Tickless

After the exertions of February, March has been a very quiet affair. This has been a relief, yet rather disappointing. It's always a quiet month, and perhaps contains fewer lifers than any other. My memory is not what it was, but it seems that Bonaparte's Gull, Short-toed Treecreeper, Snow Goose, Lesser Kestrel and Harlequin Duck are the only ticks I've ever had in March. February by contrast has fifteen, three times as many. With last month yielding four new birds, it was inevitable that March would disappoint I suppose, and in a way, though dull, it's for the best as I've been run off my feet and had millions of ticks been available there would have been little I could have done about any of them. Which would have annoyed me, so instead I get to be annoyed about there not having been any. Twitching is a really sensible hobby.

So, like many birders during the calm before the (hoped for) storm, I've been concentrating on the patch, adding several Wheatears, Tawny Owl, Little Egret and Kingfisher. The former was of course very keenly anticipated, but that's over for another year now, and we're back to regular migrant patrol and being disappointed on a regular basis before going to work. It goes without saying that my patch list is way behind any previous year. Shucks. 

Instead I've been amusing myself by trying to sort out what photo I've taken in each month this year that I reckon is the best for that month, and it is taking bloody ages! This can only be a good sign, even if they are all from Morocco. March has in this regard also been disappointing, with very few keepers. One final weekend in which to do some damage.....