A traditional start to the New Year, albeit fairly inauspicious. Long are the days since New Years Eve parties regularly went through to the very early hours, leaving that to the kids, is replaced with a rather sedate in-bed-by 10pm affair. As such allowing for a birding start early the next morning. My only target was try try and top 100 species before the 9th of January.
New Years day started at Selsey, followed by Church Norton and Fishbourne Creek, adding a few more common species at home to give me 79 for the day with highlights of Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, Long-tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter and Sandwich Tern. Waders included the common species but also Whimbrel and Greenshank.
What followed in the next few days was bits of birding in between several bouts of appalling weather including storm Henk which flooded much of southern Britain. Local walks on both sides of the village was hard work in the mud, but eventually was quite productive with Goshawk, Hawfinch, Woodlark, Firecrest and Crossbill being notable.
A brief visit to Amberley produced the 5 White-fronted Geese and an afternoon visit to Black Down was quiet, with the exception of 40+ Brambling, more Crossbill, but just 2 Stonechat and no Dartford Warblers.
A diversion into Surrey this morning produced a nice flock of 34 Waxwing in Farnham and thus brings my total to a very symmetrical 111.
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Red-throated Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Bar-tailed Godwit (left) with Black-tailed Godwits |
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| Muntjac Deer |
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| male Crossbill |
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| 24 of the 34 Waxwing flock |
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| Waxwings |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing - Stunning Birds |
