Abusing modern technology

It rained all day today. Until I got a call about a lesser whitethroat on Galley whereupon I looked out of the window and realised it had stopped raining and was clearing nicely. But I was saddled at home with 2 kids! Thrashing for migs was not a viable option! Nooooooooooooooooooo!

Luckily some quick thinking involving a tablet, a laptop and the promise of chips on the way home got us out the door and up the road. No sign of the lesser whitey but I was just watching a load of finches flitting around on the edge of a weedy field when a rosefinch popped up out of nowhere, and sat there eyeballing me! Full fat patch tick! And number 200 for the patch! Amazeballs!

Managed to call Old Spoons without dropping my phone or losing the bird, so he saw it too. Sadly instead of posing for a photo, it suddenly flew up, circled a few times calling, before disappearing northwards into the distance! Brief but brilliant!

There was enough battery in the electrical devices to give me a few minutes at Shite Lane before heading to the chippy. It seemed pretty quiet at first, but then I found a small flock of warblers, containg at least 6 willow warblers, blackcap and best of all yesterday's garden warbler, which I'd failed to catch up with. Only my second at Galley in 11 years - outrageous! They aren't particularly common, but I do seem to have a knack of missing the ones that do turn up. Not today though - cashed in completely!

The chips were good too!

things fall in my lap

Slogged the patch 1st thing but couldn't do better than an arty wheatear

Arty ear

Had pretty much given up for the day and was enjoying a late lunch when I noticed something small flying around over the lake. A quick squizz through the bins revealed a juvenile black tern hawking around - only my 2nd one at Galley - fantastic!

boy with a tern

Shortly afterwards, whilst doing me moffs, I got a call from CC who was watching a female marsh harrier over the lake. After some headless chicken moments, a couple of laps of the house to gather me thoughts and a scopeful of a buzzard I eventually got on the harrier as she soared around and gradually drifted off north-west. First one for a few years for me here.

News of a serin at Mizen Head got me seriously twitchy, and after a very brief dalliance with work, I gave in and hoofed down there. Success!!

a serin earlier

2 good patch year ticks and an irish tick in the same day - all good!

Best Patch Find 2011

The voting has started for the Best Patch Find 2011 - click here to see the poll, and make your choice. Which would you most like to find on your patch? The winner receives the much-coveted porcelain Snowy Owl - there's a lot at stake!

another day, another wryneck

A slow start this morning, with much the same numbers and species around. Overall, I managed 3 blackcaps, 1 whinchat and 2 or 3 chiffchaffs, which wasn't quite what I was after. KC did a bit better, with yesterday's yellow wagtail and ring ouzel still around, plus the/a new lapland bunting too. Back home for lunch, during which I picked up a ringtail hen harrier flying low over the lake and surrounding fields - it seemed to be going after curlew, but failed.

By half-three I was bored of work, and had convinced myself there must be a yellow browed somewhere so off out again, stumbling into a wryneck almost straight away. Buoyed by this, I redid the Shite Lane area, turning up a pied flycatcher and another blackcap, seemingly new in from this morning.