September 2025

 Tice's Meadow September 2025

Rushmoor Lottery

We have launched our page on the Rushmoor Community Lottery.  Tickets cost £1 per week - we will receive 50p per ticket (and other local good causes 10p). You could win up to £25,000! Scan the QR code below, or click this link to go to our page. Thank you for your support.

https://www.rushmoorlottery.co.uk/support/tices-meadow-bird-group

Volunteer Work Parties

Surrey County Council are now running all volunteer work parties at Tice's Meadow in partnership with the TMBG - see below for details.

Tice’s Meadow September 2025 Overall Bird Count

The bird year list now stands at 124 species (excluding 2 escape species). It was 133 in 2024.

81 bird species were reported during September.

Thank you to everyone who reports their sightings.

For the most up to date information, click on the link below and Follow

TMBG

Monday 1^st September

Green Sandpiper, Hobby, Kingfisher, Swift

Tuesday 2^nd September

Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, 5 Green Sandpiper, 23 Mute Swan, 22 Sand Martin

Wednesday 3^rd September

Common Sandpiper, 2 Common Tern, 10 Cormorant, 3 Green Sandpiper, Hobby, 15 Swift

Changing of the guard at Tice's. Now that autumn is here, and winter is on the way, the grazers need some adjustment. There will be less to forage, therefore, three of the four cattle have gone and the one remaining has been joined by two more. This means the three younger cattle of the possible six will be at Tice's for the winter.

Thursday 4^th September

2 Hobby, Kestrel, Peregrine, 15 Sand Martin, 19 Swallow

Last Friday's volunteer work party was cancelled due to the inclement weather. However, three brave souls did clear some willow in the main meadow to improve the view of the water's edge from the mound.

After clearing

Friday 5^th September

c450 Canada Goose, 2 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Common Sandpiper, 14 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Green Sandpiper, 7 Grey Heron, 22 Greylag Goose, 3 Hobby, Kingfisher, 35 Lapwing, 3 Little Grebe, Peregrine

Saturday 6^th September

Common Tern, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Hobby, Sedge Warbler, 3 Yellow Wagtail

Sunday 7^th September

Hobby, Snipe

We are delighted to have performed our marshalling duties for the Farnham Pilgrim Marathon. Inaugurated in 2010 by the Rotary Club of Farnham Weyside, the full and half marathon takes place in the Surrey Hills and has been described as one of the prettiest trail events in the UK. 

The Rotary Club have always supported the work of the Tice's Meadow Bird Group and have helped us, and the reserve, over the years.

Monday 8^th September

225 Canada Goose, Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 14 Grey Heron, 2 Hobby, 4 Little Grebe, Peregrine, 3 Snipe

The first Wigeon of the autumn have returned to the workings.

Wigeon - © Colin Varndell

Tuesday 9^th September

8 Collared Dove, 2 Common Sandpiper, 4 Egyptian Goose, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Hobby, 2 Little Egret, Meadow Pipit, Peregrine, 5 Sand Martin, Sparrowhawk, 2 Stonechat, 2 Wigeon

Wednesday 10^th September

6 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Hobby, 23 Mute Swan, 3 Snipe

Thursday 11^th September

6 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Hobby, 23 Mute Swan, 3 Snipe, Reed Warbler

Friday 12^th September

Blackcap, 3 Common Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, 6 Green Sandpiper, 3 Hobby

The Friday work party consisted of clearing more willow from the meadow.

Saturday 13^th September

2 Common Sandpiper, 9 Cormorant, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Hobby, 5 House Martin, Red Kite, 10 Sand Martin, 2 Whinchat

Sunday 14^th September

2 Cetti’s Warbler, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 8 Sand Martin, Whinchat

Monday 15^th September

3 Common Sandpiper, 13 Cormorant, 2 Green Woodpecker, 6 Greylag Goose, House Martin, Kestrel, 38 Lapwing, Sand Martin, 5 Snipe

Tuesday 16^th September

Common Sandpiper, Goldcrest, 4 Green Sandpiper, 5 Snipe

Two Black-necked Grebes reported in the Workings this afternoon.

Black-necked Grebe - © Kev Campbell

Wednesday 17^th September

2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 13 Sand Martin, 5 Snipe

Despite it being a bit of a damp grey day, we were delighted to show round a group of 15 people for the National Trust's Heritage Open Days 2025 annual event. All the attendees were new to Tice's Meadow and enjoyed the tour led by the TMBG's very own Paul B.

