A few visits this month to kick things off. Not really many surprises, but disappointed to miss the Spoonbill reported on Twitter around the turn of the year, along with a Great White Egret in late December.
Still, a couple of nice birds including Siskin and Short Eared Owl, and a Green Sandpiper along the Thames foreshore, totalling 63 species.
A couple of surprising omissions, the Winter Thrushes (Redwing, Fieldfare) were conspicuous by their absence. This time last year the huge influx over winter was just starting to die down and disperse, but they were still readily seen, not so this time with just a couple of solitary Redwing. Perhaps their preffered berries did not bloom as expected and so were on different sites following their food sources.
Oddly, I only saw the Marsh Harriers on one trip, they're usually always seen above Black Duck Marsh and the surround, not quite sure what the reason here is other than plain bad luck! Canada Geese were another species I expected to find but didn't.
One thing I didn't expect was the change in Botany Grazing Marsh. This has usually been an open field with scattered ponds, bordered by scrub, but the reeds have really grown up around the whole area, with just a few patches of grass available. This has made it harder to spot the geese and waders (etc), but has meant I've seen the Bearded Tits in a new area of the site. It does look a haven for things like Jack Snipe, but the chances of spotting them on this patch from the vantage points are essentially zero without thermal optics.
The month was rounded off with a fantastic day out for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, with over 60 people joining for a walk round the marshes, great company and a tonne of great birds spotted! It's wonderful to see such support against the looming threat of the London Resort development. The campaign to save the area has gained some serious traction, and the local (and not so local) voices arr really making a difference, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Donna and co!
January Full List
Anything that strikes me as odd (eg an irregular sighting, single record of species etc) I've made a note of where they were picked up. More regular species on site are simply listed, I'll do the same on subsequent months.
Woodpigeon
Feral Dove
Collared Dove
Magpie
Jackdaw
Jay
Carrion Crow
Raven
Pheasant
Linnet
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Siskin (flyover and brief pause in copse on coastal path)
Skylark
Reed Bunting
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Bearded Tit
Blackbird
Redwing
Mistle Thrush
Starling
Robin
Stonechat
Wren
Meadow Pipit
Cettis Warbler
Blackcap
Teal
Pintail (once on Thames)
Wigeon
Mallard
Gadwall
Shoveller
Shelduck
Egyptian Goose (pair on Botany)
Brent Goose
Greylag Goose
Mute Swan
Coot
Moorhen
Water Rail
Little Grebe
GC Grebe
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Common Snipe (feeding on Botany pools)
Green Sandpiper (dotting along Thames foreshore)
Common Sandpiper
Common Redshank
Lapwing
Cormorant
Black Headed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Gull
GBB Gull
LBB Gull
Peregrine
Kestrel
Common Buzzard
Marsh Harrier
SEO
Total 63
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