Florall's 2006 list

[florall]

I'm out to beat my own two previous year lists (120 in 2004, 132 in 2005).

I didn't go out yesterday, but today I went to my local patch at the River Mole near Gatwick, then for an hour up to some sandpits about five miles away.

Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Mute swan
Greylag goose
gadwall
teal
shoveler
pochard
tufted duck
kestrel
moorhen
coot
black headed gull
common gull
herring gull
woodpigeon
feral pigeon
collared dove
green woodpecker
robin
blackbird
long tailed tit
blue tit
great tit
magpie
carrion crow
jackdaw
starling
house sparrow
greenfinch
goldfinch.

31 species.

[florall]

Thought I'd better update with the rest of the birds I saw in January. First, a few more garden birds:

dunnock
song thrush

Then on the 7th I went to Wakehurst Place in West Sussex to add some woodland birds:

pheasant
redwing
coal tit
marsh tit
nuthatch
chaffinch

14th-21st I went to north Norfolk, where I did a leisurely hour or two birdwatching each day and added the following (lifers in bold):

Bewick swan
Whooper swan
Tundra bean goose
pink-footed goose - saw them taking off at dawn at Snettisham - what a sight!
Greater white-fronted goose
Greater canada goose
Brent goose
Egyptian goose
shelduck
wigeon
pintail
common scoter
velvet scoter
goldeneye
red-legged partridge
golden pheasant
fulmar
cormorant
little egret
marsh harrier
sparrowhawk
merlin
oystercatcher
avocet
golden plover
grey plover
lapwing
knot
dunlin
ruff
black-tailed godwit
bar-tailed godwit
curlew
spotted redshank
redshank
turnstone
stock pigeon
barn owl
short-eared owl
kingfisher
g.s. woodpecker
skylark
wren
fieldfare
mistle thrush
cetti's warbler
goldcrest
jay
rook
brambling
siskin
twite
yellowhammer
reed bunting
corn bunting

94 species.

[florall]

I had very few chances to get out in February. Several visits to my local patch, lots of singing birds, but very little new there. There were two species that I saw in January, but forgot to list above:

Grey heron
pied wagtail.

In February, I also saw a grey wagtail at Wakehurst Place, a male blackcap visited my garden, bullfinch on my local patch, but the most exciting bird was also a lifer. I'd heard that there was a bittern at a nearby lake and was thrilled to get prolonged views of it both in the reeds and flying.

100 species.

Hopefully I'll get out more in March and be able to add to this list.

[florall]

Well, I didn't get out much in March, but I did make one trip down to East Sussex, where I saw:

101. cattle egret
102. kittiwake
103. rock pipit

Also during March and April I saw a few more common birds locally, including:

104. whinchat
105. stonechat
106. treecreeper
107. buzzard
108. hobby
109. lesser black backed gull
110. common tern
111. cuckoo
112. swallow
113. house martin
114. reed warbler
115. common whitethroat
116. chiffchaff
117. willow warbler
118. dartford warbler (at Arne in Dorset on Monday).

[florall]

Missed a bird:

119. ruddy duck at Radipole RSPB on 21.4.06

[florall]

Went up to the south London/Surrey borders today, where I was able to add:

120. garden warbler
121. tree sparrow, yay! At last! This one has been a long time coming and was well worth it.

[florall]

122. swift - arrived over my house on the 1st.

[florall]

Lifers in bold
While birding locally:
123 Linnet
124 Sand martin
125 Little owl
126 Lesser whitethroat

At our cottage in Northumberland (there was a stream through the garden):
127 Dipper

At sea, on the way to the Farnes:
128Northern gannet

On Inner Farne:
129 common eider
130 Sandwich tern
131 Arctic tern
132 common guillemot
133 razorbill
134 Atlantic puffin
Up towards the Cheviots
135 Meadow pipit (surprised it’s taken me so long in the year to see one, none on my local patch so far, though they were certainly there last year)

Offshore at Amble
136 Roseate tern
137 Great black backed gull

We then changed holiday cottages to the Scottish borders, and all the following birds were seen in either southern Scotland or northern England:
138 hen harrier
139 Goosander
140 wood warbler
141 Golden eagle
142 Common snipe
143 tree pipit
144 common crossbill
145 Common sandpiper
146 Sedge warbler
147 northern goshawk
148 Spotted flycatcher

M40, Chiltern gap, on way home:
149 Red kite

As I can't be bothered to go back and change the numbering, I'll add it in here, but I forgot at Farne

150 shag

[florall]

Lifers in bold
At Bough Beech, Kent in early August

151 green sandpiper
152 turtle dove
(-) great white pelican

At Sandwich Bay 18-20 August

153 greenshank
154 yellow wagtail
155 wheatear
156 wood sandpiper
157 ringed plover - absolutely astonished I've not seen one before this year!

At Grove Ferry 20 August

158 water rail

[florall]

159 Ring necked Parakeet, five of them, today, at Holmethorpe Sand Pits near Redhill, Surrey.

[florall]

160 Night heron, a juvenile one at Weirwood reservoir in Sussex last night. This is also a lifer for me - it always seems more satisfying to see a lifer close to home.

[florall]

Although I've done a lot of birdwatching since September, it's been mainly close to home so, although I've enjoyed the birds I've seen, there's been nothing new until:

161 Peregrine falcon, Elmley on 17th December. I'd counted the ducks and was going through the grass to see if there were any snipe, when I came across this bird. We had noticed as we walked to the hide that there was a lot of disturbance amongst the ducks/lapwing, and I suspect the peregrine had caught something, because when a lone lapwing flew right in front of it, it took not the slightest bit of notice. It then took off, fixed those round yellow eyes on us in the hide and flew straight towards us, not deviating until it veered off just a metre in front of the hide. Wow, what an experience, and a lovely bird to end the year on.