The post Christmas birding was confined to the Stevenage area, and for the first time in many years, I stayed up to see the new year in with a glass or two. Normally I'm out early with Colin on the 1st of course, but with tiers and lockdowns it wasn't possible this time.
We have had a cold spell for a while now with frosts some nights so I decided to go around Aston End, hoping that the ground would be a bit firmer than it has been (the Beane footpaths have been very boggy recently and the horses have churned up some of the fields). Perhaps because of the cold, numbers were lower than recent, and I had a hard time locating finches and buntings. Thrush numbers have been pretty good, though flocks have been scattered and mobile, and it has been tricky counting Fieldfare and Redwing in particular when they have been feeding in the fields and set aside areas. I believe there have been several hundred in the area though peak counts of any species hasn't got above 80 yet. Song and Mistle thrush however have been rather scarce, with only a few birds seemingly on territory and singing. There doesn't seem to to be any continental visitors this year.
On the 2nd I went out in the afternoon for supposedly an hour or so hoping to see the Short Eared Owl that Mike Illet had seen in the morning. I decided to start at Royston and work westwards in the hope oif picking up a few other species. I have never seen the Therfield road so busy-the car park was full, there were cars parked on the verges all along the stretch up to the lay-by at Fox Covert and there were hoards of walkers everywhere. I had no chance stopping in the Grays area to scan the fields and carried on the Coombe Road. No birds, but lots of Fallow deer as expected.
Dead Mans Hill was good at the green gate. There is a game feeder set up in the hedge, and the large area of cover held a huge flock of Yellowhammer, Linnet and Corn Buntings. There are around 200 Corn Buntings here at the moment, and I saw at least 20 in the short time I was present, with at leat 150 Yellowhammer and 100 Linnet. Two Grey Partridge were at the top of the ridge, no doubt there were many more in the area.
I drove slowly slowly through Sandon and Roe Green with the occasional Fieldfare in the hedges, the odd Kite or Buzzard but nothing to cause me to stop. I reached Wallington with the expectation of stopping now and again at the lay-bys to scan, but found it rather busy and as I headed to the usual gates I noticed Mike Illet with his scope in. one of them. He yelled Merlin, then flying and I just caught it in flight as I got out. It returned to a hawthorn and perched for a bit and was then flushed as a ring tail Hen Harrier flew over. Unfortunately both were never seen again as news filtered out to the many local birders in the area. I hung on to sunset, but the Short Eared Owl never put in an appearance.
On Sunday 3rd I went to Amwell before the expected lockdown came into force. For once one of the Red Crested Pochards was present-rather atypically on Hardmead Lake. There wasn't anything unusual among the gull flocks, and with the lack of grazing edges there were only a few Teal and Wigeon present. A couple of Cetti's warblers were singing as I headed down to the Bittern Pool-no sign but there was a nice Siskin flock in the birches and a variety of tits to work through. I got as far as the Hollycross gate and checked the feeders with Phil, picking up more tits, a few Greenfinches but unfortunately no Blackcap which had been seen recently. We also checked the ivy by the level crossing as this has also been a good spot for them-it was full of Redwing and not much else.
This weekend, apart from the usual shopping trip and Mum's second Covid jab, the heavy frost and mist meant I chickened out and have decided to stay indoors and stay warm and keep the feeders and water topped up.
