top of page
Search
  • Christian Cogley

Winter Descends

Updated: Dec 2, 2019

It has been a while since the last post. Greens have turned turned to oranges and browns; the last vestiges of summer’s luminosity leached through hardening soil. The few remaining leaves lie limp, clinging to sagging branches, and all around Ashburnham, nature steadies itself for winter’s cold slumber. 


The dropping temperatures have long chased away the last of the Swallows and House Martins with the last significant movement of both species recorded at the beginning of October. A single Hobby was spotted by Mike and Angie over the weekend of 12th October, no doubt on its way South. I have lamented slightly the lack of these agile hunters on site, especially given the plethora of Dragonflies, the lakes and the suitable woodland habitat; perhaps it hasn’t been a good year for them in general? But with certain species departing, others have arrived, and amidst the descending grey, there has been some surprising splashes of colour. 


I was delighted to spot a pair of Mandarin sheltering around the fringes of the small island on Front Water on the 8th October. I had heard that these birds have been seen on Reservoir Pond before, mostly in the very early morning, so given my current residential status and the fact that I am rarely on site before 8:30am, I had resigned myself to the likelihood that I would not get to enjoy a sighting of one of these beautiful ducks any time soon. And yet, on this particular lunchtime, on my way to filling up the bird feeders, there they both were, the male in its effervescent plumage looking almost tropical next to its female counterpart and the Mallards feeding casually nearby. 



Mandarin (Male)


On the topic of wildfowl, along with the swelling number of Mallards - there must be at least thirty or so now frequenting both Front Water and Broad Water - I was pleased to add Gadwall to my steadily growing list of bird species at Ashburnham. I spotted 3 individuals dabbling on the far side of the lake whilst out for a walk on the 28th October. Furthermore, the return of the Ashburnham Mute Swans has generated some interest on our community messaging group. Having only started working at Ash in June, I hadn’t come across the pair of birds that apparently like to spend their winters holidaying in the grounds. Two adults plus a single juvenile were seen by Penny on Monday 18th November and are now regularly seen gliding across Front Water.


The arrival of winter has brought with it the expected influx of migrant thrushes, the first Redwings being spotted feeding in the Yew tree close to the Prayer Centre on the 15th October. Fieldfares were heard ‘chacking’ high overhead a few days later and, in addition to these Scandinavian visitors, the number of Mistle Thrushes on site has steadily increased with several individuals regularly being seen high up in the trees around the gardens immediately surrounding the Orangery. 


The definite highlight though from the last couple of months has been the briefly visiting Black Redstart, which was first spotted by Joel on the roof close to his window - much to my envy - on Sunday 27th October. Having heard of several birds being spotted in and around Sussex via the birding channels, I was keeping my fingers crossed for our very own specimen. Fortunately, I  was able to add Joel’s sighting to my own Ashburnham tally when, only a couple of days later, I spotted what was almost certainly the same bird, flitting around on top of the prayer centre. A brief dash back to the office to grab my camera and binoculars meant that I was rewarded with some excellent views of this exquisite looking individual; the white panel on the wing and dark mask confirming it as an adult male. 


Black Redstart (Male)


Before bringing the post to a close, the more observant amongst you may have spotted my fleeting reference to bird feeders mentioned in the third paragraph. I am pleased to announce that Ashburnham Place now has its very own bird feeding station, which is situated in the Winter Garden. All credit must go to Trevor for being able to decipher my design drawings, and for building a robust model that, as far as I’m aware, remains completely squirrel proof. The local Tit population were quick to make the most of the increased food and what with Blue, Great and Coal Tit all using the feeders in significant numbers, I am having to top up all four receptacles at least once a week. In addition to the usual suspects mentioned above, I’ve seen Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch using the station, plus the odd Robin and several Pheasants, the latter species picking off any stray bits of food that happens to reach the ground. Here’s to hoping for something a little more interesting; as the weather gets colder who knows, maybe we’ll host some Brambling or even a couple of Hawfinch!







62 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All
Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page