End Of Year Review 2009

Here is my 2009 year list in full. Birds in red capitals are UK lifers and in blue Herts lifers.

1. Mute Swan
2. Whooper Swan
3. Bewick's Swan
4. Pink-Footed Goose
5. Eurasian White-Fronted Goose
6. Greylag Goose
7. Canada Goose
8. Dark-Bellied Brent Goose
9. Black Brant
10. Ruddy Shelduck
11. Shelduck
12. Egyptian Goose
13. Mandarin Duck
14. Wigeon
15. Gadwall
16. Teal
17. Mallard
18. Pintail
19. Garganey
20. Shoveler
21. Red-Crested Pochard
22. Pochard
23. Tufted Duck
24. Eider
25. Common Scoter
26. Velvet Scoter
27. Goldeneye
28. Smew
29. Goosander
30. Red-Breasted Merganser
31. Ruddy Duck
32. Red-Legged Partridge
33. Grey Partridge
34. Pheasant
35. Red-Throated Diver
36. Black-Throated Diver
37. Little Grebe
38. Great-Crested Grebe
39. Black-Necked Grebe
40. Fulmar
41. Manx Shearwater
42. Balearic Shearwater
43. Gannet
44. Cormorant
45. Shag
46. Bittern
47. Cattle Egret
48. Little Egret
49. Grey Heron
50. Honey Buzzard
51. Red Kite
52. Marsh Harrier
53. Sparrowhawk
54. Buzzard
55. Kestrel
56. Merlin
57. Hobby
58. Peregrine Falcon
59. Water Rail
60. Moorhen
61. Coot
62. Oystercatcher
63. Avocet
64. Collared Pratincole
65. BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE
66. Little-Ringed Plover
67. Ringed Plover
68. Dotterel
69. Golden Plover
70. Grey Plover
71. Lapwing
72. Knot
73. Sanderling
74. Little Stint
75. Temminck's Stint
76. Curlew Sandpiper
77. Dunlin
78. Ruff
79. Snipe
80. Woodcock
81. Black-Tailed Godwit
82. Bar-Tailed Godwit
83. Whimbrel
84. Curlew
85. Spotted Redshank
86. Redshank
87. Greenshank
88. Green Sandpiper
89. Common Sandpiper
90. Turnstone
91. Pomarine Skua
92. Arctic Skua
93. Mediterranean Gull
94. Little Gull
95. Black-Headed Gull
96. Common Gull
97. AZOREAN GULL
98. Herring Gull
99. Glaucous Gull
100. GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL
101. Lesser Black-Backed Gull
102. Great Black-Backed Gull
103. Little Tern
104. CASPIAN TERN
105. Black Tern
106. AMERICAN BLACK TERN
107. White-Winged Black Tern
108. Sandwich Tern
109. Common Tern
110. Arctic Tern
111. Guillemot
112. Razorbill
113. Puffin
114. Feral Pigeon
115. Stock Dove
116. Woodpigeon
117. Collared Dove
118. Ring-Necked Parakeet
119. Cuckoo
120. Barn Owl
121. Little Owl
122. Tawny Owl
123. Long-Eared Owl
124. Swift
125. Kingfisher
126. Hoopoe
127. Green Woodpecker
128. Great-Spotted Woodpecker
129. Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker
130. CRESTED LARK
131. Skylark
132. Sand Martin
133. Swallow
134. House Martin
135. Tree Pipit
136. Meadow Pipit
137. Rock Pipit
138. Scandinavian Rock Pipit
139. Water Pipit
140. Yellow Wagtail
141. GREY-HEADED WAGTAIL
142. Grey Wagtail
143. White Wagtail
144. Pied Wagtail
145. Wren
146. Dunnock
147. Robin
148. Nightingale
149. Black Redstart
150. Redstart
151. Stonechat
152. Wheatear
153. Greenland Wheatear
154. Blackbird
155. Fieldfare
156. Song Thrush
157. Redwing
158. Mistle Thrush
159. Cetti's Warbler
160. Grasshopper Warbler
161. Sedge Warbler
162. Marsh Warbler
163. Reed Warbler
164. Blackcap
165. Garden Warbler
166. Lesser Whitethroat
167. Whitethroat
168. Chiffchaff
169. EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER
170. Willow Warbler
171. Goldcrest
172. Firecrest
173. COLLARED FLYCATCHER
174. Bearded Tit
175. Log-Tailed Tit
176. Blue Tit
177. Great Tit
178. Coal Tit
179. Willow Tit
180. Marsh Tit
181. Nuthatch
182. Treecreeper
183. BROWN SHRIKE
184. Jay
185. Magpie
186. Jackdaw
187. Rook
188. Carrion Crow
189. Raven
190. Starling
191. House Sparrow
192. Tree Sparrow
193. Chaffinch
194. Brambling
195. Greenfinch
196. Goldfinch
197. Siskin
198. Linnet
199. Twite
200. Lesser Redpoll
201. Crossbill
202. Bullfinch
203. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
204. Yellowhammer
205. Reed Bunting
206. Corn Bunting

Back Garden - 31.12.09

2 Robins, a House Sparrow and the Collared Dove visited the garden today.

Back Garden - 30.12.09

A Woodpigeon joined the Collared Dove on the feeders today along with 3 Blue Tits.

