Farewell to Chilworth: the end of a garden list.

I must start by acknowledging Ed's blog post about leaving behind his family home as inspiration in part for the following.

Moving house is always a wrench. So many emotions rolled into one. Not least, for a birder, the feeling of finality about the garden list. A slowly accumulating total that seemed like it would go on for ever must sadly come to an end. It's the ultimate in patch watching really, isn't it? There's something particularly wonderful about seeing birds in, from and above your own little patch of land, and even more so when something wholly unexpected makes an appearance.

After almost three years enjoying the pretty wonderful view from our garden on Sample Oak Lane in Chilworth, my girlfriend Kate and I have now left the Surrey Hills behind us. In fact we've left the county altogether, heading south to Pulborough in West Sussex where our new garden backs directly onto the wildbrooks. To say I'm looking forward to our future there and the birds we'll add to the garden list is something of an understatement (already on 75 species after just over a month!) but, as we have now come to the end of our tenancy and returned the keys, I thought I'd just pay homage to that which we have left behind and the very respectable list of 92 bird species I recorded in, over or from our Chilworth garden in our 34 and a bit months there.

(Unfortunately I've only realised since I started writing this that I didn't take a great deal of photos of the birds in and over the garden so some imagination will be required...)

Looking south-west from the house

The garden list got off to a pretty good start, with a Red Kite circling overhead on the day we first viewed the house in July 2014. At that time this species was already becoming a pretty common sight locally, but still a good omen for what was to come. The second raptor on the list was added on moving day a few weeks later and was certainly not the species I would have expected. As we finished lugging in the last of the boxes and with little more than Blue Tit and Robin added to the garden total, Kate drew my attention to a bird of prey getting mobbed by Crows over the fields to the south-west. 'Probably just a Buzzard', I said. No sooner had those words left my mouth though, than the bird turned to reveal its gleaming white underparts and long kinked wings. I sprinted upstairs to my scope (which of course I had already set up in the spare room) and just managed to get enough on the bird to realise it was obviously an Osprey before it flew off over the trees to the south. I needn't have rushed, as the bird was clearly lingering in the area and I saw it several times again over the course of the next few days before eventually watching it fly off high south one morning. This was a species I went on to record on a further two occasions over the garden but never quite so memorably as that first time.

Osprey over Chilworth, 30th August 2014

Over the coming weeks our first autumn in the house produced flyover Yellow Wagtail, a slightly late Swift (we moved over the August Bank Holiday so I assumed I'd have to wait until the following spring for this one), Hobby and regular Tawny Owl and Little Owl. The latter species seemed to become a less frequent occurrence over time, sadly, and by this year it was one I only heard very occasionally calling rather distantly to the north. Interesting viewpoint from Steve Chastell on this was the suggestion that Little Owls are becoming increasingly secretive as Buzzards and the like become more common, which seems logical to me. I certainly seemed to hear them a lot more often than I saw them on my Shalford patch as well. Barn Owl was only recorded once, with one hunting over the fields on the other side of the road from us on 31st August 2015. Ravens were recorded on occasion, peaking at three over together on 3rd April this year, although I perhaps didn't see them quite as often as I expected given their increase as a local breeder. Still, along with Red Kite, a sign of the changing times in the fates of various bird species in this part of the country. Another sign of this was the fact that I only recorded Yellowhammer maybe two or three times flying over the garden where once upon a time I'm told they were singing from every other hedgerow between Guildford and Albury.

Raven over the garden

Despite my best efforts the garden itself had relatively little in the way of vegetation to hold many birds beyond the common Tits, Robins and Dunnocks but the trees and hedges nearby attracted warblers in the form of regular Chiffchaff, Willow Warber, Blackcap and once a Whitethroat. Marsh Tit was recorded just once passing through the roadside hedge, sneezing as it went. One species I was surprised never to record from the garden was Firecrest, especially given how common they are becoming in the local area - I often saw and heard them just a little way up the road.

As has been well documented the whole Tillingbourne stretch through Albury and Chilworth towards Shalford is a popular wintering spot for Little Egrets so it wasn't surprising to see this species flying over the garden in the winter months, or occasionally in the fields beyond our garden. What was less expected though was the Great White Egret which flew over at dusk on 30th October 2016 - a Surrey lifer for me, from the comfort of my patio no less! Magic.

