My list so far

[G-wiz]

My list of birds since taking up the hobby.
http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/posts/topic35454.shtm

[birdman]

Nice one G-wiz,

Got to say, it just seems so strange to see "emu" on the list!

[marcus]

My humble year list got a little bigger today. I went to a grocery store this morning and went to the lake nearby to do a little birding, and saw 3 species for the first time this year, an American Coot, about 8 Ring-necked Ducks and 4 Hooded Mergansers. Those Hooded Mergansers were the best ones. I haven't seen them since April 2001. The 2001 mergansers were my first ever.
I assume that the UK birders have heard of Hooded Mergansers, right? I suppose it's the closest thing we have to a Smew.
Marcus

[Gaye Horn]

Are your hooded Mergs in breeding plummage?

[Beverlybaynes]

Gaye, I don't know about the Hoodies seen in Maryland, but the one I saw on New Year's Eve in south central Indiana certainly appeared to be! He was flashing his hood and swimming about just being gorgeous!

[marcus]

Yes, Gaye and Beverlybaynes,
The Hoodies are in breeding plummage. That's how I recognized one from a pretty good distance. I'll admit that my binoculars aren't the greatest, and the male had the 'hood' down, but I could see enough black and white to guess what it was. When I got closer I saw all four of them, 2 male and 2 female.
When I read about the birding that another Marylander had recently done, she wrote that she saw 50 hooded mergansers. Besides Mallards and Lesser Scaups, I doubt that I have ever seen that many ducks at one time. I did see a pretty large flock of Ruddy Ducks once, but I doubt that there were 50.

[Gaye Horn]

Marcus.. we have flocks of hundreds of ducks geese and other birds but that is because where I am, is considered SOUTH for some very northern migrating birds. Our lakes do not freeze over and there is an abundance of food also.. this is one of a few reasons we here in the Okanogan Valley sometimes have ridiculously high numbers in waterfowl..
I always wish that the Sandhill Cranes would just stop here for their winters but alas they do not.. and on rare occasions they will light for a rest..we are a major migration path for them.
Mergansers, teal, mallards, scaups, coots, loons,widgeons, wood ducks, goldeneye, bufflehead are all here year round as are the Canada geese. and depending on poaching or hunters; the numbers are pretty high on a consistant basis.
I do think Mergansers are quite a beautiful duck, breeding plumage aside.

[marcus]

Ok, just to talk about the year list again, mine got a little bigger today when at around 11:00 this morning, I saw from my bedroom window 3 Black Vultures. Got a pretty good look at them. Then at around 2:00, again from the bedroom window, a Great Black-backed Gull.
The Great Black-backed Gull was the first one I had see in a few years since I never go to any beaches. Just the 3 man-made lakes in the neighborhood. I saw those Hooded Mergansers at one of them.

[marcus]

I'm sorry! I meant to write, the Great Black-backed Gull was the first one I had seeN...
Sorry again.

[Harry Hussey]

"I assume that the UK birders have heard of Hooded Mergansers, right?"
Can't speak for the UK personally,but here in Ireland we know Hooded Merg well:it's one of those species that we can't tick due to its popularity in captivity!;-)
We probably do get "genuine" wild vagrants from America every so often(a bird in Co.Donegal this autumn was a good candidate),but there have been no officially accepted records for many years.
They look quite nice(have only seen photos),and certainly seem to fill a similar niche to that of Smew.
Harry

[marcus]

Just to start a friendly conversation Harry, what's an American bird that you definately have seen wild in Ireland? A bird that's not usually over there.
Marcus

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Marcus,
Definite wild American species(or species treated as being wild despite a slight possibility of captive origin)consist of:
Pied-billed Grebe(1),"genuine" Canada Goose(1 of race interior),Snow Goose(1,pale phase),"Black Brant"(1,only a subspecies of Brent Goose),American Wigeon(6),Black Duck(2),Green-winged Teal(2),Ring-necked Duck(6+),Lesser Scaup(1),Surf Scoter(2),Bufflehead(1),American Golden Plover(2),Semipalmated Sandpiper(2),Western Sandpiper(1),White-rumped Sandpiper(2),Baird's Sandpiper(1),Pectoral Sandpiper(3),Buff-breasted Sandpiper(9),Short-billed Dowitcher(1),Long-billed Dowitcher(2),Lesser Yellowlegs(1),Laughing Gull(1),Bonaparte's Gull(3),Ring-billed Gull(many),"American Herring Gull"(4,only subsp.of Herring),"Kumlien's Gull"(2+,only subsp.of Iceland),Forster's Tern(2-3),Red-eyed Vireo(1),Blue-winged Warbler(1),Baltimore Oriole(1)
Not bad considering that I only started twitching in 1998!(but was birding since 1990 and got my first Ring-billeds,Black Duck,Pec Sand,Am.Wigeon,Kumlien's and Laughing Gull before 98)
Still a few likely waders and passerines left to get....
The following have occurred here since 98 but have so far eluded me:Blue-winged Teal,Stilt Sandpiper,Wilson's Phalarope,Least Sandpiper,Swainson's Thrush,Hermit Thrush,Chimney Swift,Common Nighthawk,Yellow-rumped Warbler,Blackpoll Warbler,Rose-breased Grosbeak
Harry

[Donna]

Wow, Harry! You've seen more of our birds than _I_ have! Way to go!

