Total UK Species in January : 85
New “Year Ticks” in January : 85
New “Life Ticks” in January : 0
We started the year with the intention of getting off to a bit of a start with harder to find birds since we had seen some of these before the turn of the year. Our fiirst outing was to North Wales where we dropped in at various sites both en route and in Waled. The highlights included four species of Swan at Shotwick Lake, Snow Buntings and Waxwing at Llandudno, Hawfinch at Llabedr-y-Cennin, Common Scoter at Pensarn, Short-eared Owl and Spotted Redshank at Burton Mere Wetlands. Not too shabby for a two day birding outing.
A week later we went out to Newchurch Common where it started off raining torrentially but eventually stopped and some good light gave us Red-crested Pochard and a redhead Smew.
Unfortunately we had to go to Portugal for a funeral in the middle of the month but even there, and perhaps especially there, it was good to take my mind of things by doing a bit of birding along the estuary in Lagos. Of course, Lagos is famous for its White Storks but I also got really good, close, views of Whimbrel and Turnstone but also more distant views of Redshank and Greenchank, Kentish and Ringed Plover, Blackcap and Stonechat. Chiffchaff and Black-winged Stilt.
We developed colds almost immediatley we returned from that trip and this laid us a bit low. I only just managed to fit in the last birding group date of the month – on the 31st – at Pennington Flash where we got good views of Long-tailed Duck, slightly less good views of four Greater Scaup and a Water Rail. In total the species list for the month came to eighty-five in the UK. It being January they were all “year ticks” and none “life ticks” but what a good start to the year with some quite difficult birds under the belt already