January 2026 is nearly over and, just like last year, I've already got to 99 species within 5 miles of home!  Once again, this begs the question might I get to 100 again in January?  I did last year but things have stalled this week so it may be touch and go!

January 1st kicked off well with two, presumed, returning birds staying into the New Year at Verulamium Park.  Firstly, the second-winter Mediterranean Gull gave itself up relatively easily in the morning while the Yellow-browed Warbler made me work a bit harder.  However, a second visit in the afternoon gave me exceptional views.

Also kindly hanging around in the New Year was the male Garganey at Coursers GPs, now resplendent in summer plumage.  I needn't have worried with this one though as the bird has been seen since on the main pit at Tyttenhanger, cavorting with the male Teals.

Other New Year's Day highlights included the over-wintering Jack Snipe at Stanborough GPs along with the Barn Owl pair cosied up in their box.  Tyttenhanger GPs also produced a single Brambling with the large Chaffinch flock and the regular female Stonechat.  I finished the day on 72 species and then headed down to Cornwall for a week.

Notable by their absence were the White-fronted Geese, the Cattle Egret and the Great Black-backed Gull present locally over the Christmas period.  Would I be able to find them in 2026?  I returned from Cornwall to news on 10th Jan of 9 Common Cranes over the Bedmond area.  Just within my 5 mile area these would have been a good addition for the year had they not headed off SW immediately.  Just 10 days into the New Year and I'd already missed something!

Over the next few days however, I managed to add 2 or 3 new birds for the year each day.  The 10th saw a nice adult Yellow-legged Gull (#74) at Stanborough GPs and later the regular Little Owl (#75) in its hole at Willows Farm.  I found the Firecrests (#81) in Garden Wood the next day and Crossbills (#85) in Symondshyde Woods the day after that.

The New Year always has its surprises and this one came on 14th Jan with a female Goosander on Tyttenhanger main pit.  A bird I don't always connect with locally so great to get it on the list!

Jan 16th brought more good news with the re-finding of the French-ringed Great Black-backed Gull in the sheep field at Stanborough GPs.  A bird I thought I might have to wait until December to see again!  Indeed gulls seemed to be a theme with a nice first-winter Yellow-legged Gull present at the same sight that day and then a very smart adult Caspian Gull (#95) the following day at Tyttenhanger GPs.  Not an easy bird to come by and it got me wondering if this could be the 3rd year bird that lingered last year, now in its 4th year.  My only hesitation is whether any sub-adult traits would still be present as this bird was a stunning full adult.

In amongst these larid ticks a few others were welcome additions, such as the Blackcaps in my garden - hard to come by sometimes in January - and the Woodcock in its habitual place at Highfield Farm.  A visit to the Watercress LNR in St Albans got me a smart male Bullfinch while Coopers Green GPs delivered me at least 16 Mandarins (#97).

A walk around Redbournbury with John on 22nd Jan brought a surprise encounter with a female Marsh Harrier.  I say surprise partly because I had listed it as a wish for the walk but also as it is the first I've seen locally for a little while.  Having had many sightings earlier last year they seemed to peter out as the year went on.  Almost as soon as I had ticked the harrier off news came in of a single Golden Plover at Stanborough GPs.  A scarce bird so far this winter I had to make the dash across St Albans where it was waiting patiently in amongst 220 Lapwings.  Number 99 was in the bag but will I get one more this month...?

Double-checking my 2024 lists I realised I'd made a couple of omissions despite my best efforts.  Well, maths never was my strong point but somehow I managed not to add either Rock Pipit or Hobby to my Five Miles From Home local list, despite mentioning them in blog posts! 

With these additions, it turns out last year really was a record-breaking year for me with 153 species recorded within 5 miles of home.  The notable 150th species was not actually the Red-crested Pochard that I wrote about on 16th Nov 2024 but the far more suitable Yellow-browed Warbler I found at Redwell Wood Farm on 9th Oct 2024.  I had crossed the line earlier than I thought!

The counting has not stopped either and I mused at the end of my last post about the possibility of reaching 100 species before the end of January.  Well, I think I might be in with a chance given the week or even the last few days I've just had!

A brief visit to Tyttenhanger GPs took me along the footpath at the back of Garden Wood and what should fly out but a Hawfinch.  It had no doubt been feeding on the yew berries at about head height but then flew into the wood at treetop height.  I walked into the wood a little way and stood in a clearing, trying not to fall down the many rabbit holes.

I saw it fly again so followed it and then I glimpsed it fly back into the top of a tall pine but I could not see it.  I walked back to my original spot in the clearing and caught the tiniest of movements at the top of the tree.  Zooming in with my bridge camera I could just make it out sitting perfectly still on a branch and almost hidden.

