Shalford patch diary, late March

Well, what a few days it's been on the patch. The pair of Garganey stayed longer than expected and were enjoyed by at least 50 people. I met and chatted to visiting birders from West Sussex, London and all over Surrey, clearly enticed by some of the fantastic photos of the birds, a few of which I've included below.

Photo: Richard Waters

Photo: Dave Carlsson

Photo: Stevie Minhinnick

Photo: Richard Waters

Photo: Richard Waters

Photo: Richard Waters

Away from the main action on St Catherine's Pool, the first Blackcap (82) of the year was singing near the Dagley Lane allotments early on the 21st, before a more noticeable fall on the 30th when at least five singing males and a female were noted. Early on the 29th the first Willow Warbler of the year was singing by St Catherine's Pool. Chiffchaff numbers are steadily increasing, peaking at an impressive 17 males noted during a patch 'big day' on the 24th - but more on that later.

Chiffchaff - Richard Waters

Wildfowl numbers remain fairly decent with 27 Teal recorded on the 24th and two pairs of Gadwall on the 26th. There were also still two pairs of Shoveler present as of the 28th. There were three Egyptian Geese present in the Broadford area on the 24th, along with the usual numbers of Canada Geese and a single Greylag.

Teal - Richard Waters

Gadwall

Lingering winter visitors include singles of Redpoll over on the 24th, 25th and 27th and just a scattering of Redwing (4 on the 22nd, 3 on the 30th). Two Fieldfare flew west over the Horse Field on the 24th. Meadow Pipit passage is beginning to pick up now with several noted flying north on recent patch visits.

Back to the epic eight hour patch day on the 24th now which saw me notch up a patch record day list of 69 species, including my first Kingfisher (83) of the year, heard calling by the bridge where the Railway Line Walk crosses the river. Other highlights from the day included two Little Egrets flying north and a Firecrest in Mill Mead Meadow while an extended lunchtime skywatch from St Catherine's Hill produced 3 Red Kites, a male Crossbill flying east, an adult Great Black-backed Gull north and a Raven soaring high overhead before doing a couple of barrel rolls and flying west.

Buzzard - Richard Waters

The Little Owl in St Catherine's Meadow has been noticeably more vocal, giving its yelping call from one of the Oaks here both morning and evening on my recent visits.

After finding my first ever patch Red-legged Partridge on the 12th I've seen two together in the Horse Field/Broadford area a couple of times recently. The regular pair of Stonechat are still hanging around near St Catherine's Lock, while on the morning of the 30th a 'new' male was singing by Broadford Bridge.

The first patch Skylark of the year was heard singing to the west of Horse Field early on the 28th, while the first patch hirundine of the year was a Swallow seen by Kit Britten later the same day - exactly the same date as the first one in 2016.

The last week or so has seen a good emergence of the overwintering butterfly species, with Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Red Admiral noted in good numbers, plus a Small or Green-veined White seen briefly on the 26th in Mill Mead Meadow.

Small Tortoiseshell

As a final note on this post, thank you to Shaun Ferguson for producing this new map of the patch which you'll be able to find in 'The local patch' section of the blog, for reference.

Shalford patch diary and local round-up, October & early November

What with the dwindling daylight hours and a week away chasing rarities on Shetland the patch has been somewhat neglected recently although I've still managed a dozen or so visits since the last one of these diary/round-up posts, including several migration watches from St Catherine's Hill, but more on that later. 

The most notable thing about Shalford Water Meadows at the moment is the distinct lack of water. It's hard to believe we're over a week into November when this muddy puddle represents one of the largest areas of standing water on the patch.

St Catherine's Pool, in need of a top-up!

Still, there's enough water left for a few wildfowl, with Teal numbers peaking so far at 16 on the 18th. I've seen the odd Snipe recently but clearly the habitat is not nearly wet enough at present for good numbers. Lapwing have proved to be just a flyover species for me so far at Shalford, usually in small numbers, so I was glad when Sean Foote picked up 26 flying over distantly on 8th October during a little pre-Shetland walk; by far my highest count of this species locally. On 6th November a Green Sandpiper flew high over Broadford Marsh mid-morning heading south-west and seemingly dropped down somewhere on the patch, although I lost the bird in the glare of the sun and couldn't relocate it. It was also good to see the first returning Little Egret of this winter on the same morning, when one flew up from the marsh and disappeared over the trees to the north.  

