Hard to believe the patchwork challenge is three quarters of the way there and for the first time I managed a month with no patch ticks. Partly because I have got most of what I am going to get and secondly because most of the month was spent "Rambling On". I dashed outside last week to look at a flock flying over but lost them so they remain a mystery. I am still missing mute swan, coot and moorhen.
A week in France around Nice and Vence produced two new year ticks in the shape of a
Fischer's lovebird, an escaped species which is common in and around Beaulieu, and a
white wagtail. Yellow legged gulls were the default gull and this one came down to a puddle for a drink.
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| Yellow-legged gull |
Pennington Flash in Manchester produced a lovely
nuthatch and the Wetland centre at Barnes Elms gave superb views of a
hobby thanks to a bird ringiing team who put me on to it. I only caught the tail end of the ringing but it was fascinating to watch and an education for me as a birder. I have been birding almost 40 years and this was the first time I have been up close and personal with the objects of my hobby. The other feature of this site was the total lack of large aircraft heading for Heathrow which gave it a beautiful noise free quality. The blocking high meant that the flight path did not go over the reserve and we had blissful silence instead of a 747 every two minutes.
Belfast WOW last week had 32 species including
104 teal, 6 common tern, 2 coal tit and a late house martin.
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| London wetland |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Long-tailed tit |
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| Ruff from WOW a couple of weeks back. |
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