I set up my phone on my telescope and tripod in the hope that it would give better views but it flew down into the yews and I thought I'd lost it.  I walked in the direction it had gone and all of a sudden there it was, perched lower down and in full view!  The video below says everything and is certainly the best recorded views I ever had of a Hawfinch.

The Hawfinch was #95 for my local list and a most unexpected and welcome addition!  But more was to come the next day...

I spent the next morning working in town (St Albans) but planned to walk back home along the River Ver at lunchtime. I went via Verulamium Park as my daughter was walking Max the dog so I joined her to walk home together.  However, it seemed rude not to walk the length of the lake to see if the Yellow-browed Warbler was showing - it was but we had just missed it so I scanned the Black-headed Gulls instead.

Out of the 10-20 Black-headed Gulls on the small boating lake one immediately grabbed my attention: a first winter Mediterranean Gull! I love Med Gulls - they are superficially similar to Black-headed Gulls but always very smart in whatever plumage age or season they are in.  I only had my binoculars with me but thankfully local birder and photographer Rose Newbold took some great shots for the record.

The Med Gull of course took me to #96 but I had one more target in mind - the Bullfinches reported at the Watercress Local Nature Reserve - on my route home.  On arrival the reserve was buzzing with activity as usual including a sizeable flock of Siskins intermingled with some Redpolls and other finches.  I waited awhile and then, sure enough a female Bullfinch appeared followed by a beautiful male - #97!

But the day was not yet over and a message from a friend at Shafford Farm informed me that a Blackcap was visiting his bird feeders.  I jumped in the car and carried out a 'mini-twitch' to see the lovely male Blackcap in his garden - #98.

As has been my wont for the last few years the New Year saw me visiting The Lizard in Cornwall for a week.  There is nothing that I like better than to walk out along the coastline and encounter the elements and the wild ruggedness of the landscape.  Lowland Point (pictured) is usually one of the first places I head to where usually it is just me and the sea and the rocky shore.  There's always something of interest, either in the bird and marine life or in what the sea has thrown up.  I've learnt to linger, even in a storm, and take time to sift through what can be found.

Mediterranean Gulls and Firecrests are common encounters at this time of year giving the feel of rarity.  Wintering Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps also pop up hinting at the warmer climes - although no sense of that on the first day I arrived.  Instead a storm blew from the southwest throwing foam onto the beach and driving rain.  Guillemots and Razorbills sat on the sea while Kittiwakes along with a single Fulmar and Manx Shearwater sheared past.  And then a small wader flew up from the beach and settled just ahead of me - the first treasure in my search: a Purple Sandpiper!  This was my first ever at Lowland Point in over 40 years of visiting.

Further along the shore I came across three large eels washed up on the rocks.  Each about a metre long I realised they must be Conger Eels - a species I had only ever heard of and never seen.  Perhaps victims of the storm or more likely a fisherman's by-catch.  They looked fairly fresh with just the first marks of gulls beginning to feed.

In the afternoon I opted for the shelter of the wooded valley that leads down to Tremayne Quay on the Helford River.  Along the way, more Firecrests and a brief glimpse of a Marsh Tit as it made its way along with a flock of Long-tailed Tits.  The river banks held Curlew, Redshank and Greenshank - all welcome additions to my year list and by the end of the day I had run up a total of 57 species.

The next day I took advantage of a break in the weather to visit the Helford River again in search of a Red-necked Grebe.  I knew one had been sighted a while back and in previous years I had managed to find one just off the mouth of Frenchman's Creek where it enters the main river.  I scanned with my telescope for a while finding several Great Northern Divers in the process.  Just as I began to lose hope a Red-necked Grebe swum into view - a juvenile bird - and gave good but brief views as it constantly dived, only staying surfaced for less than a minute at a time.

Later in the day, another bird - an adult - was found by another birder and at times both birds showed together.  I, however, had moved on, picking up a very smart Black-throated Diver off Dennis Head and the usual wintering Common Sandpiper on Gillan Creek.  A brief look at Coverack Sewage Works revealed at least 4 Chiffchaffs along with a very pale Siberian Chiffchaff of the tristis race.  This was to be the first of several 'Sibes' with another 3 seen at Helston Sewage Works later in the week along with another obliging Common Sandpiper.

I finished the day on Goonhilly Downs with a hunting male Merlin, my Cornish tally now up to 70 species.  The next day saw me back along the Coverack coast from Lowland Point with the target set as 'Grey Beach' - a sheltered cove that often attracts passerines and waders thanks to the abundance of insects out of the wind and the, presumably, warmer section of sandy cliff.  Last year I found a Water Pipit feeding amongst the seaweed with the Rock Pipits...what might be in store this year I wondered?