Donna

[marcus]

Pied-billed Grebe, Canada Goose ('billions' of 'em!), Black Duck, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Lesser Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Red-eyed Vireo, and Baltimore Oriole. These are the birds you've seen there that I have seen.
By the way Harry, what is your definition of 'twitching'? I have seen it used several times, but what does it stand for? Keeping bird lists, or something like that? Or maybe not just bird lists, but lists?
Marcus

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Marcus,
Twitching is chasing after birds(usually vagrants)found by someone else,with the main aim of adding new species to one's list.Note that it is perfectly possible to keep lists and never twitch,and also that most twitchers are birders first and foremost,and spend most of their time looking for their own birds,also survey work etc.
While the all-important "tick" is the main reason for twitching a bird,I also try to appreciate the individual bird and the main identification criteria etc.,so as to increase my experience.
As a result,I will sometimes go to see birds that I have already seen,as one can afford to be more relaxed with their 2nd/3rd..
sighting of a bird!
Harry

[marcus]

Hi Harry
Well, if that's what twitching means, I've never done it, even though once some local birders have 'twitched' over a sighting of mine, a duck that I saw last January. I mainly have to look for some birds that I have seen already and hope I'll see something new.
I have 30 birds on my 2003 list so far. What about you?

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Marcus,
122 sp.so far this year,and still no Jay or Dipper.
Harry

[birdman]

My God, Harry, you get about a bit!!!

I've not got a written down list for 2003 (I've just posted my first ever "List" on the Forum!) but I reckon I'm with Marcus around the 30 mark.

Clearly I have to try harder!!! 3:-)

[Darrell Clegg]

Hi Marcus,
I think Harry and I are extremely fortunate to be living where we do - he at the far West of Ireland, and me at the far west of England, in that we do get a lot of American birds in autumn (fall) and winter. However there are a number of species which are common in the rest of the British Isles which are incredibly rare where we live. I'm sure Harry would love to see a Green Woodpecker or a Tawny Owl, whilst I have seen more Red-eyed Vireos in Cornwall than Tree Sparrow. Wouldn't swap it for the world though!!

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell,
That's right:Green Woodpecker and Tawny Owl would be megas here in Ireland(former recorded 3 times in 19th C+latter never recorded),and Tree Sparrow isn't found in Cork any more(locally common in places like Wexford,though).The following British breeding birds are rare here:
GS Woodpecker:a rare vagrant in winter
Woodlark:1 last May was only the 2nd since 1966
Dartford Warbler:none since 1999,less than 10 records
Cetti's Warbler:2 records,1968 and 1975
Hawfinch:possibly breeds in tiny numbers in certain areas
Tree Pipit:scarce migrant,may breed sporadically
Red Kite:scarce annual winter visitor(3-4 per year)
Hobby:annual vagrant in spring and autumn
Osprey,Marsh Harrier:scarce but increasing passage migrants
Little Owl:3 records(?),last in 1981
LR Plover,Dotterel,Avocet:all vagrants,prob.annual
Nuthatch,Willow Tit,LS Woodpecker:not yet recorded
Missing lots more too,but that's all I'll mention for a while!
Also,many "regular" scarce migrants in the UK(i.e.Bluethroat,Serin)are sought-after megas here:we had the former in 2001 and the latter last year,and both were well twitched.
We do get a lot of American species,also(as with Cornwall)some exceptional seabird passage at times,but due to the paucity of birders here we don't get as many American passerines in particular as one would expect by our location.....
Harry

[Darrell Clegg]

Harry,
It's amazing how 'common' birds can be incredibly scarce in some parts of these islands. I suspect that because we are in the far West we are at the extreme limits of some species normal range, and outside the main migration route of other species. We are missing such species as Twite and others including Grey Partridge, Corn Bunting, Willow Tit and Hawfinch are incredibly scarce. migrant waders on the whole pass up the East side of the country and as a result species like Curlew Sandpiper and Little -ringed Plover can also be frustratingly difficult to see in some years.

My Cornish list is currently 329 and includes some cracking American passerines such as Red-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireo, Northern Parula and Veery, but I've noticed in the past few years that other areas such as Iceland and the Scottish islands seem to be getting more and more American birds whereas we are getting fewer and fewer. The Autumn weather systems all seem to veer to the north of Great Britain instead of passing over us - an instance of global warming perhaps?

