I've got a bit out of the habit of doing my regular patch diary blog posts so am going to attempt to summarise the first seven or so weeks of 2017 in this one with as little waffle as possible! As I write this the patch year list stands on 75, just one behind this time last year and with several 'easy' species still missing, most notably Tawny Owl! One of the best things about patch watching though is it makes otherwise common species more rewarding when they do make an appearance, and it's been interesting to note several species that have been recorded earlier this year than last, and others that have been notable by their absence.
Greylag Goose is the third most commonly seen goose species on the patch and only ever seen in smallish numbers in 2016, so it was quite surprising to see approximately 70 flying NNE from Loseley direction towards Guildford on 28th January.Canada Geese are just as common as ever, with reasonable numbers (20-30) flying in to roost on St Catherine's Pool on all my evening visits recently. As was the case last year Egyptian Goose seems to be largely a flyover species here, so it was a bit of a surprise to see a pair in the dead tree in Broadford Meadows on 5th February, seemingly vying with a gang of Jackdaws over a nest box. Then this weekend a pair seem to have taken a liking to the St Catherine's Pool/Broom Meadow area, having been seen either on the water or in one of the Oaks here the past couple of days.
Egyptian Goose
Moving on to ducks, it took me until the end of March last year to record Wigeon on patch, with the 31st March birds remaining my only Shalford record until 7th January this year when I heard that familiar whistling call somewhere over Broom Meadow at first light, this then followed by two drakes on St Catherine's Pool during my WeBS count on 12th February. Shoveler, on the other hand, have been rather more elusive this winter than last, with the first ones not seen until 30th January. They've since been a fairly regular feature, peaking at 11+ on 12th February.
Wigeon and Shoveler flying off from St Catherine's Pool - great photo, I know
Another duck species that took me until spring last year to add to the patch list was Gadwall so it was nice to find a pair on Broadford Marsh on 12th February, again during my WeBS count. As was the case last winter, Teal is rivalled only by Mallard as the commonest duck on the patch. They tend to be quite scattered around the area though so it's hard to get an accurate count, but numbers of between 15 and 25 are regular, with a high count of 30+ on 15th January. Mandarin Ducks have been around in small numbers, peaking at at least 6 on 19th and 25th February - 4 flew from roost below St Catherine's Hill early on the latter date.
Gadwall
Teal
There's been at least one Little Grebe kicking about since the middle of January, mostly on the navigation downstream of St Catherine's Lock although more recently I've had one on St Catherine's Pool on a couple of occasions, where they bred last year. It was particularly unusual seeing one swimming amongst the trees in Mill Mead Meadow after the river burst its banks a few weeks back!
Little Grebe
On to gulls, and it's been the usual palette of Herring, Common and Black-headeds flying over recently, peaking at either end of the day, some of the latter occasionally coming down to check out the river or flying low over Dagley Lane towards the village green. Lesser Black-backeds are rather less common and I've had just one record of Great Black-backed Gull so far: one adult flying high south-west on 21st January.
Three species of wader have made it onto the year list so far, with Lapwing perhaps the most notable. In 2016 I only had a handful of records of this species, mostly in small numbers aside from a flock of 26 over in October. Again it was good to get them on the year list early this year with a flock of c.35 wheeling around towards Loseley on 21st January followed by around 30 flying over the same area on 5th February, then half a dozen north-east on 26th February. Keeping with the theme of record breaking counts, there were at least 18 Snipe towards the northern end of Broom Meadow near St Catherine's Lock on 7th January - by far my highest count here! Still waiting to find that Jack though... I did quite well for Woodcock on the patch last year, with several records in January/February. I was glad then to finally add the species to the 2017 year list when two flew up from Broadford Marsh and right over my head at dusk on 15th February.
Lapwings (you'll have to take my word for it!)
Little Egrets are a frequent sight in this part of the county in winter now and Shalford is no exception, with several records of this species on the patch already in 2017, most recently one which flew up from near St Catherine's Hill on 25th February.
Little Egret
Up until this week Barn Owl was the only Owl species I'd recorded on the patch in 2017 with up to two present at times. Hopefully this species will breed here this year after no proven breeding records in 2016. On the 21st of this month though Barn was joined on the year list by at least one Little Owl calling at dusk - first at the southern end of St Catherine's Meadow (their favoured area last year) then closer to the lock, seemingly in a tree right by the navigation, though it was too dark to see. Whether this was one bird or two I'm not sure but I'll be monitoring them closely as this is my first record of the species here since last June.
Red Kite
Moving onto raptors now and the first patch Red Kite of the year was recorded on 21st January followed by singles on the 4th, 5th, 25th and 26th February. As with Buzzards in this area it's becoming increasingly hard to separate the locals from the movers but it's certainly good to see both these species becoming such a regular sight. Talking of Buzzards, there seems to be a pair hanging around in the same area that they bred last year which is good news. Last year I also suspected Sparrowhawks to have bred in the Broadford area and I've already seen birds displaying around here again on warmer days recently. Last week a male was loitering around in the trees in the same area.
