April 2026

Tice’s Meadow April 2026

Rushmoor Community Lottery

The TMBG have a page on the Rushmoor Community Lottery website to help us raise money for the nature reserve. Tickets cost £1 per week, of which, we will receive 50p per ticket and other local good causes receive 10p. There is a top prize of £25,000 for matching all 6 numbers and a range of other prizes. Click the link below to go to our page, or scan the QR code on the poster. Thank you for your support.

Rushmoor Lottery

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 April 2026 Overall Bird Count

The bird year list now stands at 113 species (excluding 3 escape species). It was 111 (plus 2 escapes) in 2025.

86 bird species were reported in the recording area during April.

Thank you to everyone who reports their sightings.

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

TMBG

We have launched our new Facebook Group page where everyone can post their Tice’s Meadow related pictures, sightings, etc.

Friends of Tice’s Meadow | Facebook

A selection of sightings follows.

Wednesday 1^st April

3 Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, 3 Oystercatcher, Wigeon

Blackcap © Richard Wright

Thursday 2^nd April

4 Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Wigeon

Bruce at the Workings © Simon Monk

Friday 3^rd April

2 Egyptian Goose, 3 Buzzard

Busy day clearing the children's area and finishing off the dead hedge in Lisa's wood. Thanks to Surrey CC ranger and 6 volunteers for their hard work today.

Jay © Jack Spencer

Saturday 4^th April

2 Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, 4 Oystercatcher, c30 Swallow (97^th bird species for 2026 – arrived 5 days later than in 2025)

The Tice's Meadow Bird Group/Friends of Tice's Meadow are pleased to announce that an egg has been laid by the Kestrel at the Kiln. Note: it is in the Jackdaw box and not the Kestrel box.

The Jackdaw cam and all the webcams can be accessed via the links on our website.

https://www.ticesmeadow.org/p/blog-page_19.htm

The Kiln Barn Owls are on their journey to raise owlets for this year. The video clip shows the moment the first egg was laid. It takes about 31 to 32 days for the egg to hatch. With all things going well, we should see the first egg hatch around the 30th April/1st May.

Roe Deer © Richard Wright

Sunday 5^th April

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher

The male Barn Owl is doing a good job bringing rodents for the female to eat.

Monday 6^th April

4 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Oystercatcher, Red-legged Partridge (98^th bird species for 2026 - 13^th record for site – last recorded on 05/05/2024), Ringed Plover, Wheatear, 3 Wigeon

Three Common Sandpiper in the Workings © Kevin Duncan

Tuesday 7^th April

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, Oystercatcher

Today's butterfly transect results: 15 Brimstone, 2 Comma, 4 Holly Blue, 7 Orange Tip, 8 Peacock, 4 Small White and 2 Speckled Wood.

There were plenty more Orange Tips, Holly Blues and Brimstones flying around the site, off the transect route.

Orange Tip and Brimstone © Simon Carroll

Wednesday 8^th April

Coal Tit, 2 Curlew, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Reed Warbler (100^th bird species for 2026 - arrived 10 days earlier than in 2025), Sedge Warbler (101^st bird species for 2026 - arrived 22 days earlier than in 2025) 2 Whitethroat (99^th bird species for 2026 - arrived 11 days earlier than in 2025)

Whitethroat © John Hunt

Thursday 9^th April

Garden Warbler (102^nd bird species for 2026 - arrived 11 days earlier than in 2025), Green Sandpiper

Friday 10^th April

2 Garden Warbler, Green Sandpiper, House Martin (103^rd bird species for 2026 - arrived 6 days earlier than in 2025), Oystercatcher, 2 Reed Warbler, Rook (104^th bird species for 2026)

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly © Simon Carroll

The RSPB has issued new guidance on feeding birds in your garden with the objective of reducing the spread of diseases such as trichomonosis.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/wha.../news/how-to-help-garden-birds

1. Feed seasonally

During summer and autumn, there’s a higher risk of disease spreading. From 1 May to 31 October, pause filling your bird feeders with seeds or peanuts.

2. Feed safely

- Clean your bird feeders and water baths at least once a week. Good hygiene is essential.

- Place your bird feeders in a different spot every week.

- Avoid putting feeders under places where birds roost, such as under trees.

- Don’t use bird feeders with flat surfaces, such as bird tables, window feeders etc

- Feed in moderation. Make sure all the food you put out is eaten within one to two days.

- Keep food as dry as possible.

- Change water in bird baths daily.

We will be following these guidelines from now on.

