Tice's Meadow October 2025
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Tice’s
Meadow October 2025 Overall Bird Count
The bird
year list now stands at 126 species (excluding 2 escape species). It was 133 in
2024.
84 bird
species were reported during October.
Thank you to
everyone who reports their sightings.
For the most up to date
information, click on the link below and Follow.
Wednesday 1st
October
Common Sandpiper,
Pintail, Wheatear, Whinchat
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| Whinchat © Colin Varndell |
Thursday 2nd
October
Blackcap, 18 Carrion
Crow, Common Sandpiper, 8 Goldfinch, 2 Green Sandpiper, 8 Grey Heron, 28 House
Sparrow, 55 Jackdaw, 2 Little Egret, 3 Little Grebe, 18 Magpie, Pintail, 2
Pochard, 3 Reed Bunting, Sparrowhawk, 2 Swallow, 58 Tufted Duck, Wheatear,
Whinchat
Friday 3rd
October
Common Sandpiper, 2
Greenfinch, Green Sandpiper, 18 Meadow Pipit, 28 Stock Dove, 2 Swallow, 3
Wheatear
The volunteer work
party spent the morning clearing willow that has grown along the riverbank of
the Blackwater River and then adding the arisings to the dead hedge.
If you would like to
join in, the work party dates are on this website page or view at www.x.com/TicesMeadow where they are pinned to the top.
Also check out the TMBG Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ticesmeadowbirdgroup
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Roger managed a very
short ringing session before the heavens opened and stopped play. He was still able
to ring a good number of visiting Chiffchaffs and a single Cetti's warbler as
well as one of our local young Jays. Beautiful plumage on an angry bird.
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Young Jay © Roger Dickey |
Saturday 4th
October
2 Common Sandpiper,
15 Blue Tit, 12 House Martin, Pintail, Swallow, 2 Wheatear
Sunday 5th
October
2 Common Sandpiper,
17 Collared Dove, House Martin, 55 Lapwing, 55 Mallard, Pintail, 8 Robin, 6
Rook, 38 Shoveler, Siskin, Wheatear, Whinchat, 3 Wren
14 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Sandpiper, Nuthatch
Tuesday 7th
October
Common Sandpiper,
Green Sandpiper, Green Woodpecker, Pheasant, Pintail, 7 Stonechat
Wednesday 8th
October
Common Sandpiper, 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Sandpiper, 9 Jay, Kingfisher, 2 Nuthatch,
Sparrowhawk
Thursday 9th
October
Blackcap, Common
Sandpiper, Dartford Warbler, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Grey Wagtail, Pintail
Female Cetti's Warbler ringed last year as a juvenile and retrapped in the reedbeds today.
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Female Cetti's Warbler © Roger Dickey |
Friday 10th
October
3 Cetti’s Warbler,
Chaffinch, 4 Goldcrest, Green Sandpiper, Pintail, 44 Siskin
Thank you to all the volunteers and the Surrey Choices team for their work today. We removed a pile of logs that had been obstructing the Blackwater River. Further downstream, more of the bankside willow was removed and added to the dead hedge.
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Saturday 11th
October
Kingfisher, Yellow
Wagtail,
Sunday 12th
October
3 Blackbird, Common
Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Pintail, 2 Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk,
Yellow Wagtail,
Monday 13th
October
Dunlin (125th
bird species for 2025, last recorded on 26/09/2024), Green Sandpiper, 4
Little Egret, Water Rail
Tuesday 14th
October
Common Sandpiper, 3
Dunlin, 2 Green Sandpiper, 5 Little Egret, Peregrine, 3 Red Kite
It was a delight to welcome a group from Blooming Minds to Tice's as part of their wellbeing programme. They spent a lovely session cutting plenty of willow to take away - ready to be transformed into beautiful willow obelisks later on.
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Wednesday 15th
October
2 Dunlin, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Pintail, Yellow Wagtail
Thursday 16th
October
Common Sandpiper,
Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Peregrine, Pintail
The Dunlin remains in the Workings and is viewable from the hide.
Some stats:
First recorded on 25th April 2005.
Has been recorded in the months of February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.
Highest count of forty-two on 26th April 2015.
Last recorded on 26th September 2024.
