All photos are copyright Allan or Cathy Murrant unless otherwise stated.
We flew to London, UK the morning of Sunday, May 1,2022. We arrived 9pm and headed to a friends in Ashvale, UK.
May 2, We woke up early and looked out our bedroom window into the garden our first bird was the Common Blackbird.
Common Blackbird
We walked the canal in Ashvale and we visited the Rural Life Living Museum, Tilford, Farnham, UK. We were very lucky to find a Tawny Owl but in the excitement we forgot our camera so this photo was taken with a phone.
Tawny Owl
We also visited Frensham Little Pond, Farnham,UK. Walking around this area we were thrilled by the number of new birds we were seeing. Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit,and Blue Tit all in a matter of minutes.
Great Tit
May 3, We went to Tice's Meadow to walk the trails. We saw many lifers including Jackdaw, Mute Swan, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Jay, Little Ringed Plover, Common Wood pigeon, Gray Heron, Rook, Carrion Crow, Blackcap, Reed Bunting, Common Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, and Dunnock.
Common Wood Pigeon are a very large pigeon.
May 4th, We went to Portsmouth, UK to see the Mary Rose and the Victory. We saw Mediterranean Gull and White Wagtail.
White Wagtail
May 5th, We stayed in the Ashvale area and walked the Basingstoke Canal in both directions. A few highlights for the day was Song Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Song Thrush
Great Spotted Woodpecker
May 6th, We travelled on the electric train from Ashvale to Alton. When we exited the train we met a worker that saw our binoculars and proceeded to tell us the best birding areas. We were very impressed by the knowledge that the average person had of birds. It was so helpful to have so much guidance on our trip. He also tipped us off to where to find a Little Grebe. Little Grebe is the smallest of the grebes and can be mistaken for a duckling. When I first saw it that is what I thought.
Little Grebe
May 7th and 8th We stayed close to where we were staying walking the Canal and the Ash Ranges, Guildford,Surrey. The Ash Ranges are owned by the Ministry of Defence and cared for by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. One of the prettiest birds we saw was the Eurasian Jay.
Eurasian Jay
May 9 We left for the Lake District and stayed in Windermere, UK. On our drive we saw Red Kite 15+ along the highway.
Red Kite
May 10th to 12th We spent the next few day exploring in this area. Eurasian Oystercatcher and Northern Lapwing were among the first birds we saw on our first day.
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Northern Lapwing
Grizedale Forest, Lake District, UK. At the Vistor Center we were directed to a bridge over a small brook that passes along the side of the center. From the bridge we were told we could see White-throated Dipper. We were thrilled to see this species. We also saw Spotted Flycatcher and Eurasian Siskin near the brook.
White-throated Dipper
Spotted Flycatcher
Eurasian Siskin
May 12th We left for Ashvale stopping at Leighton Moss, UK. The highlights we had Pied Avocet and Common Redhank.
Pied Avocet
Common Redshank
May 14th We visited RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley, Woking, UK. The highlights were Stock Dove and Rose-ringed Parakeet no photo.
Stock Dove
May 16th Thursley National Nature Reserve, Godalming, UK. This was a very good day we had Common Cuckoo, Stone Chat, 7 Dartford Warblers, Common Redstart, and Coal Tit.
European Stonechat
Dartford Warbler
Common Redstart
May 18th Stonehenge, Amesbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7DE. We saw a Rook at Stonehenge, they were sitting on the posts right beside us. A kettle of Common Buzzard flew over and Skylark were flying around the fields.
Rook
Rook
May 18th Slimbridge Wetland Centre. The highlight for the day was also the highlight of our trip the Common Kingfisher.
Common Kingfisher
May 19th Windsor Castle and a stop at Virginia Water Lake, Windsor Great Park, Surrey. Windsor Castle we had Sparrowhawk, Common Swift and Common House Martin. Virginia Water Lake we had Common Kingfisher, Egyptian Goose, Mandarin Duck and Grey Heron.
Egyptian Goose
Mandarin Duck
May 20th to the 24th We birded not to far from where we stayed. One day we spent walking around London. We had seen some species almost everywhere we went. Eurasian Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Common Pochard, Common Shelduck, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, European Goldfinch, Black-headed Gull, Common Moorhen, Grey Heron, Eurasian Nuthatch, Grey Wagtail, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Common Chaffinch, Common Kestrel, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Blackcap and Eurasian Wren.
Eurasian Coot
Great Crested Grebe
Common Pochard
Common Shelduck
Greylag Goose
Mute Swan
European Goldfinch
Grey Heron
Eurasian Nuthatch
Grey Wagtail
Eurasian Collared Dove
Common Magpie
Western Jackdaw
Common Chaffinch
Common Kestrel
Dunnock
Blue Tit
Blackcap
Eurasian Wren
We ended our trip with 88 species, 72 lifers, 47 new species photographed. European Robin was seen everywhere and was very friendly. I always wanted to see one and it didn't disappoint.