With there being a large private water body (labelled 'Fish Pond' on the OS map) just a few hundred yards to the west of the garden it was no surprise to see Mallards and Mandarins regularly flying over, along with Canada Geese, Cormorants, Grey Herons, etc. More unusual flyovers came in the form of Tufted Duck, Shoveler and Gadwall. Waders were unsurprisingly particularly hard to come by around these parts, so a flyover Green Sandpiper on 24th July 2016 and two Curlew over on 1st June this year were both very welcome additions indeed (the latter in fact turned out to be the final new species on the garden list).

The most astounding and memorable moment though was surely the pair of Common Cranes which flew south on the morning of 2nd May this year. To this day I still almost can't believe it actually happened. You can read my full account of that morning here if you'd like to and haven't already done so.

It wasn't just the nearby water producing some decent garden ticks though. Having Blackheath just a little way to the south-east at the top of the road was clearly also very helpful with Cuckoo a reasonably regular sound in the early summer months and one even flying north over the garden on 22nd April 2016. Siskin were a regular feature throughout the year particularly in the winter when they flocked together with the Goldfinches in the Alders across the fields towards Fish Pond. Other heathland wanderers included occasional Crossbills, and a Woodlark which flew north-west on 21st September last year. Best of all though was the Nightjar that was heard churring somewhere to the south of the garden on the night of 21st May this year.

Only time would have told whether a few more years there would have seen my garden list emulate fellow Chilworth birder Ernest Garcia's list of 108 species (which by the way includes Whimbrel, Wryneck, Willow Tit and Goosander!) but regardless I will still always remember fondly the birding memories I made in this little corner of the Surrey Hills. 

In the garden soon after moving in - in summer plumage!

A less than average Tuesday morning

It's funny how life works out sometimes; how the smallest decisions can lead to big changes or, in the context of birding, big ticks.

After a pretty solid weekend's birding I'd woken up rather too late on Tuesday (2nd May) to head to the patch before work. Besides, the pretty thick mist over the fields around our house in Chilworth didn't fill me with confidence I'd be able to see much down at the water meadows anyway. So I eased myself into the new working week gently with a leisurely start. Having made my breakfast I noticed one of the cats loitering by the back door so I let it out. It was a pleasant morning so I picked up my bins and strolled out into the garden, the usual soundtrack of Song Thrush, Robin, Blackcap filling the air, the mist glowing golden over the fields.

After barely a minute my eyes were drawn to two large birds that had just flown into view over the trees a couple of hundred metres to the west. Beyond these trees there is a large lake so it's not uncommon to see Canada Geese, Mute Swans and Cormorants taking off and coming into land. Even through the mist though something about these birds immediately looked a little different. Raising my bins to my eyes I was instantly greeted by the unmistakeable silhouette of two COMMON CRANES in profile, flying purposefully south in the graceful yet powerful way that is so distinctive for this species, their legs and neck trailing long and slender in front of and to the rear of their long, slim and fingered wings. I watched in dumbstruck awe until they disappeared over the trees to the south, I knew if I'd gone back inside to get my camera I would have missed them and wasted precious viewing time. One of those birding moments when time just seems to stand still and yet the whole thing was probably over in a matter of seconds. I ran back inside to tell my girlfriend before firing off texts and tweets. Absolutely unreal. Strangely, I'd paid particular attention to the Cranes at Slimbridge a few weeks ago, thinking it'd be useful to be familiar with their flight action at some point in the future - I just didn't expect it to be so soon!

Cranes at Slimbridge a couple of weeks ago

A little imagination required here...

