Riders on the storm

It's been a stormy start to November, with plenty of wet and windy spells during the opening 10 days of the month. Unsurprisingly then local birding has been quiet, save one big day of vis-mig that came on a rare calm day. But, pleasingly, I've not had to go too far beyond south-west Surrey to connect with a few rough weather goodies.

Grey Phalarope.

Wednesday 1st

No birding.

Thursday 2nd

No birding.

Friday 3rd

I was back in the field today for an underwhelming pre-work waterbody sweep, with anticipation of post-Storm Ciarán goodies having already reduced following the storm's tepid arrival yesterday. Tuesley and Frensham were dead – 14 Pochard at the latter site highlighted.

I then looked at some of the floods along the Wey, with water levels particularly high at Unstead Water Meadows. There was nothing doing, though, with the best I managed singles of Kingfisher and Chiffchaff and 30 Siskins.

Unstead Water Meadows.

Saturday 4th

After spending Thursday being gripped off by an unprecedented Leach's Storm Petrel wreck in Sussex off the back of Storm Ciarán, I figured the similarly rough weather today could yield results, so headed down for a seawatch at Selsey Bill. I watched from Hillfield Road car park as it was so grim outside – and enjoyed a brilliant three hours.

I managed Leach's Storm Petrels – two of them, in fact, including one that showed really nicely as it battled east. My only previous encounter with this species included poor views, so this experience was great. The petrels were almost outdone, though, by a true Sussex mega – a distant Cory's Shearwater that shot west. I'd been alerted to the bird by the big crowd watching from Grafton Road and was grateful for the news.

Leach's Storm Petrel.

I missed a European Storm Petrel (and a Manxie), but adult and first-winter Little Gulls, five Kittiwakes, five Common Scoter, three Red-breasted Merganser and a Sandwich Tern ensured that a wonderful morning was had. In fact, I don't think I've enjoyed better autumn seawatching in Sussex before!

Kittiwake, Little Gulls and Common Scoter.

Sunday 5th

Following all the recent rain, I walked along the Wey between Godalming and Unstead this morning to inspect the floods. A decent 51 species was tallied up on the Lammas Lands during a fun session, though common species predominated. The highlight was two Bramblings over Overgone – a site rare and only my second for the Lammas Lands, and especially notable given the poor autumn so far for them.

A Water Rail was also on Overgone – curiously scarce here (my third) and perhaps flooded out from elsewhere along the Wey. Other bits included the first Woodpigeon movement of the season, with a casual estimate of 500 or so south including a leucistic bird, a locally impressive flock of 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls south-west, six Fieldfares, three Stonechats and two Snipe.

Woodpigeons, Cormorants and Black-headed Gull.

It was then onto Unstead Water Meadows which, like on Friday, looked impressive and more akin to a site in the Arun Valley. Of course, it didn't support the birds to match, but 12 Lapwings blogging about was depressingly my highest south-west Surrey count of the year – and extraordinarily enough only my seventh record, and first since May. I will get round to a post on the local decline of this species soon …

Lapwings.

A single Shoveler and five Gadwall were also enjoying the water levels and a Firecrest was at Upper Unstead Farm, with more expected fare including five Little Egrets, a singing Cetti's Warbler and a Chiffchaff.

Cormorants.

Late afternoon I joined Dave for a dusk stakeout at Thursley, optimistically hoping for Short-eared Owl or Hen Harrier. It was a quiet vigil, alas, and the highlight of our visit actually came on High Ground, where four Crossbills flew east and a flock of 50 or so Lesser Redpolls were feeding in birches.

Monday 6th

After yesterday's gentle Woodpigeon push, and the forecast today of clear skies and a gentle south-westerly, it was a vis-mig morning – and it proved to be spectacular. In one of my best-ever local vis-migs, I tallied up some 15,500 Woodpigeons heading south-west over Eashing Fields in two hours. There's no doubt I missed plenty of birds, too.

Woodpigeons.

