Summer 2006:

The summer is slowly starting to peter out. The mornings are getting cooler and in early September I spied my breath as I took our new baby for a walk 'amongst the grounds' of Rachel Court (that's the lawn next to the car park in reality!).

I really enjoy the changing seasons, which I consider to be Spring and Autumn, because of all the things they herald. Spring excites me with the promise of shirt-sleeves, barbeques, cricket and warm days to come, but Autumn also excites me about wilder weather, frosty mornings, yuletide, and all the celebrations that go with it.

But back to the birds...

Rachel Court held only one real surprise this season: The visit to the feeder of a Greenfinch, which was a first. I've not seen in since mind, so it may have been a visitor desperate enough to come by during the nesting season. Nice to see one close up though; they're beautiful little birds. The swifts have of course now left. Without ceremony and without warning: Tara and I were on holiday for a week and came back to see they had all gone, and all by the middle of August. Brief but very welcome visitors to our parts though.

One final word on Rachel Court later, but elsewhere we've had some good experiences. On holiday in Cornwall we got a great opportunity to hear, as well as see, a buzzard. Gliding gracefully about the Camel Estuary in Cornwall, it was nice to have the time to really make the connection between sight and sound, as opposed to getting a glimpse and a far-too-short sound-bite, which is usual. As well as the buzzard, we had a great change to see Rooks (and lots of them) who would arrive en masse at sundown over the house in which we were staying and roost in a nearby stand of Scots Pine. Amazing that they all arrive together, when clearly they don't feed at the same place all the time.

Back to raptors, we went to visit my brother for the day in Oxfordshire, and got to see some red kites. I had always assumed that the population near the M40 on the Chilterns was very isolated, so was surprised to see them many miles away too. Apparently they're getting more and more common in this area, which is brilliant news. The more people who marvel at the majesty of raptors the better in my book; especially if it garners public support for the protection of more endangered species like the Hen Harrier.

Finally then, back to home as promised. Not a bird related matter, but one mid September Sunday morning, when I was woken by a very noisy and hungry son, I went into the lounge to fill the bird feeder (whilst Tara was feeding the boy!) to see a pair of young looking foxes, standing around and vainly chasing the squirrels who were busy harvesting the walnuts. I managed to get some good footage of them which I've put on this page for you to enjoy. I'll write again in January then.

Spring 2006:

It's becoming hard to remember what's been going on in the world of avifauna (or at least, my little world of avifauna) over the last three months. I suppose that's the risk of writing a quarterly periodical.

However, there are certainly some notable highlights to share, including a video (I hope the first of many) of some of the bird action near us. Not much, and certainly nothing rare enough to excite the battle hardened twticher, but a chance to give you a sense of what it's all about, and why I stare out of the flat window from time to time.

Back to this spring then.

Tara and I went to stay in Somerset in April, taking a rare chance to holiday outside the school holidays (Tara was on maternity leave). We stayed in a mobile home on the Somerset coast and I was delighted to see, on St Georges day, my fist swallows of the year.

It's nice to get into another 'patch'; an area you know reasonably well, but isn't your home, and to see the difference in bird life. For starters there were sparrows galore, of which there are none near our Surrey home, and also many more finches. But to see these summer visitors was a real treat, and made the whole holiday feel like the grand beginning of the summer months. I'm no expert, but I could have sworn these two were fresh arrivals that very day (a grey one), sitting apart on a telegraph wire, looking bedraggled and wet. A treat none the less. Other highlights on that trip were a reed bunting, a little egret (my first spot on one in the south west), and my first sighting of a blackcap and willow warbler.

It wasn't long before I saw my next summer visitor either. Funnily enough, I was in the middle of reading A bad birdwatcher's companion by Simon Barnes, which has a chapters on well known British birds and explains a little of their essence, and how to see and appreciate them, without all the formality of a bird guide. It was just days after reading his enthusiasm for seeing the first swifts of the year, when, on really bright blue early weekday morning, on the way to the station, I saw three, cutting thought the sky like scythes. A truly uplifting experience, and one that makes me feel so good about life, despite all its madness.

