Wash out

October has fizzled out, with continuing wet southerlies doing little to shake up the migration pack. It's been an odd month – the middle period was stuffed full of liveliness and good birds – but it's been bookended by tepidness. Still, things seem more promising than this time last autumn, with birds clearly in the country in better numbers, so hopefully a fun winter awaits at least.

Lesser Redpoll.

Wednesday 25th

A wet, gloomy and dreary morning, but with a north-easterly wind that offered some promise. I headed to Frensham Great Pond first where nothing untoward was doing – a count of 10 Pochard was made off the hotel, while four Shoveler skulked along the eastern reedbed.

I then checked Tuesley before work beckoned. It seemed quiet, aside the continuing good numbers of Coot (50) and Tufted Duck (33), but as I was about to leave a bird drifting in from the north caught my eye: a fine adult Little Gull. The bird lingered for little more than a minute, before disappearing off east.

Little Bunting.

Only the second for Tuesley (the first of which only came in March), it caps off a remarkably good year for this species in south-west Surrey, where it is barely annual. To put this into context, I had one record in 2020, none in 2021 and one in 2022 ... but today's individual is my fourth of 2023 (and one of five records in total). 

Thursday 26th

After work at the end of a largely bright autumn day, I went for a walk along the river. Things were generally very quiet by the time I got to the Lammas Lands, where I'd planned for an optimistic owl stakeout given the bumper numbers of Short-eared Owls in the country at present.

There was little doing, save a few Snipe flushed by a Buzzard on Catteshall Meadow, and rain began to lightly fall, so I sacked off my wishful Asio vigil and continued on to Unstead SF. There, a Dunlin had been found earlier in the day – and it was still present when I arrived as sunset approached, showing well in front of the South Meadow viewing screen. 

Dunlin.

Janet, who I met on site, was delighted with this patch tick – Dunlin is a top bird locally away from Tuesley. Also, like Little Gull, it's had a truly bumper year in south-west Surrey, with this my eighth record across seven different months. It had a seriously long bill – presumably an alpina individual, which would also help explain the late date for a local bird (and that the finders' had identified it initially as a Curlew Sandpiper!).

Other bits of note in the failing light included two squealing Water Rails, a lively Kingfisher, some 500 chattering Jackdaws into their North Meadow roost and a single Chiffchaff.

Jackdaws.

Friday 27th

At the end of a week of little morning birding I'd hoped for OK conditions today, but awoke to fog. It soon cleared, though, so I headed to Shackleford. Unfortunately I only managed to cover about half of the site before rain moved in from the south, leaving me on an unsatisfactory 36 species and craving more light in the mornings …

Despite this, I did manage a female Yellowhammer, which flew over the northern fields calling. After a small group encouragingly wintered here last year, hopefully this is a sign of their return. More on Yellowhammer in south-west Surrey here. Other bits included as many as 60 Skylarks and a covey of seven Red-legged Partridges.

Shackleford.

It had brightened up by late morning, when I caught a glimpse of a Firecrest in a mixed flock working through our garden. A nice kitchen window tick!

Firecrest.

Saturday 28th

A rare clear weekend and uninspiring weather for local birding encouraged me on another Cornish road trip, this time to Sennen, near Land's End, where one of my most-wanted world birds had been present for a few days: Upland Sandpiper. 

Upon arrival at Mayon Farm, it didn't take long to locate the bird in its favoured grassy field. Views in the 'scope were fairly distant and at times obscured, but were significantly better than my crap record shots suggest! What a cracking bird – though I hope to see one a bit closer on a Canadian prairie one day!

Upland Sandpiper.

Most attention during the hour-long stakeout was on the sandpiper, though a Lapland Bunting that I heard long before seeing as it flew over was a welcome bonus. Nice – though it would have been more preferable on one of my south-west Surrey patches!

Lapland Bunting.