Despite there being a flock of around 20 Rock Pipits my search revealed no unusual pipit.  However, I did note many Chiffchaffs flitting around on the cliff, catching flies so I turned my attention to them as previous years had revealed a Siberian Chiffchaff and a Black Redstart.  However, the bird that caught my attention this year was a little Yellow-browed Warbler - my 5th find of this species this year!

Making the most of the sun I visited Kynance Cove in the evening where a pair of Choughs were enjoying the clifftop thermals and a Peregrine soared across the downs.  The rain however, returned with a vengeance the next day so I headed out in the car for some roadside birding.  In a sodden field full of Redwings I found 3 Cattle Egrets but the rain denied any decent photos.  At this time of year, finding any livestock puts you in with a good chance of finding these birds and flocks of up to 100 have been seen in previous years.

Moving on to Gunwalloe Cove and some more car window viewing I found a Red-throated Diver on the sea with a lone Guillemot.  Diving constantly, the diver (and the weather) denied me any decent shots but I did manage just one record shot!

The next day, in contrast, was sunny and bright and I joined two local birders - Steve & Joe - for a visit to Loe Pool in the hope of locating the regular wintering Bittern.  Joe had a secret weapon in the form of a thermal imager and very quickly located a likely heat-blob in the reedbed.  Sure enough a Bittern-like area of feathers could be seen but the bird quickly moved further into cover and out of sight.

We moved around to the other side of the reeded area noting several Cetti's Warblers, a Firecrest, Kingfisher and at least 3 squealing Water Rails as we did.  Once again we located the likely Bittern heat-signature and before long we had managed to train my scope onto the bird.  We all had reasonable views of this highly elusive and highly camouflaged bird before once again it disappeared.  The short video clip below shows how well-hidden it remained!

Three Goosander were also on Loe Pool and on the way home I picked up a juvenile Marsh Harrier near the Lizard village and Golden Plover and Snipe over Goonhilly Downs.  My Cornish year list had reached 89 species with one day left but more rain forecast.

Undeterred, the next day I headed out to Lowland Point for a good soaking but, truth be told, I find battling the elements somewhat therapeutic - especially when I know there's a hot shower to go back to!  The wind was blowing directly onshore with no chance of shelter.  In a short lull in the rain I scanned the sea revealing a steady passage of auks - Guillemots and Razorbills - along with a strong passage of Kittiwakes.  Three Manx Shearwaters went past too and a Cetti's Warbler called from Godrevy Beach.  The real find however, and a sad one at that, was a dead Common Porpoise on the beach.  The Great Black-backed Gulls had begun to tuck in and when I walked back later the tide had reclaimed the corpse.  It is not the first cetacean I have found on this beach and it is always a sorry sight, particularly as I had seen a small pod of porpoises heading past Lowland Point just a couple of days ago.

I reported the dead porpoise to the Cetacean Strandings Investigations Programme (CSIP) based at the London Natural History Museum.  Here you can report both dead and live strandings and hopefully the information will contribute to a better understanding of these ocean-going creatures.

My time in Cornwall was up but my stormy visit to Lowland Point gave me one more gift in the form of a Whimbrel - a scarce wintering bird and no doubt one of the first to be recorded in Britain this year.  Soaked through I could return for my hot shower with 90 species under my belt for the week and a respectable 114 for my British Year List 2025.

One of the great joys and frustrations of birding is that every year is different! Come August, I am out looking for autumn migrants - flycatchers, warblers, redstarts and chats - walking the fields, scanning the hedgerows and checking the local gravel pits for waders too.  I check dates from previous years when I discovered birds and the frustration grows if those dates pass and still no birds!

This August has proved fairly quiet so far with a trickle of expected waders - Greenshank, Ringed Plover and Dunlin - and, while foraging tit flocks have grown, nothing out of the ordinary has revealed itself.  I have had to content myself instead with the usual fayre of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Lesser and Common Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Garden Warblers.  Of course, watching these flocks is enjoyable and I recently watched group of perhaps a hundred birds pushed this way and that through the trees by a stealthy Sparrowhawk.

While not rare at all by most people's standards, this little bird, at least for me, constituted the first 'proper' autumn discovery and my first for the year anywhere in the UK.  I'm sure there'll be plenty more this autumn but for the moment my 'birding battery' was recharged!

Thankfully I didn't have to wait long for the next boost as the headline photo suggests.  A call yesterday from a local friend alerted me to his discovery of a Pied Flycatcher along the River Ver near his house.  This is a truly good migrant bird to catch up with and one that I don't always see every year so without hesitation I was there, bins in hand, camera at the ready!

Thankfully the bird gave great and prolonged views as it sallied for insects and grubs low down in the scrub by the river.  Many of my previous encounters with these birds have been all too brief as they are masters of disappearing and, when active, can flit fast and furiously within the canopy, denying good views.  This one, however, gave some of the best view I've had to date and took my "Five Miles From Home" year list to 141.