March 2024

The new Where to Watch Birds in Surrey and Sussex book is out now and available here: www.bloomsbury.com/where-to-watch-birds-in-surrey-and-sussex-9781399404235/

Thursday 28th

Beddington Farmlands: 3 Water Pipits, Swallow, 8 Green Sandpipers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and 5 Shelduck (I Jones/P Rogers).

London Wetland Centre: female Garganey on Wader Scrape, Sedge Warbler and Water Pipit on Main Lake and Willow Warbler at Sheltered Lagoon (C Moore).

Unstead SF: 7 Swallows north (S Allen).

Wednesday 27th

Cattle Egrets, Island Barn Reservoir (J Snell).
Cattle Egrets, Island Barn Reservoir (J Snell).

Beddington Farmlands: 2 Water Pipits, 2 House Martins, 3 Swallows, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, Willow Warbler, 3 … Read more

February 2024

The new Where to Watch Birds in Surrey and Sussex book is out now and available here: www.bloomsbury.com/where-to-watch-birds-in-surrey-and-sussex-9781399404235/

Thursday 29th

Black Redstart, Tate Modern (J Reeves).
Black Redstart, Tate Modern (J Reeves).

London Wetland Centre: 2 Oystercatchers and female Goldeneye on Main Lake (A Salmon).

Tate Modern: female Black Redstart on roofs next to community garden (J Reeves).

Wednesday 28th

Beddington Farmlands: 3 Green Sandpipers and Shelduck (G Howgate).

Effingham Forest: 2 Goshawks at Dick Focks Common (BirdGuides).

Horley: 45 Waxwings at Riverside Garden Park (BirdGuides).

London Wetland Centre: female Goldeneye on Main Lake (A Salmon).

Tate Modern: female … Read more

January 2024

Wednesday 31st

Effingham Forest: 2 Goshawks at Dick Focks Common (A Bird).

Kew: Common Sandpiper by Kew Bridge (M Wright).

Kingston upon Thames: 1st-winter Caspian Gull at recycling centre (BirdGuides).

Leatherhead: drake Goosander on River Mole (A Holden).

London Wetland Centre: male Bearded Tit; also Bittern on Reservoir Lagoon and 2 Shelduck on Main Lake (A Salmon/A Wilkinson).

Richmond: Common Sandpiper by River Thames (M Bravery).

Tate Modern: female Black Redstart (BirdGuides).

Tuesday 30th

Cutt Mill Ponds: 8 Goosander (A Smith).

Effingham Forest: Crossbill at Dick Focks Common (P Davies).… Read more

Where to Watch Birds in Surrey and Sussex pre-order offer

Where to Watch Birds in Surrey and Sussex

The new and updated Where to Watch Birds in Surrey and Sussex book, out in early 2024, is available for pre-order here. Surrey Bird Club members are entitled to a special 30% off that applies to pre-orders. This discount can be obtained by entering the code SURREYBIRDS30.

Steve Chastell

Steve Chastell

( 1964 – 2023)

We were shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Steve Chastell last week, at the age of only 59. Steve was our county bird recorder, former chair of Surrey Bird Club, and a well-known figure to many in the worlds of birding and nature, both in Surrey and beyond.

Steve was a dedicated local patch watcher, spending many hours in the field, usually on his bike. The Stoke area was his main focus, along with other sites in the Guildford area. He was also an experienced ringer, ringing with the group at Queen Mary … Read more

December 2023

Sunday 31st

Waxwings, Balham (J Reeves).
Waxwings, Balham (J Reeves).

Balham: 13 Waxwings on Calbourne Road (BirdGuides).

Blackheath: 2 Crossbills (J Brown).

Chantries: Waxwing flock (BirdGuides).

East Horsley: 6 Waxwings at Kingston Avenue (BirdGuides).

Egham: 4 Waxwings briefly (BirdGuides).

Farnham: 40+ Waxwings at Badger Court/Haven Way (BirdGuides).

Waxwings, East Horsley (D Robinson).
Waxwings, East Horsley (D Robinson).

Kingston upon Thames: 2 (adult and 1st winter) Caspian Gulls and adult Yellow-legged Gull at recycling centre/waste transfer station (BirdGuides).

London Wetland Centre: 3 Pintail on Reservoir Lagoon and female Goldeneye and 2 Shelduck on Main Lake (A Salmon/A Wilkinson).

Westminster: 1st-winter Caspian Read more

Unstead: SWT award

Unstead Wetlands (David Hodson)

On 3 August 2023, Surrey Wildlife Trust hosted a Community Celebratory Evening and announced the winners of the Community Champion Awards. These awards celebrate the individual and collective actions being taken for nature by Surrey community groups. The event saw representatives from 35 different community groups come together, all with a common collective goal: to support nature’s recovery in Surrey.

The Rising Star Award was presented to Unstead Nature Community Group which manages Unstead Wetland Nature Reserve (formerly known as Unstead Sewage Farm): a 25.7 acre (10.4 hectare) site located in the River Wey valley, near Peasmarsh, south of Guildford. … Read more

November 2023

Thursday 30th

Beddington Farmlands: 2 Golden Plovers over the mound; also 2 Water Pipits, drake and female Shelduck and 2 Green Sandpipers (M Keenan/Z Pannifer).

Buckland Park Lake: 17 Bramblings over (W Attridge).

London Wetland Centre: Bittern on Main Lake (A Salmon).

Thorpe Park: drake Red-crested Pochard on Manor Lake (J Snell).

Westcott: 2 Goosander at Logmore Place (J Clarke).

Wednesday 29th

Mealy Redpoll, Banstead Woods (I Ward).
Mealy Redpoll, Banstead Woods (I Ward).

Banstead Woods: Mealy Redpoll with Lesser Redpolls south-west of Harholt Plantation (I Ward).

Crooksbury Common: Crossbill (J Gates).

Cutt Mill Ponds: 6 Goosander (J … Read more

Puttenham Common

Puttenham Common (Hampton Estate)

Some Surrey Bird Club members may have heard about the exciting plans for Puttenham Common. which is owned and managed by Hampton Estate. In 1968 the Estate opened the common to the public. They have just created a 100-year vision to restore 180 hectares of lowland heathland, dry acid grassland, purple moor grass and rush pasture, fen, bogs, mires, lowland mixed deciduous woodland and wood pasture.

Puttenham Common’s mosaic of rare habitats makes it a very important nature hot spot. Over the last 200 years in the UK, we have lost 84% of our lowland heathland and it remains one … Read more

October 2023

Tuesday 31st

Lammas Lands: Jack Snipe (N Willis).

Tice’s Meadow: 4 Green Sandpipers (R Horton).

Monday 30th

Beddington Farmlands: Green Sandpiper (A Robertson).

Haslemere: sub-adult Gannet on High Street then taken into care (D Banks).

Tice’s Meadow: 4 Green Sandpipers (R Horton).

Sunday 29th

Jack Snipe, Beddington Farmlands (D Bulling).
Jack Snipe, Beddington Farmlands (D Bulling).

Beddington Farmlands: Water Pipit, 2 Jack Snipe and 4 Green Sandpipers (D Bulling).

Effingham Forest: 2 Crossbills (M Matthews).

Epsom Common: Pintail on Great Stew Pond (R Nunns).

Holmethorpe SP: Short-eared Owl over Water Colour Lagoons late afternoon (G Hay).

Short-eared Owl, Holmethorpe SP (G Hay).
Short-eared
Read more