1st day of 24!

 Happy New Year everyone!! First day of the year when Birders look to get their year list off to a good start. First bird of the year for me, was a Herring Gull doing the long call, while I was still in bed!! Had Starling as well before rising, so a good start, had breakfast watching the feeders where all the regulars turned up. Change this year is we now have six Goldfinch visiting the feeders, no Blackcap this year, although had a visit from one a couple of weeks ago he's not been back whilst I've been looking!!

I decided the first walk of the year would be local, down Bullfinch Lane with a view to seeing the local Yellowhammers. Margie stayed at home, still aching from pond construction, the late night and apparently all the washing won't do itself!!😢 Proceedings started well, as I pulled up in the car, (yes I drove the half mile to Bullfinch Lane, in my defence I was up late yesterday!! 😀) I heard a Green Woodpecker and there were several Redwing and a couple of Greenfinch in the trees around!

Redwing

Sorry about the dull pics, "what's new" I hear you cry😲😂 the light was poor and for the most part the birds were uncooperative so they don't get a lot better!!

I continued down the lane, taking the usual diversion to look over the horse paddocks, a flock of about 20 Meadow Pipits on the wires and a Pied Wagtail in the Paddocks the best I could manage. No sign of the hoped for Linnets or Yellowhammers, carried on down to the fields at the end of the lane, fairly quiet with the occasional Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock or Wren appearing along the way! 

Meadow Pipit a bit of weak sunshine lighting them up

HPP Church

Fairly sure these are Yellowhammers

Robin

Song Thrush

I wandered the bottom fields, again it was fairly quiet, a few Skylarks calling and a couple flying about, more Meadow Pipits, a couple of small flocks of Redwing and likewise Starlings, not much else, some  birds at the top of a distant tree may have been Yellowhammers, but couldn't find any along the hedges, which once again this year have been flailed within an inch of their lives. When I first came to HPP these hedges were above my head, still flailed but thick and held lots of birds, now they are just over waist high and seem to get lower and lower with each passing year! Hopefully they will still be thick enough for the Hammers to breed in come the spring!

Redwings

Starlings

After half n hour or so I headed back down the lane, near the stream I came upon a flock of Goldfinch, which gave me the usual run-around trying to get a pic, scoured them hard but couldn't turn any into Firecrest 

 

Goldcrest

Things took a turn for the better, as I was following the Goldcrest flock, I came across a large Oak Tree full of Long-tailed Tits, also had a couple of Treecreepers in it and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, though that never gave me a clear shot!!! 

Long-tailed Tit

Treecreeper

Interesting to watch it probing the bark for insects!

Managed to relocate the Goldcrests after the Long-tailed Tit distraction!!

Goldcrest

So that was it, weather closing in a bit so headed home, grand total of 33 for the day!! A slow day saved by a tree full of birds near the end!! Nice to get a Treecreeper early in the year as they can prove elusive!! Not a single Bird of Prey seen, which is unusual for a walk in this area!!!

Full list below!

Herring Gull
Starling
Cormorant
House Sparrow
Robin
Dunnock
Goldfinch
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Jackdaw
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Black-headed Gull
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Rook
Magpie
Jay
Redwing
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Goldcrest
Greenfinch
Mallard
Greylag Goose
Feral Pigeon
Wren
Yellowhammer
Song Thrush
Skylark