** Lifer Number 95 For Halling.**

Today was the first time I have been out for a walk in Halling for over a week, and doing so gave me life  species number 95 for Halling.
Before that, my friend Ian took me out birding for a few hours on Saturday to have a look around down the Harty Ferry Rd, Leysdowne. Many of the usual species was seen. The best sightings was the Green Sandpiper, that frequents the ditch opposite the Raptor Viewing Mound, a ringtail Hen Harrier behind the Harty Ferry Inn, and a Common Buzzard sitting on a fence post near Capel Fleet.
I did manage to put another face to a name, while watching the Green Sand, a car came towards us and stopped, someone got out and walked up to us, it turned out to be Derek Faulkner. It was nice meeting you Derek.
Back to today, I made my first stop the River Medway viewed from the bottom of Ferry Rd. Low tide today was around 11.20am, and it was cold and windy.
I scanned the river a number of times, and one of the first species I saw on the mudbank was my old friend the Common Sandpiper.I don't know how many over winter, but it can't be that many. It was feeding along with a Redshank, of which there was a number of seen today, the same goes for the Lapwing's.
Stil scanning the river, I added Mallard(m2,f3), Teal(m2), Cormorant(1), B/H/Gulls, Herring Gulls, Common Gulls, C/Crow(2), Moorhen(3). It was while I was scanning up and down the river that I saw my new species, I must have looked straight at it at some stage as it was feeding on the mud in the grass not that far away from the Common Sandpiper, and Redshank. The bird I am talking about is a Black Tailed Godwit. I know that Alan Woodcock has seen them in the area before but for me it is a new bird, bringing my Halling Life List to 95, hopefully I will reach the 100 this year.
Halling Common was very quiet, plenty of berries stil about, but no sign of any Redwings, or Fieldfares, What I did see was: Kestrel, Blue Tit, Starling, Blackbird,Robin, Chaffinch, W/Pigeon, C/Dove, C/Crow, Magpie, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Green Woodpecker. In one part of the Common there is a sodden grassy patch, quite a bit of water, and in that area there was 10 Pied Wagtails feeding, 3 Meadow Pipits, and 1 Curlew.  Todays sighting has bought my 2011 Halling Year List, and  Halling January totals to 41.
My Bird Of The day is the ** Black Tailed Godwit.**

I had the usual specis of birds visiting, including: Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Bunting, Blackcap(m), Grey Wagtail(f)

Finally I would just like to say that I will catch up with my fellow bloggers postings as soon as possible.
I hope you guys have had some good sighting also.