Nonsuch Park

[David Campbell]

I just thought I would start the patch section off by telling you a bit about my local patch, Nonsuch Park
I have been going there for quite a while now and it has turned up a couple of good birds, well, for the area at least.
It is mainly scrub and feilds, with a maintained garden and a couple of small ponds. There is also some woodland and playing fields.
The no dogs areas seem to turn up the best birds (no surprises there). With the best two of the three best birds turning up there: Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and Northern Wheatear.
The most enjoyable birds ever seen there were the juvenile Hobby which was present from the 9th September to the 23rd. It showed very well in a confier for 40 minutes when we first found it! The other was the female Lesser-spotted Woodpecker which I found in the first no dogs area and it showed well for about 5 minutes before flying off.
The Nonsuch list stands at 52, which is descent considering it is a busy public park.
If your interested you can see http://nonsuchbirder.blogspot.com for photos and reports, I am just posting a showcase of Nonsuch part right now.
The official list is on http://birdsofnonsuch.blogspot.com

[AndyB]

Hi David, just been reading your blog. What a great local ptach you have and some superb photos. That Hobby is a great record and I know the feeling of plugging away at a local patch and suddenly find something unexpected. Very exciting and makes all those days when you see nothing worthwhile.

[Nighthawk]

Hi David, a great blog with some very good birds for your patch. I won't admit that I went green about the sighting of the LS Woodpecker, but I'd dearly love to see one, though no such luck as yet. A great idea about leaving some areas dog-free, a shame all reserves aren't the same so that both lots of people can enjoy themselves without the dog owners being frowned upon (unless they don't 'pick up') or birders/walkers having their passion spoilt by others.

Thanks for the photos too.

[DDolan1075]

Just going through some older discussions and wanted to bring up one of my favorite "patches". Actually, I am not 100% sure what a patch is but I am assuming that it is a place that you bird regularly. That being said, I bird while I golf (keeps me busy and not thinking how slow the foursome is in front of me). I carry binoculars and my camera. I get some really good birds, but I can't stay to watch, hence the camera. I have one course that I play fairly regularly (almost every friday). So I guess that this is my patch.

This is about the only place that I get Roadrunners. I have seen Bald Eagles, Osprey, Egrets and Herons, as well the passerines (Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Phoebes,Sparrows, Warblers,etc) and Woodpeckers (are they passerines too?), including Redheads, Red Bellieds, Downy, and Pileateds.

I have a little discussion about one of my days there at my blog:
http://www.surfbirds.com/blog/DDolan1075/9788/Golfing+and+Birding.html

Hope that you like it.