Birdwatcher’s Diary No.175

Published on: 4 Dec, 2018
Updated on: 3 Dec, 2018

By Malcolm Fincham

As we reached the middle of November winds briefly turned to the east, bringing a cooler feel to the air. It had also brought with it a few more short-eared owls into various areas of the UK.

On November 17, with the addition of good friends Bob and Dougal, I made a return to Papercourt water meadows, near Send, where I had seen my first short-eared owl of the winter, just a few days before.

Stonechat at Papercourt. Click on pictures to enlarge.

Having arrived early in the afternoon, making the most of what was another pleasant day, we first walked downstream along the river’s towpath where we encountered a few stonechats perched up on long grass stems and brambles, as if on guard duty.

Hoping to see the short-eared owl.

To my surprise as we made our return to the meadows, we were met by quite a gathering of fellow birdwatchers (mostly well camouflaged or secluded) who had responded to the news that both I and the Surrey Bird Club had put out just a few days before.

Short-eared owl at Papercourt.

It turned out to be quite a long wait for some on this occasion, but eventually a fruitful one. Just as the sun dropped into the clouds on the horizon, and the chill of the evening air began to caress my fingers, the short-eared owl made its appearance.

Here is a Youtube clip showing more recent footageof the short-eared owl at Papercourt.

Barn owl at Papercourt.

The short-eared owl was soon followed by the appearance of a barn owl.

Black-headed gulls skating on thin ice.

At the Riverside Nature Reserve, near Burpham a few frosty nights were enough to put a thin layer of ice across the “scrape” near Stoke Lock, on which a few black-headed gulls stubbornly stood.

Blue tit feeding by the boardwalk.

Along the boardwalk, an assortment of members of the tit family could be viewed, these included several blue tits.

Blackbird at Riverside Nature Reserve.

A female blackbird, perched, picking berries from a tree by the towpath.

Pheasants in flight near Stoke Lake.

While just before dusk, on several afternoons a few pheasants could be seen, flying out from the sewage works just beyond the lock to roost near the scrape.

Egyptian geese in flight

About the same time a pair of Egyptian geese were often seen, their white wing panels showing well in the dwindling light. They too flew across the canal towards the “scrape”.

Egyptian geese onStoke Lake.

On the frostier days they could be seen flying on to Stoke Lake.

Kingfisher in flight across Stoke Lake.

From the lakeside, to the keen eyed, regular sightings of a kingfisher could be glimpsed.

Tufted ducks on Stoke Lake.

By the end of the month the number of tufted ducks on the lake had increased to 26.

Roe deer at the Riverside Nature Reserve.

Roe deer are most active at twilight, so if you want to observe them that is when you should be in position.

Gulls going to roost.

As the shortening days came to a close, a waxing “beaver” moon appeared in the gelid eastern sky, as the local gulls made their way to their roosts.

Jackdaws going to roost.

On a grey and wet November 28, I again, as previously reported, witnessed flocks of jackdaws. They seemed to be growing in number with in excess of a 1,000 birds, now making their daily return from all points of the compass after their day’s foraging in the fields around Guildford.

Here is a short film I took of them.

By the end of the month mild, Atlantic, westerly winds took control, bringing some wet and stormy weather.

Grey heron on grey day.

A grey heron on a grey day, looked across the “scrape” from the towpath by Stoke Lock.

Kestrel at the Riverside Nature Reserve.

The resident kestrel continued to hunt around the reserve.

Cormorants on a pylon.

On the towering electrical pylons near the main lake, a couple of cormorants sat, surveying their surroundings.

November 29  also brought a rare present for local birdwatchers in the way of a shag.

Shag seen on Stoke Lake.

Shags are similar to cormorants but smaller and generally slimmer.

Shag seen on Stoke Lake.

Unlike cormorants, shags are usually seen off the west coast of the UK. Only occasionally do they turn up inland along rivers and lakes. The shag’s beak is more delicate in comparison to the cormorant’s and the forehead angle is steeper.

Frensham Little Pond.

