Saturday, 11 January 2025

Local Wildlife Sightings, January 2025

 Heavy rain on New Year's Day and almost throughout the following weekend (30+mm by the 5th) suggested that 2025 was going to be no improvement, weatherwise, to 2024. However, a 'cold snap' from the 6th brought with it some welcome winter sunshine, even if daytime temperatures barely reached 0C. I took the opportunity to do lots of local walking, as well as to visit some of Hertfordshire's 'honey pot' sites. A walk around my Local Patch on the 3rd (another sunny day) produced 42 bird species (40 seen): nothing special, but it was good to be out getting exercise in the sunshine, after several days of grotesque over-indulgence. Likewise, 37 bird species were recorded on a walk to Heydon Pig Farm along the Icknield Way on the 10th. With the ground very hard, not many gulls were seen at the pig farm. However, Ravens, a wintering Chiffchaff and hundreds of Starlings were present and good numbers of Fieldfares (but no Redwings) were feeding on berries in bushes along the way.


Fieldfare near Heydon, 10 January

I missed out on the female Smew at Amwell on the 6th, but did see a male Red-crested Pochard there, as well as lots of gulls which included a Great Black-backed Gull.


Male Red-crested Pochard (on the left) with a Common Pochard, Amwell, 6 January

Another glorious day on the 9th encouraged me to visit St Albans. A rare, wintering Yellow-browed Warbler had been drawing in the crowds at the Verulamium Park. This tiny bird, not much bigger than a Goldcrest, showed well at times at the edge of the lake and I was able to get a few 'record shots' of it as it dived about an Oak Tree, presumably hunting for tiny invertebrates. This was a Hertfordshire 'first' for me, taking my species list up to 200. Nearby, the local Peregrines were showing well on the Cathedral, although I missed out on seeing a Black Redstart there (last winter's returning bird??).


Record Shot of the Yellow-browed Warbler, St Albans, 9 January


Peregrine on St Albans Cathedral, 9 January

I walked from the Verulamium Park to the attractive little Watercress Local Nature Reserve, where I was rewarded with a brief sighting of a Water Rail. Siskins and Redpolls were feeding in the Alder Trees, and a female Bullfinch visited one of the bird feeders.

News on the grapevine that a fairly large Starling murmuration (5,000 to 10,000 birds) was regularly occurring at RSPB Fowlmere encouraged me to visit on the late afternoon of the 13th. I decided to head for the Reedbed Hide, from where I presumed that I would get good views of the Starlings as they flew above the reedbed. However, by 4.30pm it was almost dark and all we had seen was a Barn Owl and a small group of Starlings. I decided to leave and, as I walked back to the main track, there were the Starlings performing behind the hide! It was virtually dark by this time, but I still managed to get a few photographs of the murmuration before the birds disappeared into the reedbed. There appeared to be far fewer than 5,000, but of course it is impossible to count them.


Starling Murmuration, RSPB Fowlmere, 13 January (converted to B&W for clarity)

Bird activity in the garden varied from day to day. There was no (apparent) return of the Brambling that I had seen on the last day of 2024. A Stock Dove visited on several occasions. Stock Doves nest nearby, but until recently they were very rare visitors to the garden. This bird is quite persistent, despite being chased around by the larger Woodpigeons. The dark days that were so common in December returned from the 15th, with very little sunshine but lots of cloud, mists and drizzle. Local walks were generally uneventful, although I did see a flock of Lapwings (my first local Lapwing sighting since 2023) at Greys Farm on the 15th. The flock didn't stay, however. Ravens were recorded at a variety of locations and 22 Corn Buntings were at Hatchpen Farm on the 18th. Twelve Grey Partridges were seen in a field off the Icknield Way between Therfield Heath and Therfield on the 22nd.


Stock Dove in my Garden, 17 January

News of up to four Short-eared Owls appearing regularly in fields at Holwell (north of Hitchin) provoked a visit on the 17th. I arrived in time to see three in the air together, and managed a few 'record shots' whilst I was there. The field over which they were hunting presumably contained lots of Field Voles, their favourite prey. A Grey Heron, standing quietly in the middle of the field, may well have been waiting to gobble up some voles as well.


Short-eared Owl, Holwell, 17 January


Short-eared Owl with admirers, Holwell, 17 January

On the 23rd I visited Bramfield, near Hertford, where Hawfinches had been regularly reported this winter. I was lucky to see one almost immediately, high in a tree in the churchyard, and later heard others hidden in the churchyard Yews (their calls are similar to, but louder than, those of the Robin).


Hawfinch in Bramfield Churchyard, 23 January

My 'Big Garden Birdwatch' for an hour on the 25th produced nine species (about average for the BGBW), but this included the first Feral Pigeon that I had ever recorded on a BGBW count, Feral Pigeons having not previously been seen in the garden before 2024. I ventured to Wilstone Reservoir on a very dull afternoon on the 28th. Great Egret, Wigeon and Teal were amongst the sightings, but there was no sign of a reported Goosander. I looked hard through a very large (mainly) Black-headed Gull roost, but couldn't find any rarities. The following (sunny) day I went on my 'round the villages' walk, recording 45 bird species including my first local Redwings of the year and Ravens in Royston, Therfield and Reed. An unusually large number of Kestrels were recorded - possibly the rain of the previous couple of days had flooded their prey (particularly voles) out of shelter?