The first patch year tick since August came on 29th October when I heard the unmistakable call of Crossbill from/over Shalford Park, but the combination of wind and road noise from the A281 made it impossible to locate the bird(s). Stonechats are again a regular feature with three present on 30th October and 5th November, while Siskin numbers are building, with at least 50 around on the 29th.

Stonechat (male)

Stonechat (male)

Stonechat (female)

Redpoll numbers still seem low, with just single figures seen so far this autumn, the first being one west over St Catherine's Hill on 5th October.  The same migration watch session also produced the first Redwings of the season with at least 8 over while bigger numbers arrived a few days later, with at least 60 over on the 8th. The first Fieldfares, meanwhile, were two flying north on 29th October, again with larger numbers arriving a week or so later when at least 35 flew over on 8th November. Decent numbers of Chaffinches have been moving recently too, with a couple of dozen over on the 8th bringing with them at least one Brambling which was heard only so I couldn't confirm numbers.

Despite a bumper autumn for Yellow-browed Warblers in Surrey and the UK as a whole, many a hopeful trawl through the tit flocks on the patch has yet to deliver the goods, but there have been plenty of Chiffchaffs, with at least 5 present on 5th November, seemingly all just regular collybitas although presumably of more northern origin this late in the year. 

Chiffchaff

Going back to the St Catherine's Hill migration watches, and I'd hoped that my newly-found patch vantage point would provide some Woodpigeon magic in the past week or so. 690 south-west in an hour on the 2nd was a decent count but it seems like maybe they just haven't got going in massive numbers yet this autumn, at least not in Surrey anyway. Black-headed Gulls on the other hand have been streaming over in recent days, with 1035 south (and 1 north!) in 50 minutes early on the 8th interspersed with smaller numbers of Herrings, Commons and Lesser Black-backeds. These are presumably birds coming out of roost from the reservoirs nearer London and following the Wey down to feeding grounds on the fields around here. Still, quite a spectacle and I'm hoping there may be a rarer gull in tow with them at some point.

St Catherine's Hill, early morning

Away from the patch and there's been a few local bits of note recently. My Chilworth garden list got an unexpected addition on the 30th when a Great White Egret flew east at dusk, followed closely by a Little Egret for comparison. I had just earlier the same day been pondering the lack of local Little Egrets so far this winter! Unfortunately a last light scan of the ponds in Albury - a favourite roosting spot for Little Egrets - produced nothing although I did note Mandarin Duck numbers are again increasing on Postford Pond with 45 present. I also heard a Firecrest calling by Waterloo Pond on the 29th. The garden excitement didn't stop with the GWE as the following morning there was a Ring Ouzel in with the Redwings in the big holly and hawthorn hedge behind our house. My garden list now stands on 86 after 26 months. 

Popular beauty spot Newlands Corner is on my route to work so I've been popping in occasionally of late, particularly towards the end of October when I was hoping to find a Ring Ouzel or two lurking in the Whitebeams and Rowans. Sadly no joy but I did have a decent morning on the 20th with 2 Redpoll, 2 Brambling and a Crossbill over and at least 70 Redwings around.

On 5th November I visited the old sandpit and now filled-in landfill site in Albury to carry out the first of many bird surveys at the request of the management company Suez. Fellow surveyors John, Dave and I had a decent couple of hours on site, with two Ravens the most notable species, although it was also good to see at least 4 Skylarks, 20 Meadow Pipits and a modest flock of Linnets using the site, currently best described as a scrubby, grassy hill. Over time we hope to build up a better picture of what birds are using the site and offer advice as to how best proceed with the habitat restoration. 

Looking west along the hill in Albury Sandpit

The view north from the sandpit towards the North Downs

 

Shalford patch diary, May so far.

