New years day birding

I'm going to try to dedicate more time this year to my real hobbies, rather than playing too many computer games (which is still a hobby, its just that I play for too long)
I'm going to keep a year list for 2010, and update this blog more frequently.

I always enjoy opening the curtains just after first light, to reveal the winner of "first bird species seen this year". And the winner was....tada!....

1) Carrion crow

I put some food out on the back feeders and some mealworm for last years first bird, the robin.
the next bird to turn up were

2) House sparrow - about 10 of them
3) Magpie
4) Jackdaw
5) Cormorant - flying high over the River Calder
6) Collared dove - pair displaying to each other
7) Black headed gull - also over the river
8) Robin - last years winner, came to collect his prize of mealworm
9) Blackbird
10) Blue tit

No surprises really yet

11) Dunnock
12) Song thrush - somewhat scarce in the garden recently
13) Starling
14) Great tit
15) Coal tit
16) Rook - 4 seen out of the front window feeding in field
17) Wood pigeon

out of the house now, drive up to barrow to drop Jill off and then over to barrow lodge for the scoter......hopefully

18) Chaffinch
19) Moorhen
20) Mallard - about 100 whilst scanning lodge for the scoter
21) Canada goose - pair on the lodge
22) Coot
23) Velvet Scoter - yes it was still there!
24) Treecreeper - calling and then seen on a hawthorn near the lodge
25) Grey wagtail - over the lower lodge while I chatted with Mike Watson
26) Common Buzzard - has been hanging around the A59 recently, a good find for the list
27) Kestrel - also by the A59

I drove over to Rishton res to look for the Black-necked grebe

28) Goldfinch - in cutwood park
29) Lapwing - circa 30 in flight over the res
30) Common gull - the first gull that I scoped on the ice
31) GBB gull
32) LBB gull
33)Herring gull














34) Teal - 2 pairs on the ice
35) Black-necked grebe - in flight around the almost completly frozen res. Frantically flying in circles pursued by hungry gulls. I really thought it would be a goner until it found a patch of water amongst the canada geese. Phew!














36) Great crested grebe - a couple amongst the geese
37) Tufted duck
38) Mute swan - a juv also in flight, eventually landed on the ice and slide along to a stop.
39) Kingfisher - quite a surprise this early in the list, flew past the promenade over ice, I didnt relocate it.
40) Wren - quite late on the list

I was disturbed by too many screaming kids and equally noisy parents, so decided to move on

41) Great spotted woodpecker - in small wood in cutwood park
back in Barrow

42) Grey Heron - usually seen earlier in the day
43) Bullfinch - 1 pr seen, more calling
44) Lesser redpoll - many feeding in the alder trees




























45) Mistle thrush - only just realised that I was missing most of the "winter" thrushes
46) Woodcock - our resident bird, I still havent managed to photograph it before it flushes, even though it stays in a pretty small patch.
47) Redwing - at last, many with the mistle thrush and starling, feeding in the fields.















48) Nuthatch - heard only
49) Snipe - in gellys field opp our house in Bilington
50) Tawny owl - heard only, in the dark back in Barrow.

A half century! (well nearly, I dont usually count "heard only")

Anyway, a lovely days birding, with the species appearing in quite a strange order.