Hawfinch (male) Coccothraustes coccothraustes Cheers to the New Year! Over Christmas I’ve enjoyed the fruits of last Autumn’s labours in one of the prickly ...

Great White Egret (Ardea alba) I was dreaming of a white Christmas as I began scanning the skies for ducks that day in deep mid-winter. This month, on 22 ...

Yellowhammer (Emberiza citronella) As more and more developers move in to Cranleigh to erect homes for thousands of newcomers let us spare a thought for the ...

Ring Ouzel Adult male (Turdus torquatus) © Andrej Chudý This month I’ll be looking out for a generally hard-to-see migrant bird that passes through the ...

Hobby (Falco subbuteo) It’s ‘eyes to the skies’ time a bit more frequently than usual this month. That’s because as some of our summer visitors begin to ...

Red Kite (Milvus milvus) One of our lookouts is the first to see them: ‘Hey, there’s three mysterious figures in the distance – and they are coming our ...

Woodcock on a search for food This month, weather permitting, provides probably the last chance of the season to witness one of the magical moments in UK ...

Common Crane Grus grus Birding brings elation when you see the unexpected but inevitably it comes with frustrations too when you miss out (or ‘dip’) ...

Eurasian Blackcap, female (Sylvia atricapilla) The last few weeks have, as usual, been one of the most exciting times in the birding calendar. Summer ...

Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) male A bird has been giving me ‘a bit of gyp’ over recent months. The Crossbill. Or to give its full name, Common ...

Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) male Shall I or shan’t I? For years I’ve been debating about whether it is time to give the one and only rhododendron in the ...

Water Rail, close up Liquid sewage effluent in ‘our’ river, plus the lack of fish, have been in the local news lately. It has been good to see villagers ...