Wansdead

With the best intentions of a dedicated patch-worker I went round the park this morning. Should have stayed in bed. Nothing. No thing at all. Well, one Chiffchaff by the Riding School, but no Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, no Treecreepers, not even a single Siskin. I know, I'm rubbish.

Met a visiting birder and led him to the Dell, a light spiel along the way about how good it has been of late. And of course.....


Still, a nice walk if you like walking and seeing no birds. Once again the number of dog-walkers and out-of-control dogs was stupendously high. You could run the Belvoir Hunt through the park and create less disturbance to wildlife. When I form the next Government, I'm going to implement a Chinese-style one family one dog policy, or perhaps more of a Korean policy. Mind you, there are days when after the first thirty minutes you know deep down that it's going to be an unrewarding slog no matter what else is going on, and so it proved today. I spent that first half hour in Reservoir Wood imagining I'd heard a Firecrest, and that pretty much set the tone. Part of the problem is the unbelievable cacophony created by as many as half a billion Great and Blue Tits. You struggle to hear anything above the din - having some kind of "Mute all Tits" device would make for much easier birding.

The two Egyptian Geese were on the Golf Course before relocating back to Henonry Pond, and Wanstead's answer to Scaup was on the Ornamentals today - here is one I took on Heronry yesterday. So not a lot to report, will try again tomorrow.