Little B*stard

After resisting the temptation to abandon our bird race yesterday to go and twitch the Little Bustard near Bridlington, it was rather unfortunate that said bird was nowhere to be found there this morning - especially as myself, Carl and Stu had decided to get there for first light. The wind, blowing in our faces, was absolutely bitter, and I wouldn't be surprised if it finished off a bird overnight that was probably already in poor condition. Although I hope for its sake it just went somewhere slightly less cold.

A bustard-less field

On the plus side, I met up with Dave C (who'd come over from Liverpool), and we all went for a nice cooked breakfast in Brid, once we'd decided there was only so long you could look at a field before deciding there really wasn't a bustard in it (which was doubly pleasing for me, as somehow I ended up standing in the only patch of manure in the whole verge).

Standing in manure. Sums up my morning.

Hey ho, you win some and you lose some.

Arriving home, some patch action was in order. Two hours at Collingham and Meering produced 56 species, including 5 species which we dipped on our NYD bird race yesterday: Grey Wagtail and Green Sand (both on the Silt Lagoon), Kingfisher (singles at Mons Pool and Meering), Red-legged Partridge (a covey of 10 at Meering) and perhaps most galling of all, the 2 Egyptian Geese which have been hanging out in this area over the last few weeks, next to Ferry Lane Farm, clearly visible from the road. Where were they yesterday?!

Annoying...

So, after a couple of days birding in Notts, my Notts yearlist is 95, and my patch yearlist is 57 (Barn Owl added yesterday). Hopefully I can add a few more to both before having to return to work on the 5th.