April showers

Another enjoyable 10 April days have come to an end in south-west Surrey. The mixed bag of weather we've received so far this spring has continued, bringing with it the odd surprise among more expected summer visitors. I feel like some things are a little late this year – Whitethroats and Acrocephalus warblers perhaps, maybe Cuckoos too – but hopefully a more settled end to the month will open the floodgates, while also aiding nesting birds, who could do without much more rain at this point.

Nightingale.

Tuesday 11th

A bright, cool morning had enough time for a quick pre-work walk along the Wey, which was unsurprisingly quiet. A Muntjac was my first in the Eashing area – maybe the closest to Godalming I've seen the species – and two Red-legged Partridges, a Siskin and a female Mallard with three ducklings were also seen.

Wednesday 12th

I was unable to break my eight-year spring Ring Ouzel self-find duck during a walk along the North Downs from Henley Fort to Compton this morning, which was cool and bright. South-west Surrey seems to be a bit of a forcefield for this species in the spring, though today a late Redwing meant there was at least some thrush action.

Other bits during a pleasant walk included a Willow Warbler singing briefly in West Warren, two male Whitethroats, a Firecrest, six Skylarks and three Meadow Pipits.

A strong westerly wind was blowing through Eashing Fields when I popped up there late morning, doubtless grounding a smart male Wheatear that was mobile around The Meadow – my first at the fields this year. At least one pair of Skylarks are battling on with breeding, too, despite the extraordinary presence of off-lead dogs at this site.

Skylark.

Thursday 13th

After a night of heavy rain, the Lammas Lands were rather wet this morning, and pretty quiet under clear skies. I counted six Reed Buntings across both meadows, including two pairs on Catteshall – numbers of this species are down a fraction this year, perhaps due to the erratic water levels this spring (which I hear have, sadly, flooded out the Godalming Kingfishers).

I continued upriver, where impressive looking floods at Upper Unstead Farm and Broadford Marsh typically held few birds, and none of note. I did however hear singing Willow Warblers along the Peasmarsh stretch (by Unstead Lock) and Shalford Water Meadows, as the decent local passage of this species continues. 

Reed Bunting.

Despite grey clouds looming ominously on the horizon it was sunny and mild by the time I finished work, so I did a little session in the 1-km. Peper Harow was fairly quiet, though two Peregrines were thermalling high over Norney Farm – seemingly a second-year female and a male. The sharp increase in records of this falcon in the Godalming area suggests it may not be long before it attempts to breed somewhere …

Peregrines.

I then popped into Greenways Farm, where a few wagtails were feeding in the paddocks. Among them was a smart female White Wagtail – my first of the year and a welcome find, as I rarely see many locally. A Mistle Thrush was carrying food and a Mandarin flew over.

White Wagtail.

Friday 14th

A grey, showery morning. I wasn't up too early and plumped for Thursley for my pre-work walk, where an hour and a half produced a fairly average mid-April total of 43 species. It was a decent session, though, with lots of birds in song, as can be heard in the soundscape recording below taken between Will Reeds and Parish Field.

The highlight of the session was a Yellowhammer that flew low east over tumulus. Always notable on the common these days, it was heading towards Witley … so perhaps there's a sliver of hope this species may attempt to breed there this year. 

Other bits included two Tree Pipits, seven Redstarts, six Willow Warblers, the Curlew pair and, notably, two singing Meadow Pipits. Perhaps the damp conditions may encourage the latter to give breeding a go here this year. Two drake Teal, three Swallows and a Snipe were at Pudmore.

Tree Pipit and Woodlark.

The weather hadn't changed by late afternoon, when I checked Frensham Great Pond. Aside from a triple-figure gathering of hirundines it was fairly quiet, though five Common Terns were about and – to my surprise – a first-winter Common Gull dropped in. This is only my second April record in south-west Surrey and my latest by 13 days!

Common Gull.

A quick look at Eashing Farm on the way home produced a singing Whitethroat along Halfway Lane – a 1-km year tick, coming one day earlier than in 2022.

Saturday 15th

A chilly northerly wind with leaden grey skies failed to suppress the feeling of spring at Shackleford this morning, where a 'fall' of three Willow Warblers was nice. A couple were singing sporadically, including one from deep within flowering blackthorn – very on-brand for April! This is a good spring bird here – it's been a great passage for this species in south-west Surrey this year.

Other migrants included a male Wheatear by the model airfield, a flock of eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls east and a singing Whitethroat. At least eight Swallows featured a few in song. I managed no Yellowhammers – perhaps they've moved on.

Wheatear and Swallow.

It was warm and sunny by early evening, when a late drake Teal was on Snowdenham Mill Pond, along with eight Tufted Duck.

I then walked Unstead SF, where the pick of the 40 species bunch was a singing male Whitethroat in South Meadow. Decent wagtail numbers on the filter beds included four Grey and 30 Pied.

Sunday 16th

This morning was calm and mild, and I visited a rather random hodgepodge of south-west Surrey sites, starting at Eashing Fields where a female Ruddy Shelduck was a bizarre sight to behold – likely the one I had along the Wey here on 12 March and that Janet saw at Unstead SF on Tuesday.

Next up was Unstead Water Meadows, where I amassed 50 species in an hour and a half out on the meadows themselves (which I'm fortunate enough to have access to). The highlight was a pair of Cetti's Warblers, with the male super showy and both birds very vocal. They even duetted at one point, which is something I'd not heard before. This species was reliable here until 2021, when they seemingly vanished, so this encounter was welcome.

