Monday, 31 January 2022

Saturday 1st January to Monday 31st January

Volunteer Work Parties

Our volunteer work party schedule for the next 4 months.

Please do come and join us if you're free - a great way to spend a morning, helping nature, working with the local community, and having some fun at the same time.


Saturday 1st January

Richard Seargent: 2 Green Sandpiper & Siskin.

Mark Elsoffer: Snipe, Goldeneye (presumed escape) & 14 Linnet.

Colin Varndell: Grey Wagtail.


(c) Dina Burford - Goldeneye

(c) Colin Varndell - Greenfinch

(c) Colin Varndell - Grey Wagtail

(c) Colin Varndell - Red Kite



Sunday 2nd January

No reports.

Monday 3rd January

Colin Varndell: Grey Wagtail.

(c) Colin Varndell - Gadwall

(c) Colin Varndell - Great Crested Grebe

(c) Colin Varndell - Grey Wagtail




Tuesday 4th January

No reports.

Wednesday 5th January

Richard Horton: Great White Egret (17th site record, last recorded 30/12/21).

Graham Sharples: Peregrine.

Dina Burford: 7 Little Grebe, Nuthatch and a mixed flock of 10 Siskin and Lesser Redpoll.

(c) David Clifford - Aerial View of Site

(c) Colin Varndell - Long-tailed Tit

(c) Colin Varndell - Peregrine




Thursday 6th January

Mark Elsoffer: 2 Green Sandpiper, Jack Snipe, Goldeneye, 10 Siskin & 10 Lesser Redpoll.

Colin Varndell: Mistle Thrush.

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Frosty Morning

(c) Dina Burford - Lord Len

(c) Colin Varndell - Bruce & The Bishop

(c) Colin Varndell - Wren



Friday 7th January

John Hunt: 2 Little Egret, Goldeneye, Chiffchaff (described as "interesting") & 2 Siskin.

(c) Colin Varndell - Chaffinch

(c) Colin Varndell - Song Thrush




Saturday 8th January

No reports.

Sunday 9th January

Peter Brown: Green Sandpiper, Goldeneye & Peregrine.

Dina Burford: Siskin.

(c) Dina Burford - Siskin



Monday 10th January

John Hunt: Green Sandpiper & 2 Little Egret.

(c) John Hunt - Fox

(c) John Hunt - Reed Bunting



Tuesday 11th January

S Brownill: Green Sandpiper.


Wednesday 12th January


(c) Colin Varndell - Blue Tit




Thursday 13th January

Richard Seargent: Green Sandpiper.

David Glew: 3 Siskin.

Thanks to the 7 volunteers who spent all day cutting out parts for 80 nest boxes. 50 are for the pupils of 
Badshot Lea Village Infants School, 20 for Aldershot Park residential areas, & 10 for site.

(c) Toby Coulson - Misty Workings

(c) Nikki Palmer - Looking Up

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Nest Box Parts



Friday 14th January

Richard Seargent: Green Sandpiper, 2 Snipe, Water Rail, 3 Little Egret, Goldeneye & Cetti's Warbler.

(c) Colin Varndell - Wren



Saturday 15th January

Richard Seargent: Green Sandpiper & Cetti's Warbler.

Peter Brown: Water Rail & Goldeneye.

Dina Burford: Little Egret.

(c) Dina Burford - Redwing



Sunday 16th January

John Hunt: Green Sandpiper, Snipe & Ring-necked Parakeet (24th site record, last recorded 11/12/21).

Dave Baker: 2 Lesser Redpoll.

Colin Varndell: Little Egret.

(c) Gizela Czyz - River Blackwater

(c) Wild Cam - Roe Deer

(c) Colin Varndell - Bruc




Monday 17th January

Colin Varndell: 3 Stonechat.

(c) Colin Varndell - Great Spotted Woodpecker

(c) Colin Varndell - Stonechat



Tuesday 18th January

Colin Varndell: Little Egret.

