Patch neglect

It's definitely not the first time I've used that heading for a blog post, and probably won't be the last, and I supposed that's one measure of my on-off relationship with Swineham. During the first lockdown year of 2020 I reconnected with it big time, initially out of necessity, subsequently out of choice, visiting a minimum of once a week and often more through the lighter months. 

Roe Deer at North Bestwall

I was handsomely rewarded for this effort with a handful of minor rarities, my purplest patch in over a decade of regular watching. I visited even more religiously through 2021 but rewards in terms of finds were scant and restricted to a few local 'first of the year' hirundines, warblers and waders. And I even managed to miss the best bird of the year - an inland Sanderling found by Paul Morton - which would have been a patch tick. That said, it would churlish not to recognise that there were some good birds in 2021 - a couple of Ring-necked Duck, long-staying Little Gull and Red-throated Diver, the now regular Cattle Egrets and Yellow-legged Gulls, not to mention the spectacle of early spring Bitterns departing at dusk.

'Welcome to Swineham': the shouty signage and triple-stacked lines of barbed wire would be more in keeping with a PoW camp than a rural location which is marketed by the owners as a wildlife haven - but only to paying guests

As 2021 drew to a close I was a bit too busy chasing exotic targets for my non-motorised year list to spend much time on the patch, and with daylight at a premium in the early weeks of 2022, I've also been spending most weekends cycling to more distant locations and have been equally neglectful as a result - just 2 or 3 visits until this weekend. A bout of illness (not Covid, thankfully) kept me off the bike and indoors most of last weekend but for a brief stroll to Swineham, and I've been there twice in the last two days as I continue to recover and the strong winds would have made cycling an unattractive option even had I been feeling better.

Tundra Bean Goose - bird of the year so far for 2022 at Swineham (taken 20th Feb)

These last two visits kind of sum up the contrasting emotions provoked by visit to the patch. Yesterday was a good day, relocating the three Tundra Bean Geese found late on Friday by Adam Day. These birds, which I last saw at Upton on New Year's Day, were illustrative of the potential which Swineham always holds, especially for wildfowl. Today I went back hoping that the winds might have blown something else in, but there was absolutely nothing to write home about. On days like these the harsh weather and unwelcoming signage can make Swineham an unforgiving place, and while I know I am fortunate to have such a good site on my doorstep, it doesn't stop it feeling, well, like hard work on occasion.

The other two of the trio of Tundra Bean Geese at Swineham yesterday

I shall, of course, persevere - a local patch is a local patch after all. Time of year and the prevailing weather conditions do, of course, play a part - cold spells usually make Swineham more interesting than the recent mild and stormy conditions, and I usually fall in love with it again in April when the acros return. But don't be surprised if there isn't much news from those quarters over the next few weeks! 

Delightful Stock Doves have at least been reliable at Swineham on my infrequent visits this year