May's been a busy old month for me, so whilst there's been no Lammergeier or Dalmatian Pelican, there's still a fair amount to report from the local patch in the past three weeks or so. The spring migrants have continued to flood in, with most of the expected species arriving more or less on cue although I've still not caught up with Cuckoo, Lesser Whitethroat and a few others, on the patch at least. The first Garden Warbler was bubbling away in Broom Meadow early on the 4th though and by the third week of the month there were at least four around the recording area.

On the 9th, meanwhile, the first Reed Warbler of the year was singing near St Catherine's Pool, with again further arrivals in subsequent days including one singing in a clump of bamboo by the Riff Raff weir on the 12th! On the evening of the 11th it was delightful to stumble across a Spotted Flycatcher living up to its name in trees along the navigation towards Broadford Bridge, I heard it again the following morning but have seen no sign of it since so suspect it may have moved on.

Spotted Flycatcher

 Other migrant species are seemingly still moving through, particularly Swifts which have increased greatly in the last week or so, although there are clearly still Swallows and House Martins coming through too. It's been wonderful to watch these aerial aces skimming low over the water at St Catherine's Lock. Sedge Warbler numbers still seem rather erratic, peaking so far on the 12th when there were at least six present.

Swift at St Catherine's Lock

Sedge Warbler in Bog Meadow

Two species I'd anticipated adding to the patch list without too much difficulty were Kingfisher and Common Tern so I was pleased to catch up with both recently. The latter were my 100th species at Shalford this year, with two flying south early on the 18th. Kingfishers meanwhile were heard near Riff Raff weir on the 14th and then seen in the same area again on the 23rd. In other news, I've noticed a slight increase in gulls flying over in the past week or so, with quite a few Herring and Lesser Black-backeds on the move, particularly on the 18th. Other recent flyovers of note have included single Little Egrets north and south-west on the 7th and 12th, respectively, a single Egyptian Goose north-east on the 18th and, most surprisingly, two Great Crested Grebes high south-west early on the 9th with a Mandarin in tow!

Chiffchaff

Great Spotted Woodpecker

There's been lots of evidence this month of birds breeding around the water meadows, with both Treecreeper and Starling seen carrying food to trees in Broom Meadow, Grey Wagtail young calling under Broadford Bridge, and a family group of Mistle Thrushes in the horse field near Broadford Marsh.

Away from the patch, on the 12th I made my first visit of 2016 to nearby Blackheath hoping for Nightjar and sure enough heard at least three churring males, along with two singing Cuckoos and a bonus singing Redstart - my first record for this site since I've lived locally.

Shalford patch diary, weeks sixteen and seventeen

As every patch birder knows, we have a pastime that is at times very rewarding and at other times very frustrating, and sometimes it feels like there's an awful lot more of the latter - especially in my relatively bird-less neck of the woods! Still, after a little mid-month lull, Shalford Water Meadows has delivered a few goodies for me in the past couple of weeks and, despite the unseasonably chilly weather, I have been taking advantage of the longer days by making increasingly frequent early morning visits which have proved fruitful, and also meant I've been treated to some incredible scenes like this.

Warbler numbers seem to be growing every day, with a noticeable fall of Blackcaps on the 28th (at least eighteen noted during a 90 minute visit) and Whitethroats increasing to at least nineteen today. Chiffchaff numbers seem to have levelled off a bit although there were still at least ten singing males in the area between Broadford and St Catherine's this morning. As of 28th there was still a lone Willow Warbler singing in the Broadford area.

Chiffchaff - Richard Waters

Hirundines continue to move through in dribs and drabs, their efforts presumably hampered by the recent spate of northerlies. On the 19th it was nice to see three Sand Martins hawking low over St Catherine's Lock.

The first Swift (92) was seen on the 21st, followed by odd ones and twos this past week, but today saw the first more substantial arrivals, for me anyway, with at least a dozen through during my three hour morning visit - a group of nine were screaming over Dagley Lane as I left.

