29th October

10 Canada Geese were at the farm, where five Fieldfares, 25 Redwings, a Mistle Thrush, a Common Buzzard,  seven Skylarks, 20 Long-tailed Tits, 10 Linnets and a Yellowhammer were seen in addition.

Paul Goodman

28th October

Banstead Woods had eight Redwings, a Pheasant, a Common Buzzard and five Bullfinches.

The male Brimstone was still out and a Southern Hawker was at Piddly Pond.

Duncan Jennings

27th October

At Banstead Woods were four Common Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk and four Redwings.

Also there was a male Brimstone and a Red Admiral.

Duncan Jennings

25th October

Banstead Woods held 45 Redwings and singles of Pheasant and Sparrowhawk.

A late Brown Hairstreak was also at the Woods.

Duncan Jennings

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Apologies for the tardiness of updates in recent days - I've been away in Edinburgh and Mallorca. By the way, thanks again for all of the submissions, together you have gathered over 1,700 records for the patch since the beginning of August. Of interest, we've heard of the presence of Small Blue and White-letter Hairstreak in the BW area this summer - DKC, webmaster

 

24th October

A Wood Warbler heard calling by the estate at Banstead Woods might represent the latest ever record for the London Bird Club recording area. Two House Martins overheard there were also good value for the time of year and 26 Goldcrests in the BW sector was a nice count. A Peregrine flew over the Woods, perhaps the regular CF bird and two Common Buzzards were noted.

Arjun Durra

23rd October

At the farm, the Greylag Goose remained among the clan of Canada Geese which had bolstered in number to 78 and brought with them the two hybrid geese once more. Two Stonechats and a Meadow Pipit were in Hither Field, where four Skylarks overflew, while 15 Redwings and three Bullfinches were elsewhere in Banstead Woods.

Banstead Woods had a Red Admiral.

Paul Goodman and Duncan Jennings

22nd October

A Reed Bunting, a notable bird for our recording area, was found among a flock of Chaffinches (for which the overall count was 40+) and Yellowhammers, amid which was also a Brambling. 20 Fieldfares also arrived at the farm, where a late-ish Chiffchaff was also seen and the Greylag Goose was seen in the fields again with 30 Canada Geese. The feeding opportunities for the adult female Peregrine clearly had not been exhausted, either, as she was still around. In addition, 10 Skylarks, two Pied Wagtails, 25 Linnets, 15 Goldfinches and two Yellowhammers were seen at the farm.

Darragh Culley and Natasha Preston

21st October

A Lapwing paid a visit to Skylark Field and a Stonechat was near the Watchpoint while 65 Canada Geese visited again. Eight Yellowhammers were seen, along with at least 16 Skylarks and a Meadow Pipit.

Paul Goodman and Natasha Preston

20th October

Singles of Kestrel, Meadow Pipit and Bullfinch were recorded at Banstead Woods.

Duncan Jennings

19th October

A Greylag Goose and 66 Canada Geese 'graced' the fields at Canons Farm. The adult female Peregrine's residence was extended and a late Swallow flew through. Other birds seen included three Pheasants, a Sparrowhawk, four Common Buzzards, a Kestrel, 22 Skylarks, a Pied Wagtail, three Meadow Pipits and six Yellowhammers.

Geoff Barter

18th October

Banstead Woods had at least eight Redwings and a Kestrel.

Duncan Jennings

16th October

The adult female Peregrine continued her reign of terror at the farm where 25 Skylarks, six Meadow Pipits, three Common Buzzards and 70 Linnets were logged. The Common Gulls flew north there, too.

Natasha Preston and Ian Ward

15th October

A Brambling was heard over the farm, where three Stonechats, the adult female Peregrine and three Mistle Thrushes also made for highlights. 180 Linnets and 15 Yellowhammers were counted at the farm. Two more Stonechats were in Hither Field and elsewhere in the Banstead Woods sector were four Chiffchaffs, a Rook, four Meadow Pipits, seven Bullfinches and a Pheasant.

A Southern Hawker buzzed around Piddly Pond and two Brimstones were about the Woods.

Andy Downing, Natasha Preston and Ian Ward

14th October

Eight Meadow Pipits were at Banstead Woods where local birds seen included a Common Buzzard and a Treecreeper.

Paul Goodman

11th October

Notable sightings at Banstead Woods included two Common Buzzards, a Kestrel, three Goldcrests, two Chiffchaffs, five Redwings, two Pied Wagtails, three Meadow Pipits and two Bullfinches.

Duncan Jennings

9th October

A Blackcap and four Chiffchaffs were noted at Banstead Woods, where two Stonechats and 14 Meadow Pipits were around Hither Field and a Pied Wagtail flew over. Also at the Woods were 43 Redwings, three Bullfinches. Canons Farm had three Stonechats still, five Swallows, 20 Redwings, 120+ Linnets and Pied Wagtail. Five Common Buzzards were counted across the recording area.