Kestrel, Therfield, 29 January

 













UK Wildlife Sightings, January 2025


 Despite a very wet start to the year, with snowfall and flooding elsewhere in the country, the first half of the month brought some welcome sunshine as high pressure with northerly winds brought several cold, crisp, sunny days - particularly between the 6th and the 11th. Wearing my thickest fleecy jacket and having to scrape ice off the car was a small price to pay for the chance to start my 2025 bird lists in bright weather, ideal (with the sun low in the sky) for photography. My first trip of any distance was to Welney WWT (Norfolk), where I was lucky to see Short-eared Owl, all three UK egrets, Tree Sparrows, Whooper Swans and all the common dabbling ducks. The only disappointment was to miss out on a flight of five Common Cranes, which apparently flew overhead whilst I was in one of the hides. Everybody else saw them.....


Whooper Swans, WWT Welney, 7 January


Cattle Egret, WWT Welney, 7 January



Tree Sparrow, WWT Welney, 7 January


Roe Deer, WWT Welney, 7 January

The following day saw me on the North Norfolk coast, enjoying the (somewhat hazy) sunshine at RSPB Titchwell Marsh and Thornham Harbour. Sightings at Titchwell included Spotted Redshank, a roosting Tawny Owl and Common Scoters on the sea. I also had close views of Red-breasted Merganser (males and females) on the Tidal Marsh, but the star birds for me were a pair of Bearded Tits, which provided stunning views from time to time as they fed on Reed Mace about 30 feet away. Fortunately, I was eventually able to get a couple of decent photos of the male (see image below). Brent and Pink-footed Geese, a Barn Owl and a wintering Greenshank were seen in failing light at Thornham Harbour.


Female Red-breasted Merganser, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 8 January


Male Red-breasted Merganser, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 8 January


Male Bearded Tit, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 8 January

The weather stayed dry, but more cloudy from the 12th onwards. Reports from Abberton Reservoir (near Colchester) had suggested that several semi-rare birds were to be seen there, so I visited on the 14th, viewing from five separate points (Lodge Lane viewpoint Peldon, both causeways, the visitor centre hides and the Billets Farm viewpoint). I was lucky to see three Bewick's Swans and a couple of Ruff from Lodge Lane, whilst two Slavonian Grebes, at least eight Black-necked Grebes and several Goosander showed well from the Layer De La Haye causeway (some images below). The visitor centre hides (eventually) yielded a first winter Caspian Gull and my first Stonechat of the year, as well as more Black-necked Grebes, whilst probably my best sighting of the visit, a Black-throated Diver, was seen from the Billets Farm viewpoint. Birds that I didn't see included Smew, Scaup, the Canvasback and Great Northern Diver. If I had seen all of those, it would have really been a day to remember!


Black-necked Grebe (back left) and two Slavonian Grebes, Abberton Reservoir, 14 January


Two Slavonian Grebes, Abberton Reservoir, 14 January


Male Goosander, Abberton Reservoir, 14 January

I went back to Norfolk on the 21st, visiting four locations: Old Hunstanton, where I again saw the wintering Glaucous Gull, Thornham Harbour (Rock Pipit), Holkham Bay (Shorelarks) and finally Warham Greens, where I saw Barn Owl, Short-eared Owl and a 'ringtail' Hen Harrier, but there was no sign here of the wintering Pallid Harrier. For once, I missed out RSPB Titchwell!


Glaucous Gull, Old Hunstanton, 21 January


Shorelark, Holkham Bay, 21 January


Rock Pipit, Holkham Bay, 21 January


Pink-footed Geese flying in to Roost at Sunset, Warham Greens, 21 January

A glorious day was forecast for the 30th, so it was back to North Norfolk for another full day visiting five sites. I started at Lynford Arboretum, which was rather disappointing and surprisingly failed to yield any Marsh Tits, Bramblings or Hawfinches. I went on to the coast at Sheringham (lots of Turnstones but no sign of Purple Sandpipers). Things improved up the coast at Weybourne, where a very large flock of Pink-footed Geese incorporated at least four Russian White-fronted Geese and two Tundra Bean Geese (the latter a species that I didn't see at all in 2024). As a bonus, I had two sightings of a Merlin in flight here. I stopped briefly at Stiffkey, but failed to see the reported Glossy Ibis despite searching for half an hour, before moving on to (you guessed it!) RSPB Titchwell, where I spent the rest of the day photographing birds on the beach and Tidal Marsh in beautiful light. Some of my photos from the day are below.


White-fronted Goose (front, centre) with Pink-footed Geese, Weybourne, 30 January


Male Pintail, Tidal Marsh, Titchwell, 30 January


Redshank, Tidal Marsh, Titchwell, 30 January


Bar-tailed Godwit Preening, Titchwell Beach, 30 January