The Godalming area diary: All quiet on the south-western front

I haven’t got loads to report from the last three weeks, during what’s been a quiet May in south-west Surrey (and indeed nationally). What an odd spring this has been – an exceptionally dry and frosty April followed by what must be one of the wettest Mays on record. Unfortunately I suspect it’ll be a summer of poor breeding success, which sadly has already been evidenced in some species. However, what with various activities – not least socialising! – being back on the cards since the latest lifting of restrictions, a lull in bird activity has actually been quite timely. And the weather has picked up during the last few days, so hopefully the start of June will be decent.

A hunting Hobby.

Tuesday 11th

A walk around Painshill Farm in mild and bright conditions felt birdy, with six species of warbler on offer, including a surprise Reed Warbler. It seems I encounter this species in a whacky location just about annually, and to hear one singing away from a dense hawthorn hedge, far from any water, was most unexpected.

A silent, late migrant Willow Warbler was also about and a Garden Warbler pair included a displaying male (not something I’ve seen in this species before; a rather begging juvenile-like fluttering of wings) but there was no Lesser Whitethroat – after a suite of spring records in 2020, this species has reverted to being a difficult south-west Surrey bird, it seems. Other bits included three Red-legged Partridges, two Nightingales and singles of Cuckoo and Yellowhammer.

Red-legged Partridges in rapeseed.

A quick look at Snowdenham Mill Pond on the way home produced two drake Gadwall and seven Mandarin, including a female with ducklings. A drake Tufted Duck was about as well.

Wednesday 12th

Lesser Black-backed Gull and Bullfinch were notable observations from the kitchen window during the day.

Thursday 13th

It was mild with light rain during a brief look at Tuesley early on, where two Common Sandpipers were present, along with a Lesser Black-backed Gull and six Common Terns.

Friday 14th

A Kestrel flew over the garden mid-morning.

Saturday 15th

A 45-minute stakeout at Tuesley in promising conditions (rain and a south-east wind) flattered to deceive. A Yellow Wagtail over was of note – my latest spring bird in Surrey by six days – but was probably more symptomatic of this cold and slow spring than anything else. A Lesser Black-backed Gull dropped in and a couple of Swallows went through but it was otherwise quiet.

Sunday 16th

Heavy rain in the afternoon was enough to tempt me to Tuesley, where I was rewarded with a smart summer-plumaged Dunlin. It hugged the west shore in foul weather and appeared to be missing an eye, exactly like one I had here on 19 July last year. The same? Quite possibly – and amazing if so. The wonders of migration …

Dunlin action.

The rain had eased by the time I got to Frensham Great Pond for a walk with some friends. Five Hobbies hunting close to the south shore were good entertainment and a Little Egret and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls went over. Some 15 Great Crested Grebes was rather a high count count and the Mute Swan pair were keeping a close eye on their newly-fledged cygnets.

Hobbies and Little Egret.

Monday 17th

I felt for the Farncombe Swifts (of which numbers are still low) during the day as they zipped around miserably in the on and off rain and wind.

Tuesday 18th

I met with Ken and Linda S (of Woodpecker Network fame), as well as Gerry and Graham, mid-morning for a check of some local Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nests. Results were mixed – two had been abandoned, with one apparently flooded out. However, one of the more settled pairs I’ve been watching for several weeks were in the process of laying, and Ken’s camera revealed two eggs in a recently tidied excavation.

These birds have been perfecting this particular hole for a while now and, although this is a very late laying date, it can be explained by the cold, wet and slow spring that seems to have pushed many birds back a few weeks. Fingers crossed – it would be nice to see months of fieldwork pay off with fledged young …

Pecker action (top photo taken in April).

Wednesday 19th

A Sparrowhawk flew over Surrey Sports Park in the evening.

Thursday 20th

It was cool and grey at The Hurtwood early morning. Disappointingly I drew blanks on all three recent colonists – Dartford Warbler, Tree Pipit and Woodlark. All three have been recorded earlier in the season so perhaps the early April-like conditions were keeping them quiet …

Two Cuckoos, including one particularly keen individual, were roving around and there was an excellent number of Garden Warblers and Whitethroats (as can be heard in the background of the below Cuckoo recording). A couple of Willow Warblers were also in voice. I heard two Bullfinches, seven Crossbills included a group of five heading west and a Siskin flew over.

