New Year's Day is always very exciting for me, the chance to start a new raft of lovely lists! Hopefully in 2023, however, I'll not be awake quite as early as today, a totally unnecessary 5 something.
Made it to patch in the dark, in the hope of maybe hearing an owl, but it wasn't to be, and I could actually have stayed home a whole hour longer and it wouldn't have affected the day list.
Tried wooded areas as dawn dawned, but any woodland birds that weren't corvids were silent, so at 8 I hit the clifftop for the first sunrise of the year.
Some close early Gannets were nice: a decent set of seabirds is always key to a good day list in Hants, and keeping a close eye on the sea got me Shag, Brent Geese, Red-throated Diver, Mediterranean Gull and Guillemot in the first hour, plus the first few of what was to be a surprising steady eastbound trickle of Common Gulls. First big surprise of the day was discovering a female Wigeon on the golf course pools, not something I've seen on them before
Wigeon on left among the more usual fare
The next big surprise came just as I started heading inland on the path that crosses the golf course, when a male Marsh Harrier (five records last year) came in from the NE before heading out to sea towards Hengistbury
The walk across to the roadside pools and back added a few, including Long-tailed Tit, Skylark and Stock Dove that I was far from sure I'd get. Unfortunately it seems the recent extensive clearance of scrub around these pools have driven off the Little Grebe that had been there until around Christmas, but a pair of Mute Swans were the first I've seen on these pools
Back on the clifftop I walked along to Hordle Cliff, where I had a major bonus in the shape of a Whimbrel in a flock of 27 Curlews, but just as I was manoeuvring myself to get a photo I slipped and did a fine sack of spuds impersonation, and by the time I'd dusted myself down and checked for damage they'd been flushed and flown off to fields inland. Could've been worse of course, I did at least stay on the clifftop (always a bonus), but most importantly, despite a good smearing of mud there was no damage to optics!
Continued to keep an eye on the sea, and was rewarded with Razorbill and, ahead of a band of rain, 7 Kittiwakes.
After a calmer than forecast first half of the morning the wind was getting really blustery, although this was certainly helping the local male Kestrel hunt by the clifftop, just a few yards away and oblivious to my presence
With the rain having arrived I checked out a few spots from the car, getting the list up to a nice round fifty before calling it a day (had to be home early afternoon anyway with visitors due).
Fewer than I'd hoped for if I'm honest, but a nice morning, and plenty still to target of course.
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