Whitethroat

Although we are now well into spring there have been some lingering reminders of winter with a few Redpolls and Siskins still kicking about, and a Little Egret which flew north on the 29th. Still, the summer migrants are arriving thick and fast now and, in addition to the aforementioned Swifts, I've added three new birds to the patch year list since my last blog post. The first came on the 21st as I approached the Horse Field along the Railway Line Walk to be greeted by a familiar call and one which I'd anticipated hearing in this exact location at some point - Yellow Wagtail (93)! Clearly I had flushed it as I approached the field and it flew off north-east over Broadford Marsh. This was followed by a stonking male on the 23rd which dropped into the field right in front of me as I was scanning the muddy ground for anything of note. Two flyover Yellow Wags were also recorded on the 24th and 1st May. One of my favourite birds (surely few other British birds can so embody summer in the sheer gaudiness of their plumage?); it's great to have caught up with so many so close to home.

Yellow Wagtail

Patch year ticks 94 and 95 arrived on the 26th in the form of Common Sandpiper and Sedge Warbler. I had perhaps expected the former to turn up at some point on Broadford Marsh but I definitely wasn't expecting to find one trotting along the towpath just north of Broadford Bridge. I kept my distance but after a while it flew to the other side of the Navigation where I was able to get a couple of photos before a passing cyclist flushed it and it flew off south. 

The Sedge Warbler, meanwhile, was singing away by St Catherine's Pool, where it was joined by a second bird on the 29th, and there were at least three around this morning.

Early morning on the 28th it was nice to see a female Redstart hopping back and forth from the fence to the ground in the north-west corner of Horse Field. My second patch record of this species this year but far more obliging than the one the other week.

Wildfowl numbers have dropped right down now with just a handful of late Teal lingering until the 19th, and a few resident Mallards and Mandarins still around. Early on the 29th a pair of Gadwall flew off south-west over St Catherine's Lock.

Looking east across Broadford Meadow

There has been much evidence of various species breeding in the area recently. I have noted a Grey Wagtail carrying food in the Broadford Bridge area on several occasions, while I've also seen a Sparrowhawk carrying prey across the river here a couple of times this past week. On the 24th, meanwhile, there was a newly-fledged Moorhen following one of its parents through one of the puddles along the Railway Line Walk, on the west side of Horse Field. I've also been monitoring a Buzzard nest in this area; it's remarkable to think not that long ago this species was still a rarity in this part of the world. 

The local Little Owls still appear to be around, although I have only seen one on occasion recently - hopefully this means they're now breeding and haven't been scared off by recent tree works along the railway line. 

Another new addition to the patch recently have been the cows which appeared in St Catherine's Meadow and up in the Old Watermeadows near Guildford on the 24th. Cattle Egret anyone?

Cows!

Lapwings were recorded flying north-east twice last weekend - two on the 23rd and one on the 24th - only my second and third patch records of this species this year, surprisingly. 

Skylarks have been rather more evident recently, with one heard singing well west of Horse Field early on the 26th, 28th and 29th, and two which flew up from St Catherine's Meadow on 1st May. I know they breed up on the hills to the north-east and would imagine they're present at Loseley Park to the west, but suspect there is insufficient breeding habitat for them around the water meadows here. 

On 1st May I was surprised to stumble across a Firecrest along the Railway Line Walk - my first record of the species here for a number of weeks and seemingly an odd time for one to turn up, although Martin Kettell had one at Stoke Water Meadows just yesterday. A nice end to a good couple of weeks which has taken my Patchwork Challenge total to 95 species/101 points. I'm looking forward to seeing what May has in store!

Bullfinch

Pedunculate Oak in flower

Linnet

*

Shalford patch diary, weeks ten and eleven

Monday 7th March

After an enjoyable but rather quiet morning vis migging at Leith Hill I headed down to the patch for an extended afternoon visit. Entering from the Broadford Bridge end I had barely walked more than a few metres before I noticed a few gulls drifting over. Nothing particularly unusual there, except that was for one which even with the naked eye stood out with its pure white primaries gleaming in the sunshine. A quick look through bins confirmed my suspicions that it was an adult Mediterranean Gull. Unfortunately no sooner had I got my camera out and ready the bird had gained height and was disappearing fast to the north-east. Still a great addition to the patch list and a great start to the afternoon! It proved to be quite a gull-filled visit, with over 170 Common Gulls north later in the day, amongst the usual hundreds of Black-headeds, at least twenty Herring and five Lesser Black-backed.

