The Egret equalled last year's record total, the Flycatcher surpassed it. A couple of days after that I jammed a Great White Egret flying over during a ten minute visit to Alexandra Lake on the way somewhere else, and when I got back I got in on some Pied Flycatcher action thanks to James, and have now seen half a dozen. Under a week later Rob found a Garganey on Alex, the fourth patch record, and the next day Nick got me on a flyover Raven, only the second or third we have ever had. Within a couple of hours of getting home I had added Tree Pipit and Cuckoo, which at the time felt ridiculously jammy but I've since seen the Cuckoo several more times and added quite a few more Pipits. Only the collective spirit from local birders ensures everyone sees everything, and I have really benefited this year with loads of great birds - Kittiwake, Osprey, BN Grebe, Iceland Gull, Nightingale, Quail - it is a strong list from anywhere in the country let alone TfL Zone 3, but there was no way I could predict quite how well the last fortnight has gone. I came home from Scotland on 116, already my third highest annual patch total courtesy of many birds that are not by any means annual. Not this time, I am currently in uncharted waters. I thought that all that would happen would be that the line would level out and trend to more or less the same place I end up every year.
I wrote some posts earlier this year about being several months ahead of where I might normally expect to be at a given point in time. A correlation that I simply could not have guessed.
For a fair part of the year it has not been either allowed or sensible to go anywhere else, and because I have spent so much time here again I've also seen a lot of birds here again.
But as the pandemic has continued I have continued to find comfort in the green space right on my doorstep. I thought last year was the year that would trump all others, that would stand the test of time - my highest ever total and so many good birds seen. I have never had a year like this one on the patch.
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