nothing to add

Well I have given up and am in Spain where today's highlights include hoopoe and Sardinian warbler. None of it improves my score though.
Happy New yearlisting.

Not so common...

A rather nice meally redpoll in amongst a flock of linnet and twite puts me equal to Reg on 92.11% and still lots to go for. Still reckon a few more ticks still to be got which although won't push me into a podium position but might just drag me past Reg, unless he gets the redpoll.

Happy Days

Bushveld

little to see here

Ventured out after 3 days of man-flu today - was scoping the gulls at Red Strand (off-patch) from de comfort of de car when "feck, little gull!" Straight round to Dirk Bay (on patch) where it is possible to 'scope Red Strand and score! First time I've tried it with little gull, but it stuck out like a small, sore thumb! Think about me 4th or 5th record for Galley. Drags me over the 100% barrier, and into 3rd for now, till Royzah declares his redpoll situation!

Tried me luck at seawatching for a bit then and was rewarded with 3 "blue-ish" fulmars - I'd say they were D, rather than DD, but best was kept for last when a frame-filling great shearwater coasted past - picked it up by eye, and couldn't work out what it was till I got the bins on it - late for one hereabouts - no December records mentioned in CBR 1996 - 2006, but I've seen them in early November in recent years. Easily bird of the day though - belter!

It's not over until the fat goose is roasted

Has Shaky declared for the year now?

Aptly for Xmas, roastable fowl have me edging ever closer. No festive additions today, but 3 Short-eared Owls was nice this afternoon while a lingering Arctic Skua yesterday stubbornly refused to look like a Pom. Most recent year bird was 2 northbound Greylags last weekend:

And here's the Whooper from earlier in December, also fleeing from the Xmas roasting tin.

Statto

Thanks to a new lease of life, emanating from FIFAs own version of Alan Hansen, I can now declare that  an Iceland gull and a little auk at the weekend send me on to 121 species, or a staggeringly average 97.97%

Not much time to add anything else, and not many available options either.....although there is a dead seal in Nigg bay that I'm hoping will attract an Ivory gull. I still need Merlin (not seen one of them on patch for a couple of years now, and if a barnacle goose was to wonder past that would do nicely too. Barny is usually the second easiest goose to get, so not to get one in a year with 6 goose species is, well, errrrr, whats happened.

Merry christmas to all fantabulosans, old and new.

shanderling

hoo hoo! One I thought I'd missed for the year but apparently not. Managed a fine sanderling on de beach yesterday, which puts me within striking distance of el castillo, assuming he's turned into the eternal flame for the winter!

bully's special prize

Quick on the draw this morning when I heard a forlorn piping call - "bullfinch" i thought, and sure enuff, there she was in the garden sycamore - a classy bird if ever there was one! About me 6th for the patch I tink, certainly less than annual, tho missed one in Dirk back in the autumn. Not enuff to catch boy roy though, yet....

A snipe few weeks

The boggyness of our beloved Boghall paid off with a couple of recent snipe flushed from patches of Juncus. All grist to da mill, and takes us to 93.51%. Still backliding though. Been frantically scanning geese too, but to no avail - they are all still geese.

Da Procs

Fat Paul Scholes says hello!

He's fat, he's round,
he's always on the ground...

He's also forgotten his login name & password so once more I am a conduit for the blog! FPS says...

"Since I last updated in what seems like 1996, I've accrued a total of 119 species...which is 96.35%. It's not a terrible total really, just looks bad compared to last years whopping 136. I have absolutely no rare finds to declare. I was away when the dusky turned up, and I scanned greyhope bay just a few hours before the Dessie turned up there....The best I've managed has been a euro whitefront and a few flyover beanies. The whitefront was a patch tick, which was nice. Not much available to take the total towards 100%. It all sounds terribly glum, doesn't it!"

Reg breaks his silence...

Everyone's favourite copper has finally declared his score. He can't come to the blog right now but he has assured me that he's tallied it all up and he is not in the lead! In fact, he's not even ahead of Bushveld, although bushy currently disputing it! It'll all come out in de wash!

Want to see our Boney's?

Well sorry - you can't. It was a non-photographed, single observer fly-by (last Sunday, 27 Nov). Would certainly have been patch bird of the year were it not for better birds! The patch list creeps ever upwards, to 188 now. Three years to the big 200?

And then yesterday, another fly-by - an adult Whooper Swan northbound (just added to the patch list November last year).

All of which brings me to 126 for the year which equals 101.89%. Still three birds short of top place and I'm away for the next week and a half. After that though... well, maybe... Mistle Thrush quite possible with cold weather now arriving then.... Brent Goose maybe, Long-tailed Tit moving to the coast, perhaps the time has finally come for a Jack Snipe on the patch..... All there for the winning!

Statto

not over yet!

Two big scores over da weekend leaves me closing in on the boy royzah. First up was 4 (count 'em) gadwall on saturday morning on de lake, with a great crested grebe hot on their heels de following morning - gadwall was me 2nd record on patch (after 4 last dec on the sea - returning birds?), whilst greasy grebe was me 4th record - all good, and still need pochard, scaup, sanderling, glaucous (all relatively get-able) to leave me with a Twop Two finish! Specially as Reg has been frozen on 72.56% plus whatever he gets from now on! What a waste!

Amnesty

Not much to add since my last update. A couple of species to add (I can't remember what they were) have increased my tally to 91.48%. Still way behind Reg who must be close to winning.

Happy Days

No change at the top

Nothing to declare amnesty or otherwise. Still on 103.91% and looking set to stay there now, which should be enough?