BIG SIT 2008

 

May 22nd

With a last minute KOS meeting arranged for the evening of the 22nd, it seemed that I might have to find an alternative date. However, an analysis of the previous five spring Big Sits revealed interesting statistics and the conclusion that a 12 hour sit, finishing around 4pm, would be sufficient in spring. In autumn, there are more frequent evening movements of gulls and it makes sense to stay later. However, a visit at 5pm on the 20th produced about 40 Black-headed and two Mediterranean Gulls in less than an hour, visiting the reservoir on their way north, to eat bread thrown out by a fisherman!  

A Little Owl calls as I settle within my chosen circle at 3.50am, the welcome sound of a Skylark singing contrasts with distant traffic noise and I wonder whether I've arrived too late for the other owl species? Marsh Frogs call from the reservoir, as I feel a cool northerly breeze on my back and a few beams of light from the full moon squeeze between the high clouds that are beginning to spread. A Cuckoo calls, the first Robin sings and one of several Blackbirds begins to sing just after 4am. A Woodpigeon coos and I can also hear a Song Thrush singing.

The full moon is now shining, as I scan the slope below me for a sign of a Barn Owl hunting and listen for the anticipated hoot from a Tawny Owl, when a Pheasant calls but neither of the owls perform – a great disappointment. Just after 4.15am a Carrion Crow caws, as the eastern sky begins to lighten. I'm thinking that without the two owls 50 is going to be a real challenge and I'm annoyed that I failed to start earlier. Canada Geese (number 10 at 4.30am) call from across the Weald and I no longer need torchlight to see by. A Wren sings from the barn dell to my left, Rooks are calling as they leave the rookery at nearby Wierton Grange and a few Jackdaws also call, as they fly towards the Deer Park. A Herring Gull flies S overhead just before 4.45am, a Chaffinch adds its voice to the dawn chorus, a GS Woodpecker calls from the barn dell and a Green Woodpecker ‘yaffles' a few minutes later, as the moon sinks towards the south-western horizon.

Another Herring Gull flies NE, on this occasion and two more fly NW, as a Chiffchaff starts to sing from a power line above the barn dell. A Stock Dove flies overhead and a Jay (20 at 4.57am) flies low into an ash on the edge of the old orchard. A cock Yellowhammer perches on a power line from which another Chaffinch sings. It is feeling cool and I'm actually shivering a little, despite several layers of clothing, and appreciating my gloves. A few Herring Gulls continue to fly over, as a Blackcap sings from the rarity hedge, a Magpie flies over the field of wheat as I look north – all five corvids by 5.05am – and a distant Starling flies into the dead tree just off the patch to the east.

Patches of mist hang over the Weald and it will be some time before the visibility improves sufficiently to begin adding species that are only just visible on the fishponds and Monk Lakes, some two kilometres to the south. Sadly, it is also cloudy now and it is going to be a while before I feel any benefit from the warmth of the sun's rays. A Moorhen calls from the reservoir, I'm hearing snatches of Yellowhammer song and a Collared Dove calls. A lone Black-headed Gull flies S – the first of a good number – and adding new species has already slowed to a snail's pace. A LBB Gull flies NE at 5.50am, a Virgin hot air balloon drifts WSW, as I identify a Greenfinch in the dead tree to the east and also pick up a Swift (30 at 6.15am) in the same telescope view.

Maybe some breakfast will warm me up, as there is no sign of the sun appearing and the visibility across the Weald is still poor. Another Swift flies N, as I enjoy my second breakfast roll, spread with my son's delicious honey, which is particularly warming. A Blue Tit flies into the rarity hedge ash, as I finish my breakfast. I'm scanning the Stock Dove flock on the newly sown paddock, south of the reservoir, hoping to find a Turtle Dove again, but the poor visibility means little chance of success. Two more Jays fly across the Spindlewood orchard – and continue to fly back and forth for much of the day – and a Swallow flies S over the old orchard, as I check the dead tree yet again. Shortly before 7.20am, I'm able to just make out a Coot and a pair of Tufted Ducks on Monk Lakes and a Mute Swan swims into view but the hazy mist is still limiting the possibility of finding other species. A pair of GS Woodpeckers is obviously feeding nestlings, in a nest above the barn dell, continuing to fly back and forth virtually all day.

