Now I know it's seems strange to name a blog 'January Review' half way through February but I thought I should 'review' the goings on, on my patch, in January.
My patch isn't known for its rarities, to be brutally honest it isn't known for having any birdlife what so ever. But results from January suggest otherwise. Perhaps not rarities, but certainly a flourishing bird population. Having enthusiastically taken up the job (not a real job!) of surveying a half mile stretch of a small stream in June, it had taken a back seat for the last few months, however I now visit at least 2 times a week fitting it in around various bits of dreaded maths homework.
So to the review. January was quite compared to other patches but 27 species and points was a good start to my target of 50 species on my patch. This may seem pessimistic however it is realistic. On the 1st there were the usuals of Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Robin and Jackdaw. A few good spots on the 1st were Goldcrest and Sparrowhawk. I had 16 species after my first visit but I did not get my 17th species till the 17th of January. It was a Raven, only identified by its characteristic 'squawk'. My two favourite sightings of January were definitely the Fieldfares who came when the snow came and 4 Mistle Thrushes who I hope may breed this spring. Both of these birds were lifers so seeing them on my patch was even more special.
