It's been a funny sort of year...

Well that's 2020 over and done with. Whilst it's been a awful year for most people due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic it's actually been quite a good year for birds on the patch. 

Despite the 'hard-lockdown' that kept me away from the patch for the best part of two months I've smashed my personal year list total, which has stood at 174 for a while now and has been achieved in three years, with a total of 179 species for 2020.

So why such a good year this year?

I only added two new species to my patch list year (Great Reed Warbler in June and Blyth's Reed Warbler in October) so it wasn't lots of new species (like 2017) that did it. Even though it caused me to stay away from the patch for nearly two months, I think COVID-19 has been indirectly responsible for the higher list. Working from home due to the outbreak has given me more time on the patch and as the saying goes 'Time spent in the field = birds'. I hardly missed a morning in the summer and autumn, reverting to lunchtime visits as the days shortened. Add a good autumn and some superb seawatching sessions to more time on the patch and there you have it!

I know that I've missed at least three species - Hoopoe during lockdown that would've been a patch tick, Cattle Egret which I saw at Bells Farm as I drove home from the patch and should've turned around for and a Great Egret which briefly appeared on the Budge fields. A chap called Harrison on eBird has recorded five species that I've not seen in 2020 - A Jay(!!) and three Collared Doves in July, two Yellowhammers in June and Cetti's Warbler and Bearded Tit in March - the latter would be a patch tick for me and is overdue. 

I've busted a gut since I finished work for Christmas to reach 180 but I'm happy with 179. Missing species this year include Collared Dove (for the second year), Merlin, Yellowhammer, Storm Petrel and Grey Plover amongst the commonly occurring species.

As well as the two additions, other rare/scarce highlights have included Tundra Bean Goose, Black-necked Grebe, Balearic Shearwater, Long-tailed Skua (several),  White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Grey Phalarope, Sabine's Gull and Lapland Bunting.

I've had two long sessions on the patch in the last couple of days, covering it all. I think there's been a cold-weather movement which has resulted in an influx of thrushes - I had a record count of 14 Mistle Thrushes in the field north of the Coal Road yesterday and a couple this morning by the farm. Fieldfares were in the bushes this morning and there's more Song Thrushes about too. 

Mistle Thrush at Druridge Farm

Male Blackbird, feeding in the gloom by the Budge hide.

After seeing very few Pink-footed Geese during December, suddenly there are lots. Janet and I saw at least 5-6000 in one group this morning, circling around before coming in to land in the fields behind Bell's Pond. Tonight from the dunes, at least 5000 flew south and 3-3500 flew north (there may have been some recirculation but there are a lot of geese about. 

Some of the pink-foots coming in to land this morning - they literally filled the sky

The light was stunning at times today, between spells of cloud and some crispy, cold days have provided some nice photo opportunities to end the year. 

Artistic like - silhouetted curlews and wind turbines

And without the turbines

Looking west across the Big Pool this morning

Looking south down the Bay this evening

Looking east across the Big Pool yesterday

Drake Goldeneye taking off

In-coming Curlew

Black-headed Gull in stunning light this evening.

And here is the sun setting over the patch for the last time this year. It just remains for me to wish you everyone who reads this a healthy and happy 2021 - and good birding! Tomorrow it starts all over again.

The sun sets on 2020 from Druridge Links

End of another year

Well, I'll not make it back to the patch again this year, so it's time to reflect on a very average 2018 at Druridge.

On the birding front it's been relatively quiet year after an amazing 2017 which saw no fewer than eight new species added to the patch list, no new species were added in 2018 - the first year that's ever happened.

A half decent seawatch which added red-necked grebe, little auk and grey plover to the list made up for an otherwise uneventful autumn. With no easterlies until late November, there were no falls of migrants to speak of and very little passage which meant more common passage migrants like redstart, pied and spotted flycatcher and whinchat weren't recorded.

Other passerine species missing from the 2018 list include yellowhammer, bullfinch, greenfinch, snow bunting, and tree pipit (usually seen on viz mig). It was quite a good year for waders with only temminck's stint and jack snipe missing from the likely candidate list.

We've ringed less birds than any previous year this year as well. The 'beast from the east' storm in April did for many of the resident passerines, completely wiping out wrens with no pairs recorded this year. We had very few chances to ring in the autumn because of the weather. We did manage to ring some storm petrels on the beach and had the nice surprise of a Leach's petrel too.

The winter has been unseasonably mild again, with temperatures in the mid-teens on some days. This has meant species usually associated with cold weather haven't been recorded, like yellowhammer and red-legged partridge.

The patch bird list for 2018 was 167, which is an average total based on the last few years but well behind the 174 totals from 2107 and 2016.

It'll be late January before I'm back on the patch so Happy New Year to you all and thanks for reading.

Here's some photos from the last few days of the year.

Cormorant in flight

A group of whooper swans in flight over the patch

Carrion crow

Mute swan taking off from the big pool