Cetti's Warbler.

A pair of Sedge Warblers were good to see as well, with the male in frequent song. My first of the year, UWM is one of three or four sites that supports breeding birds in south-west Surrey. There may have been a third bird too.

Other bits included a drumming Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a female Peregrine which flew over a couple of times, a male Whitethroat and a singing Skylark towards Farley Hill.

Reed Bunting and Peregrine.

The Devil's Punch Bowl was my final locale of the morning. I wasn't long into my walk when I heard a Brambling singing – not what I expected at all on 16 April, and I was surprised further when I located three males together in a tree. Presumably some late movers, these represented my latest Brambling record by five days.

Migrants were rather lacking, though I did record four Willow Warblers, three Meadow Pipits and a Swallow. Among the other species of note were three Ravens, Marsh Tit, Siskin and Firecrest.

I was pleased to hear two Kingfishers interacting along the Wey from the end of my garden this evening. Amazingly this was my first 1-km record of the year, with the high water levels presumably delaying the return of them.

Monday 17th

With dawn rain and a mild north-easterly blowing, it felt rare. I headed to Tuesley and was rewarded with four Shelduck on the water – an adult female and three second-year birds (presumably a family group). They took off immediately, but spend four or five minutes circling overhead before departing north. A very unpredictable bird locally, I had a blank in 2022 so this was a pleasing start to the week.

Shelduck.

While the Shelduck were flying around, two Whimbrel flew in from the east. They had little intention of landing – the water levels here are so high at the moment I doubt much will drop in this spring – but did perform a few circuits (curiously quietly) before too heading south. Lovely stuff, and another decent local bird (I saw none in 2021, for example).

Whimbrel.

I was pondering my next move when messages came through from Jeremy – he'd had two Great Egrets and a Grasshopper Warbler on his Crooksbury Common patch! Having ceased breeding in south-west Surrey as of last year, gropper gave me the run around in 2022, so Crooksbury's compact size led me to think a potentially easy twitch was on the cards.

This proved correct, with the Grasshopper Warbler reeling sporadically from a stand of gorse in the middle of the common. A whacky record indeed. Other bits during a brief visit included Redstart, Willow Warbler and three Woodlarks.

Gropper gorse.

An action-packed pre-work outing still had enough time for a stroll along the Wey at Eashing. A Kingfisher at Eashing Bridge was doubtless one of yesterday's birds back on territory, a Grey Wagtail pair were taking food to a nest in the riverbank near the bridge and a Wren was feeding young in an ivy clump at Eashing Marsh.

Best of all was a Willow Warbler aptly singing from a willow at Greenways Farm – a welcome spring 1-km record after none in 2022, and further evidence of the bumper passage for this species this year.

Tuesday 18th

Towards the end of a windy day I headed to Enton Lakes for a short post-work walk. Around 25 Swallows and House Martins had collected over Johnson's and the Common Tern pair aggressively chased off a low-flying Red Kite. A Ring-necked Parakeet bombing over was unexpected – for now, it's still a rare species this far south in Surrey.

Wednesday 19th

With the breezy north-easterly still in situ it felt decidedly chilly at Frensham Great Pond this morning, where I was surprised to see the drake Garganey once more – day number 15 on site, exactly two weeks after I found the quartet here.

Another unexpected encounter was with a Curlew, with a noisy bird circling the beach a couple of times before heading south-west. A first for me here. Other bits and pieces included singing Cetti's Warbler and Firecrest, two Common Terns and four Gadwall.

Curlew.

Thursday 20th

A bright morning with a chilly north-easterly wind was reminiscent of recent Aprils. I headed to Milford and Witley Commons, starting at the former where I enjoyed a mesmerising hour or so with the Nightingales – at least five, but as many as seven, including four or more singing males, one of which was paired up with a female.

The return of this iconic species to this site is one of south-west Surrey's true conservation success stories in recent times. I soaked in their rich song – one particular junction of paths places you between three separate territories, making for quite an experience (even despite the rumble of the nearby A3). A showy female foraging along a track capped off the session.

Nightingales.

It was otherwise a quiet morning. Three Willow Warblers were singing across both sites, but on Witley there was a notable lack of heathland/summer species – no Redstarts, Tree Pipits, Dartford Warblers or Cuckoo. And of course, no Yellowhammer, leaving a conflicted sense of gain/restoration and loss by the time I headed home.

Said journey back was via Eashing Fields, where a singing Whitethroat, northbound Lesser Black-backed Gull and House Sparrow (site scarcity!) were noted.

Later on, lunch in the garden came with an added bonus – two Swifts zipping north into the breeze. My first of the year and rather on the early side, the record was all the more unexpected given it’s only my second garden sighting of the species.

Evening rain lured me to Frensham Great Pond after work, where I was rewarded with three Little Gulls: two spanking summer plumage adults and a first-winter. And what crackers they were – a proper 'patch-birders bird' and a species you can never get tired of.

Little Gulls.

What a spring it's been for them in south-west Surrey, too. This is my third record so far (two of which self-found) with Shaun finding another, making it four records in total, numbering 11 birds in all. I had one record in the entirety of 2020, none in 2021 and one in 2022, which says it all …