With heavy rain forecast from mid-morning, there wasn't loads of time to do much more birding ahead of grabbing a pasty and coffee and going home. However, I was able to check out Trevear Farm – just down the road from the Upland Sandpiper – where a third-winter Azores Gull was my first experience with this striking form. This bird has been in the wider Land's End area for a little while, but unfortunately it was asleep for most of the time.

Azores Gull.

Other bits before the return journey included a flock of 30 Cattle Egrets at Drift Reservoir (amazing scenes here the following day!), a Peregrine over Penzance and a quick dip of the lingering Purple Heron at Marazion Marsh.

Cattle Egrets.

Sunday 29th

I've not had a blank year for Ring Ouzel locally since I moved back from university in 2015, but time is running out in 2023 and, thinking outside the box, I plumped for the North Downs at Loseley this morning. There was no rouzel to be found, alas, with fairly minimal numbers of thrushes seen despite the five common species encountered and a good amount of berries between The Mount and Sunnydown.

In fact the walk was generally quiet, with the highlights a vocal Peregrine towards Guildford and, amid tepid vis-mig (which has truly stalled of late), five Lesser Redpolls east and a single Grey Wagtail west.

North Downs at Loseley.

On the way home, a look at Snowdenham Mill Pond was par for the course, with four Shoveler, a Gadwall pair and 11 Mandarin noted.

Later in the morning, I met up with Sam who was back in the UK. An hour catching up at Unstead SF involved minimal birding but, upon leaving, we noticed a striking, pale-headed first-winter large gull on South Meadow. We tentatively discussed Caspian Gull as it showed some features, but viewing was very difficult from the footpath – and the head and bill structure was a bit iffy. I got some photos but the bird moved onto the water and we lost it from view. Unfortunately, we couldn't access the viewing platform which would have given us better views. Once home, I checked the images but they were blurry and useless, so we forgot about it …

Fast-forward to Saturday 4 November and I received a copy of the Unstead Wildlife Group newsletter. There was a piece by group member Keith on gull identification – I noticed a few mistakes and a couple of images said to be depicting first-winter Herring Gulls were misidentified, and in fact showed a Lesser Black-backed Gull in one and the bird Sam and I had seen in another. 

As soon as I saw this photo of our bird alarm bells rang as it looked good for Caspian, albeit a less than classic bird. Anyway, thanks to help from Janet, we were able to confirm that Keith had taken the photos on 29th, not long after Sam and I had left, confirming it as the same bird.

Caspian Gull (Keith Lightfoot).

Long story short, it became late news of a local mega – only the second Caspian Gull recorded in south-west Surrey. The only previous one was at Seale landfill in 2002, so another was overdue to say the least, but of course identification is tricky and there aren't many sites in our area that host large gulls. Sam and I were a bit frustrated to not have nailed it there and then, but were pleased Keith got the photos. I'll still be hoping to 'properly' find one elsewhere soon, as this feels like something of an empty way to tick a south-west Surrey lifer that I'd long hoped of picking out somewhere.

And to just touch on the ID of this bird, the bill and eye on this bird troubled me in the field (and the leg length in Keith's photo isn't classic), but the pattern of the greater coverts and tertials is absolutely spot on, along with the bright white head (which Sam and I commented on in the field when it was beside a Herring Gull) and 'shawl' effect around the neck. And, while not perfect, the bill is very slender and the head small – maybe some mixed ancestry somewhere down the line but within range for Caspian Gull. I consulted gull gurus who all felt the same – not a textbook bird, but a Casp nonetheless …

Monday 30th

It was relatively bright following a night of heavy rain and there was lots of standing water and flooded paths at Thursley Common this morning. Following two consecutive good sessions here I was due a stinker, and it came today, with very little of note and next to no signs of migration.

Despite this, the mega Lesser Redpoll flock continued to amaze. It's hard to estimate how many birds are here given their mobile nature, but I'd say it's 500 at an absolute minimum – and perhaps as many as 800. Simply phenomenal stuff and probably the biggest flocks of this species – a real favourite of mine – that I've ever seen in Britain.