It seems the same birds were seen flying south over Slinfold Country Club, c15 miles to the south-east, just 25 minutes later then over Small Dole at 0930hrs where they turned east to follow the South Downs. If they continued on this flight path it seems almost certain that the same two birds were the ones that dropped into Sandwich Bay late afternoon and were present in that area until nightfall. Doing a bit more detective work I discovered the BBC wildlife presenter Steve Backshall tweeted he'd just seen two flying south out of Little Marlow GPs in Bucks the previous evening (1st May) at 1900hrs. Assuming these records all relate to the same birds I've thrown together this rather slapdash map showing their approximate flight path. Where they went after that is anyone's guess!*

You may remember my blog post from a few weeks ago where I speculated about what my next garden tick might be - well, I think it's fair to say Crane was pretty much one of the last things I expected to take the house list to 89. Now the big question is: what will number 90 be and will it make an appearance before we move in a couple of months?



*note: I should point out I obviously didn't think they'd flown through the night and only got as far as Surrey. I hadn't particularly given much thought though to where the birds may have roosted until the excitement died down and I replayed the moment again in my head today (4th May) - when I picked the birds up coming over the trees they were definitely ascending and then banked slightly as I got bins on them, suggesting in fact that they had perhaps roosted very nearby - maybe even in the large lake itself! I had a Great White Egret fly out of there last year so clearly the habitat is pretty good for birds of that ilk.

Further adventures in micro-patching

Having always been a keen patch-watcher, I must admit to quite enjoying this spell of medically-enforced micro-patching - i.e. my garden and its immediate surroundings. On the eve of leaving Chilworth and the Surrey Hills behind, I feel like it's making me take time to appreciate my surroundings and look harder for things I may have missed. Indeed, since returning from hospital on Saturday afternoon I've notched up 56 bird species in, around or over the garden, although still yet to achieve the hoped-for 50 in a single day.

Dunnock

Yesterday's highlights included singles of Sand Martin and Swallow over, one Skylark east (the first garden record for a while), an adult Great Black-backed Gull east and ten Redpoll high north-west. It was also entertaining watching four Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other from tree to tree on and off all morning. Butterfly numbers were lower than Sunday, as to be expected as the day was rather cooler and breezier, with just Comma and Holly Blue making an appearance. It's worth mentioning here that our back garden is a very open space and backs directly onto farmland. It can often be very breezy here when other places locally are calm - I've often equated it to being rather more like being by the coast than the Surrey Hills! Anyway, I've no doubt a dweller of a more sheltered garden would have done rather better for butterflies but, as it stands, my garden butterfly year list now stands at seven species.

Carder Bee

This morning started drizzly but mild and with relatively light winds. Normally the kind of morning I'd be scurrying off to the patch but not today. I'd barely finished my breakfast before I heard the sweetly drunken notes of a Willow Warbler singing through the open window; the first one from the garden this year. Not a bad start.

Willow Warbler - too mobile for a good photo!

I got my bins and camera out and before setting up for some more sedentary garden birding headed out for a gentle stroll up our road. I had half thought I might make it up to Blackheath but didn't get that far in the end. Anyway I hadn't walked far before I caught up with the Willow Warbler again, working its way through the roadside hedgerow, occasionally darting to the top of a taller tree when a car passed by. It was nice to spend some time watching it. Maybe I'm usually in too much of a rush to find something else.

A little further on I stumbled across a pair of Buzzards mating in a tree right on the edge of Blackheath, and my first Red Kite of the day drifted over. Down at ground level it was nice to see my first flowering Cow Parsley and Garlic Mustard of the year; some of the Hawthorns don't look like they'll be much longer either.

Blackthorn

Garlic Mustard

Cow Parsley

Forget-me-not species - probably garden escape

 Back home and into my sky watching position from where I could still hear occasional bursts of song from the Willow Warbler, plus at least one each of Chiffchaff and Blackcap behind the farm. A pair of Jackdaws foraged about nearby gathering nest material. Looking up I caught sight of three Ravens powering north together, sadly disappearing over the tree line before I could get a photo. Later on two Skylarks flew north-east. The hoped for low cloud and occasional drizzle sadly didn't bring down a Little Gull or any terns but single Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew south and south-west. As the day brightened a little mid-afternoon, raptors really got going with at least four Red Kites and nine Buzzards in the sky together at one point, seven of the latter kettling together and drifting north-east. Despite my best efforts I've not yet found any grounded passerines in the fields that back onto our garden but I'm certainly enjoying trying! The garden list remains on 88.

Buzzard

Pheasant

Cormorant - lots of these over the garden this week