Bystock Blues

No, it's not a rock festival, or a junior football team! It sums up my wander around my local nature reserve this lunchtime, at the top end of Exmouth. It was sunny for a reasonable part of the day today, but a tad colder. I decided to do a flying visit in my lunchtime. Parking up by the main pond, I noticed the usual small number of Mallards and one of the resident pair of Moorhens. A Buzzard drifted over. I walked on up the reserve, hoping to encounter several Year ticks, as the weather was fairly calm for a change. I reckoned that up to 15 new species for 2014 could be added at this location, but realistically expected a healthy number of six. No bleddy chance! I trudged round and ended up with a paltry 2 2014 ticks, namely Treecreeper and Jay! (For a similar look at life, see my post below, Hit and Miss). I also saw my first Goldcrest in Exmouth this year. I was expecting to also record Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Greenfinch. And can you believe it, the only species of thrush I've seen so far this year is Blackbird. No Song or Mistle Thrushes. No Redwings. No Fieldfares. Not a sign of any Siskins, Redpolls or Crossbills. Sometimes you just wonder where the hell these birds hide themselves.........