2009 saw me chasing a Devon Yearlist, with all the associated stress. 2010 saw me resolutely not chasing a Devon Yearlist.. until halfway through December when I realised how far I'd got without trying and so thought 'Oh what the hell..'. 2011 will see me again not chasing a Devon Yearlist, but this time distracting myself with another. [[No Joe, not a British List, that'd be daft.]] This year I shall mostly be chasing a Patch Yearlist.
Why? It's something doable, and with the way tax and profiteering is hitting petrol prices, it's something much much more affordable.Walking around my Patch is also much healthier, of course, than driving here there and everywhere, but we all have to make sacrifices, don't we? ;) I'm not saying I'm abandoning other birding - Lifer Twitchy tart I remain [Within reason.. Ahem.] - and I will be going afield just because, but I'm intending to scale it back. [[Note that 'i' word there and keep it in a drawer for future reference..]]. Whether this will extend to giving up Berry Head for the Nose is something still under debate...
To that end I spent today wandering the Patch, though due to some very distracting gulls in the harbour I didn't get to the Nose. 29 might not seem much, but as my Patch is mostly made up of one of the most densely populated areas in Europe, it's not too bad. Though I managed to miss the RN Grebe [Famous Devon Birder] got off Babbacombe [[Ouch]], I did get the LT Duck and Common Scoter [The former always difficult and the latter are much less reliable in the northern half of the Bay than they were even 2 years ago - I blame SWW]. Only one Brambling on offer in the Garden, despite sustained Chaffinch numbers, with the single Redwing still avoiding the Blackbirds [Redwing numbers over all are continuing to fall slowly] and the two male Blackcaps carefully avoiding each other.
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