Southerlies and spring migrants

This weekend aside, which has been rather chilly, the last week has been dominated by mild southerly or south-westerly winds – perfect conditions in mid-March for early arriving migrants. As a result, things have ramped up a gear or two in south-west Surrey, as summer visitors have begun to pop up, along with a couple of local rarities and some patch gold. It feels like spring is properly underway now.

Wheatear.

Monday 18th

I hadn't planned on getting out this morning, but it was brighter and fresher than forecast when I woke up so I went for a pre-work amble along the Wey at Eashing. It clouded over throughout and light drizzle rolled in from the south – conditions that look set to dominate this week and may well produce a flurry of early common migrants.

The session saw me rack up 40 species, but there was only with a light dusting of spring migrants in the shape of four Chiffchaffs. A few winter bit were hanging on, including some 50 Siskins that were raiding the remaining catkins. The two Mute Swans were still present, as they have been since 23 February and two Mandarin pairs were inspecting possible nest holes. 

Siskins and Mute Swans.

A Mistle Thrush was building a nest in a hazel above the footpath at Greenways, too – I'll be surprised if a pair actually breeds here, given the human traffic beneath. I didn't record Marsh Tit and I haven't here since 15 January, which is unusual and a little disconcerting. Hopefully they're just being elusive …

Tuesday 19th

It was overcast, mild and a little breezy this morning, and my relative lack of time meant I chose to briefly check a few sites before work. I started at the Lammas Lands, where a 25-minute walk around Overgone Meadow produced 36 species. 

There was nothing especially of note, though the Coot pair were still to be found on the pool, 'Mark' the Tufted Duck was on the Wey, a sole Chiffchaff called, the Stonechat pair were present and three or four Reed Bunting were about. A Little Egret flew down Hell Ditch too – there have been fewer than usual around in the Godalming area this winter and this was my first Lammas Lands record since 10 December.

Tufted Duck.

I then headed upriver to Shalford Water Meadows, where I had similarly fleeting rummage around the northern part of the site. St Catherine's Pool was quiet, yielding only three Teal. A group of 11 Fieldfares and two Redwings flew west (curiously!) and three Chiffchaffs were in song.

Shalford Water Meadows.

On the way home I swung by Snowdenham Mill Pond – and it proved a smart move, with eight carat patch gold greeting me there in the shape of a summer plumage Great Crested Grebe.

Great Crested Grebe.

Despite some 700 visits to this little waterbody in the last decade I've only ever had one Great Crested Grebe, and that was as long ago as 7 January 2015. So this was truly mega stuff! It was feeding with gusto, covering all corners of the pond, and I suspect it won't hang around.

Other bits included three drake Mandarin, five Tufted Duck, the female Mallard x Red-crested Pochard (my first sighting since mid-January) and a singing Chiffchaff.

Mute Swans and Stock Dove.

A band of rain moved through from the south late afternoon, prompting me to pop up to Eashing Fields in the evening. It hadn't dropped anything in, alas, with the small Pied Wagtail gathering and continuing Red-legged Partridges the best I could pick out from a Top Field scan.

Wednesday 20th

The wind switched to a very light south-easterly overnight. I found myself awake long before my alarm and, with conditions feeling promising, decided to check a couple of waterbodies before my planned walk of Shackleford. Tuesley yielded nothing but the hazy murk, mild temperature and wind direction encouraged me on to Frensham Great Pond.

Initially things seemed quiet. After no Pochard here on Sunday for the first time in months, a lone female on the south side may have been a migrant. Firecrest, Cetti's Warbler and Chiffchaff were in song too, but there was nothing untoward so I headed to the hotel. 

Great Crested Grebe numbers looked to have risen a bit, I thought, reflecting on my record yesterday at Snowdenham Mill Pond. I began to count them when I noticed two smaller, darker grebe-shaped birds way out in the middle.

Early views of the Black-necked Grebes.

This called for the 'scope, and upon locking in on the duo I was amazed to see two summer plumage Black-necked Grebes! That wonderful rush of excitement ran through me as I took some early photos. The birds were swimming quite strongly south (away from the outdoor swimmers) so I moved to that side of the pond, where I soaked in good views of this stunning species for 20 or so minutes.