Elsewhere around the Surrey countryside during the last weeks of the month weather conditions, unsurprisingly, were much the same. Looking back at my photos this was most notable by the quality and results of some of the pictures I had taken. On what had been several trips south of Guildford to Frensham on the Surrey-Hampshire border.

Kingfisher at Cutt Mill lakes, Puttenham.

Stopping off at Cutt Mill pond, Puttenham, along the way, I was able to get a distant photo of a kingfisher as it flew low across one of the lakes there.

I wasn’t quite so fortunate when we arrived at Frensham Little Pond, when another kingfisher flew across the lake there too. This time too quickly for me to react with my camera.

Fieldfare.

Although a walk around the pond was a quiet one in respect of bird sightings, it was one of those days when any birds seen could be considered a bonus. In such pleasant weather conditions a few fieldfares flew overhead in the clear blue sky.

Dartford warbler at Frensham.

On the surrounding heathland Dartford warblers could be heard and glimpsed as they flew over the heather. While one even took us by surprise, perching up in full view, close by.

Goldcrest.

A family group of goldcrests could also be found, flitting about in a small oak tree by the pond.

Frensham Great Pond.

Continuing our ventures while the sun continued to shine, was a trip just across the main road to Frensham Great Pond.

Aylesbury ducks at Frensham Great Pond.

At the eastern end near the outlet stream a selection of wildfowl could be viewed close by. Begging for a free meal were a pair of resident Aylesbury ducks.

Coots at Frensham Great Pond.

Also flapping around in their outstandingly sized, clown-like feet, were a covert of coots.

Pochards in flight at Frensham.

While a raft of pochards, less confiding, drifted around on the water further away. However, three drake pochards flew overhead allowing me to capture a shot as they passed by.

Blackbird in a holly bush.

Just across the road, as we began a short walk down to the outlet pond, a few blackbirds could be seen picking berries from the holly bushes.

Near the outlet pond we could hear a firecrest, although on this occasion only getting a few fleeting glimpses too abbreviated to photograph.

Mandarin ducks at Frensham.

On the pond, secluded by overhanging trees, were four mandarin ducks.

Little egret at Frensham.

While just beyond them a little egret perched on some fallen branches.

No sooner had I turned the page on my wall calendar, and opened the first window on my Advent calendar, on Saturday, December 1, I got a call from my friend Dougal, with news of a great northern diver on Frensham Great Pond.

Like the shag seen just a few days before on Stoke Lake, great northern divers are usually seen wintering around our coast. It seemed to me that recent Atlantic storms had persuaded them both to take refuge for a while on inland lakes.

With the addition of Bob, we arrived there just after midday. It had been first sighted the previous evening and was by now looking quite contented as it plucked signal crayfish from the sandy substrate of the pond.

As seen on an interesting video clip, taken by a fellow “birder” at the time we were there.

Great northern diver on Frensham Great Pond.

Great northern divers in Canada are better known as common loons and appear on the Canadian $1 coin which is known as the “Loonie.”

Historic evidence suggests that great northern divers have been around for at least 20,000,000 years, making them the oldest and most primitive example of a bird alive today.

Great northern diver on Frensham Great Pond.

Having watched it for a while and got as good a view and photos we could expect, we decided to take a walk down to the outlet pond before the last of the daylight faded.

Holly is probably the most abundant species of tree in the area. Some had already been stripped of their berries, with just a few to be seen scattered around the ground beneath them.

A continuous “seep, seep” sounds from the surrounding trees soon alerted us to the culprits. It was the sound of groups of redwings, mostly just glimpsed as they passed overhead in the canopy of the top most branches.

Redwings at Frensham Great Pond.

Arriving at an opening in the treeline by the roadside, I was able to get some better views of them. Some stood out, perched on tall bare branches.

Redwing.

While others were pillaging the holly-laden bushes by the roadside.

Firecrest near Frensham outlet pond.

A real bonus on this occasion and to complete another pleasurable day of birdwatching, was to see not one but two firecrests, and even managing to get a few photos.

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