It was hard to believe the string of texts I received whilst on Fair Isle two weeks ago. First a Rufous-tailed Robin in Norfolk, then even more gripping news: Short-eared Owl, Tree Sparrow, another Woodlark and a Whooper Swan at the Lakes in quick succession, all of which would have been Lakes ticks for me (this patch-listing lark does funny things to your perspective)! Although Blyth's Reed Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit and a certain jewel-throated Luscinia up in Shetland went a long way towards softening the blow of those dips at the time, once I was back in full Lakes mode, the still-present Goldeneye just wasn't enough to rectify things at a local level.
The balance was well and truly restored today though; an impromptu scan of D Lake this morning (when I'd told my wife I was only going as far as the flood) resulted in a big Little surprise: a first-winter Little Gull swimming around among the Coots and Black-headed Gulls! The latter weren't particularly welcoming to their diminutive relative, and after a preen and a couple of brief circuits of the lake, it headed off south.
140 OTL (both the Challenge list and my own Lakes 'life' list).
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