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| Dunlin, May 2022 © David Carlsson |
Friday 17th
October
Dunlin, 16 Great
Crested Grebe, 2 Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Kingfisher, Peregrine, 2 Pintail
This first summer Chiffchaff is living proof that the Tice's Meadow reedbeds are a migration stopover and source of food for birds flying south. Ringed in Peterborough in September, it was processed (biometrics taken) by Aspen Salisbury.
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| Chiffchaff © Roger Dickey |
Saturday 18th
October
41 Canada Goose,
Common Sandpiper, 437 Coot, Dunlin, 26 Egyptian Goose, 3 Fieldfare, Great White
Egret, Green Sandpiper, 113 Herring Gull, 45 Moorhen, 37 Mute Swan, 2 Pintail,
Sparrowhawk, 91 Starling, 62 Teal, 123 Woodpigeon
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Great White Egret in the Workings © Kevin Duncan |
Our first Saturday volunteer work party of the season started with cutting and burning of willow in the reedbed.
We plan to have work parties one Saturday and three or four Fridays a month going forward during the winter. Do come along and join in.
Sunday 19th October
It was a pleasure to attend the fascinating talk Migrating to Moths, given by Tice’s Meadow Bird Group friend Dr Martin Angel. The occasion was organised by the Wrecclesham Conservation Group to celebrate all the great work Martin has done for conservation, biodiversity, and moth recording. Friends, colleagues, and members of the local community gathered to celebrate Martin’s remarkable achievements and to hear his engaging talk.
A former marine biologist and Vice President of the British Ecological Society, Martin shared stories from his oceanographic research and his later passion for studying moths. Known locally as the Mothman of Farnham, he has recorded over 990 species of moths in the area and continues to champion local conservation at the age of 88.
The event was an inspiring celebration of a life dedicated to understanding and protecting the natural world — a fitting tribute to Martin’s enduring enthusiasm for wildlife and biodiversity.
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| Martin Angel talking about his life in ecology |
Monday 20th
October
No reported
sightings.
Tuesday 21st
October
Dunlin, 10
Chiffchaff, Common Sandpiper, Great White Egret, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2
Pintail
Wednesday 22nd
October
Thursday 23rd
October
No reported
sightings.
Friday 24th
October
28 Cormorant, Dunlin,
2 Green Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret, 42 Pied Wagtail, 19 Snipe
What a lovely day for a volunteer work party! The regular volunteers were joined by the team from Surrey Choices and together we continued with the job of removing and burning willow from the reedbed. In addition, the electrical equipment on the Swift Tower was checked and the side of the owl box was reattached.
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Saturday 25th
October
4 Buzzard, 38 Greylag
Goose, 3 Little Egret
Sunday 26th
October
Dunlin, 33 Feral Pigeon, 2 Green Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret
Water testing at Pea bridge on behalf of the 'Blackwater Valley Action for our Rivers' on Saturday 25th October showed the water to be in very good condition with no sign of nitrates or phosphates in the sample taken. Additional good news, the same test undertaken near Aldershot sewage works was very similar. Unfortunately, the situation is not so good further downstream, however, the head waters at Tice's are in a very good state.
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| Pea Bridge over the Blackwater River |
Over the last couple
of weeks, the nesting boxes and webcams on the side of the Kiln have undergone
some maintenance. The Kestrel box has been emptied of all the twigs from when
the Jackdaws made their nest and the Outside cam has been reattached.
The four live camera feeds can be viewed via the links below.
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Unhatched Kestrel eggs |
Monday 27th
October
Dunlin, 3 Little
Egret
Tuesday 28th
October
Dunlin, Green
Sandpiper
On having a look at the webcams today, saw a Kestrel sitting on top of the Barn Owl Box
Wednesday 29th
October
Jack Snipe (last recorded 09/01/2025), Water
Pipit (126th bird species for 2025, 26th
site record, last recorded on 08/04/2022)
Thursday 30th
October
Coal Tit, Dunlin, 136
Gadwall, 17 Great Tit, 3 Green Sandpiper, 4 Little Egret, 38 Pochard, 63 Wigeon
Friday 31st
October
Little Egret, Little
Grebe
Despite being a grey day, everyone was in good spirits for our volunteer work party of removing willow from the reedbeds. Made all the brighter (literally with their attire!) by being joined by Surrey Choices.
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Under leaden skies |
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The Pintail and Dunlin are still present in the Workings, viewable from the hide © Dan Powers |