Getting colder

The final 10 days of November saw the temperature get steadily colder, as the unsettled, wet conditions that have defined much of 2023 made way to frosty nights and a northerly airflow. In tandem with this, the month's birding has gradually (finally!) built up to something of a crescendo, with a couple of enjoyable late autumn sessions – and some local surprises to boot.

Scaup (left) and Tufted Duck.

Tuesday 21st

No birding.

Wednesday 22nd

It was a cool, still morning and I had a look at Frensham Great Pond early doors, where Pochard numbers continue to rise – 35 was my final tally. Three Crossbills over Pond Lane were notable, too, along with a single calling Firecrest, a Little Egret and a Kingfisher.

Frensham Great Pond.

On the way home I stopped off at Eashing Fields for a short vis-mig before work. Despite the late date it was relatively lively, with Starlings moving west – more than 90 in 30 minutes. Some 500 Woodpigeons were heading south/south-west on a broad front, along with a trickle of thrushes and finches.

Other bits included by far my biggest 1-km count of Greylag Geese west (23) and a single Raven that tumbled a couple of times over Top Field before flying towards Peper Harow.

Greylag Geese and Raven.

Thursday 23rd

It was milder this morning, but brighter than forecast as I walked along the Wey from Godalming to Peasmarsh. The Lammas Lands were quite quiet, with a total of 15 Snipe tallied up, most of which were around the carping pond on Catteshall Meadow. I think we'll need a few more frosts before numbers increase …

A single, late Chiffchaff was calling from a willow, a Stonechat pair were present, a Kingfisher flew downriver and a Fieldfare flock chattered as they moved south, but things were steady.

Red Kite, Stonechat and Grey Heron.

It was even quieter at Unstead Water Meadows, where another Chiffchaff was calling at Upper Unstead Farm and a Lesser Redpoll flew over Perry Bridge. 

Unstead Water Meadows.

Along the Peasmarsh stretch, the scrape at Lower Trunley Heath Farm yielded 14 Teal (including displaying drakes) and a Little Egret.

At the end of the walk, I checked a couple of nearby spots before heading home, including Snowdenham Mill Pond, where four Gadwall, a Shoveler pair, 11 Mandarin and a Kingfisher highlighted.

I finished my morning by scanning the fields along Stakescorner Road at Loseley. Here, a minimum of 300 geese included 107 Greylags – an encouraging sign, especially after my whitefront here in December 2021. The best birds of the entire morning were in the next field along – two Peregrines, an adult and a juvenile, which allowed distant but good views as they perched on the deck.

Peregrines.

Friday 25th

I checked Frensham Great Pond and Cutt Mill before work this morning, which was grey and cool. Starting at the former, Pochard numbers were again up – I counted 38, which included the locally impressive sight of a flock of 29 off the sailing club. Singles of Little Egret and Firecrest were also noted.

At Cutt Mill, my first two Goosander of the winter were present – a drake on The Tarn and a female on the house pond, which also held 14 Shoveler and 15 Mandarin.

Saturday 26th

A chilly northerly set in yesterday afternoon and this morning was super cold, with the temperature around -1°C when I got to Thursley Common. The site looked glorious, cloaked in a hard frost under blue skies, but, like my last couple of visits here, it was quiet.

Pudmore, Thursley Common.

A two-hour wander was largely devoid of birds, though 19 Crossbills included a group of 16, a Raven called behind tumulus and a Greenfinch flew over Ockley. Lesser Redpoll numbers were much diminished though and, in truth, it looks like another winter when passerine numbers could be low out here. Even at first light, there were plenty of people at Pudmore and as a result few geese left in the roost – I did note a single Snipe and two Water Rails here, though.

However, nearing the end of my two-hour visit, between Pine Island and Redstart Corner, I heard a familiar – but out of context – call over West Bog. I soon clapped eyes on the bird – a Yellow Wagtail! An incredibly late individual, I heard and saw enough of it to rule out Eastern (alas!) … easily my latest-ever British record, it also looks like the second latest-ever Surrey migrant (by a day!), though there are five wintering records. Crazy.

