The wait

It’s been a pleasant first 10 days of March. Birding hasn’t exactly been action-packed but there have been bursts of good moments, including a couple of hints of the first spring migration of the year – this despite the weather often being rather wintry. With said migration and, hopefully, the relaxation of rules coming towards the end of the month, there’s only a little more waiting to do before this rather gruelling winter concludes.

A male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker foraging silently in the treetops.

Monday 1st

The fog cleared to bright blue skies as I worked from home, where a heard-only Grey Wagtail was a decent record. Two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls cruised over as well – this species is on the move round about now.

Tuesday 2nd

Overnight, in more north-easterly murk, there’d been a bit of Rallid action with a handful of Moorhens and Coots picked up over the house on noc-mig. I headed to Shackleford in the morning, where visibility was rather poor and the increasing wind made it cold. It was quiet, with a Raven, four gull species (including two Lesser Black-backed), a Stonechat and 12 Linnets highlighting, along with a small flock of 16 Stock Doves on the deck. A Red-legged Partridge sang, too, but I made a swift exit.

While passing along New Pond Road at Compton and Loseley I espied a Little Egret at Mellersh Farm and a Kestrel a little further along. At Snowdenham Mill Pond, a drake and female Gadwall were my first here since mid-February. The Mute Swan pair were back, but the most notable record was three Coot; I haven’t logged the species here since November (it is generally absent in winter), so these birds were presumably associated with the previous evening’s movement.

Wednesday 3rd

I misjudged how thick the fog would be this morning – visibility was down to just a few metres at Tuesley. It was very much a ‘heard-only’ session, though this did include Green Sandpiper – probably the bird that seems to be roosting here this winter. Otherwise it was typically quiet (Tuesley has poor species diversity at the best of times). I called it a day early on and retreated home.

Thursday 4th

More damp and murky conditions so I stayed home. I thought the previous night’s noc-mig may have delivered in such conditions, but a Coot and three Moorhens were the highlights. A Blackbird presumably had a poor night’s shut-eye, given it alarm called several times during the night. The garden Blackcap piped up at lunch time. Presumably he’ll move on soon.

Friday 5th

I headed to Thursley early doors for my first proper session of the week. It ended up being a great morning under blue skies, despite the chilly and breezy north-east wind which kept birdsong at a premium. A Water Rail squealed from Pudmore in the half-light; a further two were at Birchy Pond. Walking across Ockley produced the obligatory Rustic Bunting and two Little Buntings, although the former didn’t sing as much as desired and my recorder stayed in my rucksack. A few Stonechats were dotted about the area too.

Stonechats on the lookout.

Further on, the big Lesser Redpoll flock that’s been building up was located, with some 90 birds present. Including Dave and I last week, a few people have spotted Mealies in this group (Gerry H had three candidates recently) but I failed to pick out any satisfactory individuals today. Several Crossbills were knocking about as well, including clearly paired up birds with singing males. 

There had been an apparent arrival of Chiffchaffs, with three logged across the site my first here this year. Two of these were at Forked Pond, where the Great Crested Grebe pair were back following their winter absence. A much bigger score in this area was a Marsh Tit – this is a tough bird at Thursley and only my second-ever. The habitat around Forked Pond is pretty good, but usually there are only two or three records a year from the site.

Marsh Tit is a Thursley scarcity.

Another decent Thursley bird is Greenfinch, so I was pleased to score two singing males near the village. Other bits included Kestrel, eight Woodlarks and Fieldfare, but only two Dartford Warblers – the latter count not a good haul for a 7 km, three-hour walk on a south-west Surrey heath. I suspect they took a bit of a hit during the cold snap in February. 51 species was the final total this morning.

Saturday 6th

An excellent morning, despite the generally grey and cold weather. While there have been a few spring-like mornings in recent weeks, this was the first that felt like spring migration was actually afoot. I set out from home, walking along the River Wey from Godalming to Unstead, racking up no fewer than 61 species in the process. First up was the Lammas Lands. Here, across both Catteshall and Overgone Meadows, Reed Buntings were prevalent. This species seems to be thriving here and no fewer than four males were in song.

Reed Bunting on the Lammas Lands.

Other bits on Overgone included surprise Red-legged Partridge and Coot, two Chiffchaffs in voice, six Snipe, two Mandarin, a Lesser Redpoll and a Kestrel. There were plenty more Meadow Pipits than of late and a couple of small flocks were acting like migrants. This gave me hope for my wished-for quarry and, lo and behold, I eventually flushed a Water Pipit at range. It flew up high, calling (allowing for a very low-quality recording) and dropped back down some distance away. I couldn’t relocate it. Water Pipit remains a bit of an enigma locally but it’s becoming clear small numbers migrate through the Wey Valley in March and April. This seems logical, given the habitat.