Roger Dickey: 'Not many migrants outside the reed beds on Friday morning but a controlled Chiffchaff (ringed by someone else away from Tice’s), a new Robin (AV) and a retrapped Cetti's, were among several regular species. For those showing concern, the ringers will not be using the feeding station until November.'

Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting © Roger Dickey

Saturday 11^th April

Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Yellow Wagtail (105^th bird species for 2026 - arrived 5 days later than in 2025)

Sunday 12^th April

2 Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Swift (106^th bird species for 2026 - arrived 9 days earlier than in 2025)

The Barn Owls have laid a sixth egg. This equals the highest amount the Kiln Barn Owls have produced since the web streaming started in 2020. The first egg laid should hatch on 30th April/1st May and the sixth on 13th/14th May.

Monday 13^th April

5 Swift, 2 Green Sandpiper

Tuesday 14^th April

2 Bullfinch, Common Tern (107^th bird species for 2026 - arrived 1 day earlier than in 2025)

First Common Tern arrived this morning.

Common Terns were first recoded at Tice's Meadow on 25th July 2005. Seen again in 2006 but it wasn't until 2007 when they bred for the first time with five pairs fledging chicks. They have successfully bred every year since, mostly on the man-made 'Tern Rafts' or the artificial Sand Martin Bank. The graph shows the first day of arrival over the years. You can see from the trend line that overall it is getting earlier.

First Common Tern of the year © Kevin Duncan

Common Terns July 2025 © John Hunt

Myung-hye Chun: 'Today I participated the Riverfly Test with 3 other volunteers. We recorded 42 Cased caddis (Trichoptera) larvae, 2 Caseless caddis (Hydropsychidae), over 200 Freshwater shrimps (Gammaridae) and 9 Olive nymphs (Baetidae). Also 10 damselfly larvae, a water scorpion and 2 diving beetles were found. We were particularly pleased to see lots of Caddisfly larvae which shows cleanliness of our water.'

Damselfly Larvae © Paul Bamford

Riverfly Survey © Gillian Bamford

Wednesday 15^th April

Common Tern, Little Egret, Oystercatcher

Whitethroat next to the Mound © Graham Sharples

Thursday 16^th April

2 Little Egret, 2 Oystercatcher

Friday 17^th April

2 Oystercatcher, Snipe

Thank you to the volunteers who spent the morning removing tree guards from the Bat Lake area. The plastic protectors will be recycled.

Wood Mouse and Orange Tip Butterfly © Simon Carroll

Saturday 18^th April

5 Cormorant

Sunday 19^th April

Common Sandpiper, 18 Egyptian Goose, 2 Green Sandpiper, Hobby (108^th bird species for 2026 - arrived 15 days earlier than in 2025), 2 Oystercatcher, Snipe

Speckled Wood Butterfly © Jack Spencer

Monday 20^th April

Common Sandpiper, Hobby, 2 Oystercatcher, White Stork (of unknown origin but most likely from the reintroduction project at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex.)

A rare sighting of a White Stork this morning, circling low over the meadow—last seen here in August 2024. It was being harassed by a Red Kite, which seemed to deter it from landing. Eventually, it caught a thermal, soared to a great height, and headed southeast.

There’s a good chance it was returning to the Knepp Estate in Sussex, part of the White Stork Project—a scheme to reintroduce breeding White Storks to Britain after a 600-year absence.

A fantastic sight to witness, and you can see on the photo the relative size to the Red Kite.

Above, White Stork. Right, White Stork and Red Kite.

Tuesday 21^st April

2 Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank (109^th bird species for 2026 - last recorded on 17/10/2025), Little Egret

A video showing the two Greenshank that arrived this morning at Tice's Meadow. Greenshank was first recorded at Tice's Meadow on 23rd April 2005. The graph shows the Greenshank yearly spring passage dates.

Bruce looking out onto the Meadow from the Mound

Wednesday 22^nd April

2 Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 2 Oystercatcher, 5 Redshank (110^th bird species for 2026), Wood Sandpiper (111^th bird species for 2026 – 38^th site record - last recorded on 10/05/2025), Yellow Wagtail

Thursday 23^rd April

2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Hobby, Little Egret, 2 Oystercatcher, White Stork, Wood Sandpiper

Friday 24^th April

2 Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Little Egret, Mediterranean Gull (112^th bird species for 2026), 2 Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Wood Sandpiper

A video showing the Barn Owls with 7 eggs. The live streams are set up and run by the Tice's Meadow Bird Group and can be accessed by the links on our website: www.ticesmeadow.org/p/blog-page_19.html

The first Whimbrel of the year reported today. The graph shows the yearly spring passage dates of Whimbrel at Tice's Meadow.

