No.113

Autumn 2016

Photograph Gallery

Fig 1. Little Ringed Plover,Staines Res. (David Carlsson)

Fig 3 Garganey, Tice’s Meadow, 17 May 2016 (David Carlsson)

Fig 2. White Stork, Beddington, 27 July 2016 (David Carlsson)

1No 113: Autumn 2016

Birding SurreyThe Newsletter of the Surrey Bird Club

Birding Surrey is published by the Surrey Bird Club. Registered Charity No 248285

Opinions expressed in the Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Club.The Club accepts no liability for the services provided by advertisers, and makes noendorsement of the services of any organisation providing donations to the Club.Copyright. Please note that submissions are accepted on the basis that the copyrightholder grants Surrey Bird Club an irrevocable, royalty free licence to publish andrepublish the copyright material in printed, digital or electronic form in perpetuity.

© Surrey Bird Club 2016

Front Cover: Little Bittern, Dave Carlsson

ContentsFrom the Chairman..........................................................2Bird News - Winter 2015/16 - part 2: early 2016 ..........3Paradise Lost?................................................................10Woking Peregrine Project update...................................13Selected Ringing Recoveries/Controls...........................19BTO Matters ..................................................................20From your Membership Secretary..................................23Minutes of Annual General Meeting..............................24Notes..............................................................................25SBC Records Committee News ....................................26Field Trip Report............................................................28Future Field Meetings....................................................31President and General Committee..................................32

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From the Chairman

Welcome to issue number 113 ofBirding Surrey.

Woking PeregrinesJames Sellen has provided a furtherdetailed update later in this newsletterbut just to say that the project hasturned into a triumph with 2 juvenilessuccessfully fledged; many thanks toall those who have helped out andcontributed so much over the last fewmonths, I hope you agree with me ithas been extremely worthwhile.

Annual General Meeting CommitteeUpdateKen Ankorn stepped down asConservation Officer due to his othercommitments after several years in thepost, many thanks to Ken for all theknowledge he brought to the GeneralCommittee over that period. I am verypleased to say that Sarah Buncestepped forward to replace Ken so awarm welcome to her. The notparticularly onerous but importantposition of General Secretary remainsvacant, please do get in touch if youmay be interested.

Surrey's Breeding SeasonAfter a cool and wet Spring and start toSummer the weather has turned warmand dry (it will almost undoubtedlyhave turned wet now I've written thisof course!). What does this mean forSurrey's breeding birds? My personalobservations and conversationsindicate that thrushes such as Song

Thrushes and Blackbirds have donerather better than recent years, due tothe rain causing damper ground whichprovides good conditions for some oftheir principal food items such asearthworms, slugs and snails; I'm surethose of you who are gardeners will beonly too aware of the abundance of thelatter two this summer. Some warblerssuch as Chiffchaffs and Whitethroatsseem to fared pretty well after adelayed start. Reed Warblers areparticularly vulnerable to strong windsand heavy rain in their reed habitat andseveral nests I was monitoring werelost in a storm at the beginning of Julybut some seem to have made a furthernesting attempt and recoveredsomewhat. The species that seems tohave suffered most is Blackcap, withfor example the total ringed at QueenMary Reservoir only 15% of theequivalent period last year, which wasadmittedly a very good one for them.The reasons for this are a mystery,particularly as its close relative theGarden Warbler seems to have had aquite a good season. It may be thatyour own observations are different,please do let us know.

The Red Kite meanwhile seems to becontinuing to firmly establish itself inthe county with several nests reported,although the results seem to have beenrather mixed. The Common Ternsnesting on a raft at Stoke WaterMeadows are usually one of thehighlights of my summer. Sadly this

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Bird News - Winter 2015/16- part 2: early 2016 Shaun Peters

♦ Highlights of the quarter

These included two Whooper Swans, a Great Northern Diver, a GreatWhite Egret, a Ring-billed Gull, at least two Iceland Gulls, three Bearded

Tits and a Snow Bunting.

Whooper Swan On Mar 25th twoadults flew east over QE2 Res at0638hrs and Beddington SF at0649hrs, having earlier flown south-east over Staines Res (Middlesex) at0625hrs.

White-fronted Goose A flock of 52flew over Canon's Farm (Banstead) onJan 19th and one flew west along theThames at Putney Bridge on Mar 20th.

Brent Goose At the LondonWetland Centre four flew north-weston Jan 14th and two flew south onMar 10th. There were two atHolmethorpe SP on Mar 24th.

Shelduck Birds were seen atBeddington SF, Berrylands SWks,Frensham Little Pond, Holmethorpe

SP, Island Barn Res, the LondonWetland Centre, QE2 Res and WaltonRes, with the largest number 13 atBeddington SF on Feb 21st.

Wigeon The largest reported numberswere 75 at the London WetlandCentre on Jan 3rd, 254 at ThorpeWater Park on Jan 17th, 70 at FrimleyGP on Jan 17th, 216 at Walton Res onMar 15th and 148 at Tice's Meadows(Badshot Lea) on Mar 18th.

Gadwall The largest reportednumbers were 115 at Battersea ParkLake on Jan 5th, 80 at Beddington SFon Jan 16th, 161 at Thorpe Water Parkon Jan 17th, 61 at Walton Res on Jan17th and 75 at Holmethorpe SP on Jan21st.

time, although birds were presentintermittently, they failed to breed forthe first time in several years.

Steve Chastell

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Teal The largest reported numberswere 250 at Beddington SF on Jan16th, 200 at Tice's Meadows (BadshotLea) on Feb 9th, 145 at the LondonWetland Centre on Feb 18th and 168on the Thames from Putney to Barneson Feb 21st.

Pintail Single birds were atBeddington SF on Jan 3rd, 11th and30th and Feb 6th. A male was at PenPonds on Jan 3rd, three were at Tice'sMeadows (Badshot Lea) on Jan 24th,with a male there on Feb 1st, and apair were at Walton Res on Mar 25th.The feral flock at the London WetlandCentre peaked at six on Jan 29th.

Shoveler The largest reportednumbers were 79 at Holmethorpe SPon Feb 21st, 65 at Beddington SF onFeb 21st and 170 at the LondonWetland Centre on Mar 23rd.

Pochard The largest reportednumbers were 59 at Walton Res onJan 14th, 47 at Thorpe Water Park onJan 17th and 50 at Beddington SF onFeb 4th.

Tufted Duck The largest reportednumbers were 344 at Thorpe WaterPark on Jan 17th, 108 at Frimley GPon Jan 17th, 320 at Walton Res on Jan21st, 157 at the London WetlandCentre on Feb 21st and 106 atHolmethorpe SP on Feb 21st.

Scaup A male was at HedgecourtLake on Jan 2nd. The female wasback at Newdigate Brickworks SWT

from Jan 13th-19th (after havingbeing at Warnham Mill Pond,Horsham since late December). Afirst-winter female was atHolmethorpe SP from Feb 21st-Apr6th and one was at Thorpe Water Parkon Mar 13th.

Goldeneye As with the first partof the winter numbers did not reachdouble-figures at any site. The largestnumbers were five at Thorpe WaterPark on Feb 21st and nine at WaltonRes on Mar 28th. Birds were also atFrensham Ponds, Holmethorpe SP,Island Barn Res, the London WetlandCentre, Pen Ponds and QE2 Res. Thelast was at Pen Ponds on Apr 17th.

Smew A female was at the LondonWetland Centre on Mar 26th.

Red-breasted Merganser A malewas roosting at QE2 or Walton Resfrom Jan 18th-Apr 6th. It was withGoosanders at Pennymead Lake (EastHorsley) on Jan 27th, 28th, 29th and30th, and Feb 1st and 8th.

Goosander Numbers in theWalton area peaked at 24 on Jan 1st.The only other sites where numbersreached double-figures were Cutt Millwith 12 on Jan 5th, Forked Pond(Thursley) with 11 on Jan 9th,Pennymead Lake (East Horsley) with15 on Feb 8th and Painshill Park(Cobham) with 10 on Feb 13th.Smaller numbers were reported fromFrensham Great and Outlet Ponds,Holmethorpe SP, Imbham's Farm

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(Haslemere), the London WetlandCentre, the River Mole atLeatherhead, Stoke Lake and Tice'sMeadows (Badshot Lea). The lastwere at Tice's Meadows (BadshotLea) on Apr 5th.

Great Northern Diver One was atIsland Barn Res from Jan 3rd-13th.

Black-necked Grebe One was atQE2 Res from Jan 4th-18th, whilst atIsland Barn Res there were two fromFeb 13th-Mar 13th and one from Mar18th-30th.