With the wind in my sails, I thought I’d try for Jack Snipe on Catteshall. These efforts too came off – two flushed at ridiculously close range before dropping swiftly back down. After a couple of recent blanks, this was pleasing. A further nine Snipe (at least) brought the total for both meadows up to 15. You have to work for the good birds on the Lammas Lands, but it’s worth it when it delivers. Other notable stuff at Catteshall Meadow included a Kingfisher, a Kestrel pair, three Mandarin, a Coal Tit and two Stonechats. In all, I saw no fewer than 48 species on the Lammas Lands.

Jack Snipe series.

Unstead Water Meadows was quieter – a lack of recent rain has left the site rather dry. A Lesser Redpoll flew over, along with two Mandarin. It was livelier at Unstead SF and the most notable bird was the Cetti’s Warbler, which was singing in the lagoons. A couple of Chiffchaffs were in voice, too, while two Teal flew into the Lagoon, where three Coot were now present. A Reed Bunting sang in South Meadow and again plenty of Redwings were in the trees along Trunley Heath Road, including some singing birds.

It had been a really fun walk and I was buoyed enough by Dave’s news of a Sand Martin at Enton to give Tuesley a go. As it seemingly had been all morning, my luck was in – two Sand Martins were watched for barely a minute before they zipped north. The first hirundine of the year is always a real sight for sore eyes and it certainly put a smile on my face. Furthermore, these were easily my earliest ever Sand Martins in Britain. A Skylark flew south – sadly a rare bird here these days and, amazingly, my first at Tuesley for more than a decade.

My earliest-ever Sand Martin.

With optimism running riot I ambitiously figured a walk around Shackleford could produce an early Wheatear or, better, a Black Redstart. I saw neither but, unlike Tuesley, Shackleford is a site where Skylark is doing exceptionally well – at least 10 birds were singing and I counted a minimum 20 individuals. Many of these will be breeding in a few weeks. A Lapwing in the set aside, a small flock of Fieldfares flying east and 12 or more chattering Linnets were among the birds that meant, by the time I was back for breakfast, I’d seen exactly 70 species, all less than 4 km of home.

Red Kites and Lapwing at Shackleford.

Sunday 7th

Even colder today, with a light frost. I walked The Hurtwood for the first time since 18 November and ended up with a curiously similar line-up of species to that day, with only a couple of birds difference. I hoped for a bit of finch movement with the cloud cover and northerly wind, and indeed there was a steady trickle of Chaffinches going north-east, but no exciting numbers. A Lesser Redpoll also headed that direction. At least six Crossbills included two obvious pairs with the males in song – there will surely be good numbers of this species breeding in the county this spring.

A pair of Bullfinches and a few Siskins, Linnets and Goldfinches completed the Fringillidae line-up. After the cold snap in February I was pleased to see two Dartford Warblers. This species has colonised here following heath restoration in 2018 and 2019 and last year was the first time they were confirmed to have bred. It’s the closest Dartford site to Godalming town centre (just; Witley Common is a similar distance) and one of only four sites in Surrey east of Godalming that supports them.

Dartford Warbler at The Hurtwood.

Passing Dunsfold Aerodrome, it was good to see 12 or more Lapwings in their favoured field, with two birds engaged in display flight. This is the only place in south-west Surrey where breeding is attempted these days. At Thorncombe Street, a Bonhurst Farm circuit was quiet, producing a small flock of Fieldfares and Redwings, a food-carrying Raven and several Rooks sitting on nests. Two pairs of Gadwall and a Tufted Duck were on Snowdenham Mill Pond.

Monday 8th

The Blackcap was singing in the garden early morning. Window observations during the day included Kestrel, Egyptian Goose and Siskin.

Tuesday 9th

A sunny and fresh early spring morning. I did Thursley first thing, where a stroll from the South Bog up to Ockley was quiet. Singing Crossbills and Siskins were of note, along with the big Lesser Redpoll flock (I still couldn’t pick out a Mealy). There was a slightly more pleasing number of Dartford Warblers about, too, including some that were performing display flights. Snipe, Water Rail and three Tufted Duck were on Pudmore.

I stopped at Enton Lakes briefly on the way back. A Gadwall pair and two female Pochard were notable among the Mallards and Tufted Duck. A female Kingfisher was knocking about, a Kestrel pair soared overhead and a Bullfinch called.

Kingfisher and Gadwall pair at Enton.

Wednesday 10th

A Lesser Black-backed Gull flew over the garden early morning.

Hawks and 'peckers

I find wind direction and temperature to be important when looking for these two. There has been barely any suitable weather for Goshawk and I actually haven’t done any checks so far this month – quite unusual for the first 10 days of March. But if the weather isn’t there what can you do?

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker continues to surprise this year – since March started, I’ve discovered birds at a further two locales (one of which was new for me), meaning no fewer than five sites in the local area are holding the species. 

Local 'pecker action.

I think Lesser spots are less rare in much of Surrey than thought. Of course, they have declined a lot, but it seems their inconspicuous nature, strict habitat requirements, tight association with certain times of the year and rather unassuming vocalisations render them especially undetected. That said, I’ve only had pairs at two of these sites and it may well prove that single, unpaired males fill the majority of 'hot-spots'. Lets see how the rest of the season goes.