**New years day, birding at home.**

Well here I am again, starting my 2015 bird list. Unlike most years when I normally go out for the day  this one had to be started off at home, because since Boxing Day Pam has been ill with bronchitis, and having asthma as well is not good.
I suppose I spent about 5 hours on and off making my list. As you would expect I saw all the usual species of birds but in between those, that is when you hope for that something different. I wasn't asking for anything that would make me say "Yess"  although that would have been nice, just some of the not so common visitors to turn up, it is always nice to clock them up early in the year.
The first uncommon bird to drop in was the Jay doing what it normally does when it visits, fills up with as many peanuts as possible then flies off. About 3 hours into my watch I was rewarded with not 1 but 2 Jays, they did exactly as they did last year, 1 stood quite contently on the ground until the other was finished before going to feed. At one point last year I had 3 visit  in one go. The peanuts might go down quick when the Jay arrives, but what a cracking bird to come and feed in the garden.

Shortly after the Jay left a male Blackcap flew in, straight for the apples on top of my home made apple tree. He stayed for quite a while, before heading off , but he didn't stay away for long, in fact the Blackcap hung around for most of the day, he always seemed to be there when I looked, on one occasion the female turned up while when he was feeding but she left as quickly as she arrived, I personally would have liked it to have been the female that was here all that time.

The last species to arrive was the female Reed Bunting. Once it arrive in the garden and started feeding on the seed with the H/Sparrows  it stayed for a fair while.
A Magpie dropped in  couple of times for a few scraps but that's not unusual.
Away from garden birds I also kept an eye on the sky. I saw a Cormorant fly over heading south, and a Common Buzzard sitting on a pylon. Other birds that passed overhead was C/Crow, Herring Gull, Common Gull (which are quite common around here) B/H/Gull.

The full list of birds seen is as follows: GARDEN = BLACKBIRD, STARLING, H/SPARROW,  REED BUNTING, CHAFFINCH, GOLDFINCH, GREENFINCH, BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT, LONG TAILED TIT, ROBIN, DUNNOCK, BLACKCAP, JAY, MAGPIE, C/DOVE, W/PIGEON.

OTHER = COMMON BUZZARD, CORMORANT, COMMON GULL, HERRING GULL, B/H/GULL, C/CROW, SONG THRUSH.

As for my first *Bird of the Day* of the year I am going to pick that multi-coloured bird, the **
JAY **

(I took a gamble and bought myself a bridge camera at Christmas after reading that they can take good pictures, which if it does would be easier for me to take out and about when carrying my scope. The above pictures was taken using it through the kitchen window, but the condition of them is down to me by trying to improve the look, which I have overdone)