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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mouldy" data-source="post: 1779908" data-attributes="member: 25743">Another week of iffy weather and sprog watching, not out anywhere so just a best of garden report:Good to see the siskins back after a couple of weeks absence, lesser numbers than before but up to 8 still not a bad count considering the time of year. The irregular bullfinch pair also coming in, well, irregularly after a similar absence.OMAHD been gripping me off with his txts of spring arrivals, sand martin, swallow, blackcap and chiffchaff all boosting his garden total, the only migrant thus far on my list is a solitary swallow (when I was actually scanning the river valley for sand martins, which are more difficult to get as they don’t stray over the village much).But the sky watching philosophy of ‘check every speck’ turned up trumps for me when I decided to look at ‘just another gull’ going over which turned out to be a curlew, a first of the year for the garden. I’m trying to convince myself I’m not bothered about this garden tick-off any more but the shouts of “Yes!” or “Gettin!” every time I get a new tick give me away.Not much sky watching done really, the wind has been a bit of a spoiler for soaring raptors, they tend to be either foraging low or simply passing over at a good height, sporadic appearances mainly by kites and buzzards, with the odd sparrowhawk thrown in. Best period was this morning when 3 red kites, 3 buzzards and 2 grey herons appeared at the same time, followed soon after by a flock of c40 goldfinches bouncing over.  Treat of the week for me though came late Thursday night, after Question Time finished I went to close the curtains in the spare room studio but heard a tawny calling really close by, so I waited a short while and it took me by surprise by flying along the path which runs between our house and next door at just above lamp height, (same path as I got the fox a few weeks back) great stuff, first I’ve seen from the house, but as three tawnies were still calling from various distances and directions it didn’t take long for another to appear, flying into the conifers across the way. I scanned with my bins as its quite a well lit area but couldn’t see any perched up. Fantastic though, two tawnies seen in quick succession after six years of just listening to them, a very happy chappie was I.Garden tick-off update : OMAHD 65 Mouldy 56cheers</blockquote>

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