Monday 8 January 2018

Sh#t birding weather

Dry but horribly grey and cold in the wind. Car headlamps on all through the day and impossible to read/write at home without lights on. Really depressing.
Twelve Common Scoter and just two Eiders offshore and managed to miss out on a GND heading into Southampton Water earlier. Nothing on the east side except a close, flushed Water Rail, one harrier,  two very noisy Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a few Redwings.

Tried north end of Billy Line which produced just a single Black-necked Grebe and seven Goldeneyes. From the Broadmarsh boatramp plenty of common birds little out in the harbour  - the shellfish dredger was up and down so may have disturbed the divers/LTD etc.

About 50 very confiding Wigeon were trying to feed up against the base of the channel wall just inland of the boatramp.

Needless to say no new-for-year species today.