Helen's 2008 Patchwork Quilt (1 Viewer)

A New Year, A New Start

This is where I turn over a new leaf and become a dedicated patchworker, sticking to the Peterborough area with special focus on Woodwalton Fen, my favourite local spot.

(Of course, there may be the occasional, gas-guzzling cross-country dash to add to the life list even if the year list is defunkt. Just don't mention it to those stern northern types and all will be well. )

I am aiming for a back-to-work early night so today's highlights and list will have to wait till tomorrow. But I will leave you with a little question to ponder over night:

What was the first bird I saw with my new pimped-up pink ED50?

Stern northern types?

Your first bird with the pimped up scope was an interesting aythya hybrid, which you spent all day grilling in a bid to ascertain its ancestry. I'm right aren't I.

Andrew Whitehouse said:

Stern northern types?

Your first bird with the pimped up scope was an interesting aythya hybrid, which you spent all day grilling in a bid to ascertain its ancestry. I'm right aren't I.

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Interesting and hybrid seem to be at odds in my lingo but what does one expect?

Happy Smew Year :gh:

Whorey Redpoll?

R

PBC area huh? Ermm.....Wood Pig?
But hang on, seeing that it was foggy yesterday morning and you'd be itching to get your little pink thing out early doors. Shag at the Town Bridge?

dave...

Andrew Whitehouse said:

Your first bird with the pimped up scope was an interesting aythya hybrid, which you spent all day grilling in a bid to ascertain its ancestry. I'm right aren't I.

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How well you know me. Not.
No.

rob stoff said:

Whorey Redpoll?

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LOL. No.

deboo said:

PBC area huh? Ermm.....Wood Pig?
But hang on, seeing that it was foggy yesterday morning and you'd be itching to get your little pink thing out early doors. Shag at the Town Bridge?

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Nope. Not there nor anywhere else.

redeyedvideo said:

Interesting and hybrid seem to be at odds in my lingo but what does one expect?
Happy Smew Year :gh:

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The Winner!!!

All my morning birding was done with bins. It was too foggy to make it worth getting the scope out. It made its first appearance at Deeping Lakes in the afternoon where I walked into the hide, opened the window and aimed the scope at a beautiful, male Smew! (Will had already spotted it just before we got in the hide).

Turns out it was the Kowa that was Smew-repelling not me!

Best of luck with the local patch list where common birds become highly sought after and send you stark raving 'wibble wibble' mental!

Smew, good start! Would like one on the local canal.

Its that age-defying new face cream wot did it. You look SO young now.
Happy Smew Year!

Andrew said:

Best of luck with the local patch list where common birds become highly sought after and send you stark raving 'wibble wibble' mental!

Smew, good start! Would like one on the local canal.

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Thanks, Andrew. I still need Dunnock for the patch year list.

halftwo said:

Its that age-defying new face cream wot did it. You look SO young now.
Happy Smew Year!

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It's good, isn't it? I think I went a bit too far though - I was hoping for the appearance of a 23-year-old not a 3-year-old.

Picture in the attic?
Looking down the wrong end of an overly-pink scope with too much fairy dust?
Another week & you'll just be an egg!

The Boy, The Dad, The Cripple and the Ladybirder

So. My birding year began at Baston Fen, 7.30am, yesterday morning in dense fog. The upside was the most beautifully atmospheric walk around the Fen, listening to the Wigeon and the Water Rail, seeing a pair of Goosander emerging from the mist over our heads. The downside was the fact that it was a bit hard to avoid the cowshit and the damp bottoms of my jeans had a quaint country aroma for the rest of the day.

Accompanying me for the day were young Will, his dad, Ray, and the exalted Mike Weedon of Birdwatching column fame who had a leg in plaster due to a sprained Achilles tendon. This made for an interesting day as Mike had to restrict himself to the shorter-distance hobbles but saw/heard more birds than I did. He had a small collapsible stool which he perched himself on while we wandered off (after his slaves had installed his stool, fetched his equipment and generally hopped to it ) and staying at Baston Fen car park netted him Siskins and Kingfisher which the rest of us missed.

Full list in my next post but particular highlights were:

- the drive past the field where the others had seen Peregrine last year. Seemed like an off chance till we stopped and immediately saw a Merlin flying with prey and then settling in the field to eat in plain view. 2 minutes later a Peregrine swept across the field, cruising low over the Merlin but flying on empty-handed.

- a traipse through a bit of marshy land which chased up first a Snipe and then minutes later a Jack Snipe which flew straight at my head before veering off at the last minute.

