What a day: 20/09/2008

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.
Here are the highlights:

1 COMMON BUZZARD, flying north over at 4:43pm. 1 female PEREGRINE from the north then drifted towards Sutton mobbed, by presumably one of the regular, Hobbies 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.

Above: Peregrine

Above: Common Buzzard

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).

Nonsuch 9th April 2008

Another trip to Nonsuch today, focussing on the western half, aka Ewell end. I checked the scrubby area at the furthest point first. It wasn't as good as I remember with only a couple of Chiffchaffs singing and a Blackcap. Next I went to Warren Farm where there were some House Sparrows, my first for the year at Nonsuch and an increasingly scarce bird at the site. There were about 5 Jays in the scrub and woodland around the edges too and I saw a male Sparrowhawk circling in the distance from the farm. Next I went to the ponds, where there was a drake and female Mallard and three Moorhen with a singing Chiffchaff or two in the area. Green Woodpeckers were plentiful as were Blackcaps with at least 6 present. Just as I was leaving, there was a female Kestrel dust bathing in the non concrete car park right next to the school.

20th February 2008

Another trip to Nonsuch today, starting at 12:25pm and ending at 3:17pm.
Other local news today, were two Blackcaps (male and female) at Belmont Heights just before I departed for Nonsuch and a very tame, wet Pied Wagtail was there for a while too. PEREGRINE FALCON at withheld local site click HERE for photo.
At Beddington there were 8 Black-headed Gulls on the short-grass field in front of the Cheam car park with a Common Gull. There were large numbers of Great Tits calling around the site, as well as a few Blue Tits and about 40 Ring-necked Parakeets were flying around. Carrion Crows were numerous and there were roughly 200 Woodpigeons seen. 5 Dunnocks were present, 4 of which were at the aviary stealing from the chicken feed. 6 Robins were present, most singing. At least 2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers were present with 1 drumming. Large numbers of Greenfinches and Chaffinches were present around the site with one male Greenfinch performing a regular song-flight. Some small finches which may have been Siskins were feeding in the Alders at Cheam Park briefly, but views were very poor (silhouettes, very high up) and they may have been the Goldfinches which were seen around the area earlier. There were fairly large numbers of Blackbirds, Magpies were numerous and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull with 3 Common Gulls and about 100 Black-headed Gulls were present at Cheam Park. 4 Wrens were present as were several Long-tailed Tits. 8 Stock Doves were seen, a tame female Kestrel was giving excellent views on the main grassland area and a Jay was seen in the gardens, there were 2 Coal Tits there too. 1 Mistle Thrush drank from the dyke, a Grey Heron was seen in flight around the ponds and further on, at the west side there were loads of Redwings. An interesting sighting was 4 Mallards circling around the ponds. There were a couple of Jackdaws present and a Nuthatch was heard. All the while there were lots of overhead Herring Gulls.

I think that just about covered it, 29 species today, nearing the record for Nonsuch in a day.