Marsh Tit

It's cold (3 degrees C according to the car thermometer), it's raining, and there is a very cold and strong wind.

On any other day you wouldn't be struggling for a seat in the local bird hide.

Today is the first day of a new year, a new list beckons. Some of the local birders have been out since before first light, and they still didn't end up with house sparrow on their total for the day. I'm referring to the local patch winner last year, Bob. It was an exceptional year locally, Bob scored 173. His total when I last saw him today was 55, mine by the end of the day was 35. Giving me a "Bob index' of 0.636 (tune in later in the year for updates on my Bob Index).

For the birders out there I didn't see anything too exciting today, I dipped on Water rail, but did see Twite. Other highlights include Red Kite, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and this Marsh Tit.