Spring Sprong

 Yes indeedy, this has easily been my best spring evah at Galley and now that it appears to be calming down, I've finally got time to write it up!

Things were kicked off by me missing hawfinch and turtle dove, both found by Old Spoons up to his tricks again. However, I responded by bumping into two (count 'em) hoopoes feeding away on Marsh Lane, which was nice!

Two hoopoes, er, the other day

Exhibit B

I nearly went to work the next day but thankfully common sense prevailed, and I just hung about on patch instead, finding another hoopoe and seeing two more, while waiting for Spoonsy to come up with the goods. Which he duly did in the form of a female western subalpine warbler in his very own garden - skillz! Luckily I was quickly on site to validate the record thusly...

A western subalpine warbler a few days before yesterday

Top stuff! A day sweating on a hillside dreading "good news" followed, however I was back on patch by late afternoon in time to bump into a trio of hoopoes flying into Shite Lane - were these new birds? hard to tell but they could well have been! A fine fly-by shelduck and a cracking male yellowhammer and a merlin were also welcome additions for the year list!

But the biggie had to wait until the following day! A smattering of overnight rain promised new arrivals and I'd got no further than the end of my road when I heard a snippet of this from the massive bush down by the beach...

Song 2

So that was pretty much the next couple of hours trying to see the fecker but eventually myself and Old Spoons (#Validated) were able to get some views of most of the nightingale as it continued to sing sporadically from deep cover - amayzing to get one on patch, and an irish tick too! This is also about the only bird I've ever seen in this bush!

A few other bits of lesser gank have also been accumulated over the last week or so, including redpoll, house martin, dunlin, common sandpaper, 2 pintail (patch gold again!), tufted duck, sedge warbler and even kestrel, which was nice! The stats show that reaching 100 species by 11/4 is also the earliest I've ever reached that milestone - ooooof!

All to play for then!

Phew, migrants!

 Yes indeedy, things is starting to happen hereabouts, as migrants begin to get through. Still no ears here but a sandwich tern off the beach and a willow warbler in me garden on wednesday were the first official harbingers of spring. Old Spoons turned up a black redstart just off patch yesterday evening, which I managed to glean from the Majik Patio (TM), not new for the year but a sign that things is picking up. Spoonsy struck again mid-morning with a fine brambling on the top lane, which I had to twitch at high speed in case it got flushed - you know what photographers are like these days! Sure enuff, he booted it off minutes after I'd arrived!! #FrameFilling

Not to be (totally) outdone, I managed to dig out a new black redstart further down the lane, but neither of us could locate any pink and white flouncy efforts before the rain came on, even though they is seemingly everywhere on the south coast today. Ah well, maybe I'll find one tomorrow, if its not too wet!

All to play for!

Sunday nite update: still nowt better than black redstart at Galley but did manage to twitch two local hoopoes over le weekend, which was nice!

Cracking male black redstart yesterday

A hoopoe just off patch yesterday

Lesser is more (of it)

 Yes indeedy, I'm still trundling on at Galley and there's been some good "wins" of late too! Recent highlights include a highly jammy fly-by brent goose while I was slumped over the breakfast table a week or so ago. This is the most regular goose species I get here but they are less than annual, so a bonus.

Even better news came yesterday morning that there was a female "scaup sp" on the lake that had swam into the reeds without being nailed. Unfortunately I was in Kerry trying to secure some brown envelopes from the GAA so had to hotfoot it back yesterday pm before dusk to try and clinch the ID. Luckily, the bird was flying around showing off its white secondaries and grey primaries before it settled in front of the boat house allowing some mediocre but confirmatory lesser scaup record shots thusly:

A lesser scaup, yesterday

Full Fat Patch Tickage! I even managed to get back home in time to scope it from the Majik Patio (TM) and sekure it onto the garden list, which was nice. Additional good news was that Old Spoons has gone to Kerry for a couple of days - ah well!

Sharp-eyed regular readers might think that this bird looks a bit familiar, and indeed it would seem that it is Basil's female from Lough Clubhir that he found last December. You can do a compare and contrast here. Nice of it to do a bit of a tour. News from this pm is that it is safely back on Basil's patch, along with a brace of tufties - would be handy if it pops back here with them in tow, as I still need them for the year!

All good!

February - merde

 A short note for February. 

Seven new for the year this month with all but one being 100% ers and coal tit being bird of the month...Just about sums it up.

Ending February on 63 species and 49.87%.

Happy days

Bushveld

February is rolling on

 Yup, and so it goes on. Keeping up the near daily thrashing afforded by recording from home has delivered gank for all (at very reasonable prices). Best without a doubt has been a Med gull which we found on a lunch time break from digitally remastering our extensive back catalogue. 57 species which equates to 76.0%.

Update 16/2 three Med gulls this afternoon 

Da Proclaimers

No Japing in January

A record breaking month with my highest ever monthly tally of 56 species and 44.33% of my three year average...Giddy heights for January.

