Saturday, 23 January 2016

23rd January

I’ve been suffering from this widespread lurgy so a bit of an effort even to drag myself out today and it was very quiet apart from my first Sparrowhawk of the year, a cracking little male, and a flock of around 35 Lesser Redpoll in the field by the school.
In the Magic Garden a small group of Mallard got up off the Lake but out of the corner of my eye I saw a different duck spring out of the reeds but lost it almost immediately. I accidentally flushed the same bird from the bog area later. It was a female Shoveler, a nice sighting given the first parish record was only in December.

A little bit of serendipity here as well – I have a Kingfisher call as one of the ringtones on my phone. A friend texted me, the call went off and almost immediately a calling Kingfisher flew in and perched within a few feet of me on the little jetty. I was so surprised I didn’t even lift my camera and soon, realising its mistake, it shot back off across the water
I also have Quail as one of my tones, I’m looking forward to the same happening this summer!

On the final patchwork challenge results for 2015 I just managed to scrape in to win the Inland North mini-league, a hair’s breadth ahead of Steve Ward from Wensleydale.



There’s a bit more local rivalry this year as well with Chris Knight in Thrintoft also joining the fray…

3 comments:

  1. I'm sure I won't be that much of a rival... though I did get woodcock today!

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    1. Where was that? I didn't catch up with one all last year

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    2. In the thin strip of wood opposite St Wilfrids church... nearly trod on it. I recall you found one roosting in a tree. Was that 2014 already? Also had barn owl tonight from the car. 65/67

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