Just off the beach there was a flock of Dunlin wheeling about,which made a fantastic sight in the bright light.

January 2nd (New Hythe)

The day dawned clear and bright,which made a nice changed from the recent dismal weather.
On my one and a half hours walk this morning I saw forty nine species of birds.The most notable being Bittern (Streamside lake,Goldeneye (Trout lake)Kingfisher (2)streamside lake)and river,Grey Wagtail(1)Rook (1) Goldcrest(1)Chiffchaff (1)Siskin (18)and Pied Wagtail (1).A count of ten Bullfinch was also notable,eight of which were seen or heard in the Abbey Meads area,with the remaining two being located in the west scrub.Fieldfare and Redwing on the other hand were notable by their low numbers,with only one Fielfare and four Redwing being seen.This must be due to the fact that much of the berry crop in the area has been depleted.
It was nice to see at least twenty Herons back in the Heronry (Eccles island).

December 31st (New Hythe)

Apart from (2) Redshank (40) Teal and (6)Gadwall which I saw along the river and (20)Siskins feeding in the Alders along the southern bank of the Streamside lake,I saw little else of note,on this the last day of the year.

PAST TIMES DECEMBER (1982)

WILDFOWL Ruddy Shelduck (1) remained at Burham during the month.Pochard (100)on Abbey Mead with (50) on Alders lake during the month.Red-crested Pochard (1)was seen at New Hythe at the beginning of the month.Teal (150)at Burham during the month.HEN HARRIER (1)at Holborough marsh 6th.S E OWL singles at Abbey Mead 3rd,6th and Holborough 7th.WADERS Common Snipe (13)ringed at Holborough 6th.Jack Snipe (1)ringed at Holborough 6th.Dunlin up to (150) along the river during the month.