Saturday, September 14, 2013
Surrey Hill
We walked from the Lookout down through a drenched Swinley Forest. Pine trees are nice in dull weather because their reddish trunks give the impression the sun is shining. A dozen twittering crossbills were seen flying over the tree-tops near Surrey Hill.
As we came out onto Bagshot Heath a redstart flew past us into a nearby bush. The bracken is turning gold and russet, and the redstart went well with the autumn colours. Greger agreed that the bird's upperparts looked grey, so we supposed it was a first-winter male.
Wishmoor had a big flock of chaffinches, tits, crests, and at least one chiffchaff; but they stayed high and were virtually impossible to see in poor visibility and drizzle. Hunting over the heather were swallows, house martins, and at least two sand martins. Two or three crossbills went over with "chip" calls just south of Lower Star Post.
None of the dogs we encountered bothered us and mountain bikers were mostly friendly, even when we strayed into their area. A good walk after a hectic week.
// posted by Christine @ 9:09 AM 
