my life list

[erik]

Hey my dear friends,

i finally put down a list of all the species i've ever seen. Now don't be startled, i really never did that before, i kept it all in my brains. Now i decided to get my birdingbook and type out all the species i have ever seen, for as far as i could remember. It took me quite some brainwork especially on wadrs and everything but i finished it. Too bad for you guys it's still in dutch and i will have to translate it first. I can say i have 165 species on my list at the moment. COuld be more but i am not sure about some birds and then i rather not put them on my list. I saw 144 of these species in the Netherlands, and the rest abroad.
As soon as i translated it i will post it around here!

[Michael Frankis]

Congrats Erik!

I don't dare to put down my total here, it would be too embarrasing! :loveme:

Michael

[Bluetail]

Good for you, Erik! I'll look forward to seeing your list when you've translated it.

Jason

[KCFoggin]

Come on Michael. Go ahead and post. You post yours and I will post my pitiful count. Now if you are embarrassed because it is so high then the deal is off.

[KCFoggin]

Where are my manners. I'm sorry Erik, I meant to congratulate you on your compiliation of your life list. I'm looking forward to seeing just what you have there.

[Dave B Smith]

Erik,
Congratulations on getting it all down on one list! I just recently finished mine several months ago. I took all my old trip notes, all the scribbled sightings in my different bird field guides, and a very few from memory. I still have to go through my old photo album to get some that I just photo'd but didn't write down. I think I'll do that next year!

Anyway, I know how good you must feel about having this task finished. Now you just have to keep it updated every time the Bird committee splits one of your species :-)

[Michael Frankis]

Come on Michael. Go ahead and post. You post yours and I will post my pitiful count. Now if you are embarrassed because it is so high then the deal is off.
Errr . . . yes . . . Let's say my list is also 165 . . . my 2003 Northumberland County yearlist . . as of 18th April 2003 . . . . I didn't want to embarrass Erik! ;)

Michael

[birdman]

Well done on getting your list down erik.

I only had mine in my head pre-BF but made the effort soon after I joined.

I think mine is about 170 perhaps +/- 5... but it's on BF somewhere if I've kept it up to date.

Looking forward to seeing yours!

[dennis]

Good job Erik!

I love working on my life list and look forward to seeing yours.

dennis

[Fulmar]

Hi Erik,

For the translation from Dutch to English names you can use this site: http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/avibase.jsp. It has both the English and the Dutch names, plus Spanish, Polish, Estonian, Russian, Japanese, etc.

Hope it helps,
Peter

P.S. When I stopped ticking for 15 years, I achieved 74 species on my youth list :clap:

[erik]

hey everyone :)

Thanx for your enthusiastic replies! I'll start the translation asap. Bedankt Fulmar for the link, i use a link on Dutchbirding: http://www.knutas.com/birdsearch/

95% of all birds i dont need a tranlating machine for anymore, i did need a translating machine for the birds i saw in the usa, and had to give them a dutch name :)

[erik]

I translated it! So here it is straight away:

Netherlands
Eared Grebe
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Fulmar Petrel
Great Cormorant
Shag
Bittern
Great White Heron
Grey Heron
White Stork
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Whooper Swan
Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Grey Lag Goose
Barnacle Goose
Red-breasted Goose
Shelduck
Egyptian Goose
Mallard
Gadwall
Shoveler
Wigeon
Common Teal
Garganey
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Eider
Common Scoter
Surf Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Goosander
Blakc Kite
Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Buzzard
Sparrowhawk
Goshawk
Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Partridge
Quail
Corn Crake (audio)
Pheasant
Water Rail
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher
Pied Avocet
Little Ringed Plover
Common Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Green Sandpiper
Common Redshank
Spotted Redshank
Common Greenshank
Blacktailed Godwit
Eurasian Curlew
Common Snipe
Black-headed Gull
Mew Gull
Herring Gull
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Caspian Tern
Common Murre
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
European Turtledove
Cuckoo (audio)
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Barnowl
Swift
Kingfisher
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Middle Spotted woodpecker
Eurasian Skylark
Wood Lark
Sand Martin
Barnswallow
House Martin
Meadowpipit
Tree Pipit
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Common Redstart
Black Redstart
Wheatear
Whinchat
Common Stonechat
Song Thrush
Redwing
Mistle Thrush
Fieldfare
Blackbird
Blackcap
Lesser Whitethroat
Common Whitethroat
Sedge Warbler
Great Reed Warbler
Willow Warbler
Wood Warbler
Chiff Chaff
Goldcrest
Firecrest
Pied Flycatcher
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Crested Tit
Willow Tit
Marsh Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Great Grey Shrike
Magpie
Jay
Jackdaw
Rook
Hooded Crow
Starling
Golden Oriole (audio)
House Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Common Chaffinch
Brambling
Common Linnet
European Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Reed Bunting
Yellowhammer
Black Headed Bunting
Scotland
Gannet
Great Black-backed Gull
Kittiwake
Germany
Red Kite
USA
White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Nightheron
Golden Eagle
Redtailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
American Crow
Raven
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Robin
Common Yellowthroat
Red-winged Blackbird

