LOOK NO FURTHER THAN PAPERCOURT SHORT-EARED OWLS TO LIFT THE SPIRITS

I kept toying with the idea of going to Black Down to see the Parrot Crossbill, but by the time I decided to go, reported sightings of the Crossbill became sporadic to non-existent. This could either be because not many birders are going over to find it - most people who are interested in viewing this bird have already seen it - or it has gone elsewhere.

Either way, it would be a clear and present danger that I would turn up and suffer another dip. And with everything going wrong that could go wrong recently, I couldn't stomach another disappointment.

To elaborate, luck has recently left me to it. First it was the boiler, which decided to pack up on the coldest night ever recorded in Surrey - it got down to -18C in Chipstead Valley, which is only up the road. We got that fixed for an extortionate amount of money, and then the car broke down. 

The Peugeot 206 diesel was making a good stab at sounding like a bag of spanners in a tumble dryer. The big end had gone. This, in short, means a replacement engine is required, and someone to take the old one out and put the new one in.

Fortunately, I have a spare car, a trusty old Ford Mondeo, which is built like a tank and is extremely durable - unlike the French Knitting-Needle-Shitbox.

Then, of course, there is work. Or the distinct lack of it in February. Don't get me wrong, I've been busy up to a point, but not nearly as much I would prefer.

Then there is the vet's bill. After our beloved Burmese cat Cato died at Christmas, our other Burmese cat, Billie - who has never known life without her partner for 17 years - has really suffered. She isn't really the same cat. Added to which she started sneezing blood - quite a lot of it. After various tests nothing could be found - but the bill was still eye-watering.

Then there is Annie. She's not right, either. A few years ago, she had to have two lots of neurosurgery to laser a benign tumour on her pituitary gland (located at the base of the brain). Neither surgery was totally successful but tablets seemed to do the trick over a long period.

Having come off these, things seemed fine, but now her levels have gone through the roof again, and after having an MRI in Oxford this last week, we are waiting for the results to see whether another intrusive surgery might be on the cards.

So, apart from that, life is good.

Which is why I pointed the Mondeo in the direction of Papercourt Water Meadows. I needed a dead cert to guarantee a pleasurable late afternoon of birding to help me briefly forget all my woes. 

Watching the Short-eared Owls at Papercourt is one of life's pleasures. The sun was out, it was warm for the time of year, and at least three of these majestic Short-eared Owls came out to hunt at about 4.15pm for an hour.

Thanks guys, you cheered me up no end.

SNOW PATROL AT HOLMETHORPE

The snow came down overnight so this morning was definitely a day for birding. I hadn’t been out much lately after seeing the Hawfinch at Bookham Common a couple of weeks ago, followed by four Short-eared Owls at Papercourt Water Meadows the following day (I still haven’t managed to get a half-decent photo of one of these owls. Digiscoping moving objects really doesn’t work for me).

There was plenty of blue sky and sunshine on Thursday afternoon for a stroll around Holmethorpe Sand Pits, but a biting wind - that threatened to burn your face off - took the edge of it somewhat. I haven't paid enough attention to my local patch in recent months and it was high time I made amends. 

Holmethorpe is a particularly good site for birds during the winter months, being a hot-spot for Smew, and the Sand Pits often gets other unusual visitors. While out for this brief visit, I saw a couple of Pintails, a Goldeneye and a Wigeon at Mercer's West, but at Mercer’s Lake I noticed a small wader drop down by the water’s edge near the Yacht Club. It was out of sight so I walked round by Mercer's Lake car park and got a better view just before it flew down very close to me. It was a Dunlin.

This was my first ‘patch first for the year’ since seeing a Black Tern during the summer. Dunlins had been at Beddington the day before so it was no surprise to find one – although its location was a bit unusual. We don’t normally see them on the edge of the boating lake. After a few minutes it flew off in the direction of the Water Colour Lagoons.

