Sunday January 1 - Morton Bagot

 So here we are, another year dawns. As is traditional I spent the day at Morton Bagot, and as it was a Sunday, Dave was able to join me.

Unusually for an alldayer, I missed the darkness before dawn. However I still had an hour of birding before Dave rolled up, putting it to good use by ticking off Siskin, Redpoll, and Yellowhammer all as fly-overs.

The morning was mild and sunny with an increasingly irritating south-westerly breeze. We strolled to the pool field, where all the little scrapes are now full of water. A Stonechat popped up before we waded into the damper bits. We were soon rewarded with two Common Snipe, and eventually a small area containing five Jack Snipe, the most for several years. Needless to say, despite proceeding with great caution, we failed to see any of them before they took off silently at close range.

The Flash field initially looked birdless, but eventually we found 42 Mallard which looked suspiciously like cage-reared cannon fodder, and a flock of 27 very nervous Teal. A single Cormorant was sitting in a tree, and during the afternoon I saw two more.

As we walked back along the brook Dave glimpsed a Red Kite, so we detoured to the top of the ridge where we were pleased to see it still present.

Red Kite

The last day-tick before we got back to the cars was a single Linnet, species number 51.

After a couple of hours break, I was back in the field. The afternoon was cloudy, but at least the wind had dropped. I concentrated my efforts along the edge of Bannams Wood before heading down to the flash and then completing a huge circuit via Netherstead and Bannams again before returning to my car, which I'd parked at the church.

This considerable effort was rewarded with just six more species: Green Woodpecker, Jay, Coal Tit, Treecreeper, Kestrel, and finally a couple of hooting Tawny Owls in the half-light at about 16.30.

There was time for one unexpected discovery. At least 32 Pied Wagtails heading to roost over Netherstead. A previously unrecorded phenomenon here.

Last year I saw 60 species on day one, this time 57. So I'm a bit down, total-wise, but its a marathon not a sprint.

PS: While I was watching the Pied Wagtails heading to roost over Netherstead, John Chidwick was watching a Barn Owl hunting over the pool field and witnessed dozens of Pied Wagtails flying in to roost in the bulrushes...so that's where they were going.