Bittern Up to four were at the LondonWetland Centre until Mar 1st. Singlebirds were seen at Hedgecourt Lakefrom Jan 2nd-Feb 14th and FrenshamLittle Pond on Jan 9th and Feb 29th.In March at Frensham Little Pond sixwere seen with one leaving high easton Mar 1st, another doing likewise onMar 4th, two leaving west on Mar17th and the final two leaving higheast on Mar 22nd.

Little Egret At least 80 werereported from a total of 35 sites. Thelargest gatherings were 11 atChilworth Water Meadows on Jan29th, 12 at Wrecclesham Floods onFeb 5th and 10 at Primrose Farm(Westhumble) on Mar 9th.

Great White Egret One flewwest at Beddington SF on Jan 20th.

Marsh Harrier At Beddington SF afemale flew north-east on Jan 17th, a

male flew through on Feb 11th andanother female flew north on Feb 12th.

Hen Harrier A ringtail was atBeddington SF on Feb 13th.

Merlin Single birds were atPapercourt Water Meadows on Jan19th, Guildford on Feb 21st,Chelsham on Mar 22nd, HolmethorpeSP on Mar 24th and Capel on Apr 13th.

Water Rail Birds were reportedfrom Beddington SF (up to 5), Capel(1), Frensham Great Pond (up to 5),Frensham Little Pond (up to 6),Holmethorpe SP (up to 3), LloydPark, Croydon (1), the LondonWetland Centre (up to 4), LonsdaleRoad Res (2), the River Mole at IslandBarn Res (2), the River Mole atLeatherhead (1), Papercourt Marshes(1), Pen Ponds (up to 3), PudmorePond, Thursley Common (1),Shalford Water Meadows (1), SouthNorwood CP (up to 4), Stoke WaterMeadows (up to 3), Tice's Meadows,Badshot Lea (2), Unstead SF (2),Walton Res (1) and WinkworthArboretum (2).

Coot The largest reported numberswere 217 at Tongham GP on Jan 2nd,160 at Beddington SF on Jan 16th,332 at Thorpe Water Park on Jan 17th,256 at Frimley GP on Jan 17th, 176 atWalton Res on Jan 17th and 243 atHolmethorpe SP on Feb 21st.

Oystercatcher There were two atThorpe Water Park on Feb 21st and

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Mar 13th and one at Holmethorpe SPon Feb 23rd.

Jack Snipe Birds were reported fromBeddington SF (up to 9),Holmethorpe SP (up to 10), Leith Hill(2 on Jan 15th), the London WetlandCentre (2), Pen Ponds (1), SouthNorwood CP (1 on Mar 27th), Tice'sMeadows, Badshot Lea (1), WaltonRes (1 on Mar 20th) and WimbledonCommon (1 on Feb 29th and Mar12th). The last were at the LondonWetland Centre on Apr 24th.

Black-tailed Godwit Two were atHolmethorpe SP on Jan 4th.

Green Sandpiper Monthly maximaat Beddington SF were five on Jan23rd, three on Feb 29th and four onMar 12th and at Tice's Meadows(Badshot Lea) they were six on Jan2nd, three on Feb 28th and three onMar 5th. Birds were also reportedfrom Berrylands SWks (1),Holmethorpe SP (1), Island Barn Res(up to 4), Shalford Water Meadows(1) and the River Wandle fromMitcham to Morden Hall (1).

Common Sandpiper The over-wintering birds remained atBeddington SF until Mar 28th andTice's Meadows (Badshot Lea) untilApr 5th.

Mediterranean Gull In the Waltonarea one or two adults were seen onseven dates between Jan 4th and Feb29th. Single adults were at

Beddington SF on eight dates betweenJan 21st and Mar 11th. Adults werealso at Old Deer Park (Richmond) onJan 15th, Holmethorpe SP on Feb10th and 25th, the London WetlandCentre on Feb 19th, Tice's Meadows(Badshot Lea) on Feb 29th andShalford Water Meadows on Mar 7th,whilst there were three adults atShawlands Farm (Newchapel) on Feb21st and two adults at Canon's Farm(Banstead) on Feb 29th. First-winterswere at Waddon Ponds on Jan 29thand Canon's Farm (Banstead) on Feb27th.

Ring-billed Gull An adult wasreported from the London WetlandCentre on Mar 13th.

Iceland Gull At Beddington SF afirst-winter was present on Jan 8thand 9th, then again on 24 dates fromFeb 16th-Apr 19th. It roosted at IslandBarn Res on Feb 15th, 16th, 17th and18th, and Mar 3rd, and roosted at QE2Res on Mar 23rd. Presumably thesame bird also visited Canon's Farm(Banstead) on Feb 28th and theLondon Wetland Centre on Mar 16th,17th and 28th, and May 1st. A second-winter was at the London WetlandCentre on Feb 6th and 13th and it oranother was at Beddington SF on Apr19th.

Kittiwake An adult was atIsland Barn Res on Jan 30th.

Short-eared Owl One or twowere regularly seen at Papercourt

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Water Meadows from Jan 1st-May4th, with three seen on Feb 3rd andApr 16th. Other birds were at LeithHill on Jan 16th, Dunsfold on Feb 3rd,Thursley Common on Feb 22nd, Mar3rd, 7th and 10th, Canon's Farm(Banstead) on Mar 16th, QE2 Res onMar 23rd, the London Wetland Centreon Mar 24th, Beddington SF on Apr1st and 16th, and May 10th,Richmond Park on Apr 2nd and SouthNorwood CP on May 15th.

Skylark There were 75 at Canon'sFarm (Banstead) on Jan 1st.

Rock Pipit One was at the LondonWetland Centre on Feb 4th.

Water Pipit At Beddington SFmonthly maxima were eight on Jan23rd, three on Feb 14th, four on Mar15th and four on Apr 3rd-4th, with thelast one on Apr 16th. Elsewhere, onewas at Holmethorpe SP on Jan 2ndand 21st, two were at the LondonWetland Centre on Mar 18th, with onethere on Apr 1st, and one was at Tice'sMeadows (Badshot Lea) on Mar 25th.

Black Redstart One was at BatterseaPower Station on Jan 9th.

Fieldfare The latest reported were atPewley Down on Apr 12th andDungeon Hill (Woodmansterne) onApr 19th.

Redwing The latest reported were atDungeon Hill (Woodmansterne) onApr 19th and Capel on May 9th.

Cetti's Warbler Wintering birdsremained at Holmethorpe SP untilMar 14th, Beddington SF until Mar28th, Walton Res until Mar 31st andSouth Norwood CP until Apr 26th.

Dartford Warbler The winteringbirds remained at Beddington SF untilJan 14th and Richmond Park until Feb21st. One was at Canon's Farm(Banstead) on Mar 7th.

Chiff-chaff Single birds showing thecharacteristics of the race tristis wereat Beddington SF from Jan 5th-20th,Thorpe Water Park on Jan 15th andthe London Wetland Centre from Mar26th-30th.

Firecrest Two were at Box Hill onJan 2nd and two were at ShalfordWater Meadows on Jan 3rd, with oneremaining to Mar 28th. Single birdswere at Bramley Mill Pond on Jan 4th,Bagshot on Jan 7th-8th, Badshot Leaon Jan 10th, Frensham Great Pond onJan 10th-11th, Merrow Downs on Jan11th, Wimbledon Common from Jan17th-Feb 3rd, Winkworth Arboretumfrom Jan 17th-Mar 23rd, Wire MillPond on Jan 19th, Witley from Jan20th-Feb 2nd, Horton CP from Jan25th-Mar 7th, Thorpe Water Park onJan 27th, Woodstreet on Jan 28th,Thursley Common on Jan 30th,Thorncombe Street on Feb 11th,Rydes Hill Common from Feb 12th-20th, Redhill Common on Feb 13thand Mar 19th, Compton on Feb 15th,Addington Hills on Feb 19th, TootingBec Common from Feb 21st-Mar

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25th, Lloyd Park (Croydon) on Feb24th, Beddington SF from Feb 25th-Mar 12th, Bookham Common fromFeb 28th-Mar 12th, Wonersh on Mar2nd, Stoke Water Meadows from Mar7th-11th, Cutt Mill on Mar 13th,Pewley Down on Mar 14th, Albury onMar 19th and Holmethorpe SP on Mar20th. Up to three were at BarnesCommon from Jan 31st-Mar 5th, twowere at Sydenham Hill Wood on Feb1st and four were at Stave HillEcological Park (Rotherhithe) on Mar18th.

