My schedule is finally beginning to free up, I've not yet had a full weekend at home this year. For six weekends I have not been here at all. Mostly (but not entirely) this is all my own fault and I planned it this way several months ago not realising quite how exhausting it would end up being. First there was Morocco, then there was Scotland. Twice. In between these two trips there was the emergency run to the States, and then it was half term in the Peak District. When finally I had a free weekend in late February I inexplicably used it to twitch Texel for the Spectacled Eider.
I finally had a full day at home last Sunday and it was bliss. The sun was out, the greenhouse was warm, and I busied myself with my plants and the end of the long winter. It's a labourious process, giving each pot a tiny amount of water to accompany the warmth and the light awakening them from their winter slumber, but with cold nights still potentially lethal to wet roots. A fine art, hopefully I have got it right. Once it is warmer still I will add a little boost of fertiliser and the short growing season will begin. It was filthy down there, fungal growth on loads of leaves, and a scale insect problem that will have to wait a few weeks to be properly dealt with. But initial signs are good, most plants seem to have made it and indeed, pestilential insects aside, look in fine fettle.
Of course I can't spend all my time in the greenhouse from now on. There are Wheatears to be found (and other less important migrants). I can feel it in the air, they are on their way. Wheatears are the ones we all want. I was actually first out the hat for the annual sweepstake but at the appointed time to choose our dates I was busy and it slipped my mind. I was bumped to last. Rats. This is not unexpected in 2025. I mean it is good to be busy, but I wish I was less busy. The end is in sight though, and a visible sign of easing is that I've been birding locally.
Until recently my Wanstead list this year could only be considered as deeply unimpressive. Approaching the end of February I'd managed one visit to Wanstead Flats in early January. That had taken me to 35 species, and my commute to the office through Bush Wood had increased that to 44. 44! Oh dear. I finally got my act in gear on the 25th, going for a walk before work in the Park and the Old Sewage Works. This took me to 58, and then last weekend a bit of sky-watching added both Buzzard and Red Kite between bouts of gardening. A quick visit to the Old Sewage works earlier this week added Kingfisher and Water Rail, and a Chiffchaff on the way to work yesterday took me to 63. A veneer of respectability. A thin veneer.... I have even now gone so far as to scribble a list of targets on a post-it note so things are getting pretty serious.
Somehow in the same period I've managed to get through six trip reports, including the most recent one to Morocco which I just finished. They're as popular as ever which is a bit of a shame as they take hours. Actually I haven't finished as I suppose I really need to see if I can make something out of Arizona and Texel. I've also spent many hours getting the 2023 London Bird Report done, another thankless task, indeed one that more often draws criticism than thanks, and which coming from people who have no concept of how long it takes, how busy I am, and above all that it's voluntary is a bit rich. Anyway, no point dwelling on that minor annoyance, my part is once again finished and ready for others to take up the mantle. I could give you a much fuller ticked-off to-do list but that might be even less popular than a trip report. In summary I've done a lot this year and so maybe Elon won't fire me?
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