Kestrel remains the most regularly seen raptor on the patch with at least one or two present on all visits. This morning (26th) it was good to see a pair hanging around near one of the nest boxes towards the southern end of the patch. My only Peregrine record of the year so far was one that flew south-west over St Catherine's Lock on 28th January.
Kestrel
Fieldfare have been in rather short supply so far this year but there's a fairly decent Redwing flock kicking around, usually scattered about in the wetter areas of Mill Mead Meadow and Broom Meadow. Stonechats have been a fairly consistent sight so far this year with up to three present on the 7th and 14th January. I hadn't seen one for a week or two until yesterday though when a female was near Broadford Bridge. I'm finding Firecrest rather harder to find this winter than last with my only record so far one in the bank of Holly along the Railway Line Walk on 5th February.
My first skywatch from St Catherine's Hill of the year on 25th February produced the first Raven record of 2017 with two flying west not long after 7am, seemingly coming up from roost in the trees on the north-east side of the hill. This is exciting as all my previous records of this species involved high-flying birds simply passing over the patch.
A very obliging Greenfinch in Broom Meadow
Siskins are an ever present species at this time of year with good numbers around, particularly in the Alders at the top of Broom Meadow, but not quite so many as last winter - c.120 on 15th January my highest count so far, and not a sniff of a Redpoll! Compared to last winter, there are lots more Linnets around and I've noticed they are roosting in the bushes in Broom Meadow - at least 30 coming into roost on 22nd January.
The same skywatch on 25th February that delivered Raven also yielded the first Crossbill of the year, with one flying in from the direction of the Chantries before turning and flying south. Another species that has made it onto the patch year list earlier that in 2016 - considerably earlier in fact, as it took until October to record one last year. Given the amount of records of possible breeding in the county this year this is not exactly surprising but a very welcome addition nonetheless. Reed Buntings are now back on the patch in reasonable numbers with at least half a dozen around since early February, and a pair already looking to be checking out nest sites in St Catherine's and Broom Meadows.
It's hard to imagine a June less 'flaming' than the one we've just had, at least in the south of the country anyway. It seems like hardly a day passed without a deluge or two, and some days were total washouts. Nonetheless I've been persevering with the patch, still buoyed with renewed enthusiasm after the Brent Goose at the end of May, at a time when local birding can be an otherwise rather quiet and uneventful pastime. Two new species found their way on to the patch year list in June; one fairly predictable, albeit belated, the other rather less expected. Both occurred on consecutive days, also adding a bit of sparkle to what is usually one of the quietest months of the birding calendar.
Banded Demoiselle
An early morning visit in misty, drizzly conditions on the 17th produced the first of said patch ticks, with a Cuckoo (102) singing in the Broadford area as I walked down the Railway Line Walk to check out the marsh, which by the way really is looking in tip top condition now for the first returning waders (or at least it was before another load of heavy rain at the end of the month raised the water levels again!) Half an hour or so later as I made my way up to St Catherine's Lock I then found the Cuckoo singing in this area, slightly towards the north-east in fact, near Shalford Park. I haven't heard it again since.
Little Owl showing off its 'false face'
June patch tick number two came the very next morning, again after an early start which had produced little of note in the first hour or so, despite a scan of Broadford Marsh and a loop around the whole of the southern end of the patch. Heading north along the towpath towards St Catherine's, stopping frequently to scan the sky hoping to catch sight of the still elusive patch Hobby, at about 8.40 I picked up a bird heading strongly north just to the west over towards Loseley. My initial impression without bins was of a gull or a falcon as it powered fast and straight but as I got bins on it I immediately recognised the long decurved bill and gull-like wings and flight action of a Curlew (103). I tried to take a couple of pictures but typically had no luck - literally a needle in a haystack with a bird moving at pace in an otherwise empty sky!
Little Grebe with young, near St Catherine's Lock, 11th June
As you'd expect for this time of year the patch is now teeming with young birds, from Little Grebes and Mallards to Goldcrests and Starlings. Perhaps most surprising though was the very juvenile Stonechat I stumbled across on the towpath at St Catherine's Lock on the 18th. Given how young it was it would suggest it had fledged locally, which is odd as it's the first Stonechat I've seen around here since the start of March!
Juv Stonechat at St Catherine's Lock, 18th June
Moving on to July and the weather was much more clement for my first patch visit of the month this morning. The sunshine was a treat in itself but I was also gifted another new patch bird mid-morning when the familiar laser cannon alarm calls of the local House Martins heralded the arrival of a passing Hobby (104). And about time too! Probably my favourite bird, I seem to have caught up with them everywhere this summer except on patch - until today. Sadly this one was only in view for a few seconds as it powered west, ducking and diving after hirundines as it went, before disappearing behind trees.
