Off we go again 1st Jan 77 ticks

Up early & off up the A 10 to Norfolk, the first tick is once again Barn Owl sitting in a tree by the side of the A 10, Brian spins the car round just to make sure it's a Barn Owl, it flies down to a fence post tick one confirmed.This is the third year in a row that it's been the first tick of the year.
The first port of call is the triangle to look for a Golden Pheasant, we pass Penny parked up at the side of the
woods, but like us it turns out she dips out.
So after a few trips around the triangle, we give up & head to up to Titchwell to start the year count in earnest.
We pick up all the usual birds while here,it's well down on last years count, but the weather is not the best.
Out on the sea we pick out Scoter, Merganser,Kittiwake but nothing seen passing through.
Next it's off to Sculthrope Moor, this is a first proper visit here, it won't be the last, we pick up four ticks here. As soon as we walk away from the visitor centre we see many Brambling plus Marsh Tits, Greenfinch,& the first Nuthatch of the year.
Tawny Owl is seen from a nest box that had been set up in the trees as we walk down to the hides.
Once in the hide we must see at least 60 Bramblings & many Tits & Finches plus the first Water rail tick.
A really nice place to visit to get close up shots of birds feeding on the feeders.
The pager goes off to say that Pink- footed Geese are in a field only 7 miles away & so off we go in search of another tick, also reported with them a Barnacle & Bean Goose. we scan the hundreds of Geese but only Pink-footed are picked out, Penny turned up to help scan but in vain, the weather was now getting really nasty so we head towards home stopping off to look for a reported Glaucous Gull without any luck, we are now pretty wet so we call it a day with 77 ticks in the bag, that is twelve down on last year but not a bad start with such bad weather.
Today I add Goldcrest & Ring-necked Parakeet plus Redwing in my garden 80 up & running for the new year.
                             

On the feeders from the hide.

                                               
                                         

So many birds.