For the past few years most of my birding has been local. Occasional forays down to places like Selsey and Portland being the exception to that rule.
However, I've never properly worked a local patch...until now. Inspired by the book 'The Complete Guide to Patch Birding' by Ed Stubbs, I've decided to put a bit of serious effort into it. First of all, there's what I call my local area. This will be a 10km radius from where I live. Within that then I've identified several 'local patches'. Basically, the back garden (and the skies above it), the local canal towpath, the local area of sandy heathland that is within walking distance, the local park, an area of two old gravel pits and a small nature reserve about three hundred yards from the house. Its a mixture of suburban parkland, mature garden, riparian habitat (if a canal qualifies as that) and a rather large area of proper sandy heathland. I can walk to each local patch, no need to drive or even cycle.
So far it's the back garden that has probably been watched (and listened to) the most and has not disappointed. A hot late summer day in August delivered a male Hen Harrier high over the garden.
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| Male Hen Harrier - 21st August 2026 |
In mid-August I began a routine of getting up early, brewing myself a strong coffee and sitting out in the garden from 6:30am onwards hoping for a flyover Yellow Wagtail or Tree Pipit. I got neither of those but scored garden gold with this female type Pied Flycatcher.
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| Female-type Pied Flycatcher - 24th August 2026. |
Other highlights included an adult Hobby dashing through the garden on several occasions.
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| Adult Hobby |
Plus juvenile Willow Warbler, Blackcaps and Chiff-chaffs (locally bred or migrants) and a flock of four Egrets which I strongly suspect were Cattle Egrets. At the nearby gravel pits I dug out a couple of Spotted Flycatchers.
I've been nocmigging since the end of July. It was initially quiet but August has been a great month. A small of flock of Knot (locally rare) flew over on the 21st August.
A Curlew Sandpiper (a description species for Surrey) passed over on 4th August and a Sandwich Tern the same night.
Other wader species have included Common and Green Sandpipers, Oystercatcher, Whimbrel and Little Ringed Plover.
On the nights of the 23rd and 24th August I had multiple Ortolan Bunting 'plik' calls. I 'mashed' together all the calls from those two nights into the recording below.
Tree Pipit passage started lightly but has built up going into September and another Ortolan flew over on the 9th September. Here's one of the better Tree Pipit recordings.
And here's the Ortolan Bunting.
I'll keep working the local patches as September wears on taking a brief break for a trip to my beloved Cape Clear Island off the coast of West Cork in October. Watch this space for more updates.
