10th Jan 2016: Green Sandpiper and Stonechat

There were a few people out today and generally I felt it was rather quiet but the number of birds recorded new for the year shows that wasn't true.

Most new species for the year were relatively common but there was a few notable species. When I was in the wood two Ravens went over, given away by their guttural croaks. Mike Pollard was in the Upper Cherwell Valley early and had a Stonechat and a Green Sandpiper. There were large numbers of gulls around today, obviously drawn to the wet fields to feed. I made a rather conservative count of 1100, made up of c.900 Black-headed, c.200 Common and several Herring Gulls. Three Gadwall also flew over whilst I was up there but they didn't appear to land anywhere. Up to five Goosanders were seen today and Colin Wilkinson counted sixteen Great Crested Grebe. He also saw a pair of Sparrowhawks interacting together and they were possibly pair bonding in preparation of the oncoming breeding season. A little later in the day Jon Bowley saw a Peregrine fly over the Southam Road from directly over the reservoir.