Wild Winkworth, late January-early February

Another mixed two or three weeks on the weather front here. The day after I posted my previous blog post we had our first, and so far only, notable snowfall of the winter and the arboretum looked lovely and wintry for a few hours until it all turned to soggy mush by lunchtime. Indeed, that third week of January saw Rowe's Flashe Lake frozen over for several days, and the ducks looked rather unimpressed as they huddled patiently on the surface for the thaw. 

Frozen Rowe's Flashe

This Little Grebe managed to find the only area of unfrozen water
- right in front of the boathouse

As I write this now (6th Feb), however, there is a fierce south-westerly wind roaring through the trees in the upper arboretum and the temperature is a balmy 12 degrees celsius. These extremes of weather have done little to detract from the fact that this winter has so far been exceptionally mild and the frantic rush of plants growing and flowering weeks or even months ahead of schedule continues. In addition to the carpets of Daffodils, Snowdrops and Primroses around the place, this past week the senior gardener and I have discovered the first Magnolias and Azaleas beginning to bloom, and just this morning I found this little flower spike out on Sorbus Hill amongst the myriad green spikes pushing through the leaf litter. Any guesses?

Yes, incredibly, it's a Bluebell! In February!
Don't worry though - I'm sure the best displays are still several weeks away yet

On the bird front it was interesting to note a little flurry (pun intended!) of cold weather movement on the 'snow day' (17th Jan) with eight Bramblings and nine Crossbills flying south in the afternoon, while on the 20th there were two Bramblings briefly in a tree along the Spring Walk before they flew off north-east.  Gull movement has noticeably picked up recently too, with plenty of Common Gulls moving west most mornings, and on the 20th a Great Black-backed Gull few south-east around lunchtime - my only record to date of this species here.

Common Gulls circling over the Spring Walk

On 20th Jan and 6th Feb I heard a Water Rail calling in the Phillimore Wetland - this species seems to have been a bit more elusive this winter than last. On the morning of the 25th, while I was carrying out the morning site check, I was surprised to see a Tawny Owl fly out of a conifer near the carved throne seat and disappear into the trees near the boathouse. In fact, so seldom have I seen Tawny Owls flying in daylight it took me a moment to realise what I was looking at! Meanwhile, on the morning of 3rd February I stumbled across a couple of Red-legged Partridges scurrying into the brambles at the south end of Rowe's Flashe Meadow - my first record of this species here in 2016. 

Looking east across the Badger's Bowl to the Wintershall Estate beyond

The amount of bird song here is increasing almost daily now, particularly on fine sunny mornings (when we get them!) when it's possible to hear at least ten species singing on a short walk around the upper arboretum, including Chaffinch, Stock Dove, Great Tit, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Collared Dove and Coal Tit. Great Spotted Woodpeckers can now be heard drumming regularly too. On the bird of prey side of things, both Buzzard and Sparrowhawk have been a regular sight recently, the latter beginning to display overhead, again on fine days. On 1st February there were two Red Kites circling together over the lower arboretum first thing in the morning, the local Jackdaws doing their best to chase them off! Just after noon on the 6th a Peregrine flew south over the gardeners' work yard, looking like it was struggling somewhat as it battled straight into the strong wind. My first one here this year.

The local Roe Deer are still around - I stumbled across this group of five on Sorbus Hill first thing in the morning a couple of weeks ago. They really are so well camouflaged against the carpet of dried bracken.

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Winter at Winkworth - article for The Bridge

I write a regular piece for local magazine 'The Bridge' and thought I'd share the latest one on here for you all to read.

The full magazine can be downloaded here.

Wild Winkworth, early January 2016

Well, after my ramblings about the exceptionally mild weather in my previous blog post, things have turned altogether more wintry, haven't they? In fact, so far in 2016, the temperature has barely made it in to double figures here at Winkworth. Whilst this may come as a bit of a shock to some of the plants and animals that were tricked into thinking spring had arrived early, the good news is it has also turned drier in recent days and there's been plenty of beautiful crisp sunshine to enjoy.

Come and enjoy the arboretum while the sun lasts; it really is looking stunning at the moment.

Birds-wise, it's been a rather quiet start to the year so far with nothing massively out of the ordinary to report. Saying that, the year got off to a good start with a Raven circling and calling over Bluebell Wood on New Year's Day, when there was also a Marsh Tit calling along the Spring Walk.

On 7th January I heard a Brambling calling near the tearoom towards the end of the day. Also on the 7th it was nice to see a handsome drake Pochard back on Rowe's Flashe Lake. It was a little too distant for my camera to capture but luckily John Rowland was on hand and got some great photos.

