Local Wildlife Sightings December 2021

 On a rare sunny morning on the 4th I walked up the Icknield Way to have another go at photographing the bramblings which, along with large numbers of chaffinches and linnets, were feeding in a large field at Greys Farm. All the birds were quite shy, but I did manage some ok images - at least six bramblings were present, but there were probably many more.

Brambling, Greys Farm (Therfield), 4 December

I had a good look for bramblings and other finches in the woodland to the west of the Therfield Road on the 6th, but found nothing of interest, other than a raven which flew over Fox Covert. I rarely visit Royston town centre. However, my friend David Hatton has mentioned on several occasions that he regularly sees grey wagtails there. Since I still needed grey wagtail for this year's 'local patch' list I made an early visit to the town centre on the 7th and there, sure enough, was a grey wagtail perched on a roof a few yards from the Roysia Stone! The following day I braved the tail end of 'Storm Barra' to go on a walk through the local villages. Highlights included a grey partridge at Hatchpen Farm (Reed), the first I've seen to the east of the A10 this year, flocks of 89 lapwings and 25 mallard at Reed End and flocks of 30+ yellowhammers, 14 Canada geese (the highest number of this species that I've seen locally), and 130 chaffinches in Therfield. At least four bramblings were present with the chaffinches. A raven was also seen.

Part of the Lapwing Flock seen at Reed End on 8 December

Following a report (Rupert Evershed) on the 12th of a short-eared owl off the Icknield Way, near Therfield village, I visited the area at dusk on the 14th and was lucky to see the bird hunting over Park Farm, east of the Icknield Way - the first short-eared owl that I have seen locally since 2019. Apart from this there was little of interest to be seen locally. Numbers of bramblings dwindled at Greys Farm, although a huge flock of linnets (est. 450) was flying about there on the 20th. A long walk in the Reed / Barkway area on a typically dull, dank afternoon on the 23rd failed to reveal anything of interest, but as soon as I set off on the car journey home a barn owl flew across the road in front of me, just south of Reed village.

Just a few of around 450 linnets seen in flight, Greys Farm, Therfield, 20 December

The following week was taken up with low key Christmas festivities, family visits etc. but on the 31st I managed a walk around the villages, adding a mute swan (Hatchpen Farm) to my 'local patch' list, the 81st and last species of the year. Five gull species were also seen at Hatchpen, whilst at least four bramblings remained at Greys Farm. It was no surprise to learn that this December was the dullest (least sunshine) for 65 years. Here's hoping for better things in 2022!

Gulls in Flight, Hatchpen Farm, 31 December

UK Wildlife Sightings December 2021

 A 2+ hour 'recce' around Stockers and Bury Lakes (Rickmansworth), in preparation for an RSPB trip, on the 1st produced sightings of a female goosander, a male goldeneye, a kingfisher, lots of siskins and three chiffchaffs (either that or the same bird was following me around the lakes). Predictably, there was a gull ID problem - a first winter bird on one of the islands at Stockers Lake. I have put it down as a yellow-legged gull: take a look at the image below and see if you agree with me.

First-winter Yellow-legged Gull (left hand bird)? with First Winter Herring Gull, Stockers Lake, 1 December

The following day saw me driving round the M25 to Junction 8 to look for a female ring-necked duck at Priory Pond, just outside Reigate. The pond was fairly small, but this long-staying bird did not give herself up easily, spending most of the time that I was there sitting on some partially submerged tree branches that could only be seen from the far side of the pond. Despite its small size the pond held a decent selection of water fowl, including wigeon, and on a sunny afternoon I spent some time photographing ducks, gulls etc. flying or swimming in contrasting light conditions.

Female Ring-necked Duck, Reigate, 2 December

Female Wigeon, Reigate, 2 December

On the 9th I made the trip to WWT Slimbridge. Setting off at 6.15am gave me a full day to wander the grounds and photograph the wild birds and the collections. Numbers of Bewick's swans wintering at Slimbridge have fallen away recently, presumably due to climate change as birds don't need to travel all the way to the UK to winter in ice-free conditions. However, I did see about 20 birds, including three family groups. Slimbridge is an excellent place to observe water rails, which have become quite tame as they forage below bird feeders. At least two birds were seen in the company of squirrels, rats, rabbits and teal (!) as they took advantage of food dropped by the sparrows, tits and finches using the feeders. What a strange mixture of wildlife! Large, but distant flocks of lapwings, golden plovers and dunlin were seen on the banks of the river Severn, but there were few waders on site and, unusually, no white-fronted geese were seen.

Bewick's Swan Family, WWT Slimbridge, 9 December

Bewick's Swans in Flight, WWT Slimbridge, 9 December

Water Rail, WWT Slimbridge, 9 December

Water Rail, Grey Squirrel and Woodpigeon under a Bird Feeder, WWT Slimbridge, 9 December

I treated myself to a final trip to the Norfolk coast on the 15th. I was really lucky with the weather, swapping Royston's December gloom for wall to wall blue skies and sunshine. Photography was the order of the day, although I did add the 232nd and last species to my 2021 UK year list, as a flock of four juvenile common eider flew past me over the sea whilst I was on the beach at Titchwell.

Bar-tailed Godwits, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 15 December

On the 21st I visited three sites in south-west Hertfordshire - Gaddesdon Row, Startops End Reservoir and Wilstone reservoir. The first site held a large flock of crossbills last winter. None had been reported this year so I wasn't surprised by their absence, although I did see a flock of 20-25 siskins there. A female or first winter red-crested pochard was at Startops End, whilst at Wilstone I was able to catch up with my main target - a flock of eight Russian white-fronted geese that had recently arrived in the area. Indeed, December saw a significant arrival of Russian white-fronted geese in the south east of England, with a couple of individuals elsewhere in the county.

Red-crested Pochard (with Coot), Startops End Reservoir, 21 December

Five (of Eight) Russian White-fronted Geese, Wilstone, 21 December

I noted a female ringed teal (presumed escape) on a photographic visit to Verulamium Park (St Albans) on the 22nd. A kingfisher appeared briefly, but I was unable to get any satisfactory images. The remainder of the year was taken up with family visits and low key Christmas festivities, leaving my bird year list on 232 species - not bad, considering the Covid-19 lockdown in the first part of the year and the fact that I didn't leave England at all during 2021.

Female Ringed Teal, Verulamium Park, St Albans, 22 December