Buffers, then a bolt from the blue

Following the excitement of March and April, things have hit the buffers somewhat in May in south-west Surrey. The first week or two of this month are reliably good fun, or at least turn up a decent variety of birds, but it's been desperately quiet this year – migration seems to have ended rather abruptly. I've not even seen a Common Sandpiper or Wheatear this month! Then, out of nowhere and amid this lull, a very special local bird turned up ...

Hoopoe.

Monday 1st

I wandered up to Eashing Fields mid-morning, where it was overcast. A few Swifts were zipping about, some heading north. Better still was a Cuckoo that dashed silently north-west – an Eashing Fields tick and smart 1-km record.

Cuckoo.

Tuesday 2nd

A grey, cool morning didn't feel especially May-like on the Lammas Lands. Birding was quiet, too, though I was pleased to see a/the Sedge Warbler back on Catteshall Meadow, singing away in the same area as last year's male. A late Snipe and a fetching-looking Little Egret were other bits of note.

After work I did a little 1-km session, which was most enjoyable. A Garden Warbler singing in the village was the first Eashing record of the year and likely a passage bird; a further two (a pair) were back on territory near Eashing Marsh, too.

Garden Warbler.

An early Spotted Flycatcher was a nice surprise at Greenways Farm – a typically brief first of the year encounter. Other bits included a Little Egret upriver, two screaming Swifts over Peper Harrow and stumbling upon an active Sparrowhawk nest.

Wednesday 3rd

It was bright and a little misty at Thursley this morning, where migration action was fairly limited during an otherwise enjoyable session. Two Yellow Wagtails over Pudmore highlighted; an unseasonal count of 10 Tufted Duck was also made here, with a drake Teal and a Snipe present too.

Teal.

Other bits of note among 54 species included Hobby, two Garden Warblers and plenty of second brood Woodlarks back in song. A distant Cuckoo was in song, but it seems safe to now say that 'Colin', the famous Thursley bird, is no more …

Cormorants.

A Little Egret low north over the house was only a second garden record at lunchtime.

Thursday 4th

A warm, rather muggy lunchtime walk to Eashing Farm was quiet, though I did finally get House Martin on my 1-km year list – number 95.

Friday 5th

A typically fleeting Dunlin was the highlight of a visit to Tuesley this morning. The bird flew through ahead of one of a several light showers which failed to produce anything else of note, aside a flock of 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls north.

Dunlin.

In the early evening I did a quick walk at Unstead Water Meadows, in warm, breezy conditions. Ray B found a Nightingale here on 23 April and it's held territory since – a very cool record of a species that bred here until the 1970s. I only managed a few croaks and whistles in the bird's favoured area of scrub. 

A Sedge Warbler was giving it large in a nearby bramble thicket too. It seems to be a good spring for them.

Saturday 6th

A 1-km session this morning along was firmly on the quiet side, with a Whitethroat at Peper Harow (I've not previously recorded this species here) and a Little Egret downriver over Greenways. The latter must surely be breeding nearby these days …

Sunday 7th

A warm, hazy afternoon visiting family in Sussex allowed for a short diversion to Medmerry, where a female Kentish Plover had been found earlier on. The bird – only my second in the UK – afforded fairly good views on Stilt Pools.

Kentish Plover.

Other bits among a total of 64 species logged during a pleasant walk included Grey Partridge, six Avocets, Hobby, Yellow Wagtail and Rock Pipit.

Monday 8th

It was rather grey and gloomy this morning, and an hour and a half at Shackleford was firmly on the quiet side. That said, presumably the same Lesser Whitethroat as on 30 April was still present, rattling away with gusto at the southern end of the farm. The hedgerows here seem tall and dense enough to support breeding lesser 'throats, so fingers crossed …

Lesser Whitethroat.

There was little else to write home about, though, with two Red-legged Partridge pairs and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls of some note.

An early afternoon check of Frensham Great Pond in breezy conditions produced some 100 Swifts and nearly double the number of Sand Martins.

Tuesday 9th

After a morning in which I didn't get out, and during a run of very quiet birding action in Surrey, it's safe to say an early afternoon BirdGuides report of a Hoopoe at Frensham Little Pond came as a bolt from the blue! I abandoned my 1 pm meeting and headed right down, hoping to get there before the rain.

Having got some firm gen from the finder (Penny Dixie, a visiting birder), I teamed up with Josephine around the south-western end of the pond. Initially there was no sign, but then the flash of orange-pink with black and white wings exploded from the heather. Hoopoe!

Early views of the Hoopoe.

I beckoned Josephine over, and the bird performed well for a few minutes, foraging along a sandy path. We got really mega views until it eventually flew to a tree. From then on, it became curiously erratic – and even started singing, which I didn't expect.

Hoopoe.

The first other twitchers didn't arrive until about an hour after me, so for the most part it was an intimate, peaceful encounter. It sounded like it became rather more elusive later on, but plenty of folks connected by dusk.

I've always wanted to find a Hoopoe locally – and maybe I one day shall – but today I was chuffed to have connected. It's not a Surrey tick, but is number 191 for my south-west Surrey list, edging me closer to my goal of 200. With nearly 40 records and one as recently as 2020, Hoopoe may not be a south-west Surrey mega, but it's a very special bird to see locally.

Hoopoe.

Other bits of note included singles of Redstart, Common Tern, Reed Warbler and Tree Pipit, two each of Siskin and Willow Warbler and a showy Hobby.

Robins.

Wednesday 10th

It was back to the steady pace this morning, with a two-hour session at Thursley giving off an end of season feel. The highlight was a Spotted Flycatcher singing and showing briefly at Crossbill Corner, with a drake Teal at Pudmore, two Cuckoos and a male Dartford Warbler taking food to a nest notable as well. I also bumped into Penny, the Hoopoe finder from yesterday.

Thursday 11th

Despite the light rain there was lots of breeding activity along the Wey at Eashing this morning, with nine species seen carrying food and a further two visiting nest sites. A second male Whitethroat was in – at Eashing Copse – and perhaps a new Garden Warbler was singing near Greenways.