Recording Area Annual Totals

97 Species in 2013, 99 in 2012, 94 in 2011, 108 species were recorded in 2010;



Sunday 30 November 2008

23-30 NOVEMBER 2008


All of last week was spent surveying plots of farmland in rural Buckinghamshire. Woodpigeons (pictured above) were particularly abundant. Here is a summary of my results -:

23 NOVEMBER 2008
(very cold with a biting wind; snow early on; just 1 degree C)

Just 1 LITTLE EGRET remaining on River Chess, just east of Bois Mill
Single RED KITE over my house and wintering Pied Wagtail still (Little Chalfont)
Common Buzzard on Latimer Road
Many Woodpigeons feeding on roadside berry bushes; large numbers of Rooks in Flaunden
Cottingham Farm, Flaunden: 70 Woodpigeons on stubble
Holly Hedges Lane, Flauden: Common Kestrel
Hemel Hempstead Town Park Lake: 5 Mute Swans (including 2 first-winters)

Widmer End Lawn Tennis Club Fields

No sign of the pair of Common Stonechats in poor weather conditions but 5 Common Pheasants, 2 BULLFINCH, 1 Linnet, 1 Chaffinch, 6 Dunnocks and 1 Yellowhammer

26 NOVEMBER 2008

Great Missenden Lake
(SU 903 999): 3 Mute Swans; 4 Coots
Wendoverdean Farm (crop fields east of A413): total of 1,313 Woodpigeons click-counted

27 NOVEMBER 2008

Bryant's Bottom (SU 855 994): 220 Woodpigeons feeding by Maize strip
Wilton Farm Fields, N of Marlow Road A4155, west of Fern (SU 875 883): 45 Linnets
Slough Trading Estate (by Matalan unit): 18 Goldfinches
Penn Village Pond (SU 907 934): 32 Mallards
A404 Holmer Green Sheepfields (SU 910 966): 91 Woodpigeons; 92 COMMON GULLS including 2 first-winters (Largest flock ever recorded in Amersham Recording Area)
A404 opposite Cherry Lane, Woodrow (fields south of road at SU 935 958): 2,400 Woodpigeons; 58 LAPWINGS (largest flock this year) and Jay
Shardeloes Lake: Little Grebe (6), Mute Swans (6 still, including 4 first-winters), Mallard (2 pairs), COOTS (122 - largest count ever), Skylark (1), Common Blackbird (8 in hedgerow) and Fieldfare (35).
I watched the hunt during the afternoon with 200+ Common Pheasants flushed; just 15 were shot and bagged, all bar two males.
Lowndes Lake, Chesham (SP 958 015): 64 Mallards, 7 Muscovy Ducks

Thursday 20 November 2008

20 NOVEMBER 2008



17 Long-tailed Tits visited the garden today, along with the Jay again.

Nearby, just 1 LITTLE EGRET remains on the Chess River Valley, just east of Bois Mill.

Tuesday 18 November 2008

Jay for the Day - 18 NOVEMBER 2008




At 1026 hours, a JAY flew into the large tree in my garden and dropped down to investigate one of the bird tables and a few of the peanut feeders. It took a few peanuts from the table and then flew off. The species is a scarce visitor.
The House Sparrow flock is remaining stable at 17 birds at present.

Monday 17 November 2008

17 NOVEMBER 2008





My regular wintering male Pied Wagtail reappeared today at Chaffinch House, feeding on the pavements and road.

At Bois Mill, just 1 LITTLE EGRET was again present (same as last week), moving later to the grass field behind Long Water.

The Canada Geese flock had increasing to 90 birds

Sunday 16 November 2008

16 NOVEMBER 2008













TODAY'S IMAGES (kindly supplied by Mike Lawrence)
Moorhens fighting - 25 were counted at the pools at the west end of the Misbourne
Grey Heron - two seen today, both on winter territory
Female Common Pheasant
Female and male Common Blackbirds - in evidence today at Shardeloes


SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2008

A rather dreary and mainly damp day, with occasional drizzle and heavy cloud. Temperatures 2-3 degrees above normal for mid-November; SW4 wind.

