Slow progress

I've not been on the patch for a few days - it hardly seems worth it when the sun rises at approximately the same time I need to be on the tube, and as I was away last weekend today was probably the first real opportunity for a while. I made the most of it, doing a complete loop of the Park and the Flats. For little reward it has to be said, as for all this talk of cold weather, huge tides and gargantuan amounts of snow, Wanstead has remained steadfastly dull. On Thursday I awoke to about half a millimeter of something that anyone who lives north of the Pennines would call a mild frost, and it had completely disappeared by the time I came home. Instead everything is just damp and miserably cold, with just enough ice on the local ponds to ensure that all the wildfowl have decamped to the Thames, but not enough ice to bring anything interesting in from a frozen countryside. Pathetic in other words, woeful for birding.

I struggled round manfully - five miles or so at a steady pace - I called it a dash on Twitter but actually it was at 3.3mph - and saw just two new species for the year, a couple of Siskin in the Dell, and then a small flock of Fieldfare over near the stables. I still can't dig out a Mistle Thrush anywhere, and tomorrow is looking very much like an indoor day with heavy rain forecast during all hours of daylight. So ends another week of local birding.

This Robin was really rather friendly. I expect it just wanted a handout mind you.

That is OK, I have plenty of other things to keep me going, a benefit of having lots of hobbies. My tax return for instance has been crying out for day like tomorrow. I have dutifully gathered all the required bits of information, one of which took over an hour to find in a stack of paper about two feet high. The number that I needed from it was zero. Excellent, excellent..... Given the effort I almost wish it had been something. 

There is of course a lot of blogging, and given I've just been away, a bit of photo-editing as well. I've almost finished potting up my stash of greenery from Madeira, the conservatory is looking less dining room and more Kew Gardens. Needless to say Mrs L is not impressed, plants are just things for her to walk into or that stab her. Sob stories about how they will all die if they go outside or in the greenhouse are just about working for now, but I don't know how long I've got - I need to get through to about mid-March I reckon. That's the trouble with this weather, I like it cold as it (very occasionally) brings birds and nice photographic conditions, but this clashes almost exactly with some of the other things I like, namely strolling around in shorts whilst poking at tropical plants and drinking chilled wine.

Full flow

Believe it or not this is my 10th post of 2017. Ten in 13 days. Somehow I have rediscovered my enjoyment of writing, and you the internet unfortunately have to bear the brunt. Last year I was on the point of throwing the towel in. Quitting blogging altogether. I simply couldn't be bothered, the blogging community was shrinking, most posts received no acknowledgement whatsoever, I didn't really feel I had the time to devote. Then I wrote about this sad state of affairs and in the process discovered that despite all of this I still really enjoyed it. And so here we are. 


After a summer of writing almost nothing, the autumn saw Wansteadbirder.com step up a few gears. I've not regained the heights of 2011 and I doubt I ever will - that was a unique period in my life - but it is beginning to flow again. I can't really say that there is a reason for this, it just is what it is. It may continue or it may not. It may get boring, indeed some may say that it already is! Now that I think about it I'm sure I once wrote a blog post about how I was boring even myself. That said, I’m back to doing what I used to do back then, which is keeping a list of things that I see or think of that I might then choose to bash out a few sentences on. Currently on this small scrap of paper are my unique sense of balance, snowmageddon in Wanstead, how trips often have soundtracks, sunsets, and why it is that I frequently use too many commas. As usual not much birdy content.

That said and despite the title, it has never really been all about birds. That would too boring. Had it been, I think it would have died a death quite a few years ago. As it is this is the ninth year, can I make it ten? How long does the average blog endure for? And how on earth does Steve Gale manage to write so much?! He's just won the highly-coveted Rambler award for the best blog that Neil reads, and for the fourth year running. This is richly deserved, his output is second to none, no repetition, always something to whet the appetite and always something new to make the commute go that little bit quicker. Apparently I was the runner-up again, although I did pick up a gong for my overly-emotional post about the parallels between the US election and Brexit. I think I won it once, probably back when I was a house husband and wrote stupid things every day about the minutae of life and my laughable attempts at domesticity and bringing up children. Anyway cheers Neil (aka Factor), and well done to Steve and thanks for the words!

