Mini-sits

Assistant editor Mike Weedon writes:
Matt Merritt, Kevin Wilmot, Tom Bailey and I spent Monday (19.11.07) tyring out a different kind of bird race, which we will call a Mini-Sit. We spent exactly an hour in a theoretical 17-foot diameter circle, at each of three sites in the Peterborough area (all in Cambridgeshire), seeing how many species we could see and hear from each place. We chose the Nene way at Eldernell, east of Coates, a hide at Woodwalton Fen NNR and a high point at Ferry Meadows CP.
We were prelasantly surprised at the results, and you can read all about them in the January 2008 issue of Bird Watching
Some of the birds seen included Barn Owl and Stonechat at Eldernell...

Mike Weedon

Mike Weedon
...Teal in good numbers at Woodwalton Fen...

...and the inevitable Mallard at Ferry Meadows.

Mike Weedon
Boy did we struggle with Grey Herons, though, and we didn't record House Sparrow or Collared Dove at any of the sites!