Well it had to happen. A two-pointer (re Patchwork Challenge) at last. Predictably enough the excitement was provided by a Hawfinch, which flew over me as I was returning from the paper shop. With a newspaper in one hand and a plastic bottle of milk in the other, binoculars left at home, it was not the ideal of circumstances. One thing I did have going for me, though, was that it called. A thin two syllable "siier" which it repeated a couple of times as it bounded away to the south.
This sort of thing makes me reflect on the role of luck in birding. Had I not been stuck behind an old gentleman taking an age to buy copious amounts of lottery tickets, I would not have been in the right place at the right time, winning my own personal lottery.
Mind you, how many rarities must fly over when I'm somewhere else? Probably best not to think about it.
The next challenge is to find one perched in the trees around here, nibbling on seeds. They were quite easy to find here in the last invasion winter, 2005/2006, so there has to be a good chance.
That's put the mockers on it!
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