Not much quality though and only two highlights with the best of the bunch being a handsome drake pintail on the 21st, the first since May 2019 and a long-eared owl was only the fourth ever.  Other than that everything you might expect.

Roll on February.

56 species = 44.33%

Happy Days

Bushveld

January japery

Yes indeedy, its been quite a good start to the year so far at Galley, with a whopping 75 (count 'em) species racked up already, and there's still a few days till the months end.

Most year ticks have been regular, expected gank, but there's been a few goodies too in the form of spotted redshank, marsh harrier (my first on patch since 2013!) and goldeneye, which can be tricky these days, and true to form did not stay long.

A bit of unseasonal early gank cashed in too including whimbrel, chiffchaff and black redstart (ooo migrants), while the sea has so far produced one manx shearwater.

Plenty to play for, and indeed to get anywhere near the podium this year I am gonna need plenty! 

Lets golf this....

What a pile of old 'cock

 Almost three weeks in and so little to show for it. As with every year the tally builds up quickly, but it's all predictable stuff. The best so far has been a woodcock flushed from a boggy bit of scrubby woodland yesterday, a couple of lapwings in the first week of the year, and a great flock of fieldfare that have been hanging around. I've scanned them many times but not managed to find anything unusual in there. All this means 54 species, which is 72%. Yes, it takes top slot but you'll pass us soon enough.

In which I am extremely lacklustre

There have been a lot of recording sessions, high jinx etc. This has left little time for birding, but birding round here is a huge bore in January and so I've not been too worried. I managed to be away on a Moroccan gig for the most promising period, a cold snap in early January, but thankfully it delivered precisely feck all, not a single Lapwing. Literally nothing, and watching from afar as my patch colleagues flog it all day at minus three degrees for naff all warmed my heart I have to say. Bless the patch, ruddy marvelous how it can be quite so insipid. That's probably it for the first winter period. I've been out three times I think, and still need Pochard. All to play for.

Is it still only January?

I managed to get down patch a few more times over recent days, thanks largely to the fact Sybil was finally confident enough to drive to work again after the "big freeze".

Free to roam, I somehow ended up on patch most days this week, adding a healthy smattering of ticks in the process, namely: Kingfisher, Razorbill, Raven, Goldeneye, Snipe, Fulmar, Guillemot, Kestrel and Red-throated Diver. Thus advancing my splendid tally for the year to 78 species, and pushing me past the covoted 60% mark (60.15%, to be precise). At this early stage, that has to be a wee bit of a worry.

In other news... the Boni's returned to the same spot again today, after being on the missing list for a while. It turns out this elusive little gull has managed to give Old Spoons the slip 5 (count 'em) times since I found it on the 01 January. Imagine that!

Boni's... the return!

Potential for winter ticks is dwindling fast... and it really is looking, as Seppy is fond of pointing out, like I'll be fooked 'til April at this rate.

Ah well!

Racking up the gank

Right... I'll keep this brief because we've just come out of a major Orange Alert multi-weather hazard event over here on Fantasy Island (according to Met Error, our national meteorological (dis)service). But it's not over yet: we now have a five (count 'em) day nationwide Yellow Snow And Ice Warning to negotiate.

I'm sure you're all well versed in the potential downsides of yellow snow... so there's no need to elaborate on that front. Suffice it to say, the weather has been piss poor over recent days... but I took advantage of a brief window this afternoon to hit the patch and do some damage.

The Lesser Scaup is still on the lake... although she seems to have sacked off her tuftie gang and is now all on her lonesome. The Coots (both of them) seem very comfortable hanging out together, so here's hoping for some cooty shenanigans that will potenitally nail-on Coot as an annual tick. 

Oh, and the Whopper Schwans are still here, just in case anyone gives a shit.

Having checked with the self-appointed adjudicator this Toilet Duck was deemed inadmissible -- but I did manage to tick almost everything else today.

Unfortunately, there was no further sign of the Boni's, although it was seen a couple of times, by a few folk, since Seppy verified it (just not by Old Spoons... who ever so unfortunately managed to dip it twice... #oooof).

But the real news for today is eight (count 'em) year ticks in the shape of Reed Bunting, Water Rail, Cattle Egret (3), Goldfinch, Shelduck, Pheasant, Long-tailed Tit and Kittiwake.

All of which rocks me on to 68 species, or 52.44% in real money.

Pinch me! Is it really still only the 06 January?

Start fast... stall early

With the Mallard in the bag, New Years Day turned out to be less of a wash out than Met Error predicted, so a wee sojourn down to the patch was #ON to get the 2025 year list off to a flying start.

First bird on the list was Jackdaw, followed by Mute Swan... predictable gank mostly saw me hit the 40 species mark before leaving the lake. Key newsworthy points here were that the resident Whopper Schwan has once again picked up a winter buddy, there are now two (count 'em) Coots on the lake, and the December Lesser Scaup has decided to stick around for the New Year... which was good of it, in all fairness.