I was then pondering my next move when Janet messaged with news of a mystery wader at Unstead SF. Intrigued, I headed there and joined her overlooking South Meadow. Her description was interesting, but the bird in question transpired to be a rather scruffy Green Sandpiper. 

Green Sandpiper.

Other bits during a fairly quick visit included two Water Rails, four Gadwall, three Teal and a Chiffchaff.

At the end of a lovely winter's day, I plumped for a walk at the farmland near Hambledon church – but it turned into a rather miserable outing. Upon heading down the bridleway, I couldn't believe my eyes – all the hedgerows had been ripped out, and the former mixed arable fields were now grass. New fences and a horse paddock had been erected too, all since my last visit here on 31 August. 

Later research showed that new landowners had moved in. Clearly this signals the end of this site as a decent one for birding, but more tragically it paints a worrying outlook for Yellowhammer, which has traditionally thrived here (see various posts on this blog, including said last visit in August, when I saw a family party in a now non-existent hedge, and in my post on the local decline of yammer, where I mentioned Hambledon church as the best site in the region for the species). 

Feathercombe Farm, now stripped of its hedges.

This area has barely changed since I came on walks here as a child so it was pretty depressing stuff. Furthermore, it poses many questions about the ecological literacy of these landowners and how they can get permission to do things like this. All very grim (and more detail in this news story).

Sunday 26th

As with recent visits to Thursley, Shackleford too has been quiet during my last few sessions there – and it was again this morning, which once more was freezing cold and frosty, but without the sunshine. At least, however, with the current farmer it is safe from habitat destruction … 

Decent gatherings of Linnet and Goldfinch in the new bird plots provided some entertainment, but activity was minimal, with other highlights including 25 Skylarks, 35 Fieldfares, two Stonechats and higher than usual numbers of gulls. 

Common and Herring Gulls, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.

Monday 27th

No birding.

Tuesday 28th

A quality late autumn morning. It was cold and brighter than forecast, so with good light I had a quick look of Tuesley first thing. Persistence is key to this site and many recent blank visits were rewarded not long after my arrival, when, while counting the Tufted Duck, I was stopped in my tracks by the chunky silhouette of a Scaup!

Light wasn't ideal so I moved round for a closer view, and to confirm things in my mind, and it wasn't long before the white blaze, broad bill, pale upperparts and rounded head where made out. Presumably the bird had arrived overnight, and it was fairly active during my 50-minute stay, diving often and even chasing around female Tufted Duck at times.

Scaup.

Naturally I was delighted – scarce wildfowl are tricky to come by in south-west Surrey at the best of times and it's often the way that these promising late autumn cold snaps fail to produce locally. 

Scaup, a county rarity, is a real south-west Surrey mega these days, too. A brief, untwitchable bird at Frensham in 2020 was the first since 2006 and, before that, you have to go back to the mid-1990s. It was a site first, as well, which is no surprise given that there are only four south-west Surrey records (ever!) away from Frensham.

Buoyed by this, I commenced with my plan to check Witley Common for redpolls, having been delayed by the Scaup. It was still quite cold upon my arrival but it didn't take long to locate a few Lesser Redpolls in my favourite, quiet corner of the site (one I hadn't visited since September).

Lesser Redpoll.

There was nothing untoward doing initially, but then a plumper, paler bird caught my eye. What followed was a long-winded, patient wait for the bird to show well – but eventually it did, and I was able to note features that looked promising for Mealy Redpoll, including a bright white rump.

Mealy Redpoll.

I'm very cautious with this species (or 'species'!) so waited to get home and process images before determining ID – but the clean white flanks, cold plumage tones lacking the warm buff of Lesser, bright wing-bar and chunky head/upper body reaffirmed my in-field thoughts. Hopefully there will be more to come this winter, as a relative influx seems to be underway into Britain …

Other bits of note included four Crossbills south (a species that seems to have picked up in numbers this month), a Firecrest calling along Lea Coach Road, singles of Dartford Warbler and Reed Bunting and two Common Gulls (a site tick for me) south. 

