutDLh6EnmStVIzvV4IZKAYuijVJP06QcLvP5CZDWxFUVB3liyf3djZlQQeSnvefr6-cGsasNQUBtsoeNIxIxbYb85uxTr7xVnPebIfHj97_PXZIboxP5swJQTOii22OSg4Z3PbzqLfI/s1600-h/BHGull1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236244795825257922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlutDLh6EnmStVIzvV4IZKAYuijVJP06QcLvP5CZDWxFUVB3liyf3djZlQQeSnvefr6-cGsasNQUBtsoeNIxIxbYb85uxTr7xVnPebIfHj97_PXZIboxP5swJQTOii22OSg4Z3PbzqLfI/s320/BHGull1.jpg" border="0" /></a>Above: Black-headed Gull </div><div align="center"><br /><div align="left">Nonsuch Park 1 <strong>unidentified large bird of prey</strong> north west over the gardens briefly at 2:18pm, 1 <em>Little Owl </em>near the mansion house, c4 Sparrowhawk (c3 woods bordering Nonsuch and Cheam Park, 1 gardens), c8 Green Woodpecker (gardens, no dogs/picnic areas 1 and 2), 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker (woods bordering Nonsuch and Cheam Park), 2 Stock Dove (1 Cheam Park, 1 gardens), 2 Jackdaw (Cheam Park), c20 Ring-necked Parakeets (all over), c19 Mistle Thrushes (near mansion house), 1 Goldcrest (gardens), 1 Kestrel (female) (main grassland area), 1 Nuthatch (gardens), 2 Swift (over Cheam Park)</div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-65456223801378857402008-08-17T14:11:00.000-07:002008-08-17T14:14:32.278-07:0017th Aug 08I'm back from France now (report will be on <a href="http://www.southeastbirding.com/">www.southeastbirding.com</a> shortly). And am straight back into local patching. Because I'm writing the report I currently only really have time to give a quick summary of today's birds:<br />1+ <strong>Hobby</strong> (flying over), 2 Kestrel, c7 Stock Dove, 1 Moorhen, 1 Mallard, 1 <strong>Grey Heron</strong> (flying over), 5 Green Woodpecker, 2 Jackdaw, c18 Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Sparrowhawk<br /><br /><strong>Bold </strong>= unusual/unseasonal visitor others are seasonal/resident but in low numbers.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-3755352002622411912008-07-31T05:49:00.000-07:002008-07-31T06:29:25.305-07:0030/7/08A brief eveing visit only around the northern end:<br /><br />Sightings summary (bold=occasional/rare visitor to the park, others are resident/seasonal but in low numbers or simply interesting)<br /><br />11 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, c20 Jackdaw, 5+ Goldcrest, 40+ Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Jay, 3+ Sparrowhawk including juveniles, 5+ Long-tailed Tit, 11 Black-headed Gull, 3 Stock Dove, 1 Greenfinch<br /><br />Details:<br /><br /><u>Green Woodpeckers</u>: 1 juvenile 1 adult female in the gardens. 2 juvenile and one adult near the conifers just north of the aviary others heard around the aviary and edges of the gardens and the woods bordering Cheam Park and Nonsuch Park.<br /><u>Great Spotted Woodpecker</u>: 1 heard in the woods bordering Nonsuch Park and Cheam Park.<br /><u>Jackdaws</u>: About 20 flew to roost in the woods bordering Nonsuch Park and Cheam Park.<br /><u>Goldcrest</u>: 5+ in conifers just north of the aviary with a flock of Tits.<br /><u>Ring-necked Parakeets</u>: Large numbers calling and flying around woods borderig Cheam Park and Nonsuch Park especially when disturbed by Sparrowhawk.<br /><u>Jay</u>: 1 Near aviary and one heard in the same area.<br /><u>Sparrowhawk</u>: 2+ heard (probably the juveniles) and one (not sure of age but male) circling above woods bordering Cheam Park and Nonsuch Park mobbed by Carrion Crows and disturbing Ring-necked Parakeets.<br /><u>Long-tailed Tit</u>: 5+ with tit flock in conifers just north of aviary<br />11 <u>Black-headed Gull</u>: Mainly on the open area over looked by the northern most car park.<br />3 <u>Stock Dove</u>: Flying around just north of the aviary.<br />1 <u>Greenfinch</u>: 1 in flight just north of the aviary.