Day out at Reigate

After seeing multiple reports of a large flock of Brambling just outside of Reigate, I decided I could not resist and yesterday I finally headed out to see them. It was a rather pleasant day: a bit chilly but still fairly sunny and some nice blue sky at times. Whilst changing trains at Redhill Station, a lovely Pied Wagtail entertained me for the otherwise tedious 20 minute wait. It was very tame and was not bothered by me one bit. I wonder whether it may nest somewhere within the vicinity of the station.

Once I got off the train, rather than going straight to see the Bramblings at Clifton's Lane, I went towards Reigate Park to see the long-staying adult female Ring-necked Duck on Priory Pond. Seeing as this species was a lifer I thought it would be silly of me not to get it whilst I was in the area. The pond was larger than I expected based on descriptions I had heard, but it was still interesting to note the number of different birds present - Shoveler, although expected from looking at the Ebird hotspot in advance, were nice to see. Wigeon had also been reported to be present recently on Ebird but unfortunately I did not see any. The Ring-necked Duck was actively feeding at the back centre of the pond with 3 male Tufted Ducks. After snapping a few pics, I walked around the pond to see if I could get a little closer. However, by the time I did, it had swam towards where I initially stood.

Adult female Ring-necked Duck with a male Tufted Duck

Instead of chasing it around the pond, I decided to ascend the hill that was behind me. I wondered what the view at the top looked like and the woodland looked like good habitat for some smaller birds. About three-quarters of the way to the top of the hill there was a lot of bird activity. There was a noisy flock of Blue Tits and Great tits (about 10 of each), with a Coal Tit mixed in. In with their noisy calls, I could here a quieter call that made me think of Marsh Tit. I've never knowingly seen or heard one before and I was not totally confident. I reached for my sound recorder and managed to get around 40 seconds of audio. I could just make out which bird the sound was coming from flitting around in a tree in front of me, but did not manage a view good enough to notice any features - smaller than the Great Tits is the best I could do. Thankfully, a later check confirmed that the suspect call was detectable in the sound recording, despite being drowned out a bit by the closer Blue Tits. I sent it to Arjun to ask for his thoughts and to my delight he came back and said that it sounds good for a Marsh Tit. So technically my second lifer of the day but with the poor views and still a chance of Blue Tit mimicry I would like to go back some time and confirm fully. Any opinions on this call are welcome in the comments as it is all part of the learning process for me.

The walk from Reigate Park to Clifton's Lane was also very enjoyable, despite there being less birds about. However, once I arrived at Clifton's Lane, I was greeted by three Feral Pigeons as I walked under the railway bridge where they had noisy chicks and from there onward the birding picked up again. It did not take long to locate the 204 strong Brambling flock as they whirled around the field and perched in the bordering trees that I was heading towards. I carefully crept up on the flock, being careful not to spook them. I managed to get a few pics of some birds perched in the branches above my head. I was surprised by how quiet the flock was. Only the odd call was uttered from time to time, with a Linnet joining in too. However, that changed very quickly. All of a sudden the entire flock exploded out of the trees and flew further in to the wooded area surrounding the field, calling loudly as they went. At first I thought it was due to the cyclist that coincidentally raced past at that moment, but it was in fact as a result of the Sparrowhawk that had come swooping in for some early dinner. It was unsuccessful and so repeatedly came back for another go, which added to the spectacle of the finch flock as they rapidly twisted and turned to avoid predation. It also provided the perfect opportunity to attempt to get a few shots of the Bramblings in flight.

Bramblings below:

Other highlights from Clifton's Lane include: a heard only Red-legged Partridge (Surrey tick), 2 calling Pheasants, a Siskin flying west (shockingly my first of 2022), a pair of Buzzards, and a Red Kite. On the walk back to the station another Red Kite drifted slowly over Reigate Castle. So overall a very good day indeed. Ebird trip report here.