In all, some great birding, squeezing it in before work (well, I was a little bit late!). And within a couple of miles of home to boot ...

At lunchtime I joined Dave, who'd evacuated his office early, to go for the Scaup and Mealy. The former was easily obtained, though she was a lot less active than this morning, largely sleeping and preening. 

Scaup.

At Witley Common, far more effort was required but, eventually, we scored nice views of the Mealy Redpoll. We even wondered if one or two others may have been present … five Crossbills went over, too.

Wednesday 29th

Another chilly morning, and a quick check of Tuesley before work revealed that the female Scaup was still present among the fairly modest gathering of Tufted Duck (28 counted again today). How long will she linger?

Scaup.

A Little Egret perched at Eashing Bridge was an incongruous surprise during an afternoon run – they're rare in the village and this was my first Eashing area record since 19 June. Unfortunately, I only had my phone camera!

Little Egret.

Thursday 30th

A freezing cold, grey, murky morning, with the occasional light snow shower to boot – conditions for a big waterbody sweep, which I undertook with Dave. We started at Frensham Great Pond where Aythya numbers were in fact down – only 10 Pochard and 22 Tufted Duck. A Little Egret was also noted.

Tuesley was up next and here too Tufted Duck numbers had dropped, with 17 counted, but to our surprise the female Scaup was still present. Will she make it into December? A site record count of 68 Coot was very notable too.

Scaup.

We then checked neighbouring Enton Lakes, where a single Little Egret was the only bird of interest, plus eight Great Crested Grebes.

Things were even quieter at Snowdenham Mill Pond afterwards, where tree removal at the north end was doubtless contributing to the lack of birds. Three Shoveler were the only wildfowl present.

We ended by checking the farmland at Loseley. Here, goose numbers were up – at least 300 Canadas and 150 or so Greylags. Better still were three Lapwing, which are a depressingly rare treat on the deck locally these days.

Lapwings.

Wet and windy

If it hasn't been breezy during the last 10 days then it's been rainy, at least more often than not, as the unsettled late autumn of 2023 continues. At times it has been especially wet or windy, with a couple more storms having battered Britain. It's no surprise then that local birding continues to stutter, as we patiently await a prolonged period of settled, wintry conditions.

Little Egret.

Saturday 11th

It was a rare gorgeous, crisp autumn morning, with frost on the ground and a light mist in the air. Thankfully – and surprisingly – Thursley wasn't shrouded in its infamous mist, and I enjoyed a lovely three-hour hike around much of the site. As pleasant as it was, it was very quiet, with the skies empty bar a light trickle of Woodpigeons and numbers of passerines on the deck slightly down.

Woodpigeons.

In fact, the highlights were reduced to the mega flock of Lesser Redpolls (now down to about 300 and roving around more widely), a single, late Chiffchaff, three flyover Crossbills and a Greenfinch over Ockley (rare out on the common). I also made my debut at the newly topped up Hammer Pond, where a single Little Grebe was present.

Fieldfares.

Sunday 12th

The only way was Essex today, with news breaking yesterday afternoon of Britain's seventh Canvasback at Abberton Reservoir. A mega and a duck – I had to go, and I got to Abberton mid-morning, by which time a large crowd had assembled at Billets Farm in gloomy, cold conditions.

A frustrating couple of hours followed, with no sign of the bird in very tricky viewing conditions. However, at around 1 pm a large flock of Pochard took off and dispersed across the reservoir and the bird – a smart drake – was relocated off Layer Breton Causeway. Good and prolonged views followed, albeit always at range, allowing study of the strikingly pale mantle, long, all-black bill and darker chestnut-brown head. Nice.

Canvasback.

A very pleasing twitch was added to by a selection of other nice bits, including a juvenile Great Northern Diver, three Great Egrets, a Green Sandpiper, three Goldeneye and a redhead Goosander. I was more impressed by the numbers of diving duck, though, which included a minimum 500 Pochard!

