Well, just like that, there goes another year and everything is reset once more. But, just before we get under way with our 2023 listing, the Warwick 100 would like to reflect on the past year.
An interesting 12 months, with several challenges thrown at us... our most prolific birder still unable to give as much time to the team, Lizzy out for 6 weeks with an injured knee, Steve out for a few weeks with a new knee and a drought that evaporated every tiny bit of water that Warwick scrapes together.
But, in spite of all this, it has been another awesome year for the Warwick 100 team, showing that patch birding in an unlikely urban spot is fun and fulfilling in equal measure.
So, on to the stats for 2022...
Our final tally was 113 species, down three on 2021 with a glaring omission in golden plover. Pintail, jack snipe, white fronted goose and brambling have all been seen before but were not to be this year. Still a pretty impressive haul, though, we are all pretty proud of ourselves!
Birds of note this year were tufted duck, whimbrel, whinchat, juvenile cuckoo and of course our ring ouzel. The almost ticked white stork and Saker falcon would have been amazing, but our consciences wouldn't allow it! Our hundredth bird was a garden warbler, seen on the 7th May. We hit the 100 in April in the previous two years, but this was still a good result.
Other highlights include Rick's huge flock of sand martins at Kingfisher Pool in mid April. He remembers dozens of them hawking close by, almost touching his head as they zoomed around. Cheering, sprightly and beautiful little birds. David loved seeing a water rail in St Nick's Park, while the teenagers from the local school chattered by in their convoy, totally unaware. Steve V. always gets a thrill from seeing the first swift of the year over the town, happily reporting that there were a few more about this year, too. We really enjoyed our social, getting to know each other a little better outside of the WhatsApp group. More recently, it's great to see the Warwick starling murmuration starting to build. While they roost on private land, a group of around 2000 can often be seen dancing over the trees near Warwick School - a joy to watch.
So the new year takes us back to zero and an exciting first few days, when seeing a nuthatch is a boooom moment. Let's see what 2023 brings - hopefully more socials, less knee problems and lots and lots of birds!
If anyone would like to join the Warwick 100 team, do get in touch with Lizzy who can add you to the WhatsApp.
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