Buzzin' buzzards

Well, it's been dead quiet on patch for the summer. Possibly on account of me being away on holidays and spending most of my time down the beach and generally not getting off my arse and checking regularly.

Since my last missive here in mid May I did manage to add swift to the tally (TFFT) but that was all until this week when, to my surprise a couple of buzzards started hanging around on patch.

I had two single birds high over the house at different times earlier in the week, then a pair soaring together the day before yesterday and another single bird yesterday.

YAY! Check out that patch buzzard action!

This may seem lame to UK patchers -- but you can feck right off because buzzards are still scarce enough in this neck of the woods. Would be cool if they decide to stick around. 

Cool for raptor conservation of course... but with the fringe benefit that a previously tricky year-tick becomes practically "nailed on".

All of which shenanigans inches me up to a respectable 95.77%.

Any day you see a peregrine is a good day... per Birdwatch Ireland

Yesterday, apparently, was a good day.

It was dry when I went out... I wasn't dry when I got home... the rain and the hail saw to that. But on the way back from the lake I had a fly-by peregrine, and according to this Birdwatch Ireland tweet from February 2012, that makes yesterday a good day:

Live peregrine cam! There's one on camera 2 right this instant. http://t.co/jngOVSfd Any day you see a Peregrine is a good day...

— BirdWatch Ireland (@BirdWatchIE) February 16, 2012

Who am I to argue?

Nothing as sexy as a rockin' raptor today yet... but a stock dove over the garden this morning keeps the year-ticks rolling in... which is all good.

61.15% and counting....