Pochard

Off he goes!

The wintering Kingfisher is still around although I've only heard it a couple of times so far this month.

On the 6th I noted the first Water Rail of the year calling in the Phillimore Wetland.

Bullfinches remain numerous and I've heard one singing along the Spring Walk on sunny days recently, but Redwing, Fieldfare and Siskin numbers seem to have dropped off a little lately.

I've recorded four raptor species here this month, with Buzzard and Kestrel the most frequently seen hanging around in the trees, while Sparrowhawk and Red Kite are rather less common and often soaring overhead.

Despite the cold snap, the spring feelings amongst the bird life here continue to increase, with Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Treecreeper and Coal Tit amongst many species now starting to sing, while drumming Great Spotted Woodpeckers are becoming a more commonly heard sound with each day.

I mentioned last time about the bare trees and shrubs enabling better viewing of our resident Roe Deer and this has been proven in the last few days as I've had some very close encounters indeed while doing the morning site checks. There are often two or three hanging about on the slopes between the Owl Bench viewpoint and Sorbus Hill. They can a bit hard to spot against the background of dead bracken but if you are quiet and patient you may be lucky enough to get as close as this.



Wild Winkworth, 2015's swan song

And so we reach the end of 2015, as what is touted to be the warmest December on record draws to a close. The strongest El Niño event for many years has in part led to a rush of warm air from the south-west, bringing with it a series of Atlantic storms to our shores. This has meant lots of wind and rain but also exceptionally mild weather for the time of year, with temperatures in double figures for most of the month. On the 19th a high of 16 celsius was recorded here in Surrey. The mild winter isn't just affecting Britain though as unusually high temperatures have been recorded across much of northern Europe and North America, and even the North Pole where the temperature reach a balmy +1 celsius this week; over 20 degrees warmer than average for this time of year.

The consequence of all this spring-like weather in midwinter has been some exceptionally early flowering plants, and even some fresh leaves emerging on some of the trees already, but more on that later.

As usual though I'll start with a round-up of the bird life at Winkworth in the past couple of weeks.

There have been noticeably more gulls moving overhead recently, mostly Herring Gulls and mostly heading south-west first thing in the morning.

Herring Gulls

 In amongst the gulls a couple of Egyptian Geese also flew south-west over Rowe's Flashe Lake on Christmas Eve. 

Egyptian Geese were also recorded flying over on the 21st and the 27th. Other noteworthy flyovers recently have included Raven, with one west on the 27th and another south-west on the 31st, and single Red Kites east on the 23rd and 24th.

Whilst opening the boathouse on the 26th I heard a 'te-zek' call high overhead and just briefly caught a glimpse of a roughly Chaffinch-sized bird disappearing over the trees, heading south, before it called again: 'tchuu'. I can't say for certain but the only bird I can think of with a call that matches that is Lapland Bunting. The sacrificial game crop fields across the Thorncombe Valley do, I know, attract good numbers of Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers at this time of year, so who's to say this bird hadn't stopped off there before heading further south?

Down at Rowe's Flashe there have been noticeably more Tufted Ducks recently, with over thirty recorded on some days towards the end of the month. Volunteer Ann Jacobs captured this nice shot of some on the 28th. 

Meanwhile a Kingfisher continues to maintain a regular presence, as do the roosting Reed Buntings in the reedbed on the eastern side. There were at least three in there first thing on the 23rd

Pheasants are a familiar sight all around the arboretum, particularly so at this time of year when there's rather less vegetation for them to hide in. Volunteer Ann photographed this male in Badger's Bowl recently.

Moving on to woodland birds, and there have been plenty of Redwings, Siskins and Bullfinches around, as usual. On Christmas Eve I noted five Bullfinches along the Spring Walk, including one singing. There's also regularly been a singing Dunnock here in recent days.  

Single Bramblings were noted on the 17th when one flew east and the 26th when one briefly alighted in a tree near the car park before flying south-east.

There was a Firecrest calling in the vicinity of the boathouse on Christmas Eve while on Christmas Day I was told there was one calling along the footpath just on the south-western edge of the arboretum.

The local Buzzards and Sparrowhawks have started to display over the arboretum in recent days; another surefire sign that spring is getting nearer.

Male Sparrowhawk

Meanwhile, I noted the first drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker of the season by Rowe's Flashe early on the 31st.

Also on the 31st there was a Red Admiral on the wing, flying high around the treetops in The Bowl. The last butterfly of the year!