Things were about to get better though. With the tide well out, next stop was the gull roost at Blind Harbour, where I quickly banged in the usual suspects on the gull front. I scanned the larger gulls for potential yellow-legged or maybe a ring-billed, but no joy on that front. Then, on a whim, I had a look through the smaller gulls, naturally expecting them all to be black-headed.

My bins settled on a first winter bird, sittng on the gravel, its head tucked unhelpfully under its wing. It was noticeably smaller than the birds around it, and it just "felt" different. I got the scope out for a closer look. It helpfully stood up and had a look around. Pink legs, black bill. Boom! 1st winter Bonaparte's Gull in the bag. A full-fat Irish tick, no less!

Boni's in the bag!

When I say "in the bag" of course, I still needed to convince the self-appointed adjudicator of proceedings that I had, in fact, seen one. So I contacted Seppy -- who after the anticipated incredulous "What the f**k are you doing looking at gulls" rant turned up some 20 minutes later to validate the bird. 

By which time it had flown off, obviously. 

Luckily, as he was about to give up and dis the claim, a small gull flew in and landed right in front of him -- pink legs, black bill, distinctive wing pattern. Verified!

And a contender for (New) Ol' Snowy chalked up on the first day of the year. Happy daze!

With three more species added yesterday -- in the shape of Dunlin, Gannet and Chough --  (it's already hard work... *sigh*) that leaves me on 56 species or 43.19% for the year. A non-too-shabby start, all things considered. Not much left to get now until things start warming up though.

Ah well....

Reg wins (New) Old snowy

 As the dust settles on a poor year, and as the golden 🦆heads to Basil (well done), we must consider where (new) ol’ snowy heads. As votes are frequently fiddled, it falls on us to pass judgement and well let’s face it, there is only one place that it can go, and that is Reg for his bufflehead. Who wouldn’t want to find that on their patch? So well done Reg.

A bufflehead, er last March

In a pretty bumper year for good patch finds, let’s give an honourable mention to red-rumped swallows at Squince and South Don, and gull-billed tern and dusky warbler at Galley Head, plus Basil's late December female lesser scaup at Squince. All of them are worthy contenders but in the end could not compete.

So now Basil Shakey needs to carefully pack up (New) Old Snowy and send it, yes actually send it, to Reg, so that he can keep it for the next 15 years. And Bushveld needs to carefully pack up the Golden Mallard (worth at least £100 on ebay), and send it to Basil, so that he can send it to Reg at the end of 2025 so that he can keep it for the next 15 years.

All to play for!

bring it on....

 I managed to make my way through the snow and ice for my first foray onto the patch in 2025.  It wasn't exactly happening so to speak, but there were some birds, indeed a whole 24 species. Making for a solid start to the year with neither fieldfare (at 73%) nor little grebe (at 27%) being 100% ers, so almost bonus birds, but not quite.

19.00% of the way there....

Happy days

Bushveld

Good bye 2024

Well, there we go, the chief has put the final scores on the doors for 2024 and I for one won't be sad to see that door closing.  

Having no new species to add since November my tally for 2024 finished on, an almost respectable, 122 species.  But it was hard graft with few bonus birds.  The highlight of the year and the only full fat patch tick was an avocet gracing the Notsogreatpool on 25 June.  A good bird for up here (akin to finding a black-winged stilt in Kent) but it was only an avocet .  A scattering of other scarce birds (recorded <10% of the years) included osprey, green sand, glaucous gull, little auk and wood warbler; all nice to have.  But with few others, it wasn't going to be a great year and absolutely nothing to threaten getting Ol' Snowy.

But turning the page and looking forward to starting again.

Having lost the rather low score from 2021 from the three year average, my target for 2025 increases alarming by another five species to 126.33; a total I have only ever achieved once.  So there will be no time for any slacking this year.

Well done to Squince (supported by Seppy) on winning the Mallard, which will be winging its way to you shortly. But who's getting Ol' Snowy for the best find, I know which gets my vote... quack quack.

Good luck every one

Bushveld

Limp Faulty wins the Golden Mallard Shocker

 Yes indeedy, despite suffering restricted movements for the final three months of the year, Basil Faulty did just enough to grind out the win for the 2024 Golden Mallard trophy. This is his second overall victory, but the first win at his current patch of Squince. 

Perhaps more interestingly, Seppy managed to squeeze out another second place, and is surely becoming the competition's Mr Consistent, while new-returnee Reg Hollis was no doubt delighted with his third place on the podium.

For posterity, here is the final league table for 2024:

Some scores, yesterday

And so it begins all over again for another year. For many competitors, it was a poor year overall (looking at you, Shakey!), but the regular scrutineers will be out in force to ensure that every competitor is giving it #110% all year for 2025, with zero tolerance for coasting.

More updates as they happen. Or as soon as Basil gets off the jax his laurels and writes up the story of today's bonaparte's gull....