6th & 7th April 2013

Saturday 6th April

And now for something completely different...

Not quite Cairngorm; this is snow-capped Titterstone Clee in Shropshire. Although I hadn't been here before, it was a good call by Martyn to go and look for Ring Ouzel and other passage migrants.

We locked onto our first Ring Ouzel within minutes before the bird disappeared into scrub on the south slope. We could however hear some Ring Ouzel calls and with a little persistence 5 Ring Ouzels revealed themselves when they came out to feed in a grassy area. 4 males and 1 female. Result!

Ring Ouzel - image supplied by Martyn Yapp

Other migrants are much slower than usual to arrive this year due to the prolonged cold northerly winds and wintery weather. We managed one male Wheatear, which was only my first this year.  Other stuff noted included 2 Peregrine, 1 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel and around 30 Meadow Pipit.

The rest of the day was then spent around the Wyre Forest. Highlights included 1 Marsh Tit, 1 Brambling, 8 Siskin, Grey Wagtail, Yellowhammer, 5 Mandarin and a doo-lally day-flying pipistrelle bat.


Sunday 7th April

The morning began with a dip. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Ladywalk NR. The birds have been regular on the reserve and our mistake really was to visit the River Walk Hide and miss the birds showing by 10 minutes.

The Scaup was still present and we also noted 2 Willow Tit, 4 GS Woodpecker, 1 Curlew, 1 Redshank, 2 Snipe, 12 Goosander and 4 singing Chiffchaff.

Scaup - image by Martyn Yapp

As we now needed cheering up, we could not resist popping in at nearby Shustoke for this extremely showy Kittiwake....

Kittiwake

Kittiwake  

Usually a fleeting visitor to our midlands inland waters, this Kittiwake was showing very close in and was coming to bread brought in by Sunday duck feeders.

Also a Kingfisher was noted here and several Great Crested Grebes were getting jiggy.

Great Crested Grebes

Our next move was to be a crucial one. We almost got tempted by some Staffs twitching, however we decided to stay in the area and do Dosthill. So glad we made this choice, as it came up trumps with our surprise find of a female Bearded Tit!

There was a very surreal moment in which we heard a familiar 'ping' from the tiny reedbed of the pond between the Waterski Pit and North Pit, but looked at a Coot and Reed Bunting in confusion as to why something was calling like a Beardie. Suddenly the Bearded Tit revealed itself crashing round this scrap of reedbed.

As Bearded Tit is a rarity in this neck of the woods we scrambled the news out pronto, although we were not entirely sure whether we were in Staffs or Warks, as this is border territory. Equally good in either county, we then sat back and enjoyed this little gem before other birders began to arrive on the scene. One of my most memorable regional birding moments so far!

Bearded Tit

Bearded Tit

Bearded Tit

Bearded Tit

 

 

Also the two Long-tailed Ducks were both still present, along with 8 Goldeneye and a Water Rail called.

Be sure to also visit Martyn's Adult Plumage blog for some quality images of the Bearded Tit.

Wyre Forest - 3rd March

I'm back and with a plethora of excuses as to why I haven't blogged for some time; bronchitis, bubonic plague, frostbite, kidnap etc (strictly speaking, only the first one is actually true). 

Now spring is in the air and as the bleak winter loosens its grasp, I'm sure postings will begin to spring forth from my blog like a bouncing March Hare. Or there again, perhaps not!

Back in the birding saddle after a few weeks of absence, it was a trip down to the Wyre Forest on the Worcs/Shrops border with Martyn. Of course, we stayed Worcs side, not wishing to stray far from the regional borders. Not without passports and inoculations anyway.

It was one of those mis-timed things, had we gone the day before which was a brighter warmer day, I'm sure we would have bagged more of our target birds. We had hoped for perhaps displaying Goshawk & also Lesser Pecker, neither of which can be described as easy in our area. Unfortunately the day remained dull, cool and overcast.

On the bright side, we encountered 3 Dipper along the Dowles Brook. Contrary to Martyn's photo below, we enjoyed very good views (blame the above lighting conditions!).

Dipper - image courtesy of Martyn Yapp's recycle bin

In the Dowles Brook/Dry Mill Lane area we also noted a male Brambling (in a small Chaffinch flock), a large Siskin flock of perhaps 30 birds, 1 Bullfinch, 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 GS Woodpecker, 2 Jay, Nuthatch and Treecreeper.

