My First Year List

Happy New Year!!
Below is my first year list 213 in total.

Alpine Swift

Avocet

Alder Flycatcher

Arctic Skua

Arctic Tern

Bar Tailed Godwit

Barn Owl

Barred Warbler

Bearded Tit

Bewick Swan

Bittern

Black Headed Gull

Black Necked Grebe

Black Redstart

Black Tailed Godwit

Black Tern

Blackbird

Blackcap

Blue Tit

Brambling

Brent Goose

Bullfinch

Buzzard

Canada Goose

Carrion Crow

Cattle Egret

Cetti's Warbler

Chaffinch

Chiff-Chaff

Coal Tit

Collared Dove

Common Crane

Common Gull

Common Sandpiper

Common Scoter

Coot

Cormorant

Corn Bunting

Cuckoo

Curlew

Curlew Sandpiper

Dunlin

Dunnock

Dusky Warbler

Egyptian Goose

Eider

Fieldfare

Firecrest

Gadwall

Gannet

Garden Warbler

Garganey

Glaucous Gull

Glossy Ibis

Goldcrest

Golden Plover

Goldeneye

Goldfinch

Goosander

Great Crested Grebe

Great Grey Shrike

Great Skua

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit

Great White Egret

Green Sandpiper

Green Woodpecker

Greenfinch

Greenshank

Grey Lag Goose

Grey Partridge

Grey Phalarope

Grey Plover

Grey Wagtail

Guillemot

Hawfinch

Hen Harrier

Heron

Herring Gull

Hobby

Hooded Crow

House Martin

House Sparrow

Jack Snipe

Jackdaw

Jay

Kentish Plover

Kestrel

Kingfisher

Kittiwake

Knot

Lapland Bunting

Lapwing

Lesser Black Backed Gull

Lesser Redpoll

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Lesser Whitethroat

Lesser Yellow Legs

Linnet

Little Egret

Little Grebe

Little Gull

Little Owl

Little Ringed Plover

Little Stint

Little Tern

Long Tailed Duck

Long Tailed Tit

Magpie

Mallard

Mandarin

Marsh Harrier

Marsh Tit

Meadow Pipit

Mediterranean Gull

Mistle Thrush

Moorhen

Mute Swan

Nightjar

Nuthatch

Osprey

Pale Bellied Brent Goose

Pallid Swift

Peregrine

Pheasant

Pied Flycatcher

Pied Wagtail

Pink Footed Goose

Pintail

Pochard

Purple Heron

Quail

Raven

Red Backed Shrike

Red Breasted Merganser

Red Crested Pochard

Red Flanked Blue Tail

Red Footed Falcon

Red Kite

Red Legged Partridge

Red Necked Phalarope

Red Throated Diver

Redshank

Redstart

Redwing

Reed Bunting

Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Ouzel

Ringed Plover

Robin

Rock Pipit

Rook

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Shelduck

Ruff

Sand Martin

Sanderling

Sandwich Tern

Scaup

Shelduck

Shorelark

Shoveler

Siskin

Skylark

Slavonian Grebe

Smew

Snipe

Snow Bunting

Song Thrush

Sooty Shearwater

Sparrowhawk

Spoonbill

Spotted Crake

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Redshank

Starling

Stock Dove

Stone Curlew

Stonechat

Swallow

Swift

Tawny Owl

Teal

Tree Pipit

Tree Sparrow

Treecreeper

Tufted Duck

Turnstone

Turtle Dove

Twite

Velvet Scoter

Water Pipit

Water Rail

Waxwing

Wheatear

Whimbrel

Whinchat

White Tailed Plover

White Wagtail

Whitethroat

Whooper Swan

Wigeon

Willow Warbler

Wood Pigeon

Wood Sandpiper

Wood Warbler

Woodcock

Woodlark

Wren

Wryneck

Yellow Browed Warbler

Yellow Wagtail

Yellowhammer

Stockers/Bury/Woodoaks

A rapid trip around Bury and Stockers Lakes then on to Woodoaks Farm.
At Stockers; c15 Siskin, Kestrel, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldeneye, 2 Goosander. Bury; 5 Red Crested Pochard, 3 Ring Necked Parakeet.

