Saturday, October 08, 2005

Miserable dip in miserable weather. 198 species in total

Feeling very optimistic, I set off after lunch on Saturday in search of the Red-necked Phalarope found the day before at Lee-on-Solent. The bird was still present at 1100, and I had high hopes of completing the county Phalarope grand slam for the year. No such flippin' luck! No sign of the bird at all, at a spectacularly grotty pond by a new housing development - just 2 Little Grebes and a bunch of gulls by way of compensation. And to cap it all a (predicted) cold front arrived just as I gave up, and I got cold and wet all the way home. The only thing achieved today was the km/species count creeping up to 19!