31/08/2021

Today was a pretty dull day in the Park, but was much quieter people wise. I was only able to go for a very quick bird watch (30 mins), but there were some nice highlights, and a firm reminder to always look upwards!

Highlights today include:

1 Hobby (heard faintly, then flew over me quietly as I left the Park via ND1)
7 Mistle Thrush (in Z1 near P1) - lovely to see, and I haven't seen them in a while as they are very easily disrupted from feeding on the ground
2 Moorhen (at P1 - heard a splash and assumed it was a dog, but was delighted to see two Moorhen there, as I rarely just see the one)
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker (incredibly close and hanging on to a bunch of leaves in TL3)
1 Green Woodpecker (very visible today, flying and dropping down on the grass in front me)
Good numbers of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits in TL3
1 Jay (to my surprise!)
1 Gull sp. flew overhead
Healthy numbers of the regular suspects (Magpie, Crow, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Parakeet)

Total species count for today: 16

30/08/2021 - Highlights

Today I was at the Park from around midday for a few hours.

Here are the highlights from today:

2 Grey Heron
1 Buzzard (mobbed by the Hobby)
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
Green Woodpecker (multiple heard on site, no more than 5)
Chiffchaff (multiple heard only)
Nuthatch (interestingly, heard only in Z2 and Z3 - usually only heard in TL1)
1 Hobby
7 gull sp. flying overhead
High numbers of Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Ring-necked Parakeet, Magpie, Carrion Crow

The Story So Far

So those of you who have keenly been following me up until now from the very start (only two posts - don't worry, plenty of time to catch up), will realise that I have been birding Nonsuch Park regularly since the end of July 2021. 

The blog started at the end of August 2021. So, in lieu of many daily posts, I have committed to set the record straight and let you have a rough breakdown of the magical sightings and events I have so far seen at Nonsuch Park.

Let's begin with a very special day - the first day. This was a typical July hot day at the park and it was late morning. Plenty of people around with dogs and children. Call it beginners luck, but I'd been in the park for around 2.5 minutes and I had my first species and a mega one at that. I'd heard it before I'd seen it, and it was unmistakeable - a Buzzard. Perched in Tree Line 1, immediately on my right as I had entered, was a Buzzard in full view. Totally unphased by everyone coming in and out of the park, and everyone totally unphased by it. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I have the most basic of cameras. I wasn't going to get a great shot, but it would be possible to get a good shot with a basic camera because of how close it was. I had to take a photo and here it is:

After watching it some more, I decided I needed to move on. Nonsuch is so vast that the only proper way to get to know it is to keep walking. I continued along the concrete path (The Avenue) which goes more into woodland. I was already hearing the chuckling of a Green Woodpecker. Further along the path, I was aware of some activity that made me think bird of prey. I also heard a call that wasn't familiar to me, but again, felt raptor-y. I used BirdNET to help me identify that it was in fact the call of a Sparrowhawk. This is a bird that I (ridiculously) haven't seen or heard as much of as I would like, but I was treated to an absolutely outstanding viewing of two Sparrowhawks in this same spot days later.

I then made my way to P1, where I had the Grey Heron, a Moorhen, and a Grey Wagtail land for a few seconds. Then, out of nowhere, a Little Owl flew right past me and landed on a fence post half a metre away, before flying off again.

My first day really set the standard, and has been one of my highest scoring days for species, coming in at 21.

The days after this and throughout August brought even more delight. The Buzzard was a regular sight, on the same branch. The Green Woodpeckers were audible and visible at various areas on the site. One evening I also followed (with my eyes) a Kestrel back to a branch where it enjoyed its dinner (picture below).

The evenings in August were quite special to me also. The evenings brought a different kind of light to the park (see below), and were quieter from a human perspective. This meant that birds would often come out onto the ground in the Zones and I would watch them go between the trees and the ground. I had a lot of Mistle Thrushes one evening in Z7, which, believe it or not, and rather embarrassingly, was a lifer for me. 

One particular night, I was extremely lucky. Towards the end of August 2021 I was near P1 when I heard a sound that sounded a bit like a dog toy, and a kettle/pan that was at boiling point. I had heard this sound before faintly, and had written it off as a dog toy (there are lots of these types of sounds at Nonsuch). I followed it and used BirdNET to check what it was. It returned the result of a Hobby. I followed the sound some more to an utter commotion happening in TL4. All I remember was thinking 'why is there a giant Swift in the trees?', and then inspecting it some more and realising it had the classic red trousers. A Hobby isn't a lifer for me, but again, is a bird I've seen in a fleeting moment. On this night, I had the best views I've ever, ever had of a Hobby, and believe that they will be the best views I will ever have. There were three of them, and I had about an hour of them being perched, and doing acrobatics only a few metres in front of me and above me. Pictures below. When I made it home, I did some reading on my new friends, and had to laugh when I read that they are often described as 'giant Swifts'

(giant Swift, right?!)

If you have made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read my Nonsuch journey up until the point of blogging.

