Following the wettest year on record, when large swathes of southern England were inundated, it should have come as no surprise when New Year’s Day 2001 dawned wet and windy. It was, however, a disappointment as in the days between Christmas and New Year the north Hertfordshire countryside had been blanketed with snow. While this made driving conditions tricky, especially on the minor country lanes, it did have the effect of concentrating the birds where food was to be found e.g. at the spring-fed cress beds where the water did not freeze and in farmyards. With the thaw on New Year’s Eve, the birds were again dispersed over the countryside. Despite the weather, Andrew, my oldest son and I, had planned a ‘New Year’s Day Big Day’ as usual limiting ourselves to a 10 km radius of home.
Home is the village of Codicote in north Hertfordshire. The towns of Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage lie within 10 km while Hitchin, Luton, Harpenden, St Albans, Hatfield and Hertford lie to the north, west and south of my home range. Despite this urbanisation, and the proximity of London (only 30 miles to the south), it is a surprisingly rural with some pleasant scenery. Three small rivers, the Ver, Mimram and Beane flow NW - SE across the area separated by low rolling hills, none higher than 200 m. Much of the higher land is given over to arable farming, with wheat and barley being the major crops grown in large fields from which the hedges have been removed. In recent years oil seed rape has become an important crop. In the depths of winter these fields are largely bare or with only small shoots of winter-sown grain showing through the soil. The hedges remain in the valleys where there is more pasture for grazing. Some flood meadows remain. A feature of the area are the watercress beds, some still operating commercially, others in disrepair and yet others now local nature reserves. There are numerous small woodlands, although few are natural, with plantations of both deciduous and coniferous trees.
As last year we planned to be up and about before dawn in the hope of hearing some night birds but the blustery wind and frequent, sometimes heavy, showers masked any calls there might have been. A distant Tawny Owl (our first bird at 06:24) was heard calling from Rabley Heath and another near Kimpton Mill but nothing else seemed to be moving.
The inclement weather, with worse forecast for later in the day, had prompted a change of route. We had decided to start at the southern end of our ‘patch’ where the mix of habitats would hopefully get our ‘big day’ off to a good start. The car headlights picked out Pheasant and Wood Pigeon as we made our way towards Stanborough Lake on the outskirts of Welwyn Garden City. Heavy rain kept us in the car for a while but did not stop the birding; by now the sky had lightened but the heavy covering of cloud prevented us from seeing if the sun was up; a marked contrast to our new year’s days down under. Blackbirds foraged in leaf litter at the edge of the car park, Coots, Moorhens and Mallards swam on the swiftly flowing R. Lea and an adult Grey Heron strolled along the bank of the lake. Despite the general thaw, much of Stanborough Lake was covered in thin layer of ice that was still strong enough to support a few winter-plumaged Black-headed Gulls. A Robin ticked from nearby and a Carrion Crow cawed from further away. By 07:30 the rain seemed to have abated a little and we decided to go for a wander along the bank between the lake and river. Our reward for braving the elements was a flash of blue, a Kingfisher, heading upstream and this year we both saw it! Where the lake was ice free, the water was crowded with birds; in the half-light we picked out Mute Swan and Canada Geese while a Common Gull had appeared on the ice. As the sky lightened more birds were becoming active despite the persistent drizzle. The chattering call of a Magpie and trilling song of a Wren were heard and a Dunnock hopped across the path. Three Cormorants circled once over the lake looking for somewhere to land, decided against it and headed off to the north-west. Great Tits and Redwings were heard calling and a flock of Greenfinches flew out from their roost in a dense laurel bush. The reed bed alongside the R. Lea, at the south end of the lake, is the second largest in Hertfordshire but was disappointingly devoid of birds. We sheltered out another heavy rainstorm under the viaduct carrying the railway across the valley. The birds must have been similarly sheltering because we saw nothing new. When the rain eased off we retraced our route back to the car seeing a flock of c.20 Goldfinches feeding in riverside alders and added three thrushes to the list: Song Thrush, two Fieldfares flying over and a couple of Mistle Thrushes. On the open water and amongst the swans and geese we picked out a winter-plumaged Great Crested Grebe and some Greylag Geese. The flock of gulls standing on the ice had grown and now included a couple of Lesser Black Backed Gulls. While sipping a reviving cup of hot coffee, a small flock of tits roving through the riverside willows and alders included Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Treecreeper and Chaffinch. With 33 species seen it was time to move on.
