May's Birds in Ashtead

12th May

Despite a cold winter, there seem to be more goldfinches than usual this spring in Ashtead, in gardens and on the Common, usually in ones and twos but sometimes in ‘charms’. And what colourful birds they are, with that splash of red on their white faces, and bright gold and black wing markings. They have a lilting flight and a lovely song, like the sound of water running over pebbles in a fast-flowing brook. No wonder they used to be caged and kept as songbirds.

27th May

It’s high season for birds on Ashtead Common where, in the course of an hour’s walk, it’s possible to see or hear upwards of 40 different species. Among the most conspicuous are the warblers, all now back from Africa and here to breed. Blackcaps are the most numerous, with more than 20 pairs widely distributed across the Common. Whitethroats, willow warblers and chiffchaffs are back in reasonable numbers, with a handful of garden warblers and lesser whitethroats.

A Blackcap

The Common Cuckoo

First reports of a cuckoo came in on 2nd May and on four dates since, but they don’t appear to have stayed – to the relief, no doubt, of the songbirds in whose nests they usually lay their eggs. Swifts were back on the 6th, though in reduced numbers.

As for house martins, they haven’t been seen in the vicinity of the Common, nor in many of their traditional haunts in Ashtead, for several years. No sound, either, of nightingales, which have not occurred here since May 2006; to hear them you’ll need to visit Bookham Common, though even there numbers are down this year. But well worth the effort, since their song is the most magical of all.

The Nightingale