Trip reports

Bookham Common - by Frank Clark

Friday, 5 June 2009

This evening walk is generally well attended and by 19.30, 15 of us had assembled at the car park at Hundred Pound Bridge. Bookham Common which is actually split into two areas, Little and Great Bookham Common, is one of the last sites in Surrey where Nightingale can regularly be seen and heard during late spring and early summer -
our target species for the walk. Unfortunately and with much regret, this may be one of the last years that Nightingale are present on this site.

At the end of this year, a planned new service station for the M25 is due to be constructed on Chase Farm, a sixty acre site immediately North of Great Bookham Common. The noise and disturbance from the construction and use of this service station could well drive this amazing song bird from the common. To put things into perspective, the service station is not going to be a small affair. It will have a Texaco garage, motel, shops and parking for 721 cars, lorries and coaches!! This is sad news indeed for everyone who enjoys the common for its peaceful natural beauty.

Going back to the walk, whilst waiting for everyone to arrive, the song of Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Song Thrush greeted us as we got out of our cars. Heading out down the south west path towards Little Bookham Common, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tit, Whitethroat and Garden Warbler also joined the evening chorus. In addition, Song Thrush song seemed to be coming at us from all directions and as we moved further into the common, it was clear that the Song Thrush, at least here, were thriving. On two occasions, a short burst of distant Nightingale song was heard by at least 2 or 3 of the group but the birds never really got going whilst we were there.

Walking around the ponds in the middle of the Great Bookham Common, Grey Heron, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Moorhen were seen. Again a brief burst of Nightingale song had me taking the group back the way we came to see if we could locate this shy individual. We never did find a Nightingale in full song but an amazing Song Thrush had us at least listening to this beautiful song, along with, amongst others the calls of Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird and Nightingale. These songs and calls were regularly interspersed with its usual repeated song notes. If the bird had not been relatively out in the open for us all to see it actually singing, some of the group would have gone away thinking that this particular tree was host to a full song bird choir.

By 21.30, we were all back at the car park and we departed with the distant song of this amazing Song Thrush in our ears. Let's hope in the coming years it does not add car alarms bleeping and mobile phones ringing to its amazing repertoire!!

Frank Clark