Local patch...

An early start found me at the Fen by 7.30: as it turned out, I could have lingered over breakfast because nothing new had arrived since last week. It was good fun to walk round with Brian and Mike, of course, and we all had opportunities to grab shots of some of the newly-arrived migrants: Whitethroat, Cuckoo, Sedge Warbler, Blackcap and so on. We bumped into Brian S and his charming wife, who'd enjoyed better views of the Cuckoos (at least three) than we'd had.

Mike and Brian stayed at the Fen, while I carried on to Buckenham. No sign of yesterday's Whimbrel or Wood Sandpipers, but I did add Lesser Whitethroat, Common Sandpiper, Buzzard, Ruff, Avocet and a straggler Pink-footed Goose to the day's haul!

I was amused to read some of the comments online about last weekend's various Bird Races: the four years I took part with 'Cley Casuals' back in the early nineties we scored around 150 on each occasion. In those days there was a handicapping system, so we only won outright once: I seem to recall that somewhere in the Home Counties with a good handicap came first with House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon and Starling! I think the main reason we did so much better than modern 'racers' is that the event was always staged on the third weekend in May: lots more chance for migrants / vagrants to arrive!