Ticks Galore!

A birding timeline of my day.

Morning:
I was woken up not by a siren this morning for a change but instead an Oystercatcher as it flew over the car park. Another addition to the Teesside campus list.
Also I found the two Drake Mallards asleep on the grass in a car park on the opposite side of the university today along with a female I recognised from the MIMA pond. It has all the same marking and patterns as a female mallard but is a lighter more orangey buff colour, not sure if this is just a variation or hybridisation.

On the way home:
Two more species added to the train list also today, a LBB Gull was flying around Stockton station and 8 Shellduck on the creeks opposite Cowpen Bewley Country Park.

This Afternoon:
Had a quick five minute look at the garden, as I often do, incase anything was hanging around the feeders.
At first all seemed normal until two birds within the space of a minute, the first was a Patch Tick and a Garden Tick.
A male Blackcap flew onto the seed tray before flying back to the bushes. It repeated this proccess a few times before disappearing into the bushes. Whilst still scanning the bushes a Grey Heron crash landed in the school field before flying off again.

Not all that exciting to most of you but I am starting to appreciate more common species, the Blackcap was definately the highlight.

79 - Blackcap