THE HOLMETHORPE PATCH BLOG

As of tomorrow morning I will be managing the Holmethorpe Sand Pits blog and keeping it updated. It was originally set up and hosted by Graham James, the Pits patch birder extraordinaire, who lives in Merstham. Graham is one of the vital group of birders in Britain who keep a very detailed record of the birds that are seen on his local patch, but due to a situation out of his control, he felt it was time to hand over the reins.

Without this dedication most birders wouldn't get to see half the species they do, particularly now with Twitter, pagers and the like keeping everyone updated by the minute.

So, it is a privilege to be given the responsibility to look after the blog (see side panel for link) – and to be part of the British birding scene at the coal face. Holmethorpe is developing into a cracking birding area. It has a bit of everything - waders, ducks, geese, raptors, rails, owls, finches. Oh, and plenty of gulls.

Currently, the patch is going through a purple patch with Smew, Scaup, Goldeneye and Curlew currently featuring, while on a brief visit to Mercers Lake this afternoon I'm 99.9 per cent certain I saw an Iceland Gull (104) with some Herring, Lesser black-backed and Black-headed Gulls. It stood out a mile amongst all the other gulls. It was all white and it had a black tip to its bill.

This was another situation where I was just about to take a photo, when a helicopter flew over instigating a mass take-off of all the birds on the lake. I follow the Iceland Gull for as long as I could, but lost sight of it and couldn't relocate it. Pretty sure it was one, though.

I'd gone to the lake to find the Scaup, which I did successfully. It was sleeping in amongst some Tufted Ducks. Also swimming around were four redhead Smew.

I'll be patch birding more often this year - it's more satisfying than dipping Tundra Bean Geese like I did at the weekend. Talking of the Goose, it looks as if it has moved on to another area not far from Thorpe. It was seen roosting at the Queen Mary Reservoir late this afternoon with some Greylags and White-fronted Geese. It will be interesting to see if it ventures further south.

We get a lot of geese down on the Pits, and also in the fields along Rocky Lane - a road that links the A23 with Gatton Bottom. I'll be keeping an eye on these flocks just in case the odd scarcity decides to hang out with them.

TWO DIPS, TWO TICKS

Well, I went for the Tundra Bean Goose at Thorpe this afternoon. I fully expected to turn up, see the goose and leave. In short, and using Jonathan Lethbridge's words, a 'filthy' twitch.

It didn't cross my mind that it wouldn't be there, but as soon as I arrived along Mill Lane I knew it had left the scene. Four other birders were already loitering by the fence and none of them was looking intensely at a flock of Greylag and Canada Geese plus a solitary Tundra Bean Goose. They had all flown off sometime after 11.30pm. The geese returned later - at about 4.30pm - but I didn't have time to wait.

A flock of at least 40 Siskin were a distraction of sorts in the surrounding trees, but after about 20 minutes I headed home. I contemplated dropping in at Papercourt for a Short-eared Owl fix to make up for the disappointing dip, but a message flashed up on my phone from Johnny Allan. Eight Waxwings had been seen in trees by the Derby Arms car park on Epsom Downs.

I took a detour to Epsom. John Benham was there when I arrived, but we could find no sign of the Waxwings, just plenty of Redwings. Dip two of the day. One bonus, however, was a female Blackcap (102) close by, perched in some ivy. Another Surrey tick.

Earlier, I paid a brief visit to Holmethorpe. Looking along the brook by the Fordbridge, a flash of flourescent blue stood out against the snow. A Kingfisher (103) perched momentarily on a branch before flying low upstream. Tick two of the day.

On the other side of the road towards Mercers Lake I flushed two Water Rail that were close by the wooden bridge. One flew over the road to the brook on the Moors side - seeing one in flight, with its legs dangling, was a first for me. Over at the lake, I saw four redhead Smew.

I'm out all day tomorrow, so no doubt a whole host of patch megas will turn up at once. If they do, hopefully they will stay put for at least another 24 hours.

OWLS ON THE FARMS

Having had a bit of a decent run going on the birding front, I thought I'd try to keep it going with a brief visit to both Holmethorpe and Canons Farm this afternoon. Over at Holmethorpe at long last I found the resident Little Owl in the oak by the footpath at Mercer's Farm. I also heard another one over at Spynes Mere.

Over at Mercers Lake I saw three redhead Smew, and then a couple of Bullfinches and notably four Siskin with some Goldfinches in the Mercer's Country Park car park. These brought my Surrey list up to 100. I didn't reach this landmark last year until the middle of March.

On the way back from a list of errands via Banstead I popped in at Canons Farm in the hope of seeing another owl there. Sure enough, the Barn Owl (101) was asleep in the large barn near Reads Rest Cottages.

On the way back to the car I saw another couple of Bullfinches, plus at least 50 Fieldfare flying over.

