I have been interested in birds my whole life, but until the first lockdown I did not go birding that regularly and had never set myself a designated patch. When I started going to Beddington Farmlands in May 2020, I started to improve as a birder, both from being out in the field and from learning from other birders with more experience and knowledge. As a result, 2021 has certainly been my best ever birding year and I have met even more great people. A special thanks has to go to all the Beddington birders, particularly Arjun Dutta, Peter Alfrey, Roger Browne (Dodge), Dave Warren, Nick Gardner, and Ian Jones and Glenn Jones (not brothers), and Ed Stubbs (an excellent Surrey birder) and the whole community of young birders, for taking me under their wing (no pun intended) and teaching me so much. So to summarise my amazing year of learning I thought I would share my Top 20 Finds of 2021:
20) Yellow Wagtail (Beddington Farmlands, 1st April):
This year I found Surrey's first Yellow Wagtail of the year. This brilliant bright male dropped straight into my scope view, adding a bit of excitement to my day as it danced around the Wet Grassland for ten minutes being flying of north.
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| Male Yellow Wagtail |
19) Mediterranean Gulls (Beddington Farmlands):
A lifer for me in December 2020 at Clapham Common, I was pleased to be able to pick out several individuals myself this year on patch, including a flock of 4 in April (3 adults and 1 3rd calendar-year), which I initially picked up on call, flying north east over the North Lake. Despite their calls being very distinctive, I felt this was a huge personal achievement as it was the first time I had ever heard them myself.
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| Adult Mediterranean Gull - 23rd February |
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| Adult Mediterranean Gulls - 3rd May |
18) Firecrests:
Finding breeding pairs of Firecrest by my school this year allowed me to observe them frequently before and after long school days. It was intriguing to hear the variety of calls that they make. I also found one at Beddington Farmlands (28th November).
17) Bullfinches:
Bullfinches have always been one of my favourite birds, even despite sadly not seeing them very often, especially locally - finding 2 near my school this year was therefore quite nice.
16) Yellow-legged Gulls - YLGs (Beddington Farmlands):
It has been a fun challenge learning how to identify YLGs this year after Arjun Dutta (local fellow birder and friend, who has taught me lots and introduced me to so many other talented birders) found a 1st winter individual on January 17th. This particular bird was seen fairly regularly up until late September and it was interesting to watch it advance from 1st winter plumage towards 2nd winter plumage. This Autumn, I found several 1st winter individuals and each one was equally satisfying to find.
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| 1st winter YLG found by Arjun Dutta (17th January) |
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| The same as bird above (1st May) |
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| Once again the same YLG, now in 1st summer plumage (22nd July) |
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| Same individual as above, now approaching 2nd winter (26th September) |
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| 1st winter YLG (19th August) |
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| 1st winter YLG (24th October). This individual was seen a month later by Paul Watts at Little Marlow GP (24th November). |
15) Caspian Gulls (Beddington Farmlands):
Caspian Gulls are up there as one of my favourite gulls. This year at Beddington Farmlands has been brilliant for Caspian Gulls and I have found some smart looking ones.
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| 2nd calendar-year Caspian Gull (23rd May) |
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| 1st winter Caspian Gull (24th October) |
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| The best looking 1st winter Caspian Gull! (4th November). Gutted I never saw this individual again in better light. |
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| 2nd winter Caspian Gull (9th November). This is the same individual that has been present since October 28th, 2020, when Arjun originally found it. It has been very interesting to watch it develop and advance, and it must be one of Beddington's longest staying individuals (seen in every month since other than June). |
14) Common Terns (Beddington Farmlands):
This year I finally got a tern species at Beddington. Common Terns were the only species recorded there this year and I found 4 of the 5 records, the other found by Peter Alfrey (Beddington legend, insane birder and great role model). My first was on May 15th - this bird dropped onto the island out on the North Lake early morning (06:25), before vanishing into the clouds 35 minutes later. Later records were picked up on call, and on August 10th an adult and juvenile turned up. It was great to hear the vocal juvenile.
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Adult and juvenile Common Tern above, juvenile below |
Adult Common Tern below:
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| Adult Common Tern with Black-headed Gull |
13) Nightingale (Beddington Farmlands, 13th April):
I found a Nightingale at Beddington Farmlands that frustratingly never showed itself as it sung from deep within some bushes. However, it was still a nice patch tick for me. Also rather interestingly, a Nightingale was found in the same spot the previous year only 2 days later (15th April). Perhaps a returning bird?
