Spring 2026, Bird Walk No. 70
The Walk took place on the morning of 2 May with eleven participants. The weather was calm and mild. The following 31 species were recorded – five more than on last year’s Spring Walk. Three summer visitors were noted – Whitethroat, Blackcap, and Chiffchaff; but no Swallows or Swifts were noted on the Walk, though both had been seen recently in the area, as was also the case on last year’s Spring Walk on 26 April.
Red-legged Partridge (C)
Pheasant (C)
Red Kite (A,C)
Buzzard (A)
Woodpigeon (A,B,C)
Collared Dove (A)
Green Woodpecker (B)
Skylark (C)
Wren (A,C)
Dunnock (B)
Robin (A)
Stonechat (B)
Blackbird (A,B)
Song Thrush (B)
Whitethroat (A,C – One bird was noted singing at the start of the walk, and – further birds were noted as usual in the small trees and tall hedges at the far end of the Walk)
Blackcap (B,C)
Chiffchaff (B)
Firecrest (B – one bird heard and seen in the Dean Wood conifers; it is much more normal to find Goldcrests there, but none were noted on this Walk)
Great Tit (B,C)
Coal Tit B,C)
Blue Tit (B,C)
Nuthatch (B)
Magpie (A)
Jackdaw (A,C)
Rook (C)
Carrion Crow (B)
House Sparrow (A)
Chaffinch (B)
Goldfinch (C)
Siskin (C)
Yellowhammer (C)
During the walk we also noted the spring flowers and butterflies we encountered. The butterflies were orange tip, brimstone, green-veined white, holly blue, small heath, red admiral, peacock and small white and we also had a lovely close look at a muslin moth. Below is the list, which is not exhaustive, of flowering plants we saw.
TREES
Cretaegus monogyna Hawthorn
Ilex aquifolium Holly
Malus sylvestris Crab apple
Rubus fruticosa Bramble
Sambucus nigra Elder
Sorbus acuparia Ash
Ulmus glabra Wych Elm
GRASSES
Melica uniflora Wood Melick
SEDGES
Carex sylvatica Wood Sedge
HERBS
Alliaria petiolata Hedge Garlic
Anthriscus sylvaticum Cow Parsley
Arum maculatum Cuckoo Pint
Galium odoratum Sweet Woodruff
Geum urbanum Herb Bennet
Helleborus viridus Green Hellebore
Hyancinthoides non-scriptus Bluebell
Lamiastrum galeobdolon Yellow Archangel
Lamium album Dogs Mercury
Ornithogalum umbellatum Star of Bethlehem possibly a garden escape
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort
Taraxacum officinale Dandelion
Bellis perennis Daisy
Veronica persica Speedwell
Pentaglottis sempervirens Alkanet
Silene dioica Red Campion
Silene vulgaris Bladder Campion
This list provides an interesting contrast to a record of the same walk taken on 28 April 2012. On that walk cherry and blackthorn were in flower; this year, only five days later in the calendar, these trees were replaced by elder and hawthorn and most of the spring flowers were over. The spring weather in 2026 had been warm, after a mild wet winter, which could have been responsible for early flowering. Two random examples are not in themselves evidence of climate change, but these records do fit into a pattern of milder winters and earlier springs.
Winter 2026, Bird Walk No. 69
The walk took place on the morning of 24 January, a dull, mild day in a series of such days. There were 9 participants, and the following 26 species were recorded. A notable aspect of the list is the absence of any gull species: Black-Headed Gulls in particular are normally seen in some numbers on the fields at this time of year. The absence of Woodpeckers, Dunnocks, and Long-tailed Tits was probably a matter of chance, as these were all seen along the route on adjacent days, but the absence of Greenfinches was more likely further evidence of the steep decline nationally in the population of this species in recent years.
Pheasant (A)
Red Kite (A,B,C)
Buzzard (C)
Woodpigeon (A,B)
Skylark (C – at least one singing)
Robin (A,B,C)
Blackbird (A,B,C)
Fieldfare (B,C – c.10 in all)
Redwing (A,C – c.20 in all; a much larger flock in area C had been seen the previous day)
Song Thrush (C – at least one singing)
Wren (A)
Goldcrest (A,B)
Marsh Tit (B,C)
Coal Tit (B,C)
Blue Tit (A,B,C)
Great Tit (B,C)
Nuthatch (B)
Treecreeper (B)
Magpie (A,B)
Jackdaw (A,B)
Rook (A)
Carrion Crow (A,B)
Raven (B – 2 birds together)
Chaffinch (A,B)
Goldfinch (C)
Greenfinch (C)