A Diary from VP!!...4#.

So little of 08 left, still working (now on my 13th consecutive shift!!... feel sorry for me?... Nah! Didn't so!!)... Had enough time & energy today to make a visit to VP!!... Huge flock of Canada's & Greylags on the pool, a single Shelduck & 4 Pochard were new for my VP 'mini-list', then 2 Barnacle goose came into view, not an easy bird to see at VP, so it was great to add these, and finally a single Pink-footed Goose, my 2nd at VP this year, but again, always a good bird to get (will these latter 2 remain for New Years Day I wonder?...).
A Marsh Tit was added in the car park, also a female Bullfinch. It was good to bump into Rossy, the Dodwells, Geoff & Paul at VP today & have a catch-up!!...

93 ~ Barnacle Goose.
94 ~ Pink-footed Goose.
95 ~ Shelduck.
96 ~ Pochard.
97 ~ Marsh Tit.

Ooooh, so close to 100!!... Not too concerned now, 97 species at VP in 6 months (& let's be honest not a huge amount of 'time put in!!), which only goes to show what a great wee reserve VP is... (I think so anyway)... Bloody cold there today & I'm reliably assured it's only gonna get colder!!! Could a Smew be due in the county then, moving ahead of the cold weather?... More Waxwings?... 2009 shall soon be with us & another great year for the county?.... Oh I do hope so!!!

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SEO & the 160 Mark!!!

At last!!! Finally!!! I left work today & was heading off to do some Xmas shopping, when I saw the queues of traffic I decided to head for Whixall & have a crack at finally burying my county bogey, plus chance in on the Great Grey Shrike present there (although I wasn't too concerned with this one as I've had 3 previous county Great Grey's, plus a few outta county!!)...
After being on the moss for around 30 minutes with no sign of bugger all, I was about to jack it in & get back to the xmas shopping, when a very sound bloke called Pete Bowyer waved me across to where he was working, & there in the distance was the pale-morph Short-eared Owl!!! Hunting gracefully over Fenns Moss, it soon very kindly drifted across to Whixall Moss, becoming my 193rd species for Shropshire, my 160th species on my county year list, my 12th county tick this year & my final county bogey buried!!!....
I'm soooo chuffed it was a SE Owl that got to be the bird that made all those numbers, as what an enigmatic bird they really are. I watched the bird for a good 30 minutes on & off, it even made its way back to the entrance to Whixall Moss!!!...

That will probably be me for this year, with an awesome 12 county ticks, reached 160 species on my county year list (my 170!!!)...., just 7 more species for a Shropshire 200!! I've done better than I thought I would this year, in what has been an awkward & emotionally challenging year for me!!! My birding has taken a major back seat this year, I've probably only done around 50% birding of what I would nomally do, so to achieve 160 this year just shows what an awesome year this has been for Shropshire, & I hope we dont have to wait too long for our next amazing year!!!

The birding crown this year has to go to Andy, who has set a new county year list record of 176 species!!!... And Jim wasn't far off either, just 3 species behing Andy on a truly brilliant 173 species!!!

A Quick 'Well Done!!'....

Well done indeed!!! As today Andy set a new county year list record of 176 species, beating the previous record (set by himself!!... Well, who else would set it?) by 1 species!!!... And also, Jim has reached 173 species for Shrops this year, which is also an awesome total!!! They both managed it with 2 ticks today, 2 Scaup at Colemere (I cant believe you both needed this, even my meagre county year list has Scaup on it!!!)... ;~p ....& then a brilliant Great Grey Shrike near the car park at Whixall!!
Me?... I'm still on 159, utterly pissed off having not been out recently due to having a stinking cold all week & now back at work for 2 solid weeks!!! I seriously want to get over to Whixall & try to grip SE Owl back, it'd be my 12th county tick, plus I'd hit 160 ~ a great goal for me this year what with all this dire luck I've been having recently coupled with all that bollocks mid-year!!!...
I've got 2 weeks to do it!!... Fingers crossed folks!!!

Waxwings at last!!!!

Finally!!... 8 Waxwings, in Shrewsbury, OML!!! All thanks to Yvonne who very kindly picked me up today, as my courtsey car still hasn't been delivered!!... Kind of a cruel twist that the birds flew off just as we arrived, but even then I thought they're looked to be more than 8?... And later we had a group of what looked to be at least 15 birds?.... Anyway, finally... 159, just one more tick to go & I'm a happy lad!! ;~)

Bad luck continues & gets worse!!!

I decided yesterday as I was up around midday (I'd worked a night shift the previous night, I'm not quite that lazy!!!)... & as it was a bright day, Mand & myself decided to drive to Ellesmere to look for thw Waxwings (plus I thought it would be a great bird for Mand to see & as they're in a carpark, she could sit in the warm car whilst we waited for them to put in a show!)...
However, it was not to be as the Gods of Doom had other plans for me!!!.... Just a couple of miles outside of Shrewsbury, the car in front of me had stopped to turn right at the Bomere X-roads... sadly, I never saw brake lights or her indicator.... & ploughed straight into the back of her!!!
Luckily no-one was seriously hurt.... However, Mand has hurt her shoulder, my back is now more painful than it already was & the woman in the other car has whiplash!!...
The poor Argo may not be long for this world... it all hangs on whether the car inspector deems it worth repairing or not!!!
So, I'm now without a car, have to go to the cop shop to give my version of what happened, have a very painful back, a sore galfriend, am totally pissed off... & still aint added a single species towards the 160 I want!!!!
Luck? If I didn't have crap luck, I'd have none!!!
In retrospect, I am positive her brake lights didn't come on, or at least I didn't see them! Wether they were faulty or it was the bright sun from behind which had maybe 'lit' up her rear lights therefore masking them, I honestly dont know?....
The only car accident I've ever had or been involved in!!!.... & any who have will know it isn't a nice experience at all!!!
So, I spent my evening off work, but in pain & totally miserable!!...

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Final month, the last leg struggle!!!

Aye, I'm still here.... been awhile since I posted because... well, because I keep dipping!!! 3 visits to the Long Mynd failed to produce a Hen Harrier or a SE Owl (or anything of note, actually!!!)... A wet afternoon at Vernolds Common failed to produce 1 Black Redstart (nevermind TWO, that were reported!!)... I failed to flush a Jack Snipe off Whixall (plenty of common snipe tho!!).... & again, no harrier or SE Owl here either!!!...
Then the Waxwing hassles!!! Despite arriving first at Market Drayton, Andy's initial 2 Waxwings had done one & after over an hour of searching I failed to locate them!!! I was working Sunday so coudn't get to Ellesmere for the 3 birds present in the car park there!!!
Then today, whilst walking along my road I heard a call which made me immiedately look up!!! Several roughly thrush-sized birds, with a very Starling-like appearance in flight landed at the top of a tree which is actually in the adjacent road to mine, but easily viewable from mine... I ran home to retrieve my bins, but when I returned the birds had gone!!!
I think I'm never supposed to hit the 160 mark for the county?... Still time I guess, but I do really need my luck to improve!!
Huge congratulations to Jim for reaching the mammoth 170 mark (I think you may be the 3rd only person to reach this Jim?)... & I hope Andy gets 'his 2' for a new county record!!!
Just a Bewick's & a Black Red eh Andy?.... ;~)