8 Miles (More) Road

Time for me to just stand up, and travel new land
Time for me to just take matters into my own hands
Once I'm over these tracks man I'ma never look back
(8 Mile Road) And I'm gone, I know right where I'm going
Sorry momma I'm grown, I must travel alone
ain't gon' follow the footsteps I'm making my own
Only way that I know how to escape is on this 8 Mile Road - Eminem

Thought I'd better start living up to the 'rock n roll rebel' tag the Telegraph believes me (and y'all) to be. Just over eight miles today, the rain stayed away and I was hoping that a walk out to Linton Lane NR might produce Shoveler and Willow Tit to finish off the month.

Around a mile from destination and I stumbled on a small flock of Whooper Swans presumably the ones that have been intermittently (though frustratingly not when I've been there) in fields a couple of miles further east relocating. Another mile and just as I was about to turn off to the nature reserve one of my morning's targets, a Willow Tit,  came bounding along the hedge. 

Plenty of wildfowl on an unfrozen pool at Linton but not a sniff of Shoveler amongst them. A bird moving off one of the small islands into the water caught my eye, expecting a Moorhen I was happy as Larry to see it was actually a Snipe that swam a short distance and climbed back onto the island. With the snow and seemingly all the local Snipe moving to the coast, Id all but given up hope of one.

Another movement this time in the reeds just left of the hide a couple of minutes later was to produce the best bird of the month for me when a Bittern walked into full view about 10m away before sloping off into the reeds. Only my second ever at this site, the last was c.1999/2000.

The four miles back were uneventful, hundreds of thrushes moving back west, a couple of calling Nuthatches and a small flock of Long-tailed Tits.

That's me done now, exceeded my expectations but mainly because I underestimated how far I'd be comfortable walking and getting back from within the limits of school runs.  I'm ending on 76 against a target of 67 giving me a score on the revised method of 109. 

I'm sure everyone else will be doing likewise but thanks to Mark and Martin for the spark that started this, I've thoroughly enjoyed the month. If Mark plans on leaving the blog up I might even continue beyond January to see what I can achieve in 12 months. 100 is a cert, 120 should be doable but could 150 be achievable on foot in my area? If Mark's OK with it I'll drop in the odd progress report.