Monthly Birding Reports
July 2010
A group from The Friends of Kelsey Park, Beckenham visited on 3 August and saw the following birds:
Little grebe Canada goose Mallard Pheasant Moorhen
Coot Black-headed gull Woodpigeon House martin Green woodpecker
Gr spotted woodp’r Wren Robin Blackbird
Willow warbler Goldcrest Spotted flycatcher Great tit Blue tit
Coal tit Nuthatch Treecreeper Carrion crow Chaffinch
Goldfinch Greenfinch Siskin Bullfinch
and also several dragonflies and damselflies, including male and female Ruddy Darter and White Legged Damselfly.
This Group’s August walk took place on a beautiful clear Saturday morning, the 28th, particularly welcome as it followed on from several rainy and cloudy days. The following bird species were recorded:
Little grebe Gt crested grebe Cormorant Mallard Common buzzard
Red-leg’ partridge Pheasant Moorhen Coot Herring gull
Stock dove Woodpigeon Collared dove Gr woodpecker* Gt spotted woodpecker
Barn swallow Sand martin Pied wagtail Wren* Robin
Mistle thrush Blackbird Garden warbler Blackcap Willow warbler
Goldcrest Great tit Coal tit Blue tit Marsh tit
Long-tailed tit* Nuthatch Magpie Jay* Jackdaw
Carrion crow Chaffinch Linnet* Goldfinch Siskin
Bullfinch* Common crossbill
* = heard only Total 41
as well as a few butterflies, such as:
Peacock Speckled wood Small white Large white Meadow brown
Gatekeeper Common blue Small copper
July 2010
Some sightings from June, not included in my last report. A Merlin was seen over Bedgebury in early June. A Cormorant was seen trying to land on the Visitor Centre lake on 11 June but there was a large school party close by as well as some music playing, such that the bird thought better of it! There are Cormorants on the Great Lake in front of the nearby Bell Bedgebury School, and it could easily have been one of those. And a Common Whitethroat was also recorded, on the Visitor Centre white board, during last month.
A pair of Red Kites was seen flying above Lady Oak Lane in the corner towards the A21 on 19 July
June 2010
A pair of Egyptian Geese were on the lake in front of the Visitor Centre on 3 June, a “first” for Bedgebury. They were there again certainly towards the end of the month. There had been a couple on Bewl Water a year or so ago, just possibly the same birds
Turtle doves are almost certainly nesting in the area of Bedgebury close to the A21 as they were visiting feeders pretty much every day, in the first half of June at least, on a property on Lady Oak Lane
A Crested Tit, a most unusual but nonetheless welcome visitor, was spotted on the property next to the Pinetum, on bird feeders, a couple of times around 19-21 June. That will also have to be noted as a “first” for Bedgebury!
Two Nightjars were being heard calling on the Plots in the evenings, but once during late afternoon, in the last week of June
May 2010
One report received after the April report was distributed concerned a Cuckoo which was heard in the forest, in the direction of the Flimwell entrance, on 27 April.
A Turtle Dove was first heard on 6 May, just behind the FC offices, and it’s been heard quite consistently since then.
On 15 May, a small group of birders from Hertfordshire spent not much more than an hour in the Pinetum and the forest, and recorded the following 29 species:
Mandarin duck Tufted duck Hobby Moorhen Turtle dove
Green woodpecker Gt sp woodpecker Barn swallow House martin Tree pipit
Wren Robin Mistle thrush Garden warbler Blackcap
Chiffchaff Goldcrest Great tit Coal tit Blue tit
Long tailed tit Nuthatch Treecreeper Magpie Jay
Chaffinch Redpoll Goldfinch Siskin
On 17 May in the early evening I saw a Lapwing fly just over the entrance to the Visitor Centre, and it landed in the field on the opposite side of Lady Oak Lane
On 27 May, the following were noticed on the feeders by the Visitor Centre:
Gt sp woodpecker Great tit Blue tit Chaffinch Goldfinch
Greenfinch Siskin
and, on the same day, a pair of Tufted Ducks was being chased off the lake in front of the Centre by some Coots!
February 2010
Great crested grebe Cormorant Grey heron Greylag goose
Canada goose Mallard Common buzzard Sparrowhawk
Kestrel Pheasant Moorhen Black-headed gull
Common gull Stock dove Woodpigeon Collared dove
Kingfisher Green woodpecker Pied wagtail Wren**
Robin Song thrush Redwing Mistle thrush
Fieldfare Goldcrest Great tit Coal tit
Blue tit Marsh tit Long-tailed tit Nuthatch
Treecreeper Magpie Jay Carrion crow
House sparrow Chaffinch Goldfinch Greenfinch
Siskin Common crossbill ** heard only
The day previous, the walk leader had taken virtually the same route and saw, in addition, Red-legged partridge, Woodcock and Bullfinch.
