And now, the end is near...

#BWKM0 ND&B garden challenge
DAY 48

If you've made it this far into the challenge, then well done, 48 days is a big commitment. There is now just the one more day to go. So, give those optics one last clean, prepare yourself for one more birding session and let's see if you can add another species (or two) onto the 'lockdown list'. By 18.00hrs tomorrow evening it will all be over and we can then take a well deserved break.

These 48 days have been an eye-opener for me. I've discovered ornithological aspects of the garden that I was either unaware or at least had little understanding of. There are viewpoints from the house that give me sweeping views across the neighbourhood that are ideal for vis-mig - views that had not registered as such before. My Spring Chaffinch passage is more prolonged (and heavier) than I realised. Wildfowl obviously pass over my little bit of Surrey each night at the end of March and the beginning of April. Common Buzzards and Red Kites have kept on moving eastwards throughout the period, with 300-400 Common Buzzards and 75 Red Kites as bare minimum totals. If I had made an estimate prior to the off I would have cut them by two-thirds. Each and every one of us can look back on this exercise and pick out such highlights. There are many in our 'collective' that have fallen under the spell of 'noc-mig' recording, and as many others who just sat out in darkened gardens using just their ears. Both groups were amply rewarded.

Some of us were fortunate enough to be visited by genuine rarity. We all had moments of elation, either brought on by garden firsts or surprising observations. The first Swifts brought out a rash of joyous comments from participants, belying the fact that we were all destined to have them over the garden. The common is not always top-trumped by the rare.

Please try to get your observations in by 19.00hrs tomorrow and I will upload the final post of this challenge by 20.00hrs. 

Good luck!#

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OUR COMBINED TOTAL (BRITISH ISLES GARDENS) IS 185 SPECIES   Still to be recorded are: Arctic Skua, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Kingfisher, Whinchat.

Our oversea's gardens (New Zealand and Albania) add an additional 26 SPECIES  

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 61

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Garden firsts
Arjun D (Wallington, London) - Common Sandpiper

There have been 214 garden firsts across the competition.

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Visual interlude - #27 The colour of nature

Diminutive Sheep's-sorrel, minute of flower but potent in mass. This rusting of the Dungeness shingle is caused by its mass flowering each April and May. On this particular evening a rainstorm inland threw an inky blue into the visual mix. Big skies, big colours.

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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).

Alastair F (West Mainland, Orkney) 100/66; Arjun D (Wallington, Surrey) 74/70; 

Benne A (Tirana, Albania) xx/40; Benno W (Goodnestone, Kent) xx/43; 

Bernard B (Ruckinge, Kent) 107/67; Bob S (Worcester Park, Surrey) 86/37; 

Callum M (Hemel Hempstead, Herts) 64/61; Cheech A (Langley Vale, Surrey) 31/39; 

Chris P (Claygate, Surrey) 43/42; Daniel W (NW London) xx/xx; 

Dave B (Chatham Islands, Pacific Ocean) 30/29; Dave P (Shoreham, West Sussex) 55/46; 

David S (West Raynham, Norfolk) 87/64; Debbie S (Portland, Dorset) 155/50; 

Dylan W (Thanet, Kent) 111/59; Ed S (Farncombe, Surrey) 79/83;  

Gavin H (Bridport, Dorset) xx/53;  Geoff B (Chessington, Surrey) 69/30; 

Gill H (Tenterden, Kent) 60/36; Gordon H (Redhill, Surrey) 80/46; 

Ian K (Leigh, Surrey) 62/42;  Ian S (Sidcup, Kent) 113/52; 

Ian W (Merton Park, London) 86/51; Isaiah R (New Malden, London) 76/59; 

John P (Banstead, Surrey) xx/xx; Jono L (Wanstead, London) 83/70; 

Josephine S (Leatherhead, Surrey) 40/44; Justin T (Charmouth, Dorset) 59/32; 

Mark D (Dorking, Surrey) 61/60; Mark H (Littlestone, Kent) 135/81: 

Mark N (Stutton, Suffolk)  77/62; Martin C (Lydd, Kent) 140/92; 

Mathew B (Wrotham, Kent) 33/53; Matt P (Pulborough, West Sussex) 126/113; 

Michael D (Craster, Northumberland) 106/64; Mike P (Malling, Kent) 70/64; 

Mike R (Battle, East Sussex) 97/55; Oscar D (Chiswick, London) 67/64; 

Paul D (London) 84/44; Pete B (Shadoxhurst, Kent) 101/53; 

Phil B (Ramsgate, Kent) 54/30; Rebecca G (Balham, London) xx/15; 

Reuben B (Tufnell Park, London) 45/45; Richard F (Pinner, London) 63/35; 

Richard P (Charmouth, Dorset) 101/86;  Robin S (Cranleigh, Surrey) 101/57; 

Sam B (Enniskeane, Cork) 67/69; Seamus E (Thornton Cleveleys, Lancs) 67/48; 

Sean M (Pinner, London) 50/43; Seth G (Uig, Skye) 64/58; 

Stephen R (Harrogate, Yorks) 66/47; Steve C (Guildford, Surrey) 66/39; 

Steve G (Banstead, Surrey) 92/70; Steve T (Ewell, Surrey) 59/51; 

Steve W (Hawes, N Yorks) 91/64; Stewart S (Howick, Northumberland) 131/77; 

Stuart C (Walkern, Herts) xx/63; Sye W (Aston Clinton, Bucks) xx/45; 

Tony B (Woodford, London) 69/54; Wes A (Capel, Surrey) 96/90

THE CHALLENGE WILL END AT 18.00hrs TOMMORROW