Singles of Brown Hairstreak and Red Admiral were at Banstead Woods.

Duncan Jennings, Ian Magness and Ian Ward

8th October

An intruiging report concerned a Barn Owl at Stoney Nob. A Greylag was again with 45 Canada Geese at the farm, where four Stonechats remained. Four Swallows seen were getting a little on the late side and three Pied Wagtails, four Meadow Pipits, 100 Linnets, two Little Owls, two Chiffchaffs, 10 Skylarks, three Yellowhammers and two Common Buzzards were seen at the farm. A Willow Warbler was a nice late record at The Scrub.

Kestrel, Canons Farm (Shaun Ferguson)

Stonechat, Canons Farm (Shaun Ferguson)

Common Buzzard, Canons Farm (Shaun Ferguson)

Common Buzzards, Canons Farm (Shaun Ferguson)

adult ♂ Sparrowhawk, Canons Farm (Shaun Ferguson)

Carrion Crows, Canons Farm (Shaun Ferguson)

Andy Downing, Paul Goodman and Ian Magness

7th October

 A Greylag and two Canada/Greylag hybrids were with 46 Canada Geese in the fields at the farm. The adult Peregrine was still kicking about and a Cormorant flew south. Other sightings at Canons included 50 Redwings, four Stonechats, four House Martins, two Chiffchaffs, a Meadow Pipit, 100 Linnets, four Yellowhammers, a Pied Wagtail and a Common Buzzard.

Two Brown Hairstreaks on the wing were at the farm.

Adult Peregrine, Stoney Nob (Duncan Jennings)

Canada Geese, Canons Farm (Duncan Jennings)

Two Canada/Greylag hybrids with Canada Geese, Canons Farm (Duncan Jennings)

Greylag (right), two hybrid Canada/Greylags and Canada Geese, Canons Farm (Duncan Jennings)

Canada Geese, Canons Farm (Duncan Jennings)

Canada Goose, Canons Farm (Duncan Jennings)

 Duncan Jennings

6th October

45 Redwings arrived at Banstead Woods, where seven Meadow Pipits and a Chiffchaff were the only other obvious migrants.

Duncan Jennings

5th October

A Peregrine, two Northern Lapwings and 23 grounded Canada Geese highlighted at the farm, where the first four Redwings of the autumn were also seen along with a fly-over Grey Heron, three Stonechats, five Chiffchaffs, two Skylarks, two Meadow Pipits, 60 Linnets and a Common Gull.

Andy Downing and Graham Harris

4th October

The highlight at Banstead Woods was two Rooks, although migrants there were thin on the ground with just two Chiffchaffs and a Meadow Pipit. A Bullfinch and a Common Buzzard were among the local birds seen there.

A Brimstone and a Speckled Wood represented the butterflies.

Duncan Jennings

3rd October

Stonechats at Canons Farm increased to six. Overhead flew a Grey Heron. In addition, there was a Willow Warbler, four Swallows, six Skylarks, three Meadow Pipits and seven Chiffchaffs there. Local birds seen included two Yellowhammers and three Common Buzzards.

Paul Goodman and Natasha Preston

Thank you to all contributors for your continued and valuable submissions, the new data entry system is very helpful for quickly transferring the information straight into the CFBWBG database. 

Remember, all sightings of any species are of great value and go straight into our files, even if they do not make it onto the blog under the new format (the entries are a compromise between writing time, readability and comprehensiveness, so what gets a mention will vary as you may have noticed). 

Some submissions continue to come through as manual text in emails, which is fine, but please remember it saves several minutes and makes it more likely that the blog will be updated promptly if the 'Submit records' page on the blog is used). 

Thanks, and good birding - DKC

2nd October

A male Stonechat was around Harrier Field. Other migrants at the farm included a Blackcap, four Chiffchaffs, 75 Linnets, 10 House Martins and 100 Swallows. A first-winter Common Gull was on the Legal & General sports field.

First-winter Common Gull with Black-headed Gull, Legal & General sports field, Darragh Culley

♂ Stonechat, Harrier Field, Darragh Culley

Darragh Culley and Paul Goodman

30th September

Red Kites occasionally make an appearance in the autumn, but three flying southeast over the farm was particularly noteworthy. In addition, two Hobbies were seen: an adult hawking over The Scrub and a juvenile on the barns at Perrotts Farm. 22 Skylarks were over Broadfield. Other sightings across the recording area included 11 Chiffchaffs, 260 House Martins, 19 Swallows, a Pied Wagtail and 12 Meadow Pipits.

Insects at Banstead Woods included two Brown Hairstreaks, a Common Darter, a Brown Argus and two Small Coppers, while the farm had a Small Tortoiseshell.

Geoff Barter, Paul Goodman, Duncan Jennings and Ian Ward