RJSeargent
Birding at the taxpayer's expense. Head down, bin
and now a Rustic Bunting. 92 lifers in the last calandar year. Thank you British Tax Payers!
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Tice's Meadow and Tongham GP, Surrey (8 Viewers)
- Thread starter RJSeargent
- Start date
and now a Rustic Bunting. 92 lifers in the last calandar year. Thank you British Tax Payers!
JohnnyH
Aldershot till I die!
Not too much to report this morning, no sign of any Rails in the stream. Found the Little Egret in one of the riverside Alders, just 1 Siskin, 5 Redwing, 1 Fieldfare, 2 Snipe, & 3 Meadow Pipit still present of our Winter visitors. Sparrowhawk seen cruising over the meadow, & 3 Skylark in song being todays other species.
John.
John.
mattytheduke
Well-known member
Not much to add to John's tally from mine and Sean's slightly later visit (nice to bump into you near the entrance, John!) other than a couple of Buzzards, and a fleeting glimpse of the Water Rail in the usual spot near the entrance. First time in ages I've seen no Lapwing or Gulls on the deck, although Gulls were beginning to come back in as the morning went on; a mixture of Black-headed, Common and Herring.
Matt.
p.s. Forgot to say thanks to Rich for pointing out the Little Egret in the Alder by the stream. Nice to finally catch up with this Tice's 'regular' at last!
Matt.
p.s. Forgot to say thanks to Rich for pointing out the Little Egret in the Alder by the stream. Nice to finally catch up with this Tice's 'regular' at last!
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JohnnyH
Aldershot till I die!
Hi Dave,
Well done on finding the Green Sand, not seen it since the start of the year. I think the LRP's will be ok, but share your concerns as regards the Common Terns & Black Headed Gulls. The lack of water in the workings will mean that predators will be able to easily reach the islands on which they traditionally nest. We will also lose the pair of Little Grebe that bred last year as the pit they used is no more, although they might use Tongham GP. I think that as long as we get a decent amount of rain this spring, autumn, & winter, next year will be much better for our breeders.But having said that as long as the meadow & workings retain water Spring passage this year should be ok.
Cheers,
John.
Well done on finding the Green Sand, not seen it since the start of the year. I think the LRP's will be ok, but share your concerns as regards the Common Terns & Black Headed Gulls. The lack of water in the workings will mean that predators will be able to easily reach the islands on which they traditionally nest. We will also lose the pair of Little Grebe that bred last year as the pit they used is no more, although they might use Tongham GP. I think that as long as we get a decent amount of rain this spring, autumn, & winter, next year will be much better for our breeders.But having said that as long as the meadow & workings retain water Spring passage this year should be ok.
Cheers,
John.
Here are the March migrant dates (earliest) for Tices.
Sand Martin 27th March 2006
31st March 2007
8th March 2009 (5= earliest in Surrey)
20th March 2010
17th March 2011
Dunlin 23rd March 2007
30th March 2008
12th March 2011
Redshank 25th March 2011 (1 wintered in the winter of 2004/2005)
LRP 26th March 2005
29th March 2006
23rd March 2007
19th March 2008
19th March 2009
18th March 2010
11th March 2011
The earliest recorded in Surrey is on the 7th March at North Gatwick (1987) and Barn Elms (2001).
Kevin
Sand Martin 27th March 2006
31st March 2007
8th March 2009 (5= earliest in Surrey)
20th March 2010
17th March 2011
Dunlin 23rd March 2007
30th March 2008
12th March 2011
Redshank 25th March 2011 (1 wintered in the winter of 2004/2005)
LRP 26th March 2005
29th March 2006
23rd March 2007
19th March 2008
19th March 2009
18th March 2010
11th March 2011
The earliest recorded in Surrey is on the 7th March at North Gatwick (1987) and Barn Elms (2001).
Kevin
Not visited Tices for a month so I dont know what the water level in the workings looks like. I could walk onto all the main islands as I cleared them of vegetation. If it is still like this then the Gulls and Terns won't breed this year. Before the spring of 2007 you were lucky to see a BHGull after April. The lack of Gulls may be a good thing for Lapwings etc.