Black-necked Grebes.

Black-necked Grebe is a rarity in south-west Surrey these days, with the last in November 2018. It used to be far more regular at Frensham, but since the establishment of Tice's Meadow in the mid-2010s numbers records have dropped off markedly. Nevertheless, it had come up in conversation among local birders recently about how overdue another we were … 

I'd never seen one locally before today, so it was immensely satisfying to find these two and get them on my south-west Surrey list, which is now five grebe species strong. A long hoped for patch find!

I was a little more pressed for time now, but still managed to do a thorough walk of Shackleford before work beckoned. Conditions continued to feel good while I was on site, but yet again it was a rather quiet visit. 

A single Raven was the highlight, with 25 Skylarks around, plus two Stonechat pairs, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a male Sparrowhawk, one Chiffchaff and two Red-legged Partridges.

Raven, Red Kite, Skylark and Ring-necked Parakeet.

I barely reached double figures of Meadow Pipit, a species which should be peaking soon but seem rather thin on the ground in the local area. Zero Fieldfares was noteworthy too – my first blank at 'the shack' since 31 October.

The sun ended up breaking through during the morning and it grew into a lovely day. During a lunchbreak run I noted double figures of Brimstones on the wing (plus two Peacocks), as well as an Egyptian Goose pair with two small goslings at Secretts Farm.

The grebes attracted a steady crowd of admirers all day and Dave was keen to see them after work, so we headed down towards the end of the day. It was a lovely evening and the birds were still there, albeit spending most of their time asleep, perhaps ahead of a night flight ... We had the good fortune of running into Shaun, too, who'd also managed to connect with them after work.

Black-necked Grebes.

I stuck the recorder out again tonight and, just before midnight, a Barn Owl called twice – a nice garden tick. A few Redwings moved over too.

Thursday 21st

No birding.

Friday 22nd

I had a bit of a lie-in today, but there was still time for a 1-km wander before work. I started at Eashing Farm, where it was fairly quiet in grey, muggy conditions. 

A handful of Meadow Pipits (when are they going to properly get going?) and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull drifted north, with six each of Red-legged Partridge and Skylark on the deck. Some 80 Linnets were still flocked up in Finch Field, too, and attracted the attention of a bright male Sparrowhawk.

I then descended down to the river, where I managed 41 species in 50 minutes. The highlight was my first Blackcap encounters of the year, with no fewer than three males in song between Milton Wood and Eashing Marsh. A classic date for an arrival of these fluty songsters.

The two immature Mute Swans were still knocking about along the river, with other bits of note including three Skylarks and two Red-legged Partridges at Eashing Fields, four Chiffchaffs and two Redwings.

Primroses.

It was still cloudy and mild at lunchtime when I popped up to Eashing Fields. I've been scrutinising the Pied Wagtail flock here since Top Field was ploughed at the start of the month, and today I was rewarded with a fetching female White Wagtail. It stood out from the yarrellii crowd and showed well. Some years I don't see any of this smart nominate form locally, so I was pleased.

White Wagtail.

A trickle of Meadow Pipits moved north, along with an apparent passage of Herring Gulls going the same way. A singing Chiffchaff was an Eashing Fields first for the year – as was a Cormorant west!

Pied Wagtail.

Saturday 23rd

After days of mild, cloudy southerlies, there was a dramatic switch in weather last night with this morning bright and chilly with a fresh breeze from the north-west. There was even a light frost on the boardwalk when I arrived at Thursley Common early on, but it didn't prevent a fantastic early spring session – four and a half hours on site, with 8 km walked and a mighty (for March) 60 species seen.

Checking Pudmore first, I was pleased to see the Curlew pair back for another year. The male was first seen by Rosalind on 11th, but the female hadn't been reported yet. The male was occasionally performing song flights and eventually they both flew over to their favoured early season area on East Bog … lovely stuff.

Curlews.

A Snipe was also at Pudmore but it was otherwise quiet in the chilly early morning light. So, I was really quite surprised when a hirundine zipped through north – an early Swallow, no less. In fact my second earliest record in Surrey. It was far from typical March hirundine conditions, but that's birding!