Back Garden - 29.12.09

3 Fieldfares flew over around 10am then an hour later 7 Long-Tailed Tits flew onto the feeders only to be chased away by a Blue Tit. A Collared Dove stuffed its face for 5 mins on the seed provided.

Back Garden - 28.12.09

Presumably the same House Sparrow returned to the feeders and a Grey Wagtail sat on the shed roof for a few seconds before flying off.

Back Garden - 27.12.09

News of a Bittern at Hilfield Reservoir got me going for a few seconds until I remembered i'd got my son for the weekend so i'd have to put it out of my mind! A male House Sparrow on the feeders in the garden was the first of its kind to visit. A few Blue Tits were also seen.

Back Garden - 26.12.09

A Collared Dove on the seed tray feeder was the first of its species to visit the back garden and a couple of Robins had a bit of handbags at 10 paces over who got to feed on the spilt seed!

New Arrival - 25.12.09

Christmas dinner at 8pm, presents opened at 9pm and 30+ Redwings and a Cormorant over Watford Football Club can only mean 1 thing! My future step-daughter gave birth to a baby girl on the 23rd and I spent most of Christmas day looking out of the top floor window of the maternity ward at Watford Hospital waiting for them to be allowed home!

The only other bird of note was a Goldcrest singing in the back garden.

Cassiobury Park - 24.12.09

Well as it's now just into the 25th - HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

Yesterdays highlights were 2 Cormorants flying over the river, 6 Fieldfares over the council yard and 3 Sparrowhawks. 1 (probably the same as the last 2 days) by the river and a pair over the council yard showing off nicely the size difference between the sexes.

Cassiobury Park - 23.12.09

An excellent day in the park started off with 4 Bullfinches near the toilet block and a Sparrowhawk in virtually the same place as yesterday.

I then bumped into a couple i'd met before who bird the park occasionally and they said they were looking for the Kingfisher and some Siskins but had missed both so far. Within 10 seconds of them carrying on their jourey 3 Siskins flew over their heads without them realising then the Kingfisher flew into view by the rustic bridge and started bashing a fish to death!

I then had a quick look at the cress beds next to the fishing lake and found 2 Canada Geese, 6 Teal and 60+ Black-Headed Gulls. Then on the walk back towards the car park a Fox jumped out of nowhere and scared me half to death followed by a Great-Spotted Woodpecker drumming on the very top branch of a tree.

Probably the best birds of the day flew West over the car park. I heard the call of Fieldfare and as I looked up 5 flew over but behind them were 3 Lapwing which without old records to hand I think are pretty rare for the park.

Finally it was noticable that Wrens had become more obvious with at least 12 birds dotted around the park, mainly by the unfrozen river edges and 2 Common Gulls made it onto the list.

Cassiobury Park - 22.12.09

Highlight of the day was a Water Rail obviously forced out of hiding by the snow. A Little Owl started calling at 2.45pm and a Skylark, Fieldfare and Sparrowhawk flew over during the day and a Stock Dove put in an appearance aswell.

On the way home I noted 60+ Redwings eating berries behind the Total garage on St.Albans road near TK Maxx/Homebase.

Cassiobury Park - 21.12.09

The shortest day saw me in the park reducing a large Hawthorn hedge. A Lesser Redpoll flew low over my head just before midday a couple of Ring-Necked Parakeets went over aswell and a Sparrowhawk flew through the council yard being mobbed by 2 Carrion Crows.

Back Garden again - 20.12.09

Blue and Great Tits were the order of the day again with the only different bird being a Herring Gull over.

Back Garden - 19.12.09

A couple of Blue and Great Tits joined about 10 Starlings on the feeders.

Cassiobury Park - 18.12.09

A very snowy day with up to 4 inches in places where it had drifted. Yesterdays heard possible Siskin flock was found along the canal and contained around 40 birds. 12 Moorhens were feeding along the river and around 40+ Redwing were around the park. A Lesser Redpoll flew over the cafe mid afternoon and 2 Skylarks and 2 Meadow Pipits also flew over presumably moved by the snow.

