Another year on the patch begineth.....

I tried to start my year-list yesterday but a heavy sleet shower had me heading for home and hot soup, I am still not re-acclimatized from Costa Rica.

I headed back out today and visited the far flung corners of the patch, hoping to turn up some winter goodies. I managed 24 species yesterday, the highlight was a fly-by turnstone - a tricky bird at Druridge. I was keen to add to my total.

I headed north into the dunes, finding grey partridge and reed buntings and then a mixed flock of 300 or more goldfinches and greenfinches, with a single linnet amongst them. Three whooper swans flew south over my head as set off off along the haul road. More reed buntings were found along the track, but their cousin the yellowhammer was nowhere to be seen.

Male reed bunting in the dunes

female-type reed bunting along the track

At the Preceptory, a pair of kestrel were hanging about with the jackdaws.

Chibburn Preceptory - always worth checking

Headed towards the farm, a stock dove flew over, which I was pleased about as these can be very tricky too. I then got a tweet from Jonathan Farooqi telling me there was a green-winged teal on the Budge fields. A good bird which I was glad to hear about, but I won't get the three 'finders points' on the PWC.

A fly-over great-spotted woodpecker was a bonus over the cottages on my way to the Budge screen. When I got there the Yankee teal was asleep in the grass.

green-winged teal in the centre of the shot

A couple of bird-race teams popped by to see it whilst I was there, they were cagey about their scores, understandably. I was a bit envious of them, I used to really enjoy the winter bird race, but it clashes so often with the Toon playing, that I can't commit and therefore don't have a team (although after today's performance, I should maybe rethink my priorities).

No sign of New Years Eve's pintails sadly.

I had a look on the sea but it was quiet, with only red-throated divers of note.

So I started the year with a respectable 51 species and my first scarcity in green-winged teal.

January 1st

I very rarely do any birding on New Years Day. Usually because of a severe hang-over or football or both. This New Years Day was different. I was our partying the night (and morning) before but still managed to make it down to Druridge albeit with a bit of a thick-head a good-deal of queasiness. I only had an hour though as we had another party to get to.

Highlight of the morning was a short-eared owl quartering the Budge fields and bunds. The wintering chifchaff seen in late December was still hanging around the willows by the Little hide, making an early appearance on the year-list. There were good numbers of duck on the Budge fields, including at least three drake pintail.

Little of interest on the pool, other than a water rail which was poking around the edge of the phragmites bed. A buzzard flew over, quite low, heading south.

I ended the day on 35 species. Not bad for an hours work with an hangover.

January 2nd

I felt a bit more chipper this morning. I did have a lie-in though so didn't make it to Druridge until 1ish.

I started with a look on the sea, 2 snow buntings flew north calling, a good start! A pair of eiders and a group three red-breasted mergansers were added to the year-list.

Next, to the Budge screen. I picked up a large wader on the far side, feeding amongst the grass by the fence that wasn't a curlew. When it emerged it revealed itself as a black-tailed godwit. A rare species in winter in Northumberland and especially at Druridge Pools. Without looking through my notes and lists, I think this may be my first winter patch record for blackwit.

Despite the strengthening and very cold westerly wind I decided a hike around the extremities of the patch was in order. I set off for High Chibburn Farm via the hamlet. At the feeding station at the cottages, tree and house sparrows are added to the list with goldfinch. At the farm, there were 19 collared doves, once a very rare species at Druridge, this wintering flock is nice to see. Also at High Chibburn were a flock of about 50 curlew with redshanks, in the same field as a covey of 12 grey partridge, which were later flushed by a sparrowhawk.

Low Chibburn Preceptory with a flock of lapwing and starling in front

Another view of the preceptory

I got blown along the haul road, seeing very little. A walk through the bushes didn't produce a woodcock but in the willows by the bridge, yesterdays chiffchaff was still calling. This might be of interest to any winter bird-racers who are out next Saturday. Obviously, if I had been bird-racing next weekend (we've got Blackburn at home in the cup so I'll not be) I would have suppressed this!

So, 58 species by the 2nd of January. Not a bad start. It's going to be a hard-slog from now until the end of March, when the first migrants return though.

I hope to a review of 2011 in the next couple of days.

1 red-throated diver
2 guilliemot
3 common scoter
4 black-headed gull
5 common gull
6 sanderling
7 cormorant
8 pied wagtail
9 short-eared owl
10 carrion crow
11 herring gull
12 grey heron
13 chiffchaff
14 stonechat
15 blue tit
16 teal
17 wigeon
18 mallard
19 lapwing
20 curlew
21 shoveler
22 kestrel
23 tufted duck
24 coot
25 goldeneye
26 mute swan
27 water rail
28 skylark
29 song thrush
30 redshank
31 magpie
32 pintail
33 pheasant
34 buzzard
35 pink-footed goose
36 red-breasted merganser
37 great-black backed gull
38 eider
39 snow bunting
40 black-tailed godwit
41 snipe
42 chaffinch
43 redwing
44 tree sparrow
45 house sparrow
46 collared dove
47 feral pigeon
48 jackdaw
49 sparrowhawk
50 grey partridge
51 meadow pipit
52 woodpigeon
53 mistle thrush
54 wren
55 moorhen
56 rook
57 goldfinch 
58 starling 

I've participated in bird races for a few years now, both winter and summer. We haven't done the summer birdrace for a couple of years now, midnight til nigh on the following midnight, it takes up the whole weekend including time to recover, it's tough going and difficult to find a free weekend.

I do enjoy a winter birdrace, as long as it's not on the 1st or 2nd of January, for some reason, there didn't appear to be a winter birdrace this year at all (unless nobody told me, which is possible) and this got me thinking about the whole principle of birdracing.

As fuel becomes more expensive and people think more about their carbon footprint, twitching has become more of a taboo, hare-arsing around the country in the pursuit of rarities, burning the worlds precious resources..... I wondered whether the cost of fuel and guilty conciousness are making people think twice about bird racing?

On a summers bird race, I bet it is easy to clock up 250-300 miles roving the far-flung bits of the county in search of ospreys, wood warblers and black grouse. At £70 to fill the tank, it's an expensive day out. I also got thinking about Stewart and his OFFH (on foot from home list) and ADMc and his incredible bike list of 2009. People have year lists without resorting to using a car, or any form of motorised transport, could a low-carbon birdrace be a possibility?

It could be on foot, on a bike or on the bus or a combination of the three..... It's got me thinking!

In recent years, our team and no-doubt others have developed finely-tuned routes that they stick to and for me, that got a bit dull, as the planning was the best bit!

So, any thoughts on a low-carbon summer bird race? Anyone fancy a challenge?