2023 reflections

Another birding year is almost over. In general, it was a good one for me in south-west Surrey, demonstrated by a record species total for the region (171) and a personal high year list of 163. 

Better still, I had a good year for rarity finding – nine county description species in all, which is well above average for me. It's hard to rank birds, but here is an attempt to chart my top 10 patch finds of 2023:

1. Knot, Tuesley, August
2. Corn Buntings, Shackleford, January
3. Scaup, Tuesley, November
4. Kittiwake, Frensham Great Pond, March
5. Water Pipit, Thursley Common, October
6. Little Bunting, Eashing Fields, October
7. Garganey, Lammas Lands, April
8. Sanderling, Tuesley, August
9. Little Gulls, Tuesley, March
10. Short-eared Owl, Eashing Fields, November

A collage of 2023 finds. I need to find stuff when it's not grey!

Knot and Corn Bunting are basically neck and neck, but the showy nature of the wader seals it. Context is important for some of the others – Little Bunting is easily the rarest bird on that list, but I found one locally in 2020 and the encounter this year was brief and ever so slightly frustrating. 

On the other hand, Water Pipit at Thursley was wildly incongruous; Garganey at the Lammas Lands and Short-eared Owl at Eashing Fields similarly so. Caspian Gull would normally feature highly – a bird I've wanted to find locally for years – but I feel I rather botched the Unstead bird, even if I did rate it initially and then identified it from photos.

As well as these, there was a consistent run of decent local scarcities found throughout the year, which is always important when it comes to keeping morale and energy levels up. Multiple Little Gulls, Ruff, Sandwich Tern, Merlin, Mealy Redpoll, a county record count of Mediterranean Gull and so on. When I actually look back at the whole year, it was pretty damn good …

That said, there were some elements of frustration. The two biggest local spring birds – Hoopoe and Red-backed Shrike – weren't finds of mine. Of course, I still enjoyed them immensely, but finding a spring 'biggy' continues to elude me, despite concerted effort in late May and early June this year when things were lively in the South-East. Maybe in 2024 …

The Frensham Little Pond Hoopoe.

Furthermore, from a year list point of view, missing eight species is pretty nuts for a region as little birded as south-west Surrey. In any other year it'd be quite galling (and, frankly, missing no fewer than three Hen Harriers is!), but thankfully none of those eight were south-west Surrey lifers.

Studying rare breeders is something I spend a fair bit of time doing but I find myself with increasingly less time to do so. It was a good season for raptors, though ultimately I fell short of a couple of breeding confirmation goals, and for the second year in a row I couldn't find any Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nests (despite locating a couple of 'new' pairs). Again, perhaps in 2024.

In wider Surrey, my keen vice-county listing enjoyed a good year, after a disappointing 2022 that saw me only add two new species. In 2023, however, I managed five – Corn Bunting (Shackleford; self-found), Stone-curlew (Beddington), Marsh Warbler (Colliers Wood), Citrine Wagtail (London Wetland Centre) and Grey Phalarope (Island Barn Reservoir). The wagtail was sumptuous – one of the best birds I've ever seen in Surrey. There is still some relatively low-hanging fruit for me, such as Little Tern and Spoonbill, but moving forward adding to my list – which now stands at 235 – will be harder.

The London Wetland Centre Citrine Wagtail.

Where to Watch Birds in Surrey and Sussex, written by Matt P and I, is out imminently, too. Excitingly, I'm writing another book for Bloomsbury – more on that soon. There's already plenty to look forward to in 2024.