firstreesjohn
Well-known member
There was little excitement until April; then, a goodly selection of migrants made for interest most days. All were regular and expected, save for a certain Cuckoo (see attachments).
Although anyone can see that the BBRC has hundreds of submissions to sort through each year, I wonder if there could be some kind of fast-track system for records such as this. It was well documented, multi-observed/-photographed and non-controversial. As has happened to many records before - and is still happening - a reversal of the decision could always be made, if further ‘circumstances’/evidence came to light.
With good IT design and structure, such a system could even cut down on the Committee’s huge workload. When I was in management, I always sought to make things as effortless and speedy as possible for the people in my charge. EIGHT months seems an inordinately long time, given the above - even if they have now begun to go through 2019’s records at a rate of knots.
Once again, thanks to Dave Griffiths for the first photo obtained. Attached is his astonishing shot of the bird perched in the easternmost brambles at the Hill - taken all the way across the grazing meadow from Meadow Lane.
This bird was preceded, then succeeded, by the ‘residence’ of several Common Cuckoos. These persisted until nearly the end of June. August was notable for several ‘misses’ (or ‘near misses’) and the re-appearance of Wasp Spiders after a gap of three years - this time in significantly greater numbers. This colonisation will be documented more fully on a different platform.
October had my highlight of the year: the extraordinary record of a Bittern. ‘No-one expects the unexpected !’ - to misquote a few sources.
All-in-all, the year was disappointing in terms of both the absence and/or low numbers of many commoner migrants. However, Redstarts did buck the trend and Pied Flycatchers continued to please. It was also the fourth poor autumn in a row: probably the worst in terms of quality.
Let’s hope there’ll be some more ‘highlights’ in 2020.
Although anyone can see that the BBRC has hundreds of submissions to sort through each year, I wonder if there could be some kind of fast-track system for records such as this. It was well documented, multi-observed/-photographed and non-controversial. As has happened to many records before - and is still happening - a reversal of the decision could always be made, if further ‘circumstances’/evidence came to light.
With good IT design and structure, such a system could even cut down on the Committee’s huge workload. When I was in management, I always sought to make things as effortless and speedy as possible for the people in my charge. EIGHT months seems an inordinately long time, given the above - even if they have now begun to go through 2019’s records at a rate of knots.
Once again, thanks to Dave Griffiths for the first photo obtained. Attached is his astonishing shot of the bird perched in the easternmost brambles at the Hill - taken all the way across the grazing meadow from Meadow Lane.
This bird was preceded, then succeeded, by the ‘residence’ of several Common Cuckoos. These persisted until nearly the end of June. August was notable for several ‘misses’ (or ‘near misses’) and the re-appearance of Wasp Spiders after a gap of three years - this time in significantly greater numbers. This colonisation will be documented more fully on a different platform.
October had my highlight of the year: the extraordinary record of a Bittern. ‘No-one expects the unexpected !’ - to misquote a few sources.
All-in-all, the year was disappointing in terms of both the absence and/or low numbers of many commoner migrants. However, Redstarts did buck the trend and Pied Flycatchers continued to please. It was also the fourth poor autumn in a row: probably the worst in terms of quality.
Let’s hope there’ll be some more ‘highlights’ in 2020.
