And so a new year begins and hopefully one that will be less dramatic and sad as last years ended, when at the amazing age of 94 my Dad passed away just before Christmas, and then we had a chimney fire, when I used seasoned wood on the log stove, which hadn't been seasoned long enough by the supplier.
There were at least some good things last year, and that was adding three new bird species to my Port and Wey list with:
Black-winged Stilt - 28 Apr 23 (Lodmoor RSPB Reserve)
Grey-headed Wagtail - 1 Jun 23 (Reap Lane Barns)
American Golden Plover (centre) - 25 Nov 23 (Lodmoor RSPB Reserve)
And then there was the delight of seeing four species I have seen on the island before, but were nevertheless great to see again.
Cirl Bunting - Culverwell - 19 Apr 23
Woodchat Shrike - Crown Estate Fields - 16 May 23
Yellow-browed Warbler - Wakeham - 2 Oct 23
Red-breasted Flycatcher - Portland Bird Observatory -10 Oct 23
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So how I am doing this year. Well it was miserable day and the best I could do from the confines of the Cottage were the following birds noted in the order they were seen first:
Herring Gull - Wakeham
House Sparrow - Wakeham
Robin - Wakeham
Magpie - Wakeham
Woodpigeon - Wakeham
Great Tit - Wakeham
Dunnock - Wakeham