Great Tit

Alas spending extensive time in Wyre Lesser Pecker country and another Worcs site with previous history of LSW, we could not winkle out one of these elusive buggers and there was no sign of any Goshawk either. At the site that has been known to produce Goshawk, there were up to 5 Buzzard and 2 Raven.

In other news (apart from the shocking discovery of poo in Ikea cakes), the first Wheatears are now arriving on our shores, so keep the faith; in no time they will be hitting our local patches. Spring cometh.

12th & 13th Jan 2013

Saturday 12th January

At Stubbers Green early doors, an adult Caspian Gull didn't disappoint, despite the gathering of gulls being very small on this occasion. A classic specimen of Caspo, no question. No Iceland though and we didn't hang around.

Also here, 5 Great Black-backed Gulls and 1 Common Gull, 5 Goosander and the omnipresent flyover Lesser Redpoll.

Next, a return to one of the local haunts; Croxall Lakes. 6 Redshank clung to the river scrapes, whilst 2 Little Egrets were on the main lake with 13 Goldeneye and around 60 Pochard.

Things were looking up when a drake Scaup dropped in...

Dodgy Aythya Hybridy Thingumy - Images courtesy Martyn Yapp

Unfortunately upon closer inspection it became apparent that this 'Scaup' was not the full shilling. Not only was it rather small, lacking robust Scaup-type jizz, it also lacked a small black nail on its bill, in fact having a very extensive but poorly defined black bill tip. There was also some dark streaking to its white flanks. 

Presumably Tufty x Scaup hybrid? It was displaying to some of the female Tuftys, so perhaps more Aythya ID headaches cometh...

35 Golden plover were in the field opposite the Alrewas war memorial.

Little Egret - Image by Martyn Yapp

Next the fields at Whitemore Haye where we were lucky enough to have a female Merlin, although views were a little fleeting... Little Owl was present and around 10 Yellowhammer, 4 Tree Sparrow, 1 Reed Bunting and the Golden Plover flock that was now 500+ strong.

Elsewhere in the Trent Valley we had 3 Jack Snipe.


Sunday 13th January

Martyn and I spent most of the day at Ladywalk, hoping to better get to grips with the Tristis Chiffchaff that we located on New Year's Day along with Ian. Now the tick-happy days of early January had been exhausted, quite a crowd gathered along the path  at Ladywalk. The Siberian Chiffchaff had been seen and heard again in recent days.

Unfortunately the bird was elusive today and I only had a brief view and alas this was in strong sunlight, therefore not allowing for observation of the plumage tones. The bird called very occasionally, but generally wasn't playing ball.

However since then it has been confirmed that there are actually 2 Tristis Chiffchaff present and they have been much more obliging at times! Here are some images by Dave Hutton...

Tristis Chiffchaff - Image Courtesy of Dave Hutton

The 2 Tristis together - image courtesy Dave Hutton

Also 1 or 2 regular Colybita Chiffys were noted and many Goldcrest were around the reserve. A single Waxwing commuted from the area behind the car park to berries in the Sainsburys depot. 3 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Reed Bunting, GS Woody, 2 Siskin, Buzzard and Grey Wagtail were all noted.

At the outflow at Edison Road 6+ Chiffchaffs showed well, however none of the Siberian variety. Firecrest was also absent here, however we did have a Green Sandpiper.

Chiffchaff - Image courtesy Martyn Yapp

Later in the day, Lea Marston & Coton. A Long-tailed Duck was still viewable from the road bridge and in the gull roost we had an adult Med Gull. Other notable species included Shelduck, Water Rail (h), Sparrowhawk and Goldeneye.

5th Janvier

It was back into the old work thing a bit sharpish this year and Day 5 of 2013 was only Day 2 of birding. Sadly, no Waxwings around North Solihull and the only thing I had was a year tick of a Sparrowhawk to keep me going. Harsh times.

Saturday was mainly spent around Cannock way with Martyn & Ian and we began at Coven Heath. Coven Heath may sound like the setting of a Thomas Hardy novel, but it is actually an area with a small sewage works and some nice stubble fields, lined with hawthorn scrub etc. It is a place that warrants further exploration. On this occasion we noted c200 Chaffinch, 9 Yellowhammer, Skylark, Grey Wagtail, Stock Dove, Lesser Redpoll and Buzzard.

