First of the year

 Whilst it is all very well and good getting a good list of birds in January or in the year as a whole, the list most birders focus on is the life list. This is those species seen ever, normally within a certain geography. This could be your local patch, county, country, continent or even the whole world. Over here, it is the UK Life List which is the badge of honour. The BOU holds the list and at the moment there are 628 species listed as ever having occurred in a wild state here. The mega listers have seen close to or just over 600 of those, a pretty fair achievement. Over 500 puts you into the premiership but the next rank down of 400 gives you championship status. I'm on 395 so and so very close to getting my badge of honour. At the weekend one of the birds which has been seen by most other birders but not me cropped up in Somerset. Kentish plover is a bird I've dipped on many times before and is a bit of a bogey for me. This one is a returning bird, to the same area it spent a lot of time in last year so I gambled on it being there today.

Even by my standards I set out early, at 4.30, and was on site by just after 7, before dawn had even really broken.

The site was Burnham-on-Sea on the north Somerset coast, just along from Weston-super-Mare. In theory it was easy, you parked up on the road and the plover would drop in on the estuary below the sea wall. Kentish plovers are smaller versions of our commoner ringed plover. They used to breed here, hence the name, but that was many years ago. Now regular visitors they breed in areas like Portugal but are regular visitors to our shores. This one was ringed in Germany, told by the colour-combination of rings on its legs.

I quickly met up with another couple of birders, Dave Bradford and Wayne Glossop, both virtual friends from the Casual Twitchers WhatsApp group and we scanned the exposed mud.

The tide was low but rising and there weren't many waders around. With no sign of the plover we expanded our search range, with the assistance of a fourth birder. He got onto a flock of plovers a couple of hundred yards down the beach. We yomped off down the promenade and he was confident he had seen the bird in with a flock roosting near the tide line. Just as we got to them though a dog walker appeared on the beach and flushed the lot. The majority of them moved back to where we had been before, so cursing gently we headed back. About 50 plovers were feeding on the tide line as it came across the mud. For 30 minutes we scanned back and forth but nothing popped out as being different. No new birds were dropping in and a slight level of despondency set in. Where had it gone? The bloke who had seen it was sure it was there and he was a very experienced birder. Wayne was running out of time as he had to leave to go to work so was particularly keen to find it. The incoming tide was pushing all the birds closer. Dave tried moving along the promenade and suddenly the shout went up. He had the bird! Within a minute we were all on it but a bloody sparrowhawk came across the beach and spooked it! Fortunately it only moved along to where the main flock of plovers were. A short walk, a shorter panic and we were onto it again.

With it on the deck it really stood out as being different to the ringed plovers. It looked tiny in comparison, almost like a chick. It was also very pale, without the definite banding on the breast and an overall delicate "jizz". It was a long way off still and the light was pants but the photos show the difference. On the right angle you could also see the banding on its legs.

With the tide coming in and a few more birders joining us we were relaxed and happy waiting for it to be pushed closer to us. Then we spotted a bloody dog walker coming along the beach towards us. His terrier was off the lead and clearly enjoying itself. Some of our group shouted at him, but he looked at us, put his hands in his pockets and ploughed on right into the flock, which scattered to the seven winds!!! We watched them disappear into the distance. Bloody annoying but happens a lot unfortunately. Still, I had the lifer in the bag so was pretty happy about that. I could have waited to see if they returned, and indeed they did about an hour later, but I decided to try for other birds locally. 

My first target, penduline tits, were a no-show. I've spent more time not seeing them than any other bird, although I've seen them in the UK before no more than one occasion. I did get beards tit for the year list. 

My next stop should have been an easy one - a male ring ouzel next to a carpark at Brean Down. It was only a short drive to the beach past a number of caravan parks.

The ouzel was in the field next to this, which turns out to be a rather scrubby, muddy affair.

I pretty much immediately got onto a vey smart male ring ouzel feeding voraciously on the mud.

The males are incredibly smart, scalloped versions of our blackbird. The ring is incredibly prominent but in the right light the scallops are equally smart.

I have often seen them in the Spring to Autumn migration on there Chiltern hills but there they tend to be quite wary and elusive. This bird was really confiding and I got to 15 yards or so from it by kneeling down in the mud.

This bird will be moving north to go and nest in some mountains, possibly even in Scotland or Northern England.

After this I headed back home really happy. First lifer of the year, and two year ticks including the best views of a ring ouzel I've had outside of Scotland. Takes me to 396 UK species so 400 is getting really close.