The more open landscape at this time of year provides more opportunities to catch a glimpse of our resident Roe Deer. I had a close encounter with this group on Sorbus Hill the other morning.

If you've visited Winkworth recently you won't have been able to miss the swathes of golden daffodils around the upper arboretum, but they are not the only floral signs of spring to be found, as the mild weather has induced many plants to flower weeks or, in some cases, months earlier than normal. Here's just a small selection of some I've noticed this past week or so:

Primrose (Primula vulgaris) - Usual flowering time: March-May

Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) - Usual flowering time: February-April

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) - Usual flowering time: April-July

Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) - Usual flowering time: May-September

However the biggest surprise for me was during the Boxing Day walk when I noticed these newly-emerging leaves on a Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) in Badger's Bowl. 

Previous El Niño winters have ended with a blast of cold weather in February and March. If this winter follows suit then much of our flora and fauna is in for a rather nasty shock!

Wild Winkworth, December so far

Continuing where November left off, December has so far been largely damp and grey, but the unseasonably mild weather has seen the onward march of spring continue unabated around the arboretum. Those of you who've visited recently will have seen the now numerous swathes of daffodils in flower around the upper arboretum and several Camellias now blooming along the Spring Walk. The more eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed the first Snowdrops beginning to poke through the soil, particularly at the top of the Azalea Steps. 

The birds too are getting into the swing of spring, as some of our resident species are now already in fine voice, particularly Song Thrush

and Great Tit

Other species becoming vocal lately include Mistle Thrush, Stock Dove, Blackbird, Dunnock, Robin and Wren, although the latter two do often sing right through the winter months.

Last year I heard the first drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker of the season in the arboretum on 27th December - I wonder if it'll be even earlier this year?

After a flurry of Brambling sightings last month I've only seen or heard them on five occasions so far in December - on the 1st, 2nd, 10th, 13th and 16th.

A Kingfisher has again become a regular visitor to Rowe's Flashe Lake, with one seen or heard most days recently. This iconic species sadly doesn't breed here but clearly at least one individual is overwintering in the area. 

Other highlights on the lake recently include two Egyptian Geese on the 13th -  the first record of this species actually 'on the deck' here in a while - and notably high counts of three Grey Heron and three Little Grebe on the 16th. 

 Little Grebe

Water Rails have been heard regularly in Phillimore Wetlands and the Gunnera Swamp recently. 

Just one record of Firecrest so far this month: one calling by the boathouse on the 2nd. 

Although confined mainly to the Phillimore area during the breeding season, Marsh Tits roam around a bit more at this time of year and this week I have noted ones in the upper arboretum near to the tearoom and the public toilets.

Bullfinches are, as ever, a common sight and sound around the arboretum, although I haven't yet beaten my record of at least ten I counted around the place on 24th January this year. 

John Rowland captured this nice photo of a male recently:

John also photographed a Cormorant down at Rowe's Flashe on the 15th. 

Raptors have been represented so far in December by Kestrel, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Red Kite (one over the Bowl on the 10th) and Peregrine (one over Rowe's Flashe on the 16th before flying southwest).

It's got to that time of year where it's more or less dark when I arrive for work in the morning and when I leave in the evening, so I've been hearing the odd hooting male Tawny Owl about the place, although I've yet to find the roosting individual that senior gardener Daniel discovered in the upper arboretum recently - do let me know if you see it!

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Wild Winkworth, November 2015

As always, lots to talk about these past few weeks. It's been a largely mild, grey and drizzly kind of November with just a very short-lived cold snap during the third week, producing a couple of frosty nights and even the odd snow flurry. The autumn colour ended pretty abruptly this year, thanks to the cold combined with some high winds, but it was by all accounts one of the best colour displays in recent years. Visiting Winkworth towards the end of the month though you could be forgiven for thinking you'd missed winter and we'd jumped straight to spring as there are already Daffodils, Witch Hazels and Cherry trees all flowering around the arboretum!

November is a great time to get out and see some of the bird species that migrate to our shores for the winter, and Winkworth is as good a place as any in Surrey to see some of them. The many berry-bearing trees and shrubs around the arboretum have been teeming with thrushes recently, particularly the yellow-berried Sorbus 'Joseph Rock' near the main car park, which was covered in Redwings, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Fieldfares every day last week. 

Song Thrush

Redwings

I've been seeing and hearing plenty of Bramblings about the place recently, peaking at sixteen on the 18th when I photographed these two in Furze Field.

