Tuesday February 14th - Monday February 27th

Annual Report

The Tice's Meadow 2016 Annual Report can now be downloaded for free from this link:
https://1drv.ms/b/s!AuC9nX__kWIggSW-F4MUtWcsifGH

If you would like to buy a glossy, full colour, A4 hardcopy of the report for £15, please email us: ticesmeadow@hotmail.co.uk

All funds raised from the sale of our annual report are channelled back into projects on the nature reserve.

Spring BioBlitz

Our Spring BioBlitz will be held over the bank holiday weekend of Friday 28th April to Sunday 30th April.

Note: For those of you who bought one of our calendars, this is a week earlier than shown on the calendar.

Activities currently planned for the weekend include guided bird walks, moth trapping, guided bat walks and a weekend-long bird ringing demonstration (run by Roger Dickey).

Please keep an eye out for further announcements, including which other partner organisations will be attending this year.

Over 90 members of the public enjoyed last year's BioBlitz, with 86 species of bird recorded, and one well known birder called it "The highlight of the Surrey birding year". We hope to see you all at the 2017 event.

Late News

A juvenile Glaucous Gull was seen in the Workings on Monday February 13th by Richard Horton and Oli. Initially there was some confusion as Richard positively identified the bird and Oli took a photo. Subsequent viewing of the photo showed it contained a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull, but it then transpired that in his haste Oli had photographed the wrong bird.

Glaucous Gull is a new species for Tice's Meadow - the 191st species of bird recorded on site and the 85th species recorded in 2017.

Tuesday February 14th

No reports.

Wednesday February 15th

No reports.

Thursday February 16th

Dave Carlsson reported a Green Sandpiper today.

Oli recorded 2 new species for Tice's Meadow today:
Orange Waxcap (Hygrocybe aurantiosplendens).
Witches Butter (Exidia glandulosa).

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Orange Waxcap - taken Feb 17th

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Orange Waxcap - taken Feb 17th

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Witches Butter - taken Feb 17th

Friday February 17th

Mark Elsoffer reported a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, a Little Egret, 450 Lapwing, 58 Shoveler, 3 Pochard, 6 Mallard, 36 Teal, 20 Tufted Duck, 29 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 2 Stonechat, 6 Siskin, 2 Buzzard, a Kestrel, a Red Kite and a Sparrowhawk today.

Mark also reported a Red Admiral butterfly on the wing.

Carey Lodge reported a new species for Tice's Meadow today: Peniophora quercina - a wood decay fungus.

Ray spent the day cutting and clearing the overgrown brambles from the Water Rail Ditch - stellar work as always Ray!

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Peniophora quercina - taken Feb 18th

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Peniophora quercina - taken Feb 18th

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Peniophora quercina - taken Feb 18th

(c) Trevor Birkett - Greenfinch

(c) Richard Seargent - Afternoon Sun

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Morning on Horton's Mound

Saturday February 18th

Mark Elsoffer reported a Snipe, 250 Lapwing, 48 Shoveler, 12 Mallard, 2 Gadwall, 24 Teal, 4 Wigeon, 14 Tufted Duck, 5 Pochard, 2 Stonechat, a Goshawk (outside the recording area), c20 Buzzard, 3 Kestrel, 3 Red Kite and a Sparrowhawk today.

Richard, Oli, Dave & Jim spent the morning burning the piles of cleared brambles and litter picking along the Water Rail Ditch.

(c) Dave Baker - A Rare Sighting of Mickey Mouse Over Tice's Meadow

(c) Phil Hughes - Not Much Room on Horton's Mound Today

Sunday February 19th

John Hunt reported a Common Sandpiper and a Water Rail this morning.

In addition, Richard Seargent reported the welcome return, after an absence of a number of weeks, of a pair of Great Crested Grebe today.

In addition, Dave Baker reported a pair of Lapwing displaying over the Meadow.

In addition, Murray Nurse reported a Peregrine today.

Richard Seargent reported early evidence of courtship and nest building today - a pair of Reed Buntings holding territory and 2 pairs of Long-tailed Tits carrying nesting material.

Birders arriving on site early this morning had a suprise when they discovered an empty tent on the summit of Horton's Mound!

(c) Dave Baker - Abandoned Tent

(c) John Hunt - Reed Bunting

(c) Richard Seargent - Kestrel

(c) Richard Seargent - Long-tailed Tit

(c) Richard Seargent -Magpie

(c) Richard Seargent - Song Thrush

(c) Richard Seargent - Viva El Presidente

Monday February 20th

No reports.

Tuesday February 21st

No reports.

Wednesday February 22nd

Whilst litter-picking on site today, Oli lifted up an old car number plate and found 20+ Newts underneath.

(c) Oli - Newts

Thursday February 23rd

No reports.

Friday February 24th

(c) Kev Campbell - Meadow Pipit

(c) Kev Campbell - Stonechat

(c) Kev Campbell - Stonechat

Saturday February 25th

Around 30 people enjoyed a guided walk for the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership on site this morning. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. £155 was raised for the Tice's Meadow Bird Group through sales of our Annual Report and generous donations.

Mark Elsoffer reported a Common Sandpiper, 12 Snipe, a Little Egret, 8 Lapwing, 18 Mallard, 7 Gadwall, 30 Shoveler, 25 Teal, 20 Tufted Duck, 2 Wigeon, 9 Pochard, 2 Stonechat, a Grey Wagtail, 5 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk this morning.

In addition, Steve Minhinnick reported a Mediterranean Gull this morning.

In addition, Carey Lodge reported a Water Rail this morning.

Mediterranean Gull is the 86th species recorded on site this year.

Mark Elsoffer and Carey Lodge reported a new species for Tice's Meadow today: Split Gill fungus (Schizophyllum commune).

Oli reported a new species for Tice's Meadow today: Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus).

(c) Mark Elsoffer - BVCT Guided Walk

(c) Mark Elsoffer - BVCT Guided Walk

(c) Mark Elsoffer - BVCT Guided Walk

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Oyster Mushroom

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Little Egret

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Split Gill

Sunday February 26th

John Hunt reported a Snipe, a Water Rail, a Little Egret, 50 Shoveler, a 1st-winter Great Black-backed Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, 3 Stonechat and a Kestrel this morning.

(c) John Hunt - The Meadow

(c) John Hunt - Stonechat

(c) John Hunt - Stonechat

(c) John Hunt - Stonechat

Monday February 27th

No reports.