I have yet to visit Thorpe for the Tundra Bean Goose - I may go tomorrow if I have time. It all depends on the conditions in the morning - snow and ice are both forecast. With luck, the weather may bring with it some interesting visitors.

PATCH PLEASURES

I'm really enjoying my local patch at the moment. Maybe it's due to the weather and I therefore don't have the urge to travel too far to see something different, or maybe it's just that finding a bird on your own doorstep is somehow more gratifying.

Whatever it is, I'm on a decent run. My patch list isn't fantastic, it's only on 57 - I've still to see a Kingfisher, Siskin or Little Owl out of the regular birds at Holmethorpe this year - but every time I have been out for a walk on the patch recently I have managed to see something new. It certainly makes up for a dismal run during the summer and early winter when I didn't manage to see anything noteworthy - it was starting to really get me down. To cap it all I couldn't locate the Garganey or the Firecrest between late November and December - and the Garganey had stayed for about two months.

So 2012 has started off well locally. After locating the first Dunlin seen by anyone on the patch this year last Thursday, I added four more on Sunday. I also caught up with a Curlew, a number of Pintails, a Goldeneye and a number of redhead Smew. I was also happy to find a Water Rail by the Fordbridge brook. These are all great birds for the patch.

Then this afternoon, I struck lucky again with a brief visit to Mercer's Lake and the Water Colour Lagoons. There were a stack of gulls on Water Colour Lagoon 1, where the ice hadn't formed on the lake. I had a look to see if I could find anything unusual but no joy. I then took a short walk over to Mercer's Lake and it was while scoping across the lake looking for Smew - I saw four redheads - that I caught sight of an unusual gull. Its head was almost all black, and it had a noticeable red beak and eye ring. The wings were white. It was a Mediterranean Gull in amongst the Black-headed Gulls. I was in the process of taking a photo when it flew off in the direction of the Lagoons (where it was nowhere to be found). Med Gulls aren't that common at Holmethorpe but there have been plenty at neighbouring Beddington recently, so one was due to drop in at some point. My Surrey year total is now on 98.

Being relatively close geographically to Beddington, Holmethorpe can often share the same species of birds. An Iceland Gull seen on Mercer's Lake last month was a bird that often visits Beddington. Any number of birds flying over Beddington heading south can end up over Holmethorpe (not that I have ever seen any!). When they get Dunlin, we're pretty sure to get one or two. If Curlews are flying over, one might drop in at Holmethorpe - as it did over the weekend.

This isn't always the case, however. I think it's a seasonal thing. Holmethorpe tends, from what I've noticed, to have plenty of decent birds appearing during the winter, but come the summer sightings can dry up. Why, I'm not sure. It may be because Holmethorpe is a low-lying region with hills all around. Migratory birds might overlook Holmethorpe and target the higher ground before taking a rest - further up the road is Canons Farm, and they had Ring Ouzel, Whinchat, Black Redstarts, a number of Grasshopper Warblers and Quail. We had the first three either briefly or for a day or so.

In 2011 Beddington had more than is worth listing. Many were flying over - Beddington is certainly of the flight path for many migrants - but they also had Pectoral Sandpiper, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint and Wood Sandpiper to name but a few. They often get Lapland Bunting and Snow Bunting. Then again, Beddington has a whole army of patch watchers to keep an eye on the skies and the scrapes for pretty much seven days a week.

What we need down here, though, is another bird like the Ferruginous Duck a couple of years ago to get people to visit this excellent site. As local patch master Graham James often says, the more people who walk the area the more likely a really rare bird will be discovered. I'd better get out there and practise what I'm preaching...

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.

BOOKHAM HAWFINCH REVISITED

Having seen the news on the Surrey Bird Club last week, it was good to know that Hawfinches have returned to Bookham Common again this winter. Bookham is a regular haunt for this handsome, but elusive, finch but as the years have gone by their numbers have dwindled - last winter there were a no more than six seen.

As of today there are only two in 2012, although on both occasions I have been to Bookham this week I have only seen one each time. On Monday I only got a couple of fleeting glimpses but this morning I had excellent views within 15 minutes of arriving.

A bonus on Monday was a Marsh Tit that landed noisily in a bush close by. It didn't stay long so I couldn't get a photo.

Closer to home, a couple of Smew have stuck around over at Holmethorpe, but on a brief walk round this afternoon, I only saw one on Mercer's Lake. There wasn't much else of note - I had a long look at hundreds of gulls that currently swarm the area but nothing remotely Icelandic came to my attention - apart from a couple of Shelducks (regulars at Holmethorpe), and more than 100 Lapwings, 80 Fieldfare and 40 Linnets.

My Surrey list is on 89. It's funny how each year is different. Last year I hadn't seen a Marsh Tit or Dartford Warbler until well into the spring and I didn't see a Raven all year. Added to which I have still yet to see a number of common species such as a Song Thrush, Yellowhammer, Skylark or Siskin.