The well publicised snow arrived with a vengeance overnight last night. As a result, this morning turned out to be one of the best visits I've had on my local patch. I thoroughly enjoyed the three-and-a-half hours I spent walking round reserve. Snow and birding go well together. For one thing, you can spot the birds easier against the white background, and the bad weather often encourages some decent species to drop in or stay over.

Typically, I was out all day yesterday so missed seeing a Curlew and I hoped it would still be around. I got to Spynes Mere at 9.00am and immediately spotted four Dunlin on the frozen lake. They didn’t stay long, flying off west within about a minute of me seeing them.

A good start. I ventured round to Mercer’s West and soon found four Pintail – three drakes and a female, plus the Goldeneye that has been resident for the past few weeks. No sign of the Curlew, though.

I headed south in the direction of Mercer’s Farm, but had a look over at the north side of Mercer’s West first, and there was the Curlew, my first of the year, probing around in the snowy bank of the lake. Keeping it company amongst the Canada Geese, Lapwings and numerous gulls was a Common Snipe and a Green Sandpiper (another year tick).

This wintery session was going well. There was no sign of the resident Little Owl in the oak tree along the footpath to Mercer’s Farm, but seven Yellowhammer were feeding in the snow. Over at Mercer’s Lake nothing much was happening, a solitary Wigeon being the bird of note, so I ventured over to the car park area, where I saw a Skylark fly over, plus a Treecreeper.

I trudged back through the thick snow to the car and drove round to the Fordbridge next to the Water Colour housing complex. A quick look over at the western end of Mercer’s Lake revealed a red-head Smew. Down in the brook at the bridge I was pleased to find a Water Rail feeding in the water, plus two more Common Snipe. I was hoping for a Kingfisher but couldn’t find one.

The two Lagoons didn’t reveal much and neither did The Moors, apart from plenty of Canada Geese, a Grey Heron, some Shoveler ducks and Teal. As I walked back to the car, via Cormongers Lane, two Egyptian Geese flew over and a Kestrel was perched on a telegraph pole. It had been a good morning.

A GREAT FINISH AFTER A FALSE START TO WEEK ONE

Day 1 – January 1, 2012

NEW YEAR WASH OUT

Those who read my post about Cato will probably guess that Christmas and New Year were more of a test of endurance than a joyful festive occasion.

I thought I’d distract myself with an afternoon’s birding on New Year’s Day. The first day of any new year is one of the most important and exciting days for birders. It’s when the birding plans start all over again, usually revolving around lists - whether it’s a British year list, county year list or a local patch year list. Year lists are what motivate many birders to get up early in the mornings to go bird-watching. It means counting all those birds you’ve seen countless times in previous years all over again, starting, in my case, with a dozen House Sparrows in Alpine Road, Redhill, and hopefully all manner of rarities throughout the rest of the year.

The more birds you see in any given year somehow in your head equates to how good a birder you are. Which isn’t true, obviously. To see as many birds as possible in any given year, or lifetime, doesn’t always require any form of innate skill – unless you are a top-notch birder like Johnny Allan. I’m heavily reliant on other more dedicated birders to put in the groundwork on their local patches to inform me of any unusual birds in the Surrey area. It is very rare for me to discover anything on my own. I can count the fingers of one hand – and that doesn’t include my thumb, index or little finger. One was a Black-tailed Godwit on Spynes Mere in 2010 and the other was a Black Tern on the patch last summer - and even then I was the only person who saw it.

If I have a defence it is that work commitments don’t allow me to cover as much ground as some birders. In fact, I only had two full days birding – from dawn till dusk – in the whole of 2011. The rest of my outings were either mornings or evenings, most of the time just a couple of hours snatched at the last minute in between jobs. I always end up continuously checking the time as guilt and stress start to set in. The one saving grace is that I work from home so if an unusual sighting does appear and it isn’t too far away – within 45 minutes by car – I should be able to have a look (unless it is in November, always my busiest time of the year).

