Ringing in the New Year

Well, last year dawdled to a close with a dismal showing on patch to leave me floundering off the podium for the first time in a long time.

Oh well... onward and... well, onward at least!

This year started well enough, but the highlight by far was when Seppy "helped" me re-identify a dubious scaup that turned up on the lake on New Year's Eve as a female ring-necked duck. SCORE!

Patch tick... and retrospectively my best patch find for 2017. As it stuck around until the 05 Jan it's also likely to be my best patch find of 2018.

Other highlights of the New Year so far included a female blackcap on my nuts one morning and a flock of a dozen or so wigeon on the lake. A greenfinch hopping about on my nuts this morning takes my tally to 49 for the year so far... or 55.11% in real money.

All of which sees The Mall in top spot... again... temporarily. #theonlywayisdown

What a lark!

Skylark from the washing line (year tick hot spot) and newly arrived sedge warblers push me up to 82.42%... But looking like my flirtation with the top of the leaderboard is coming to an end. Ho hum!