Happy New Year from Sandwell Valley

As always on New Years Day we go somewhere local for a couple of hours to get out a bit after the New Years Eve festivities. So our choice this time was to go with Jo & Jimmy to Sandwell Valley on what turned out to be a very dull and ultimately very wet New Years Day afternoon.

As we were quite late getting out we decided to head straight for the hide and a welcome cup of coffee as being New Year we didn't know what time the hide might shut. It was also a chance to try out my new camera, a Nikon D5300. This is a replacement for my D3200 that has given up the ghost (again!!) I decided it wasn't cost effective to get it repaired and I got a great deal on a D5300. Anyway enough of that.

So what was about for our short visit, firstly a large number of Goosander were about, which was very nice:

As you can see also plenty of Black-headed Gulls were about too.
Shovelers are always nice to see and added to the 2016 scoreboard:

as did this obliging Grey Wagtail:

As its a new year and it came close I let this Magpie pose for a photograph!

Although this Oystercatcher was trying to hide from the camera I got it in the end:

Finally from the hide I took this BHG flying past:

At 2:30 the hide closed and we retired to the Visitor Centre to watch the feeders and have another coffee, it was now pouring, so we stayed put until about 4ish watching the finches and tits on the feeders. It was then a trudge back through the rain to the Forge Mill Car Park.

So our starting list for 2016 at the valley was:

Blackbird

Black-headed Gull

Blue Tit

Bullfinch

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

Coot

Cormorant

Dunnock

Gadwall

Goldfinch

Goosander

Great Crested Grebe

Great Tit

Greater Canada Goose

Greenfinch

Grey Heron

Grey Wagtail

Lapwing

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Magpie

Mallard

Moorhen

Mute Swan

Oystercatcher

Pied Wagtail

Pochard

Reed Bunting

Shoveler

Sparrowhawk

Starling

Teal

Tufted Duck

Wigeon

Woodpigeon