Next on to Gailey, where the regular adult Med Gull was on the water with the Black-headed Gull flock, which numbered over 300 birds. Bit of a stunner the Med.

Med Gull - Image courtesy Martyn Yapp

Sadly it soon flew and all the other birds were flushed when boating activities began on the water, so like them we decided to move along.

Our next stop was the area around Kingswood Tip, where we had a feeling that the Glaucous Gull might be poking about. The second-winter Glauc that had come into Chasewater on recent evenings was as yet unaccounted for in the day times. Immense numbers of gulls using this area to feed; it was odds on it would be here somewhere, but with the main part of the tip not viewable and 1000's of highly mobile gulls, finding it might be a different matter.

Of the thousands of gulls in the air, we could pick out no white-wingers, so we relocated slightly down the road to the area opposite Kingswood Pool. No gulls at all on the water, but quite a gathering on the corrugated roof of the factory opposite.

How lucky can you get? The second-winter Glaucous Gull was sat on the roof, right at the front! Gullmazing! Now if you don't get excited by a big, fat, dirty, smelly white-winger, why are you in birding? I was and it proper made my day.

Glauc! Image courtesy Martyn Yapp

This certainly didn't appear to be the largest Glauc I'd ever seen, but still a brute in appearance we watched it for a while until it wandered into the melee of gulls.

2 Goosander were on the small pool.

Next to the Chase, where the Great Grey Shrike was eezy peasy at Upper Longdon. This bird is currently quite reliable in the usual clearfell spot.

Great Grey Shrike at Upper Longdon - Image courtesy Dave Hutton

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around various areas of Cannock Chase. Highlights included a fine pair of Stonechat atop the heather, 2 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great-Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Raven and  a Treecreeper.

Only two days spent in the field so far and there's been some outstanding birds to see locally. Let's hope it continues for a good birding year in  the West Midlands region....

2013 - Happy New Birding Year

Doing my 2012 round-up, I realised there was a fair bit of very good birding that I didn't get around to blogging and I often didn't post quickly enough. As with any birding year I start with a pile of resolutions and one is to keep the blog more current and comprehensive.

Welcome to birding in 2013.

Tuesday 1st January

A big day in the calender, it's easy to get caught up in the year-listing madness and indeed there was a fair bit of dashing around, but also some cracking birds seen. The day was spent mainly around the Tame Valley area of Warwickshire with Martyn Yapp (new blog here) and Ian Whitehouse.

Shustoke Reservoir, 9.00am

Decent scope views of the 2 Great Northern Divers here, with both birds still present at the time of writing. Also here a low flyover cronking Raven, c10 Goosander and Goldeneye.

Lea Marston & Coton, 9.45am

Moving very swiftly on, it was Coton next. a specific target bird here: Long-tailed duck. The bird was not immediately obvious, but a lot of the water can be hidden here so some patience is needed. Eventually the female immature Long-tailed Duck drifted back into view and showed quite well. 

Also a surprise here, a female Scaup which was picked up by Martyn. This is a robust,  classic female, although these lakes also hold a few dodgy 'scaup-faces' so beware.

There were also 2 wintering Chiffchaff near the hide.

Hams Hall, 10.40am

The Edison Road river culvert area SP199914 attracts a lot of insects and therefore insect-eaters such as wintering Chiffy and also Crests, with the site holding a couple of Firecrest a few years back. Therefore is always worth a look in winter if you are passing.

Clearly we weren't the only ones to have this idea; bumping into a few familiar faces here.

There were 6+ Chiffchaff feeding in the outflow, probably many more and the odd Goldcrest. A Green Sandpiper and a few Grey Wagtails were on the river and Green Woodpecker calling.

All very nice but then Dave Hutton came running back down the track shouting FIRECREST!! as he made a dash for his camera.

We were soon watching this little gem. Well done Dave!

Firecrest at Edison Road - Image by Dave Hutton

Ladywalk NR

Very nearby, this is another site that attracts wintering insect eaters. Indeed on a visit in November whilst looking for 2 Firecrests that we failed to see, we had 3 Chiffy and a pair of Blackcap along the main path from the car park.