Woodoaks Farm; 10 Yellowhammer, Skylark, Buzzard, mixed flock c120 Fieldfare and Redwing, approx 90% Fieldfare.

Scotsbridge Mill then Maple Lodge

At Scotsbridge; 2 Little Egret, 2 Water Rail.
Maple Lodge; 99% still frozen, c15 Siskin, 2 Ring Necked Parakeet, 12+ Long Tailed Tit.
At Maple Lodge I bumped into Pete and Margret. Margret gave me a disc with some pics she has taken. The Wryneck used in my blog title is one of them, another that caught my eye was the pic below of a pair of Goldeneye on Stockers.

Curlew

Today I visited 3 Herts birding sites with Brendan G. First stop was Mary Exton School in Hitchin, postcode SG4 0QA. On arrival we immediately connected with a Curlew happily feeding away on the school sports field.

Secondly, Whitwell Water Cress Beds; 18 Common Snipe, 4 Meadow Pipit, 3 Little Egret, Grey Wagtail, Teal.

Last port of call was East Hyde on the Herts/Beds border; 2 Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Water Rail, 4 Little Grebe, Wigeon, Teal (all in Herts.)
sh4rpy, Brendan G.

3 Smew on Bury Lake

An hour at Maple Lodge, very quiet but the tranquility was nice after 2 days of relatives! 3 Long Tailed Tit, 4 Jay, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, c12 Siskin and a Redwing were the most noteworthy birds.

Half an hour at Bury Lake; 3 Smew, 6 Red Crested Pochard, 2+ Goldeneye.

Woodoaks Farm then Scotsbridge Mill

At Woodoaks Farm; Buzzard, Redwing, Fieldfare, Little Owl, 12 Yellowhammer.

Scotsbridge Mill; 2 Little Egret, 2 Common Snipe, 4 Water Rail, Lapwing.

Seasons Greetings

Happy Christmas to one and all.
So far today from my living room window; Carrion Crow, Magpie, Jay, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Starling, Pied Wagtail, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Greenfinch, Long tailed Tit, Coal Tit.

Nuthatch somewhere in amongst the food

Stockers and Scotsbridge Mill

At Stockers Farm; 2 Lapwing. Stockers Lake; 2 Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Little Grebe, Goldeneye, 2 Goosander (m and f,) c15 Fieldfare, c30 Siskin, c20 Ring Necked Parakeet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Little Egret.

Scotsbridge Mill; 2 Little Egret, Grey Wagtail, 12 Teal, 5 Snipe, 3 Water Rail.

Lone Waxwing and 2 Smew

At 09:30 this morning I was driving along Baldwins Lane towards Croxley Green when I noticed a single Waxwing perched on the telephone wires directly above the road. I had a quick look 45 minutes later but it was not to be seen.

At about 14:30 I visited Bury Lake and then Scotsbridge Mill with Paul F. At Bury lake we noted the following; Wigeon, Pochard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Goldeneye, 6 Red Crested Pochard, Ring Necked Parakeet and best of all 2 Smew both showing well close in. At Stockers Farm a lone Lapwing patrolled the "flooded field."
At Scotsbridge Mill we noted the following; c20 Teal, 3 Little Egret, c5 Water Rail, 8+ Snipe.
sh4rpy, Paul F

Scotsbridge Mill

A lunchtime visit to Scotsbridge Mill produced the following; c5 Water Rail, c5 Common Snipe, c11 Teal, Song Thrush and Grey Wagtail.

Abbots/Bedmond

An afternoon stroll around the fields between Abbots Langley and Bedmond. About an inch of snow and -2. The most noteworthy birds observed were as follows; 2 Buzzard, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 10 Long Tailed Tit, Goldfinch, 3 Jay, Kestrel, c15 Yellowhammer.

Waxwings

I popped over to Hatfield today in search of the recently reported Waxwings. When I arrived I immediately connected with c70 Waxwings. I stayed for about 2 hours and their numbers steadily increased to c110. The birds spent most of the time perched up in the nearby poplars, then occasionally dropping down to feed on the rowan berries in Hillfield.

Hillfield is in the Birchwood area of Hatfield and off Longmead. The postcode for twat-nav users is AL10 0TZ

Another top quality pic!