- a Little Owl perched chubbily on the stump of a roadside tree looking placidly right at us

- two Short-Eared Owls swooping along the roadside giving my closest ever views

- 2 flocks of little, fat brown Corn Buntings - one lot perched on the wire, the others flitting into the top of a tree

- a pair of Pintail displaying their perfect derrieres upended on the Washes

- and, of course, the oh-so-easy Smew through my little pink scope

In total the team saw or heard 99 birds (100 if you count Ray's early morning Tawny Owl). My total was 87 - there were a few that I missed altogether and a few that I'm not counting because I didn't see or hear them well enough to be sure I could have id-ed them myself.

Wow, that was a nice day to start the year!
Are you feeling positive enough to believe it's just a taste of things to come?

turkish van said:

Wow, that was a nice day to start the year!
Are you feeling positive enough to believe it's just a taste of things to come?

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Well, unfortunately it is just possible that I have seen pretty much all the good birds that the area has to offer. At least for the Winter.

So roll on the Spring, I say.

Helenelizabeth2 said:

Well, unfortunately it is just possible that I have seen pretty much all the good birds that the area has to offer. At least for the Winter.

So roll on the Spring, I say.

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No Helen, wrong answer.

Correct answer: "Actually Laura, since you ask, I have a lovely warm feeling that tells me every day I go birding is going to be at least as good as that one!".

Do you need some chocolate or something?

And here is the complete list - just skip this listophobes - this is the dull bit.

1. Barn Owl
2. Mallard
3. Mute Swan
4. Goosander
5. Blue Tit
6. Wood Pigeon
7. Jackdaw
8. Crow
9. Magpie
10. Pied Wagtail
11. Redshank
12. Wigeon
13. Black-headed Gull
14. Mistle Thrush
15. Kestrel
16. Long-tailed Tit
17. Reed Bunting
18. Pheasant
19. Water Rail
20. Stock Dove
21. Wren
22. Blackbird
23. Little Egret
24. Stonechat
25. Linnet
26. Goldfinch
27. Grey Wagtail
28. Starling
29. Chaffinch
30. Blackbird
31. Coal Tit
32. Nuthatch
33. Great Spotted Woodpecker
34. Goldcrest
35. Yellowhammer
36. Great Tit
37. Common Gull
38. Coot
39. Great Crested Grebe
40. Robin
41. Rook
42. Cormorant
43. Tufted Duck
44. Goldeneye
45. Shoveler
46. Pochard
47. Little Grebe
48. Ruddy Duck
49. Green Woodpecker
50. Snipe
51. Jack Snipe
52. Meadow Pipit
53. Gadwall
54. Lapwing
55. Golden Plover
56. Great Black-backed Gull
57. Teal
58. Lesser Black-Backed Gull
59. Song Thrush
60. Shelduck
61. Merlin
62. Peregrine
63. House Sparrow
64. Collared Dove
65. Red-Crested Pochard
66. Skylark
67. Greenfinch
68. Pink-footed Goose
69. Greylag Goose
70. Little Owl
71. Smew
72. Green Sandpiper
73. Fieldfare
74. Red-legged Partridge
75. Short-eared Owl
76. Corn Bunting
77. Bewick Swan
78. Whooper Swan
79. Grey Heron
80. Feral Pigeon
81. Tree Sparrow
82. Marsh Harrier
83. Black-tailed Godwit
84. Redwing
85. Pintail
86. Moorhen
87. Canada Goose

Helenelizabeth2 said:

Well, unfortunately it is just possible that I have seen pretty much all the good birds that the area has to offer. At least for the Winter.

So roll on the Spring, I say.

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Laura is correct that this is the wrong answer. You should say 'Thank goodness I've got all those birds on the list. This means I can concentrate on working my patch, learning more about ID, making counts and finding my own birds'. You do know what patch working is about don't you ?

Helenelizabeth2 said:

Well, unfortunately it is just possible that I have seen pretty much all the good birds that the area has to offer. At least for the Winter.

So roll on the Spring, I say.

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In other words, 'That's it. I've done my bit so I'm off to Lynn to twitch that Dickies Pip.'

turkish van said:

No Helen, wrong answer.

Correct answer: "Actually Laura, since you ask, I have a lovely warm feeling that tells me every day I go birding is going to be at least as good as that one!".

Do you need some chocolate or something?

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Obviously. Quick - pm me a kitkat.

redeyedvideo said:

In other words, 'That's it. I've done my bit so I'm off to Lynn to twitch that Dickies Pip.'

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Well, I did say I was still going for lifers. But, I suspect a Dicky Pip might be easier in the Autumn. And, of course, it is not impossible that there could be a PBC one later in the year - I believe we've had them before.