Patching, 2014 style

After a non-birding day yesterday, I spent just over 5 hours today visiting all parts of my patch. Starting at Besthorpe Warren, I went off-piste and flushed a Woodcock out of a patch of bramble in the woodland to the south. A walk round Meering didn't produce much, so it was then on to Collingham Pits, where I was greeted by a Peregrine. I couldn't find the usual Green Sand anywhere, but there were 5 adult Whooper Swans in the Mute flock. Mons Pool produced first the hoped-for Chiffchaff (silent today, in contrast to New Year's Eve when it called constantly), and then a fly-through Goosander. I finished the day on 65 species; there's still plenty to go at during the rest of the month.