Factor has also listed a number of really good reads to make up his shortlists, it is well worth going over to his page and having a look - you may discover something that really piques your interest. Since I had my big moan/epiphany, I have been trawling around various birdy spots on the web and have managed to discover a number of enjoyable places to fritter away time. So now over there on the right you should see a fresh and expanded blog-roll. There is a new one about waders, one from a birder who travels possibly more than I do, a few local patch soldiers from around the country, and a couple more photography ones. I hope to add a few more in the coming weeks, albeit that I don’t want the list to be too lengthy. In summary, there is light.

A short missive from Madeira

Hello from Madeira! I am spending a few days on this Atlantic garden island because I was not able to have any days off over Christmas, and because I like plants. I have been before, but that was mostly a birding trip when my horticultural inclinations were at a low ebb. Whilst chasing Firecrest around I did happen to notice that there were quite a few nice-looking plants around though, and it is this that has spurred me to come back. This time around I'll mostly be visiting botanical gardens and parks, but bins will be around my neck and I plan a few walks along some of the levadas - narrow mountain tracks with watercourses that wind their way around the edges of the many valleys. You can often get good views of the Trocaz Pigeons flying below you, and Firecrests are guaranteed pretty much everywhere you go.

It is all about the climate - sub-tropical. Moist oceanic air, warm winds. This means that you can grow almost anything without fear of frost or low temperatures. It's early January and I've been wandering around in shorts. At home it was just -4 in Wanstead a few days ago, here in Madeira it's about 20 degrees, and all those plants in my greenhouse that I spend hours agonising over whether they're too cold, whether I've watered too much or too little, they all grow like the clappers here with no care whatsoever. Huge proliferations of colourful flowers, fabulous palms, cycads, succulents and agaves. Yuccas the size of trees, Aloe arborescens with amazing red flower spikes growing as roadside weeds.The last time I was here I helped myself to a couple of Agave attentuata offshoots, a plant that is very difficult to find in the UK but which on Madeira has naturalised and is literally everywhere in Funchal and along the coast. Huge pale green rosettes, and unlike the rest of the family, no spines. They multiply by seed, but they also put out suckers and turn into huge clumps, thus liberating few babies from the roadside is not a problem. These have grown steadily in sub-tropical Wanstead, don't be fooled by the fragile look, they go into the minus figures with no problems if kept dry. A number of people have asked if they could have one and I already gave one to a guy over the road who seemed really keen. As mine have not yet grown offshoots of their own I'll try and source a few more in the next few days. Thank god we're still in Europe and they can be imported with impunity.

The middle three. In Madeira they grow to the size of armchairs.

I'm also hoping to see if I can pick up a few different things, so a number of nurseries and market stalls have been bookmarked for a visit, and my suitcase is practically empty in case they should have any small gems that take my fancy. Heliconia, strelitzia, canna, gingers, protea, bananas, agapanthus. Oh sorry, I'm getting carried away, I forgot this is a birding blog. Anyway, well done for making it this far, I know my plant fetish is not exactly riveting for most people. I will probably not be able to resist posting a few photos either, but there might be a few landscapes as well as I quite like that side of things too. Birds? Well there is large white tube over there in the corner of the hotel room - rarely do I go anywhere without it. I may find something to pose in front of it...

Oh well I never, will you look at that?!

Walking

I can't cycle,and I can't run. I can just about still walk though so that is what I am going to do remain vaguely active. Four to five miles a day is the plan, which should hopefully prevent me from becoming hugely lardy during these dark winter months. More hugely lardy I mean. I don't have one of these fitness band things - they make you look like you're on day release - instead I can just use a little gizmo on my phone that somehow tracks the steps I have taken. I've measured the length of my average step, and so now this thing can tell me exactly how far I have toddled under my own steam. And of course part of the fun is that you can set targets, and everyone likes a goal. Think of it as a type of list....

