Many birders make an effort to get the New Year off to a good start. Most if not all well-known sites, and many others,  will be visited and all species noted. I have trawled twitter, blogs etc and several people have added their own sightings. Below is the list of 160 species that were recorded during the day.

Brent Goose. Canada Goose. Barnacle Goose. Greylag Goose. Pink-footed Goose. White-fronted Goose. Mute Swan. Bewick's Swan. Whooper Swan. Egyptian Goose. Shelduck. Mandarin Duck. Shoveler. Gadwall. Wigeon. Mallard. Pintail. Teal. Pochard. Ring-necked Duck. Tufted Duck. Eider. Common Scoter. Goldeneye. Goosander. Red-breasted Merganser. Red-legged Partridge. Grey Partridge. Pheasant. Red-throated Diver. Great Northern Diver. Fulmar. Little Grebe. Red-necked Grebe. Great Crested Grebe. Slavonian Grebe. Black-necked Grebe. Bittern. Cattle Egret. Grey Heron. Great White Egret. Little Egret. Gannet. Shag. Cormorant. Sparrowhawk. Marsh Harrier. Hen Harrier. Red Kite. Rough-legged Buzzard. Buzzard. Water Rail. Moorhen. Coot. Oystercatcher. Avocet. Lapwing. Golden Plover. Grey Plover. Ringed Plover. Whimbrel. Curlew. Bar-tailed Godwit. Black-tailed Godwit. Turnstone. Knot. Ruff. Sanderling. Dunlin. Purple Sandpiper. Woodcock. Jack Snipe. Snipe. Common Sandpiper. Green Sandpiper. Redshank. Spotted Redshank. Greenshank. Kittiwake. Black-headed Gull. Mediterranean Gull. Common Gull. Great Black-backed Gull. Herring Gull. Caspian Gull. Yellow-legged Gull. Lesser Black-backed Gull. Great Skua. Guillemot. Razorbill. Feral Pigeon. Stock Dove. Woodpigeon. Collared Dove. Barn Owl. Tawny Owl. Little Owl. Short-eared Owl. Kingfisher. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Green Woodpecker. Kestrel. Merlin. Peregrine. Ring-necked Parakeet. Jay. Magpie. Jackdaw. Rook. Carrion Crow. Raven. Coal Tit. Marsh Tit. Blue Tit. Great Tit. Bearded Tit. Skylark. Cetti's Warbler. Long-tailed Tit. Chiffchaff. Blackcap. Dartford Warbler. Firecrest. Goldcrest. Wren. Nuthatch. Treecreeper. Starling. Blackbird. Fieldfare. Redwing. Song Thrush. Mistle Thrush. Robin. Black Redstart. Stonechat. House Sparrow. Tree Sparrow. Dunnock. Grey Wagtail. Pied Wagtail. Meadow Pipit. Water Pipit. Rock Pipit. Chaffinch. Brambling. Hawfinch. Bullfinch. Greenfinch. Linnet. Mealy Redpoll. Lesser Redpoll. Common Crossbill. Goldfinch. Siskin. Corn Bunting. Yellowhammer. Reed Bunting. Snow Bunting.

There are a few birds that one might have expected that haven’t (yet) made the list. Long-eared Owls would certainly be around in the county. Black-throated Diver was reported on 31st December and 2nd January! Velvet Scoters are regularly reported in small numbers around the coast but I’m not aware of any Smew being reported in the county this winter? What about the odd Waxwing?  Let me know if you can add to this list, thanks

Geoff Burton