Just 30 species today to kick the year off. A couple of good ones at Cosmeston, which can betricky – first 5 Hawfinch flew a loop out of the edge of Cogan Wood, beyond the dragonfly pond, then looped back in again. Had then perched briefly then lost them. Plenty of Redwing there and a Green Woodpecker. Second, in Cogan Wood I was pleased to see a Marsh Tit and get a couple of pix, although the light was very dull, and then some distance further along the path, 2 more Marsh Tits – defo different individuals. A male Bullfinch in the wood was nice to see too. Other than these, plenty of common species incl the usual Tufties on the lakes [52 in all] and a drake Pochard, 3 Little Grebes and 2 Great Crested. At our garden feeder at breakfast, a Coal Tit was an addition for the day. The 2 Magpies in the photos were fighting over the scrap of bread on the ground – I’ve never seen one pinned down like that before.
In the afternoon I deciced to take a trip to Newport to see if I could see the Waxwings that have been feeding on a Rowan in Rogerstone, for a while now – this was my first convenient opportunity, and although the rain had come in, I went anyway. I got to the location and lo & behold there they were, 14 of them resting at the top of a large tree. The rain was getting heavier but I persevered and took some record shots and had a good look at the birds and then regained the shelter of the car and headed home. A bit of a smash & grab raid but they were nice to see.
Here’s a link to the full list for today.