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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MKinHK" data-source="post: 3185646" data-attributes="member: 21760">Last week I was away in Paris for a conference and although I didn't even take my bins I did see a few birds that would be new to the thread. The best bird was a Eurasian Woodcock rather improbably seen flying alongside the road from the airport close to dusk, while more expected fare included Eurasian Blackbirds waking me up singing in the middle of the night, Woodpigeons all over the place, a Moorhen in the Tuileries Gardens, Great Cormorant, Mallard,Herring and Black-headed Gulls on the River Seine and both Blue and Great Tits in a park I walked round before a meeting on Tuesday lunchtime. Today I was back on the Roundabout for the first time since the end of February, and the humid foggy weather of spring is very much upon us. Doing the extended route that includes the waterlogged grassy patch close to eastern end of the south runway I was surprised to find no waders, but just a single taivana Yellow Wagtail and a Richard's Pipit, plus a pandoo Blue Rock Thrush that looped away from a hidden perch on top of the giant billboard.I did also have a White-shouldered Starling in a stand of fruiting banyans that also held a couple of Silky Starlings.A look out over the sea to check how many egrets were on the silt curtains was the decision of the day, as a sweep that delivered very few egrets (8 Great , 22 Little and 6 Grey Herons) also revealed an elegant long-necked bird bobbing on the waves - Great Crested Grebe - a totally unexpected 137th addition to the patch list! It was pretty distant, as the photo shows, but they all count.The rest of the patch also produced a few birds and I ended up with a creditable, if not outstanding 27 species showing over lunchtime. 52 Japanese White-eyes - a new high count - were in the trees by the golf course (45) and the Northern Edge (7), a first winter male Grey-backed Thrush posed beautifully right under the flyover between the Tangles, but four other thrushes called and zipped away unseen. The over-wintering Wryneck was the sole, and very welcome, addition on the Western Tangle, A White-throated Kingfisher was on the golf course and an unusually singleton Scaly-breasted Munia was in the trees by the petrol station.Four Olive-backed Pipits were on the Grassy Edge and two Richard's Pipits on the golf course were lingering vestiges of winter, while a couple of Barn Swallows zooming east were genuine early migrants.With the meelia trees now starting to bloom I'm expecting the first flycatchers of spring in the next week or so - and hoping for (ok dreaming of) a spanking male elisae Narcissus as the star prize.CheersMike</blockquote>

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