Flycatching up...

While galavanting aimlessly around the UK, Seppy found time to check the blog, and took great glee in sending me a message to say I'd slipped off the podium.

Which prompted some frantic checking of spreadsheets and updating of same. Luckily the addition of some glaring omissions on the sheet, like swift, coot, spotted flycatcher and long-eared owl (heard, but they all count right) sidles me back into second place. Phew!

Stone mad and back in the game!

Finally back after the EPIC trip and astonished to find myself still ahead of the posse despite being off-patch since the end of July. Imagine that!

Great to be out around the patch on my own again. Four month's with Sybil is more than enough for anyone. Even better was the pair of stonechats around the back end of the lake yesterday morning.

Kerching!

99.61% and only a few weeks left in it... it's good to be back!

thats more of it ted

So, still stuff moving through even though we're into late May! A dunlin on the lake yesterday plus 14 (count 'em) sanderlings on da beach this am were both new, as was todays collared dove. Best of the lot was a very late singing grasshopper warbler this morning out on Galley - thought I'd missed 'em this year but thankfully not!

So safely still ahead of old bushy!

Happy days!

Gropping my way

Bingo... grasshopper warbler on patch earlier in the week was a real boon to get. Tend not to stick, so always a relief to get them.

The lone collared dove seems to have been joined by a partner, so with a bit of luck they'll become less of a struggle on patch in the future. A singing male blackcap yesterday was another patch year tick... keeping things ticking over nicely. Puts me on 70... or 84.85%... still in third... but crucially still in touch.