Zoochat Big Year 2024

I thought this was strange aswell and when asking a fellow birdwatcher, they replied that they saw the same species! I also recorded the sound and when playing it back it seemed the same (Garden Warbler). There is always the chance that it was a Meadow Pipit rather than a Tree as they are quite similar.
 
Interesting, what made you rule out Meadow pipit? If you can confirm that it was Tree pipit I would reccomend sending your sighting to the county recorder.
 
Primarily the colouration but it was so brief I have hardly any idea, the picture is a blur which doesn’t help! There have been tree pipits reported near my location so hopefully this individual indicates a slow comeback
 
I believe that these individuals were definitely little ringed plovers, I managed to see the golden eye cress and distinct patterns. I will be going back out today so I’ll try to spot these species once more.
 
I’m situated in the Southeast, near places like Ashdown Forest ect. This is where I was referencing with the Tree Pipit as it has been recorded there. I thin’ that some species have stayed longer due to the different climate, but this is my speculation.
 
What colour were the plovers legs? Did you see the warbler, or just hear it? Certainly the pipit seems unidentifiable from the view you describe. Any one of these three would be more than noteworthy at this time of year; all three seem so unlikely as to demand a very high standard of evidence or better still independent verification. Ringed Plover, Chiffchaff (if seen) or Blackcap (if heard) and Meadow Pipit are almost infinitely more likely.
 
There was a small flock of plovers, most certainly little ringed as I disguised with another keen birdwatcher. The legs were that pinkish-grey definitely not orange like that of a ringed.
I think that the pipit is most likely a meadow like you believe.
 
Dr. Loxodonta said:
Went out yesterday to my local Wildlife Reserve for 4 hours, sadly the lakes had flooded due to the rain so areas of the forest were at least a good foot underwater! Managed to add some new birds to the list:

Birds
24. Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin)
25. Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)
26. Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
27. Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
28. Scaup (Aythya marila)
29. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis)
30. Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
31. Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)
32. Eurasian Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus)
33. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
34. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
35. Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis ispida)
36. Eurasian Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus)
37. Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
38. Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
39. Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

Amphibians
1. Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
Invertebrates
2. Roman Snail (Helix pomatia)

Total Species: 43
Birds: 39
Mammals: 1
Amphibians: 1
Invertebrates: 2

Heading back out there today, see if I can spot anything new. Hopefully a Snipe or 2!
Click to expand...
EDIT 25. Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) rather than Tree Pipit.
 
A flock is always more likely to be Ringed Plovers rather than Little Ringed; first winter Ringed Plovers can have legs which could be described as pinkish grey. Other birders can also make mistakes (I know I can)! If you are sure, please make sure your county recorder is informed; I am struggling to find winter records for Little Ringed Plover anywhere in the U.K.
 
Dr. Loxodonta said:
I do know that the little ringed plover nest at the sight so I’ll ask some other people when I arrive.
Click to expand...

Nesting doesn't really tell you anything, just like tree pipit and garden warbler, all ringed plovers are out of the country in their (African) wintering grounds. If you truly believe otherwise, you will need extraordinary evidence to back up an extraordinary claim.
 
Yesterday was the first actual birding day of the year. With three friends I went for a classic winter delta trip, covering a bunch of sites all over the Dutch delta. The main goal was to see as many coastal winter species as possible, and though it is impossible to see them "all" in a single day, we managed quite well.

The day started along the Oosterschelde where we saw five red-breasted geese land in a flock of brant geese we were looking at. From there on out, it was one glorious chain of successes! The morning was filled with good sightings of great birds, including a flock of snow buntings, a short but excellent sighting of a phalarope, and an almost too-easy search for a rare glaucous gull. Perhaps most memorable was a surprise sighting of two short-eared owls, circling above a harbour. The afternoon was slightly less intense but we still managed to pick up a fair few sea birds, wintering waders and even a few mammals as well. All things considered an excellent start of the birding year.

Birds
41. Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator
42. Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
43. Little Egret, Egretta garzetta
44. Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres
45. Brant Goose, Branta bernicla
46. Red-Breasted Goose, Branta ruficollis
47. Western Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus
48. Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus
49. Common Redshank, Tringa totanus
50. Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
51. Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus
52. Greater White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
53. Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
54. Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata
55. Snow Bunting, Plectophenax nivalis
56. European Rock Pipit, Anthus petrosus
57. European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
58. Common Pochard, Aythya ferina
59. Red Phalarope, Phalaropus fulicarius
60. Glaucous Gull, Larus hyperboreus
61. Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
62. Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus
63. Common Guillemot, Uria aalge
64. Razorbill, Alca torda
65. Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus
66. Purple Sandpiper, Calidris maritima
67. Red-throated Diver, Gavia stellata
68. Common Eider, Somateria mollissima
69. Common Scoter, Melanitta nigra
70. Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
71. Northern Gannet, Morus bassanus
72. Northern Shoveler, Spatula clypeata
73. Barnacle Goose, Branta leucopsis
74. Black-necked Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis
75. Sanderling, Calidris alba
76. Sandwich Tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis
77. Black-throated Diver, Gavia arctica
78. European Shag, Phalacrocorax/Gulosus artistotelis
79. European Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria
80. Eurasian Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
81. Dunlin, Calidris alpina
82. Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago
83. Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
84. Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus
85. Red Knot, Calidris canutus
86. Grey Plover, Pluvialis apricaria

Mammals
1. European Hare, Lepus europeaus
2. Grey Seal, Halichoerus grypus
3. European Roe Deer, Capriolus capriolus
4. Harbour Seal, Phoca vitulina
5. European Rabbit, Oryctolagus cunniculus
 
I managed to spot a distinct warbler, and then it began to call. I recorded this and matched it up with a Garden. The pigmentation also fitted with this species. It may have been a female blackcap but I didn’t think it could be at the time.

It is possible to be a blackcap as it is stated by Wikipedia “Some birds from Germany and western continental Europe have adapted to spending the winter in gardens in Great Britain and Ireland.”
I do know that Wikipedia can be unreliable tho.
 
Why didn’t you think it was a female blackcap? Did you see the colour of the crown? Blackcaps are reasonably common wintering birds in the U.K., Garden Warblers have only been recorded wintering less than 100 times.
 
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