A Red-necked Grebe was discovered at Carsington Water, Derbyshire in January 2022 and was joined later in the month by a second bird. Always a good grebe species to connect with inland during the winter months. They often linger well into early spring, by which time they have usually moulted into their summer plumage, when they are then pretty impressive. Also at the site was the returning Great Northern Diver, another good inland find. I managed to find one at my local patch at Staunton Harold Reservoir in December 2020, that hung around into 2021.
Guaranteed to boost the year list, is an early new year trip to the north Norfolk coast. Bristling with waders, ducks and geese and one or two special wintering birds. It’s difficult to pull in all the sites on a day trip but we managed, Titchwell, Holkham, Cley, Stiffkey, Wells and Hunstanton. During the day we managed 79 species including the following highlights – Spotted Redshank, c3000 Common Scoter, Red-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Red-breasted Merganser, Water Pipit, Snow Bunting, Chiffchaff, Eider Duck, Great White Egret, Red Kite, a 1st winter Waxwing at Cley, Merlin, Cattle Egret and Fulmar at […]
My year list kicked off at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Reserve at Welney in Norfolk. Always a great place to visit for the wildfowl spectacle, including Whooper Swans and various species of dabbling duck. It’s also an ideal place for some photography. During our time there I tallied 52 species including, Whooper Swan, Great White Egret, Pochard, Pintail, Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier and Tree Sparrow. A steady start to my birding year 2022.