(c) Colin Varndell - Grey Heron

(c) Colin Varndell - Little Egret

(c) Alan David Taylor - Cormorant

(c) Alan David Taylor - Long-tailed Tit



Wednesday 19th January


(c) Colin Varndell - Kestrel




Thursday 20th January

Mark Elsoffer: Green Sandpiper, 5 Snipe, Little Egret & Goldeneye.

Thank you to the 12 volunteers who helped salvage the nest boxes from our flooded Sand Martin bank this morning. The first step in our project to build a second, higher, nesting bank.

(c) Gillian Bamford - Work Party

(c) Gillian Bamford - Work Party

(c) Colin Varndell - Work Party

(c) Colin Varndell - Goldfinch

(c) Colin Varndell - Little Egret



Friday 21st January

Richard Seargent: Green Sandpiper, Snipe & 2 Little Egret.

Colin Varndell: Treecreeper.

(c) Colin Varndell - Little Egret

(c) Colin Varndell - Pochard

(c) Colin Varndell - Treecreeper

(c) Jackie Cooper - Snipe

(c) Tracey Marie - Song Thrush



Saturday 22nd January

Richard Seargent: Green Sandpiper, Water Rail, Little Egret, Kingfisher, Stonechat, Cetti's Warbler & Peregrine.

Licensed bat surveyors surveyed the flooded Bat Cave today. Sadly, no bats were found, although a small shoal of perch was a surprise.

A huge thank you to the 34 volunteers who spent 4.5 hours today building 80 nest boxes for the local community. As well as the 80 tit boxes we built this morning, we also started building 20 Swift nest boxes for Farnham residents that will be put up by the Farnham Biodiversity Group.


(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party



Sunday 23rd January

Richard Seargent: 2 Green Sandpiper, Snipe, Water Rail, Little Egret, Cetti's Warbler, 3 Stonechat, Lesser Redpoll, Goldeneye & Peregrine.

Richard Seargent: Reeves Muntjac deer - the first sighting since records started being kept.

(c) Colin Varndell - Stonechat

(c) Gav Thane - Fox


Monday 24th January

No reports.

Tuesday 25th January

No reports.

Wednesday 26th January

John Hunt: 2 Green Sandpiper & Goldeneye.

Dina Burford: Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum) - new species for site.


(c) John Hunt - Green Sandpiper

(c) Dina Burford - Spring Snowflake


Thursday 27th January

Colin Varndell: Little Egret.

A huge thank you to the 11 volunteers who worked so hard today on projects at the Kiln. We made a great start on building our new Sand Martin bank. Great work everyone. Our volunteers also finished the 20 Swift boxes that the Farnham Biodiversity Partnership will be putting up on Farnham residents’ homes. Painted black inside, & with pre-feathered nesting cups. Let’s hope the Swifts find them on their return from Africa in May.

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Colin Varndell - Robin




Friday 28th January

Mark Elsoffer: Stonechat & Peregrine.

Colin Varndell: Nuthatch.

Thanks to the 6 volunteers who spent 5 hours today building our new Sand Martin bank at the Kiln. One more session next Thursday and we should be ready to install it on site.

Great to meet our MP Jeremy Hunt on site today. Good to hear he’s working on a submission to the Surrey Hills AONB boundary review that includes Tice’s Meadow.

(c) Jeremy Hunt - MP flanked by VIPs

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Mark Elsoffer - Work Party

(c) Colin Varndell - Reed Bunting

(c) Phil Barnbrook - Sunrise



Saturday 29th January

Simon Monk: Green Sandpiper.

Clare Dell: Pygmy Shrew.

Richard Seargent: First Bee Orchid stems appearing.

(c) Simon Monk - Green Sandpiper




Sunday 30th January

Peter Brown: Green Sandpiper & Peregrine.

Dina Burford: 8 Siskin.

(c) Wild Cam - Cormorant

(c) Dina Burford - Siskin

(c) Dina Burford



Monday 31st January


(c) Dina Burford - Shoveler

(c) Colin Varndell - Nuthatch