A snipe few weeks

The boggyness of our beloved Boghall paid off with a couple of recent snipe flushed from patches of Juncus. All grist to da mill, and takes us to 93.51%. Still backliding though. Been frantically scanning geese too, but to no avail - they are all still geese.

Da Procs

Fat Paul Scholes says hello!

He's fat, he's round,
he's always on the ground...

He's also forgotten his login name & password so once more I am a conduit for the blog! FPS says...

"Since I last updated in what seems like 1996, I've accrued a total of 119 species...which is 96.35%. It's not a terrible total really, just looks bad compared to last years whopping 136. I have absolutely no rare finds to declare. I was away when the dusky turned up, and I scanned greyhope bay just a few hours before the Dessie turned up there....The best I've managed has been a euro whitefront and a few flyover beanies. The whitefront was a patch tick, which was nice. Not much available to take the total towards 100%. It all sounds terribly glum, doesn't it!"

Reg breaks his silence...

Everyone's favourite copper has finally declared his score. He can't come to the blog right now but he has assured me that he's tallied it all up and he is not in the lead! In fact, he's not even ahead of Bushveld, although bushy currently disputing it! It'll all come out in de wash!

Want to see our Boney's?

Well sorry - you can't. It was a non-photographed, single observer fly-by (last Sunday, 27 Nov). Would certainly have been patch bird of the year were it not for better birds! The patch list creeps ever upwards, to 188 now. Three years to the big 200?

And then yesterday, another fly-by - an adult Whooper Swan northbound (just added to the patch list November last year).

All of which brings me to 126 for the year which equals 101.89%. Still three birds short of top place and I'm away for the next week and a half. After that though... well, maybe... Mistle Thrush quite possible with cold weather now arriving then.... Brent Goose maybe, Long-tailed Tit moving to the coast, perhaps the time has finally come for a Jack Snipe on the patch..... All there for the winning!

Statto

not over yet!

Two big scores over da weekend leaves me closing in on the boy royzah. First up was 4 (count 'em) gadwall on saturday morning on de lake, with a great crested grebe hot on their heels de following morning - gadwall was me 2nd record on patch (after 4 last dec on the sea - returning birds?), whilst greasy grebe was me 4th record - all good, and still need pochard, scaup, sanderling, glaucous (all relatively get-able) to leave me with a Twop Two finish! Specially as Reg has been frozen on 72.56% plus whatever he gets from now on! What a waste!

Amnesty

Not much to add since my last update. A couple of species to add (I can't remember what they were) have increased my tally to 91.48%. Still way behind Reg who must be close to winning.

Happy Days

No change at the top

Nothing to declare amnesty or otherwise. Still on 103.91% and looking set to stay there now, which should be enough?