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell,
It would be a shame if we stopped getting American passerines,but if it were just a case of the systems working their way north over time one would surely have expected S.Ireland to have had a period as good as the 80's on Scilly??
Also,after a few poor years here 2000 was good(Blue-winged,5 REV's,2 RB Grosbeaks,1 Blackpoll:managed to get first 2 sp.)
The very end of Oct.99 was good as well(our first 5 Chimney Swifts and 1st Common Nighthawk,also 3rd Swainson's,but regrettably none of these stayed too long,and I didn't see any of them)
Early Oct 01 saw 2 Yellow-rumpeds(both on offshore islands during a period when boats couldn't sail due to adverse weather),our 1st Baltimore Oriole(which was very elusive and only 20 people saw.....but I was one of them!!) and a Swainson's that was suppressed by visiting British birders.
Last year we had..................NOTHING!!!
This year will be better.
Do you do much seawatching in Cornwall?If so,do you have the "Holy Grail" of seawatching yet?I don't,but will get one some day.......
Harry

[Darrell Clegg]

Harry,

I suppose that I've been comparing what we've been getting recently with what we had in the 80's and whilst the totals are comparable, the species variation doesn't seem to be anything like as many for American passerines. 1999 was a very good year on mainland Cornwall with 3 Chimney Swift (1 on my local patch) Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Veery. 2000 saw Yellow - billed Cuckoo and 4 Red-eyed Vireo. 2001 2 Red-eyed Vireo. 2002 Nothing - (except a claimed Catharus) The 'classic year' of 1985 saw Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Gray-cheeked Thrush, 3 Red-eyed Vireo Northern Parula and Wilson's Warbler (on the same local patch as the 99 Chimney Swift)
As you say "this year will be better"
I do lots of Seawatching in Cornwall - I'm a St Ives regular with regular forays to Porthgwarra and, if forced, Pendeen (the views are so much worse and pasties are harder to come by!) The Holy Grail to me would be Little Shearwater. I've seen them in the Bay of Biscay and also on Tenerife and I reckon I'd be pretty confident if I saw one in Cornwall. Unfortunately neither I nor any of the regulars have seen anything that remotely resembles Little Shearwater passing by - Maybe one day!

Here's to a Pterodroma this August!!

Darrell

[marcus]

Hello again
This morning I went to the lake where I saw those 4 Hooded Mergansers 3 weeks ago. Most of the lake is frozen, but there is one unfrozen spot and there I saw among several Mallards and Canada Goose (Or Geese? Which one should be used?), 1 male Bufflehead, 1 male Wood Duck, and a male and female Hooded Merganser. The Bufflehead and Wood Duck were my first ones of 2003, and at the other end of lake I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on a branch. That was another years first. My year list is now 33.
Marcus

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell,
The Holy Grail of seabirds is Fea's Petrel.....;-)
Roll on July/August!
Harry

[Darrell Clegg]

Hi Harry,
How many Fea's have there been in Ireland? They're annual over here now - I've not seen one (2001 Scillonian pelagic was the one I missed) but I'm pretty confident that one of these days!!!!

Famous last words

Darrell

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell,
I don't know off hand how many Fea's(or Fea's/Zino's,as they are officially listed in the IRBC checklist!)have been seen here,but there must be almost 20 by now??
Annual here as well,and I also feel confident that I'll get one some day(hopefully this year).The closest that I've come to one was one being found off Cape Clear while I was seawatching from Galley Head(near Clonakilty and E of Cape,it probably didn't pass us while we were there....)
The increase of this species intrigues me:it's obviously a real increase and not due to increased observer numbers(a lot of seawatching was done off Cape since at least the 60's and optics/ID criteria were good enough from the late 70's for such a distinctive bird to be picked up(if not called as Fea's))
Is the population increasing(due to protection),are the feeding areas changing(due to global warming)or is the species about to spread north????(or all of the above!)
Anyone that I know who has seen one says that they are something special!Have you ever seen video footage of one?I haven't,but would like to do so while I'm waiting to see one "in the flesh".My local patch(Old Head of Kinsale)has had 3 of them since 89:this is all the more amazing if you consider that there was no access to the tip for many years in the mid/late 90's,and birders have only really started seawatching there again in the last 2-3 years!
Harry

[Darrell Clegg]

Harry,

I've not seen video footage, but I have had the full description - chapter and verse. My birding pals found the bird on the Scillonian and they tell me about it at every opportunity.

