Full-on, fun-packed, full fat

 Yes indeedy, the last few days of spring have been pretty full-on and fun-packed with a whopping two (count 'em) full fat patch ticks in three days! Absolute scenes! Let's catch up....

Thursday was pretty wet. Old spoons was on his way back from his favourite coffee place and decided to have a quick squizz for scoter off Cloghna Head (just off patch). Whilst scanning, he picked up a nightjar coming in off the sea. He rang me with the good news. I was, naturally, delighted for him and immediately invited him over for a cup of tea so that he could tell me all about it.

Eventually he left, after all the grisly details had been divulged and he left to drive home. Two minutes later he rang me again....

"Hobby! Might be coming your way"

"Wonderful", I replied. Or words to that effect. I rushed to the Majik Patio (tm) but to no avail. Flips sake - was I really going to miss another hobby on patch? On top of being gripped by the nightjar?

I left the gaff hurriedly, and headed for Shite Lane, catching up with Old Spoons who told me all about the hobby, in full grisly detail. Awesome. But just then, I noticed a falcon fly into view, as we headed down Marsh Lane. Was that it? It flew behind a house. We ran to the other side of the house. It swooped behind a farm shed....

There followed several slightly frustrating minutes of this japery before it finally did the decent thing and gave some proper views. At long last, my most-wanted patch bogey had fallen! Happy days!

A hobby, yesterday

After returning home for a light salad and a lie-down, I headed out again late pm when the rain had finally gone off. And bumped into two spotted flycatchers, common sandpaper, sanderling and two ringed plovers. All regular enough but a bonus to bang 'em in all at once.

common sandpaper, yesterday

A spotted flycatcher, yesterday

A turtle dove, yesterday

Friday was quieter, but I refound the turtle dove from last weekend in exactly the same bush, which was nice. And then yesterday there were two whinchats in the weedy field at Shite Lane, and I twitched a pied flycatcher in Dirk. Loafing at home in the sunshine mid-pm when I suddenly noticed two geese coming in high over the lake, heading west. All geese are pretty mega on Galley, so after very nearly botching the ID by having a scope-fail, I was delighted to clinch 'em as greylag geese, another long-awaited patch gank gold moment! No shots I'm afraid but you can't have everything! And I'm up into second in the standings too! Hello below me!

A whinchat, yesterday

Two greylag geese, yesterday

News from Nimmo & others

 Well he's busy innit - too busy to even post for himself these days. Thus far in 2026, Nimmo reckons that things are "not going well" as he's having to work all the time. All the time except when he was away in Morocco, Fife and Arizona on holiday innit. #AlwaysOnHoliday.

Anyway, the missive I received was scant on detail apart from "the patch a bit shit". I advised a holiday. Sage advice - he was actually in the check-in queueueue for a quick trip to Italy. Lucky guess on my part I spose.

Regardless of effort or lack thereof, our Derek is actually in second place. Top work.

Although that is of course prior to any declaration of a score from our Reg - all I've gleaned from him is that there have been "no rares obviously but some good patch birds with WTE, Snow Goose , Common Crane and Stock Dove. Will get back to you shortly with scores....."

still waiting for scores. #Obvs

Still nada from Royzah, but what can ya do?

In other news, Basil has finally had a blackcap. Which was nice.

For myself, well, the lake produced the goods again yesterday pm in the form of a just less than annual pair of shoveler, and even better, my first great crested grebe on patch since 2018, and only my 6th evah for the patch - there were, as always, absolute scenes from the Majik Patio (tm). Proof of life shots thusly...

A great crested grebe, yesterday

A pair of shovelers, yesterday

All to play for!

things starting to tern up

 Yes indeedy, a couple of good patch scores today in the form of little tern and common tern - both blown onto the lake this pm by the strong southerlies. Only my second little tern on patch, and common terns can be tricky - all good!

A little tern, yesterday

A common tern, yesterday

Schpring schprong

 Yes indeedy, there's been a trickle of movement through the metaphorical crease, with common/regular migrants and seabirds nailed over the last couple of weeks including swallow, blackcap, bonxie, sandwich tern, puffin along with sedge warbler this very morning! Best of the bunch was a flighty greenfinch spanging around March Lane last week. Should be annual, and just about still are.

A couple of recent successes avec le new lens:

A wren yesterday

A song thrush, also yesterday

All still to play for!

Full fat

 Yes indeed - jubilent scenes this morning during a patch check before we hit the recording studio. On our way past a wee bit of nice flooded scub we picked out the unmistakable form of a moorhen - a full fat after 18 years of this nonsense.
The crowd went wild for it. Perhaps gank tick of the year.Other than that we had our earlierst ever chiffchaff on 3rd March and some other annual padders. All this excitment means 70 whole species or 88.98% and an all time patch list of 109 species.

I'm still here

 I'm still here ... but I do wonder why

After a pitiful patch in 2025 one would hope for an improvement for '26,  any improvement would be nice.

So now it's mid March, still awaiting the first migrant and no patch birds of note. 

But it's nice to be out and on the scoreboard

Total to date 56 species 45.28%

Happy Days

Bushveld

Red-rumped already!

 Yes indeedy, its not even March yet and the first decent mig of the year has already been bagged! And it involved more than a fair slice of jam too. Rewind to yesterday afternoon, with the dog walk looming. In a last-minute change of mind, I decided against driving to Dirk and trudging down and back again, opting instead for a walk along the road from the house. 

After approximately two minutes of trudging east along the road, I spotted what looked like a swallow flying towards me. "But its February" I thought, raising the bins and getting on it. I could make out red around the nape, and when it banked, there was a pale reddish rump patch. "Jeepers, red-rumped swallow" was something like my next thought. I carried on watching as it made its way slowly westwards, before it dipped down towards the beach and out of sight. Somewhat in a daze, I retraced my steps past the house and down to the beach, then over to Kilkeran Lake, just in case it was hanging around but no further sign.

Full fat jammy twat!