More patching

Yesterday, an hour and a half at Cotham Landfill proved fruitless (the 1st W Iceland Gull was reported from nearby at Cotham Flash at about the time of my visit), although I flushed another Woodcock from along the southern boundary of the restored landfill. After hockey, I then went owling at Collingham, eventually getting male and female Tawnies calling near the Silt Lagoon, but no Littles. 

Today, I managed two visits to the patch. This morning, Collingham Pits and Mons Pool were fairly quiet; a Green Sand was on Ferry Lane Lake, and there were 2 Whooper Swans (adult and juvenile) in with 100 Mutes in the field west of the Trent, later moving onto the Silt Lagoon - where the regular male Shelduck had been joined by a female. I also enjoyed watching a party of 15 Goldeneyes on Wharf Pond, the drakes in full display mode; always great to see. 

A super Whooper

This afternoon, a walk round Meering produced a few patch yearticks - Feral Pigeon, Golden Plover (largely absent in this part of the Trent Valley at the moment, so good to get 130 flying over) and Pink-footed Geese (2 in with a few Greylags on Smithy Marsh). 

This weekend's four additions bring me up to 76 for the year on the patch (already equal to last year's January total). There are still plenty of things to go at, although birds like Lesser Redpoll, Siskin and Brambling seem very thin on the ground this winter around here, so we'll see if they materialise...