So here it is, my first entry for this year's Patchwork Challenge.
The aim is to choose a spot no more than 3kms in size and spot as many different birds as you can in the course of a year. There's a point system too, although I doubt I'll use it as it seems a little complicated. I just thought this was a good opportunity to start over as it's hard finding new birds for the Great British Bird Hunt.
My first trip to Longham Lakes was interesting as all the back fields have flooded. As a result all the geese and swans were very active and a lot nearer than they usually are. I saw a few ducks, but not as many different species as I'd expect to see and Mallards were very thin on the ground. While I heard plenty of passerines, I didn't include them as my ids aren't too hot. I also saw a few gulls which I didn't recognise, and therefore didn't include.
It wasn't a bad start though and I saw a total of 24 different species
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Cormorant
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Kestrel
Coot
Lapwing
Black-Headed Gull
Herring Gull
Woodpigeon
Magpie
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Blue Tit
Long Tailed Tit
Blackbird
Redwing
Mistle Thrush
Goldfinch
The Redwing was particularly interesting as I only saw my first a day previously, and here was another small flock of around 5 birds.
I'm including a few pictures but they're taken with my bridge camera. The weather was so poor I didn't want to risk my big lens.
Cormorants
A closer crop.
Great Crested Grebe which was very close to the bank.
And another shot of it.
The fields were heavily waterlogged.
A distant Long-Tailed Tit.
Male Little Grebe.
A hidden Redwing.
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