National Trust Heritage Open Day Walk - © Paul Bamford

Thursday 18^th September

2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Rook, 3 Sand Martin, 5 Snipe, Sparrowhawk, 11 Swallow, 46 Stock Dove

Friday 19^th September

3 Cetti’s Warbler, Common Sand Martin, 3 Green Sandpiper, Sedge Warbler, 6 Snipe, Willow Warbler

Saturday 20^th September

Blackcap, 8 Goldfinch, 6 Meadow Pipit, Reed Warbler, 3 Rook, 2 Sedge Warbler, Sparrowhawk

Sunday 21^st September

12 Collared Dove, Common Sandpiper, Great White Egret, Green Sandpiper, 3 Stonechat, 6 Wigeon. Willow Warbler

Monday 22^nd September

Common Sandpiper, 16 Cormorant, Green Sandpiper, Hobby, Kingfisher, 3 Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Yellow Wagtail

Tuesday 23^rd September

13 Cormorant, 2 Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, 2 House Martin, Nuthatch, 24 Sand Martin, 6 Snipe, 7 Swallow

Wednesday 24^th September

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Egret, Nuthatch

The bat boxes were surveyed today by licensed handlers. It was noted that the boxes are getting more use each year. Three boxes were occupied with a total of eighteen bats. All appeared to be Soprano Pipistrelle bats.

Thursday 25^th September

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, 24 Mute Swan, Wheatear

Friday 26^th September

3 Cetti’s Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Nuthatch, 5 Pochard, 60+ Swallow, Wheatear

Thanks again to 22 volunteers including Surrey Choices in partnership with Surrey County Council, helped to clear willow from various areas on Tice’s Meadow. New volunteers are always welcome, please see dates for next volunteer days at following link (now includes a Saturday)

Tice's Meadow Bird Group Facebook Page

Phil reclaimed and fettled the bird boxes we had left over from this year’s Box Buildathon. He spent a couple of days cleaning and rebuilding them ready for any future events for 2026.

Saturday 27^th September

Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 House Martin, 5 Sand Martin

Sunday 28^th September

2 Green Sandpiper, 11 Cormorant, Pintail (124^th bird species for 2025 – 24^th site record)

The TMBG assisted in the first Blackwater Valley Action for our Rivers (BVAR) water testing and Riverfly survey today. Water results showed a very healthy river, and the Riverfly survey found the best diversity and species numbers gathered so far on the Blackwater & Hart river systems. Good news and evidence that our conservation efforts are working with the water leaving Tice's in a condition about as good as you can get. Just a few miles downstream, just past the Aldershot sewage works, the results (taken just 4 hours after ours) were alarming with nitrates off the scale and phosphates not much better.

Blackwater River running through Tice's Meadow

Monday 29^th September

9 Meadow Pipit, Pintail, 12 Wigeon

Tuesday 30^th September

Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Pintail

August 2025

  Tice's Meadow August 2025

Rushmoor Lottery

We have launched our page on the Rushmoor Community Lottery.  Tickets cost £1 per week - we will receive 50p per ticket (and other local good causes 10p). You could win up to £25,000! Scan the QR code below, or click this link to go to our page. Thank you for your support.

https://www.rushmoorlottery.co.uk/support/tices-meadow-bird-group

Volunteer Work Parties

Surrey County Council are now running all volunteer work parties at Tice's Meadow in partnership with the TMBG - see below for details.

Tice’s Meadow August 2025 Overall Bird Count

The bird year list now stands at 123 species (excluding 2 escape species). It was 129 in 2024

91 bird species were reported during August.

Thank you to everyone who reports their sightings.

For the most up to date information, click on the link below and Follow

TMBG

 

Friday 1^st August

Common Sandpiper, 22 Gadwall, Green Sandpiper, 6 Grey Heron, 184 Greylag Goose, 37 Lapwing, Little Egret, 2 Little Grebe, Sparrowhawk

Surrey County Council and the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group held a volunteer work party, and the task was to hand pull a dense patch of Ragwort in the meadow – this is a standard procedure that has taken place for many years now, and unlike on previous occasions, it was decided not to use spray-on herbicide this time. The whole of the nature reserve is managed, including the meadow, and there are many factors to take into consideration. The landowners, current and past, have followed best practice and have been assisted by the TMBG and volunteers, current and past!

Yes, Ragwort is a valuable, native plant and is of benefit to wildlife. However, as is the case at numerous nature reserves and wildlife areas, certain steps need to be taken to control, not eradicate, harmful weeds (known as injurious weeds) – Ragwort, Thistle, Dock. Doing so helps avoid fines under the Weed Act 1959. Landowners such as the RSPB, Knepp and the Wildlife Trust control Ragwort on their sites.