I hope it didn't get boring at the end :)

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik,

Unfortunately your translator didn't translate it into English, it translated it into American . . . . here's the differences:

Eared Grebe = Black-necked Grebe
Fulmar Petrel = Fulmar
Tundra Swan = Bewick's Swan
Grey Lag Goose = Greylag Goose
Blakc Kite = Black Kite (I assume this one's a typo! ;)
Partridge = Grey Partridge
Mew Gull = Common Gull
Common Murre = Guillemot
Eurasian Collared Dove = Collared Dove
European Turtledove = Turtle Dove
Barnowl = Barn Owl
Barnswallow = Barn Swallow (or) Swallow
Meadowpipit = Meadow Pipit
Chiff Chaff = Chiffchaff

But . . .
Fox Sparrow . . . . in the NETHERLANDS ???

Michael

[Fulmar]

Hi Michael/Erik,

I guess the "Fox Sparrow" is some translation error, I assume it is Ringmus = Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

Hey Michael, shouldn't it be Gray Heron, and Loon sounds much nicer than Diver ;)

Peter

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Peter,

Nope, Grey Heron is correct. Conversely, Gray Catbird is also correct - Grey for UK/European birds, Gray for American birds

Michael

[Bluetail]

Hi Erik

You've got a lot of good birds there - including 2 I'd very much like to see and haven't caught up with yet (I'm too embarrassed to say which ones!)

Jason

[Darrell Clegg]

Hey Jason don't be embarrased. I've been birding 30 years (since I was 9!!) and I've never seen a Corncrake in the UK.

Assume you've seen a Bluetail!!

Darrell

[Bluetail]

Darrell, I see you've had your spies out!!!

Yep, I saw both the Winspit and Rame Bluetails. Very nice too!

Jason

[Jane Turner]

I saw the Winspit one....too sort of seemed like the only accessable one there would ever be at the time. How things change!

I have never seen Purple Heron. I absolutely refuse to go and see one and they keep avoiding me. More staggeringly I've only seen one Honey Buzzard in the UK.

Have seen a fair few Corncrakes though...mind you they were common as muck when I were a lass.

[Bluetail]

I know what you mean about the Purple Heron. When I first came to Plymouth I met a chap who had an extremely impressive life list and had found a good few rarities, but had never seen Hoopoe. He explained that he wanted to find his own.

I'll get Corncrake one day - maybe.

Jason

[Jane Turner]

Same used to go for a few other minor rarities....I only just caught up with Lesserlegs last year and that was only becuse I'm keen on getting my county list to 300 (would be quite a thing for Cheshire)

[kingfisher]

Well done on your life list Erik, very immpressive as well, god knows how you managed to remember all of them, i keep all my listings in a spreadsheet format and update it all the time i go birding. Plus i keep a species list for a RSPB reserve in Devon called Bowling Green Marsh and that now stands at 115.

[erik]

Hi everyone, Fulmar was right on the tree sparrow, error from my side... the other ones michael, i guess you quite understood what i meant, so the errors shouldnt be that huge... Kingfisher, its just flipping through your birdbook and remember whether i have seen it or not, it only deals with 9 years of birding, so that's not such a long period!

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik,

I guess what surprised me most about your list was the absence of any Calidris waders - Knot, Sanderling, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff. Are you sure you've never seen any of them, or could you have missed some out?

Also Golden and Grey Plovers!

Michael

[erik]

That's the problem with the waders, they don't impress me very much due to my lack of knowledge on these birds. So i might have seen some of them but can't remember if i did. So i just wait til i see them (again). Then I'll add them to my list.

[Michael Frankis]

Hey Erik, they're brilliant birds! Some of the best! Real character, and they go places too . . . if you see a Curlew Sandpiper, you know you're seeing a bird that was born 6,000km away in the far north of Siberia, and that it is just stopping in Netherlands for a few days before going on another 5,000km to Africa . . . You get yourself down to the Wad as soon as you can! Go see 500,000 Knots!

