counting coots

Patch birding can be monotonous.  Blogging about patch birding can be monotonous (regulars to this blog will be acutely aware of this).  Once in a while, patch birding is not monotonous, in fact it can be verging on the orgasmic.  The species that I am about to detail are not unusual in their own right.  Indeed, I have already seen them all more than once this year before the star appearance in the patch - but that is not the point.  This is a mainly urban patch in London, hence the excitement.

I got to the Wandle yesterday lunchtime, thinking that I might have increased duck numbers and might want to watch the Pintail for a bit as they are nice.  As I looked over the little delta area I did see a male Pintail.  And then I saw a male Teal.  Bloody hell I thought, that's a male Teal.  I hadn't seen a Teal here in 2009 so this single bird made the trip worthwhile.  This Teal then swam past another male Teal.  And then I noticed another two male Teal.  Four male Teal in one little area.  I said the word 'nice' out loud.  I carried on with a metaphorical spring in my step.

As I wondered down the new path bit I was looking into a tree where a Chaffinch was pinking and a bloody Lapwing flew past, and then another.  Lapwing.  In Fulham.  I swore out loud.  I have seen Lapwing here once before, about three years ago, when there was thick pea-souper and it was flying upriver just after dawn.  This is a patch mega - no doubt about it. About twenty minutes later, one of them flew in the opposite direction and drifted over Wandsworth.  I swore out loud again.

But that is not all dear reader, the title of the post details a patch tick.  That's right - just after I had decided to leave the area (having barked all this excitment down the phone to Mrs Thing when she innocently phoned me about the weather) two smaller birds flew low over my head, and one of them made a quite destinctive call.  I swore out loud.  Again.  Skylarks.  Sorry, that should have read SKYLARKS!!   I could hardly believe it.  Patch tick 75.  This cold weather is ace.

So I am now three ticks up on last year, and have only been in the patch for two days.  This is very, very good.