It was along this path that we encountered a very grey looking, pale Chiffchaff. As we walked back up the path after visiting the hides, we heard a call which Martyn and Ian instantly recognised as Tristis - Siberian Chiffchaff. I have to confess here, that personally I had no previous experience with Sibe Chiffchaff and my knowledge was extremely limited. However, this bird was calling for a time and it was nothing like any Chiffchaff I have ever heard before. It sounded reminiscent of a subdued Bullfinch type call.

Martyn has got a few images of the bird and whilst I hasten to add again that this is more of a 'learning bird' for me, I believe the bird shows some pro-Tristis features. I probably don't know enough about it to comment at length and I am glad that Martyn and Ian both had previous experience with this sub-species; in my case it's given me some reading/research to do.

Probable Tristis Chiffchaff - I have cropped this image, but not altered it in any other way

More images and Martyn's account of this bird can be found here.

Also at Ladywalk we noted 1 Willow Tit, 1 Lesser Redpoll, Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and more than 20 Goosander.

Chasewater, 2.45pm

In the final move of the day, we switched counties to Staffs for the Chasewater Gull roost. This was largely in the hope of catching the 2nd-winter Glaucous Gull that had come in the evening before, for the first time this winter I believe. That was a roost which also held Caspo, Med and Iceland so our hopes were high.

Unfortunately we didn't do so well, although the roost was completely massive, it was impossible to scan each bird. The best we could do was 3 Yellow-legged Gull. The Glaucous did not come in and the Iceland came in very late, just after we had gone in fact.

Despite some disappointment at the gull roost it was a very enjoyable day. The first day total was 59, a good innings as they say, but more importantly quality over quantity with some cracking birds seen.

2012....The Year That Was Part 2

July

Summer birding is hard work for me, I'm not one for the heat really. Nonetheless the month provided a few gems in the form of a long-overdue Honey Buzzard at Welbeck Watchpoint in Notts. A good morning of raptoring which also included Osprey and Red Kite.

On 29th June a smashing Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Frodsham Marsh was the star bird of this wader-filled day in Cheshire.


August

Some new regional ticks in August. On the 5th, the long staying Great White Egret at Grimley Gravel Pits in Worcs and also Pectoral Sandpiper at Marsh Lane. Also on the 12th 2 Sandwich Terns at Blithfield Reservoir, a very scarce sight inland.

Great White Egret at Grimely - seen on 9th & 19th - Image by Martyn Yapp

Sarnie at Blithers! Image courtesy Martyn Yapp

An influx of Black Terns occured on the weekend 18th/19th August, which included 20+ at Blithfield on the 18th.


September

On 15th September I boarded the Yorkshire Belle with Martyn. Highlights were Bonxie x 4, Arctic Skua x 5, Sooty Shearwater x 1, Manx Shearwater x 4, Red-throated Diver x 2, Puffin x 8, plus all the other stuff you would expect to see in the way of Auks, Shag, 1000’s Gannets, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Common Scoter etc. 

Bonxxieee!!! Image by Martyn Yapp

On the 16th, a twitch with Richard and Martyn down to Dorset for Short-billed Dowitcher at Lodmoor. A Brucie Bonus on the return journey was a White-rumped Sandpiper at Steart Point, Somerset, accompanied by a Curlew Sandpiper.

Short-billed Dowitcher - Image by Richard Powell

White-rumped Sandpiper by Richard Powell

The 23rd September was the best seawatch of the year, from Spurn Point with Martyn. We had not set off with this intention, but a clearout of migrants and a turn in the weather meant the sea was far more fruitful than bush-bashing (although the day included 3 Yellow-browed Warblers). Sightings included adult Sabine's Gull x 1, Little Auk x 1, Sooty Shearwater x 5, Manx x 1, Arctic Skua x 7, Bonxie x 4, Velvet Scoter x 1, Red-throated Diver x 30.


October 

October was of course the month of my first ever Scilly Autumn! I won't go into that again as I've already written 'War & Peace' on it here, here and here.