One final good spot for me was seeing a ring-necked parakeet outside the flat. The first one I've seen outside of West London. I don't really have an opinion on them yet. I should I suppose treat them with the distain I treat grey squirrels (evil, food stealing, yank interlopers!!!), as they're introduced species with a propensity to spread (and at what cost?), but it really is hard, as the jury is out I think on their impact on endemic species, and they are wonderfully colourful and exotic.

Winter 2006:

Well, looking back here on the first day of April, there are certainly a few noteworthy titbits to write about, but the most important one I think is that again, Tara and I took part in the big garden birdwatch. For those who don't know, this is an annual exercise run by the RSPB, to record bird numbers in the UK. It takes place each January (when there are less leaves on the trees to impede one's view) and this year a record 8.1 million birds were recorded by twitchers and co this year.

Our personal experience was one a good one. Although there were less of the 'champagne sightings', like the long-tailed tit, we thankfully got to record our resident dunnock, whose absence was conspicuous in 2005. Also, I spotted a wren, which was good, because we don't see them too often.

The national results seemed to mirror our own in many respects. Despite coming out on top, there were no sparrows outside our flat - there are none in our local area - and their numbers are still declining. And there were fewer starlings this year than last, our results mirroring their decline nationally.

Otherwise tits, robins, blackbirds and columbines (pigeons etc.) all did well. There were no greenfinches this year, but there was a chaffinch. Our locale doesn't seem that finch-friendly really.

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Outside the confines of the 1 hour birdwatch for the RSPB, the gardens outside the flat still turn out treats from time to time. I've seen some reasonably unusual birds outside the window of the flat in the past; a great-spotted woodpecker for one. But this year I've only heard a woodpecker, as opposed to seen one. If not woodpecker wonderment this year, then certainly thrush lushness for us! We've seen a pair of mistle-thrushes on the lawns, I've seen my first song thrush too this year, and most excitingly, a redwing. It's always nice to make a conclusive positive identification of a previously unknown bird. I had a hunch I'd seen one last year, after seeing what looked like a thrush with a red flank. Imagine my delight then when I flicked through a bird book to find a thrush look-a-like with red flanks and a rather fetching yellow eyebrow. Then on one particularly cold morning this year, there one was, outside the window pottering about on the lawn, exactly as described.

Other highlights this year have been seeing our resident dunnock singing. Dunnocks are so shy and retiring. In fact, before I got serious about learning about birds, I'd never even heard of them. And they're so common. Once you get an idea of how they behave, you can say with reasonable conviction, that the rustle you've just created in the hedge you've us passed was a dunnock. They'll be the only birds creeping around like that. Imagine then, if you will, my delight as this shy little blighter suddenly, one gloriously clear winter morning, hops up to the robin's perch of choice and starts singing away! The things creatures do to find themselves some lovin'!

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Further a-field, I am, with sadness, having to leave my current job. The reason for this sadness, and an inclusion in this piece, is that with the wonderful views afforded from the 14th floor over Croydon and beyond, I'll also be losing absolutely great peregrine falcon spotting opportunities. I think it says something encouraging about peoples improving opinions raptors that they are welcomed and enjoyed in our cities. There's at least one peregrine who hawks around the tall buildings of Croydon, searching for pigeons. It's so exciting to see that silhouette - and you can always tell if you're right because there'll not be a pigeon in sight - and see it turn and move so gracefully. I was even lucky enough to see it hunting once, turning from a lazy glide into a stoop, missing its quarry by inches.

There is some small consolation. My new office is right on the Thames, and after visiting it for a training day, I've seen that there'll be some sea-birds to keep me interested. There were plenty of cormorants, and I also saw a greater black-backed gull too. I've even heard that you can see Mediterranean gulls in London too, so I'll have hopes when I arrive.

Away from the big smoke, there's little to report on new and exciting sightings, or indeed regular and mundane ones. This is principally because I've had my binoculars packed in storage for several months now, and so trips out involve me squinting vainly as opposed to making positive ids. One small bonus though, I heard my first chiff-chaff in March, or at least I assume it was one. But I don't think there is anything that sounds similar, so I'm going to consider it another tick.

Come July, I'll write again.