January done.

The plovers that had put on a good show have all disappeared - not a sign of them! I managed to get another couple of year ticks to take the tally to 70 species but nothing added to the patchwork challenge which remains at 54 species and 66 points. Hen Harriers have been a daily sighting through January but that will change soon enough!

Twite are always around somewhere, you just have to find them. A flock of twenty birds was a nice find on the day.

There seems to be quite a few Song Thrush around but I've not had one singing yet.

A Greylag Goose sporting a lot of white stood out from the crowd of regular plumaged birds but I was surprised to find the same bird 20 miles away a couple of days later.

The Greenland White-fronted Geese have not been easy to find so it was nice to get them on the list for the year.

Both types of eagle have been fairly easy to see but they are keeping their distance at the moment as you can see from this Golden Eagle.

Best find of the month had to be the Little Auk but a Dipper on the patch came a close second. I only saw the bird once until Jan 31st when it put in another appearance and in full song - a nice way to see the month out.