Peeking through

The last 10 days have steadily warmed up. The period started off freezing cold as the mid-month snap of hard weather continued. Since then the days have become greyer and milder, culminating in today which reached 10°C. A few signs of spring have peeked through as a result, but birding has been decidedly steady and wintry for the most part.

Little Owl.

Sunday 22nd

This morning's freezing fog had burned off by the time I went for a short walk along the river early afternoon. I was pleased to score a Water Rail at Eashing Marsh – I only managed three 1-km records last year. A Fieldfare near Eashing Bridge was also notable as I rarely see them along the Wey or in the village.

Monday 23rd

A freezing cold but sunny morning, with the temperature as low as -7°C early on. I ended up having an excellent 1-km session, starting along the river where three Goosander and a drake Teal were flushed from the Wey. The former species presumably gets along this stretch occasionally during hard weather, with my only other record during the December freeze. Some 90 Chaffinches and seven Skylarks at A3 Fields were noteworthy too.

A3 Fields.

I then popped up to Eashing Fields, hoping perhaps for a Lapwing on the move in the hard weather. As I scanned the skies from Top Field I did indeed pick up a black and white bird in flight – a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! The bird alighted in some trees for a short while before disappearing.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

What a crazy record; LSW is one of the last species I ever thought I'd see at Eashing Fields. Presumably the bird was roving around in search of food … and the direction it came from suggested it may even have passed through my garden (where the feeders had been freshly topped up that morning)!

Tuesday 24th

Two Bullfinches and a Green Woodpecker were the headliners at Eashing Fields this morning – both seem to be rare here, curiously, these being only my third records of each species. The green-ringed Kestrel, a Reed Bunting and my first singing Chaffinch of the year were also noted.

Wednesday 25th

No birding.

Thursday 26th

Grey skies and a chilly northerly wind greeted me at Shackleford this morning, which was much quieter than last week. There's been no sign of the Corn Buntings since 19th and, while they were super elusive and could reappear, they've probably moved on, making the record all the more mysterious. I suspect they came in during the December freeze (or possibly the lesser one recently), both of which saw Skylark numbers spike here. I counted 50 today, down from 110 last Thursday.

Other bits included seven Red-legged Partridges, 11 Reed Buntings and a new south-west Surrey record count of 19 Ring-necked Parakeets (gulp). Disappointingly there were no Lapwings – the birds last week must have been weather related. With the development of the arable fields at Dunsfold Park underway, 2022-23 is the first winter in my life that there's no regular (or even semi-regular) flock in south-west Surrey …

Red Kite and Carrion Crow.

Friday 27th

No birding.

Saturday 28th

Another grey, rather cold morning. I walked around the Devil's Punch Bowl first thing and there were pleasing numbers of common species around, although winter finches were conspicuous by their absence – not a single Siskin or redpoll were detected. So it was a little odd that I counted 10 Greenfinches, a species not associated with habitat like this and one I rarely see in double-figures these days.

Two Ravens, three Dartford Warblers and a single Marsh Tit were some of the other noteworthy species enjoyed.

Devil's Punch Bowl.

I walked around Peper Harow mid-afternoon and was treated to a nice encounter with the Little Owl pair – a species rarely seen in the daytime these days. Some 75 Meadow Pipits were quite unexpected and, rather grimly, is my biggest local count this winter.

Little Owl.

Sunday 29th

Eight Tufted Duck was my highest count at Snowdenham Mill Pond for a few years this morning. It's odd to think up to 40 wintered here when I moved back from university in 2015 and I'm not sure why they've dropped off … six Gadwall, five Teal and nine Mandarin – including displaying drakes – were also present.

I then plumped for something a bit different and walked the Loseley/south Guildford part of the North Downs and onto Loseley Park. It was rather windy and quiet on the downs – this stretch is a shining example of decimated Surrey farmland, with flailed, skeleton hedgerows and few birds. Four Skylarks and a Reed Buntings were virtually all I mustered. It's hard to imagine breeding Stone-Curlews here in the early 1900s, Cirl Buntings until the 1960s and Corn Buntings until the 1980s. Oh for a time machine …

The southern slopes of the North Downs at Loseley.