Now ideally I wanted to set a daily target so that I could always feel progress, so I thought about a nice round number of 10,000 steps, which for me is the equivalent of about 4.6 miles. The trouble is that there are days where I simply won't be able to do that. The sun doesn't rise until 8am at the moment which is the time I need to be going to work, so birding in the morning is a non-starter. This leaves the commute and then Canary Wharf at lunch time, but I can say with near certainty that the nice block of time I have reserved in my calendar every day will instead be taken up by a very dull but no doubt highly critical meeting that I simply have to be in or the world will end. I have to be doing something whilst walking (like birding), I am not going to walk around in the dark at the end of the day for the sake of it, so instead I am setting a weekly target whereby I can make up any shortfall on other days. 4.6 miles a day adds up to 32.2 miles. That's a silly number, so I've increased it to 35 miles a week, or about 76,000 steps. This adds up over a year to 1,750 miles, which is another nice round number. I mean, wow, that's a seriously long way isn't it? London to Lanzarote. 67 marathons! Like all good intentions, I started on the first of January. A Sunday, so my walking week is Sunday to Sunday - leaving me Saturday to catch up if I've been rubbish during the week. 

Here's a synopsis of the first week:

24,636 - Jan 1st year-listing on the patch, 57 species seen.
11,252 - Jan 2nd year-listing on the patch, 1 new species (a Linnet - there you go, birding content right there) added!!
9,609 - Jan 3rd - not too bad all things considered, going to Greenwich helped.
7,917 - Jan 4th - first day back at work, managed a lunchtime stroll and saw eight birds.
10,399 - Jan 5th - second day back at work, this is easy!
3,255 - Jan 6th - worked from home. This is almost entirely going up and down the stairs for cups of tea.
6,014 - Jan 7th, today so far (7pm)
73,082

All of this with a severed something-or-other ligament too, and four nearly-severed other ones, I am surprised my foot is still attached. Yes, I am a hero. Anyway, despite all the charging around Wanstead that first weekend I was still looking at a shortfall of around 9,000 steps that I needed to make up today. Luckily I am on the move - travelling again - so I expect I'll manage it. 3,000 to go as I type this and I still need to go and find a highly calorific dinner. Easy. But imagine if I had had two poor days like Jan 6th? I would really be struggling, probably needing to walk up and down a plane aisle about a hundred times. On holiday I walk loads, so I am expecting that I will start this new week very positively. Can I keep it going though, like I sustained my cycling to work regime hem hem?

Of course the real disappointment is that walking burns off practically no calories, only marginally more than breathing, or at least that is what I am led to understand. My average distance uses up around 500 calories. I can eat that many in about half a minute if I try really hard. One normal size double-decker (460 kcal) and half a biscuit. On a birding day out I reckon I must get through several thousand calories made up entirely from junk. But it is better than nothing, and it gets me moving and outside.

Rereading this I think I sound like an octagenerian.... Also I have never been able to run so my first sentence should be read with a pinch of salt. 

Reflecting on the 2016 patch year

In all the excitement of the new year on the patch I forgot to mention the old year on the patch. In terms of sheer numbers it wasn’t that wonderful – 106. Nick duly counts everyone’s scores and apparently this puts me in third place, tied with Tony who lives three miles away. That’s dedication for you. Nick of course is first, he always is, but you can’t compete with that many hours on the patch. Or with Great Snipes and distant Ravens ahem. Bob, freshly unshackled, put a sterling effort in and saw heaps and heaps, disappointingly many of them new for him and everyone else, rather than a succession of historic blockers falling which is what we all really wanted. Red-throated Diver and Black-necked Grebe remain exclusive.

There were many misses which are all richly deserved. For the first time in many years I didn’t see a few “gimme” birds. Lapwing for instance – it’s a rare bird on the patch and requires either harsh weather or a totally random flyover, but you would normally expect to get at least one at some point. I also didn’t get Brambling. Again there were not many records, but if you spend enough time out there at the right time of year, you should hear one wheezing over early morning. I was in bed. Or away. Or in hospital.

