Week commencing 11th January

Friday 15th

Back to Barway for a morning walk. No rain but very wet under foot. Large gathering of Mute Swan on the fields with eight Whooper Swan mixed in. Along the river three Stonechat were feeding along with Meadow Pipit and Reed Bunting. 

A Greater Spotted Woodpecker flew over and was later relocated in the trees by  the fishing lake.

Number of species recorded: 29

Tuesday 12th

Short walk this morning before settling into the workshop to continue the great obelisk construction!

This afternoon, Annie and I walked Soham Lode to the house and back along the other side to the cattle creep. Good numbers of Black headed Gull were heading to the Washes roost. Four Moorhen and nine Mallard were on the river but the surprise addition was a Little Grebe. Last time I saw one here was the 30th January 2019.

A Barn Owl was hunting over the field by the new railway station using the temporary fencing as resting posts.

Number of Species Recorded: 11

Monday 11th

Covered the Barway circle this cold and breezy morning. A flock of Fieldfare were in the bushes near where we parked. A large number of Mute Swan had gathered further down river and a small flock of Whooper Swan were towards Kingfisher Bridge.

Mallard were present on the various ditches and on the river. A single Cattle Egret was on the far bank near the pumping station. A single female Marsh Harrier was quartering the fields. Reed Bunting and Meadow Pipit were active and a single Great Black-backed Gull was also present.

The lockdown continues with further talk of increasing the restrictions. So I'll keep out of everyone's way and make sure I've lots of jobs to do in the workshop!

Number of Species Recorded:29

Week commencing 4th January

 Monday 4th

Day spent at Welney, undertaking a range of tasks including checking water levels on Lady Fen and Bank Farm and making a lid for the post box! I failed to get a bonfire going in order to burn off the recent trimmings. I blame the damp.

Water levels had dropped but there was still no access to the other hides. Now with level 4 restrictions the main hide has been closed to the public along with the wing hides so little point heading over the bridge

A few Whooper Swan were still on the main lagoon as were a number of Pochard until a canoeist paddled through the middle of the reserve dispersing everything to a point that it was not worth feeding!

Whooper Swans on main lagoon

Tuesday 5th

Up and out to Burwell Fen and other than four Stonechat there was very little to see. On Sedge Fen a group of 60+ Whooper Swan were feeding along with two Bewick Swan.

Reed Bunting (Male)

Wednesday 6th

First day of the National Lockdown V3.0 so stayed local and walked down to Soham Lode. A Sparrowhawk passed through and a Buzzard was loafing about. Very little else to report!

Common Buzzard

Number of species recorded: 18

Thursday 7th

Dog walk along the Lode this morning produced very little of interest. Return trip from Tesco's allowed for a drop in at The Duck and Fish turning where a sizable flock of Whooper, with a few Bewick, Swans have taken up residence.

About Seventy Whooper Swan were present feeding but no Bewick to be seen. Photographed as many individuals as possible so I could check them out later but none found. 

However did see and photographed two interesting young gulls which on investigation turned out to be a First Winter Caspian Gull

and a Third Winter Great Black-backed Gull.

1st Winter Caspian Gull in foreground with 3rd winter Great Black-backed Gull

1st Winter Caspian Gull in foreground with 3rd winter Great Black-backed Gull

Friday 8th

Parked at Cock-up Bridge and walked the middle path. A small flock of seven Yellowhammer were mixed in with Chaffinch and moving around the bushes near the car park. A Little Egret was in the ditch.

Good numbers of Wigeon were on the ramp pool and surrounding area as were Fieldfare. The main pool held three Pintail (2 male) and a small flock of Whooper Swan passed over and on to Wicken Fen. 

Number of Species recorded: 33

Happy New Year......have another Lockdown

Well here we are 2021 and back into Lockdown as off midnight of the 5/6th. This one is return to version 1 with increased restrictions etc and, as yet no end date. So other than having an excuse for  keeping out of everyone's way no great change for the likes of myself. The dogs and I will continue our daily walk and bird sightings will continue to be recorded.

Review of birding during 2020

Number of sighting lists submitted: 178

This was down from 234 submitted in 2019 and surprisingly the same in 2018. This drop reflects the impact of Covid, the lockdowns and the restrictions on travel abroad with not a single list submitted from outside the UK.

Number of Species sighted: 148

This was down from 2019 figure of 246. Again a reflection of covid!

No new species were recorded during the whole of 2020. This was a first!

Number of photos added to Bird Journal records: 232

A massive decline from 2019 when 750 were added to my records.

Photos added to eBird: 955

During Lockdown I undertook a blitz on my photos and uploaded many to the eBird records from previous years.

Locations visited: 68

120 places were recorded in 2019. Enough said!

Sound Recording: 57

This year I've been recording more bird song and calls and have been filing and uploading them to eBird.