Wednesday was unseasonably wet and gloomy. I was working
from home, and given the weather, birds were off the agenda. However, a news flash, couple of
fast-paced conversations with David and Koje and 50 minute drive to the
north-east of the county later, and I found myself looking at a stunning adult,
summer-plumaged Sabine’s Gull at Beddington.
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| Sabine's Gull, Beddington Farmlands, 9/8/2017 |
I got soaked for my troubles, but the rain dripping down my
face was a mere afterthought as I gazed at this rarely seen inland gull,
from just several feet. It really was the entire package – forked tail,
striking wing pattern, yellow tip to the bill – the full works. Wet through, I
got Magnus on the bird, said my goodbyes and returned to a day of work.
Remarkably, Beddington had an adult Sabine’s over last
October, not bad going given that before these last 2, there’d been just 11
Surrey records (and 10 of them came after the great gale of 1987!). So, this
striking individual represented the 12th vice-county bird. Or did it?
A strange quirk of moving out last year is that I now live
just a road down from Brian Milton. Brian is an individual, and one that
perhaps divides opinion. He is known in the Surrey birding world for a few
things, among them his intense dedication to his patch at Unstead (he did just
under 5,000 consecutive daily visits once). For me, and I know my friend Sam at
least, he was an almost mentor-like figure when we were kids, a provider of epic local patch tales,
and a finder of simply wondrous birds. Birds that, for the most part, the
records of which will upsettingly be lost for good. And it all started with a Sabine’s
Gull.
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| Sabine's Gull, Beddington Farmlands, 9/8/2017 |
It’s 07:35 on July 3rd 1999. Birding downtime at
Unstead. The site was enjoying a good year so far – a flock of 50+ Kittiwakes,
Willow Tit and Merlin the standouts, but with avian activity experiencing its
summer lull neither Brian nor Jonathan Winder (an ex-Unstead stalwart who now
resides in Sussex), could have imagined what they were about to see. An adult,
summer-plumaged Sabine’s Gull, which drifted south over their heads and away
(no doubt straight over the Ridge, sadly 8-year old me wasn’t there to see it).
Before this day, both Brian and Jonathan had more than
respectable lists of finds at the sewage farm. Indeed, less than 12 months
before, Brian found Surrey’s 3rd Red-necked Phalarope, a bird that
was enjoyed by over 120 people. They enjoyed good, 'scope views of this gull, a bird
that’s relatively easy to identify in its summer attire. The previous night, thunderstorms
had swept across the south-east, and a Great Skua appeared at not so far away
Eversley gravel pits on the same day as the Sabine’s, with a noted movement of
Black-headed Gulls taking place at Unstead.
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| Red-rumped Swallow, Unstead, 8/7/2011. Picture thanks to Neil Randon. |
This record was deemed unproven by the Surrey Bird Club
rarities committee, and in my mind it marked the beginning of the end of
Unstead. At that point the Unstead Bird and Wildlife Group (UBWG), who’d spent
years successfully campaigning Thames Water to create a reserve (including a
hide, tern rafts etc), became disillusioned with the rarity submission process,
and decided to stop putting in any further records.
In time, a myriad of other problems, not least the breaking
up of the UBWG, have culminated in Unstead being little more than an overgrown
mess now. The hide is in disrepair, the North Meadow, formerly an open marsh
teeming with life, is a willow swamp, and the lagoons are essentially weed
fields. This site, rich in history and fantastic birds (Lesser Yellowlegs,
Pectoral Sandpiper, Purple Heron, Spotted Crakes among the accepted ones),
surely has no return ticket to its halcyon days. Even Brian, who has had an
incredible 193 birds at Unstead, spends increasingly less time there.
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| North Meadow, Unstead, in 2008. This area is now covered in Willows, and the hide is falling apart. |
The Sabine’s tale is one Brian has relayed to me time and
time again. When I bumped into him a couple of days ago, I knew what I was in
for when I told him about my recent trip to Beddington. He certainly remains
hurt by that decision, and I’ve no doubt he regrets how his serious
stubbornness has left him refusing to submit anything else. Most of his
rarities have been single observer flyovers, sightings that, wherever in the
world, can prove contentious.
Interestingly, birds he’s found (post-Sab's) that have stuck,
and thus been enjoyed by others, all seem to have found their way into the Surrey Bird
Club records - Pectoral Sandpiper, Spotted Crake and Red-rumped Swallow are 3
such examples. The last two came in this decade, and presumably, other observers
submitted these.
A delve into the old Surrey Birders Yahoo group reveals
scepticism among some in regard to Brian and his records. Given his proven
track record, and thoroughness, it’s both surprising and sad to read. I
remember vividly his anger at not being able to nail what was either a Short or
Long-eared Owl, neither of which had been recorded at Unstead at the time, as
well as his 3 probable Gannets that flew over the same day 3 passed over Beddington.
He is thorough, and would never claim anything if he wasn’t certain. And most
of all, given his lack of desire for credit, why would he claim fraudulent
birds? He’d be mugging only himself off.
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| Spotted Crake, Unstead, September 2010. This bird was present for 11 days, but news only got out (inadvertently) after the first week, with Brian controversially having no intention of making it public. Picture thanks to Kevin Guest. |
I sympathise with him. I’ve had records not accepted, and
it’s frustrating at least, discouraging and disillusioning at worst. There’s a
huge argument for why not submitting any records just because you’ve had one
not proven is the wrong attitude to take, and that the UBWG/Brian perhaps threw
their toys out the pram.
I for one am simply sad there was never any solution
that could have resolved the tricky situation. Brian’s told me that he was
informed a re-submission, with a couple of tweaks, would have passed, but a man
like him was having none of it – he couldn’t lie about what features he did or
didn’t see. It left the permanent detachment of one of the county’s finest
birders, but more importantly a gaping hole in the Surrey history books.
Below is a list of, as far as I can see, all the rarities
that'll never see the light of day because of this sorry story (not to
mention the breeding data and declining species records). One day I’ll dedicate
much more to the history of Unstead, and what a magical site it once was.
Sadly, the way things are going, it’ll probably be an obituary.
1999 – Sabine's Gull, Little Gull, Iceland Gull and Wryneck.
2000 – Black Kite and Icterine Warbler.
2005 – Purple Heron and Grey Phalarope.
2006 – Spoonbill and Long-tailed Skua.
2008 – Common Crane.
2009 – Rough-legged Buzzard.
2010 – Honey-buzzard and Guillemot.
2012 – Montagu’s Harrier and Iceland Gull.
2013 – Honey-buzzard and Little Gull.
2014 – Short-toed Eagle.
2015 - Great White Egret.