Monday 13th

Fieldfare is scarce along the Wey at Eashing, so one over Greenways during a mild, breezy and short lunchtime walk was unexpected. A single Red-legged Partridge and 20 or so Siskins were also noted.

Tuesday 14th

It was a bit brighter this morning, but still breezy and mild. I was torn between a vis-mig session or a waterbody sweep and plumped for the latter, starting at Tuesley. Here, five Crossbills south-east was a real surprise – this is a proper site rare and only my second (the last being in 2020). A Brambling flew over with Chaffinches, too. Maybe I should have been 'migging …

It was then onto Frensham Great Pond, where Pochard numbers were up – in fact, 20 was my highest local count for nearly two years. It's not like Abberton around here … other bits included two Little Egrets having a spat, a Kingfisher, two Lesser Redpolls and the always enjoyable Muscovy Duck.

Little Egret, Pochard, Coot and Muscovy Duck.

I had a quick look at Waverley Abbey on the way home. Here, there was only common wildfowl to be found, but a Skylark overhead felt like it might be notable at this site and a mixed group of winter thrushes were feeding in hawthorn.

Waverley Abbey.

Wednesday 15th

Another bright, breezy morning took me to Shackleford where, as during my last visit on 7th, things were very quiet. I think we need a notable change in weather before the passerine pack is shuffled locally ...

A Raven east, a covey of seven Red-legged Partridges and a very light southerly passage of Fieldfares (40) and Woodpigeons (400) were of note, along with a minimum of five Stonechats.

Meadow Pipits.

Thursday 16th

A grey, drizzly morning with a rather cold north-easterly wind. I checked the Bramley waterbodies before work, both of which were quiet – a drake Mandarin and seven Cormorants were at Bramley Park Lake, with four Shoveler and a Mandarin pair the best at Snowdenham Mill Pond.

Snowdenham Mill Pond.

Friday 17th

Like my Saturday visit to Thursley, it was a lovely, crisp autumn morning with a light frost – and, also like Saturday, it was relatively quiet. Two hours on site produced a not bad 45 species, but quality was limited to a Lapwing that dropped into Pudmore briefly and a Brambling west over Ockley. Both were site firsts for me this year.

A Crossbill north-west was also of some note, and there was a light passage of Woodpigeons (1,000 or so south) and Starlings (70 or more west), but things felt steady. Lesser Redpolls had seemingly cleared out, at least from their favoured recent haunts, with only 20 or so totted up, and a Water Rail squealed near Birchy Pond.

Thursley Common (Ockley).

Saturday 18th

In stark contrast to yesterday, this morning was wet and murky, with a mild breeze blowing from the south. I headed to Frensham Great Pond, where I was both pleased and surprised when a Shelduck was one of the first birds I picked up during my initial scan.

A site first for me, the bird was alert and stuck to the centre of the pond, doubtless grounded by the weather. Shelduck is a tricky, unpredictable species in south-west Surrey – this is just my second record of 2023 (the other at Tuesley in April), with the only other sighting in the area by Jeremy over Broadwater (also in April). I missed the species entirely in 2022.

Shelduck.

Four Shoveler were also acting a bit skittish, while Pochard numbers were up again to a moderately impressive 27 (Dave counted 33 when he twitched the Shelduck later in the morning). Singles of Little Egret and Kingfisher were also seen.

The garden Firecrest was in voice during the late afternoon, by which time the weather had improved a touch.

Sunday 19th

A bright, breezy and mild morning – not the most inspiring conditions. I opted for a walk of Shalford Water Meadows, which was pleasant enough, though fairly quiet, with singles of Raven (west in front of St Catherine's Hill), Chiffchaff (Broadford Marsh), a Stonechat pair and three Lesser Redpolls highlighting.

Stonechat.

Despite the steadiness, I was reminded of what a promising site this is – surely the best stretch of the Wey in south-west Surrey. It's a shame that, after brilliant coverage between 2016 and 2021 by Matt P and Kit B (Spotted Crake, Garganey etc), it is poorly watched at the moment.

Monday 20th

No birding.