200 up!

The non-motorised year list sat in suspended animation on 199 for a couple of weeks in August as we enjoyed a family holiday in Northumberland. Although I took the bike, a nasty fall (on foot, not off the bike) prevented me from using it much. This was a shame as we were just 5 miles from the sea, from where a good cycle route would have taken me up and down a very birdy bit of coast, to sites including Druridge Bay, High Hauxley and Cresswell Ponds. I made it to the coast by bike just the once, though the Tree Sparrows I saw could not be added to the 'non-motorised' year list as the unwritten rules mean that only birds seen on trips from my permanent address can be ticked.

Spotted Crake (with Green Sandpiper in foreground), Lodmoor, 22nd August

Friends have queried the stringency of this rule but it seems reasonable to me - if it didn't exist, there would be nothing to stop richer and less fully employed people than I trundling round the country on their fancy bikes, camping [*spits*], staying in bird observatories and racking up massive lists. Frankly, I could do without the competition. 

While away in Northumberland, I was relieved that I hadn't missed much back at home - a one-day Spotted Crake at Lodmoor in the middle of our final week was about the only year tick on offer. On our return, it was only a matter of time before I reached the milestone figure of 200 species, and I suspected it would be either Ruff or Little Stint which I hadn't managed to see in the spring. We got back on Friday 20th August but on the Saturday afternoon, after several days unreported, the Lodmoor Spotted Crake re-appeared. 

It was late in the day, and the weather had detariorated badly on the way down, such that I was in drowned rat mode by the time I arrived. Julian Thomas was already standing sentry but despite an hour or so of diligent watching we could not relocate the bird. I resolved to stick it out until near dusk then bale out and get the train home if there was still no sign. There wasn't, so I let the train take the strain.

The nagging feeling that the Spotted Crake was still there, and the desire to have a cool species such as this as my landmark 200th of the year, motivated me to repeat the 17 mile journey to Weymouth the following morning and try again. The muddy edge at the back of the 'postbox pool' was more clearly visible this morning in brighter weather, and after half an hour of staring at nothing but Green Sandpipers, a movement in the shade caught my eye which on closer inspection materialised into a juvenile Spotted Crake. 

Whoever described it as 'showing well' the previous day must have had better optics and/or eyes than me, as it was a long way off and not at all easy to pick out as it crept stealthily along in the reeds, often partially obscured. But the views were conclusive, and even if my photos were terrible, I was delighted to get to 200 species in a year travelling under my own steam. It was a figure I never thought possible in January, and there were still four months of the year to go.

22nd August was good day for big milestones - 200 species for the non-motorised year list and 2,000 miles on the GPS clocked up since I bought it in mid-February - an average of 10 miles per species!