The meadow should be a good balance of all different types of wildflower and grasses. Letting any one species become dominant is best avoided and, when it comes to Ragwort, because it is named in the Weed Act 1959, the Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort issued by DEFRA needs to be followed.

In the future, as has happened before, there will be areas of Thistle, Nettle, Willow, Juncus grass, Bramble, etc. and yes, Ragwort, which will need managing. This does not mean that all of those plants at Tice’s will be completely removed. Unsurprisingly, Surrey County Council, the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group and the volunteers all have the best interests of Tice’s Meadow Nature Reserve at heart. The wellbeing of the wildlife, flora and fauna, and the people that enjoy visiting the site is uppermost in all decisions concerning the governance of the reserve.

Before, after and volunteers hand pulling the Ragwort

Saturday 2^nd August

191 Canada Goose, 2 Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Sparrowhawk, 2 Teal

Sunday 3^rd August

Collared Dove, 4 Common Tern, 2 Little Egret

For a few days this July the colour-ringed Common Sandpiper Yellow Flag JTM once again returned to Tice’s Meadow on migration. It was ringed, aged as at least one year old on 19th May 2014 at Stavbergvatnet, Norway. It was first sighted at Tice's Meadow in July 2014. Since then, it has been recorded at Tice’s Meadow, only in the month of July, in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and being re-sighted back at Stavbergvatnet in May 2020. It is now over eleven years since it was ringed. It is still the oldest Norwegian ringed Common Sandpiper on record.

The oldest recorded Common Sandpiper in the UK is 15 years 1 month 5 days

Common Sandpiper Yellow Flag JTM

Monday 4^th August

7 Common Tern, 5 Little Egret, 8 Mute Swan

Tuesday 5^th August

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, 5 Jay, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Redstart (120th bird species for 2025 – 14th site record, last recorded on 28/04/2024), 31 Rook, 3 Snipe

We got the ball rolling with our first Children's Summer Holiday Event. The sun was out, the river was gently flowing and there were plenty of wonderful, interesting creatures to be found.

	Minnows
Great Diving Beetle	Water Scorpion

Wednesday 6^th August

3 Common Sandpiper, 6 Egyptian Goose, Green Sandpiper, Little Grebe, 18 Moorhen, 19 Pied Wagtail, 8 Sand Martin, 3 Sedge Warbler, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, 5 Swift

Thursday 7^th August

3 Common Sandpiper, 44 Lapwing

Friday 8^th August

Green Sandpiper, 2 Hobby, 4 Little Egret

Twenty-five birds ringed in the reedbeds. Including six Sedge Warblers, three Cetti’s Warblers, a young Willow Warbler, and a number of Chiffchaffs and Reed Warblers.

Saturday 9^th August

2 Common Sandpiper, 47 Gadwall, 2 Green Sandpiper, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Peregrine, Redshank, 4 Reed Warbler, 15 Rook, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Flycatcher, 38 Tufted Duck

Sunday 10^th August

Green Sandpiper, 7 Grey Heron, 3 Little Egret, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Stonechat, Willow Warbler

Monday 11^th August

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Hobby, 2 Nuthatch, Redstart, 3 Reed Bunting, 3 Sedge Warbler, Treecreeper

Tuesday 12^th August

2 Common Sandpiper, 10 Cormorant, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, 2 Kingfisher, 32 Lapwing, Sparrowhawk

Many young warblers in the reedbeds, so a change to ring a Reed Bunting amongst 34 other birds this morning.

Reed Bunting © Roger Dickey

Another Tuesday of Children's Summer Holiday Events. In the morning session, we made bug hotels from short sections of bamboo canes and other items the kids had gathered from around Tice's Meadow, all wrapped up with cardboard and twine.

In the afternoon, we had a great time river dipping and found an amazing array of water creatures.

Making bug hotels and river dipping

Wednesday 13^th August

368 Canada Goose, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, 2 Red Kite, Ruff (121st bird species for 2025 – 22nd site record, last recorded on 06/09/2024), 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler

Ruff © Dave Carlsson

Thursday 14^th August

Common Sandpiper, 28 Gadwall, Garden Warbler, 3 Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, 156 Greylag Goose, Little Ringed Plover, 23 Mute Swan, Ruff, 3 Stonechat, 4 Teal

Friday 15^th August

2 Common Sandpiper, 4 Green Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret, Little Grebe, 8 Rook, Shoveler, Snipe

One of the overgrown reptile glades made good again by the Tice’s volunteers.

