The patch, wardening and other business.

Its a while since I've blogged on here and I have decided to take the blog in another direction. Whereas it started as a log of everything I saw everywhere, I have since evolved into a more local birder (read:lazy). Due to work restrictions (damn work) I no longer have the time to travel around the county on my bike as I wish as I did when working part-time evening shifts. I now am restricted to the weekend, and when spring finally comes, some evenings too. Normal activity for any full-time worker, but after years of birding as I liked (until having to go to my mundane job), its come as a bit of a shock. I can't complain too much though, as I now have a job that I like, pays better and is largely based outdoors! The latter is great as I get to see quite a few birds while I am working, which is on farms mainly in Derbyshire and Leicestershire, but sometimes further afield.

Patch-first, Adult Med Gull, March 2014

So now I concentrate mainly on my patch at Holme Pierrepont, an area I have been birding at for nearly 5 years, but only seriously for a couple. I'm slowly amassing a species list for the site which at the moment stands at a measly 119, but hopefully with a bit of time and effort this will increase. I also take part in the excellent Patchwork Challenge, finishing my first year in the competition on 106 species, which wasn't too bad...  It made me more appreciative of my patch and got me down there a lot more than I have before. Highlights of the year were my first patch records of Wheatear, Arctic Tern, Jack Snipe and Med Gull. There was also some 'dipped' goodies like Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart and a host of waders, but maybe my most sorely missed bird was the humble Treecreeper! despite extensive searching I failed to find one all year, despite them usually being reasonably easy...

Feral-ish Barnacle Goose, Rowing Course

There's been a bit of work creating some wader habitat and other bits and bobs, so hopefully I'll do better this year, and keep adding to my patch list. The blog is going to follow my progress as well as serving as a bit of a sightings page too.

Bad shot of one of many Smew in 2014

I also do some voluntary wardening for Notts Wildlife Trust on their Skylarks reserve on the patch, having started in  October 2013. It means keeping an eye on things on the reserve as well as doing some practical conservation work with my team of volunteers. I do some wildlife recording as part of this, noting invertebrates, plants and fungi throughout the year. I'll try and include some of this type of thing on the blog too.