Michael

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Erik,
No Bearded Tit/Reedling??Thought they were common enough in the Netherlands?
Also,could you lot be a bit more understanding when describing how things have changed with regard to Red-flanked Bluetails:we still await our first record here in Ireland!;)
Have a list of 301 without seeing Tree Pipit and Spotted Crake(has bred here in the past,and may do so sporadically still?)!Until this year,had only seen ONE individual Common Crossbill,despite lots of searching for more!Have yet to see such semi-regular species as Black-throated Diver in Co.Cork!
Harry H

[Jasonbirder]

Also,could you lot be a bit more understanding when describing how things have changed with regard to Red-flanked Bluetails:we still await our first record here in Ireland!;)
Harry H


Don`t worry Harry - I bird mainly in Eastern England and i`ve never seen one either - dipped twice on them in the last two years :-(

[erik]

I know, i am very anxious to see a bearded tit but they always seem to be gone asa i appear...My mission for this upcoming winter is at least Waxwing!

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik,

Good luck on the Beardies - choose a calm day to look for them, as soon as it gets even slightly breezy they disappear into the bottom of the reeds.

With any luck you should be getting some 'pest birds' soon, they're on the move o:)

Michael

[erik]

Michael, since we were both wondering where the dutch name of Waxwing (Pestvogel = pestbird) came from, i did an online search and found the following on a french site. I translated it to english:

It is a translation of its Dutch name (Pestvogel) which points out the invasions that this species makes sometimes, thorough by the famine, in our areas and who were supposed to announce a catastrophe, for example the plague.

That explains it pretty much i think :D

[Edward]

Hi Erik,

The only Bearded Tits I've ever seen were in the Netherlands, at Oostvaardersplassen. Try there although they were not easy to see at all.

The Dutch name for Waxwing reminds me that the name for Hoopoe in most Nordic languages is "army bird" i.e. herfugl in Icelandic, because they were thought to appear before battles.

E

[erik]

Edward, i've never been to the oostvaardersplassen yet, due to lack of transportation, but i'll probably go by public transport sooner or later. We just call Hoopoe 'Hop'. We see them as an ingredient of beer :D

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik,
Thanks for checking out the origin of Pestvogel :D

I had been wondering if it was that, or because they were thought of as pests because they might 'steal' fruit from orchards

Michael

[Nancy]

Congratulations Eric, not only on the number of birds seen but also on your big effoert in listing and translating them to English for us.

I keep putting off the day when I get mine typed up. I have records in all sorts of note books but it will be a big job. I have been birdwatching all over Australia for a long time so have a big total.

[Nancy]

Congratulations on your life list and also on making the big effort to get them all typed up. You are misssing out on some really exciting birds by not bothering with the waders, they provide a great challenge and are not all that hard once you sort out the basic ID features.
I notice that well over half of your Dutch birds are birds associated with water. I guess there is a much higher percentage of non-passerines in the European area, is this so?
Perhaps I will get my Australian list into order sometime soon, it will take a long time as I have been birwatching all over Aus for a long time. They are all recorded in a pile of notebooks hidden away in a cupboard. I hope the pages haven't fallen apart yet!

[erik]

Well good luck on that Nancy! I think we do hae a lot of waterbirds and shorebirds. Holland is known for its good foraging places, so especially in winter we have loads of migrators stopping by here. And lots of them are non-passerines indeed. I grew up with the woods myself, so i am much better with passerines and forestbirds. The shorebirds will come though, i'll be going on a weekend trip to one of the dutch isles and then i'll get my chance :D

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik

Good luck on the trip to the islands! Which one(s) are you going to?

Michael

[Edward]

I would sure love to see you Australian list sometime Nancy, I think I remember from another thread that you had seen over 600 species there, right? I'll be you haven't seen Night Parrot yet though! How many Grasswrens?

As for Erik's island I'll go for Texel, or perhaps Terschelling?

E

[Nancy]

I duplicated on that previous post. I thought the first one hadn't gone so sent a second. There appears to be a delay in posting lately, probably part of the recent changeover that wil eventually get sorted out

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik!