Kevin
Kevin
mattytheduke
Well-known member
Day off today so popped to Tice's this afternoon. Quiet again, apart from c.120 Black-headed Gulls and a handful of Commons. Over half the BHs were in sum plum. Plenty of signs of spring though with Coltsfoot in flower all over the place, and a very handsome breeding plumage male Reed Bunting singing away. A couple of Buzzards soaring over the A31, and another passing over high east, a Sparrowhawk over the housing estate, at least one Skylark and four Meadow Pipit the only other birds of note, aside from a good number of Pied Wags (c.25) on the workings.
Matt.
Matt.
Thank you Mat and every one else for the clean up at Tices today sure makes a difference 150 bh gull 5 sky lark 1 water rail 3 green finch 5 bull finch 3 green finch 6 teal 3 buzzard 2 sparrow hawk 3 l b b gull 6 carrion crow 36 jackdaw 2 common gull 7 linnet 2 grey wagtail.
No chance to see the Water Rail today in the stream. With this rain the water level in the stream is at least a foot deep and rising. The River Blackwater is also the highest I've seen it since last winter. It would be great to see the excess water flowing into the workings!! If not we just need it to rain like today for at least forty days and forty nights.
So in the rain no small birds seen in the trees but a few Redwing were still feeding. Canada Geese numbers were 53 with Teal at 10. Surprised to see 3 Tufted Ducks in the shallow water in the workings. Even in the rain a few Skylark and Meadow Pipits seen in the workings. Best of all and the last bird seen was a flushed Jack Snipe from the oldest silt pond. I expect there were two, they flew when I nearly trod on the them but could only follow one in flight as it dropped into the middle slit pond. Thought I knew where it dropped, but did not see again. Non bird there were 4 Roe Deer in the workings(1 buck/3doe)
Soaking wet and sleet falling I headed home.
Kevin
So in the rain no small birds seen in the trees but a few Redwing were still feeding. Canada Geese numbers were 53 with Teal at 10. Surprised to see 3 Tufted Ducks in the shallow water in the workings. Even in the rain a few Skylark and Meadow Pipits seen in the workings. Best of all and the last bird seen was a flushed Jack Snipe from the oldest silt pond. I expect there were two, they flew when I nearly trod on the them but could only follow one in flight as it dropped into the middle slit pond. Thought I knew where it dropped, but did not see again. Non bird there were 4 Roe Deer in the workings(1 buck/3doe)
Soaking wet and sleet falling I headed home.
Kevin
RJSeargent
Birding at the taxpayer's expense. Head down, bin
Chaps,
my wife has taken the 19th off. Any chance of moving the Norfolk day to the 18th or earlier if it suits?
Hope all is well with the Tice's Posse.
Rich
my wife has taken the 19th off. Any chance of moving the Norfolk day to the 18th or earlier if it suits?
Hope all is well with the Tice's Posse.
Rich
mattytheduke
Well-known member
I second Dave's response, mate; just pick a date that suits you and I should be able to get the day off with enough forewarning. Hope the desert is treating you well!
Matt.
Matt.
Tri-Counties Birder
AKA The Portland Naturalist
Had a stroll round Tice's and Tongham this morning, but nothing of note.
The Water Rail showed well in its usual place. Otherwise just Sparrowhawk, Siskin, 1 Teal, 2 Gadwall, a count of 46 Canada Goose, 2 LBB Gull, and a total of 8 Roe Deer (five in the workings, three on the far side of the meadow). Oh, and 8 Mistle Thrushes on the playing field by Tongham.
The Water Rail showed well in its usual place. Otherwise just Sparrowhawk, Siskin, 1 Teal, 2 Gadwall, a count of 46 Canada Goose, 2 LBB Gull, and a total of 8 Roe Deer (five in the workings, three on the far side of the meadow). Oh, and 8 Mistle Thrushes on the playing field by Tongham.
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JohnnyH
Aldershot till I die!
Pretty good morning today although no sign of any Spring migrants yet. Best birds being a Jack Snipe flushed from the reedbed along with 4 Commons, & 2 Water Rail seen again in the stream. Other species noted were: 1 Bullfinch, 3 Reed Bunting, 1 Buzzard, 9 Meadow Pipit, 2 Skylark, 1 Lapwing, 3 Redwing, & 4 Teal.
John.
John.
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