Bearded Tit The wintering birdremained at South Norwood CP untilMar 21st and a pair were atHolmethorpe SP from Mar 22nd-28th.

Great Grey Shrike The winteringbirds remained at Frensham Commonuntil Apr 3rd, Ash Ranges until Apr4th and Thursley Common until Apr19th. Two were seen at the latter siteon several dates and one of thesepresumably accounted for sightings atWitley Common on Jan 16th and 24thand Hankley Common on Mar 30th.Other birds were at ChobhamCommon from Jan 9th-24th and OldDean Common from Feb 20th-Mar18th.

Raven Notable were single birdsover Richmond Park on Jan 12th andMar 20th, two over Riddlesdown onFeb 3rd and single birds over theLondon Wetland Centre on Feb 7thand 12th.

Chaffinch There were 1,100 atCanon's Farm (Banstead) on Mar 14thand 15th.

Brambling The low numbers of late2015 continued into early 2016 withno real evidence of an increase ofpassage birds in March/April. Birdswere reported from 20 sites, with thelargest numbers 25 at ThorncombeStreet on Jan 1st (with 24 still presenton Mar 9th) and 20 in a stubble fieldat Haslemere on Mar 20th. No othersites saw numbers into double-figures. The last was at the LondonWetland Centre on Apr 27th.

Goldfinch There were 88 atBeddington SF on Jan 9th and 80 atHolmethorpe SP on Feb 24th.

Siskin A slight improvement on late2015 with birds reported from 12sites. With the exception of animpressive flock of 300 at ShalfordWater Meadows on Jan 31st numberswere similar to late 2015 with the nextlargest flocks being 60 along theRiver Wey at Frensham Manor on Jan1st, 53 at the London Wetland Centreon Jan 20th and 50 in Richmond Parkon Feb 6th.

Linnet There were 100 atBeddington SF on Jan 17th, 160 atHolmethorpe SP on Feb 28th and 175at Canon's Farm (Banstead) on Mar15th.

Lesser Redpoll Birds were reportedfrom eight sites with the largest flocks

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Barn Elms Bird Group/WWT,Beddington Farm BirdGroup,Doug Boyd,Croydonbirders website,Jeremy Gates,Dave Harris,

Holmethorpe website,David Knight,Londonbirders website,Brian Milton,North-west Surrey RSPBGroup,Surreybirders website,Surbiton & District Bird

Watching Society,Tice's Meadow BirdGroup,Unstead Bird & WildlifeGroup, andPenny Williams.

♦ Contributors

Note: April to June 2016 news to Shaun Peters ASAP please at:‘Glendeven’, School Rd, Rowledge, Farnham, GU10 4EJ.

Tel. 01252 793887 Email: recbirds@yahoo.co.uk

31 at Beddington SF on Feb 13th and25 at the London Wetland Centre onFeb 14th.

Crossbill Numbers remained lowduring the early year with reportsfrom three sites in January (totalling36 birds) and a different three sites inFebruary (totalling four birds). Animprovement in March saw a total of78 birds reported from four sites,including 20 at Leith Hill on the 18thand 40 at Haslemere on the 21st.

Hawfinch One flew east atNewdigate Brickworks SWT on Jan12th, two were at Great Brook on Feb6th and one was at BookhamCommon on Feb 14th and 15th.

Snow Bunting One flew north overWest Putney on Mar 6th.

Yellowhammer There were 33 atCanon's Farm (Banstead) on Jan 1st,50 at Holmethorpe SP on Jan 22ndand 28 at Thorncombe Street on Mar7th.

Some records are subject to finalcheck by the county or nationalrecords committees.

♦ Escapes/Hybrids

Reeves's Pheasant There were two males at Prestwick Farm (nearGrayswood) from Feb 25th-Mar 3rd.

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The Battle for BeddingtonFarmlandsThe commercial, public andgovernmental sectors are historicallynot always easy bedfellows, but whenit comes to preserving biodiversitythere is often also a timeline to factorin, with a countdown on the clock.Whilst conservation projects gainincreasing space in the media, howhard is it to oversee theimplementation of these projects at aground roots level? With manyinterested parties, how are differentinterests being served, and how isprogress overseen? The difficulties inthe general process of conservationcan be observed in a case study that Ihave been involved with.

Beddington Farmlands: AnOverviewBeddington Farmlands is a 400 acresite in South London, designated aSite of Importance for NatureConservation (SINC), is MetropolitanOpen Land and has a total of over2,029 recorded species including 258bird species (eight red data listbreeding species including NorthernLapwing [Vanellus vanellus] and TreeSparrow [Passer montanus] andnationally important winteringpopulations of Green Sandpiper[Tringa ochropus], Caspian Gull[Larus cachinnans] and Water Pipit[Anthus spinoletta]), 526 species ofmoths and butterflies, 361 species of

diptera, 262 species of coleoptera and99 species of hymenoptera.

The PastIn 1995, Viridor, a waste managementcompany, applied for permission tolandfill the area on the condition thatit would be restored to a public naturereserve by 2015. Following a PublicEnquiry, permission was granted withseveral stipulations, including thecreation of a number of biodiversityaction plan habitats such as wetgrassland, acid grassland and reedbeds. At that time, a comprehensiveConservation Management Plan wasdrawn up and various target specieswere selected for conservation, andthey would be monitored to measurethe success of the restoration.

Ten years later, Viridor applied forpermission to extend wastemanagement on site until 2023,delaying the opening of the publicnature reserve. In 2012 an applicationwas put forward to build a 300,000tonne incinerator on the site of the wetgrassland. Though there was localopposition, permission was granted tobuild the incinerator in 2013 and, aftera judicial review, work commenced in2015. However concurrent to this, acomplaint was made to the localombudsman about how the area wasbeing affected ecologically.According to an extract from thePlanning Officer's Report for the site,

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final dates of restoration put forwardin the 1995 proposal ranged from2003 for the Southern Lake, withactual restoration occurring in 2009,to 2011 for the proposed area of wetgrassland, for which restoration hasyet to begin. The Southern Lake,however, has been restored in both2000 and 2009, as proposed.

The PresentThe lack of enforcement behind theproposed restoration to the Farmlandshas contributed to a collapse in thepopulation of the majority of targetspecies. In table 1, the impact of thisstasis of restoration can be clearlyseen in the decline and extinction ofseveral bird species in the area. Sadly,in 2014 the Tree Sparrow population-the iconic species of Beddington andthe mascot of the local naturalistcommunity-crashed to only one pair,yet as recently as 2007 there had been

a thousand birds in the post-breedingseason.

At present the conditions atBeddington Farmlands have notimproved. Viridor have verballyoffered to amend the situation andlocal government has pledged toencourage the company to fulfil theirfuture planning obligations, butwithout immediate action the situationcontinues to deteriorate. With newthreats on the horizon-including thede-designation of Metropolitan OpenLand along the east boundary of thesite, and the phasing out of sewagedisposal in an area that makes upnearly 50% of the SINC - the idea ofBeddington Farmlands as a majorurban nature reserve in South Londonseems almost lost. Its fate representsthe enormous difficulties that canoccur where pressures on 'open' landcan literally build up, with

1995 2000 2005 2010 2014 2015 Notes on breeding population

Little Ringed Plover 1 1 1 0 0 0 Extinct

Ringed Plover 0 1 0 0 0 0 Failed

Lapwing 11 18 22 14 10 10 Initial improvement now declining

Redshank 4 1 2 0 0 0 Extinct

Common Tern 0 0 0 0 0 0 Failed

Yellow Wagtail 5 0 0 0 0 0 Extinct

Sedge Warbler 11 25 1 2 0 0 Extinct

Reed Warbler 31 19 13 32 13 32 Fluctuating

Whitethroat 73 76 66 55 41 53 Declining

Tree Sparrow 83 52 75 80 1 1 Near-extinct

Reed Bunting 23 17 5 3 2 2 Near-extinct

Table 1. Breeding pairs of the target species for selected years (extracted from BBS data)

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conservation needs and publicconcerns needing to be reconciledwith both commercial interests andthose of local authorities.

The FutureThe Farmlands offer the opportunityto be both of huge benefit to the localcommunity and to preserve one of themost important locations forbiodiversity in London. It is an areawhich ranks alongside the RoyalSociety for the Protection of Birds's(RSPB) Rainham Marshes in Purfleetand the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust's(WWT) London Wetland Centre inBarnes as one of the most significantplaces for birds in London, thoughthis status is rapidly slipping away.This seems slightly at odds with thefact that Viridor also offer funding toorganisations, through the ViridorCredits scheme, for Community,Heritage or Biodiversity projects. Inorder to resuscitate the situation,biodiversity action plan habitats needto be created, and fundamentalchanges need to be driven by morethan just verbal commitment.

