I made the most of a day off and made a very good start to my 2020 year list. I set off before sunrise and headed towards the Lake District in order to tick off a lifer in the form of a Ring-necked Duck.
I knew it was on Pine Lakes, and on arrival my heart sank when I saw how vast the lake was. The sun was only just coming up and so it was not easy. It turned out that it was mixing with a group of Greater Scaup. A good start to the day.
The first sunrise of the decade.
The Ring-necked Duck second from left, smaller than the Scaup.
Ring-necked Duck left of the top three birds.
I moved on to an area called Eagland Hill, where a Purple Heron had been for a few weeks, and had frustrated me that I couldn't get along to see it. Thankfully, it put on a very good show and was easy to observe from the roadside. Two lifers in a day is always a good thing, but on the first day of the year was very exciting. I ended the day with 65 birds on the list.
