New Year Birding So Far...

On January 1st I had one of my Midlands friends, Beth, join me for a few days for what she described as some "sick-ass" bird watching in Suffolk to get the year off to a good start. We went straight off to the RSPB reserve at North Warren just in time for some disgusting weather to blow in off the sea. Parking in a lay-by just off the road between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness, we opened the window and watched the spectacle of a Starling murmuration consisting a few thousand Starlings (albeit quite distantly) wheeling in the sky before settling down for the night.

First major port of call was the was the legendary RSPB reserve at Minsmere on January 2nd. It was a slightly windy but generally mild day so we were optimistic of a good day. We rolled up listening to some Dizzy Rascal wondering if anyone had ever arrived at this most heralded of nature reserves accompanied by such a soundtrack before? So to birdwatching. Unfortunately, by the reserves ridiculously productive standards, it was a little quiet. This said, we still notched up 51 species to set the year lists in motion, some of which some were great early 'ticks' and others were just great to see.

My personal highlight was probably the hundreds of Red-Throated Divers which were hanging around offshore with good numbers of Great Crested Grebes. I've never seen this species in such large numbers before and although they were not close to the shore, it was still an impressive sight when you scanned the sea. Other than this there was also the pleasure of being able to see all three species of native Swan on one reserve - again not a rare experience, but a joy when you are not expecting it!

The other two species of note (though not so much considering the reserve) were at least four Avocets around the Scrape and an unknown number of Marsh Harriers over the reedbeds. It was hard to count them but there was at least four distinct individuals and possibly more. When you throw in some great views of Treecreepers, Goldcrests, Marsh Tits and five species of Gull it results in what was a very enjoyable to days birding to start the year.

A stop at Upper Hollesley Common on the way home from Minsmere was just a little late (no thanks to a brief detour) and there was unfortunately no sign any Crossbills, Dartford Warblers, Stonechats, Waxwings, Hen Harrier or Great Grey Shrike - all of which had been reported there within the last couple of days. We were sceptical when we saw a number of birders packing up as we arrived; damn these earlier sunsets in winter!

I had to drive back to Birmingham on the 3rd and the weather was truly awful; some of the strongest winds I've experienced in a long time which caused this damage in our back garden.

Damage caused by high winds. Jan 2012

Before I left I headed out to get some lunch from the local shops and was greeted by a ray of sunshine (in the metaphorical sense, the weather was still appalling). Circling around above the shops was a group of 30+ birds which very much resembled Starlings ... but they weren't. The Waxwings circled around and took cover from the weather in a large Oak Tree in the main car park. What luck! Further luck was to follow when later in the afternoon the weather broke for a couple of hours and I was able to go back with Beth (who was seeing her first Waxwings) and Dad to get some much better views.

Waxwings. The Square, Martlesham Heath - Jan. 2012

Waxwings. The Square, Martlesham Heath - Jan. 2012

I particularly like that in the second photo you can see how windy it still is because the three birds which are facing the camera have wonky tufts :-) So this proved to be a fantastic au revoir to Suffolk for the Christmas Holidays and I headed back to the equally windy second city - bonjour Birmingham.

Uni began again on Wednesday, but they eased us in and all we had was a three hour practical gymnastics P.E. session (yea, it's amazing what you do on a Primary PGCE course) so after this I headed over the RSPB reserve at Sandwell Valley (my patch I guess, as much as I actually have a patch) for a first look around for the year.

It was a little quiet but I wasn't looking too hard because again the weather was closing in fast! However the specialities of the reserve didn't let me down and I was able to add Siskin, Snipe and Goosander to the year list along with the resident Willow Tits which were very obligingly coming to the feeding table regularly as well as buzzing around my head at one point - such a cracking little bird! The light was sufficiently poor that this is about the only photo I managed which isn't a blurred mess - still not good though.

Siskin. Sandwell Valley - Jan 2012

So, I've started the year with 63 species - a solid if not spectacular start. I have resigned myself to having a quieter year because of increasing work commitments at Uni so I think there will be a lot of appreciating what is on One's doorstep.