Could Beddington Farmlands be aglimpse of the future for the rest of theUK? In many ways the commercialcorporations are just doing their job,but it comes at such a high cost that itis worth asking: what must theconservation community do to curtailsimilar damage from happening inyears to come? While it isdisheartening to think that 'the Battleof Beddington Farmlands' has been

lost, in an ideal world theconservation community needs toremodel itself and move away from itsreliance on corporate funding tosurvive.Perhaps the answer lies in involvingas many people as possible, at alllevels, in the conservation andownership of these places ofbiological interest. If there is enoughpublic pressure and benefit, not allmay be lost. In order to build a naturereserve, we need to build an activeand vocal community.

Peter Alfrey(Beddington Farm Bird Group)

Note. The group needs new membersto help with recording on the site andalso with helping out with achievingother group objectives. Anyoneinterested should contact Peter atlittleoakgroup@btinternet.com

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Since the 2nd of May 2016, when Iwrote the Woking Peregrine

Project article for the summer editionof Birding Surrey, much hashappened to the Woking peregrinefamily. Unique nest box CCTVcoverage has been enjoyed by manypeople who have visited the Project'swebsite and we have even hadenquiries from a TV productioncompany in Australia. If you wouldlike to see some of the manyhighlights, I recommend watching the'Woking Peregrines Timeline 2016'video which can be found on theProject's website;http://www.wokingperegrines.com/video/ The webmaster, Craig Denford(Akiko Design), has done an excellentjob editing and putting together thissummary of what's been achieved sofar.

John Bannister's project managementand on going help from; Nick Dixon( www.urbanperegrines.co.uk ),Richard Denyer, Denis Corley,Martin Pooley (Woking ShoppingLtd), Craig Denford, and ShahidAzeem (Arcom) has been mostwelcome. Surrey Bird Club'sCharlotte Gray and Penny Williamshave helped to promote and raiseinterest in the local peregrines byorganising a stand in Woking towncentre's Jubilee Square. This occurredon four Saturdays (7th May to 11thJune) with both morning and

afternoon sessions. On manyoccasions those manning the standwere kept very busy and it wasimpossible to record everyone whowas spoken to. However, the Club hasrecorded speaking to 100 individuals/ groups (each family was recorded asone entry). On the first date the standwas in Jubilee Square, 20% of thosespoken to had already heard of theProject and by the 28th May this hadincreased to 80%. Most of those whoknew of it did so through the WokingBorough Council website. A specialSurrey Bird Club flyer, promoting theClub and the Project, was producedand given to many people who visitedthe stand. With the help of thefollowing Surrey Bird Club members,there were 8 new Club sign-ups;Charlotte Gray, Chris Venables,James Sellen, Kate Lee, KenAnckorn, Matt Phelps, Neil Bew,Nigel Burke, Penny Williams, RichMooney, Richard Denyer, RoyBenson, Simon Stacey and TonyCummins.

Google Analytics has shown thefollowing interesting statistics for theWoking Peregrine Project website;From the 19/04/2016 to 21/06/2016,the website had 204,753 hits and thePartners section had 2030 views.(TheSurrey Bird Club logo and link to thewebsite can be found here) On the19/04/2016, the website had 730 hitsand it peaked on 02/05/2016 with

Woking Peregrine Project update

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5490. (This was the period when theeggs were hatching) The number ofhits has reduced with peaks of 4757on 06/05/2016, 4555 on 03/06/2016and 1431 on 21/06/2016. We arefinding the Project is continuallyevolving and there's a strongpossibility CCTV coverage externalto the nest box will be available forthe next breeding season. This willencourage more views of the websitefor a longer period once the juvenileshave fledged or left the nest box.

Since I started working in Woking,I've kept an unscientific log of myperegrine sightings and key eventsconcerning this project. It wouldinteresting to hear of othersexperiences which would give a betterunderstanding and insight into thelives of our local peregrines. Here area few of my records;

01/05/2016 - Two of the four eggshatched. Unfortunately, the falcon hasmanaged to tread on one of the chicksas she got up from brooding to leavethe nest box. This chick has becomeseparated from the other and tworemaining eggs.

02/05/2016 - Third egg hatched. Nowappears to be two healthy chicks - theother looks lifeless and now musthave died. 18.30: finally had clearview on CCTV - 2 live chicks, 1remaining egg, 1 dead chick. Falconseen feeding chicks.

03/05 to 06/05/2016 - Still 1unhatched egg, 2 chicks being well

fed and increasing in size. Muchinterest on the website!

10/05/2016 - Tiercel seen feedingboth chicks. Growth rate is amazing.Last egg still being brooded withchicks.

16/05/2016 - Plans being made forchick ringing on the 18th by RichardDenyer and Jeremy Gates (who holdsa special licence to ring this schedule1 species). Due to meet at 17.30 /Export House.

18/05/2016 - Arranged with Craig tostop CCTV coverage whist ringingtakes place. 17.30 to 17.50 - Richardand Jeremy did an amazing jobringing and taking measurements ofthe chicks. B.T.O. metal ring is on theright leg / red ring on the left leg.17.50 to 18.20 - myself, John andRichard saw both adults near the nestbox (viewed from the Peacock's carpark) Tiercel went in first and freshprey taken into the nest box shortlyafterwards.

Jeremy Gates temporarily removingchicks for ringing (James Sellen)

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19/05 to 20/05/2016 - No sign of anyadverse reactions to ringing. Chicksbeing feed regularly and noticeablegrowth of tail / primary feathers.

31/05/2016 - weather very wet / cool(11 degrees) - 1 lapwing left in nestbox - 1 juvenile seen perched onopening to nest box.

01/06 & 02/06/2016 - Juvenile(male?) seen outside nest box onledge! Both juveniles often seen (viaCCTV) perched in entrance to box.03/06/2016 - Both juveniles seenapprox. 20ft to the right of the nestbox (viewed from the WWF Living

Richard Denyer ringing a chick(James Sellen)

Jeremy Gates weighing a chick(James Sellen)

Peregrine chick after ringing andbefore being returned to the nestbox(James Sellen)

16 No 113: Autumn 2016

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Planet Centre and Peacock's car park)whilst adult tiercel was perched at thes/west end of Export House.

05/06/2016 - 13.00 to 17.10:photographed peregrines fromPeacock's car park. Juveniles at s/westend approx. 100ft from nest box. Bothadults brought in prey and juvenilesseen going into nest box and at n/westend. Juvenile tiercel appears to lookready to fly.

07/06 & 08/06/2016 - both juvenilesseen feeding and vigorous wingexercising s/west end of ExportHouse. (07/06/2016: 23.30 - heavyrain - both juveniles seen on CCTVgoing into nest box to dry off!)

10/06/2016 - 12.30: Whilst showingcolleagues the peregrines from therear of the WWF Living Planet Centrebuilding - juvenile tiercel made itsfirst flight!! It took off from the n/west

stairwell ledge (over looking theentrance to Sainsbury's in WolseyPlace), did a small circuit and landedon a window ledge 2nd floor down /middle of west side (Export House)Both adults stayed close and juvenileremained there for at least 1 hour.17.30 to 18.00 - juv. tiercel on adifferent window ledge 2 floors lowerdown. Amazing photos and videotaken by people working in ExportHouse!

11/06/2016 - 12.00 to 17.00: Juv.tiercel on north end of Export Houseroof, occasionally above nest box.Juvenile falcon on n/west stairwellledge vigorously wing exercising andon occasions looked like it might tryto fly. Photos taken.

13/06/2016 - 14.00 to 14.30: Adultsand juv. falcon seen on n/weststairwell ledge - juv. tiercel at northend of roof near maintenance ladder.

14/06/2016 - 17.25 to 17.45: BOTHjuvs seen near maintenance ladderabove n/west stairwell ledge. Juv.falcon must have made her maidenflight!

17/06/2016 - 13.45 to 14.00: 3peregrines seen flying close togetherbetween WWF Living Planet Centreand Export House. Late afternoon:food pass photographed by CraigDenford from Peacock's car park -awesome photos!

19/06/2016 - 09.45 to 14.45: Imanaged to photograph juveniles and

Adult falcon & juveniles outside ofnestbox, 5 Jun 2016 (James Sellen)

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Juvenile peregrines, Export House, Woking, 19 Jun 2016 (James Sellen)

Adult tiercel with juvenile peregrines, Export House, Woking, 19 Jun 2016(James Sellen)

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adults in flight and perched on roof /window ledges of Export House.Food pass wasn't to be .... 1 red kiteflew close to Export House and acormorant was chased off by one ofthe adult peregrines.

