Keeping up with tradition, the first day of the year saw me doing a day list round the patch, and despite the recent snow and the continuing freezing weather which had made a lot of birds hard to find over the last few days, a respectable 67 species were recorded during the day.
Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird and Black-headed Gull were seen from the window in the first strains of light as I left the house, and then Magpie, Rook, Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Long-tailed Tit and Oystercatcher were added to the tally enroute to my first destination of the day West Runton.
Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird and Black-headed Gull were seen from the window in the first strains of light as I left the house, and then Magpie, Rook, Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Long-tailed Tit and Oystercatcher were added to the tally enroute to my first destination of the day West Runton.
A quick scan of the beach there revealed the regular adult Mediterranean Gull, and I was surprised to see that there was also a second bird, also in adult winter plumage, in with the roosting gull flock on the beach, which also included Common, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.
Waders on the beach included Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Redshank and Turnstone, and the fields along the clifftop held Lapwing, Golden Plover and a Snipe, as well as Linnets and Skylarks and a Kestrel overhead. A seawatch produced a few Red-throated Divers, Fulmar, Cormorant, Common Scoter, Eider and a few distant auks.
Felbrigg Park was my next destination for woodland species and Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Redwing, Mistle Thrush and Stock Dove were amongst the new species added to the list, and this was also the site for my second surprise find of the day as in the middle of a fairly hefty snow shower, a flock of c25 Crossbills flew round calling loudly right over my head and alighted briefly in a nearby stand of larches before disappearing back off into the main wood.
A walk down to the lake produced a splendid male Bullfinch and some Goldfinches, and with the lake still frozen solid the birds were making use of the adjacent stream where I found Mallard, Teal, Moorhen, Heron and Egyptian Goose. On the way back to the car, a few smaller (additional?) flocks of Crossbills were seen/heard flying over the tree tops.
Next stop was some weedy fields near Roughton where there was a fairly large wintering finch flock which held a few Brambling, along with the usual Chaffinches and Greenfinches, and whilst watching them a Sparrowhawk made an unsucessful attempt to catch a lunchtime snack.
Heading further up the road my attention was drawn to a lone goose feeding in a field, and a quick emergency stop revealed it was a Pinkfoot, which although are fairly regularly seen passing over when commuting between the Broads and the north-west of the county, this was only the second time I have ever encountered one on the deck, so was a nice surprise find.
A return to West Runton produced another couple of surprises with a Sanderling feeding on the tideline of the now exposed sandy beach, and then a chorus of familiar calls had me quickly looking up as a flock of c55 Snow Buntings flew in off the sea and landed in the stubble field for a brief feed, before heading off west along the clifftops.
A drive-round looking for a few missing species produced Pied Wagtail and Red-legged Partridge, and a Woodcock was inadvertently flushed from a roadside wood whilst spending a penny! Final port of call was a return visit to Felbrigg Park where just before dusk the regular Little Owl was located which rounded off the day well.