I'm realising how helpful it was to have a stack of straw bales to sit on last year, as I'm having to stand much more to get clearer views across the Weald and along the rarity hedge. A Mistle Thrush flies by just after 8am and some fifteen minutes later I can hear a snatch of Dunnock song from the edge of the old orchard but I'm not yet convinced that I'm hearing Common Whitethroat and Garden Warbler singing – but yes, I am now, a Common Whitethroat clearly sings a short phrase, in competition with the noise from the M20 and the songs of Blackcap, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch and Chiffchaff. A House Martin appears in my binocular view, as I look towards the dead tree again at 8.40am, while noise from an orchard being sprayed is almost deafening at times.

I'm still searching for my 40th species at 9am, the time of the earliest 50 in 2006, and having just written this I look up and see an adult Mediterranean Gull (40 at 9.06) flying SE and I still haven't seen a Mallard, a Kestrel or a Great Tit. Three Swallows circle over the Spindlewood orchard below me, while five local Swifts circle high in the sky above the old orchard. Three more BH Gulls are circling over the reservoir, where I'm vaguely hoping that I may get a glimpse of a Reed Bunting in my telescope, as a pair is nesting on the north bank. However, it would be extremely fortunate, as it will be an addition to the spring list if I am successful. More realistically, a Mallard swims into view, just before 9.30am.

Without an improvement in the visibility, which has been exceptionally good in recent days, I shall struggle to add such species as GC Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose and Lapwing around Monk Lakes. I wonder how much I'm missing by writing this continuous diary? I look up and see a lone Cormorant flying SE over the southern boundary of the study area. At a little after 10am, I can just identify a GC Grebe , as it swims across one of the Monk Lakes. About 50 BH Gulls are resting on the edges of lily-growing pools at the fishfarm and I can see the, or another, Mediterranean Gull as it flies over the farm, so distinctive with its pure white plumage and contrasting black head. At least two juvenile Long-tailed Tits appear in the much-favoured hawthorn by the barn dell gateway, which inevitably attracts a variety of important and difficult species to add, like Bullfinch and House Sparrow. This is quite a bonus, as I was hoping but not really expecting to see LT Tit – and still no Great Tit!

I'm looking at a small flock of Canada Geese feeding by one of the fishing lakes and the Bar-headed Goose is with them, maybe the Barnacle Goose will also be there. Better light conditions and a more powerful lens on my telescope would be useful. One of the pairs of Canada Geese has a few goslings – a record for the Bird Atlas – and yes, the Barnacle Goose is there, alongside the Bar-headed, as expected and a new species for the spring Big Sit list, since receiving a relatively new BOURC feral status. It is 10.45am and certainly time for a raptor or three, if 50 is to be achieved. I can see a Great Tit preening, in the hawthorn again, and I'm thinking that I really need four pairs of eyes, so that all the different habitats can be scanned at the same time. Various species could easily have flown over while I'm concentrating on looking through my telescope. I finish writing, look up and see a female Kestrel circling over the Spindlewood orchard and disappearing behind the large ash, when another falcon appears, my first Hobby of the year, which flies a little closer then disappears behind trees as it flies E along the Greensand ridge. Will the third, a Sparrowhawk, also appear? I live in hope. With the two owls the Hobby would have been my 50th species by 11am.

