Chiddingfold Forest survey

Photo: Nightingale, Shaun Ferguson

Following the further restrictions announced by the government on Monday 23 March, Surrey Bird Club and Sussex Ornithological Society have decided that the first part of the survey of the Chiddingfold Forest planned for this spring (a survey of Nightingales in late April and early May) will have to be postponed until next year.  It may still be possible to carry out the Turtle Dove part of the survey in mid-May to mid-July, but this will depend on the new restrictions on movement being relaxed.  If they are not, the Turtle Dove part of the survey will also be postponed until … Read more

Woking Peregrines

Peregrine, Woking, 19/03/20 (C Denford)

The popular Peregrine Falcons of Woking town centre have been successfully breeding since 2016. They now have four eggs and you can watch the live webcam here.

Photo supplied by Craig Denford

Field trips cancelled

In view of the latest government advice over the coronavirus / COVID-19 outbreak, all the field meetings up until the end of April have been cancelled. We anticipate that it may well be necessary to cancel subsequent field meetings but we will update this website to confirm the situation by the middle of April.

Photo Yellow Wagtail by Dave Harris

March 2020

Please follow government restrictions regarding coronavirus: do not travel unless strictly necessary and always practise social distancing.

Tuesday 31st

Little Ringed Plovers, Holmethorpe SP (G Hay).
Little Ringed Plovers, Holmethorpe SP (G Hay).

Farncombe: Oystercatcher flew over at 22:36 (sound recorded); also Swallow flew south (E Stubbs).

Holmethorpe SP: 3 Little Ringed Plovers on Spyne’s Mere (G Hay).

Unstead SF: 2 Swallows (A Barker).

Monday 30th

Beddington Farmlands: Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Green Sandpipers and 9 Shelduck (G Jones).

Tice’s Meadow: presumably reintroduced White Stork flew over (R Horton).

Unstead SF: Swallow (eBird).

Sunday 29th

Godalming: Water Pipit on Lammas Lands … Read more

February 2020

Saturday 29th

Great Grey Shrike, Frensham Common (P Venables).
Great Grey Shrike, Frensham Common (P Venables).

Effingham Forest: Hawfinch (BirdGuides).

Frensham Common: first-winter Great Grey Shrike still at Vampire Flats; also 6 Goosander flew over at dusk (K Britten/F Hutchinson/E & P Hunt/R Seargent/G Simmonds/P Venables).

London Wetland Centre: Bittern, Water Pipit, Goldeneye and 4 Pintail (WWT).

Stoke Lake: Woodcock at dusk (M Kettell).

Tice’s Meadow: 2 Mediterranean Gulls (R Seargent).

Friday 28th

Frensham Common: no sign of first-winter Great Grey Shrike at Vampire Flats (BirdGuides).

London Wetland Centre: Bittern, Water Pipit, Goldeneye, 4 Pintail and 2 Shelduck (WWT).

Mitcham… Read more

January 2020

Friday 31st

Island Barn Reservoir (no access): 2 Great Northern Divers still; view from Molesey Heath (D Harris).

London Wetland Centre: Bittern, 2 Water Pipits, Goldeneye, 2 Pintail and 2 Shelduck (P Carr/WWT).

Thursday 30th

London Wetland Centre: 2 Bitterns, 2 Water Pipits and 2 Shelduck (WWT).

Wednesday 29th

Beddington Farmlands: 1st-winter Caspian Gull, Tree Sparrow, Raven and 3 Green Sandpiper (BFBG).

Esher: Green Sandpiper on River Ember (B West).

London Wetland Centre: adult Iceland Gull again; also Bittern, Water Pipit, Shelduck and 6 Pintail (WWT).

Pitch Hill: Woodcock early morning … Read more

December 2019

Tuesday 31st

Capel: Hawfinch (W Attridge).

Godalming: Jack Snipe flushed on Lammas Lands at Catteshall Meadow (P Osborn).

London Wetland Centre: 2 Bitterns, Water Pipit, Goldeneye, 7 Pintail and Shelduck (R Folkening/WWT).

Walton-on-Thames: adult Caspian Gull again (A Wilkes).

Monday 30th

Hawfinch, Effingham Forest (J Snell).
Hawfinch, Effingham Forest (J Snell).

Effingham Forest: Hawfinch still at Honeysuckle Bottom mid-afternoon (J Snell/M Waite).

London Wetland Centre: 2 Bitterns, 2 Water Pipits and Shelduck (M Honey/WWT).

Richmond Park: Red-crested Pochard (E & R Hunter).

Stave Hill: Yellow-browed Warbler still at Russia Dock Woodland by bridge early afternoon (R Page-Jones). … Read more

Changes to the website

Photo: Nightingale, Shaun Ferguson

We have made a few changes to the website. Sites and Sightings are now two separate menus. We will be adding suggested walks to the Sites Menu and we have moved the page Where to find Nightingales to that menu too. If you have bookmarked any pages, such as Recent Sightings, you might have to update that bookmark. We apologise if inconvenience is caused but the reason is to provide better content for users of this website.

Photo Nightingale by Shaun Ferguson

November 2019

Saturday 30th

Hen Harrier, Shackleford (S Minhinnick).
Hen Harrier, Shackleford (S Minhinnick).

Beddington Farmlands: 2 Water Pipits and 3 Green Sandpipers (P Alfrey/N Gardner).

Effingham Forest: 2 Hawfinches (1 at Dick Focks Common and 1 in mixed flock at Honeysuckle Cottage) in afternoon (D Cox/M Waite).

London Wetland Centre: Bittern, 2 Water Pipits and Goldeneye (WWT).

Lowicks Pond: 5 Goosander (4 drakes) late afternoon (R Douglas).

Richmond Park: no sign of Slavonian Grebe at Upper Pen Pond (I Rowe).

Russia Dock Woodland: Firecrest at Stave Hill (R Page-Jones).

Shackleford: juvenile male Hen Harrier still at Cross Farm and … Read more

Tice’s Meadow under threat


Thanks to the hard work of the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group (TMBG) and other local organisations, Tice’s Meadow is now one of the premier birding sites in Surrey. 

All that hard work could be undone following a decision by Hansons, the gravel extraction company, to sell the site.  Although Tice’s has to be maintained as a nature reserve for a fixed period, there is no stipulation about how the site should be managed.  Hansons have told TMBG that they will make no test of the new owner’s suitability for managing a nature reserve, the new owner will be under no … Read more