Bar-wet

I decided that standing in the rain for two hours at Cotham Landfill this afternoon wasn't going to be much fun, and with a couple of Smew turning up locally yesterday (Alan Scrimshaw had one at Newark Sugar Factory and a pair were found at Langford), I decided to hit Collingham instead.

No Smew were forthcoming, and even the semi-regular redhead Goosander was missing, but this was made up for by an unexpected wader in the form of a Bar-tailed Godwit on the Silt Lagoon with 8 Redshank; Bar-wit is a species I didn't get last year at Collingham, so a good gain for my 2014 list. 

Other stuff included the 6 Whoopers again west of the Trent with 98 Mutes, 17 Goldeneye on Wharf Pit, and a Green Sand on Ferry Lane Lake.Having hardly seen a passerine all afternoon, I then decided to go to Langford to look for the Smew on the Silt Lagoon, but there was no sign. 

So my Patchwork Challenge list for January finishes on 80; 4 better than 2013. However, I know that John Hopper's list for Hoveringham is 84; He's got Iceland, Glauc, Med and Caspian Gulls over me, plus Mandarin and Knot. I think it's going to be an interesting battle against him this year, but being retired, of course he has an unfair advantage as he can spend all his time on patch...