Later in the morning I took up Kit's offer of a trip to Staines Reservoirs for the wintering Lesser Scaup. As a vice-county birder I rarely reach this part of modern Surrey – it's a bleak place at the best of times and I haven't visited since February 2018 (for the Horned Lark). 

After securing stratospherically distant views of the scaup (only my second in the UK), plus slightly better ones of two Black-necked Grebes, a Water Pipit, 12 Goldeneye and three Shelduck, we headed home.

Monday 30th

No birding.

Tuesday 31st

Matt and I took a break from a day of working on our book (nearly finished!) by popping up to Eashing Fields late morning. The male Peregrine that's wintering in the wider area flew over Top Field – my second sighting here this year. A female Sparrowhawk unsuccessfully tried to take a Redwing from Bottom Field and the green-ringed Kestrel passed through.

Peregrine.

Floods, frost and a shock at the Shack

There's been a distinct contrast in the weather during the last 10 days. The first five were as they have been since Christmas – wet, mild and quiet on the bird front. This led to the most significant local flooding of the winter. However, a sharp cold spell set in from Tuesday. Although this was always likely to improve birding, I never expected it to produce what may well prove to be my local find of the year …

Drake Pochard.

Thursday 12th

No birding.

Friday 13th

I only managed 33 species during a short walk along the river this morning, but there were a couple of highlights. Best of all was three Teal roosting at Milton Pool – I had just three records in the 1-km last year. Further up in Milton Wood was a quietly calling Firecrest.

Firecrest and Teal.

Saturday 14th

A quick walk around Eashing Fields at midday produced an adult Peregrine north – probably the same bird that seems to be wintering along the Godalming stretch of the Wey Valley. A Stonechat pair in Bottom Field were my first here since 13 December and a green-ringed male Kestrel (one of Jeremy's birds) was hunting over Scrub Strip.

Peregrine.

Sunday 15th

I joined Sam on a late morning trip for the Hampshire Sabine's Gull at Southmoor – a wonderfully showy adult that was worth the half-hour journey down the A3. The only other adult I've seen was the Beddington individual in August 2017 (one of the best birds on my Surrey list). 

Sabine's Gull.

We didn't hang around too long, but did note a Great Northern Diver, two Red-breasted Merganser and a few Goldeneye offshore.

Monday 16th

No birding. 

Tuesday 17th

A hard frost coated the ground this morning, the first for a month as temperatures plummeted overnight. I checked Tuesley first, where the presence of a Green Sandpiper was doubtless due to the frigid conditions. Some 29 Coot were tallied up too – a high count.

I walked through Eashing Fields on the way home. A male Stonechat was in Top Field and 35 Linnets were roving around.

Stonechat.

I went for a short walk after dark and was rewarded with a Barn Owl over Lower Eashing Meadows. It was made all the more special by the atmospheric torchlight views as it carefully quartered over the twinkling, icy ground.

Wednesday 18th

The frost was thawing by lunchtime when I got to Frensham Great Pond, which was only 30% frozen. Duck numbers were still rather low, although a smart drake Goosander was on the south side, with a redhead tucked into the north-west corner.

Goosander.

A drake Gadwall was also of note but I only counted three Pochard – all drakes. Two Kingfishers and 45 Tufted Duck were present as well.

Pochard and Tufted Duck.

Thursday 19th

A morning to remember at Shackleford, where another hard frost gripped the landscape. As I reached Chalk Lane – and the end of my walk – I was feeling most content at the birds I'd seen. This included a decent count of 110 Skylarks, four Lapwings, 11 Red-legged Partridges, 60 Fieldfares and 18 Reed Buntings. 

Four Stonechats in the winter crop here (triticale) bumped the morning's count up to six and made me wonder if either of the wintering Dartford Warblers were about. After a short wait, I heard one calling and soon the male revealed itself in the hedgerow. When I took my bins off the warbler, I saw a very plump bunting sat on the front of the hedge. I raised my binoculars again – and was stunned to see the hefty proportions, streaky plumage and heavy bill of a Corn Bunting!

