Feb patchbirding scores

I'm very chuffed with the latest scoreboard, which is up to the end of February.
There is still a fight for the top place in the Inland League but I have the top spot on points (by2) and the other guy at Holbrook on the Suffolk coast is winning on species number (again by2).
Congrats to Jonathan Gibbs- a fantastic 2 month score for Minsmere!
Most surprisingly of all is that I am currently in joint 6th place in the competition overall!

Shows how good the Mid Yare really is throughout the winter months. I just hope the area can compare to some of the coastal sites throughout spring passage, birds like Redstart, nightingale, pied fly, Tree pipt, even ring ouzel (I could mention far more) are all real tricky species in the valley from past experience so will really need to try hard for them when the passage is in full flow.

And another...

Another rainy/snowy/sleety morning, this time I had a look at Cantley, just a brief look from the pump-house overlooking the pools which were particularly swollen.
The pools were positively hooching with 1 ringed plover (patch yr tick), 142 black tailed godwits, 91 curlew and 115 Dunlin, as well as 15+ Ruff, returning oystercatchers and redshanks and the common duck species...and a short eared owl over Claxton.

An unpleasant morning for weather but was great to be watching that number of waders on the patch, shame there wasn't something a little better on offer- a Grey plover would have been a bit of patch gold! Still can't turn my nose up at another patch yeartick in the form of a Ringo.

1 addition plus lots of rain!

A brief search of Buckenham in the torrential rain this morning yielded my first Avocets of the year, looking as if they really didn't want to be there. Also present were good numbers of Dunlin, Black tailed godwits, goldies and a few oyks and redshanks.
That puts me on 108 sp, more waders hoped for in the next few weeks!

first patch ticks of spring

A day at Cantley yesterday added a few of the easier waders to the patchbirding list.With waders coming back to breed and the early migrants going through March can be quite good at Mid Yare.

Yesterdays additions were Black tailed Godwit- 60+, Green Sandpiper- 3, Grey Wagtail-2 and Oystercatcher 6+.

An Osprey was seen on Wednesday, shame I missed that one, would have been a very early migrant.
More annoying was the fact that I was working all Sunday and a colleague that was sitting in the reception hide all day failed to tell me there were a pair of Smew at the fen on Sunday. The most annoying fact of it all was on weds when he said- you have seen Smew this year haven't you? the fact there have been no smew yet at strumpshaw in 2013 would have given the answer added to the fact that I saw him every hour of the day without any mention was cause for quite a bit of annoyance. I suspect a few readers of this blog would have appreciated a call to RBA to see a pair of smew at the fen too. Oh well at least there's another winter...
Apologies, rant over- I'm sure it wont be the first of the year though- every bird counts now that I have seen the competitions January figures!!