Friday 21st

A Swallow flew over the garden during a very wet and windy day.

Saturday 22nd

No observations of note today!

Sunday 23rd

The Mute Swan pair at Snowdenham Mill Pond were swimming around with six cygnets, which must have hatched in the last couple of days. This species has been documented as breeding here since the 1940s but, after a successful 2014, the nest was predated in 2015. The pair then abandoned the site the following year and this is the first nesting effort since, so it’s good to see it’s been a success.

Happy Mute Swan family.

The drake Gadwall, now in rather heavy eclipse moult, was still present. A Grey Wagtail and two Tufted Duck were also about.

Monday 24th

Singles of Chiffchaff and Bullfinch were calling along the railway line near Farncombe station late afternoon.

Tuesday 25th

A very early start for the second batch of consultancy work in Birmingham city centre, with the survey highlights single flyovers of Peregrine (a female) and Grey Wagtail. Later in the day, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew over Compton village.

Wednesday 26th

I visited Shackleford for the first time in a while early on. It was cool – even a bit chilly in the north-westerly – and quiet, though a family group of five Ravens overhead was nice to see. Five Red-legged Partridges were among the vegetation that has shot up since my last visit, no doubt helped by the heavy rainfall in recent times.

Thursday 27th

I was in the Dunsfold area mid-morning, visiting Lower Barrihurst Farm for the first time. I’ve long wanted to walk this site and thankfully access was arranged today – and what a beautiful area it was. Towering hedgerows, acres of bramble scrub and scattered trees to a backdrop of old farm machinery and lively birdsong made me feel like I was in Eastern Europe.

I was pleased to pin down a male Lesser Whitethroat, though it wasn’t singing much and was quite skulking. After a couple of years of this south-west Surrey enigma being relatively easy to locate, it seems to have reverted to type in 2021 and this is the only record I’m aware of locally this spring. Here and the wider area is the one traditional locale – a pair bred to the north at Painshill Farm in 2020 but seemingly aren’t present this year.

Lesser Whitethroat.

A Cuckoo and two Nightingales were also in voice, as well as good numbers of Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Blackcap. A Bullfinch was also heard.

Friday 27th

I was enjoying a relaxing raptor watching session mid-morning in rather muggy, warm conditions, which had included a male Honey Buzzard among a suite of commoner species. This tranquil session was interrupted by a series of phone calls followed by killer images of nothing less than a Black Stork taken yesterday at Thursley!

Honey Buzzard.

A county third – and the first for 31 years – this record becomes the latest in what has become almost the norm at Thursley these days: mega or local rarities captured by unwitting photographers or visitors (Short-toed Eagle from 2014; Sandwich Tern and Hen Harrier from this year etc). Colin the Cuckoo attracts 10-30 people a day, I reckon, so naturally the extra eyes and lenses will pick stuff out. And what an incredibly cool record this was – a national rarity actually touching down, albeit briefly, on the common. A mixture of both excitement and envy for Jon, the lucky observer.

I held off going for a while but eventually couldn’t resist heading to the common, even though it had almost certainly left the county (Jeremy had a stork species over Frensham some 15 minutes after the bird departed from Thursley in that direction!). I think when you’ve missed a big bird on one of your patches, even if you know it’s gone, you still feel a need to be there. I’m not sure why this is, but in a couple of hours of going through the motions on Shrike Hill and Merlin Mound I picked up the usual fare, including three Hobbies, Crossbill, five Redstarts, Kestrel, Garden Warbler and the male Curlew chasing off a Red Kite.

Later in the day, I had the privilege of watching a Goshawk nest being ringed. I found this site last year and had been keeping a close eye on it this season. Three healthy chicks – two males and a female – were swiftly processed with the adult female watching closely nearby. A truly wonderful experience and perhaps my highlight of the spring – a big thanks to Jeremy for allowing me to attend. A flyover Hawfinch nearby was a surprise as well, and a reminder that this highly elusive species is surely an under-recorded resident of outer Surrey woodland.