Lots of Gulls!

On the Railway Pool there were four Teal and a Little Egret, while St Catherine's Pool held eight Teal and a pair of Shoveler. Just north of St Catherine's Lock I flushed a Water Rail from the reeds as I passed. The usual pair of Kestrels were still around, while two single Red Kites flew over (or possibly the same bird) - one north-east followed by one west a while later. Other raptors were at least two Buzzards and a male Sparrowhawk which flew over carrying prey. Meanwhile a Raven drifted into the patch airspace from the west for a moment before turning and heading back the same way. There were at least fifteen Rooks around, including a pair mating in St Catherine's Meadow, west of the lock (I'll put an annotated map on here one of these days). All in all not a bad afternoon - patch birding at its best!

Kestrel

Friday 11th March

The best thing about this time of year is surely the ever-lengthening evenings and, thanks to still being on winter working hours, I can now easily get in a couple of hours' birding after work. After one of the mildest days of the year so far, the patch was still thronging with birdsong when I arrived.

Blackbird singing

The rain earlier in the week had had a noticeable impact on the water levels, with the southern end of the meadows mostly flooded again although thankfully not enough to prevent access via the boardwalk. Indeed, amongst the first birds I saw this evening were a few Teal out on the flood here, along with two on the Railway Pool and at least fifteen on Broadford Marsh, viewed from Railway Line Walk. Other wildfowl of note were at least five Shoveler, and two Mandarin which flew over St Catherine's Pool and two more (or possibly the same two) which flew down into Broadford Marsh a while later. Pausing a while at St Catherine's Lock I noted a singing male Grey Wagtail and a Little Egret, the latter perched in a tree a little way along the river towards Guildford. Meanwhile there was a Little Owl in the usual tree just upstream from St Catherine's Lock on the west side of the navigation.

Grey Wagtail - Richard Waters 

Cuckooflower - considerably ahead of its avian namesake

Saturday 12th March

A well-timed late morning visit after the early fog had cleared saw the meadows bathed in warming sunshine, and the birds were clearly responding in kind: Reed Buntings were singing, along with a few of the many Redwings gathering along the Railway Line Walk, and a Carrion Crow was building a nest in an Oak along the eastern boundary. The Chiffchaff I'd earlier seen skulking through the undergrowth by the river when I first arrived was singing away at the top of a Willow as I walked back to my car. Always a sound to lift the spirits at this time of year, even though this species is increasingly overwintering in Britain and isn't quite the harbinger of spring it once was. The other surprise this morning was another patch tick in the form of a male Rose-ringed Parakeet along the river just north-east of St Catherine's Lock. After a few minutes of nibbling at the buds in this Ash it flew off south, screeching as it went.

Rose-ringed Parakeet

I was unfortunately not quick enough with my camera to capture the leucistic Goldfinch I stumbled across feeding on Burdock seedheads along the Railway Line Walk. Had it not been with a small flock of Goldfinches it would have really had me stumped. Indeed, when I first caught sight of it, all black and white with a gleaming white head, thoughts of recent UK occurrences of Northern Long-tailed Tit flashed into my head! Other highlights from today's visit included Little Egret, Firecrest, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, two Buzzard, a flyover Redpoll and at least twenty Teal.

Goldfinch

Red Kite

Sunday 13th March

Just a flying post-work visit tonight produced at least three Reed Buntings, two Buzzards, the usual Kestrel pair, five Cormorants north and a single Egyptian Goose south. Richard Waters arrived around about the time I was heading home and manged to photograph a Barn Owl.

Cormorant (and Common Gull)

Barn Owl - Richard Waters

Monday 14th March

The north-easterly really had some bite to it when I arrived on the patch after work this evening and unsurprisingly there wasn't a huge amount of bird activity going on, most things sensibly hunkered down out of the wind. Of note though were a couple of Mandarin and a high count of fourteen Shoveler at Broadford, plus a couple of Buzzards lingering over the trees near the railway line and getting mobbed by the local corvids.