18/07/2016 - 13.50 to 14.30: 1 adultand both juvs seen west side of ExportHouse whilst window cleaning wasbeing done on the east (station) side.(All 4 peregrines reported being seenon Export House Saturday morning -16/07/2016)

19/07/2016 - 14.00 to 14.30: Adulttiercel brought in pigeon but managedto drop it whilst approaching nest box.He dived down and caught it approx.20ft from where I was watching fromthe Peacock's car park! Should havehad my camera with me ...

01/08/2016 - 13.45 to 14.30: bothjuveniles seen west and s/west side ofExport House from Peacock's carpark. Adult tiercel did food pass withone of the juvs (above car park) andboth juvs were then seen on the roofedge / south end of Export House.When one juv. landed next to itssibling, they 'head bowed' - similargreeting the adults show.

At the time of writing (15/08/2016), Iregularly see both adults and at leastone of the juveniles on or near ExportHouse.

Craig Denford has responded to manyemail enquiries made via the WokingPeregrine Project website. Here are a

couple examples of feed back we'vehad:

'Just a line to say what fabulous fooddrop photos Craig has taken!Absolutely amazing! Thank you to allof the team too for such an excellentwebsite!Love your gallery photo updates!Keep them coming!Think maybe next year you should putcameras on the ledges too! The chicksobviously loved the ledges once theywere able to get out of the nest boxand explore! Bit scary for us to watchat first, not realising how adept theyare at balancing, but they knew whatthey were doing!Well done to everyone and theperegrine family!'Carole

'Thanks so much for the cam which Ihave been avidly watching - to see therate at which the chicks grew wasastonishing and then how quickly theyfledged.The pictures of them and a parent withthe pigeon drop was amazing, greatphotography and seeing the flyingskills of the young was fascinating.This has been a very worthwhileproject which I have thoroughlyenjoyed. Again, many thanks to allwho made it possible.'John LoneyWokingJune '16

Makes it all worth while.James Sellen

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I have made a selection of interesting ringed birds, notified in 2014 and 2015.These will be reported in full in the relevant Surrey Bird Club annual report,when published:

Little Egret. Nestling, 10/6/13, North Cotes, Lincolnshire.Colour rings seen 30/12/14, Tices Meadow

Lesser Whitethroat. First year, 31/7/14, Queen Mary ReservoirCaught by ringer, 26/3/15, Makabin, West Bank, ISRAEL, 3629km.

Goldcrest. Full grown male, 16/10/15, Tjome, Vestfold, NorwayCaught by ringer, 1/11/15, Frimley, 1118km.

Lesser Redpoll. First year, 9/11/13, CapelCaught by ringer, 4/1/15, Tilburg, Nord Brabant, The Netherlands, 373km,

Bar-tailed Godwit. Full grown, 16/5/04, Tershelling Polder, Midsland-o'end,The NetherlandsColour rings seen, 26/4/14, Walton Reservoir

Common Sandpiper. Adult male, 10/5/14, Norangdal, Orsta, Norway.Colour rings seen, 17/7/14, Tice's Meadow, Badshot Lea, 1297km.

Caspian Gull. Nestling, 24/5/13, Paczkow, Opolskie, PolandColour rings seen, 23/9/13, Beddington Sewage Farm, 1217km.

Meadow Pipit. First year, 23/9/13, Chobham CommonFreshly dead, 31/10/13, Cadaujac, Gironde, France, 736km.

Brambling. Adult male, 30/3/11, Ebeltoft, Arhus, DenmarkCaught by ringer, 26/2/14, Leith Hill, 991km.

Common Redpoll. Adult female, 07/2/14, Worplesdon.Caught by ringer, 9/11/14, Aneby, Jonkoping, Swedon, 1237km.

Richard DenyerRinging secretary

Selected Ringing Recoveries/Controls

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The Heronries CensusFor the first time ever Surrey has hadLittle Egrets recorded as part of thissurvey. Great news. The survey isnow online but, anyone who is areluctant IT user, can still fill in cardswhich I send out. However, JohnMarchant, who has now retired fromthe BTO, who was the heronry censusorganiser, has put on the website avideo tutorial which is really helpfuland shows how easy it is to record theresults.This year two new heronries werediscovered (one with the breedingLittle Egrets) so, as it is clear that newheronries do get established, please dolet me know if you find one so that Ican check whether or not it iscurrently monitored.I have two sites where I needsurveyors to cover the heronry censusin 2017 due to the current surveyorstanding down. One is at Moor Parknear Farnham and the other is ThorpePark. For Thorpe Park we will needto organise getting the surveyoraccess but I hope this will not be aproblem. You could combine it withhelping with the WeBS survey atThorpe Park (see below for more onthis). If you could help with either siteplease do contact me. I Help isneeded with this survey next spring.In the meantime, if you are a Heronrycensus surveyor already and have notgot your 2016 results in yet, pleasecan you do so as soon as possible.

The House Martin surveyI have been really lucky as I have beenable to monitor a house in my roadwhich has had 13 nests built on it thisyear. The Martins nested on the houselast year but the owners took the nestsdown over the winter in the hope (forthe female owner) that the Martinsmight move elsewhere as she is notvery happy with the mess they make(although she loves birds in general).However, much to the delight of themale owner, lots of nests have beenconstructed again this year. He isonly keen on certain species of birds,mainly raptors, but does like Martinstoo!

One of the nests did not get finishedbut the remaining 12 have been usedand young have been fledging fromthe nests. It has been wonderfulvisiting the house and seeing so manyMartins. Here is a photo of one of thenests with the young peeking out.Unfortunately, despite the BTOpublicity, only 4 other sites are being

BTO Matters

House Martin nest (Penny Williams)

21No 113: Autumn 2016

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monitored in Surrey. I know theforms looked a bit daunting at firstbut, once the nests were set up, it wasreally very easy to put the results in.As the survey carries on untilSeptember I will report on the resultsin the winter newsletter.

The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS)and Waterbirds Breeding BirdSurvey (WBBS)The survey periods for these twosurveys are also at an end. I ampleased to report that the number ofsites I have covered by surveyors isgoing up every year and I now onlyhave 12 BBS sites looking forsurveyors. All my WBBS sites arecovered and, even better, all theWBBS results are in already and allwere entered online. About 75% ofthe Surrey BBS sites now have theirresults in so, if you are one of the 25%who have not yet entered your resultsor sent your forms through to me,please could you do so as soon aspossible.As I am typing this the latest resultsfrom the survey for 2014-15 have justbeen published. As you would expectRed Kite and Ring-Necked Parakeetsnumbers are increasing long term withthe biggest declines being for TurtleDove, Willow tit and Cuckoo. So faras short term trends are concerned,Barn Owl, Siskin and Snipe have beendoing well with declines in TawnyOwl and Yellow Wagtail. You canlook at the report (if you have internetaccess) by going tohttps://www.bto.org/sites/default/files

/bbs-report-2015.pdf.If you are one of the surveyors youwill have been sent the report already.For those who are not you will beinterested to know that there weresome 215 species seen (lower than theprevious year when it was 223) withthe most common being Woodpigeon,followed closely by Blackbird andChaffinch.

The Wetland Bird SurveyI am really pleased with the amount ofcoverage I have now managed toachieve for this survey. I now have140+ sites covered in Surrey andGreater London. However I do stillhave some areas where I am lookingfor surveyors. As we are just enteringthe start of the main survey period for2016/17, it seems a good time to listthe sites where I still need surveyors.A list is set out on the next page.You will see Thorpe Park is listed. Asit is such a large site, there is a teamthat covers it. The team needs moresurveyors so, if you can help, pleasecontact me and I will pass your detailson to the team organiser PeterHambrook. You are not expected tocover the whole site yourself!If you would be interested in helpingwith the survey, do get in contact.You just need to commit to surveyingthe site on a set Sunday once a month(although it does not matter if youcannot make the precise date if youcan cover the site a couple of dayseither side nor if you miss a month ortwo).

