Year Listing at Abberton 8th Jan

Like many (most?) birdwatchers I keep a year list, and there is a particular excitement about the first couple of weeks in January building that list. It's nice to get lots of ticks but there is a particular joy in ticking birds that may prove tricky later in the year.

And so with Mike and Dave to Abberton, and specifically the Layer-De-La-Haye Causeway, and two Bewick's Swans with their heads deep in the muddy fringes are the first signficant year-ticks of the day. There are lots of other ticks to be had; Wigeon, Goosander, Goldeneye for me, along with lots of other waterbirds, and the fringes have Dunlin, Ruff, Redshank and Black-Tailed Godwit. There are three Red-Crested Pochards, which can be tricky to get on the year list, but neither of the smaller grebes, nor Scaup, nor Little Stint which have been seen here recently.

We go to Layer Breton Causeway and immediately Dave picks up a male Smew loafing about near the dam. There are masses of wildfowl on the ice-free side of the dam, and Dave's Smew-Whispering skills are put to use again as he detects a Redhead at the other end of the Dam. 

Birdguides has some winter geese from the Permissive path so we head back along the road and through the gate, and immediately we have a field with 80 Egyptian Geese and at the back 3 Tundra Bean Geese keeping themselves to themselves and looking somewhat nervous. We head on and a few fields down find the main flock of Greylags and Canadas and dispersed amongst them are 14 Russian White-Fronted Geese. Possibly my favourite Goose, their small delicate shape amongst the brutish Greylags stands out. 

We head to Billets and join the crowd. Lots of ducks, including about 20 Pintail on the far bank and some Shelduck. A fellow birder calls out a Mediterranean Gull on the far bank, and we have Golden Plover fly over. However we are just a few minutes too late for the Long-Tailed Duck which has drifted out of sight.

The mist is closing in now so we do the hides, more in hope than in expectation, and bring our Bewick's total to three but fail to add anything of note, then its back to the centre for a coffee. We give LDLH Causeway one more go and have the male Smew in front of us again. A great way to end a successful start to the year.

Here's a crap photo of a male Smew. David has much better on his blog.