Lesser Redpolls and Dartford Warbler.

Tuesday 31st

Water levels were high along the Wey late afternoon, when a Mandarin and Lesser Redpoll flew over Eashing Bridge during a short post-work walk.

Fits and starts

After the excitement of the middle part of October, things have eased off during the last week, producing a period of fits and starts – intermittent good birding, but lengthier periods of steadiness. It's been quite wet, too, for the first time in several weeks. It feels like migration has paused a little, though the signs so far suggest there will be further waves of action in the coming weeks.

Little Owl.

Wednesday 18th

The breezy, chilly north-easterly was still blowing this morning and this, coupled with lots of farm activity, meant a pre-work walk around Shackleford was fairly quiet. The disturbance in the fields had clearly moved a few of the smaller passerines around, though five Stonechats, 25 Skylarks and 40 Meadow Pipits were noted. A late Swallow zipped south, too.

Despite the relative quiet, the male Merlin was still around – to my surprise. I presumed this bird was a brief drop-in when I saw it on Saturday, but presumably it's settled here, and I was treated to easily my best and most prolonged views of the species in Surrey, before it dashed off to the north.

Merlin.

Thursday 19th

I had a quick look at a couple of waterbodies before work, on what was a damp and blustery morning as Storm Babet arrived in the country. Tuesley was quiet, but a female-type Yellowhammer east was a real surprise – my first here since 2014, when the species used to breed on the site and was rather commonly encountered. Rather depressing, really.

Friday 20th

A gloomy, muggy and damp morning again began at Tuesley, where two Teal were unexpected – only the fourth site record. Three drake Pochard were also present, again posing the question of where these intermittently appearing birds otherwise hang out. Busbridge Lakes, perhaps?

Teal and Pochard.

I then headed to the Lammas Lands for a short walk of Almshouse and Catteshall Meadows. Two more Teal were here, female-types on Plover Pool. The Lammas Lands is another site where this species is rather rare. At least five Snipe were also present and three Lesser Redpolls flew west, but it was otherwise quiet.

Saturday 21st

Yet again it was a wet, miserable morning, with Storm Babet still battering much of England. Despite the weather, Mandarin were in the mood at Snowdenham Mill Pond, with several drakes displaying their 'orange peel sails' to uninterested looking females. Two Gadwall, a Shoveler and the Red-crested Pochard x Mallard hybrid were also present. 

Mandarin.

I then stuck my head in at Unstead SF for the first time in a couple of months. With the rain lashing down it was quiet, but I did note a female Shoveler on South Meadow, plus four Gadwall and impressive numbers of Coot (34) on Dry Lagoon and five Teal over.

Shoveler.

Sunday 22nd

A gorgeous, bright morning after the run of rainy ones, and I headed to the Devil's Punch Bowl for a big walk. I've grown fond of this site during the last 12 months or so and believe it has potential – I set myself the task of monthly visits as a minimum at the start of the year. So far in 2023, though, I haven't managed anything of note, and this morning was pleasant but steady with 40 species logged.

Excellent numbers of Fieldfare included a flock of 120 or so at Sugar Loaf Hill. I tried hard for Ring Ouzel, but couldn't prize one out. Given the species' regularity at the similar Leith Hill and Black Down (the latter of which which basically adjoins the Punch Bowl) I feel like they should be encountered here more often …

Fieldfare.

Other bits included Crossbill and Brambling south (among nine finch species), plus two late Swallows and a Skylark (rare here) going the same way.

The Devil's Punch Bowl.

In the late afternoon I met up with Dave, and we did a couple of farmland sites in the far east of south-west Surrey, with the conditions still bright and fine. Painshill Farm was relatively quiet, though we did have three Swallows south – perhaps our last of 2023. 

Singles of Lesser Redpoll and Yellowhammer were also logged, plus large numbers of Red-legged Partridge and 60 or so Fieldfares.

