Slow motion

#BWKM0 ND&B garden challenge
DAY 20

It has been hard going for me today. That’s three or four days (and nights) on the spin where it’s been a bit of a struggle to get results - BUT - it’s normally when you are about to give up and go inside to make a cup of tea or watch some TV that something happens. And this is why, like a sentry at the gates of Buckingham Palace I will not leave my post. Silly really, it isn’t as though there is anybody here to grip me off...

OUR COMBINED TOTAL IS 147 SPECIES   We still seem to be missing Pochard, Tufted Duck, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Kingfisher.

Today's additions are : Dotterel (Ian S), Grey Partridge (Michael D), Reed Warbler (Matt P)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NEW ENTRIES

Chris P (Claygate, Surrey)
Has currently recorded 35 species

Our 'garden collective' stands at 56.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Garden firsts

Ian S (Sidcup, Kent) - Dotterel
Ed S (Farncombe, Surrey) - Treecreeper
Jono L (Wanstead, London) - Raven
Mike P (Malling, Kent) - Mute Swan
Arjun D (Wallington, London) - Little Grebe
Michael D (Craster, Northumberland) - Grey Partridge
Seamus E (Thornton Cleveleys, Lancs) - Merlin

There have now been 107 garden firsts across the competition.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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) - 74/58; Benno W (Goodnestone, Kent) xx/37;
Bernard B (Ruckinge, Kent) 107/52; Bob S (Worcester Park, Surrey) 86/30; 
Callum M (Hemel Hempstead, Herts) 64/xx; Cheech A (Langley Vale, Surrey) xx/35; 
Chris P (Claygate, Surrey) xx/35; Dave B (Chatham Islands, Pacific Ocean) 30/18;
Dave P (Shoreham, West Sussex) - 55/39; David S (West Raynham, Norfolk) - 87/54; 
Debbie S (Portland, Dorset) 155/34; Dylan W (Thanet, Kent) 111/45;
Ed S (Farncombe, Surrey) - 79/75;  Gavin H (Bridport, Dorset) xx/35; 
Geoff B (Chessington, Surrey) 69/27; Gill H (Tenterden, Kent) 60/25; 
Gordon H (Redhill, Surrey) 80/41; Ian K (Leigh, Surrey) 62/33; Ian S (Sidcup, Kent) - 113/46; 
Ian W (Merton Park, London) 86/37; Isaiah R (New Malden, London) 76/47; 
John P (Banstead, Surrey) xx/xx; Jono L (Wanstead, London) 83/55; 
Josephine S (Leatherhead, Surrey) 40/32; Justin T (Charmouth, Dorset) 59/29;
Mark D (Dorking, Surrey) 59/50; Mark H (Littlestone, Kent) 135/67:
Mark N (Stutton, Suffolk) - 77/60; Martin C (Lydd, Kent) 140/70;
Mathew B (Wrotham, Kent) - 33/42; Matt P (Pulborough, West Sussex) 126/84;   
Michael D (Craster, Northumberland) 106/53; Mike P (Malling, Kent) 70/54; 
Mike R (Battle, East Sussex) 97/50;  Oscar D (Chiswick, London) - 67/51;
Paul D (London) 84/35; Pete B (Shadoxhurst, Kent) 101/43;
Phil B (Ramsgate, Kent) 54/27; Rebecca G (Balham, London) xx/8;
Reuben B (Tufnell Park, London) - 45/42; Richard F (Pinner, London) 63/35;
Richard P (Charmouth, Dorset) - 101/60; Robin S (Cranleigh, Surrey) - 101/50; 
Sam B (Enniskeane, Cork) - 67/56; Seamus E (Thornton Cleveleys, Lancs) - 67/30; 
Sean M (Pinner, London) - 50/36; Seth G (Uig, Skye) 64/44; 
Stephen R (Harrogate, Yorks) 66/35; Steve C (Guildford, Surrey) 66/36; 
Steve G (Banstead, Surrey) - 92/61; Steve T (Ewell, Surrey) 59/33;
Stewart S (Howick, Northumberland) 113/50; Sy W (Aston Clinton, Bucks) - xx/22;
Tony B (Woodford, London) 69/45; Wes A (Capel, Surrey) - 96/76

Comments

Fleetwood Bird Observatory said…
Hello Steve,

Two more for me for the lockdown period; Siskin and Lesser Redpoll. So, that's 32 species up to and including 8th April.

Cheers,

Seumus

Seumus E Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire
9 April 2020 at 11:41
BirdingCheech said…
Today I was super excited, whilst having lunch. I spotted a white throat fly into the bust outside our window. First time I have seen a lesser white throat in my garden and Langley Vale. So my count is now 36.
9 April 2020 at 12:34
Michael Drage said…
A few late purple sandpiper another 'garden first' (here every winter but never put on my garden list for some reason) total now 54
9 April 2020 at 16:02
Gibster said…
Up to 47 here in Uig, Steve with Mistle Thrush, Long-tailed Tit and....drumroll....Mallard!!! :)
9 April 2020 at 16:24
Chris P said…
Meadow Pipit and Mistle Thrush make 37 for me.
9 April 2020 at 17:06
Steve Gale said…
Thank you all - as always much appreciated!
9 April 2020 at 17:30
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goldfinches and Lavender

Image
We have three medium-sized Lavender bushes in our back garden. Throughout the summer the flowers (which last for several months) are a magnet for insects and give off a most restful aroma. As tempting as it is to cut the dead stems in the autumn, we always leave them, as we know that during the late winter we will get visitors to feed on the seed heads... This video was taken from the kitchen window this morning. We will normally see one or two birds over a few days, but have had up to 14 at once. We never tire of watching them. Lavender is a wonderful plant to have in the garden, with year round natural history benefits. So what are you waiting for? They are readily available at a garden centre close to you right now! There is an historic association with Lavender in this part of northern Surrey and south London. Lavender fields have been harvested for many years, with one particular field close to Woodmansterne being very popular with day trippers. A significant proportion o...
Read more

Welcome back!

Image
In November 2005 I purchased a pair of Swarovski 10x42 EL binoculars from The London Camera Exchange shop in Guildford, for the then princely sum of £899. These bins have served me well, with almost daily use in all types of weather, testing their durability to the maximum - salt water spray, deluges of rain, 38C temperatures, dust, dirt, slight knocks... and apart from the armour coating that had started to bubble and come away from the body, nothing to be alarmed about. Then, in the summer of 2022, I noticed that I had a problem when close focusing - the outer focusing wheel would lose grip and it would take me an age to regain a middle-ground distance of focus - plus, over the next few weeks this outer focusing wheel became loose. I resorted to the use of tape to keep it all in place, but realised that I had to do something about it in the long run. For a while I did consider buying a new pair - after all, they were then 17-years old - but they were still optically superb. It seemed...
Read more

A special day

In birding, timing can mean the difference between an average day in the field and that of a spectacular one. Good timing can be helped by reading the weather conditions correctly, or understanding local conditions but it is more often down to pure luck. In this case, I just got lucky... I had not visited Dungeness since March 2022, quite a gap for me. It was high time that I once more trod the shingle and my timing of a visit was down to several factors, mostly a personal liking for mid-late autumn but also because I needed to be at home until September 20th and could not make the journey south until then. I also chose to stay at the bird observatory for a few days rather than make it a day trip. All this conveniently found me stepping outside the observatory's back door in the breaking dawn of Sunday 22nd September, quickly making my way to the fishing boats, an area I prefer to stand to best appreciate any visible bird migration, an aspect of birding that I find exhilarating.  A...
Read more