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-62048255643607077232008-07-30T04:53:00.000-07:002008-07-30T05:14:46.885-07:0029/7/08A good day at the park with the highlights summarised below and given more detail at the bottom (rare patch visitors in bold, others are regular/seasonal but in low numbers or in the case of Ring-necked Parakeet, interesting)<br /><br />1 <strong>Hobby</strong>, 20+ Ring-necked Parakeet, c200 Black-headed Gull, 3 juvenile Sparrowhawk, 6 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 <strong>Lesser Black-backed Gull</strong>, 3 Mistle Thrush, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Song Thrush, 2 Moorhen , 16+ Herring Gulls over<br /><br />Further details on the above:<br /><br />The <u>Hobby</u> was seen flying low over the conifers near the aviary. Could be last year's juvenile that is summering here as a young non-breeder?<br />The <u>Sparrowhawks</u> were very vocal and were chasing eachother around the woods that border Nonsuch Park and Cheam Park.<br /><u>Green Woodpeckers</u> were mainly heard but good views were had of one at the second no-dogs area (ND2) which is the enclosed area that the southern most car park overlooks. The usual female and juvenile were feeding the the gardens. I still haven't seen the male.<br /><u>Ring-necked Parakeets</u> are becoming increasingly vocal now that breeding is finished and their numbers are boosted by the juveniles that I have seen quite often. They are easy to spot with their shorter tails.<br /><u>Black-headed Gulls</u> were at their highest so far this season with at least 102 at the playing field at Cheam Park (more birds constantly dropping in). A single 2nd summer <u>Lesser Black-backed Gull </u>joined them. Numbers of <u>Black-headed Gulls</u> were seen flying over and there were about 50 more feeding at the second no-dogs area (again, numbers constantly increasing).<br />1 <u>Great Spotted Woodpecker</u> flew into the gardens and started climbing a conifer.<br />3 <u>Mistle Thrushes</u> were present around the gardens.<br />1 <u>Stock Dove</u> was seen in flight around the main grassland area.<br />1 <u>Song Thrush</u> was heard singing near the ponds.<br />1 tiny and downy <u>Moorhen</u> was seen at the ponds and an adult was heard (second brood?)<br />Finally, 16+ <u>Herring Gulls </u>were seen flying over the site.<br /><br />Finches today included a single <u>Goldfinch</u> over the second no-dogs area, about 20 <u>Greenfinch</u> throughout the whole site, and about 10 <u>Chaffinch</u> around the gardens and aviary. They were all very vocal and obvious today.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-38903029441246166872008-07-28T13:06:00.000-07:002008-07-28T13:13:18.099-07:0028/7/08Just another quick evening trip around the top half of the park.<br />Near aviary c3 probable Common Crossbills briefly in flight and calling- couldn't locate afterwards (just need them to settle!)<br />And just around the top half of the park in general: 3 Green Woodpecker (no juveniles today), c20 Ring-necked Parakeet, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Stock Dove, 2 JayDavid Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-29440589830878084672008-07-27T07:24:00.000-07:002008-07-27T14:11:16.361-07:00Recent sightings25/7/08<br /><br />3 Stock Dove, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4+ Green Woodpecker, 1 Sparrowhawk, c20 Ring-necked Parakeet, c20 Black-headed Gulls, 3+ Mistle Thrush, 2 Jackdaw<br /><br />26/7/08<br /><br />1 probable <strong>Crossbill</strong>, 1 <strong>Hobby</strong>, 1 <strong>Common Gull</strong>, 4+ Green Woodpeckers showing well including juveniles, 4 Jackdaw, 3 Jay, c30 Ring-necked Parakeets set up by male Sparrowhawk, <u>2+ juvenile Sparrowhawks (still slightly downy) in woods (first breeding record!)