6th Oct a Yorkshire day out with Martyn - Another enjoyable seabird cruise at Bempton, hotly followed by my 300th British Bird later that day- a stonking female Pallid Harrier at Firsby in South Yorkshire! The bird frustratingly sat distantly in a field for well over an hour, but when she eventually began to quarter the fields, stupendous views were had by all. Some images of this bird on this blog, A.W.Birder.... One of the most memorable twitches of the year, for good and bad reasons (dissed as female birder for spotting the harrier before others) but the good outweighed the bad by far, with a milestone bird enjoyed with a good friend.

The 29th October was a particularly memorable local Staffs day. Firstly, the discovery that the Great Grey Shrike had returned to Upper Longdon for the winter.

Great Grey Shrike at Upper Longdon - Image by Martyn Yapp

Secondly, immense; being one of three people (the others Martyn Yapp and Julian Allen) to see a first for Blithfield Reservoir. Incredible find Jules! Also a female Common Scoter present.

Velvet Scoters - Blithers first! image by Martyn Yapp

November

A Slavonian Grebe was seen at Shustoke on 3rd, this was present for about 5 days, always a very nice bird to see locally.

Slavonian Grebe - Image courtsey Dave Hutton

On 11th October, a visit to Conway with a fine drake Surf Scoter and 1000's of Common Scoter at Llandulas and 5 Velvets.

Also the first Waxwings of a bumper winter for them. Around 200 for starters at MFI in Llandudno.

Waxwing at Llandudno

On the 17th Oct a significant regional tick - White-rumped Sandpiper at Middleton. Something of a second coming after the dip at Grimley in the Summer.

WRS - digiscoped by Richard Powell

It seems a more than reasonable year for Great Northern Diver in the region. The first one for me at Chasewater on 24th November.

Great Northern Diver - Image by Martyn Yapp

On 25th a pretty classic Caspian Gull was in the Tad Bay roost at Blithfield.


December

A much quieter month, mainly because of the thing called Christmas that took place and its associated festivities.

There was a lot of rain, there were floods. There were a lot of Waxwings....with a couple of self finds, which is always nice.

On 22nd December, a final twitch of the year. American Buff-bellied Pipit at Queen Mother Reservoir in Berkshire.

Buff-bellied Pipit

On 23rd December the Iceland Gull was in at Stubber's Green, now a full adult.

Adult Iceland Gull - Image courtesy Hughie King

And so the year came to a close.

My new year's resolutions: to keep this blog up to date and to post more often. That starts tomorrow, better late than never....

2012....The Year That Was Part 1

I got out birding a bit this year. Maybe a little too much on the twitching side some might say, but also making up for lost time. One of my aims was to reach 300 on my life list. It's fair to say I smashed that and also chalked up a decent year list of 254, but as I reach the end of the year I realise that numbers are just not important. What matters is getting out there and birding and enjoying it.

2013 is back to basics year. In the meantime here are my 2013 highlights:

January

The year started on a very local level with trudges around Sutton Park and Sandwell Valley. My first birding trip away came at the end of January when I caught up with the Western Sandpiper at Cley Marshes. I also ticked the Lesser White-fronted Goose, which was back for a second winter with the Taiga Beans at Buckenham. Coue's Arctic Redpoll was at Titchwell and Norfolk specialities such as Shorelark, Lapland Bunting, Bearded Tit, Hawfinch Bittern and Snow Bunting were all seen.


February

Back to local birding again, a near-adult Iceland Gull was at Stubber's Green.

Near adult Iceland Gull at Stubbers - the bird is now here again and fully matured. Image courtesy Martyn Yapp.

On 18th February, a highly memorable twitch of the Common Yellowthroat at Rhiwderin in Gwent with Martyn Yapp. We spent a morning getting soaked and when the bird did reappear there was some running up & down the hills in panic, with one poor bloke ending face down in the drink. In the end the sun came out and the bird showed very well. A happy ending for all.

On the 25th Feb I saw both Spanish Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco in Hampshire.

Spanish Sparrow at Calshot

On 26th Feb, another tick, perhaps a tarty one I should have seen earlier, but still very nice....

Glossy Ibis in Dorset

March 

The 3rd of March saw a bloggers trip to Wales.

Here we had a Rose-coloured Starling at Holyhead and we dipped a Surf Scoter at Morfa Nefyn. It was still a very good day though with lots of seabirds noted and an interesting albino Common Gull in Colwyn Bay which briefly had our hearts a-flutter.

