Spring continues...and so do the birds

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post and the birds keep on coming.

Following the bluethroats, a wood sand made a brief evening visit (only my second for the patch) and few days laters a couple of Temminck's stints along with a dunlin also graced the not so great pool.  Another full fat patch (the stints that is, not the dunlin).

A seawatch on the 27th produced a stunning summer plumaged white-billed diver ... yet another full fat patch.

A ringed plover on the 28th was the first record since August 2016.

And that was the end of May.

Luckily it's still spring up here and still birds to be had, two more full fat patch ticks today in the form  of a male red-backed shrike and (believe it or not) 12 Canada geese...

quite simply a stunning spring with seven full fat patch ticks.  99 species (93.40%) puts the Procs back in their place.

Happy days

Bushveld.

Briefly on top

Its been a while since we last updated our score. The return of summer migrants has boosted our total a bit, including garden warbler in the garden and an early swift. Other news includes the now regular occurrence of house sparrow on the patch. This species is barely annual but it appears to be making a small come back, foraging beside its arboreal cousin. We await being knocked off the top spot by Bushvelt, and whatever he has found of late...

Big Royzah's Fully Fat

Not to outdone by Senor Bushveld, Big Roy was delighted to report that it has only taken him 20 whole years (count 'em) to actually manage to see a bluetroat on the Don - verification provided below....

A male bluetroat yesterday

Not that he bothered to focus the image before taking it, nor could he be arsed downloading it off the camera but hey, you get the general idea.

I myself failed to see any bluetroats, but did manage a swift and an amazeballs flyover grey plover, which was only my 5th evah at Galley or something equally amazin....

Easterlies...

Just managed to get the seven patch ticks yesterday.

A couple of bluetroats were a full patch tick and a nice honey buzzard was a second for the patch.  The others were spot fly, redstart, common sand, whimbrel, black-wit.  Having added a few other odds and sods during the last week or so, my total of 91 species and 85.85% puts me comfortably in poll position.

Happy days.

Bushveld.

Catching up

Not to be outdone by those in the Norf-east of Scotland who are currently enjoying cripplers on patch, I too have been banging them in at Galley, its just they've all been gank. Still, collared dove was one I missed last year, whilst bankers like spotted flycatcher, gropper, and sarnie tern have also all been bagged.

87 species or 65.58% - gettin there....

A Mega find by Reg

Thankfully Reg no longer plays this game, otherwise we'd be hanging up our bins and Ol' Snowy would be looking forward to yet another year in Collieston.  A MOLTONI'S WARBLER on Reg's patch gave crippling views for the whole of yesterday afternoon but unfortunately stayed mute until late on when eventually it gave itself away and, in the process, made Reg a very happy man.

A brilliant find and great perseverance by Reg to nail the identification.

In the mean time the patch keeps giving and I keep taking.

The best of the bunch being a drake garganey on the 'not so great pool' was a full fat patch tick.  Aside from that nothing of significant note but plenty of fine birds to keep the tally rolling forward.

Total so far 80 species, 75.47%.


Happy days

Bushveld

Blowing away the cloud of apathy

The arrival of the Golden Mallard was a welcome first for the Longhaven patch and quickly filled the space left by the departure of Ol' Snowy.

Since the beginning of the year a cloud of apathy has hung over the patch.  A few birds of note (the best being a merlin in February and the first for the patch since 2016!) hasn't encouraged me to venture out with any great enthusiasm.  However, over the last week or so the arrival of the first migrants along with a spell of south-easterlies has lifted the spirits somewhat and I've stopped looking at my feet and started looking up.  An uncommon afternoon trip onto the patch with the two hounds today was producing the normal selection of patch monotony until the very end when from a ditch out flew a locustella.   Any locustella would be a patch first but fortunately this individual decided to land on a bush some 10 metres from me, where upon it posed like a porn star, leaving nothing for the imagination it proceeded to give full on views of every feature needed for it be nailed as a full on SAVI'S WARBLER.

Totals so far.  66 species,  62.26%

Not so good but still plenty of time and the cloud of apathy now blown away.

Happy Daze

Bushveld