With the exception of a few days in the first half of January, the weather in the first six weeks of 2026 was dull, dank and dismal. Rainfall in this part of the country was well above average but not excessive, and sunshine was at a premium. We were lucky to avoid the extreme rainfall and flooding in the south west of England or the heavy snowfall and 20+ days without sunshine in Aberdeenshire, but the late winter weather here was pretty miserable, nonetheless. No unusual birds were seen in or from the garden, although Stock Doves were back, underneath the feeders, from late January. In the surrounding area, large flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares were seen. Were these birds new arrivals, driven out of The Continent by continuing bad weather, returning birds from further west or had they been around locally, out of sight and hearing, throughout the winter?
Stock Dove in my Garden, 1 February
I was lucky to get a glimpse of a wintering Bittern when I visited Amwell on the 2nd. It crossed a patch of cut reeds near the White Hide (as seen from the viewpoint) before I had time to get my camera ready. There are possibly two Bitterns wintering here, but they are very hard to see! A large flock of Lapwings was flying about, looking for somewhere to land - most of the islands had been submerged as the water levels had risen during this very wet period.
Lapwings with Egyptian and Canada Geese, Amwell, 2 February
'New' birds for the year seen on local walks included a Raven, seen near Royston Hospital on the 11th, and three Golden Plovers, seen off the Icknield Way north of Therfield on the same day. A Barn Owl (or, rather, the top of its head) was seen on the 17th in the same owl box near the bottom of Church Hill where it had been seen last December. Three Stonechats (one male) were in the same area and another male Stonechat was seen along the Icknield Way, still in Hertfordshire, between Royston and Flint Cross on the 6th. A flock of an estimated 110 Corn Buntings were seen in fields and bushes between Therfield and Reed End on the 9th, having been joined by three Reed Buntings and 40 Yellowhammers, but there was no sign here of the large numbers of Chaffinches that had been seen in this area in January. Nine Tufted Ducks (a record) were seen on Phillup's Lake on the same day, but numbers of Canada Geese had declined from 36 to three.
Male Stonechat, seen between Royston and Flint Cross, 6 February
Female Stonechat, Thrift Farm, Royston, 17 February
A few of around 110 Corn Buntings seen between Therfield and Reed End, 9 February
'Record Shot' of one of three Golden Plovers, Therfield, 11 February
Kestrel, Reed, 11 February
I made another visit to Scales Park on the 10th. Once again, Crossbills were present and on this occasion a big group of 20 individuals was seen. I also saw my first local Marsh Tits of the year (two), flushed a Woodcock and saw a Raven.
Male Common Crossbill, Scales Park, 10 January
Reports of a Black-necked Grebe at Amwell encouraged me to visit on the 17th. In addition to the grebe (image below) I saw both female Smew, which have been present on Great Hardmead Lake for several weeks, but have generally been hard to see.
Black-necked Grebe, Amwell, 17 February
The weather improved slightly towards the end of the month, although remaining unsettled, but little of interest was seen on my local walks. Redwings continued to show more or less wherever I went and towards the end of the month a few were heard singing. On the 27th I headed back to Watersmeet LNR in St Albans for a very productive hour, seeing Siskins and Redpolls on the feeders there. One of the Redpolls was brighter and whiter than the others, suggesting that it might be the flammea sub-species, formerly regarded as a separate species - Common or 'Mealy' Redpoll. Since all Redpolls are now regarded as a single species I didn't spend too much time poring over my photographs to see whether I could confirm its identity to sub-species level. I'm not even sure whether it was captured on my camera - a couple of my Redpoll images are shown below.
Redpoll 1, Watersmeet LNR, St Albans, 27 February
Redpoll 2, Watersmeet LNR, St Albans, 27 February
I also saw my first Blackcaps of the year (two males) here, heard a Cetti's Warbler and saw a Peregrine (presumably one of the Cathedral pair), which circled overhead before flying off. The only disappointment was failing to see a Bullfinch, a bird that has been reported here from time to time but is becoming vanishingly rare locally. Watersmeet is a lovely, bird-filled little reserve and well worth a visit (particularly in the winter months) if you get the chance, but bear in mind that, being near the river, it can be quite boggy!
Male Siskin, Watersmeet LNR, St Albans, 27 February
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