25th Jan 2026

There had not been much seen through the week but this morning there was a couple of new birds for the year, with 2 drake Pochard on the reservoir (amongst 17 Tufted Ducks and a Gadwall) and a Mistle Thrush at the back of the wood. There was also a Bullfinch near the entrance (quite a hard bird to get on patch now) and at least 5 Lapwings flew over. 

18th Jan 2026: Great White Egret

This week Clive added Great White Egret to the year list, with one flying over on Wednesday. There was also 2 Lapwing on the same day. 

Friday afternoon there were 22 Teal in the flooded fields up the valley and a single bird flew around the reservoir this morning. A few more common species were added to the year list but nothing else in particular.

11th Jan 2026: White-fronted Geese and Marsh Harrier!

It has been a great start to the year with some cracking species and really interesting counts recorded. 

On the 3rd JFT added White-fronted Goose to the yearlist, with 2 initially on the reservoir that flew off early and then another 4 (adults) that came in from high to the north-east and landed in the cattle field (later seen on the reservoir). Unfortunately, just one day birds. On the same day we also had a Great Black-backed Gull over and a flock of c.150 Lapwing over. The latter being part of a general movement over a few days, with several smaller flocks and a flock of c.40 Golden Plovers also seen.

This week there was some huge counts of Tufted Ducks, with 117 on the 8th and 143 (113 drakes) on 9th! I'm fairly certain these are record counts for the site. Oddly there was no other diving ducks with them and even more oddly, there was none yesterday morning.

Yesterday morning JFT had a group of 6 Crossbills go over north and this morning Clive had a cream crown Marsh Harrier come in from the west and fly off north (after getting mobbed by a Raven). 

Some other good birds already seen include Gadwall, Raven, Stonechat (2 pairs), Snipe, Jack Snipe, Peregrine and Yellowhammer.

I think the year list is already on 64, but I'll have a proper look towards the end of the month and make sure it's in line with the new Avilist taxonomic order and amended BOU list etc.  

Courtesy and copyright of JFT

Courtesy and copyright of JFT (part of the 150 flock)

Courtesy and copyright of JFT

Courtesy and copyright of JFT