Hoopoe Hoax

 Feels like a race for second place this year (and it is not going to compete for Old Snowy) but a Hoopoe on patch this morning was very welcome. Crap phone pic attached (typical to be the day to forget the camera). 

Cockfest gets New Year off to a flying start

First thing's first... congrats to Royzah on his epic 0.5% victory for 2016. Here's hoping there's room for the vaunted mallard on the mantlepiece amongst the trumpets and horns. If past form is anything to go by it should reach him sometime around mid September.

And so to 2017. A couple of sunny days kicked off proceedings, and I managed to somehow dodge Cybil's insistence on "family time" and sneak off around the patch, bagging a whopping 50 species. Highlights included 3 (count 'em) woodcock this morning, and a lingering mute schwan in the cow field behind the lake (always good to bang one in early, as they say).

So in real money that's me on 57.47% for the year. Good enough for starters -- although it is a tad worrying how quickly things move from "everything counts again" to "fuck all new about".