By 09:00 we were on the road, heading west to Beech Farm on the north side of the disused Hatfield airfield which has been the winter haunt of all five common species of owl (Barn, Long-eared, Short-eared, Tawny and Little). En route we saw a Kestrel perched on a telegraph pole and a flock of Starlings. As we pulled up at the farm a Jay flew across the road and into a small copse of Oak trees, a flock of 38 Skylarks flew over a stubble field and a hare, our first mammal of the day streaked across the same field. Beech Farm is home to one of the few remaining Tree Sparrow colonies in Hertfordshire but we could only find their close cousins, House Sparrows (our 39th species at 09:20). While looking for the Tree Sparrows we found a flock of Long-tailed Tits moving along a hawthorn hedge and disturbed a pair of Red-legged Partridges which flew away from the farmyard on whirring wings to join a covey of Grey Partridges on an adjacent field. As we followed a track across the former sand and gravel pits, now restored as pasture fields a flock of Meadow Pipits and a solitary Herring Gull flew over. Where an area of rough ground had flooded, the ice had not completely thawed and a pair of Reed Buntings picked fallen seeds from the surface of the ice. Sadly, none of the owls put in appearance over the rough ground recently used by Stephen Spielberg in the filming of “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers”. The Stonechats we had seen here on Boxing Day were also absent, presumably the cold snap had forced them south. A flock of seven Lapwings and some Stock Doves flew over and a Pied Wagtail fed at a puddles edge. Back at the car a Great Spotted Woodpecker called from the oak copse (where we had earlier seen the Jay) and an adult Great Black-backed Gull flew over.
The showers of the early morning had given way to wintry sunshine (contrary to the forecast) and it was quite a pleasant day as we made our way to Tewinbury on the banks of the R. Mimram. En route we added Feral Pigeon/Rock Dove (our 50th species at 10:30), Jackdaw and Rook, all perched on lampposts beside our route. On a former millpond, now an ornamental lake, were several Tufted Ducks and three pairs of Gadwall. The highlight of the day came as we wandered back to the car; a male Sparrowhawk burst from the roadside vegetation and flew along the road, passing us at eye-height before swerving back amongst the trees: an impressive display of grace and power and an all-too-brief view. Nearby a small flock of Siskin fed in the alders growing on the riverbank and a Grey Wagtail flew over.
We wended our way home via the village of Tewin where we saw our first Collared Doves, and Mardley Heath where we saw Grey Squirrels but no new birds. Our last stop of the morning was Kimpton Mill, where a tributary of the Mimram has been dammed to form another millpond. A winter-plumaged Little Grebe was an expected species here, but the pair of Black Swans was something of a surprise but a pleasant reminder of our time down under. At the nearby cress beds we saw a Snipe but not the Water Rail that had been feeding in the open during the recent cold snap and so ended the morning on 60 species.
After a delicious lunch of homemade thick vegetable soup, Andrew and I were out again at 13:45, quickly adding one species that had eluded us in the morning when a Water Rail was seen at the edge of a flooded field. Far from deteriorating as predicted the weather had slowly improved and it was now fine with weak, wintry sunshine and a brisk, cool SW breeze. Hitch Wood, a large mixed woodland was our next stop. Three Woodcock flying up from the edge of the same clearing where we had seen them last new year’s day were a species we were particularly pleased to find as they are not always easy. Nuthatches were heard and then seen in an area of open beech woodland while in an area of fir plantation a mixed flock included both Coal and Marsh Tits (as well as Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Blue and Great Tits).
The remainder of the daylight was spent driving round the north Hertfordshire countryside searching for the now resident Buzzards and any other species we might have missed. We only succeeded in adding Linnet to the list when a mixed flock (also including Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Greenfinches) of some 70 birds was seen in a stubble field near Kings Walden. As the light faded we returned to Beech Farm in the hope of some early evening owls, but again there were none. Yellow Hammers, flying to roost in reed beds surrounding the disused gravel pits were, as last year, our last species of the day (67th at 16:20) Our wait for the owls was curtailed when Andrew, ignoring parental warnings, decided to test the strength of the ice on a ditch and promptly dropped in up to his waist - And it was COLD. After that there was nothing to do but head for home after a very satisfying New Year’s Day birding.