Initial views of the first Corn Bunting.

I scrambled to get my camera and fire off some shots. The bird seemed unfussed as I rattled of some images. I stopped for a second before another shockwave – a second Corn Bunting was sat on top of the hedge. I got some photos of that bird before they both took off – with a third individual! What on earth was going on.

Corn Buntings.

As they flew they called, which helped erase the extreme incredulity that had been running through my mind. Peter was the first person I phoned; as it happened he wasn't far away. After a bit of a mad dash he joined me and managed to connect with the birds, which had become elusive. We had a couple more brief perched views before they disappeared again. Time was ticking and I had to go, leaving Peter to it and putting the news out. There was no further sign by the rest of the day, with a few people looking …

Corn Buntings.

Corn Bunting is a full-fat Surrey rarity now – it's been extinct as a breeding bird since the early 1990s and there have been a handful of records since the Millennium. The last twitchable bird was at Canons Farm in 2010. As a species that doesn't move around – and the fact the nearest populations to Surrey are along the Hampshire and Sussex South Downs and near Dartford – it's one that I genuinely never thought I would see in south-west Surrey (and may even struggle to see anywhere in the county).

Yet here were three – three! – and on my Shackleford patch to boot. A simply extraordinary occurrence. Where had these birds come from? Will they stick around? A total bolt from the blue in this passerine-poor winter, it just shows that you have to keep plugging away with local birding: anything, any time, can happen. This is a very welcome Surrey tick for me (231) and number 190 for my south-west Surrey list, where it is the first record since July 1994. Amazing …

Shackleford sunrise.

Friday 20th

The buntings went AWOL not long after I left yesterday with a few people dipping. As a result, I was back at Shackleford this morning where I met Dave – and after only a short while we had the three Corn Buntings briefly in flight. A Surrey tick for Dave, they then disappeared once more and we didn't see them in the following hour (though a few folks connected later on).

Other bits of note took on a similar shape to yesterday: 11 Lapwings, a single Red-legged Partridge, 100 Skylarks, 50 Fieldfares and one of the Dartford Warblers. More unexpected was a Snipe flushed from the northern alfalfa and a Coal Tit near Chalk Lane – both species just about annual here!

Lapwings.

Saturday 21st

Snowdenham Mill Pond was about 70% frozen this morning but still held 14 Gadwall, four Teal, a drake Mandarin and a pair of Tufted Duck. Here seems to be the only regular site in south-west Surrey for Gadwall this winter.

Wet beginnings

The start of 2023 has been breezy, mild and wet – very wet. Rain has fallen almost every day so far and coupled with a generally poor winter for British birding, it's not exactly been an inspiring time to get in the field. Despite this I've managed some fun and productive sessions in the opening 11 days of January, as another year of patch graft in south-west Surrey gets underway. 

Water Rail.

Sunday 1st

It was a mild, blustery morning and I had a later than usual start to New Year's Day birding. I ventured along the river first which was very quiet – two Marsh Tits (including one in song) highlighted.

I then headed up to Eashing Farm where an impressive flock of 145 Linnets perched on wires in Corner Field, my highest Eashing area count to date.

I decided to check Tuesley before heading home, conscious that yesterday's storm and today's closure of landfill sites might mean a few more gulls than usual were about. It was late morning by the time I arrived and it was immediately clear that unprecedented Larid numbers were loafing – approximately 390 Herring Gulls, with 60 or so Common, 40 Black-headed and a couple of Lesser-black Backed to boot (the latter species always rare in winter locally).

Herring Gulls (mostly).

The Herring count was more than triple the previous site record – and perhaps the most I've ever seen in south-west Surrey (where gatherings of large gulls are virtually unheard of these days). Patience was required but eventually it paid off when I picked out a cracking first-winter Yellow-legged Gull at the edge of the flock.

Yellow-legged Gull.