</u><br /><br />27/7/08<br /><br />Best of the morning and evening trips today:<br /><br />4+ Green Woodpecker (including juveniles), 2 Coal Tit, 1 Nuthatch, 2 Collared Dove (rare for site), 2+ Goldcrest, c30 Black-headed Gull, 20+ Ring-necked Parakeet, 4 Mistle Thrush (including juvs), 2 Stock Dove, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 11 Jackdaw, 10+ Greenfinch, 1 Song Thrush No sign of Crossbill after search in morning and eveningDavid Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-52280371801198811282008-07-19T11:42:00.000-07:002008-07-19T12:12:37.820-07:0019/7/08My late summer bird atlas 2007-11 survey. A fairly quick trip between 2:30pm and 5:30pm. Not much birdwise with only 16 species. Highlights were 1 male <strong>Sparrowhawk </strong>carrying prey and then seen again later over the same spot (the woods at the border of Cheam and Nonsuch Park). A female <strong>Kestrel </strong>was seen nearby on the grass at the patch that the Cheam end car park over looks and it then flew over the the mansion house gardens were it was later seen again. There were several <strong>Green Woodpeckers</strong>, two or three families with a juvenile each. Several <strong>Black-headed Gulls </strong>were settled and flying over. <strong>Herring Gulls </strong>were often seen flying over today. <strong>Ring-necked Parakeets </strong>were few and far between today with only about four being seen. There were no <strong>Stock Doves</strong> or <strong>Great Spotted Woodpeckers </strong>either. The lack of birds today must have been because of some loud music being played in the gardens for some event and the amount of people there for the event itself.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-38272732992332134502008-07-12T14:04:00.000-07:002008-07-12T14:12:26.022-07:0012/7/08An expectional day today, I equalled my record day total for this site of 31 sp. Some good birds too- 1 <u><strong>HOBBY</strong> </u>2nd site record+ first adult. Flew from Cheam Park to ND1 at 2:48pm. Also 2 <strong>Kestrel</strong> (females, 1 ND1 1 ND2- ND1 bird showed very well), 2 <strong>Stock Dove</strong> (gardens), 1 female 1 juvenile <strong>Mallard </strong>(first confirmed breeding record- balancing ponds), 2<strong> Moorhen</strong> (balancing ponds), 4+ <strong>Green Woodpecker</strong>, 2 <strong>Jay</strong>, 6 <strong>Mistle Thrush</strong> at 2nd no dogs (including juvs), c30 <strong>Black-headed Gull</strong> (ND1, ND2, short grassland in front of Cheam car park- 5 juveniles altogether) (first settled Gulls of the season), 5+ <strong>Herring Gull</strong> over, c10 <strong>Ring-necked Parakeet</strong> (not many today and the ones that were there were quite elusive) , 1 <strong>Chiffchaff</strong> (singing near balacing ponds), 1 <strong>Blackcap</strong> (singing near gardens), 1 <strong>Great Spotted Woodpecker</strong> (mansion house), 3 <strong>Jackdaw</strong> (gardens).David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432837314132572042.post-51799404881698307402008-07-05T05:27:00.000-07:002008-07-05T06:57:43.851-07:004th July 08A quick evening vist with some good birds. There were a lot of <strong>Stock Doves</strong> and the usual <strong>Ring-necked Parakeets</strong>. Quite a few <strong>Song Thrushes</strong> were singing with one showing well. A couple of <strong>Chiffchaffs</strong> were singing and one was showing well by the ponds. Other warblers including a singing <strong>Blackcap</strong>. Woodpeckers included 3 <strong>Great Spotted</strong> and 4 <strong>Green</strong>. A <strong>Mistle Thrush</strong> was present near the gardens and at least 2 <strong>Moorhens</strong> were seen by the ponds. 2 <strong>Grey Herons</strong> flew north west at around 8:15pm and a female <strong>Kestrel</strong> flew to Cheam Park from the large open area with short grass which the Cheam end car park over looks.<br /><br />Nonsuch Park bird report 2008 is being written and will be printed in December.David Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03936919745022906765noreply@blogger.com0