Penny Williams

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10K Unit UnitCode

Grid Ref

SU84 Badshot Lea 17064 SU862490SU84 Swamp in Moor

Park23321 SU865465

SU84 Waverley AbbeyLake

23013 SU869454

SU85 Greatbottom Flash 23016 SU895532SU85 Mytchett Gravel Pit 23222 SU885546SU85 Tomlin`s Pond 23006 SU887586SU86 Rapley Lakes 23005 SU898646SU86 RMA Lakes 23008 SU862606SU94 Broadford Pond 23042 SU996470SU94 Unstead Sewage

Farm23326 SU995453

SU95 Worplesdon PlaceHotel

23019 SU975535

TQ03 Vachery Pond 23050 TQ070372TQ05 Clandon Park Lakes 23023 TQ039523TQ06 Angling ( Disabled)

Gravel Pit23257 TQ037692

TQ06 Ashford CommonWaterworks

23105 TQ086697

TQ06 Charlton GP 23212 TQ087694TQ06 Charlton Village

Gravel Pit23219 TQ086692

TQ06 Elmbridge ModelClub Gravel Pits

23262 TQ017694

TQ06 Ferry Lane GravelPit

23218 TQ076662

TQ06 Genets MarineGravel Pits

23255 TQ038694

TQ06 Littleton Lane WestGravel Pits

23216 TQ055675

TQ06 Old Charlton RoadGravel Pit

23230 TQ078683

TQ06 Penton HookMarina

23256 TQ040689

TQ06 Pickhurst Reserve 23047 TQ040691TQ06 Twynersh Fishing

Complex23265 TQ033674

TQ06 Wey Farm 23028 TQ017627TQ07 Brps GP 23268 TQ035745TQ07 Poyle GPs (Old) 23202 TQ025765

10K Unit UnitCode

Grid Ref

TQ07 Poyle Meadows 23306 TQ022759TQ07 Poyle Meadows

Gravel Pits23204 TQ027767

TQ07 Spout Wood GP 23203 TQ045755TQ07 Staines Moor GPs 23206 TQ032736TQ07 Staines Moor

Meadow23305 TQ031731

TQ07 Stanwell Moor GPs 23201 TQ035744TQ07 Stanwell Moor West

Gravel Pit23208 TQ049746

TQ13 Vann Lake 23065 TQ156395TQ14 Ockley Court Lake 23068 TQ156404TQ14 Park Farm

Reservoir23069 TQ164414

TQ16 Longwater BurwoodPark

23027 TQ103641

TQ16 Molesey Gravel Pit(part of MoleseyHeath N reserve)

23272 TQ132668

TQ17 Ham Common Pond 24012 TQ189717TQ26 Ewell Court Pond 23094 TQ212638TQ27 King George`s Park

Lake24020 TQ254743

TQ27 R Thames -Battersea toVauxhall

24419 TQ285777

TQ27 R Thames -Wandsworth Br toPutney Br

24423 TQ250752

TQ27 R Wandle - MillClose toBeddington Park

24309 TQ283652

TQ27 R Wandle -Carshalton to MillClose

24313 TQ281651

TQ27 R Wandle - MillClose to GoatBridge

24318 TQ274663

TQ27 R Wandle - MordenHall Tram crossingto Wandsworth

24316 TQ260715

TQ35 Glebe Lake 23209 TQ307514TQ36 South Norwood

Country Park24059 TQ355684

Table. Vacant Wetland Bird Survey (WEBS) Sites

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From your Membership SecretaryOutstanding renewalsThere are a few members who havestill not renewed. The membershipyear runs from 1st April and the cutoff date is 30th September. If youhave not renewed by then yourmembership will lapse so no morenewsletters.

If you have not renewed, you willhave received this newsletter in awhite envelope with a separaterenewal reminder. Please arrange topay the subscription that is due assoon as possible. There will be nomore reminders issued.

Membership for Junior peopleThe club is trying to encourage moreyounger members. Quite a few of thenewer members are younger than menow (perhaps that is a sign that I amgetting older) which is really goodnews. However we would like to geta few more junior members. As aresult the AGM agreed in 2015 that,as from 1st April 2016, a juniormember could have one year's freemembership. To date only one juniormember has taken advantage of thisoffer. It is for anyone under the age of21 so, if you know of someone who iskeen on birds and under the age of 21,please do encourage them to join.

Sub-committee to increasemembershipKevin Duncan has stood down fromthis sub-committee and so, currently,the only members are myself,Charlotte Gray and Matt Phelps. Thepurpose of the committee is toincrease membership (with a specificemphasis on getting more youngpeople involved with the club) and sothe meetings discuss what events wecan attend to try and get newmembers, publicity and publications(including the website) and what elsewe can do to increase the membership.We meet about three times a year andit would be nice to have a couple ofother members (you do not have to beon the main committee) to give someinput. If you are interested why notcome along to a committee meetingand see what you think. Pleasecontact me if you would like to comealong.

Designing postersAs a result of the Woking PeregrineProject we now have some A-Boards.We have posters for the project butneed to design some posters for otherevents we attend, such a Bioblitzes. Ifyou would like to help with the design(or just have some ideas of what couldgo onto a poster) please contact me.

Penny Williams

24 No 113: Autumn 2016

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Surrey Bird Club AGM8pm Friday 24th June 2016East Horsley Village Hall, KT24 6QT

Apologies: Geoff Barter, John Birkett, Debbie Hodges, Nigel & Barbara Howse,Martin Kettell, Sarah Marsh, Tony Perry, Tim Reynolds, Richard Seargent, BenSmithies, Simon Stacey, Jean Wheatley.

The minutes of the 2015 AGM were taken as read; no matters arising. Officers' reportsare available in the Summer 2016 newsletter.

Chairman's report:Highlights of the year included the Woking Peregrine Project and the Chairmanthanked all those who were involved with it: Charlotte Gray, Penny Williams, RichardDenyer, Matt Phelps, Ken Anckorn, Chris Venables, James Sellen, Neil Bew, NigelBurke, Rich Mooney, Roy Benson, Simon Stacey, Tony Cummins, Barbara Howse andKate Lee.The 2012 Bird Report is due for publication later this year, as is the BTO Surrey Atlas.20,451 birds were ringed in Surrey in 2015, and there are now 476,000 Surrey birdrecords.A good variety of Field Trips had been arranged, both new and old.We gained 35 members and lost 30.

Treasurer's report:Draft accounts in the Summer 2016 newsletter. The Club's finances are in goodstanding. We made a donation to the Woking Peregrine Project and are consideringanother. Subscriptions to stay the same for the next financial year. An appeal formembers to sign up for Gift Aid if they have not already done so. Please contact PennyWilliams for a form. No questions were raised.Accounts accepted: Proposed Tony Quinn, seconded Hugh Evans.

General Committee:Ken Anckorn stood down as Conservation Officer.Re-elected: Hugh Evans (President), Steve Chastell (Chairman), Eric Soden (CountyRecorder), Stella Bignold (Bird Report Editor), Penny Williams (Membership Secretaryand BTO Rep), Dave Harris (Webmaster), Tim Chinn (Newsletter Editor), Steve Cupit(Treasurer), Richard Denyer (Ringing Secretary), Charlotte Gray (Field Meetings),Matt Phelps (Social Media) and David Griffin.Proposed: Robin Stride, seconded David Stubbs.

New Officer: Sarah Bunce (Conservation), Proposed Penny Williams, seconded HughEvans.

Minutes of Annual General Meeting

25No 113: Autumn 2016

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Records Committee:Dave Harris (Chair), Eric Soden, Steve Chastell, Jeremy Gates, Jeff Wheatley, ShaunPeters, David Campbell, John Clark.

Proposed Andrew Kingston, seconded Penny Williams

Any Other Business:Maggie Washington was made an Honorary Member in recognition of her and her latehusband Derek's contribution to the club.

SWT Bioblitz cancelled on Sunday 26th June.

Meeting closed 8.10pm.

Notes

❖ Welcome to new members:Pauline Kirby, TadworthJeremy, Finlay & Treena Elson,Cranleigh,Marilyn Frame, Woking,Linzi Clark, Godalming,Tony Foy, Woking,Gillian Stokes, Woking,Franco Maroevic, Richmond,Paul & Shirley Graber, Guildford,andGareth Dagnall, Stevenage

❖ Birds of Surrey - Our countyavifauna. Available from PennyWilliams. Great value at £25.

❖ Notes, Sketches, Articles,Photographs - Anything that youthink may be of interest to themembers of the Club would begratefully received for publication inBirding Surrey, the Surrey Bird Reportor on our website.

❖ The Surrey CountrysideAccess Forum is looking to recruitnew members. If you have a specificinterest in land management andnature conservation, or are alandowner, and would like to have asay on issues relating to access to thecountryside, please emailrightsofway@surreycc.gov.uk toreceive more information and anapplication form, or call Joanne PorterCountryside Access Assistant, SurreyCounty Council, Tel: 020 8541 9576The closing date for applications is22nd September 2016.

Details about the Forum can be foundat www.surreycc.gov.uk/accessforum

Note: They are especially keen to getmembers with an interest/knowledgeof biodiversity as this is notrepresented at the moment.