SHIP-ASSISTED BIRDS AND THE ANTHROPOCENE EPOCH

I've been reading Tom McKinney’s brilliant blog novel thriller online called The Greatest Lie Ever Told. The story is based on a secret organisation called the Bristow Chapter dedicated to conning twitchers into believing that vagrant birds are genuine when in fact many of the Arctic and Northern vagrants are being shipped over and set free on the British mainland. When this large scale ornithological fraud is about to be exposed, a number of people are murdered to cover it up.

It’s a great read - particularly if you like extreme violence and plenty of swearing - and, as is always the case with Tom’s writings, it is extremely funny.

What the novel has also done, apart from make me laugh, is get me thinking about my visit to Hampshire on Monday and rare birds like the Dark-eyed Junco and the Spanish Sparrow and whether we should care if birds have arrived in Britain partly by artificial means – by which I mean they didn’t fly all the way here.

What the novel has also made me wonder is whether the fraud in the story should be classified as a fraud at all.

It’s a well-known fact that many long-range migrant or vagrant birds inadvertently or otherwise take a breather on their journey to Britain. To the east, birds will perch up on a North Sea oil rig for a rest, and some will land on a ship that is heading this way. To the west, long-range vagrants such as American and Mediterranean/Asian Sparrows will end up perched on a boat, and then fly off once land has been sighted or when the boat docks into port.

It is, therefore, no coincidence that many rare birds are discovered near ports or coastal areas close to shipping straits such as the English Channel.

A Dark-eyed Junco or a Spanish Sparrow is unlikely feel the natural urge to travel thousands of miles away from their breeding or wintering grounds to Britain in normal circumstances. The main reason they end up here is because they have been blown off course by a storm and need to take a rest to recover from the ordeal. Dark-eyed Juncos, for example, can be found right across the United States, many are permanent residents, while the remainder migrate from the States to breed in Canada for the summer.

Both the Hampshire Dark-eyed Junco and the Spanish Sparrow are likely to have arrived in Britain via a ship that docked into Southampton or Portsmouth. That in itself is not a problem from a listing point of view, and according to the BOURC (British Ornithologist's Union's Records Committee) 'ship-assisted vagrants may qualify for Category A* provided that they are not fed, watered or receive any other direct human intervention during their journey.'

The question then is how can you prove a bird that has arrived in Britain has done so without the direct intervention of a human being? The answer is, you can’t.

One of the BOURC’s main tasks ‘is to assess the likelihood of a species occurring naturally in Britain.’ They do this by studying where the bird has been seen, at what time, what the weather was like when it was first sighted, patterns of migration with the species and its vagrancy potential.

Ship assistance ‘is not necessarily a bar to inclusion on the British List, provided the bird was not confined, sheltered or provisioned during its journey.’ They also consider whether the bird could reach Britain without hitching a ride. But I wonder if any of this is actually relevant.

The inescapable truth is the human race and its activities has had a hugely significant impact on the environment. We change the environment faster and more dramatically than any other natural factor.

The 4.5-billion year history of the planet is divided up into major eras, which are split up into periods, and then divided up into epochs. These, for the past 4.5 billions years, have all been time zones based on geological or paleontological events. Humans have altered Earth so dramatically during the past 200 years, however, many scientists now believe a new epoch in the planet's geologic history has already begun.

It is called the Anthropocene epoch. It is our epoch - Anthropo- (human) -cene (new). We started it.

Since it began 200 years ago this man-made epoch has caused rapid changes in sediment erosion, global temperatures, the carbon cycle (the natural production of carbon bi-products such as oil and coal, which are generated over many hundred millions of years, and are now being exhausted by human beings in a matter of decades), the acidification of the sea and changes to migrant patterns. We’ve done it all. And incredibly quickly. Whereas before it took millions of years to change the landscape and the environment, now it takes decades. A click of the fingers in geological terms.

Take my local area of Redhill as an example. Where once there was a hillside, made from Lower Greensand sandstone from the Lower Cretaceous age that took more than 60 million years to create, Fuller's Earth was mined for more than 130 years until 2000 and the hillside had disappeared. Now, just 12 years later it is being recreated again with landfill.

So, taking this information to its logical conclusion, any bird in Britain is influenced in some way by human beings. Whether it is because it has landed on a boat or, as in The Greatest Lie Ever Told, because it has been stuffed in a cage by an Icelandic criminal and set free as soon as the person in question has stepped foot on British soil, or because it has been part of a re-introduction programme like the Red Kite or White-tailed Eagle, or decimated by intensive farming techniques, or fed seed on a bird table - most birds are where they are because of us. We are part of the natural cycle of events.

With that in mind, go out there and enjoy watching your birds with a clear conscience wherever - or however - they turn up.

(On other matters closer to home, I saw the Smew at Mercer's Lake this afternoon, to take my Surrey list to 86.)


* Species recorded in an apparently natural state at least once since 1 January 1950