Chiffchaff at last

Andy Schofield does it again with a Chiffchaff heard whilst he was in a meeting at the Lodge yesterday. Quite why he wasn't paying attention to procedings is another matter. 

97 now and it feels good to hold the lead, no matter how short-lived it may prove to be. Having held a 24-tick lead at one stage, it has to be something of a psychological blow to the BTO listers. 

An LRP found by Steve Blain at Derek Whites Egg's Pits would have been tricky from The Lodge on 60x zoom in good light, but the Ivel Valley was also shrouded in mist!

Mandarin OTL

Mandarin Duck On The List as of yesterday morning; note its wary, just-arrived-from-Manchuria posture. It is a good job this competition isn't about photograph quality though! Chiffchaff was today's addition; it looked pretty drab but unfortunately I couldn't turn it into tristis even with the help of Chiff-guru Greg Conway.

That takes the all-important scores on the doors to 82 (bird) species. We're well short of the kind of quality our oppos have achieved... fortunately there are no bonus points for rarities!