We then checked Bonhurst Farm, on my old Thorncombe Street patch. Dave is doing a south-west Surrey year list and has done well, but still needed Little Owl – such is the decline of the species (see the January 2024 edition of Birdwatch for more on this). Thankfully Bonhurst remains reliable for this charming bird, and within minutes of arrival we located a male, which went on to perform nicely.

Little Owl.

Monday 23rd

A rather isolated day of easterlies annoyingly fell on a Monday, but I still managed to get to Thursley for a couple of hours before work. It was a little chilly but, despite the patchy 'Thursley Mist', felt good, and I ended up enjoying a lively session with 50 species logged.

Pick of the bunch was an adult Great Black-backed Gull that cruised fairly low south over Ockley Common and the tumulus. Always rare in south-west Surrey (only the second of 2023), it's especially mega out on Thursley and comes on a typical date. Gulls were clearly moving – I also scored a long-awaited first-ever Common Gull for my Thursley list (!), plus a flock of 11 Herring Gulls.

Great Black-backed Gull.

The other standout species of the morning was a first-year Marsh Harrier, which emerged from the mist on Ockley Common, flying low south over Francis Copse, before I watched it continue purposefully on for a few minutes as it eventually disappeared towards the A3. 

Like Common Gull, this has been another long-anticipated Thursley tick for me, but they remain rare in this part of the world – two or three a year is about average in south-west Surrey – and it's always a thrill to see one.

Passerine activity was fairly limited, but did include the frankly bonkers Lesser Redpoll flock around Shrike Hill, which is probably totalling more than 400 birds now. Mad – and quite a spectacle to behold. Some signs of Woodpigeon movement were detectable, and a Raven flew over South Bog, too.

Lesser Redpolls.

Tuesday 24th

I walked Eashing Farm in the evening and it was relatively quiet, though two juvenile Mute Swans north was a notable 1-km record (only the fifth of the year). A female Stonechat and a few Red-legged Partridges were also present.

Autumn takes off

Autumn has finally got going in Surrey during the past week, as the first properly good October easterlies since 2020 have blown into South-East England. Birding has cranked up several gears as a result, and I've enjoyed an excellent little period that has produced some pleasing finds – and a mega to boot! We've had to wait for good conditions this autumn, but it feels worth it now they're here.

Linnets.

Wednesday 11th

Despite the muggy, mild conditions at a gloomy Thursley Common this morning, there was an autumnal feel among the cast of 43 species. The mega flock of Lesser Redpolls were perhaps the highlight, with at least 100 around Shrike Hill. More were dotted about the rest of the site, too. Hopefully we'll enjoy a good winter for this species for the first time since 2020-21.

Lesser Redpolls.

Another species thin on the ground last winter but perhaps set to perform better this time is Crossbill – amazingly the six I had today, which included five at Spur Wood, are the first to be reported at Thursley this year!

Good numbers of Siskins were present, too, but the skies were quiet following the lively vis-mig of the last two days, with some 100 Redwings and seven Fieldfares recorded. Other bits of note included three Teal at Pudmore (where some 30 Pied Wagtails left the reedbed roost) and a couple of Woodlarks in song.

Fieldfares.

After work, a walk around a mild, breezy Eashing Fields produced five Swallows south and the Stonechat pair.

Thursday 12th

A gloomy, miserable morning that reaffirmed the time of year led me to Frensham Great Pond. Here, last night, Shaun had found no fewer than three Great Egrets – a record count for south-west Surrey and would-be year tick for me. 

Thankfully two of the birds were still present, affording distant views in the grim conditions as they left their apparent reedbed roost. There was little else of note, save two drake Pochard and a Kingfisher.

Great Egret.

An early afternoon walk along the Wey at Eashing produced a Lesser Redpoll, 15 Siskins and a Raven.

