Good start to the New Year

New blog, new year which means a new start to the yearlist. This year I wanted to concentrate on my local Fylde Bird Club yearlist competition so I am going to mainly focus on getting the birds in the local area.

The first bird of 2011 was a Blue Tit in my friends front garden as I had stayed at his house over night. I managed a good start looking out of the downstairs window, accumulating 22 species including Great Spotted Woodpecker and a female Sparrowhawk.

With a number of good birds in the Preston area at the moment I decided this would be main area of choice for the days birding. First port of call was Preston Docks where the Iceland Gull was still present and showing well on the nearly completely frozen docks.

(If I can't see you then you can't see me)

On the only small area of open water were 40+ Coots and amongst these were a couple of colour-ringed individuals. I will post details on them when I receive them off Kane Brides who is in charge if the scheme.

Then it was on to Cottam Brickworks to try and bag the Willow Tit that has been present there for over a year. Luckily a few local birders were already present and pointed me towards where the feeders were where it is usually seen. Luckily I didn't have to wait long before it showed briefly on the seed, a cracking little bird. Plenty of Blue, Great and Coal Tits as well in the area. This site is the best place in the Fylde to catch up with Bullfinch but I didn't see any when I was there. The birders informed us that there were Waxwings in the area and when we were driving away I noticed a flock of 8 fly from a rowan tree by the road and proceed over the houses next to us.

We took a detour on the way home which meant I also added Dipper at Brock, Bewicks Swans at Fluke Hall and Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer at Bradshaw Lane. 61 species for the day is a good start to the year and hopefully tomorrow I will be spending the day at Marton Mere so I hope to get many more.

2011 Yearlist - 61 species