We are finding new places to watch in Cornwall all the time. Recently we have discovered that Cape Cornwall can be good, previously it was thought that most birds would be heading out to sea from this site, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Trevose Head and Pentire Point have also proved successful watchpoints, and with more observers would undoubtedly produce more. Just across the border is Hartland Point, but as it's in Devon (or England as the locals call it) we don't go there much. As for my 'secret site' I go to Downderry on the South Cornish coast. A few Shearwaters, Petrels and Skuas go by - but I get to sit in Steve Madge's living room in the dry looking out of his window. How's that for taking it easy?

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell,
Would be nice to get Fea's from Steve's living room,very comfortable way of ticking it!!
I'll persevere at the Old Head,also planning on going to the Bridges of Ross at least once(different mix of species over there,also Little Shearwater has been seen there more often than at any other site here)
Harry
P.S.Amazing how stuff like Black-throated Thrush occurs frequently enough in Cornwall(or at least on Scilly),yet has never made it over here yet!

[Darrell Clegg]

Hi Harry,

Fea's from the window would cause one hell of a celebration! There was a Black-browed Albatross off his place a couple of years ago. We missed it of course. It was found by a fisherman flying around his boat. The first we heard about it was when we saw a photograph of it in the Daily Mirror!!!!

I too am amazed by the amount of rarities found elsewhere but not here. You mention Black-throated Thrush which has turned up on Scilly a few times but never in Ireland. We haven't had it in Cornwall either, likewise Red-breasted Grosbeak, Bobolink and Yellow-rumped warbler. From the East we still haven't had Thrush Nightingale, Little Crake or Marsh Sandpiper.

I edit 'Palores' the Cornish Birdwatching and Preservation Society newsletter, and in the latest edition I have included a full Cornish list and started a competition for the first person to guess the next two Cornish firsts. There are still plenty to find - I've done it twice with Red-flanked Bluetail and Spanish Sparrow, so who knows what else is out there.

Amazing how we've gone full circle and started talking about lists again!!

(By the way 'Palores' is Cornish for Chough - the County birrd)

Darrell

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell,
It appears that your last posting(and my posting directly before this)have been affected by the problems with this website.
I got an e-mail telling me that you had replied to this topic,but when I tried to access the website I found that I couldn't access the forums,so I never read it!!
Harry

[Darrell Clegg]

Hi Harry,

Can't remember what I said - other than I was going to look for the Gyr that a friend of mine found at Rame Head (our local patch ) on Friday. Needless to say I didn't see it. I also missed the Chough which was seen there yesterday. It 's hard to overstate what seeing a Chough means to us in Cornwall. It is the county bird, not just our society mascot. We had them breeding in ever smaller numbers until the last pair in 1947. A lone male continued until 1963 when it died. Then there were only scattered sightings every decade or so until 2001 when three birds settled on the Lizard, no doubt helped by the fact that Foot & Mouth restrictions kept their presence secret. They bred this year causing celebrations all round.
Chough and Gyr would be patch ticks (I've seen both just outside the local area but it's not the same is it?) All was not lost however 'cos I found a Smew on the local fishing pond, quite rare here and another patch tick - hooray

Darrell

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Darrell,
Sorry to hear that you missed the Gyr and the Chough:the latter are quite common over here,have seen flocks of 20+ on one of my local patches(the Old Head of Kinsale).
"Need" Gyr for my Cork list,saw one in Co.Wicklow.Judging by the number of recent records of Gyr in SW UK,I may well get one as a patch tick some time!
Haven't seen Smew on a local patch as such,but have seen one in the county:a redhead back in 1995 near Macroom.The species is scarce in Ireland(but not a description species),but is very much a local rarity,with none seen in the county since then.
Haven't been out at all this weekend!:-(Weather too bad to go anywhere by bus(due to having to stay out in the showers),and nobody else went anywhere.
Very quiet locally anyway,hard to fight the apathy,especially since numbers of large gulls have gone down drastically this winter(often got through the winter on gulls alone)
Harry

[Steve Lister]

Hi Darrell and Harry
Feel that I'm butting in here but Darrell, surely there are Cornwall records of Black-throated Thrush ? Nanjizal last October ? One in flight at Porthgwarra a few days later ?

Steve

[Darrell Clegg]

Absolutely right Steve, I'd forgotten about those!!! I was going by the official County list which doesn't list them as they haven't been accepted by BBRC (yet) No doubt it'll be updated soon.

There are all sorts of oddities which have turned up but haven't got on the County list - the prime example is those 4 Ruddy Shelduck from a few years ago. Then there was the Lazuli Bunting - (I saw that bird!) it turned up the same week as the Yellow-throated Vireo and a Red-eyed Vireo. The strangest bird must be Scrub Jay. A bird was found near Kelynack in autumn 1967 but was assumed to be an escape. It was a Florida Scrub Jay - the rarest of the sub-species, but no-one ever found out where it came from. I bet it wouldn't be assumed to be an escape if it turned up nowadays!