Friday 13th

Another grey, wintry autumn morning, this time with rain and a fresh breeze, meaning waterbodies were the only course of action pre-work. At Frensham Great Pond, one of the Great Egrets was still present, distantly showing in the eastern reedbed and seen catching fish successfully. How long will it/they linger? Four Pochard, a Little Egret and a Kingfisher were also noted.

Great Egret.

I then had a look at Tuesley. Here, a drake Pochard was present, plus excellent numbers of Coot and my first Common Gulls of the autumn. However, they were all bettered by a smart juvenile Ringed Plover. 

Ringed Plover.

My Thursley record on Sunday was my latest ever locally but this eclipsed that, likely rounding off a fine year for the species, with this my fifth record (and fourth of the autumn).

Saturday 14th

A cool north-westerly breeze and clear skies meant the mild conditions finally disappeared this morning, which felt the birdiest it has locally for several weeks. I headed to Shackleford and was rewarded with a thoroughly enjoyable two-hour session, which saw me score my best-ever species total for the site (53).

The unequivocal highlight was a cracking male Merlin, which I seemingly flushed from the fence line between Cuckoo Corner and the hay barn. It took off strongly south, showing it's blue-grey upperparts, black primaries, medium-length tail and compact structure. I was even able to get some record shots – a rare case of this species being photographed in Surrey!

Merlin.

Merlin has been my most-wanted at Shackleford for a while now, ever since one that I didn't see was found during the big Short-toed Lark twitch in 2020. It's always a joy to bump into this diminutive falcon locally, not least due to its status as a county rarity. 

A fine supporting cast included an arguable bigger surprise than the Merlin – a female Redstart. The bird, flicking around the fence line near Bramble Island, initially sent the heartrate up before I noted the red tail! My latest in Britain by two days (and by far my latest in Surrey), this was a real curveball. Curiously, Matt had one on his Sussex patch this morning, too.

Redstart.

A Shackleford Woodlark would normally be the headline act of a visit, but one over the northern fields and model airfield today had to settle for bronze. I'm not sure if it was on the move or perhaps flushed up from the stubble (which held some 45 Skylarks), but it's only the third Shackleford record, with the last in January 2021.

Woodlark.

Other bits from the aforementioned record species total included a flock of eight Lesser Redpolls south, Red-legged Partridge, a notable mid-October count (for here) of eight Chiffchaffs, 10 Siskins, six Stonechats, a smattering of continental-looking Blackbirds, a Grey Wagtail and a lovely flock of 120 or so Linnets. A fine autumn session!

Linnets.

Buoyed by this liveliness, I strode onto Puttenham Common and Cutt Mill Ponds. Things were far quieter here, but I did note two Lesser Redpolls, 20 or so Siskins, 18 Shoveler on the House Pond and two Starlings – the latter a site tick, bizarrely enough!

Sunday 15th

The temperature dropped overnight and it was really quite chilly at the Devil's Punch Bowl, where a light frost added to a visually euphoric morning. With a gentle north-westerly and clear skies it was naturally somewhat quiet, though a light southerly trickle of finches included good numbers of Chaffinches, with three Bramblings detected among them – my first of the autumn.

Other bits of note included a sprinkling of Redwings and Fieldfares, two Marsh Tits, 35 Lesser Redpolls, 50 Siskins and two male Sparrowhawks having an aerial tussle.

The view from Gibbet Hill.

Monday 16th

A red-letter morning. It was freezing cold first thing, with the temperature below zero and a hard frost coating the ground. I had a lazy start and wasn't at Eashing Fields until a little after 8 am – I figured I'd do a little vis-mig before work, but the clear conditions didn't fill me with optimism.

Unsurprisingly, the skies were very quiet – no thrushes moving, and only a miniscule trickle of finches which could barely be described as migration. In fact, the highlight had been an enormous flock of 32 Ring-necked Parakeets over towards Peper Harow – easily the highest total ever recorded in south-west Surrey and evidence that this species is thriving in its little corner of the area.

