Sunday 7 January 2018

End of first-week-challenge

One-week-challenge

With the one week target of 100 species hit yesterday at TH, time today to catch up on a few missing spp.
Things looked good on leaving home with nice weather and thoughts of Hawfinches and early Gos but went downhill a bit when I drove straight past the exit for the New Forest (!!) so went on to Blashford where the wind cut you in two inside Tern Hide!!

Ten Goosanders and the usual spp  - the P-fG seemed to be missing and despite directions to a/the R-bG all I could find was Common Gulls although adult Yellow-legged Gull was new for the year. Pochards still over 100 but all huddled on the northern side with most other wildfowl. Ten Black-tailed Godwits dropped in but it became too cold to wait for more gull action.

A Pop-up cafe coffee and scone with Jackie and a couple from Christchurch, originally from Chichester.

On the south side Walter was just visible through the trees and a nice bonus in the shape of a distant Merlin from Ivy South was the last new bird for this week. I don't see them too often and was quite pleased until Bob burst my bubble  - he'd had three together noisily chasing each other on the way in to work! A distant Kingfisher still looked good in the very bright light and eventually flew over the hide and it or another was then on the Silt Pond.
Nothing was very photogenic today.

So, still plenty of common birds not seen for the year, Reed Bunting still being absent.