FOUND! Peter White.

Lesser spotted woodpecker drumming.

I have been testing a new camera (Fuji x100), very good for quick, candid observational snaps.

A dog walker and a giant dog!

Self portrait on Tooting Bec road.

Rubbish left after a picnic. I am astounded by what people throw away: Plates and knives and forks. Such waste!

Outings over to the common on the 8th, 10th, 11th and 20th were all productive and I had a week in Cornwall in between.

Top spot for me on the 8th was Peter White who I hadn't seen for ages. He had had a productive morning seeing a male Pied flycatcher in Cafe wood. This was after he had seen two Reed buntings and remarkably the Lesser spotted woodpecker. The male Pied fly is a good looking bird and an unusual migrant on the common and we went to have a look for it. Unfortunately, it had moved on. The Egyptian geese have two chicks, though Peter said it was four a week ago. Within a few days it was down to one and when I went past yesterday I couldn't see the geese at all.

9th-11th. Three early visits hoping to find something similar. I found the Lesser spot three times (9th), firstly at a corner of the Triangle and then twice by the lake area. Always a male so probably the same bird. There was a good smattering of migrants, Willow warblers and Chiffchaffs and 15 male Blackcaps and at least two females which is a good number. The Lesser spot was still on the same tree on the Triangle on the following day so I persuaded Brian, who still hadn't seen it to come over the following morning. True to recent form it was in the same tree at 7am, punctual, and we had good view.

20th. Lesser spot still drumming persistently on the Triangle. Hope he finds a mate. Hobby over at about 08.00 heading north was a year first for me and almost in exactly the same place as I saw one last year though a couple of weeks earlier. Of continuing amusement is the aggressive male swan, protecting his partner who is on the nest, presumably with an egg. He spends the whole day chasing seemingly one Canada goose in particular. An annual ritual. No Barn swallows yet over the common but at least two passed over Balham (8th).

March 2011.

Red rumped swallow, near Ajdabiyah, Libya.

Subalpine warbler, Libya.

Greater crested terns, Bosasso, Somaliland.

Sooty gull, Bosasso, Somaliland.

I was away from the end of February through March and into the beginning of April. What started out as a two week gig in Somalia ended up being six weeks away with the last three weeks in Libya.

Somalia, Bosasso, the capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland was a difficult assignment and we didn't get out much. One day we did, I took a couple of pictures of Sooty gull and some Greater crested terns. Preferring them over the very similar Lesser crested on size compared to a Sandwich tern.

Libya was a different kettle of fish entirely where we were able to get out quite a bit. As for the looking at birds, this was still tricky and most sightings were made out of the car window dashing along at 90mph. Every now and again we did stop and I was able to identify the abundant larks seen evading our car at regular intervals along the road: Short toed and Desert.

Some of the other good birds were abundant Hoopoe (called Hood hood in Arabic), Subalpine warblers, Marsh harriers a Pallid harrier, Pallid swifts, Red rumped and Barn swallows. Two species I wasn't expecting to see in the desert were Raven and a Curlew (probably disorientated in a sand storm). It would have been great to have the freedom to go out wandering without the fear of artillery and tank fire...