What did you miss in 2015? For me, probably Tree Pipit, Scaup, Garganey and Pintail. Others too, but they are the most obvious.
On the flip-side, Little Stint and Little Tern were both county self-found ticks, and greatly enjoyed, so I mustn't grumble. The latter was even twitched by our CR, so I can't be accused of being a big stringy twat.
Good luck to all during 2016, and remember, it isn't the taking part that counts, it's the winning. Hang about...I've got that the wrong way up...
Neither José Mourinho nor Jeremy Clarkson will be available to present this year's trophy (sponsored by Armitage Shanks), as both are busy with their 'gardening', but I did get a text from Jeremy which read ''My congratulations to Andy...some say that he sleeps upside-down in an empty box of cornflakes at a lay-by on the A6, and that his dreams involve Scarlett Johansson and Scaup...all we know is, he's called The Reaper.''
If you didn't get that in-joke, please refer to last year's blog.
Atb,
D
Pintail and Garganey. Grasshopper Warbler but I don't usually find those for some reason. Tree Pipit, and half decent waders really including Jack Snipe
ReplyDeleteMy most notable miss compared with other's lists was Black-tailed Godwit but I did put in a lot of miles and hours going around fields and woods with very little reward and no sniff of a Tree Sparrow or Crossbill.
ReplyDeleteI thought I had a Grasshopper Warbler on a balmy summer's evening, stealthily inched my way ever closer to avoid disturbance and after an eternity found ..... a grasshopper! Should have had Wood Sand, but lacked the conviction to call a 2nd bird at Peacock's (even though I got a pic of 2 birds flying!) so decided that I didn't deserve to count it. Ended up with a bad case of "scope eye" searching every pigging group of BH Gulls for a Med Gull without success, and didn't even see one at all in 2015. Nightjar was probably my favourite hit and I'll be back this year to see if it was a "one off" occurrence.
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