26 No 113: Autumn 2016

Birding Surrey

SBC Records Committee News

Species Observer Date Location Decision

Guillemot Blackfriars Bridge 07/09/2012 Robert Butlin OKLong-tailed Skua Beddington SF 25/09/2012 Peter Alfrey OKHoney Buzzard Richmond Park 07/05/2013 Jan Wilczur OKSanderling Frensham Great Pond 15/05/2013 Shaun Peters OKSpoonbill (6) Richmond Park 12/09/2013 Jan Wilczur OKMerlin Molesey Heath 02/01/2014 Tony Quinn OKGlossy Ibis Frensham Great Pond 11/01/2014 Shaun Peters OKScaup Frimley Gravel Pits 19/01/2014 Shaun Peters OKMealy Redpoll (2) Frensham Great Pond 08/02/2014 Shaun Peters OKBlack-necked Grebe Frensham Great Pond 31/03/2014 Shaun Peters OKRed-rumped Swallow Tice's Meadow 01/05/2014 Richard Horton OKSpoonbill Chertsey Hospital 27/05/2014 Steve Spooner OKGreat White Egret Tice's Meadow 21/06/2014 Jeremy Gates OKMerlin Devil's Punch Bowl 01/10/2014 Gerry Hinchon OKGreat White Egret Worplesdon 01/10/2014 Jeremy Gates OKPectoral Sandpiper Beddington SF 13/10/2014 Roger Browne OKGreat White Egret Worplesdon (Hollow Farm) 18/12/2014 Ian Gunner OKWhinchat Frensham Common 26/12/2014 Shaun Peters OKSnow Bunting Wimbledon Common 04/01/2015 David Wills OKRed-breasted Merganser Pennymead Lake, East Horsley 09/01/2015 Gareth Lewis OKStone Curlew Shawlands Farm 04/04/2015 Kenneth Noble OKStone Curlew Fairoaks 05/04/2015 Anne Emerson OKFulmar Merrow Downs, Guildford 11/04/2015 Jeremy Gates OKWryneck Tice's Meadow 15/04/2015 Richard Seargent OKStone Curlew Beddington SF 21/04/2015 Glenn Jones OK

Our most recent meeting took place at myhouse in Walton on June 23rd. Presentwere Jeff Wheatley, John Clark, JeremyGates, Shaun Peters, Steve Chastell andmyself. David Campbell, who recentlytook over as Surrey-in-London recorderalso joined us, despite the long drive upfrom Dungeness. We had over 60 records to wade through,the majority of which were relativelystraightforward. Highlights included theCounty's 3rd Long-tailed Skua and Serin,both from Beddington SF. The firstBlack-winged Stilt since 1973 (amazingly

still a BBRC bird) and a couple of Bee-eater records, one of which wasphotographed flying around overWimbledon Common this spring. If you are fortunate to find a good bird inthe County, then please submit details assoon as possible after the event. For fulldetails and a downloadable rare bird formplease visit the 'How to report a sightingpage' on the Club's website.http://www.surreybirdclub.org.uk/how_to_report.html

Dave Harris, August 2016.

27No 113: Autumn 2016

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Species Observer Date Location Decision

Black-necked Grebe (2) Frensham Great Pond 21/04/2015 Shaun Peters OKCommon Crane Thursley Common 04/05/2015 Paul Sell OKRed-rumped Swallow Holmethorpe SP 14/05/2015 Gordon Hay OKRing-necked Duck(drake)

London Wetland Centre 25/05/2015 Rupert Kaye OK

Bee-eater (2) Betchworth Quarry 04/06/2015 David Stubbs OKGreat White Egret Frensham Common 15/08/2015 Shaun Peters OKBlack-winged Stilt Walton (Lambeth) Res 23/08/2015 Dave Harris OKWryneck Leith Hill 03/09/2015 Piers Devereux OKHoney Buzzard Beddington SF 07/09/2015 Roger Browne OKBlack-necked Grebe Frensham Great Pond 15/09/2015 Shaun Peters OKLapland Bunting Thorpe Park 25/09/2015 David Darrell-Lambert OKFerruginous Duck Frensham Great Pond 28/09/2015 Shaun Peters et al OKYellow-browed Warbler Riddlesdown 10/10/2015 Nicola Hunt OKGoshawk Frensham Great Pond 14/11/2015 Shaun Peters OKSerin Beddington SF 15/11/2015 Pete Alfrey et al OKGreat Skua Island Barn Res 15/11/2015 Dave Harris et al. OKGoshawk Bookham Common 28/12/2015 Alan Prowse OKSlavonian Grebe Frensham Great Pond 29/12/2015 Shaun Peters OKSiberian Chiffchaff Thorpe Park 31/12/2015 David Darrell-Lambert OKGannet Epsom 02/01/2016 Andrew Barrett OKWhite-fronted Goose (52) Canons Farm 19/01/2016 Duncan Jennings OKIceland Gull LWC 13/02/2016 Angus Innes, Simon Fogg et al. OKIceland Gull Island Barn Res 15/02/2016 Dave Harris et al. OKGoshawk Leith Hill 23/02/2016 David Campbell et al OKIceland Gull Canons Farm 28/02/2016 David Campbell et al OKMerlin Holmethorpe SPs 24/03/2016 Ray Baker & Gordon Hay OKWhooper Swan (2) QE2 Res 25/03/2016 Dave Harris OKWhite Stork Box Hill 14/05/2016 Wes Attridge OKBee-eater Wimbledon Common 19/05/2016 Magnus Andersson OKRed-backed Shrike Trenchleys 15/09/2013 NPGannet Holmwood Common, Dorking 24/02/2015 NPMontagu's Harrier Ash Ranges 19/06/2015 NPAlpine Swift Shere 18/07/2015 NPBlack Stork Hutchinsons Bank 02/08/2015 NPQuail Beddington SF 25/08/2015 NPPectoral Sandpiper Beddington SF 30/08/2015 NPLittle Bunting Thorncombe Street 24/10/2015 NPHen Harrier Beddington SF 28/12/2015 NPCommon Crane Tice's Meadow 22/03/2016 NPCaspian Gull Tice's Meadow 26/03/2016 NPBlack Kite Woodside, Croydon 08/05/2016 NPMarsh Warbler South Norwood Country Park 22/05/2016 NP

28 No 113: Autumn 2016

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Crooksbury Common Field TripSaturday 18th June 2016

Richard Horton had very kindlyagreed to lead this field trip and I wentalong as the committee memberattending. I had never been toCrooksbury Common before but hadheard good reports of previous fieldtrips so I was keeping my fingerscrossed. I help with nightjar surveyson the Surrey Heaths, so had alreadyseen Nightjar and Woodcock this yearat Ash and Chobham, but was stillhoping for good views because Ireally enjoy seeing both species ofbird.As it was such a lovely evening myhusband and left home early and hada picnic supper at Cutt Mill beforegoing to Crooksbury. The fishingseason had just started so there werequite a few fishermen there but wewere also treated to a couple ofCommon Terns, some Black-HeadedGulls and a couple of Great CrestedGrebe with one young still with itshumbug coloured head. There werequite a few Mallard swimming aroundtoo but very few woodlands birdsamongst the trees, just Wren,Chiffchaff and a Blackcap singingaway.Then on to Crooksbury. Like someothers I initially missed the turn intothe road leading to the small car parkbut it was easy enough to turn aroundand come back. When I got there, lots

of people had already arrived andinsect repellent was being put on, justin case! Fortunately it did not seem tobe needed.After Richard arrived, he explainedabout the track (one person had comealong bringing a motorisedwheelchair) and about how some ofthe trees had been cut down since theprevious field trip. Richard gave us alist of birds that might be seen (whichincluded Cuckoo) but explained thatnothing was guaranteed. It never iswith wildlife! We started up the trackand Stonechats were seen and, in thedistance, a Song Thrush was singing.A short while later a Woodlark washeard and, I think, everyone gotdecent views of that species. Furtherup the track, Richard showed us thenestboxes put out for the Redstarts butwe did not, unfortunately, see or hearany. A Great Spotted Woodpeckerwas calling and a ChiffChaff wassinging but it was quite quiet. A shortwhile later Stonechats were heardmaking an alarm call and I brieflyheard a Dartford Warbler alarm call.Richard saw a Dartford Warblermoving in the distance but,unfortunately, this was not seen bymost.However a Tree Pipit was moreobliging as the dusk began to appearand everyone got decent views. Veryearly on a short churr from a Nightjarwas heard and then it all went quietagain. However then we not only

Field Trip Report

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going churring but also at least threeNightjars flying around followingeach other with some really goodviews. This was on one side of thetrack where we were standing and wealso heard churring coming from theother side of the track too. At thesame time the most beautiful moonwas rising, the mist was settling overthe heather and a Tawny Owl startedcalling. To finish it all off at least oneWoodcock was roding along the standof trees (quite possibly two) so thateveryone could hear its roding "click"sound.As it was almost dark by now westarted walking back, by joining thetrack we had walked up originally(having done a short circular walk inthe middle). After walking down thetrack a short distance, we came up toa few pines which were left in the areawhere the majority had been cutdown. In one of the trees was aNightjar churring so everyone wasable to see its outline in the tree. TheNightjar then flew, but not far, andthen started churring again. A greatend to a lovely evening with all thetarget heathland species seen. Thanksvery much to RichardIn all 21 people came on Richard'sfield trip of whom 8 were notmembers. However one hassubsequently joined making it asuccessful recruitment evening too!

