Goodbye 2020

 Thursday December 31    

January the 1st birding has always been a much anticipated, and exciting prospect for me.

That of 2020 went by in a haze of post pneumonia fever and lassitude. I'd hardly been home from hospital twelve hours at first light. I don't even remember taking an interest in the garden birds. I had high hopes of 2021 - until we were put in Tier 4 lockdown.  My logic tells me that birding from the car is no risk at all for either of us, nor anyone else out and about. BUT. My conscience tells me that I cannot complain about Covidiots paying no heed to the 'stay at home' message and flocking to the countryside and beaches if I do the same thing. Yes, what we'd do is different. Nor can we walk to take exercise so are confined to the house  A change of scene is good for mental health. I'm still not completely convincing myself. 

The first lockdown was infinitely more palatable. Long daylight hours, coupled with a spell of good weather, garden wildlife in spring, with returning migrants, vegetables to grow and plant out. We're still coping really well, it's only the lack of birding outside the garden which frets.No moth-ing at the moment either, far too cold.

My aim this time, is to become proficient at loading my lists onto EBird. I've long been a member but haven't got round to sussing it out. Loading my UK list is daunting enough, my world list is a brain scrambler. I've got as far as reading the intro!    

This year's bird list has been the worst since I started keeping records in the early 70s. I don't think that we've even made the 200 target set by BirdWatching magazine. We have managed a few good birds though

Eastern Yellow Wagtail the only Norfolk tick.

 

Lesser Yellowlegs

 

 

 Wryneck

 

Bearded Reedling  

 

Cattle Egret - one of 10 

 

Pam recently produced a back of my head photo that she took at the end of the spring lockdown. I hadn't been to the hairdresser since the previous November, so had to resort to scrunchies and clips.

 

Beautiful sunshine to-day, eventually thawing the white, frost encrusted, grass. A call from Pam gave me a sighting of the male Blackcap feeding on the bird table outside the kitchen window. Come back to-morrow please.

To-morrow. What shall we do? Will early road conditions help us make up our minds?