Patch Birding - Cranbrook, Devon, UK

Another very wet week, limited my 5 daytime dog walks on the patch beneath waterproofs most days again. On Monday night into Tuesday, we had an exceptional rainfall event (Storm Chandra) when around 50 mm of rain fell within 12 hours, and resulted in some of the most severe flooding in Devon in the past 30 years. Out local streams that run through my patch respond very quickly (both rising and falling) peaked in the overnight hours, but I did pop down to Clyst Honiton a couple of miles west of my patch to watching the exceptional flood peak pass on the River Clyst (with the gauge recording the highest level on record). Although I was unable to see the flood peak live in Cranbrook, I did get out in the subsequent days to see the damage done to the Country Park by the flooding. The newly expanded lake (with bare banks) became a river channel, with the inflows and outflows at either end of the lake damaging the banks, paths and drainage works considerably. Such a shame as I was hoping thi...

Well, what a week of weather!  Nearly 3 inches of rain, and spread out perfectly to colour every dog walk (bird watch) I went on this week. It's been a challenge to get my waterproofs dry between walks! As a glasses wearer it was another week of much hunkering down under a hat, hood and full waterproofs which make seeing and hearing the birds a real challenge. Let alone getting around with several of my planned routes blocked by flooding from swollen streams, or just large / deep pools of standing water beyond the height of my walking boots...and on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th, it was even too windy to keep my hat on! Walking in the rain (again), a theme of this last week. I thought I'd have a reasonable chance of adding at least one of the semi-common ones that have remained off the patch so far this year, including a Feral Pigeon , Nuthatch , Treecreeper , Grey Wagtail ,  Mallard ,  Mute Swan , and a Grey Heron. But alas, no success this week. Among my 6 largely soggy...

After a cold start to January, the weather warmed up in week 3, and rain was plentiful. As a glasses wearer, this meant a challenging week for observing birds with many walks hunkered down with by glasses beneath a baseball cap (the keep the rain off them), and a hood over my head (combining with the wind to limit what I could hear). Sunday the 11th saw a short walk through just the ecopark and down to the education campus in strong winds and rain / drizzle, the birds largely adapted my approach, mostly being hunkered down too! It was nice to see a Meadow Pipet again, and great to see the recent ice having melted from the ponds that the Moorhen was back in the water rather than walking around on the ice.   Cloudy and breezy summed up Monday the 12th with the chance to work a fairly expansive part of central and eastern Cranbrook at a steady pace. A cracking tally for the day adding Stock Dove to the list in the SE corner of the Great Meadow, and then a real treat. Crossing o...

I managed my first, and likely last for a while trip around my so called "Rockbeare Loop" on Sunday the 4th January. I love this little 3 mile route, as it maximised my time out gets in the countryside and away from housing. A nice walk though with several new species added to the patch list. On Gribble Lane a  Common Buzzard was sat in a tree, Eurasian Jay seen likely helping itself to one of its acorn caches, and multiple Common Linnets  with some birds singing in trees to the east. I only came across Linnets half a dozen times on the patch last year, with no sightings until May in 2025. While on Rockbeare Manor permissive paths, two Goldcrest foraging low in scrub beneath the recently coppiced trees gave great views (within 5 metres), a Song Thrush was foraging in leaves, and a gang of Rooks passed overhead calling. On Monday 5th January, only a short walk around the Ecology Park at lunch time. It felt quiet in terms of bird life (I often think there is a midday slu...

 I'll run my weeks Sunday to Saturday as it fits with my typical working week (often Friday and Saturday are my days off). Many of the more abundant / obvious / regular species on the patch (but often not the same actual birds season to season) will be quickly seen in the initial days and weeks. And there will likely be few new species to add until the spring migrants begin to appear back. But for me it's the watching, more than the ticking that I enjoy. It's been a cold start to the year, with overnight frosts and days that have remained below 5 C. There still appears to be plenty of berries and seeds on the trees and bushes. I've managed two walks in the patch with Ollie (the dog). 1st January : I managed a 2.5 miles loop linking the Ecology Park, Long and Great Meadows, including the fenced edge of the recently enlarged / barren lake (have the catchy name "Surface Water Attenuation Bason Number 5") in the mid-late afternoon of a cold but sunny day. Highligh...

My 2026 patch, a 1 mile radius from home Around a year ago I returned to bird watching after a 5-6 year break. Time pressures of family life meant some of my other hobbies were unsustainable, and bird watching just fitted into my daily routine of walking my dog (Ollie). And a 1 mile radius includes all the circular (~3 mile) walks I can do from home within the hour. The local 1 mile radius patch for 2026 I've had a great year in the local area, and this year have decided to try and document what lives in a passes through a new town / housing estate / and neighbouring village bordered by arable land in Southwest England in 2026. Cranbrook Cranbrook feels a fairly special place for nature for a new town, large sections of the town are flood plain, hence it can't be built on, and has become a Cranbrook Country Park and nature reserve . It's 35 hectares (and in the plans set to grow) and has a nice range of habitats, streams, lakes, ponds (including small reed beds), scrapes, v...