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!

News from Nimmo

 Yes indeedy, for it is he. Well, he has coughed up a percentage total and I've been able to fill in the blanks by utilising his blog at least.

As with many celebrities these days, Derek is far too busy to actually bother his @rse getting his hands dirty by actually blogging himself - tis far easier to just let a minion get on with it. Thusly, a potted history of wot Derek Nimmo has actually seen this year at Wanstead Flats....

January - 25 posts mostly blawin' on about wondrous travels elsewhere, namely Brazil, the Balkans, Fife and Mexico. #AlwaysOnHoliday

February - 12 posts - still Mexico, Fife again, the Peleponnese, Castilla-la-Mancha, and Morocco.

March - 13 posts - still Morocco, The States, the Peak District, Texel, Wanstead, wait, what? Wanstead?!?... Yes indeedy, and I quote...

"Approaching the end of February I'd managed one visit to Wanstead Flats in early January. That had taken me to 35 species, and my commute to the office through Bush Wood had increased that to 44. 44! Oh dear. I finally got my act in gear on the 25th, going for a walk before work in the Park and the Old Sewage Works. This took me to 58, and then last weekend a bit of sky-watching added both Buzzard and Red Kite between bouts of gardening. A quick visit to the Old Sewage works earlier this week added Kingfisher and Water Rail, and a Chiffchaff on the way to work yesterday took me to 63. A veneer of respectability. A thin veneer"

April - 13 posts - The Algarve, Jersey, AI and even Wanstead again! wowzers! April highlights have included ring-necked parakeets, a dubious, silent woodlark (whatever that really was!), yellow wagtails, a sand martin, a nightingale, ring ouzel, and a lesser whitethroat. A pithy synopsis of the year so far in overall Wanstead terms direct from the horse's mouth is that "the patch has had the greatest first 4 months of the year in recorded history, albeit that numbers of everything are low/singles" - Nimmo has obviously missed a fair bit seeing as how he was absent for the first 10 weeks of the year but is quietly confident that he'll be able to catch up later in the year.

So in percentage terms, he's in first place on a whopping 82.61% whilst still needing such sitters as tawny owl, grey wagtail and cetti's warbler. That can't be right shurely? Looks like we is gonna need an official enquiry and a recount....

A dubious parrot woodlark, yesterday (Pic: D Nimmo)