Cassiobury Park - 17.12.09

A singing Mistle Thrush, 2 Ring-Necked Parakeets, a Sparrowhawk and the sound of a possible largish flock of Siskins were in Cassiobury Park.

Around Watford (again!) - 16.12.09

A very cold and frosty start was brightened up by a small flock of 5 Bullfinches at Riverside Rec off of Riverside Road. Later in the snow 20+ Fieldfares flew over KGV Playing Fields with 3 Redwings for company. Then while driving home a newly fledged Feral Pigeon was on the small path underneath the Town Hall roundabout (underpass). It must have been thinking why was I born now and not in the summer!!

Tits galore!! - 15.12.09

A quick lookof my feeders this morning saw 3+ Blue Tits, 1 Great Tit and at least 1 possibly 2 Coal Tits. A Robin and Dunnock also paid a visit.

Garden Birding - 14.12.09

After a mornings Christmas shopping with only 15 Herring Gulls over Watford High Street as any sort of a birding highlight it wasn't until I got home that and excitement happened. Within 2 minutes of getting through the front door a tit flcok went through the garden briefly stopping off on my feeders. A couple each of Blue and Great Tits were joined by 6 Long-Tailed Tits and a singing Goldcrest.

Lazy Sunday - 13.12.09

A Grey Wagtail in the garden for 30 seconds was a nice surprise this morning. Later a trip to the shops saw a few Mallard on the river infront of Tesco's in Watford along with a few Feral Pigeons and Black-Headed Gulls.

Hilfield Reservoir - 12.12.09

A noon start saw me heading towards Tring Reservoirs but the A41 was shut at the Chesham turn off and the minor roads were chocka block so instead I headed for Hilfield Reservoir. Unfortunately no Mediterranean Gulls were on show in the roost but 3 Goldeneyes (1 male) were my first of the Winter. A Buzzard flew over and put up 16 Lapwings from nearby fields which didn't know which way to fly!

Apologies - 11.12.09

The header on my blog says giving you all my latest sightings no matter how dull they are, but I didn't realise just how dull it could get! The star bird of the day was a Stock Dove in Cassiobury Park! 2 Grey Wagtails, 2 Green Woodpeckers and 4 Ring-Necked Parakeets were the other sightings!

I hope to get out and about over the weekend so watch this space!

Around Watford - 10.12.09

6 Cormorants flying over KGV playing fields and a Fieldfare this morning, 3 Grey Wagtails in Cassiobury Park and 8 Ring-Necked Parakeets in a tree in Paddock Road allotments, Oxhey this afternoon were the highlights.

Gulls Galore (not quite)! - 9.12.09

First thing there were 130+ Black-Headed Gulls in Cassiobury Park aswell as 3 Great-Spotted Woodpeckers, a Green Woodpecker and 2 Ring-Necked Parakeets. 7 Herring Gulls flew over Callowland Rec most likely towards the Hilfield Reservoir roost and just as I was about to open the door at home a Sparrowhawk glided over towards Woodside.

More Redwings - 8.12.09

Lots of small flocks of Redwings around Watford and Oxhey and a Ring-Necked Parakeet heard were the lowlights of today!

Woodpecker Minute - 7.12.09

After a non eventful weekend bird wise it was back to work today and a morning of cleaning leaves from bowling green gutters at Oxhey Grange! Not exciting incase your wondering! A singing Mistle Thrush accompanied my morning cuppa as did 2 Great-Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other around a tree followed by a Green Woodpecker in the same tree a minute later! Later 18 Redwings flew over Callowland bowling green.

I forgot to mention a Little Egret in Cassiobury Park this afternoon aswell!

Watford/Oxhey - 4.12.09

If it wasn't for the frost on the floor I could have been mistaken it was Summer! 2 Singing Mistle Thrushes, 1 Singing Song Thrush and a summer plumaged Black-Headed Gull were all seen/heard today! Also seen today were 9 Siskin and 2 Little Owls.

Watford Again - 3.12.09

10 Ring-Necked Parakeets flew over Cassiobury Park first thing plus 8 Fieldfares flew out of a tree near the tennis courts. 18 more Fieldfares flew over Paddock Road Depot in Oxhey in the afternoon.

Slightly less quiet! - 2.12.09

A Song Thrush in song as I got out the car this morning was a nice start followed by a few Redwings and a small tit flock which held at least 1 Nuthatch. A calling RN Parakeet finished the day off.

Around Town - 1.12.09

Well a new month but still the same old birds! 10 Redwings over the yard first thing were followed by a Grey Wagtail flying over the Happy Hour pub near Oxhey. Then this afternoon 4 Ring-Necked Parakeets were seen in a back garden on Wilcot Road also near Oxhey and a Sparrowhawk being mobbed by Feral Pigeons near Leavsden Studios on the way home.