	Woodland Glade

Saturday 16^th August

12 Egyptian Goose, 4 Green Sandpiper, 7 Grey Heron, Kingfisher, 3 Little Egret, 4 Snipe, 10 Swallow, 54 Tufted Duck

Sunday 17^th August

Black Tern (122nd bird species for 2025 – 18th site record, last recorded on 01/09/2024), 12 Great Crested Grebe, Green Sandpiper, Hobby, Kingfisher, 3 Little Egret, 9 Rook, 3 Sedge Warbler, 48 Tufted Duck

A third pair of Great Crested Grebe have hatched at least two chicks.

Great Crested Grebe © Jon Hawkins

A Black Tern was photographed today at Tice’s Meadow by Jon Hawkins of Surrey Hills Photography. First recorded on 25th August 2013. A total of seventeen previous sightings, recorded in the months of May, June, August and September only. Highest count of two in May 2016 and 2017. Last recorded on 1st September 2024.

Black Tern © Jon Hawkins

Monday 18^th August

Coal Tit, Common Sandpiper, 12 Common Tern, Goldcrest, Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, 152 Greylag Goose, Nuthatch, Ringed Plover, 12 Rook, 2 Willow Warbler

Tuesday 19^th August

3 Common Tern, Green Sandpiper, 3 Snipe

It is the penultimate day of our Children's Summer Holiday Events and we've had a lovely time beautifying bird boxes in the morning, and in the afternoon we went to the river for some more fun, fishing for aquatic animals.

Bird box painting
River dipping

Wednesday 20^th August

535 Canada Goose, Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 32 Lapwing, 3 Snipe

Thursday 21^st August

410 Canada Goose, 5 Common Tern, 12 Cormorant, 123 Greylag Goose, 3 Little Grebe, 4 Stonechat

Friday 22^nd August

2 Buzzard, 3 Common Sandpiper, 5 Common Tern, 32 Gadwall, 4 Green Sandpiper, Hobby, Kingfisher, 3 Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Yellow Wagtail

Saturday 23^rd August

Black-necked Grebe, 405 Canada Goose, Common Sandpiper, Goldcrest, 2 Green Sandpiper, Hobby, Pochard, 7 Rook

Sunday 24^th August

385 Canada Goose, Common Sandpiper, 4 Green Sandpiper, 6 Grey Heron, 3 Little Egret, Marsh Harrier (123rd bird species for 2025 – 19th site record, last recorded on 18/08/2024), Water Rail, Whinchat

Marsh Harrier being harassed by Crows this morning. Eighteen previous sightings, recorded in the months of April, May, June, August, September and November only. Highest count of one, last recorded on 18th August 2024, first recorded on 6th April 2015.

Above, Crows harassing Marsh Harrier Right, Marsh Harrier © Jon Hawkins

A Water Rail was spotted in the reedbed.

Water Rail © Colin Varndell

Whinchat seen in the meadow along the fence line.

Whinchat © Rich Seargent

Monday 25^th August

2 Cetti’s Warbler, Common Sandpiper, 3 Common Tern, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Hobby, 3 Little Egret, Marsh Harrier, 5 Stonechat

Tuesday 26^th August

Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Kestrel, Pochard, 3 Rook

Today was the last for our Kids' Summer Holiday events. We started the day exercising our artistic muscles by painting pebbles; inspired by the nature around us. As usual, we spent the afternoon river dipping in the Blackwater and found a wide variety of water dwelling creatures.

Pebble painting and river dipping

Wednesday 27^th August

2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Common Tern, 10 Egyptian Goose, 12 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Green Sandpiper, 186 Greylag Goose

Thursday 28^th August

Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, 6 Cormorant, 5 Green Sandpiper, 7 Grey Heron, 152 Greylag Goose, Kingfisher, 3 Little Egret, 5 Rook, 5 Snipe, 3 Stonechat

Snipe and Green Sandpiper © John Hunt

Friday 29^th August

430 Canada Goose, 3 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Hobby, 5 House Martin, 4 Jay, Kestrel, Little Egret, 3 Little Grebe, Pochard, 52 Tufted Duck

Saturday 30^th August

Common Sandpiper, 4 Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, Hobby, 3 Little Grebe, 23 Mute Swan, 4 Sand Martin, 5 Swallow, 4 Swift

Sunday 31^st August

Common Sandpiper, 2 Common Tern, 12 Egyptian Goose, 3 Green Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Wheatear