Listing is one of the things I have a habit of doing, although by the time I get to December I’m pretty sick and tired of traipsing off to find birds I should have seen by that time of year and I end up simply watching birds I enjoy in December, whether it’s a flock of Waxwings feeding in a tree just 100 yards away from my house in Frenches Road, Redhill as was the case in December 2010, or watching Short-eared Owls quartering the Papercourt Water Meadows at dusk, as was the case last month.

Listing is very much a personal exercise. The bottom line is no-one else really cares that much about your list, so why do we bother doing one? If someone announces they have seen their 300^th bird in Britain, we all say well done but inwardly we either think that’s a long way from 400, the landmark number all serious and experienced twitchers have already got to, or in my case, it’s a reminder of how far I have to go to get anywhere close to that number. I’m way off that mark.

So starting a new list was the intention on New Year’s Day. In the end I didn’t have time to go far and a very grey day got gloomier by the minute as it started to rain as soon as I got on to the motorway. I opted to go to Papercourt in the vain hope the owls wouldn’t mind a bit of rain.

But the rain got heavier. It was relentless. I found myself standing in the middle of a field for two and a half hours getting drenched and seeing nothing apart from a couple of bedraggled Kestrels and three Cormorants.

Owls aren’t as stupid as me. When it rains all afternoon, it’s best to keep a low profile.

Day 2 – January 2

GLORIOUS ABSENCE

A beautiful day – brilliant blue sky, not a breath of wind. A good opportunity for a spot of birding. Only it would have been if it wasn’t for the fact we had already arranged a trip out to see friends in Wales. While we were away everyone else locally was making hay, and totting up a few good birds for their year lists. Bastards. I’m on 19 at the moment whereas most others are on about 60, but there’s plenty of time. While driving the 150 miles to South Wales I noted 13 Red Kites between junctions 6 and 14 on the M4. Not one Common Buzzard or Kestrel. Not sure why.

Day 3 – January 3

A PUNISHING WIND

First day back at work. Fortunately for me, work means being at home. No need for commuting, thank goodness. When I first started working from home, I wondered whether it would suit me. I thought I’d feel lonely, a spare part, itching to be in the thick of the action. I have spent most of my working life working in big open-planned newspaper or magazine offices, full of noise – TV monitors on everywhere, phones ringing, people talking, shouting, laughing. A constant buzz of adrenaline, stress and deadlines.

Working from home makes you realise there is more to life than high blood pressure. Nowadays I only have to commute to London once or twice a month, and even then I hate it. The train journey up to Victoria or London Bridge isn’t so bad, but the rush-hour fight to get on the tube is a nightmare and utterly depressing. And then you have to do it again in reverse, to get home. And do that every day? I really rather not.

Today a storm swept across the country, with strong winds and torrential rain. Lovely. It really wasn’t a day to go outside. I thought I might venture out to see if the 1^st winter male Garganey was still on The Moors if it stopped raining. This dabbling duck has been on my local patch at Holmethorpe for a month and I must be the only local birder who hasn’t seen it yet. It stopped raining. The sun came out so I went to Papercourt.

I don’t ever learn. Really, I don’t ever learn. There are two types of weather owls aren’t keen on. One is pissing rain, as on Sunday, and the other is a howling gale as with this afternoon. Although there was a short period when the wind dropped, the wind was as relentless today as the rain was on Sunday. Even after I shouted at it to stop, it just never abated for a moment. I stood out in the middle of the Water Meadows being buffeted by this wretched element knowing full well I was wasting my time and getting cold. I wasn’t going to see squat.

I did come up with five Surrey year ticks – two Stonechats, a Green Woodpecker, eight Meadow Pipits, two Pied Wagtails and about 20 Lapwings, to bring my total up to 24 (my UK total is now 26 after seeing the Red Kites and a Buzzard on our trip to Wales). Really pathetic. There were also at least four Kestrels braving the wind.

