Holmethorpe SPs, Surrey ... 19th - 23rd January 2011

The 19th was a fairly quiet day with the only notable birds being a Common Buzzard, a Treecreeper and 3 Rooks (never a common species at Holmethorpe) all found by Kevin Guest.
Things perked up a bit on the 20th with a smart drake GOLDENEYE in the company of two females on Mercers West Pit, a female SMEW at Mercers Lake, a male Shelduck at Spynes Mere and 12 Wigeon at Mercers West Pit. Reasonable counts for the area of 280 Lapwings and 40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were made by Gordon Hay.


SMEW at Mercers Lake on the 20th January


GOLDENEYE at Mercers West Pit on the 20th January

Kevin Guest found a female SMEW on the Water Colour lagoons and 2 Green Sandpipers at Mercers West Pit on the 21st and Jerry Blumire added 3 Rooks and a Nuthatch to the day’s tally of species.
Jerry saw a Water Rail and a Treecreeper at Fordbridge by the Water Colour housing development entrance on the 22nd and the 23rd saw 3 (or possibly 4) female SMEW with one at Mercers Lake and two at Mercers West Pit in the morning (and three seen on Mercers West Pit in the afternoon by Simon Elson, the Surrey Wildlife Trust's voluntary warden). Also on that date there were 2 female GOLDENEYE on Mercers West Pit, a LITTLE EGRET that flew towards the sewage treatment works, a Common Buzzard, around 60 Skylarks and 35 Yellowhammers at Mercers Farm, 2 Green Sandpipers on Mercers West Pit, 7 Bullfinches, a Kingfisher and a Little Owl.

WAXWINGS at nearby Frenches Road in Redhill continue to attract visiting birders with 13 birds present on the 19th, 31 birds reported on the 22nd and 28 birds on the 23rd. A female Blackcap has been seen feeding on the apple tree that the Waxwings favour near the railway footbridge at Frenches Road.




WAXWINGS at Frenches Road, Redhill on the 19th January

A pair of overwintering Blackcaps were in gardens at South Merstham, half a mile or so from the Holmethorpe SPs boundary.


BLACKCAP in gardens at South Merstham on the 23rd January