Rose-coloured Starling - Image Courstesy Martyn Yapp

10th March was a highly decent day on the Chase with Great Grey Shrike, Common Crossbill, Brambling and Woodlark all noted. This continued to be a great regional day, with a White-fronted Goose at Branston and my first Black Redstart of the year noted at Blithfield.

First Ochruros of the Year - Blithfield Res

The 11th March provided a regional tick - Yellow-browed Warbler in Warndon, Worcestershire.

On 26th March, something very strange happened. A totally unexpected garden tick....

Red-legged Partridge - in a suburban Brummy garden!

April

1st April was a bit of a blogger's twitchathon day. Martyn, Richard and I began at Meare Heath, Somerset where we saw two Long-billed Dowitchers and also a Great White Egret and a Bittern. We then had Spotted Sandpiper and Long-tailed Duck at Chew Valley. We finished with a Bonaparte's Gull at Newnham.

Long-tailed Duck at Chew Valley - Image Courtesty of Richard Powell

Boney at Newnham

On the 7th April it was regional tick time and Staffs tick time for many staffs listers. A Common Crane was at Radford Meadows and it was indeed present for a couple of weeks. A pair of Gargeney also graced the brook during my visit. Also Ring Ouzel at Berry Hill.

Staffs Crane - Image Courtesy Martyn Yapp

On 13th April a Short-eared Owl at Croxall. A great patch bird.

On 19th April a significant regional tick. Black-winged Stilt at Clayhangar. Not one, but two of them! Part of a national influx at this time.

One of the two Stilts - image coourtesy Mark Rayment

Toward the end of the month there were a couple of ventures into Oxforshire. 28th April was a Dotterel at Balscote Quarry and more significantly 4 of a party of White Storks at Standlake on 29th.

Image courtesy of Adam Hartley - http://oxfordbirder.blogspot.co.uk/

This was also the day we saw 5 Black-necked Grebes at Farmoor at very close quarters.

Black-necked Grebe Posse at Farmoor

May

One of my personal birding highlights of the year, alongside Martyn Yapp was finding a singing male Black Redstart in Birmingham City Centre. This has long been my favourite bird and one that is close to my heart. To watch and listen to this bird on a regular basis throughout the spring, along with a second bird that we also got wind of, was an absolute privilege.

Rooftop singer - 1st summer bird

Image by Martyn Yapp

From 19th May, I spent a holiday on Portland, staying at the Bird Obs. The outstanding highlight of this was finding a Woodchat Shrike, personally my best find ever. I was proper chuffed to bits.

Woodchat Shrike

Other highlights of this enjoyable break included Great Reed Warbler at Radipole, 4 White Storks over the Obs (the same birds as in Oxfordshire), an Icterine Warbler caught by the warden Martin Cade, Black-winged Stilt and Roseate Tern at Lodmoor and Black Redstart at the M.O.D.

Great Reed Warbler at Radipole

Icky in the hand at Portland

June

3rd June saw a twitchy trip which included the stunning Roller at Aldbrough in East Yorks, Marsh Warbler at Blacktoft. Close up views of Gannets at South Stack were supurb.

Gannet

The 16th June saw some good regional birds - Marsh Harrier at Aqualate and even better a Red-backed Shrike at Blackbank.


17th June - crippling views of a Little Bittern in Herts.

Little Bittern at Stockers Lake

On the 20th June, a highlight of any regional birding year, watching Nightjars on Cannock Chase and avoiding Stan Collymore types. On this occasion, me & Martyn saw at least 3 birds and a roding Woodcock.

On the 24th, a memorable Little Swift twitch at New Brighton. Immense flyover views of this little stunna. Not only that, but we met someone called Terry and got involved in seal rescue.

Little Swift - Image by Martyn Yapp

Well this post is turning a bit more epic than I thought it would be. I think it needs to be a two-parter, otherwise I will never get to bed ready for DAY 1 tomorrow. Part 2 tomorrow maybe.

In my youthful days if someone had told me I'd be writing a bird blog at 11pm on NYE I would have probably shot myself. Now I wouldn't change a thing....


All that remains to say is thank you to anyone who has visited by blog in 2012. May I wish you a very Happy New Year and Happy Birding for 2013.