With my fingers beginning to freeze and work beckoning, I packed up my camera, put my recorder in my pocket (still on, thankfully … ) and left my Sky Bench vantage point to walk home. As I approached the gate between The Meadow and Top Field, I was struck my a familiar 'ticking' call coming from the east of me. 'A ticking bunting' I instantaneously thought, before remembering where I was. A weird Robin? No – that didn't sound right at all, and this bird was clearly flying while calling. Yellowhammer perhaps? Now, that'd be a fine Eashing area record, so I quickly began to scan the skies.

Upon doing so, I picked up a small, compact bunting. It wasn't far up at all and continued to call. I was essentially dealing with a silhouette, but I noted the conical bill, before that wonderful but rare feeling of utter shock ran through me – a flipping Little Bunting!

I was frozen on the spot. The bird wasn't high up, was on it's on and was vocal. I prayed that it would drop in to The Meadow, where a few Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings hang out. But it kept on flying, towards A3 Copse which flanks the slip road, and bounded away to the west over the A3.

Fuck. I was in a pure state of shock. My first thought was deep frustration – it all happened so quickly and out of the blue that I had no time to even think about getting my camera out. A single observer, flyover Little Bunting with no photo … yikes! I knew my recorder was still running, but I wasn't confident it would have picked up what is a fairly subtle call – at Eashing Fields, the din of the A3 and the many dog walkers makes for poor recording quality.

Such was my dismay at this bird disappearing without a photo, I almost considered forgetting it – for a bird of such magnitude, I wanted better evidence. But I soon saw sense – there was absolutely no doubt that I'd just seen a Little Bunting, a species I'm very familiar with. Indeed, this bird was nearly three years to the day after the one I found at Thursley Common in 2020.

I performed a half-hour search but knew the bird hadn't dropped in, so it felt fruitless to say the least. Eventually I couldn't be later for work, and had to leave. Later in the day, I was mightily relived to hear that the recorder had in fact picked up the bird. Thank god!

What a crazy record. There had been next to no vis-mig – but the wind was in the south-east, and that direction is sometimes all you need in south-west Surrey. The bunting also becomes the 100th species recorded at Eashing Fields (my 98th), which are essentially a couple of dog-walking fields!

Who needs cameras!

Tuesday 17th

With a gentle north-easterly blowing and cloudy skies, it felt promising this morning as I headed to Thursley. My session started with a bang, too – I was walking up the boardwalk to Pudmore when I heard a Water Pipit call amid the flurry of Meadow Pipit vocalisations. I clocked the bird which, in similar fashion to the bunting yesterday, disappeared from view before I could do anything about it.

However, it appeared to drop down onto the pools on Elstead Common, so I headed there. Thankfully the bird had indeed relocated here – but it took off again, back to Pudmore. I headed back. This time, though, the pipit played ball, as it showed on and off for around 20 minutes. It was highly mobile between Pudmore and West Bog but, thankfully, was very vocal, allowing for easy detection.

Water Pipit.

I even managed some views on the deck, occasionally with Meadow Pipits. Very nice – a county rarity and a fine Thursley record (in fact only the third, and first for more than three decades!). Annoyingly I knew Dave couldn't twitch it, but I was simply happy to have nailed it, especially after yesterday's slippery customer at Eashing Fields. I heard the pipit again when looping back past Pudmore on my way home – hopefully it'll stick.

Water Pipit.

Chasing the Water Pipit around took up most of the two-hour session, but other bits of note included a mighty flock of 200 Lesser Redpolls (with some 300 across the entire site!), a group of 50 Fieldfares on Shrike Hill, Snipe, Water Rail and four Teal at Pudmore and a Raven over the Moat.

I walked Eashing Farm in the evening, by which time the north-easterly wind had picked up a fair bit. Five Stonechats in Finch Field were a sign of the seasonal passage of this species and a decent 1-km count. Other bits included two Chiffchaffs, two Skylarks and a Red-legged Partridge.

Stonechat.