The strikingly pale head with a dark eye-mask, heavy bill, 'anchor' markings in the mantle and narrow pale tertial edges were all seen nicely, along with the pale inner webs on the primaries and black tail band/white rump combo on the one occasion it flew. Less than annual in south-west Surrey, Yellow-legged Gull is exceptionally rare in the winter and I've never seen this age in the area before – only adults and juveniles. A most satisfying find and a great start to 2023.

Monday 2nd

Today looked like the only nice forecast for a while and, given it was a Bank Holiday, I opted for a long morning session in the Weald. I started at The Hurtwood, which was seriously quiet. In an hour I just about logged 28 species, with Raven and six Bullfinches highlighting. The lack of local winter finches was evident here – not a single Siskin or redpoll, and very few Chaffinches.

Raven.

Things were livelier down in the farmland along the Greensand Way towards Hambledon. At Little Burgate Farm a Little Owl was a bit of a treat – showy daytime birds are scarce these days, so I made sure to enjoy this individual, which spent its time either singing or being mobbed by small passerines.

The fields at Court Farm were pretty empty, so a flyover Woodlark was a surprise. Interestingly, this is the third time I've recorded this species here in the winter.

A late afternoon walk around Frensham Little Pond produced 10 Pochard, a drake Shoveler and a squealing Water Rail.

Tuesday 3rd

No birding.

Wednesday 4th

No birding.

Thursday 5th

I walked along the river this morning in mild, grey conditions. At the Lammas Lands, impressive numbers of Snipe were on Catteshall Meadow – a minimum of 35, including 24 put up together near the old carping pond. Presumably these were birds displaced by recent floods. A single Jack Snipe flushed near Plover Pool was most welcome after a blank 2021-22 winter for this species here. The wintering Peregrine flew over as well.

Peregrine.

The Eashing stretch was much quieter, but a female Brambling in with a Chaffinch flock at Greenways Farm was quite the surprise – it's been a desperate winter for this species in southern England and this was my first record locally since mid-November.

Friday 6th

A quick stop at Snowdenham Mill Pond early on produced 18 Gadwall – a notable local count for this species – along with three each of Teal and Mandarin.

I then headed to Unstead SF, where the sun was out on another mild morning. As a result there was some decent warbler action, including four Chiffchaffs and an interacting Cetti's Warbler pair. Two Water Rails showed well in Dry Lagoon – interestingly one of them was bearing a metal BTO ring, though I couldn't decipher anything other than a 'D'.

Ringed Water Rail.

Other bits included 60 Pied Wagtails in the works and a group of six Reed Buntings.

Saturday 7th

Three drake Goosander brightened up a miserably wet and windy check of Frensham Great Pond this morning, where only 11 Pochard and 40 Tufted Duck were counted.

Sunday 8th

No birding.

Monday 9th

Water levels along the Wey were high this morning during a quick pre-work walk. A Snipe flushed at Rush Corner was a nice surprise – it took me until late September to get my first of only three 1-km records in 2022. A Marsh Tit was heard but it was otherwise a steady session.

Tuesday 10th

No birding.

Wednesday 11th

It was another breezy morning for my first Thursley visit in a few weeks, which proved very quiet – covering 6 km in an hour and a half I saw not a single Redwing, Fieldfare, Siskin, redpoll or Chaffinch, and tallied a paltry eight Meadow Pipits, two Reed Buntings and five Linnets. All reflective of a poor winter nationally ...

Thursley Common.

Bits of note as the sun came out included a Little Egret at Forked Pond, a Snipe at Pudmore and a couple of Woodlarks in song.

I walked along the river early afternoon, by which point it was bright and mild – a singing Marsh Tit, a tumbling Raven (one of three) and Red Admiral on the wing made it feel like late March!

Raven and Grey Wagtail.

2022 Eashing Area Bird Report

I've put together a 2022 Eashing Area Bird Report, which is free to read by clicking here. It's not exactly the most comprehensive document but will hopefully be the start of an annual production. Hopefully 2023 is as productive in the Eashing area as 2022 was!