CHESHAM SEWAGE TREATMENT POOL

Mute Swans (2 adults with their 5 young)

LATIMER CONFERENCE CENTRE GROUNDS AND LONG WATER

Little Grebe (5 present, including 3 near Latimer Bridge)
Grey Heron (1 adult)
Mute Swans (13 adults)
Canada Geese (63)
Mallard (5)
Tufted Duck (11 including 2 adult drakes)
Coot (25)
Moorhen (23)
Black-headed Gulls (10)

Pied Wagtail (2)
Meadow Pipit (2)
Mistle Thrush (3)
REDWING (31 in trees around Conference Centre)
Goldcrest (3)
Long-tailed Tits (5)
Great & Blue Tits
NUTHATCH (vocal bird in trees by Conference Centre)
Chaffinch (5)

SHARDELOES HOUSE AND ESTATE AND MISBOURNE RIVER VALLEY

Little Grebes (3 on the main lake and another on the river at the far west end)
Grey Heron (1 adult)
Mute Swans (the family group of 2 adults and four young)
Gadwall (pair on main lake)
Coot (105 on main lake - but sadly no sign of the recent juvenile - and two singles on the river)
Moorhen (16 on main lake and 25 on the three field pools at the west end)
Black-headed Gulls (120 roosting and bathing on the lake)
Common Gull (2 adults west)
HERRING GULL (14 west, mainly sub-adults and juveniles; just 1 adult)

RED KITES (3-4)
Common Pheasants (22)
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Wren (3)
Common Blackbird (8)
FIELDFARE (4)
REDWING (10+, with 3 by game strip)
Goldfinch (15)
Great Tit (1) Blue Tit (3) Long-tailed Tits (7)
Jackdaws (56 in flock)
COMMON RAVEN (1 over)

PENN WOOD BRAMBLINGS

An update since my post of 2nd Nov ...

BRAMBLING sightings following trend of low numbers so far seen in the country. The Greenfinch roosts in the wood appears to show similar activity of previous years with fluctuations in flock sizes. Details are:

Tues 4/11 - 8 Brambling: 5 in southern corner + 3 south of paddock.

Thurs 6/11 - 14 Brambling: 3 with c35 Chaffinch north end of paddock, 5 with 25 Chaffinch near The Penna, 6 with 35 Chaffinch at the southern corner.

Sat 8/11 - 2 possible Brambling south of paddock with mixed flock (c80 Greenfinch + c10 Chaffinch + 1 Goldfinch). Also 30 Chaffinch at north end of paddock.

Sun 9/11 - Zero Brambling seen. C25 Chaffinch north end of paddock, c35 Greenfinch south of paddock.

Tues 11/11 - 1 Brambling at southern corner with C35 Greenfinch. c30 Chaffinch north end of paddock.

Fri 14/11 - Zero Brambling seen. Possible c290 Greenfinch: c170 south of paddock, then 120 at southern corner, but some may have moved from paddock area to southern corner.Also on Friday, 22 Siskin earlier in nearby Common Wood.

Sat 15/11 - 2 Brambling north end of paddcok with c35 Chaffinch. c60 Greenfinch south of paddock and c100 at southern corner, but like Friday, may have been movement between areas.

Kevin Holt

Wednesday 12 November 2008

12 NOVEMBER 2008

CHESS RIVER VALLEY

Just 1 LITTLE EGRET was seen today, roosting in the meadow just east of Bois Mill.

Thursday 6 November 2008

5 NOVEMBER 2008











5 NOVEMBER 2008
LITTLE CHALFONT
Spent all day writing at my computer - the undoubted highlight being a group of 7 LONG-TAILED TITS that visited my garden feeders in the afternoon.
Long-tailed Tit images (Mike Lawrence)
Collared Dove (Ashley Stowe)

Tuesday 4 November 2008

LITTLE EGRETS INCREASE TO FIVE




TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2008

In the early hours of daylight, there was little wind, but as the day progressed, the cool NE airflow set in again. It remained grey and overcast all day, with poor visibility, and with temperatures peaking at 9 degrees Centigrade.

CHESS RIVER VALLEY

LITTLE EGRETS increased to 5 birds early morning, all feeding once again in the meadow just east of Bois Mill. Nearby, 9 Magpies were taking advantage of yesterday's Red Kite roadkill on Latimer Road.

Monday 3 November 2008

3 NOVEMBER 2008



Great Tit on feeder (Ashley Stowe)

MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2008

Another cold and grey day with a brisk (and increasing) NE wind blowing. Mainly dry but with intermittent drizzle late afternoon.

LITTLE CHALFONT & CHESS RIVER VALLEY

In my garden area, 33 Common Starlings and 2 Jackdaws highlighted, with sadly one of my Red Foxes found dead on Latimer Road (killed by car).

Just east of Bois Mill, a single LITTLE EGRET was in the meadow.

2 NOVEMBER 2008


In the last two years, Penn Wood has seen the largest roost concentrations of Brambling in Britain, peaking at between 700 and 900 birds. The first of this winter appeared today.

PENN WOOD


Today, at 15:35, there were two bright, male BRAMBLINGS in Penn Wood, near The Penna path junction. Very few Chaffinch and I saw no Greenfinch anywhere. About ten Coal Tit


KEVIN HOLT