Banker at long last

Saturday 13 December 2014

Back down to earth after the discovery of a Long-tailed Duck at Dorchester during my WeBS count last Monday but I paid for it by spending the next 4 days incapacitated with some sort of bug, the details of which you really don't want to know. I am afraid the best photo I could manage is, to say the least, embarrassing but here goes for what its worth.

To return to the title of this piece - the hard nights frost brought in a Green Sandpiper to the Watercress Beds - the first for 2014 and species number 64. Just been checking on the plusses and minusses compared to last year. On the plus side, Jay, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Skylark but on the negative side, Nuthatch, Redpoll, Siskin, Snipe, Teal and Treecreeper. Chances of adding two more to the list by the end of the year??????

On the way back counted the Lapwing at the top of the field, Huntinglands, and made it 277 with 5 Buzzards but no Golden Plovers. There were several very well camouflaged Skylarks though.