However what my 2016 patch list lacked in numbers and some easy stuff, it more than made up for in rarities. Some expected goodies, but also some once in a blue moon birds that by some miracle I was present for. So honourable mentions for the October Yellow-browed Warbler James and I were fortunate enough to bump into in the SSSI, as well as the Cetti’s Warbler that appeared along the Roding in May. Both were located by ear, and I can’t hope to adequately describe the feelings of joy I experienced. The Cetti’s was of course explosive, and happened to be in the bush right next to where I had stopped my bike early one morning. I nearly fell off it! The Yellow-browed I had assumed to be a tape from the other side of the trees until I walked round a corner to find James wondering exactly the same thing. It wasn’t of course, it was the real deal. Rarity value might be diminishing fast, but this is one of my favourite species ever.

There were two real stars though, the first being the Ortolan Bunting in September. This spent a morning being a Corn Bunting, but when we eventually tracked it down in the brooms later in the day it just didn’t feel or sound right. I tentatively suggested Ortolan at some point, but it took Bob’s photos to properly clinch it. Only the 30th record for London so serious quality.

The standout bird is October’s Great Grey Shrike though, found by Tony early one morning in the Ditch of Despair. I’ve been wanting a Shrike on patch, ooooh, forever, so to have this finally fall was a special moment. Some initial panic after Tony’s first distant sighting vanished without a photo, but the bird was soon relocated zooming about the brooms before disappearing into Centre Copse never to be seen again. Bob managed to make it in time, but unfortunately a number of late risers remain sadly gripped.

If I had to pick a moment other than the man hug Tony got shortly after the events described above it would be the magical five minutes soon after the Yellow-browed Warbler. James and I had put the news out and TB had made it along despite a stinking hangover, along with Richard. As the four of us were listening to the Warbler calling its head off, and whilst three Ring Ouzels were circling above Motorcycle Wood, we were alerted to some geese honking. They didn’t sound right – “Get on these geese!!” “There’s barring!! 15 White-fronts came in from the west, dropped down to have a look at Jubilee Pond, and then (very sensibly) carried on east. The three others had just gained two patch ticks in a matter of minutes, and the elation of the moment was plainly evident. Highly emotional, this is what patch birding is all about. It’s very infrequent, but it is these brief snatches of shared joy that keep us all going.

The numbers game

It is the time of year when people interested in making lists of things start making new lists of things in order to occupy themselves. So whilst I have a Wanstead list, I am looking to supplement that with a couple more. Nothing as fanciful as a UK year list, no that would be folly, but maybe just a little light punishment by attempting a Canary Wharf list again. I did this once before as part of a friendly competition with James A, he birded Tower Bridge and I did CDub. It was called the Crap Patch Challenge, and I think ended up as a draw on about 40. The prize was a packet of peanuts and we met at a pub to eat them after it was all over. Turned out he didn’t really like peanuts, which was a bit of a surprise after 12 months of competing to win them, but luckily I do like peanuts and so scoffed the lot. Now James has disappeared entirely from the blogging scene and almost entirely from birding, so this might be me versus myself (unless any readers are by some miracle based in E14 too?), but I can do that – I will just try and beat whatever it was I got last time – and given the stakes I remember trying pretty hard.

I started today during a quick half hour stroll over lunch, part of an effort to become less consumed by work and actually see the light of day during these long winter months. I saw eight species: Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Coot, Moorhen, Crow, Pigeon, Blue Tit and Blackbird. I consider myself fortunate to have seen the Blackbird.... Part of the trouble is that lunchtime is not a great time to be looking for birds. Ideally I would be here at dawn before 100,000 office workers turn up, but then that would mean I couldn’t bird Wanstead. Choices, choices… The main problem of course is that Canary Wharf has almost no habitat. If there were birds that fed on concrete there would be loads here.

