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January 2008
Despite January 1st being a big day in the birding calendar, there is sadly statistically very little chance of anything new being found. That is unless you live in Grimsby. Local birders woke to find an American Robin in 2004. Will someone repeat this in 2008? But spend some time, this month, at your local gull roost and you could be rewarded. January is a great month for high arctic waifs with Ross' Gull, Ivory Gull and Kumlien's Gull all likely to put in an appearance. Along with some typical yanks such as Bonaparte's, lingering Laughing and/or Franklin's Gull, January is a great month to bag more than a dozen gull species. And you might just relocate a returning Glaucous-winged Gull! But even if none of these come within your reach, then get to grips with the pitfalls of ageing laridae or the subtleties of the Caspian/Yellow-legged/Herring Gull complex.
What January lacks in new arrivals it makes up for with long stayers from 2007 nicely settled into their winter quarters - little chance of a dip in January therefore. Although it's a month of more of the same, it's also a chance to build a solid foundation to that New Year list before things pick up in the months to follow. Clean up with some good "year padders" in the form of Waxwings, an overwintering Hoopoe or a Hume's Warbler.
Amongst the major rarities, another Brunnich's Guillemot might turn up. We've been predicting this species for a while, so don't assume a Shetland bird is a lone vagrant. Those of you near a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea, check for a Gyrfalcon. Those of you with only a garden bird-table to look at, check for an overwintering Dark-eyed Junco. And what of global warming ? Are we more or less likely to see a migrant Great Bustard in Britain again ?
But could January turn up a real surprise ? In 1984 Kent birders found Common Yellowthroat and Golden-winged Warbler. With a couple of Blackpoll Warblers making it to this side of the pond in 2007 there's a real chance that a few more Dendroicas could wend their way south as winter progresses.
January 2007: Highlight of the month was undoubtedly the Pacific Diver in Yorkshire (a first for the Western Palearctic) that was to start a run of records. Rarer thrushes in the form of an American Robin in Yorkshire and a Black-throated Thrush in Argyll got the year-listers off to a good start. Otherwise typical January fare included rarer wildfowl in the form of two Barrow’s Goldeneye, two Bufflehead and as many as three Falcated Duck. Up to three Penduline Tits returned to Rainham Marshes in Essex.
January 2006: A drake Baikal Teal in Northern Ireland, unringed and arriving on the back of a cold snap, was surely the month's highlight although a long-staying Black-throated Thrush in Glamorgan drew more birders. Other ducks of interest included a one-day Redhead on the Outer Hebrides and the Barrow's Goldeneye from 2005 in Northern Ireland. A further Ross's Gull arrived in Suffolk to join the Norfolk bird hanging on (just) from 2005. Best of the passerines was the 2005 Lincolnshire American Buff-bellied Pipit reappearing at the month-end.
January 2005: Up to three Ross' Gulls arrived in Scotland and Ireland, whilst further south a Pine Bunting in the Midlands was probably the highlight for most birders. In Norfolk a touring White-tailed Eagle and a long-staying Arctic Redpoll drew birders to the county, whilst a Killdeer in Lothian, Wilson's Phalarope in Cleveland and the overwintering Short-billed Dowitcher in Ireland kept wader buffs interested. As the month progressed Waxwing numbers built up to unprecedented levels.
January 2004: Grimsby birders must have been stunned to find an American Robin on the 1st. Remaining all month, this bird was hugely popular with photographers as indeed were two parties of Northern Long-tailed Tits in Suffolk and East Sussex. January 2004 offered multiple options for catching up with american waifs with another long-staying American Robin in Cornwall, Baltimore Oriole in Oxfordshire and American Coot in Shetland being joined by a second American Coot in the Outer Hebrides, a Forster's Tern in County Wexford and a Bonaparte's Gull in Cornwall. No less that 4 Hume's Warblers turned up including a popular London bird.
January 2003: An overwintering Pallid Harrier in Norfolk, a Blyth's Pipit in Nottinghamshire and a Forster's Tern in Argyll kept most birders happy. Perhaps the highlight of the month however was the arrival of a Two-barred Crossbill in Buckinghamshire at the end of the month. With overwintering goodies including the returning Redhead and Black Scoter in Wales, along with Ross' Goose and half a dozen Lesser Scaups the month held a typical winter fair.
January 2002: No dendroicas - just an Ovenbird ! Spending as much as 4 weeks hidden away in a Gloucestershire garden most birders wept at the news of what could have been. A Ross' Gull in Devon, a Desert Wheatear on the Isle of Man and a Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler in Northumberland split the other 'goodies' nicely across the country. Some great over-wintering birds from 2001, including Snowy Egret, Ross' Goose, Redhead, Black Scoter and Arctic Redpolls kept year-listers happy.
January 2001: This time last year, Orkney birders must have been cursing their luck when a Brunnich's Guillemot on North Ronaldsay was pronounced dead. Elsewhere American gulls livened up the month with a Laughing Gull in Wiltshire, then Bedfordshire and a Franklin's Gull in Devon. Long staying rarities included two Canvasbacks, two Lesser Scaups plus many other nearctic ducks from the previous autumn's mass arrival. A Little Bunting in Somerset was about the best of the rarer passerines.
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