Highest butterfly transect count for April since records began 12 years ago: 15 Brimstone, 6 Green-veined White, 21 Holly Blue, 3 Large White, 18 Orange Tip, 4 Peacock, 6 Small White, 2 Speckled Wood. A total of 75 butterflies.

Orange Tip Butterfly © Gillian Bamford

Green-veined White Butterfly © Simon Carroll

Saturday 25^th April

7 Common Sandpiper, 12 Egyptian Goose, Garden Warbler, Greenshank, 3 Oystercatcher

A spot of maintenance in the Meadow and the Swift caller switched on ready for the return of the Swifts to the Swift Tower.

The side of the Meadow Barn Owl box replaced.

The first Coot chicks have hatched at Tice's Meadow.

Coot Chick © Kevin Duncan

Sunday 26^th April

5 Common Sandpiper, Garganey (18^th record for site - last recorded on 09/09/2024 - 113^th bird species for 2026), 3 Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Little Egret, 4 Oystercatcher

Drake Garganey in the Meadow this morning.

Comma Butterfly © Jack Spencer

Dunnock © Richard Wright

Monday 27^th April

2 Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Oystercatcher

Tuesday 28th April

3 Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Greenshank, 3 Little Egret, 2 Oystercatcher, Wood Sandpiper

Wednesday 29^th April

3 Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Hobby, 2 Oystercatcher, Wood Sandpiper

Thursday 30^th April

5 Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, 3 Oystercatcher, 2 Stonechat, Wood Sandpiper 

March 2026

 Tice's Meadow March 2026

Rushmoor Community Lottery

The TMBG have a page on the Rushmoor Community Lottery website to help us raise money for the nature reserve. Tickets cost £1 per week, of which, we will receive 50p per ticket and other local good causes receive 10p. There is a top prize of £25,000 for matching all 6 numbers and a range of other prizes. Click the link below to go to our page, or scan the QR code on the poster. Thank you for your support.

Rushmoor Lottery

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 March 2026 Overall Bird Count

The bird year list now stands at 96 species (excluding 2 escape species). It was 91 (plus 2 escapes) in 2025.

79 bird species were reported in the recording area during March.

Thank you to everyone who reports their sightings.

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

TMBG

We have launched our new Facebook Group page where everyone can post their Tice’s Meadow related pictures, sightings, etc.

Friends of Tice’s Meadow | Facebook

A selection of sightings follows.

Sunday 1^st March

2 Chaffinch, Red Kite

Black-headed Gull © Richard Wright

Red Kite © Steve Sparks

Monday 2^nd March

2 Chaffinch, 6 Cormorant, Nuthatch, Reed Bunting, 2 Stonechat

Stock photo of a Dunlin

Tuesday 3^rd March

3 Bullfinch, 2 Dunlin, Green Woodpecker, Red-crested Pochard (6th record for site - last recorded on 05/01/2019 – 85th bird species for 2026)

At Tice's Meadow we have long needed a boat to be able to reach the islands and rafts on the large expanse of water known as the Workings. We are now delighted to announce that, thanks to our friends at the Brickfields Country Park, the Tice's Meadow Bird Group is now the proud owner of a fibreglass dinghy.

Brickfields nature reserve have taken ownership of a new plastic boat leaving their old one available to be passed on to us. With the kind assistance of Paul and Rich from Surrey County Council, we were able to help Trevor from Brickfields to pick-up their new boat and to also collect the one for Tice's.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone at Brickfields and Surrey County Council for making this possible.

Our new boat

Grey Squirrel © Jack Spencer

Banstead Swifts wrote:

Tonight, we went to a very special meeting organised by Christa and Dan at Surrey Wildlife Trust. Thank you so much to them for bringing us all together and being such great hosts. We are a Surrey Swift Collective!

It was an absolute pleasure to meet all those there including:

Guildford Swift Project, Tice's Meadow Bird Group, Haslemere Biodiversity Group, Pete from Farnham, Hampshire Swifts, Richard from Unstead, Worcester Gardens Residents Group (and Swift Project), Alex and Lauren, online.

And us, Barry and Annie of Banstead Swifts.