Some additional pictures below of highlights:

(Sparrowhawk, Crow and Magpies)

Mapping the Territory

 

If there's one thing I've learnt about birding, it's that mapping the territory is important. I've taken a Shaun Ferguson approach here (thanks!) and taken a screenshot of the Park and highlighted key areas. This is to save crass descriptions like 'I saw it in the bit where there's lots of trees!'

First off, it's important for me to note that I enter the Park from the Ewell side (West side). I've already covered a mile once I arrive at the Park, so it's rare that I can survey all of the key areas on the Ewell side and make it across to the Cheam side (East side), and then back home again. This is why most of the map is West side heavy.

I've tried to keep some of the old key that David Campbell used in his blog, but have had to rename some areas. I appreciate there's quite a lot of segmentation in the map, but I've highlighted key areas in which I see species habitually, and are surveyed as one.

Warren Farm is highlighted, and I personally won't be counting it as part of the Nonsuch patch, however I am so close to it, that I will check in and report anything of interest. In my posts, I will do that very clearly, so that it's not confused with anything seen specifically in the Nonsuch boundary.

Summary:

Zones - (Zone 1, Z2 - Z8). These are vast areas of open land, usually broken up by a tree line that stops you seeing much beyond the Zone you are in. Zone 1 is the largest, and visitors will know why I have made this all one Zone, because this whole area has several vantage points where you can survey the full area (and sky) at once.

No Dog Areas - (ND1 - ND3). As you may have guessed, these are designated areas where dogs are not allowed. I mainly only get to ND1 (as that's where I enter). ND1 I believe is the biggest no dog area, and has quite a few Corvidae and Columbidae. These areas are nice and quiet, and I usually scan them before entering.

Ponds - (P1, P2). The ponds at Nonsuch took me a very long time to find. They're nestled away, and appear quite dried up in the summer (so have very few visitors). In my experience, access to both ponds is quite difficult - there is no true path to both, you have to sort of forage your way to them. P1 is fenced, with a gated access, and is pleasant. P2 is a little bit shady.

Tree Lines -  (TL1 - Tl4). I spent quite a bit of time wondering what to call these areas. They're borderline scrub, shrubbery and trees. However, I have had some excellent finds in them, and if nothing else, they have some classic passerine ticks that bump up the daily lists.

Mansion - An easy landmark, and an interesting area. There are some formal gardens near the Mansion and often quite a bit of activity (functions etc.). 

As ever, any additions, comments, or corrections are welcome, but this is what I will use to make reference to my sightings. 

Start here

Hi and welcome!

Hopefully you've found this blog to learn a little more about the wildlife (although mainly birds) that can be found at Nonsuch Park, nestled amongst Stoneleigh, North Cheam, Cheam, and Ewell, near Epsom.

I'm not originally from the area, and moved down for work. Admittedly, and regrettably, I had overlooked the park for birding. With the Covid-19 pandemic, I was working from home more often, and this meant that I had more time after work to explore places locally (which was actually the safest way to bird in that climate anyway).

I first went to birdwatch at Nonsuch Park at the end of July 2021. I was absolutely stunned by my first proper visit there, having had a close-up of a Buzzard, a Little Owl, Sparrowhawk, and a Grey Wagtail all within about an hour. I was hungry for more delights, and went home in awe. When I made it home, I was only able to find the Blogspot of David Campbell as the only solid record of birding at Nonsuch. This isn't to say that the area hasn't been thoroughly surveyed in the past, but that I wasn't able to find much about the birds that visit and live there. It was great to read about his observations on visitors throughout the year, and share his excitement for patch ticks. Being relatively close to me, I really wanted to make Nonsuch my local patch that I could check regularly, and observe differences in bird behaviour and species as the year went on. After an email exchange with David, I discovered that he is no longer in the area to regularly watch the patch, but I am sure I have his blessing to carry the baton! I am also certain and hopeful that, with enough surveying, Nonsuch should throw up a few interesting and unusual species at some point(!), and put it firmly on the map. I'm also hoping that this kind of logging will encourage others to get out and survey the patch, and therefore create some interesting historical records. 

I will also caveat the entire blog by saying that I am not the best birder! I am using this as a way to improve my birding skills and to learn more about bird behaviour. For example, I'm still unsure on how to count huge volumes of birds (e.g. Parakeets), so will likely remark on overall perceived numbers, rather than declare a number. I am always very open to learning more about my craft, so please do get in touch if you want to provide any further information to my sightings, comments, or even (dare I say it) corrections!

I generally use eBird to record my sightings and will try to find a widget to document my lists.

Anyone who has visited Nonsuch will know that it is a huge site, and so I will map out the territory in a later post.

Finally, I am not entirely sure how long I will be in this area for, but I will continue to visit and therefore post as often as I can to build up as much of a record as I can. It will be my first proper attempt at patch birding, and want to make the most of being nearby such a fantastic habitat. Other patches in the area are well watched by others, but it's worth me saying that I am a regular visitor at: Hogsmill Local Nature Reserve/Ewell Court, Priest Hill Nature Reserve, Beddington Farmlands, Horton Country Park. Depending on interest, it may be worth my while setting up a generic blog for my other birding ventures.

As another prompt, please do feel free to get in touch if you're reading this. I would love to share whatever information I can, and would also love to learn.