Big day round up

There was almost as much activity after the bird race as during it, as teams worked out what they could and couldn't count, and several "final" totals yo-yoed, not just ours.

Anyway the result is that 105 species were recorded by the teams, and a number of good birds, like Garganey and Whimbrel, were seen by non-participants.

The final result published on the Earlswood Bird blog is as follows:

1. Ladywalk/Coton/Shustoke superpatch  84
2. Brandon Marsh                                      77
3. Morton Bagot/Haselor/Middle Spernal 76
4. Salford Priors                                         75
5. Charlecote                                              71
6. Earlswood                                              65
7. Draycote Water                                      64
8. Farnborough                                          58
9. The Dump                                              53

I guess the two teams with the most diverse habitat were understandably victorious, so well done to them. I was surprised at how poorly Draycote faired, but seeing their list afterwards its clear they had an unlucky day, with Little Gull possibly their best bird.

The prize for the best find goes, in my view, to Salford Priors, who had a Marsh Harrier to light up their morning.

Finally, some non bird race news. Two of the Mute Swans at Morton Bagot are colour-ringed, and although I have yet to discover where the male from the breeding pair was ringed, I now know that one of the pair at the dragonfly pools was ringed as a young adult (2 - 3 yrs old) on the River Avon at Evesham on 21 Oct 2014. Many thanks to Eddie Bird for the info.