12) 'Siberian' Chiffchaff (Beddington Farmlands, 31st March):
Just before midday, I was walking along the path when recognised the song of a Siberian Chiffchaff. It was quite quiet but I managed to get a quick sound recording and then put the news out. Later, in the afternoon, Peter came to have a look at (and listen to) the bird. Views were not great because it stayed mostly in deep cover, but it kept on singing and uttering an infrequent tristis type note. But as we observed further, we managed to get some pics of the bird. This revealed its surprising brown colouration and rather frustratingly, a metal ring that we could not get the code of. It then started to copy the notes of a nearby singing Common Chiffchaff. Peter and I were both intrigued by this bird, and he explained to me about the possibility of an intergade. I relocated the same individual the following day, but it was less vocal and even more elusive. My pics and Peter's sound recordings below:
11) Grey Plovers:
I found a Grey Plover at Beddington, albeit heard only, on May 8th. This was my second record of the year at Beddington due to the one that Peter found on February 9th, which at the time was a lifer for me. Then, on my visit to Rainham Marshes on November 11th, I found one in a flock of Redshank in almost complete darkness, flying around the Thames and calling repeatedly. Funnily enough, I have had 3 records of Grey Plover in my life (the 3 mentioned), but only 1 record of Golden Plover (Beddington Farmlands, 5th September).
10) Spoonbill (Beddington Farmlands, 2nd October):
A juvenile Spoonbill flew south over the South Lake early morning. A great patch tick that I predicted I would get this year and only my 2nd ever Spoonbill, after one on Isles of Scilly in 2018.
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| Juvenile Spoonbill |
9) Garganey (Beddington Farmlands, 9th September):
For years I had wanted to see a Garganey, so when I found a juvenile/female-type on the North Lake I was most pleased. It was not the most standout Garganey according to Peter and others with more experience with the species, so that made me even more happy that I had managed to pick it out.
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| Juvenile/female-type Garganey |
8) Cuckoo:
I found a stunning juvenile Cuckoo along the coastal walk between RSPB Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head. It flushed up off of an adjacent field and perched nicely on a nearby post, providing excellent views.
Juvenile Cuckoo below:
7) Temminck's Stint (Beddington Farmlands, 9th May):
A joint find with Dave Warren (extremely dedicated Beddington birder), who pointed out "a weird Common Sandpiper" out on the Wet Grassland. He did not quite expect my crazy reaction when I got onto his bird. I exploded in excitement and shouted, "that's a stint!" A few photos later (and a quick check with a few young birders to make sure I wasn't going mad) the news was slung out that there was a Temminck's Stint. Many birders from around Surrey came to twitch this marvellous bird, and being only the 12th record for the site, it was a handy patch tick for a few fellow Beddington birders.
Temminck's Stint below:
6) Arctic Skuas (Filey Brigg, 27th July):
Another lifer for me, it was a real thrill to spot 2 Arctic Skuas flying fairly close over the sea at Filey Brigg. I could not believe my luck, I turned around and they were just there!
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| Arctic Skuas |
5) Gannet:
On what seemed to be a totally random day (not particularly stormy), a Gannet flew low south west past me on my walk home from school via Little Woodcote. I was quick to put the news out in the hopes that another birder in Surrey would be able to pick it up, but no one did. Did it pass over Beddington before I saw it? Quite possibly.
4) Common Crane (Beddington Farmlands, 23rd March):
I was rewarded for staying late to do the roost count of Mallards and Ring-necked Parakeets when a Common Crane drifted low north east over the North Lake at 17:50! I was so shocked and excited that I messed up the photos, but at least I managed to get these:
Blurry pictures of Common Crane above and below
3) Willow Tit (Yorkshire, July):
When on holiday up in Yorkshire, I found (only heard) a Willow Tit in the distance after listening to a Long-tailed Tit flock. Unfortunately, there was a lake between me and the bird so I couldn't get to where it was calling from to try and catch a glimpse.
2) Little Gull (Beddington Farmlands, 29th December):
An awesome late Christmas gift and great way to finish off the year - a self-found lifer, on patch. I have dreamed (literally!) of seeing a Little Gull for years. I picked out this adult winter right in front of the Wet Grassland hide and quickly got Anand (fellow Beddington birder) onto it. We could not believe it! It was a relatively quiet day and funnily enough we had just been discussing the possibility of Bonaparte's Gull turning up, which is a long overdue first for the Farmlands. Despite it only staying for 5 minutes, I could not have asked for better views.
Adult winter Little Gull above and below
1) Penduline Tit (Beddington Farmlands, 16th October):
Finally, my biggest goal that I had set myself had been achieved: find a first for Beddington Farmlands. A juvenile Penduline Tit present in around the North Lake was picked up on call, before it hopped up in front of Dodge (aka Roger Browne, who has birded Beddington for many years and has found some top birds) and I. We started to frantically call birders and tell them the news. Unfortunately, as Penduline Tits do, whilst we were calling everyone it went quiet and was not seen again, until the following day, when the exact same thing happened. It has not been detected since, but there is a chance it could actually be about somewhere. This is a perfect example of what patch birding is all about!
Sound recording of juvenile Penduline Tit above
Juvenile Penduline Tit above and low
