Out for the count

#BWKM0 ND&B garden challenge
DAY 25

When this challenge first started little thought was given to rules, beyond that of only being able to count species that had been 'seen or heard, either in, or from, the garden.' Somebody then asked me, in all innocence, whether or not they could count birds that had been recorded flying over at night which they had not heard themselves. Hmmm....

It was decided at a hastily arranged ND&B committee meeting that, yes, such records would be permissible. After all, the whole idea of this 'competition' was one of celebration and camaraderie. If somebody recorded the nocturnal goings on in the skies above their dwelling, then why not share in the excitement of the results? As for such observers reaping some sort of advantage over others, they wouldn't really have one - they may well pick up more species by such recording methods, but this would already be reflected - and nullified -  in their inflated historical garden list. Whether or not you can count these recordings is a matter of personal interpretation - after all, a list is a personal possession, one that lives in the mind as much as on a checklist. Rules only come into play when you are pitting your list against others as part of a competitive endeavour. So, for this competition, you can count them. This quite nicely solves a little dilemma that one of our fellow participants has been going through. You can read Jono's thoughts here. His 'noc-mig' garden firsts therefore happily appear below on this post.... but not on his own garden list. Simple.

We have already accepted such wonderful species such as Pheasant, Egyptian Goose and Ring-necked Parakeet onto our combined list, followed by radio-tagged reintroduced White-tailed Eagles (another being recorded over one of our gardens this afternoon). Today we welcome two White Storks - neither obviously ringed or wing-tagged, but more likely to be feral rather than wild. 

OUR COMBINED TOTAL (BRITISH ISLES GARDENS) IS 155 SPECIES   Still to be recorded are: Pochard, Tufted Duck, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, any skua, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Razorbill, Cuckoo, Swift, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Kingfisher, Redstart, Black Redstart, Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler.

Our oversea's gardens (New Zealand and Albania) add an additional 14 SPECIES

Today’s additions are: White Stork (Matt P)

You can find the combined #BWKM0 list by clicking on the right-hand tab above.

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ENTRIES

Our 'garden collective' stands at 58.

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Garden firsts

Matt P (Pulborough, West Sussex) - White Stork
Isaiah R (Worcester Park, London) - White-tailed Eagle
Reuben B (Tufnell Park, London) - Grey Wagtail
Robin S (Cranleigh, Surrey) - Mediterranean Gull
Josephine S (Leatherhead, Surrey) - Mistle Thrush
Stewart S (Howick, Northumberland) - Gannet
Jono L (Wanstead, London) - Oystercatcher, Little Owl, Moorhen*
*see link in copy above

There have now been 133 garden firsts across the competition.

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Visual interlude - #4 Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex

Looking westwards from the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head you will see this delightful river valley. It has a fine list of birds to its name, the best of which, in my humble opinion, was a very tame Little Crake way back in the 1980s - so tame that I watched it run over a birder's wellington boot as it fed along the edge of a dyke - the bird that is, not the wellington boot! It is also the only place that I've seen the ultra-rare plant, Wall Germander.

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How are we getting on?
Alphabetical order by first name. The first figure is the garden score as on March 20th. The second is since then (as up to date as I am aware).

Arjun D (Wallington, Surrey) - 74/60; Bene A (Tirana, Albania) xx/30;
Benno W (Goodnestone, Kent) xx/37; Bernard B (Ruckinge, Kent) 107/54; 
Bob S (Worcester Park, Surrey) 86/31; Callum M (Hemel Hempstead, Herts) 64/61;
Cheech A (Langley Vale, Surrey) xx/38; Chris P (Claygate, Surrey) - 43/38; 
Dave B (Chatham Islands, Pacific Ocean) 30/19; Dave P (Shoreham, West Sussex) - 55/41; 
David S (West Raynham, Norfolk) - 87/56; Debbie S (Portland, Dorset) 155/41; 
Dylan W (Thanet, Kent) 111/50; Ed S (Farncombe, Surrey) - 79/76;  
Gavin H (Bridport, Dorset) xx/43;  Geoff B (Chessington, Surrey) 69/27; 
Gill H (Tenterden, Kent) 60/29; Gordon H (Redhill, Surrey) 80/42; 
Ian K (Leigh, Surrey) 62/37; Ian S (Sidcup, Kent) - 113/48; 
Ian W (Merton Park, London) 86/42; Isaiah R (New Malden, London) 76/52; 
John P (Banstead, Surrey) xx/xx; Jono L (Wanstead, London) 83/64; 
Josephine S (Leatherhead, Surrey) 40/35; Justin T (Charmouth, Dorset) 59/32;
Mark D (Dorking, Surrey) 59/51; Mark H (Littlestone, Kent) 135/61:
Mark N (Stutton, Suffolk) - 77/60; Martin C (Lydd, Kent) 140/79;
Mathew B (Wrotham, Kent) - 33/44; Matt P (Pulborough, West Sussex) 126/92;   
Michael D (Craster, Northumberland) 106/57; Mike P (Malling, Kent) 70/58; 
Mike R (Battle, East Sussex) 97/50;  Oscar D (Chiswick, London) - 67/52;
Paul D (London) 84/35; Pete B (Shadoxhurst, Kent) 101/43;
Phil B (Ramsgate, Kent) 54/30; Rebecca G (Balham, London) xx/12;
Reuben B (Tufnell Park, London) - 45/45; Richard F (Pinner, London) 63/35;
Richard P (Charmouth, Dorset) - 101/64;  Robin S (Cranleigh, Surrey) - 101/51; 
Sam B (Enniskeane, Cork) - 67/58; Seamus E (Thornton Cleveleys, Lancs) - 67/35; 
Sean M (Pinner, London) - 50/36; Seth G (Uig, Skye) 64/49;  
Stephen R (Harrogate, Yorks) 66/40; Steve C (Guildford, Surrey) 66/36; 
Steve G (Banstead, Surrey) - 92/67; Steve T (Ewell, Surrey) 59/36;
Steve W (Hawes, N Yorks) - 91/48; Stewart S (Howick, Northumberland) 131/66;
Sye W (Aston Clinton, Bucks) - xx/31; Tony B (Woodford, London) 69/49;
Wes A (Capel, Surrey) - 96/78