Penny Williams

Queen Mary Reservoir (HershamRinging Group) Saturday 13thAugust 2016

Good numbers turned up to this fieldtrip but I then discovered that almosteverybody belonged to Ashtead U3Aand only 4 of the 13 attending werebird club members. However I startedtalking to Gareth Dagnall, who wasdown visiting family, and hementioned that he had previouslybeen a bird club member. Gareth hasdecided to join again which is greatnews.Tony Beasley welcomed us all andhad a juvenile Reed Warbler in hishands. A good chance for everyone tosee its size and how long its bill wasas compared to the ChiffChaff whichwe saw shortly afterwards. Tonyexplained that the breeding seasonhad not been good for a number ofspecies including Tits and it wasevidenced by how few Tits we sawcompared to recent years.Unfortunately no rarities were caughtby I did see one species in the handwhich I had not seen before and thatwas a Woodpigeon. Kevin Duncan,who is now a trainee with the ringinggroup, was given the doubtfulpleasure of ringing it (it was the firsttime he had handled a Woodpigeon)and he had a large audience watchinghim!As usual Diane Williams was on goodform using her varied vocabulary todescribe the birds. One Long-Tailedtit was a "sweetie" and another species(sorry I cannot now remember which)

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was described as being quite"mankie". Diane is excellent atexplaining how she sexes and ages thebirds and was asking the audiencewhether the tail of the Blackbird wasblack or brown. No consensus wasreached with differing opinions so thebird was just recorded as a juvenile.Despite Tony's warning of it havingbeen a poor breeding season,throughout the whole morning therewere birds being handled which wecould enjoy. As well as Robin andDunnock, we had Song Thrush,Willow Warbler, CommonWhitethroat and Great SpottedWoodpecker (a loud species in thehand!).As well as looking at the ringed birds,we also looked at a Cormorant whichhad a damaged wing which had beenseen around the site for some time.The Cormorant could not fly properly,although Steve Chastell reported thatit seemed able to fish in the drainagechannel OK, but it did not want to becaught. However, with all of us there,it became possible to catch it, and itwas caught by Tony Galsworthy. One

of those attending from U3A offeredto take the bird to the WildlifeHospital at Leatherhead. I do notknow how it is doing there.We also had the chance to go to thetop of the steps and look over QueenMary reservoir. As usual there werewell over one hundred Great CrestedGrebes with large numbers of TuftedDucks too. A Peregrine honoured usby perching on a pylon and CommonTerns were flying around too.Thanks very much to the Hershamringing group for their hospitality andfor their patience in explaining to uswhat is involved.

Penny Williams

Long-tailed Tit (”Sweetie”)(Penny Williams)

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The Surrey Bird Club hereby gives notice that all arrangements made by the Club for any persontaking part in any meeting, visit or other activity are made by the Club as agents for that personand that consequently the Club accepts no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconveniencearising from his or her participation in Club activities.

The copy date for the next issue of Birding Surrey is 31 October 2016

Future Field MeetingsIf you have a local patch you know well and would like to lead a field trip toshow others what is there please contact Charlotte Gray atcharlotte.gray88@gmail.com

Saturday 10th September, Staines MoorMeet at 9am on Hitherwood Road, Staines Moor. The nearest postcode is TW196AT. Park in road after sharp right hand bend. Wellies recommended if wet.Morning only. Leaders Simon Stacey (0777 467678) and Penny Williams.

Sunday 25th September, Holmethorpe SandpitsMeet at 9am at the Aquasports shop/cafe, Mercers Country Park, Merstham,Redhill, RH1 4EU. Leaders: Ian Kehl (07593 532521) and Gordon Hay. Thecafe is a couple of minutes walk beyond the first car park.

Saturday 22nd October, Leith Hill Migration WatchMeet at 6.30am at Starveall Corner carpark, Abinger Road (RH5 6LU) for the20 minute walk up to the tower. There is limited space up on the tower so notelescopes please. Refreshments available at the tower from 10am. Leader MattPhelps (07809 870034)

Saturday 17th December 2016, London Wetland Centre, BarnesMeet in the visitor car park at 9.30 am. Unless you are a WWT member you willhave to pay for entry. Entrance fee is 10% less if pre-booked viahttps://wwt.digitickets.co.uk/tickets?branches.branchID=332Leader Penny Williams Tel 07771 804357 (on day) or 01276 857736beforehand.

All the walks are FREE (except for travel costs, car park or entrance fees).Everybody is welcome, from beginners to experts. Field trip details can befound on the Surrey Bird Club website www.surreybirdclub.org or in the'Birding Surrey' quarterly magazine.

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President: Hugh Evans31, Crescent Road, Shepperton, TW17 8BL.Tel: 01932 227781Email: hugh.evans31@tiscali.co.uk

Chairman / Records Database Manager:Steve Chastell, 8, Burnet Avenue, Guildford,GU1 1YD Tel: 01483 560122Email: steve.chastell@btopenworld.com

General Secretary: VacantCorrespondence to the Chairman please.

Membership Secretary & BTO RegionalRep: Penny WilliamsBournbrook House, Sandpit Hall Road,Chobham, Surrey, GU24 8HA.Tel: 01276 857736Email for membership:sbc@waxwing.plus.comEmail for BTO queries:bto@waxwing.plus.com

County Recorder: Eric SodenCeres, Moushill Lane, Milford, GU8 5BQ.Tel: 01483 429799.E-mail: ericsoden@aol.co.uk

Treasurer: Steve Cupit144 Lambeth Road, London, SE1 7DFTel: 07876 146313E-mail: srcupit125@gmail.com

Bird Report Editor: Stella Bignold38, Chaffers Mead, Ashtead, KT21 1NGTel: 01372 272933Email: stella.bignold@gmail.com

Newsletter Editor: Tim Chinn11, Bishop Sumner Drive, Farnham, Surrey,GU9 0HQ. Email: tim.chinn@ntlworld.com

Chairman of Records Committee /Webmaster: Dave Harris84, Dudley Road, Walton-on-Thames,KT12 2JX. Tel: 01932 700018Email: dave.harris23@ntlworld.com

Social Media: Matthew Phelps 1, OrchardCottages, Sample Oak Lane, Chilworth,Guildford, GU4 8QWEmail:mattytheduke@yahoo.co.ukTel: 07809 870034

Ringing Secretary: Richard Denyer20, Crofton Close, Ottershaw, Chertsey,KT16 0LR Tel: 01932 872787

Conservation: Sarah Bunce17 River Court, Portsmouth Road, Surbiton,Surrey KT6 4EYEmail: sarah@rivercourt.plus.comTel:020 8974 8685 Mob: 07765 867383

Field Meetings: Charlotte Gray24 Nursery Hill, Shamley Green, Guildford,GU5 0UN. Tel: 01483 890380Email: charlotte.gray88@gmail.com

Other members:David Griffin51a, Palace Road, East Molesey, KT8 9DN.Tel. 0208 979 0748

Hugh Evans31, Crescent Road, Shepperton, TW17 8BL.Tel: 01932 227781Email: hugh.evans31@tiscali.co.uk

President and General Committee

www.facebook.com/surreybirdclub

@surreybirdnews www.surreybirdclub.org.uk

Fig 4. Ringed Plover, Staines Res., 30 Apr 2016 (David Carlsson)

Fig 5. Woodlark, Thursley, 19 May 2016 (David Carlsson)

Printed by BurleighPortishead www.burleighportishead.co.uk

Fig 7. Female Stonechat, Thursley, 12 May 2016 (David Carlsson)

Fig 6. Male Stonechat, Thursley, 19 May 2016 (David Carlsson)