The Surrey Swift Collective

Wednesday 4^th March

2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Egret, Oystercatcher (86th bird species for 2026)

Thursday 5^th March

2 Blackcap, 2 Buzzard, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Green Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, 1 Little Egret, Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher © John Hunt

Peacock Butterfly © Jack Spencer

Friday 6^th March

Oystercatcher

Final bonfire of the winter season in reedbeds. 7 volunteers plus the Surrey CC ranger cleared the remaining willow and dogwood cuttings from previous work parties. The reedbed will remain closed for the breeding season with only our licensed ringing team accessing to monitor birds.

Working in the reedbed

A little earlier than normal, TMBG switched on the Sand Martin caller today. The Sand Martins also now have a clear path from the water to the Sand Martin box thanks to the great work carried out by Surrey County Council Countryside team. Let’s hope we are successful this year in attracting the Sand Martins into the nest boxes.

Artificial Sand Martin Bank

Saturday 7^th March

Black-tailed Godwit (87th bird species for 2026), Oystercatcher

Sunday 8^th March

2 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher

Long-tailed Tit © Steve Sparkes

Monday 9^th March

Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, Oystercatcher

Tuesday 10^th March

Oystercatcher

Wednesday 11^th March

Oystercatcher

Thursday 12^th March

Oystercatcher

Friday 13^th March

Curlew (88th bird species for 2026), 2 Green Sandpiper, Greylag Goose (colour ringed – A male ringed on 2^nd July 2025 during its annual moult on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London. It remained at the Serpentine during July and has not been reported from anywhere since.), Oystercatcher

Curlew

Busy morning widening the meadow path and clearing bramble, hopefully to help dry the muddy ground.  Led by our Surrey CC ranger, Surrey Choices growth team and members of the TMBG.

The happy workers

Today we completed the first Riverfly survey in the Tice's section of the Blackwater River as part of the Blackwater Valley Action for our Rivers (BVAR) initiative. We recorded the following:

Caddisfly 13, Caddisfly caseless 1, Mayfly 5, Olive 9, Freshwater shrimp 4, Damselfly nymph 2 (shown in image), Alderfly 2, Water scorpion 1

Damselfly nymph

Riverfly Survey

Saturday 14^th March

2 Green Sandpiper

We are delighted to announce that Beverley will be joining our team. Beverley has written a brief piece to introduce herself.

Hi all! I just wanted to introduce myself as I'll be the volunteer organising and running the kids activities at Tice’s this spring / summer whilst your usual children's leader is on maternity leave. My family live in Royale Close so the meadow is a regular spot for us, along with Manor Park, Aldershot Park, Brickfields and lots of National Trust sites! We love walking, nature and especially fungi!

I'm currently working as an educational consultant 1 day pw ( I'm an ex headteacher and English / SEND specialist), as a health and safety consultant 3 days per month, and have also just opened an arts business in Makers' Yard, Aldershot, where I'm promoting Tice’s to people on the Aldershot /Surrey border via a different nature sketch sold in aid of the Meadow each quarter (Currently a frog called 'Just Looking') I'm often at Tice’s with Adam (the dog), husband James, or my two boys, Josh and Joe. Please feel free to say hi! (-:

Beverley-Saah White. The TMBG's new Kids' Activities organiser

Sunday 15^th March

Firecrest (19th record for site - last recorded in October 2025 – 89th bird species for 2026), Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher

The first Little Ringed Plover arrived. The graph shows the first day of arrival for each year going back to 2005. The photo is of a Little Ringed Plover taken at Tice's Meadow in May 2025.

Little Ringed Plover

Reed Bunting © Graham Sharples

Monday 16^th March

Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, Little Ringed Plover (90th bird species for 2026), 3 Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher © John Hunt

Tues 17^th March

Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, Oystercatcher

It was as a pleasure to walk members Farnham U3A around Tice’s Meadow today. Over thirty bird species seen or heard.

Wednesday 18^th March

2 Green Sandpiper, 3 Oystercatcher

There will be a monthly transect for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust as well as the weekly Butterfly Conservation transects this summer, so a test run was done today, taking advantage of the warm sunshine. Various other insects and spring flowers were out, and dunnocks sang behind the mound.

