After terrible weather on the Saturday, it was a relief tofind a much better day on March 4th when the 7 teams toured the mainlandcounting species along the way.
Some rarer birds were seen - American wigeon, Tree Sparrow,Hawfinch, Mistle Thrush and Snow Goose (I was privileged to see the wigeon,snow goose and hawfinch - the latter thanks to the good sportsmanship of arival team who allowed competitors to have a telescopic view of this beautifulbird).
After bird-spotting for eight and a half hours, the winningteam once more emerged as Alistair Forsyth, Julian Branscombe, Barry &Linda Hamill who amassed a total of 91 species.The runner-up teamwith 88 points - Malcolm Russell, Thelma Irvine, Willie and Pauline Wilson; third wasSteve Sankey with his wife and young son - they did well with only 3 members.
A total of 107 species was seen on the day - it is thought this is a record.
After the race some of the participants enjoyed a meal at the Lynnfield Hotel.
Many thanks to Malcolm Russell for supplying these facts andfigures - Malcolm says this is one of the best bird races ever and I can onlyagree with him. A photo of the winning team is below:
Winning Team: Alistair Forsyth, Julian Branscombe, Linda Hamill, Barry Hamill. Photo Pauline Wilson.