January 5th
After yesterday's drizzle and gloom today dawned sunny and cold so we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and along the seawall to the Oyster Farm before visiting Reculver on the way home. Birds we saw included 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Yellowhammers, 22 Blackbirds, 37 Corn Buntings, 23 Mute Swans, 7 Goldfinches, 18 Chaffinches, 1 Merlin (97th), 10 Lapland Buntings, 541 Cormorants, 4 Shelduck, 86 Mallard, 1 Little Egret, 4 Redshank, 81 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 18 Oystercatchers, 165 Carrion Crows, 1 Curlew, 1 Gannet E, 5 Dunlin, 13 Skylarks, 1 Stonechat, 1 Grey Plover, 30 Sanderling 1 Peregrine (98th), 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Snipe, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Gadwall and 1 Marsh Harrier.

Male Stonechat feeding on the seawall
 

This afternoon Marc Heath saw a Short-eared Owl  (99th) at the Oyster Farm.