It's amazing how joining Patchwork Challenge has unleashed the competitive instinct in me. I had told myself I would not change my approach to local birding. I would continue mapping the distribution of the birds within ten kilometres of my house and joining the competition wouldn't change a thing.
But then I drew a part of a square kilometre in the Alcester area, most of which fell outside the circle. As this meant it would only take half an hour to cover I reasoned I could spend the rest of Tuesday morning checking out potential ticks in that general area. Perhaps it served me right that I drew a complete blank: no Cetti's Warbler, no Little Grebe, and no Little Owl.
I did in fact add one species to the list, the humble Chiffchaff, one of which I heard singing along Coughton Fields Lane.
Today I returned to the area determined to get back to mapping birds. It's now March which for me means I can start counting birds as breeders instead of winterers, although I must admit a lot of the birds are probably not yet on territory.
No ticks were added to the year list but I rather enjoyed getting back to "normal" birding. It was also sunny, so the camera got an airing.
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| Chiffchaff (the same one as on Tuesday) |
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| Chaffinch (singing male) |
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| Singing male Yellowhammer |
Some minor discoveries included a fly-over Red Kite, and a small party of Reed Buntings Chaffinches and Redpolls which were attracted to a damp patch in the road, but unfortunately were disturbed by the local postman who drove passed just as I was getting to grips with them. The only Redpoll I photographed was rather washed out and had white wing-bars (all consistent with the feather wear you can see in Lesser Redpolls by early spring), but as the Redpolls have now been lumped into one species I no longer need to care whether it was Lesser or Common Redpoll.
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| Redpoll |
It's a marathon, not a sprint.
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