At times I simply couldn't keep up with the numbers, as birds used three different flight lines in flocks of up to 500. By 08:45 it was largely over, but it was a spectacle to remember – I simply love these big Woodpigeon days.

Rivalling the Woodpigeon count was a super high-flying Short-eared Owl that motored south at 07:45. It's been a superb autumn for this species in Britain and it's been on my local radar for weeks, so I was chuffed to score one this morning, even if the bird was distant.

Short-eared Owl.

SEO is a long overdue south-west Surrey lifer for me – it's amazing I've not had one before given all the vis-mig I do. Significantly, it was my 160th south-west Surrey bird of the year – a new record, and something that merits a separate blog post.

Another highly notable record was a Yellowhammer that bounded east early on during the vigil. Only the second site record, any yammer close to Godalming is scarce these days.

No other species were moving in the numbers the Woodpigeons were, though I did achieve triple-figure counts of Redwings and Starlings, also going south-west. Gulls were trickling south, too, as were Chaffinches in modest numbers. A brilliant morning of migration, all a few hundred metres from my front door. Sometimes you just need to look up!

Fieldfare, Egyptian Geese and Cormorants.

Tuesday 7th

Another gorgeous, fresh autumn morning, this time at Shackleford, where 47 species was a decent innings, albeit lacking standout species. The fields here are in a transitional phase at present and, with yesterday's vis-mig having fizzled out by today with only a trickle of Woodpigeons moving, highlights were limited to Lesser Redpoll, seven Red-legged Partridges and two Stonechats. 

Shackleford.

I also noted a green-ringed Kestrel – 'HZ', one of Jeremy's birds, which it later transpired was ringed as a chick in the nest just across the A3 at Hurtmore on 11 June.

Kestrel.

Wednesday 8th

No birding.

Thursday 9th

After yesterday's rain, the forecast for this morning appeared OK, so I plumped for my first Weald wander in a few weeks. Starting at The Hurtwood, things felt relatively lively and a decent flock of 60 or so Lesser Redpolls was on Holloways Heath, along with a couple of Bramblings. However, grey clouds moved in and un-forecasted rain began to fall – and then Dave H called with news of a Grey Phalarope at Island Barn Reservoir!

The Hurtwood.

The top of The Hurtwood to Walton-on-Thames is unappealing at the best of times, let alone during rush hour, but with the rain increasing and my great love for phalaropes, I couldn't resist this would-be Surrey lifer. The journey wasn't too bad, and upon my arrival it was all worth it – typically mega views of a fine Grey Phalarope.

Grey Phalarope.

The bird, a first-winter, was contentedly spinning away in the north-east corner of the reservoir. I was pleasantly surprised to be the only one there, so indulged in some photos before heading home. Such good birds – seeing this species on breeding grounds is on my bucket list. Only the second twitchable vice-county bird in the last decade (and first for six years), it was a lovely way to hit number 235 for my Surrey list. 

Grey Phalarope.

Friday 10th

I rolled the 2023 Ring Ouzel dice one last time this morning, plumping for a walk around the Devil's Punch Bowl. It started off fairly bright and pleasant, but greyed over during the session and, by the end, it was showering on and off.

I didn't find any Ring Ouzels, alas – you have to go back to 2012 for the last blank year for this species in south-west Surrey, so an absence of records in 2023 is all the more extraordinary, especially as it's been an average or slightly above average autumn for them in the county. A few Redwings and Fieldfares were seen while looking, though.

Redwing.

Other bits included a single Brambling with a Chaffinch flock and five Crossbills east – all over the National Trust car park. Three Marsh Tits, a flock of 50 Starlings west and 45 Lesser Redpolls were also noted, as well as a light early south-westerly passage of Woodpigeon (with large numbers in trees along the western side of the Bowl too).

Devil's Punch Bowl.

Only my fifth Eashing Fields record of Bullfinch was notable during a short mid-afternoon walk, by which point the wind had swung round to the north-west and it was noticeably chillier.