Lesser Celandine © Gillian Bamford

Thursday 19^th March

2 Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Sparrowhawk

Friday 20^th March

2 Green Sandpiper, Little Egret

Saturday 21^st March

2 Green Sandpiper

Today's task was to build a dead hedge along the eastern border of the reserve to help deter access to the 'Bat Lake' area, which has no public access due to safety risks and to minimize human disturbance. The Surrey CC ranger, assisted by five TMBG volunteers and five representatives from Surrey Choices, chopped, dragged, and built the hedge on a glorious spring morning, with everyone working hard and demonstrating excellent teamwork. Dead hedges, made from natural materials sourced from onsite habitat management activities, provide shelter and nesting places for wildlife while forming a useful barrier to protect sensitive habitats. Around the site, mining bees explored the bare ground ready to excavate nest holes, Hairy-footed flower bees enjoyed the first Cowslips, and Black-headed gulls snoozed in the sunshine. We were rewarded for our efforts with a glimpse of a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly at the Mound as we made our way back to the car, making it a very enjoyable and satisfying work party in just a few hours.

Creating A dead hedge

Sunday 22^nd March

3 Green Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret

Black-headed Gull © Jon Hawkins

Monday 23^rd March

2 Oystercatcher, Wheatear (91st bird species for 2026)

We are now on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ticesmeadow.bsky.social

as well as:

X: https://x.com/ticesmeadow

TMBG Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/TicesMeadowBirdGroup

Friends of Tice's Meadow Facebook Group Page: https://facebook.com/groups/friendsofticesmeadow

Check out our website: https://ticesmeadow.org

Tice's Meadow © Trever Saunders

The first Wheatear has arrived. The graph shows the first day of arrival for each year going back to 2005 and the trend line indicates that overall, it is arriving earlier. The photo is of a Wheatear taken at Tice's Meadow in April 2025 © Gav Thane.

Wheatear © Gav Thane

Tues 24^th March

2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Nuthatch

Wednesday 25^th March

No reported sightings

Thursday 26^th March

3 Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, 4 Ringed Plover (92nd bird species for 2026), Snipe

The TMBG is dedicated to celebrating, protecting, and promoting Tice’s Meadow as a haven for nature, wildlife, peace, and quiet—a green space for the enjoyment and well-being of our local community and surrounding areas. Tice's Meadow is officially designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI).

We are a volunteer-driven group, and everything we achieve is thanks to the passion, support, and hard work of our amazing volunteers and partner organisations. We are proud to work alongside social groups such as Surrey Choices, and many individuals of all abilities who join us to contribute, socialise, learn new skills, and enjoy time outdoors together. The Friends of Tice’s Meadow Facebook group is the official group for Tice’s Meadow owned by SCC and five other local authorities. Friends of Tice's Meadow collaborate in partnership with the SCC countryside team that manage the site.

Our shared goal is to nurture Tice’s Meadow as a thriving, welcoming place for wildlife and people alike. Whether you’re here to stay informed, get involved, or simply enjoy the beauty of the reserve, you are very welcome.

Blue Tit © Richard Wright

Friday 27^th March

Blackcap. Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Nuthatch

Today’s work party was focused on clearing old plastic tree guards and building a dead hedge around the children's education area. Two large bags full of plastic were removed from around the Lisa's bench area and many of the saplings planted a year ago are looking very healthy now. Thanks to the Surrey CC ranger and 7 volunteers from TMBG.

Bit of spring cleaning and rationalisation at the feeding station.

Roger Dickey: A quick check of the Tice’s Meadow small nest boxes this morning discovered that of 40 boxes, 11 nests were fully ready but no sitting tenant, 10 were undergoing renovation, 5 had left a deposit (of moss) and the rest currently empty. A mix of Blue and Great Tits and one other. So, it looks promising although some empty boxes will be removed shortly, in areas where there are considered to be too many.

 Saturday 28^th March

Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, 3 Ringed Plover

Sunday 29^th March

Osprey (23rd site record - last recorded on 01/08/2024 - 93rd bird species for 2026)

An Osprey was seen flying over the Mound today. It is the 23rd site record, last recorded on 1st August 2024.

Below is a stock photo of an Osprey and a graph showing the accumulated number of sightings per month at Tice's Meadow since 2012.

Osprey

Monday 30^th March

Green Sandpiper, Little Egret, Ringed Plover, Ring Ouzel (10th record for site - last recorded on 22/10/2023 – 94th bird species for 2026), Willow Warbler (95th bird species for 2026)

Tuesday 31^st March

Common Sandpiper (96^th bird species for 2026)

Simon Carroll: A brief walk around Tice's this morning, good to see the sunshine breaking through, even encouraging a few butterflies out including 4x Brimstone, 2x orange tip, 4x peacock and 1 Comma sunning itself on the bridge.

 

Comma and Orange-tip Butterfly © Simon Carroll