Day 4 – January 4

BOOKHAM COMMON STROLL

Annie wanted to go for a walk so we went to Bookham Common. Last winter the highlight at Bookham was the Hawfinch, but no sign of any this afternoon. The weather closed in (again) and became blowy and threatened to rain. All was pretty quiet, although I did see a few Bullfinches and a Sparrowhawk. Loads of Redwing about, at least 40. My Surrey total has now climbed to 33.

After our walk we ate at Café Rouge in Reigate and then went to the vets to pick up Cato’s ashes, which was poignant to say the least. The good thing is he’s back home now and he will stay in our bedroom from now on. Still miss him terribly.

Day 5 – January 5

PATCH DIPPING

The sun was out this morning but the wind was still gale force at times. I thought I’d pay my local patch, Holmethorpe Sand Pits, a first visit for 2012 late this morning to see if I could locate the wintering Garganey that has been loitering for the past month or so.

Alas, my current strike rate being as poor as it is, predictably I didn’t. Loads of Teal, a few Gadwall, a lone Shoveler and a Common Snipe, but no Garganey. Highlight was a Little Egret that flew over The Moors. I stayed for about an hour, but the duck remained elusive, probably sleeping on a bank with its mates out of sight of peering eyes such as mine.

The Surrey list is now on 40, with my patch list on 16. To be honest, the thought of trying to find another 128 different bird species in Surrey this year to beat my 2011 total (which wasn’t that great anyway) doesn’t exactly fill me with excitement at the moment. I want my birding to be enjoyable, not an endurance test where dipping constantly dominates my thoughts. I’ll no doubt feel differently when I see a few rarities in the coming weeks.

Day 6 – January 6

A FINE DAY

It was a beautiful morning, no wind and the first time in a while I’d actually managed to get out of bed early (despite a crap night’s sleep) and headed off somewhere to do a spot of birding.

I hadn’t been to Staines Reservoir for at least three months so it was good to set off in that direction before the sun was up. After a slight hold-up due of traffic I was on the causeway by 8.30am. I met up with Bob Warden and after he had pointed me in the right direction of a Black-necked Grebe, I got down to spotting a few other decent birds. First off was a Great Northern Diver on the south basin, a regular visitor to the reservoir, doing what it does best which meant it spent a far bit of time underwater. It did stay on the surface long enough at one point to get a proper view while it preened itself, so that was good.

Next up was the juvenile Shag, which hadn’t appeared to have moved from one of the rafts on the north basin since the last time I saw it back in September. I walked up to the eastern end of the reservoir to get a better view of at least 20 Goldeneye on the south basin. These striking ducks were focused on their courtship routines.

Back down the causeway and Bob had found the male Scaup, asleep right at the far end of the north basin, while the female was keeping a Wigeon company closer to the causeway. I stayed for a couple of hours, having looked for and failing to find any Water Pipit or Smew (seen later in the day). I headed home, and went for yet another look on the Moors to see if I could find the Garganey, but again drew a blank. Three Snipe were the best I could come up with.

I went out again in the afternoon, heading for Papercourt Water Meadows. The weather conditions were perfect, and as soon as I arrived just after 2.30pm and walked over the bridge and on to the Meadows I caught sight of my first Short-eared Owl of the afternoon. 

Having been forced to sit it out for a few days because of high winds and rain, it was no surprise to see these magnificent birds out hunting in the mid-afternoon. During my two-hour stay, I saw six Short-eared Owls quartering the area. Three were to the east, and the other three to the west. They put on a truly awesome display – the best yet. If you have any time to spare and the weather is good (no wind and rain) get down to the Meadows and watch these brilliant birds at work. There are few better birding sights currently in Surrey.

The Barn Owl didn’t show itself this time, but a Tawny Owl hooted from a tree by the river, just to add to the atmosphere. My Surrey list at the end of week one (we're out all day tomorrow) is now on 57. A great day’s birding that certainly made up for the rubbish start to the week.