When T2006 strikes....

After years if not decades of almost full dormancy, the T2006 (for it is er, it), has finally landed a big wan on its own patch. Whilst barrelling along the western perambulatory corridor of the Bridge of Don at near terminal velocity, whilst lasering unaware pedestrians, its internal voice recognition software assimilated strands of a putative Blyth's Reed Warbler from the central island of the River Don, below the bridge.

At almost the same time, other circuits on board this frankly awesome piece of electronic tin-cannery, were placing repeated voice calls to a certain dead tap dancer who resides close by, who was at this time feverishly clutching the controller of his gaming device in his pudgy fists, determined to slot yet another virtual goal past the vanquished losers on his virtual fifa champions league final and emerge victorious, blissfully unaware of the brown bonanza nestled only metres away from his fat ass on the sofa. or something.

Eventually, after celebrating winning the final with the usual shirt-over-head, arms-windmilling-furiously, cat-scattering jubilation, Big Royzah (for it is he) remembered to have a look at his phone, where he saw the 9 missed calls from the T2006, and reached for his bins.

With the bigs guns assembled, it was only a matter of time before the afore-mentioned Blyth's Reed was fully assimilated, grilled, nailed, and papped by the gathering masses. The rest is, as they say, is history, and Old (ahem, New) Snowy could be winging his way back norf after two years resting on Seppy's mantelpiece - we shall indeed see.

Here's a snap of a snap of a snap that someone else took of what is presumed to be the Don bird....

A blyth's reed warbler, yesterday (Thanks to the photographer for the photo)

As if to add insult to injury, the T2006 further upped the stakes this very morning, by claiming that its digital circuits have also recorded wigeon, greylag goose, arctic tern and cuckoo of late. Frankly outrageous!

Unprecedented Times... Desperate Measures

Well, there goes May and what a waste of time that was.  A lack of any migrants has meant that I've done more sea watching this last month than I have in total over the last six years.  Not that it's done me too much good.

The few highlights of the month were actually a couple of full fat patch ticks in the form of a singing grasshopper warbler on the 18th and a 1st summer little gull on the 29th.   A couple of Canada geese on the 17th were only the second record and a great northern diver on the 10th was only the third.

A few waders during the month included a total of five wood sands and similar numbers of ringed plovers, but little else.

But the good news is that all those passerine migrants that haven't turned up yet are still to be had in the autumn and the patch total is still a quite respectable 95 species but is unfortunately a good few percentage points lower than this time last year at 84.37%.

Happy Days

Bushveld