Sunday 29 January

I arrived just after Dave having negotiated the very icy lane without serious incident. The mist cleared by the time I got to Netherstead and we managed a couple of hours birding before the rain began.

Most of the action took place in the first thirty minutes. Dave drew my attention to a Peregrine sitting on a distant pylon, and as we looked at it, a flock of about 50 Golden Plovers flew east beyond the pylon.

We had hardly finished congratulating ourselves on that bit of luck when Dave struck again, picking up a pair of Goosanders as they flew towards us.

Goosanders

Not quite the coup they once were following two sightings last year, but still a very handy year-tick. The remainder of the morning past without a great deal to set the pulse racing. A Tawny Owl was visible in the oak tree, we counted 13 Reed Buntings and a couple of Yellowhammers, all the pools and flashes were frozen solid so we were quite pleased to see 17 Teal, two Snipe, another party of Golden Plovers, about 20 this time, and at least 121 Greylag Geese as the latter flew by.

Back at the car a flock of 30 Meadow Pipits rose from long grass of the plantation field behind the  Netherstead copse.

So the two year-ticks were both casual visitors to the patch, while I reckoned there were five species which basically live here all year round which we were still to see. One of these muscled its way onto the list as I was driving out, a Kestrel, which flew over the copse and away towards the village.