Backward Birding: More CatchUp Posting

31 December, 2016

More CatchUp Posting

So I've not been posting enough and it's the end of the year and oh dear oh dear...

To catch up briefly [stop cheering]...

Today I've been about the Patch a bit, with nothing spectacular or even really interesting to report.

Yesterday I went up to Stow on the Wold, where the Blue Rock Thrush had sneakily moved over a couple of streets, but eventually showed almost as well as the bacon sarnies. Hellish traffic kept me from my secondary stop - Chew - until near dark, [it took me longer to get there from Stow than it did to get from home to Stow....] scuppering my shot at the RND. I did see 5 GW Egrets, and possibly the yank himself - but at such range and in such light that its not even vaguely enough. Oh well, only would have been a British year tick anyway..

Thursday I was suffering the effects of a treesplant [twinged my back..] and so limited myself to a toddle about Yarner, where I didn't even get a flyover Crossbill, but it was till lovely.

Wednesday was the day of the Great Treesplantation, where my Hawthorn was pruned from its 3m glory, de-potted, re-composted and re-installed. Also re-potted was my Blue Spruce, which was far less vigorous in it's protestations, with only a few prickles inflicted [unlike the strain, cuts, jabs, and "aarrrgh you 'orrible tree, why do you need so many roots?!?" from the Hawthorn - who in this last year has learned what ouchy thorns are... :( ]

Tuesday was going to be a meander about Bellever and madman's laughter Tor, but the ravers had other ideas, so I went over to Fernworthy, and found hordes of non-raving people and hardly any water. But there were Crossbills here and there.

Cut back to the 24th, when a peninsular sweep gave very little; just 9 GC Grebes, one BN Grebe, a few Guilles [plus at least 85 on the Ore Stone] and no visible divers [though I missed one at Hope Cove, it seems]. Nowt notable on land.

Ok, less gabbling, more pictures. A sample of what has been;