View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

By the time you read this there will only be about ten weeks left in the year. Astounding as it may seem, 2022 will be almost over. With it's political and financial upheavals, war in the East and the threat of COVID19 still hanging over us, many people will be glad to see the back of it. For those of us who are compiling a year list of birds seen, however, we're hoping that 2022 will last a little longer. We'll try to squeeze every last moment out of the calendar year, making a final push to boost our birds-spotted numbers in the tail end of this trip around the sun.

And it has been a decent year for birders in the area. Siberian Chiffchaff, Blue-Headed Wagtail, Spoonbills, Osprey, Wood Sandpiper, American Black Tern and Temminck's Stint. Many of you have delighted in adding these birds to your 'birds I've seen in 2022' checklist. But me? I've not been so successful. Thee above mentioned are just some of the birds that aren't on my list of birds I've seen in the Dearne Valley this year. Every one of them could have counted as an extra tick on the list if only I'd made the effort to go and look for them but I didn't. I missed them all. The truth is, I couldn't be bothered. I was just too comfortable at home on my sofa, or maybe all birded out after another day standing outside the Old Moor Welcome Shed.

Some will see this as heresy but you know what? I don't really care (all that much). Yes, it would have been nice to have seen any and all of the birds listed above but would they have been worth the faff of rushing to where they were at the time, the stress of “will they still be there” panic to get there in time? Maybe, maybe not. They would have been another tick on my year list, true, but then again they only 'count' as much as a Blue Tit, a Song Thrush or a Tufted Duck, three of my favourite birds in the world. I'll usually stop whatever I'm doing and take a few moments out of my day to watch these beauties if I can, and I'll be delighted every time. Could I say that about a second, third or ninetieth sighting of those at the beginning of this article?

I know, earlier in the year I wrote about how you have to go where the birds are if you want to see them, but everyone draws their own line in the sand when it comes to how far and how often they are prepared to hunt down the elusive rarities (and the not so elusive nemesis birds that many birdwatchers have). I am, as it turns out, not a particularly dedicated birder.

Now I'm not knocking those who travel hours to get a tick. I'm impressed by the dedication that is needed to get up at silly o'clock and drive a hundred miles or more on the off-chance that a small passerine might still be waiting in a bush that it visited two days ago. That takes a huge commitment to the cause and while I'm in awe of those who are willing to take that chance, I'm not one of them. My duvet is too welcoming, my radiator too warm, my teacup too homely.

That's not to say that I don't take immense pleasure in my birding hobby, I very much do. I love to see new birds wherever I travel (like the stunning Hooded Crows I saw on my trip to Ireland last week) but I rarely make a special journey just to see one particular creature that has been reported. I'll go to a new site and see what's around there (like my upcoming trip to north Norfolk) but it will be to see what I can find in the area, rather than to dig out a single rarity. I'll go to a place to see the birds there rather than hunt out the bird that happens to be at that place. Does that make sense? Have I clarified the distinction? I hope so. It's clear in my head at least.

Right now I'm on the lookout for Redwings, Fieldfares and other winter visitors that are starting to arrive. Hopefully they'll be at Old Moor soon. Maybe the beautiful Waxwings will come over in numbers this year too, after almost totally giving Britain a miss last year. Apparently it was too warm here for them to be bothered to make the 500 mile journey from their summer homes in Scandinavia or Russia. And, if the conditions both here and there are similar, who can blame them?

Hopefully they'll take my year list closer to my 200 bird target though I don't think I'll make that. I'm not committed enough. Good luck to those of you who are. I know many that passed that annual mark long ago. I'm currently on 153 for the year which, although a paltry effort by many of Old Moor's regulars' standards, still makes 2022 a highest-ever year for me – and we've still got those ten weeks or so to go.

So if there are any birds currently in the Dearne Valley that you haven't seen this year – or possibly haven't seen ever – now is the time to come and look for them. In the last week there has been a Little Stint on Wombwell Ings, that's a lovely bird. Pintail, Garganey and Osprey have been around our valley recently and some of the Spoonbills that have been here all Summer can still be seen on our sites occasionally. And of course our resident Jack Snipe, Bearded Tit / Reedlings, Bitterns and Peregrines continue to delight all who spot one. I can't guarantee that you'll see them but I can promise a warm welcome from me and the other volunteers at the Welcome Shed. Please pop in and say Hello.