A Canary Wharf rarity

I might also start a list of birds seen at airports. This might be pretty eclectic, and given I’ve already got plans to be at numerous airports this year in some quite exciting places, perhaps something to consider. Better than looking at planes, which is unfortunately a constant temptation which I have so far mostly resisted. What is it about the urge to count things that some men have? If I get a window seat, as I frequently do, then from the moment the ground is in sight I’m scanning for birds. All the time spent in transit, if I can possibly get out of the glass cages they put you in and have a wander that’s what I’ll do. I’ve seen House Sparrow and Starling nearly everywhere….

Talking of counting things and lists of birds, although I have not chased a UK list for several years by virtue of the way I record what I have seen it is quite easy to tot up a full year. I was quite surprised when I did this for 2016, as for the first time in ages the total went up. 205 species! This is a far cry from the two consecutive years where I cleared 300, but a marked improvement on the miserable 183 seen in 2015. I’m not a scientist, but this appears to be directly correlated to the amount of time I spend birding. The more I go out, the more I see - astonishing I am sure you will agree. I remember being hugely pleased the first year I saw 200 birds in the UK, and feeling a real sense of achievement. It had required considerable effort and I just about managed to make it over the line. Last year I made almost no effort whatsoever – three rarities chased and a few days on Shetland. Maybe I need to re-evaluate the scale of my triumph in 2007? I have no idea what par is for an active birder. I mean I get 100 in Wanstead every year without too much trouble, and Wanstead gets practically no waders and even fewer seabirds. Maybe 200 is actually still pitiful if Wanstead plus a single visit to Frampton or Titchwell gets you to 160. Maybe 230-240 is a more realistic number? Whatever, it’s all irrelevant anyway as I will see whatever I see, and I refuse to go chasing stuff for the sake of it. Fundamentally numbers games are just silly, their only saving grace is that when connected with birds they do force you to spend time outdoors, which in my particular circumstances is sorely necessary.

Onwards.....

Doing the tourist thang

My son dragged me out yesterday to Greenwich and I am pleased that he did. I had been out already, my birding and photography urges sated, and was settling down for a nice chilled out lunch.

“Daddy, will you take me to Greenwich? I want to take photos of the London skyline.”

I mean, wow! Finally one of my hobbies has not been rejected! One of the holiday outings had been to the Greenwich observatory, but nobody had taken a camera and I sensed that there was some regret. It was a lovely day, the evening sky had definite promise – he was right to want to go out and enjoy it. So I said yes, finished a few tasks I had set myself – mainly to do with getting the January bird lists up and running -  and off we went. We had to go through Canary Wharf, never a nice feeling on a day off, but I closed my eyes and got through it.

The hill atop Greenwich Park was absolutely heaving, but we found a spot and settled in, working out what views might work, where the sun was, when it was due to set and so on. We probably spent a couple of hours up there getting progressively colder as the sky darkened, but we were having fun. He used my lenses and tripod for a bit, and I pulled out my under-used neutral density filter, and together we mucked about with settings, cable releases and timers. Geek central basically. 

I have to say that London is spectacular – normally I never do anything remotely touristy here as I live here. Maybe that is a mistake, as it easily rivals many of the places that I travel to. Glorious. A few of my favourites are below, and you can see that I have also changed the header of this blog, at least for a while. For the curious it is taken full-frame at 35mm using a 10 stop neutral density filter (which reduces the light hitting the sensor by 1000 times!), and an exposure of just under one minute. I have done nothing to the colours at all, although obviously the sky did not like that to the naked eye. There was a hint of pink, but the long exposure just layers it on and on and on until you get something like this. It’s a 22MP shot with more than enough detail in the file to print it, so it may just see the light of my living room wall at some point. What is has done though is confirm that 2017 needs to be about getting out there and seeing what I can do. Lord knows that I do not need yet another hobby, but in theory this will replace lounging around in bed. I also intend to actually take time out of my day and leave my desk to get lunch somewhere, which in addition to being good for me will hopefully spur me on.