A poor start to 2015! January round up.

I only managed 5 trips to the The Puddle in January, which was both frustrating and disappointing. I only managed to rack up  57 species, of which only Gadwall and Shelduck were outside the norm, both being  surprise patch ticks on the 28th. A Yellow-legged Gull (Adult) was on the pool edge on the 2nd, but numbers of LWHGs using the pool seem to be decreasing.

Golden Plover, having made it on to most lists in November and December seemed to have moved on (there is a large flock using the fields a few miles North either side of the A5), with only 1 flock of 44 seen flying over. Lapwing were also less numerous around the pool, perhaps the rising water level has pushed them else where.

Wigeon counts were very variable, with a high count of 247 on the 28th but this was down to 148 the next day.

A drake Shelduck and drake Gadwall appeared on the 28th and the former stayed into February. This wildfowl duo took the total site list to 101, which after only 8 months seems pretty respectable.

Hopefully February will provide more than the pitiful 57 species if I want to even challenge the heady heights of mid-table in the PWC Midlands mini-league.

The Wigeon flock feeding by the puddle. Hard to count as they are constantly moving and flush at the slightest thing, such as a flyover wood pigeon or carrion crow.