The sun is trying to break through and my anorak comes off. Maybe the Garden Warbler will sing for me in the warmer conditions. With cupped ears I hear a confusion of sounds and still can't clearly separate that warbler's song. With the improving visibility, maybe the fishfarm and Monk Lakes will produce a Grey Heron, Greylag Goose and Lapwing. Nearly an hour later I can see a pair of Greylag Geese with goslings on one of the Monk Lakes – another Atlas record. Another Kestrel thermals over the Deer Park just before 12.30pm – why isn't it a Sparrowhawk, to make 50 before lunch? Surely one will enjoy the warm thermals in the afternoon and after the disappointing start I'm really feeling quite pleased – I don't believe it the Garden Warbler has just uttered a short phrase of song, from one of the two old orchard territories, so I am on 50 and can enjoy my lunch at 12.35pm.

The sun breaks through the thinning stratocumulus cloud and it is markedly warmer. Was it a pair of Bullfinches that has just flown by? Sitting in my chair, with a roll in my hand, makes it difficult to see them properly. I thought I heard a call but they keep on flying N over the Greensand Way and sadly it isn't possible to confirm the sighting. In the warmth I'm afraid I'm dozing a little and I think I hear a Linnet call as it flies over but again I am unable to confirm it – two difficult species for a spring Big Sit here. The breeze appears to be veering southeasterly and cloud cover is building rapidly at nearly 1.45pm, when I suddenly notice a Grey Heron flying SE towards the fishfarm. I'm frequently scanning a distant, small field where I believe a pair of Lapwings may have been breeding but there is no sign of life so far.

Realistically, Sparrowhawk is the only missing species – other than the two owls – with long odds on seeing another raptor, maybe Turtle Dove, Pied Wagtail, Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Linnet or Bullfinch, as all are unlikely to be seen from this particular viewpoint. If, and it is a big if, I add two more before 4pm, when I need to leave to attend an evening meeting in east Kent, I could be tempted to come back and possibly set a new record 55 for a spring Big Sit, by adding Barn and Tawny Owl, though I may not be able to keep awake.

Another Mediterranean Gull flies S, virtually overhead at 2.35pm, while I still struggle to find either a Sparrowhawk or a Lapwing. The Spindlewood orchard is now being sprayed, so it is going to be noisy for some time. In the circumstances, I'm going to finish at 3.50pm to make it a twelve-hour Big Sit. Maybe a Sparrowhawk flew over while I was peering through my telescope but I'll never know and 51 species is quite a pleasing total. On leaving I can hear the House Sparrows at Spindlewood – just too distant to hear from the Big Sit circle and I see a Spotted Flycatcher at the Old Vicarage.

On my way to the meeting, I discover that Operation Stack is happening and I am appalled at the volume of traffic being diverted along the A20 – why do I continue to live in the southeast? I phone Robin and learn that traffic is equally slow along the M2 and we decide to postpone the meeting. It is a pleasant spring evening, with sunshine and little wind, so I am tempted to return for another two hours or so from 7.45pm, with a vague hope of equalling the record of 54 species in 2006 – a Sparrowhawk, Barn and Tawny Owl will be sufficient.

The Chiffchaff is still perching on a power line, there are three Grey Herons in the ‘Lapwing' field but no sign of that species. A GS Woodpecker drums, a LBB and two Herring Gulls fly NE, I can see a Jay again and another Cuckoo flies by but chances of a Sparrowhawk are fading, as the sun disappears below the trees by 8.40pm. Only the second Mistle Thrush of the day calls and flies N and at 9.05pm a Little Owl is perching on a power line not 100 metres south of me but it is the other two that I've come back for and I haven't yet been rewarded with a bonus species, or a Sparrowhawk. The Little Owl moves into dead branches of the oak in the barn dell and begins to call, soliciting responses from two others. At 9.25pm a Barn Owl flies from the same oak and rapidly disappears behind another tree – one down and one to go. A Song Thrush starts singing at 9.35pm, by which time it is quite dark. The wind is rising from the northeast again, it is feeling quite chilly and I decide I'll depart at 9.45pm, with or without hearing a Tawny Owl – not one obliges me and I finish on a total of 52 species, equal to the mean for the six attempts.

Although fragmented, it has been an enjoyable and successful day, though I feel a little frustrated not to have equalled or even beaten the record - maybe next spring.