Fingers crossed this little flurry of midsummer patch ticks continues, otherwise roll on autumn!
A largely uneventful visit in terms of birds, with only a couple of Teal, one each of Reed Bunting and Grey Wagtail, a calling male Tawny Owl, forty-four Pied Wagtails north and seven Egyptian Geese south of any real note. The rain shower that swept in shortly after I arrived at St Catherine's Lock, however, produced a sky that was more than worth the visit alone.
Sunday 14th February
Another brief after-work visit with my girlfriend produced a similarly impressive sky and rather more in the way of birds. Five each of Common Gull and Cormorant flew north, while fourteen Egyptian Geese flew south-west. By St Catherine's Lock there were two Stonechats, three Grey Herons and two Kestrels.
Cormorants
Thursday 18th February
Possibly my most enjoyable visit to the patch so far. It had been a gloriously sunny day, and the sunshine still had some warmth to it when I arrived at the meadows at about 4.20pm. As I walked past the allotments, enjoying the still numerous amount of birds singing, a Buzzard drifted south overhead. Meanwhile, a female Kestrel gave lovely views in the sunshine in an Oak near St Catherine's Lock.
Kestrel
On St Catherine's Pool there were a Little Grebe and a dozen Teal, the latter of which all flew off before dusk. Other species flying to roost during my visit included Cormorant (one south/two north), thirty-two Pied Wagtails north, plus the usual massed Black-headed Gulls flying north with five Common Gulls and one each of Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst them. As the light was still good and there was hardly a breath of wind I lingered for a while in the very marshy area immediately north-east of the lock where a flushed Snipe set off a squealing Water Rail. It was then that I caught sight of a white shape out of the corner of my eye and over the course of the next few minutes I was treated to my best ever views of Barn Owl at this particular site, as it made several circuits of the area around where I was stood, occasionally getting dive-bombed by a couple of the local Magpies.
Little Grebe
Barn Owl
Barn Owl
Barn Owl
Saturday 20th February
Right from the start this morning, two things were clear: there were lots of birds flying over the patch and lots of bird song. In addition to the usual gulls (of four species) and a high count of eight Cormorants I also recorded five species of raptor over the meadows today, but more on that later. The walk down to the meadows was soundtracked by the ever-present Song Thrush but also cheeping House Sparrows and wheezing Greenfinches, both of the latter increasingly scarce sights and sounds in this part of the world these days, so it's good to see they're still doing reasonably well here - for the time being at least. Passing the lock keeper's and heading out in to the meadows near St Catherine's Lock I heard a familiar sound but one I hadn't until then heard in 2016: a singing Reed Bunting. I think these guys get a bit of a hard time for their supposedly monotonous song. I rather like the lazy, relaxed 'dee-dee...deeeet', and it set the pace for a very pleasant morning on the patch.
Reed Bunting
Before I'd even made it as far as the lock gates, I'd added the first three raptor species to the day list: Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and a male Peregrine that dashed north low and fast, its black executioners mask catching the light beautifully as it went - but too fast for a photo. I strolled over to check St Catherine's Pool where I found a Little Grebe, a pair of Teal, a pair of Mandarin, a drake Shoveler and two Grey Herons, although another check a little later added another two Teal and a Little Egret - my first one actually 'on the deck' here. Overhead, the first Buzzard of the day was now airborne to the south-west, while a Raven flew high north-east. A pair of Grey Wagtails made their presence very well known, as they called and sang and generally flitted about the various walls and ledges.
Further down the river there were fourteen Teal on the Railway Pool, at least fifteen Pied Wags in what I've named Horse Field (funnily enough it has a lot of horses in it..) and fifty-odd Redwings and two Mistle Thrush in the field immediate east of the railway line.
Heading back to my car at around 11.30, the last bird of the morning was a Red Kite drifting south. A total of fifty-six species on the patch today - my highest day tally here to date.
Shoveler
Little Egret
Grey Wagtail
Sunday 21st February
A rather blustery morning on the patch. I decided to wander a bit further south than usual where I found a pair of Stonechats near the bridge over the river just south-west of the Wey and Arun Junction. I hadn't seen any on yesterday's visit so wondered if this was the regular pair which had migrated a little further south. Clearly this wasn't the case, as upon returning to St Catherine's Lock a short time later I found another pair hopping around on the fence here, while further north still Richard Waters photographed a female in the meadow near the rowing club. Richard also photographed a Little Egret up there at almost the same time as I was looking at one tucked in the reeds by St Catherine's Pool, where there were also two Grey Herons but otherwise no birds to be found. Strangely there were also no Teal on the Railway Pool - my first ever Teal-less visit to the patch!