Swallow.

I continued on to Ockley and the eastern ponds, before undertaking a short watch on tumulus. A Grey Heron west caught my eye, as did a bird much further away, heading high west, which turned out to be Great Egret!

Great Egret.

A Thursley mega, with only two previous records, I was able to get some record shots as it lumbered into the distance. While having increased markedly in Surrey in recent years, they're still slippery customers locally but March is increasingly becoming a good month for them in south-west Surrey – perhaps West Country breeders heading back for the summer.

Very content with my innings so far, I headed up to Shrike Hill for a bit of a sky-watch. The breeze has properly picked up now and plenty of raptors were up, including three Sparrowhawks, 10 Red Kites and 18 Buzzards. 

Sparrowhawk.

While watching, a female Wheatear dropped out of the sky and landed on the dead tree next to me. After little more than 30 seconds, she took off again and disappeared to the east … amazing migration in action!

Wheatear.

It had been one of those rare Thursley sessions when everything seems to click. Other bits of note included a single Crossbill, a singing Blackcap at High Ground, four Lesser Black-backed Gulls over, six Chiffchaffs and a Firecrest pair. Tidy – this site is special when it's on form.

Lesser Redpoll, Dartford Warbler, Firecrest and Treecreeper.

Sunday 24th

Today, conditions were similar to yesterday – bright, breezy and chilly initially, though it clouded over during the course of the morning. After yesterday's excitement at Thursley things were much steadier, as I walked along the Wey from Godalming to Unstead. 

At the Lammas Lands a male Blackcap singing on Overgone Meadow, five Chiffchaffs across both meadows and a Little Egret high upriver were signs of migration. Two Redwings were also of note – it won't be long until they're all gone. 

I managed five Snipe on Catteshall Meadow, one of which was put up alongside a Song Thrush – one of several I've seen acting like migrants during the last couple of weeks, which has made me contemplate how discreet a winter visitor they really are …

Curiously, I heard a Little Grebe on the Overgone pool (where the two Coots were still present). Could it be the same bird I had on 9th, which was a site tick for me?

Mark the Tufted Duck was still on the Wey, too. Reed Bunting numbers seem a fraction down this year and I only counted four or five, with none in song (perhaps put off by the wind). I also caught a glimpse of a Mink in Hell Ditch ...

Overgone Meadow, Lammas Lands.

I walked upriver to Unstead Water Meadows, where a singing male Firecrest was just beyond the Lammas Lands boundary by Perry Bridge – an odd location and likely a migrant. Two Blackcaps, four Chiffchaffs and two Coots hanging on at the remnant floods at Upper Unstead Farm rounded off a quiet session.

I thought I'd check the Loseley fields before heading home. Unexpectedly, the bird of the morning occurred here – an ever-so-softly singing Willow Warbler in a small copse between Stakescorner Cottage and Brickfields. One of my favourite songsters, it was a joy to hear, despite a fairly restrained performance. Amazingly given the unlikely setting, this is my earliest ever British record!

A few Skylarks chased each other around the fields, too.

The sun reappeared during the afternoon and the wind dropped as well, resulting in a lovely early spring day. It called for a pre-dinner hike from home, starting along the Wey at Eashing, where two Blackcaps were in song a Peacock was on the wing. 

Better was to come in the horse paddocks between A3 Fields and Hurtmore Bottom – a smart male Wheatear, my first along the river in the 1-km. Lovely stuff.

Wheatear.

I continued on towards Shackleford, where the tiny reservoir at the polo pitch supported a veritable waterbird bonanza in patch terms: a Little Grebe, a Moorhen and four Tufted Duck. The latter species isn't annual at Shackleford …  Blackcap and Skylark were in song, too, though I didn't get to the main part of the site.

Tufted Duck.

I cut back through the village and Shackleford Heath, where a Firecrest was singing, before heading home through Peper Harow. 

Here, another Firecrest was in song – my first Peper Harow record. Two Little Egrets west in quick succession were noteworthy, too, and were perhaps heading to the Waverley Abbey colony after a day feeding upriver. Four Ring-necked Parakeets flew over the village as well.

Little Egret.