The Wetland Trust, a small charitable trust based at Icklesham in East Sussex and whose activities include bird research there and elsewhere, carried out a bird ringing exercise at Bedgebury on 15 Feb. At a location just behind the FC offices, they ringed 51 birds (1 Great spotted woodpecker, 1 Robin, 3 Blackbird, 12 Great tit, 8 Coal tit, 19 Blue tit, 1 Marsh tit, 1 Long-tailed tit, 1 Nuthatch, 1 Chaffinch and 3 Siskin)
January 2010
A couple of Hawfinches were reported as seen on 16 January and, on a visit to the Pinetum on 24 January, I saw a solitary female Hawfinch but there was a flock of at least 30 Siskins as well as Goldcrest, Bullfinch and a small mixed flock of Coal Tit and Blue TitIt was good to see, on that 24 January occasion, a visit by around 10 birdwatchers from Essex
December 2009
Some hitherto unreported sightings from late October to begin with – on the white Bird Notes board at the Visitor Centre (“VC”), Siskin, Nuthatch, Common Redstart and Green Woodpecker were all spotted on 30 Oct; and a male Bullfinch and many Long-Tailed Tits were seen on 31 Oct. During the last week of Oct, four Crossbills were seen flying by Park House near to the Forestry Commission offices
The first Hawfinch report was on 6 Nov, the same person spotting Brambling and Crossbills all from the view point near to the fallen tree, looking eastwards towards the tall firs. Two days later, a Coal Tit was seen on the feeders by the VC; and a number of Jays were seen from the family cycle trail
But on 8 Nov as well, a Raven was seen near to Point 16, at the eastern edge of the Pinetum. It was heard calling and then spotted, and a little while later it left being mobbed by a couple of Carrion Crows. This is the second recorded spot of a Raven in Bedgebury, the first being in February 2008
A member of this Group visited on 11 Nov and saw the following (with approximate numbers in brackets where applicable):
Green woodpecker Gt spotted woodpecker Song thrush Redwing/Fieldfare (50) Goldcrest (3) Great/blue tits (30) Coal tit Long-tailed tits (15) Siskin (20)Chaffinch/Greenfinch (numerous)
On 21 Nov, a flock of 30+ Crossbills were seen in the clump of larches, near the fallen tree area, to the rear of where one usually stands to watch for Hawfinches in the tall firs. A little while later, 15 or so were seen nearer to Marshal’s Lake
On 28 Nov, a handful of Crossbills were evident as well, in a similar location. Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Redpoll and Siskin were also seen on that same visit
On a rainy 23 Nov morning, there were two Song Thrushes already in good voice in the Pinetum, towards the corner near to the FC offices
October 2009
One hitherto unreported sighting from September – a pair of Yellowhammers was seen on 22 Sept near to the FC offices
During the morning of 10 October, four Crossbills were seen in the Pinetum, close to the furthest corner by the FC offices. This is the “traditional” area for Crossbills, dating from when they were seen quite regularly in past winters. There appears to be an eruption of Crossbills this winter, as they have been reported in many other locations in the south-east, so hopefully their numbers will grow in Bedgebury in the coming weeks. Also seen on 10 October by the same member of this Group were Common Buzzard, Fieldfare and Redwing, among a total of 46 species
During late morning on, coincidentally, the same day, I saw a flock of about 100 birds, the large majority being Siskin with a few Goldfinches, just behind the FC offices, the same spot as Siskin and Common Redstart were seen on our 22 August walk
August/September 2009
Two Red Kites were seen flying over the Lady Oak Lane edge of the Pinetum, in the direction of Goudhurst, on 10 August.
I saw two Bullfinches on 17 August, close to post 118 in the Forest, to the east of the Pinetum.
The scheduled bird walk took place on Saturday morning, 22 August, with 12 walkers in addition to our leader, John Mulrenan, and myself. Highlights were good views of several Siskin close to the FC office; a sighting of a Common Redstart in that same location; a Common Buzzard being mobbed in the direction of Glassenbury; Grey wagtail, Mandarin Duck and Kingfisher on the Great Lake; and Mistle Thrush in the grounds of the Bell School. The Common Redstart’s sighting has earned a place for this species in the Bedgebury bird list, the updated version of which I will publish in December
In total, 45 species were seen and a further two heard, the full listing being:
Cormorant Canada goose Mandarin duck Mallard
Common buzzard Red-legged partridge Pheasant Moorhen
Coot Rock dove (feral) Stock dove Woodpigeon
Collared dove Kingfisher Green woodpecker Gt spotted woodp’r
Barn swallow House martin Pied wagtail Grey wagtail
Wren Dunnock Robin Common redstart
Song thrush Mistle thrush Blackbird Blackcap **
Willow warbler Chiffchaff Goldcrest Great tit
Coal tit Blue tit Long-tailed tit Nuthatch
Treecreeper Magpie Jay Jackdaw
Carrion Crow Starling House sparrow Chaffinch
Goldfinch Siskin Bullfinch ** [** heard only]
In addition, two Stoats were seen and a variety of Butterflies including the comparatively rare Silver washed fritillary as well as:
Speckled wood Small white Small copper Gatekeeper
Meadow wood Painted lady Meadow brown
July 2009
Early in the month, chicks of Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen and Coot were all to be seen on the lake in front of the Bedgebury Visitor Centre.
A visitor to Bedgebury spotted a Common Sandpiper on that same lake on 20 July. As recorded in the recently-published bird list for Bedgebury, there had been a sighting in 1999 so, ten years on, there has been another!
On the murky morning of 27 July, I was walking up the main trail from the play area towards the communication mast and in the direction of the A21 when a Tawny Owl flew quite low over my head and disappeared into the trees
By 30 July, three young Kestrels had fledged from their nest in the Pinetum.
Also on 30 July, two female Mandarin Ducks, most likely mother and daughter, were seen on Marshal’s Lake.
