1 January 2021 Welcome to 2021

 Friday 1 January 2021

Despite the lockdown I managed to do some birding today - on my own and complying fully with the rules.  The weather was reasonable for the time of year; it was overcast but dry, cold and soft underfoot.

Walking the Dogs 

Just after sunrise I took the dogs for their walk on the estate.  First bird species seen in 2021 was Starling - at least 10 flew from the trees behind the house heading out over the houses.  

All in all I saw 13 species which was OK but well short of the 20 we could have seen.

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Carrion Crow

Collared Dove

Dunnock

Herring Gull

House Sparrow

Jackdaw

Magpie

Mallard

Robin

Starling

Woodpigeon

Weirwood Reservoir

• After breakfast I headed off to Weirwood, staring off at the west end before finishing at the dam end.
• I saw 16 species with the following 12 birds new for the day.

Black-headed Gull

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

Cormorant

Goldfinch

Great Crested Grebe

Great Tit

Greylag Goose

Marsh Tit

Moorhen

Mute Swan

Pheasant

• On the way home I saw a buzzard flying over the A22 near Uckfield

Arlington Reservoir

After lunch I drove the short distance to Arlington Reservoir where I saw 23 species, 13 of which added to the list.

Black-throated Diver

Canada Goose

Meadow Pipit

Mistle Thrush

Pied Wagtail

Pintail

Redwing

Rook

Song Thrush

Teal

Tufted Duck

Wigeon

Wren

39 species on day 1 was very satisfactory and a good start to my 2021 year list.

        There were several highlights:

• It's always nice to see a Marsh Tit on the feeders at Weirwood.
• The Black-throated Diver at Arlington was by far the rarest bird today.
• The Pintail was a delightful surprise at Arlington.
• The winter thrushes were a bonus at Arlington with the Redwing as the star one.