Rainham Marshes

Sat 11th December 2010. A visit to RSPB Rainham Marshes and adjecent river thames forshore.

River Thames between reserve and concrete barges; Avocet, Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Curlew, Redshank, Lapwing, Snipe, Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Greater Black Backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Meadow Pipit, Greenfinch, Kestrel, Skylark.

RSPB Rainham Marshes; Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, 2 squealing Water Rail, Cetti's Warbler, Redwing, Fieldfare, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Stonechat, Reed Bunting.

We spent some time going through the gulls looking for a Yellow Legged Gull but drew a blank. In one of the hides there was a "Gull i.d. Workshop" we even asked the Gull experts had they seen any Yellow Legged Gulls. We were told that there were none on the reserve. Checking sighting on birdguides this morning I noticed a report of "16 Yellow Legged Gulls RSPB Rainham Marshes (11/12/2010)" Oh well **it happens!

To finish the day we spent an hour on the Serin Mound looking for Short Eared Owl, however, we drew a blank here too.
sh4rpy, Brendan G

Maple Lodge, Woodoaks Farm, Stockers Lake and Farm, Bury Lake, Wilstone Reservoir Tring.

Early Morning at Maple Lodge.
Little Grebe, Pochard, Siskin, Goldfinch, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush.

Woodoaks Farm.
c20 Fieldfare, c30 Yellowhammer, 2 Reed Bunting, c20 Linnet, 8 Skylark, 4 Meadow Pipit, c200 Golden Plover, 6 Lapwing, Song Thrush.

Stockers Lake.
Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Teal, Lapwing, Ring Necked Parakeet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Siskin, Goldfinch.

Bury Lake.
12 Red Crested Pochard, Goldcrest, Siskin.

Stockers Farm.
3 Lapwing.

Wilstone Reservoir, Tring.
Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Redshank, Little Egret, Buzzard, c35 Fieldfare, c 15 Redwing.

Rainham Concrete Barges and RSPB Reserve 29th Nov 2010.

Concrete Barges near Tilda Rice Factory, Rainham.
Redshank, Bar Tailed Godwit, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Reed Bunting, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Greater Black Backed Gull.

Rainham Marshes RSPB Reserve.
10+ Bearded Tit, Cetti's Warbler, Stonechat, Little Grebe.

River Thames foreshore near RSPB Reserve.
Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Shelduck, Redshank, Dunlin, Meadow Pipit, 2 Stonechat.

Stockers Farm and Lake

A mid morning visit to Stockers Farm and Lake.
Stockers Farm; Sparrowhawk, 2 Little Owl, 7 Lapwing, Green Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Fieldfare.
Stockers Lake; 10 Goldeneye (3m, 7f,) 3 Egyptian Geese, Pochard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Goldfinch, Siskin, Ring Necked Parakeet, Kestrel.

Golden Plover at Woodoaks

07:30 this morning in my back garden 2 Coal Tit, Green Woodpecker.

Woodoaks Farm. Red Kite, c15 Linnet, c15 Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Green Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Fieldfare, Redwing, c170 Golden Plover, 6 Lapwing.

Finally over to Hertford with Brendan G in search of Waxwing, after nearly 2 hours we drew a blank only noteworthy bird a Sparrowhawk.

Maple Lodge.

An afternoon visit to Maple Lodge. Bright sunshine but temperature hovering around freezing point. Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal, c25 Siskin, 4 Goldfinch, 3 Jay, 2 Little Grebe, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron. On Lynsters Lake; 12 Wigeon and on the farm 2 Egyptian Geese.

Abbots Langley / Bedmond 24th Nov 2010.

An afternoon stroll around the fields between Abbots Langley and Bedmond (sheppeys lane.) Most notable birds were as follows; Grey Heron, Fieldfare, 3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Green Woodpecker, 10+Pied Wagtail, 3 Jay, 10 Long Tailed Tit, Mixed flock of about 50 birds containing c30 Chaffinch, c15 Yellowhammer and c5 Goldfinch. Also a Muntjac.

Woodoaks Farm 20th Nov 2010

Highlights of an afternoon visit to Woodoaks Farm; Green Woodpecker, 30 Linnet, 10 Fieldfare, 2 Redwing, 10 Long Tailed Tit, Skylark, Meadow Pipit.