Backward Birding: More Of The Same

09 October, 2017

More Of The Same

Still nursing my pinged knee, I was very good and did not go yomping about anywhere naughty. Or anywhere much at all, really.

I didn't even try my hand at dipping the Vagrant Emperor at the Warren - so you know I really mean it.

Anyways, I did get out about the Patch a bit, with a first thing visit to the Nose on Saturday, and a more general meander on Sunday. I'm sure you can guess what's coming, though I promise to include a little variety on last time.

Saturday was interesting in the utter lack - apart from one early deluge - of the forecast 'mounting rain from incoming front'. Sunday was also far less rain than forecast, being mostly made of sunshine. Oh well. Different plans would have come from accurate forecasts. I know I've said this many times, but you'd think in this day and age, with all these supercomputers and so on, that a vaguely accurate prediction the fricking night before would not be impossible.

Ahem.
Right.. So, I found a few differences from the weekend previous, most obviously being the utter lack of warblers. I think I found three Chiffs over the two days!?! As opposed to three in one little bush by IMD the week earlier. Hmm.*

There was a lot of movement on Saturday, though quite a bit was going the wrong way! This included a flock of 33 Mipit, going past low over the sea about 400m out.. north! Huh. All the Swallows were in/off, though a big mob of House Martins feeding over Ilsham valley [39 of them] did move out the right way. The most notable migrant overhead was a nice vocal Reed Bunting [wow], and the only 'decent' bird was a gorgeous Firecrest, which posed right out in the open by the Rock Path Holly, then dived into it when I raised my camera, the little [Censored].. :(

Readers with x-ray vision will see it clearly...

To be fair, even the Goldcrests were at it; when I came across a couple having a right claws-out fight along IMD, the moment I tried to make them famous they thought better of their conflict and vamoosed.. Drat.

But not everything was quite so unrewarding, so here goes for '~~Cra~~ Common Birds From The Patch' II.....;

80's Pop Duo

Bullfinches are bashful birds..

..Needing a little fieldcraft to get in range.

Note intervening scenery [and autofocus actually behaving for once].

"If I pose, will you please go away?"

I had the camera out

Goldfinches

Not the local mob

Part of a flock of 7

Who came down from the north

and spent a while foraging around the Quarry

These guys took some stalking, too. [After I ran right into them at the Narrow Bit... Ahem].

Far less subtle fare was also about;

Mosquito Boat

And you thought 2cy Herrings were fugly...

To apologise for that horror [why Ace feel they have to paint such ugly ships that awful colour scheme is beyond me..], I shall not only spare you gulls [stop cheering] but I shall show you something properly purdy instead! ::Gasp!::

Much better

Who needs Draconids, anyway?

The Hill does block good things as well as bad, but sometimes the sky finds a way.

Sunday saw me avoiding the Nose to see what else was about. I also had a small delivery to make, which was well-received. In terms of birds, there was little of great note - tit bands and no obvious migrants.

Cue various pictures;