Well it all kicks off in 36 hours and what am I doing? Heading up north to see family on New Year's Eve! Fortunately not all BTO staff are deserting Thetford for the New Year so there will still be a crack team out on 1 January, hoping to catch up with some of the recent avian highlights. The pick of the bunch was certainly a fine female Hawfinch that joined in with a mixed flock of tits, finches and thrushes mobbing a Little Owl on Wednesday; if only that can be repeated in a couple of days' time.
Despite all the Nunnery Lakes still being frozen as I type, the Mallards that have been making use of the ice-free Little Ouse river were joined by a female Mandarin on 29 December, another species we hope puts in a reappearance sooner rather than later. The best bird of this morning's ringing session was a Little Egret (nowhere near the nets!) - with four records under my belt this year, this is one species that ought to be guaranteed in 2011. Then again, we won't be counting our chickens, egrets or anything else until they are safely OTL (On The List); to quote Clint Eastwood: "If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster!"
Happy New Year and let the games begin...
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