Ok, you know the score - the first day of the year is always exciting for us birders. New Year's Eve celebrations mean nothing to me - whereas getting up to go for a jog and get some birding in, kick-starting the year, means EVERYTHING. As such, I was in bed by 21:00 and up at 05:00.
With the added impetus of The Great North Dove Run to train for, I was up before dawn to clock 5 miles before brekkie. That's where this blog gets pictorial...
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| Banana pancakes for breakfast - created by my good lady |
Fuelled on the above and without a non-BMX bike at present, I borrowed my fiancé's Raleigh lady shopper to check local spots. By local I mean within just a couple miles radius from the front door...
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| Behold! The Lady Shopper |
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A birding savage
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The first good bird of the day was a duck Teal on a farm reservoir (which flew), I then noticed a further bird still on the water, raw patch in the shape of a duck Goldeneye. Goldeneye is an increasingly good bird anywhere in West Suffolk and especially on a grotty farm reservoir! Delighted:
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Goldeneye - Fornham St Martin - 01st January 2022
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| Goldeneye - Fornham St Martin - 01st January 2022 |
A further treat was a huge Lapwing and Golden Plover flock, I didn't count them exactly, but at least 3000 Lapwing and 1000 Golden Plover favouring a ploughed field. Loved it:
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| Golden Plover - Fornham St Martin - 01st January 2022 |
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Lapwing - Fornham St Martin - 01st January 2022
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Red Kite are now common and I saw as many as 10 birds in just 8 miles of cycling; including 4 sitting in a field with a couple of hares. Always a welcome sight - along with the similarly plentiful Buzzards:
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| Red Kite - Fornham St Martin - 01st January 2022 |
I tried my luck in a flooded field which has previously held Jack Snipe - no joy but a single Common Snipe was reward for soaking my trainers:
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| Soaked feet searching for Jack Snipe |
With a full on patch tick via Goldeneye, I pedalled home for a lite lunch. Tomato and butterbean soup if you're asking:
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| Lunch |
Suitably replenished I took a walk out with the lady, through the golf course, checking the sewage works and back through Hall Farm. Some surprising misses with Kingfisher, Marsh Tit, Pied Wagtail, Mistle Thrush, Redwing and Tree Sparrow all absent.
Common Gull, Green Woodpecker, Chiffchaff and Grey Wagtail added some quality to proceedings - but just like the morning's Goldeneye - it was wildfowl that added patch gold to proceedings. I was delighted to pick up a Barnacle Goose amongst the Greylags on the golf course and flipping elated to see a pair of Pink-footed Geese:
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| Pink-footed Geese Fornham All Saints - 01st January 2022 |
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| Pink-footed Geese Fornham All Saints - 01st January 2022 |
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| Barnacle Goose Fornham All Saints - 01st January 2022 |
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| Barnacle Goose Fornham All Saints - 01st January 2022 |
The whole year could easily pass by without seeing Goldeneye, Barnacle and Pink-footed Geese, so that's three species I am already 'up'. I've finished the day on 52 species with several misses to mop up over the coming days. As per my
last blog post, I've seen 89 species in Hall Farm, Fornham over the years. Within the wider #LocalBigYear area - who knows! I am certainly looking forward to finding out...
FYI. I had vege sausage casserole, braised red cabbage and baked potato for dinner. Going to bed down ready to do it all over again tomorrow now...
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| Dinner |
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