Crossbills were recorded several times during the month, the highest number being five which flew over the Bowl on the 10th. On the 19th a Little Egret flew low south-west over Rowe's Flashe Meadow, seemingly coming down towards the southern end of the lake but as I was in the middle of doing post-storm tree inspections at the time I wasn't able to check. I only noted Firecrest twice this month, on the 7th and the 24th, on both occasions in the vicinity of the boathouse. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo but John Rowland did capture this nice image of the more common Goldcrest the other day. 

On the 17th a Woodcock flew south-east over Rowe's Flashe Meadow at dusk while on the 24th one flew up in my car headlights as I drove home along the road by Phillimore Wetland.

The frosty start on the 23rd had an air of northern promise about it and I was half expecting something a bit unusual to appear when half a dozen 'Grey Geese' flew in from the north-west over the top arboretum. I only got the briefest of views and only heard a couple of calls but it was enough to tell me they were not Greylags. Beyond that I wouldn't want to say for sure!

Other species of note this month have included Water Rail (two calling together in Phillimore on the 27th), Marsh Tit (popping up all over the place recently), Reed Bunting (either in the reedbed by Rowe's Flashe or in Phillimore), occasional Kingfishers at Rowe's Flashe Lake and a Winkworth first for me in the form of a Yellowhammer which flew north on the 8th. There have also been some characteristically massive movements of Woodpigeons, such as on the 9th when at least two thousand flew south first thing. 

As ever there have been a few Roe Deer around the arboretum recently, and in quieter moments they will allow you to approach very close, like these two I photographed in the Bowl on the 18th. 

Keeping on the mammal theme, on the 27th I somewhat belatedly saw my first Winkworth Stoat, albeit very briefly, as it scuttled across the path in front of me near Rowe's Flashe Meadow. 

Another thing to look for at this time of year is of course fungi, and there's a wide array of weird and wonderful specimens to be seen around the arboretum at the moment. I don't confess to be the greatest mycologist but volunteer Ann Jacobs thankfully is and has been taking some wonderful photographs here recently, like this Common Eyelash (Scutellinia scutellata) she found on a dung heap near the overflow car park. 

Although butterflies are now fast becoming a distant memory - aside from the Small Tortoiseshell I saw on the 18th - there is still some lepidopteran interest to be had in the form of some of the autumn moth species, some of which are more colourful than others. Several moths even found their way into the temporary public toilets earlier in the month which I took photos of as I extricated them each morning.

Sprawler (Asteroscopus sphinx)

November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.)

Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria)

That's all for this time. To finish, how about this for a gorgeous sunrise? Who says the autumn colour is all gone!

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Birds at Winkworth, 3rd-4th November 2015

A very short week at Winkworth for me as I was up at our sister property, Claremont Landscape Garden, on Monday providing gardener cover and carrying out a bird survey.

I returned to Winkworth on Tuesday to find a female Pochard on Rowe's Flashe Lake - my first one here of this second winter period. 

There were also 23 Canada Geese on the lake, the highest number I have seen here to date. 

Later in the morning I was called over to the tearoom to deal with a bird that was sat on the floor and not moving. Expecting a Blackbird or Robin or something similarly familiar, I was surprised to walk through the door and see it was a Nuthatch! It was clearly stunned from either flying into a window or had had a lucky escape from a cat perhaps, and let me pick it up with no struggle.

It looked in good physical condition so I gently introduced it to the trunk of a nearby oak tree which it clung on to of its own accord and, in time, began to climb up out of reach as it regained its senses.

Never a dull moment in this job!

On Monday afternoon I heard the loud and unmistakeable call of Crossbill and just caught sight of two flying low over the trees near the kiosk. Judging by the calls though there were quite a few more that I didn't see.

On Wednesday morning there was a Firecrest calling by the boathouse, while at least two Brambling were flying around/over the lower arboretum, calling. 

Just before dusk on Wednesday there was a Kingfisher down at Rowe's Flashe Lake and a single Reed Bunting flew west.

November is the month when Woodpigeons form into huge flocks and roam in search of suitable feeding areas. I filmed this short clip on Tuesday morning in Rowe's Flashe Meadow and it shows part of a movement of over a thousand Woodpigeons that flew south first thing. Sadly my phone didn't really pick it up but I can tell you that the sound of that many wings is quite something!

Note the Siskins calling in the background - there were at least forty flying around in a tight flock while I was filming this. 

Other flyover bits of note included a Red Kite north, mobbed by Rooks, and over a hundred Fieldfares south in small groups on Tuesday.

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