Treecreeper - Richard Waters

Thursday 17th March

Having enjoyed the sunshine all day at work and seen my first Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell of the year earlier in the day, I was feeling decidedly optimistic and full of the joys of spring when I arrived at Shalford. Entering the gate into Broom Meadow one of the first bird sounds I heard was Linnet, a common enough species but one which has thus far been only an occasional flyover for me here, so it was a surprise to find a little 'fall' of sorts, with at least half a dozen or so flitting about the gorse and broom bushes, and a couple of singing males perched higher in the trees. It struck me then that I hadn't seen any sign of a Stonechat here for a couple of weeks - sometimes migration is as evident by that which is no longer present as that which has newly arrived.

Looking south towards St Catherine's Lock

Other species of note from this evening's visit were four Teal, two Mandarin, two Shoveler, two Little Grebe and the now usual Little Owl in its favourite Oak between the navigation and the railway. Moving overhead were at least sixteen Common Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and four Cormorants north and two Egyptian Geese south. As I returned to my car via the boardwalk I counted at least twenty-three Magpies gathering to roost at the southern end of the meadows. I'm not sure the nursery rhyme goes up to twenty-three?!

Magpie

Friday 18th March

A very, very, very, very cold Leith Hill tower migration watch kick-started the day, with only twenty or so Crossbills of any real note amongst the murk and drizzle. Slowly regaining sensation in our toes and fingers, Ed Stubbs and I decided to head for our respective patches, beginning with a couple of hours at Shalford. Amongst the first birds we saw was a showy Firecrest in the line of hollies along the eastern boundary. Out in Broom Meadow there were three Kestrels and at least two singing Reed Buntings, while our first Little Egret of the day flew south-west over St Catherine's Hill. We later noted another in the ditch running under the railway bridge and a probable third towards the back of the Railway Pool. The regular Little Owl was again in its usual tree, while wildfowl of note were at least twenty Teal, a dozen Shoveler and two Mandarin.

Drake Mandarin

Saturday 19th March

The twelfth straight day of north-easterlies and hope for a sudden fall of migrants was at a particularly low ebb as I made my way to the patch this morning. My optimism was buoyed somewhat though as I entered the gate into the meadows only to be greeted by the sight of a Chiffchaff flitting about in an Oak here, singing occasionally. I later noted another doing the same further west near the Riff Raff weir. Spring is proving slow to spring again this year but at least it's getting there!

Chiffchaff

Other highlights from this morning included at least fifty Redwings out in the horse field along the Railway Line Walk, the usual Little Owl, twenty-five Common Gulls and a Red Kite north and at least eighteen Teal and four Mandarin about the place.

Pheasant walking the line

Sunday 20th March

The first day of spring unfortunately brought no break in the weather as the cold wind continued to keep the temperatures down. It was a decent morning on the patch though, in spite of the unwelcoming conditions. There were again two Chiffchaffs singing occasionally, and there was a great deal of chatter from the assembled four dozen or more Redwings down the Railway Line Walk - they won't be with us much longer now. Common Gulls were drifting north almost continuously during my visit, interspersed only occasionally with a Black-headed. Teal numbers were particularly high, with at least nineteen on St Catherine's Pool alone, bringing the site total to at least thirty-four - by far my highest count of this species here to date.

Drake Teal

The Little Owl was showing well in its usual tree for me, but Richard Waters later managed to get a photo of two together which was great to see, especially as lengthsman Rob tells me they haven't bred here for a number of years. Richard also had a flyover Little Egret during his visit. Raptors were represented by at least one Sparrowhawk, four Buzzards and a female Kestrel. Gulls aside, there was just the slightest hint of some visible migration going on overhead, with a single Meadow Pipit north, two Linnets east and two Lapwing south - the latter a very welcome patch tick.

Kestrel 

Little Egret - Richard Waters

Little Owl - Richard Waters

Little Owls - Richard Waters

Little Owl - Richard Waters