Tice's Meadow MAY 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 with the help of the TMBG - see
below for details.
Webcam Update
This year, for a change, the Kestrels
have nested in the Jackdaw box, and there are Jackdaws in the Kestrel box. Two
Kestrel eggs have been seen, probably laid on the 28th and 29th
April, and there is an unknown amount of hatched Jackdaws.
The male and female Barn Owls were
together for the beginning of May, and then it was just the female. However,
for the end part of May, the Barn Owl box has remained empty.
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The bird year list now stands at 114 species
(excluding 2 escape species)
83 bird species were reported during May.
Thank you to everyone who reports
their sightings.
For the most up to date info, click on
the link below and Follow
Thursday 1st May
8 Common Sandpiper, 3 Common Tern,
Garden Warbler, Green Woodpecker, 2 Shelduck, Whimbrel, Whitethroat
Friday 2nd May
17 Gadwall, 2 Little Egret, 2 Water
Rail, 2 Common Tern, Whimbrel
Roger Dickey, ably assisted by Anya, Aspen and Len, conducted a bird ringing session near to the Twin Oaks on the east side of the meadow. Some particular birds of note were a number of Cetti's Warbler, a female Blackbird - just starting to show signs of breeding, and a newly arrived Reed Warbler.
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Myung-hye Chun photographed the first Azure damselfly of the year.
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| Azure damsfly (Coenagrion puella) - © Myung-hye Chun |
Sunday 4th May
2 Common Sandpiper, Hobby (111th
bird species for 2025 – last recorded 02/10/2024, 6 Mute Swan, Pochard, 6
Swift, Whimbrel (present for the eighth day, the longest stay since 2/3
were present from 19th April 2016 to 25th April 2016)
Monday 5th May
6 Blackcap, 3 Common Sandpiper, 3
Greenfinch, Sparrowhawk, Stonechat, 10 Swift
Tuesday 6th May
Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, 2 Common
Sandpiper
Wednesday 7th May
4 Common Sandpiper, 3 Common Tern
Thursday 8th May
Black-headed Gull (first chicks have
started to hatch), Canada Goose (pair with a single gosling), 6 Common
Sandpiper, 5 Gadwall, Greenshank (112th bird species for 2025 – last
recorded 08/09/2024
Friday 9th May
2 Common Sandpiper, 24 Moorhen
17 people joined in the volunteer work party, including the Surrey Choices team. The logs that were obstructing the flow of the river were removed and the encroaching vegetation on the main track was cut back.
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Saturday 10th May
Chiffchaff, 3 Common Sandpiper, Reed
Bunting, 7 Mute Swan, Stock Dove, Wood Sandpiper (113th bird
species for 2025 – 38th site record – last recorded on 21/08/2023
NEW SPECIES for site, a Caddisfly – Grammotaulius
nigropunctatus
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| Caddisfly - © Kevin Duncan |
Sunday 11th May
Canada Goose (second pair with seven goslings),
3 Common Tern, 5 Gadwall, 6 Grey Heron, Little Egret, 2 Lapwing, Common
Sandpiper, 7 Egyptian Goose, 2 Jay (collecting material for a nest)
Monday 12th May
Canada Goose (second pair with seven
goslings), Cattle Egret (10th site record – last recorded
24/04/2025), Great White Egret (114th species for 2025 – 31st
site record – last recorded 29/01/2025
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| Great White Egret - © Kevin Duncan |
Tuesday 13th May
Cattle Egret, Common Sandpiper, 4 Common Tern, 4 Egyptian
Goose, Ringed Plover
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| Cattle Egret - © Kevin Duncan |
Roger, with the help of Len, checked all 40 of the nest boxes located in the woods within Tice's Meadow Nature Reserve. The Blue Tits and Great Tits are still in mid 'brooding', although nest building seems to be all but over. The current spell of warm dry weather has brought out insects and much needed food supplies, and both species are making the most of it. Predation is also down so far and only two nests have failed completely, possibly due to the absence of food providing adults. Several Great Tit broods have already flown and the Blue Tits don't look far behind.
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Great Tit and Blue Tit pulli - © Roger Dickey |
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Cattle Egret, Common Sandpiper, Pied Wagtail,
Ringed Plover
Thursday 15th May
Common Sandpiper, 14 Egyptian Goose,
c100 Swift, c50 Swallow, c100 House Martin, 6 Common Tern
Friday 16th May
Common Sandpiper, 7 Common Tern, Hobby
Creeping Buttercup flowering in the meadow.
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Saturday 17th May
Oystercatcher, Hobby, Green Woodpecker
Sunday 18th May
Chaffinch, 2 Little Grebe, Sedge
Warbler, Green Woodpecker
Monday 19th May
Chaffinch, Greenfinch, 6 Lapwing, 6 Little Egret, Grey Plover (10th site record)
Photograph of Grey Plover taken through a scope.
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| Grey Plover - © Pete Brown |
In the meadow: Common Bird's-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) and Mother Shipton moth (Callistege mi) on a Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
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Tuesday 20th May
Common Sandpiper, 2 Greylag Goose, 15
Moorhen, 6 Tufted Duck
Wednesday 21st May
117 Coot, 9 Lapwing, 16 Little Egrets,
16 Magpie, 37 Mallard, 2 Teal
Thursday 22nd May
6 Mute Swan, 2 Ringed Plover, 13
Little Egret, 26 Swift
Pete Brown's video of a Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding its young.
A prestigious day for the Tice's Meadow Bird Group and all the volunteers. As part of the TMBG being awarded the King's Award for Voluntary Service, Katie and John had the honour of attending the King's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. Being dedicated volunteers themselves, they made excellent representatives for all of the Tice's Meadow volunteers. Katie has organised many very popular kids' events and John has been a part of the TMBG from the very start.
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| Katie & John |
Friday 23rd May
12 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Jay, 11
Little Egret, 23 Magpie, Pochard
23 Volunteers attended the regular Friday work party including the team from Surrey Choices. The vegetation along the paths to Low Lane was cut back to make them safe and easily accessible for the users of Tice's Meadow Nature Reserve. The saplings growing next to the meadow were given space to thrive by removing the smothering growth of surrounding plants.
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Common Tubic moth at the nature reserve.
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| Common Tubic moth (Alabonia geoffrella) - © Kevin Duncan |
Saturday 24th May
6 Common Tern, 14 Little Egret, 19
Swift
Sunday 25th May
Chiffchaff, 2 Garden Warbler, 20
Little Egret (new site record count), 6 Long-tailed Tit, Peregrine
Monday 26th May
Buzzard, Common Sandpiper, 119 Coot, 4
Cormorant, 11 Gadwall, Kestrel, 44 Mallard, 42 Swift
Tuesday 27th May
35 Canada Goose, 4 Collared Dove, 4
Cormorant, 16 Gadwall, 3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Lapwing, 5
Tufted Duck
Wednesday 28th May
3 Buzzard, 14 Greylag Goose, 6
Lapwing, 4 Little Egret, Ringed Plover
Thursday 29th May
No reported sightings
Friday 30th May
55 Canada Goose, 137 Coot, Goldcrest, Grey Wagtail, 11 Little Egret, 2 Ringed Plover
Great short video from Pete Brown showing that the Swifts have taken up residence in the Swift Tower for another year. This is the fifth year the swifts have kept the colony going.
Saturday 31st May
14 Great Crested Grebe, 9 Lapwing, 13 Little Egrets
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