Just realising the ghastly truth . . . . this is my 3,000th post . . . so I thought I'd post my Northumberland bird list:

Red-throated Diver #
Black-throated Diver #
Great Northern Diver #
White-billed Diver
Pied-billed Grebe
Little Grebe #
Great Crested Grebe #
Red-necked Grebe #
Slavonian Grebe #
Black-necked Grebe #
Fulmar #
Fea's Petrel #
Cory’s Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater #
Manx Shearwater #
Balearic Shearwater #
Wilson's Petrel #
Storm Petrel #
Leach’s Petrel #
Swinhoe’s Petrel
Gannet #
Cormorant #
Shag #
Bittern
Night Heron
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Grey Heron #
Purple Heron
White Stork
Spoonbill
Mute Swan #
Bewick’s Swan #
Whooper Swan #
Bean Goose #
Pink-footed Goose #
White-front Goose #
Greylag Goose #
Snow Goose
Canada Goose #
Barnacle Goose #
Brent Goose #
Egyptian Goose
Ruddy Shelduck
Shelduck #
Mandarin Duck #
Wigeon #
American Wigeon
Gadwall #
Common Teal #
Green-winged Teal
Mallard #
Pintail #
Garganey #
Shoveler #
Red-crest Pochard
Pochard #
Ring-necked Duck
Ferruginous Duck
Tufted Duck #
Scaup #
Lesser Scaup
Eider #
King Eider
Long-tailed Duck #
Common Scoter #
Surf Scoter
Velvet Scoter #
Goldeneye #
Smew #
Red-breast Merg #
Goosander #
Ruddy Duck #
Black Kite #
Red Kite
Marsh Harrier #
Hen Harrier #
Montagu’s Harrier
Goshawk #
Sparrowhawk #
Buzzard #
Rough-leg Buzzard
Golden Eagle
Osprey
Kestrel #
Merlin #
Hobby #
Peregrine Falcon #
Red Grouse #
Black Grouse #
Red-leg Partridge #
Grey Partridge #
Quail
Pheasant #
Water Rail #
Spotted Crake
Corn Crake [h]
Moorhen #
Coot #
Crane
Oystercatcher #
Black-winged Stilt
Avocet #
Little Ringed Plover #
Ringed Plover #
Kentish Plover
Dotterel #
American Gold Plover
Golden Plover #
Grey Plover #
Lapwing #
Knot #
Sanderling #
Red-necked Stint
Little Stint #
Temminck’s Stint
White-rump Sandp
Pectoral Sandpiper #
Curlew Sandpiper #
Purple Sandpiper #
Dunlin #
Broad-bill Sandpiper
Buff-breast Sandpip
Ruff #
Jack Snipe #
Common Snipe #
Long-billed Dowitcher
Woodcock #
Black-tailed Godwit #
Bar-tailed Godwit #
Whimbrel #
Slender-billed Curlew
Curlew #
Spotted Redshank #
Redshank #
Greenshank #
Lesser Yellowlegs
Green Sandpiper #
Wood Sandpiper #
Terek Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper #
Turnstone #
Wilson’s Phalarope
Red-neck Phalarope
Grey Phalarope
Pomarine Skua #
Arctic Skua #
Long-tailed Skua #
Great Skua #
Mediterranean Gull #
Laughing Gull (#)
Little Gull #
Sabine’s Gull #
Bonaparte's Gull
Black-headed Gull #
Ring-billed Gull
Common Gull #
Lesser Black-back #
Yellow-legged Gull #
Herring Gull #
Iceland Gull #
Glaucous Gull #
Great Black-back #
Kittiwake #
Lesser Crested Tern
Sandwich Tern #
Roseate Tern #
Common Tern #
Arctic Tern #
Little Tern #
Black Tern #
White-winged Tern
Guillemot #
Razorbill #
Black Guillemot #
Little Auk #
Puffin #
Rock Dove #
Stock Dove #
Wood Pigeon #
Collared Dove #
Turtle Dove #
Cuckoo #
Barn Owl #
Little Owl #
Tawny Owl #
Long-eared Owl #
Short-eared Owl #
Nightjar #
Swift #
Alpine Swift #
Kingfisher #
Hoopoe
Wryneck #
Green Woodpecker #
Great Spot Woodp #
Lesser Spot Woodp
Short-toed Lark
Sky Lark #
Shore Lark
Sand Martin #
Red-rump Swallow
Barn Swallow #
House Martin #
Richard's Pipit #
Tawny Pipit
Olive-backed Pipit #
Tree Pipit #
Meadow Pipit #
Rock Pipit #
Water Pipit #
Yellow Wagtail #
Grey Wagtail #
Pied Wagtail #
Waxwing #
Dipper #
Wren #
Dunnock #
Robin #
Rufous Nightingale
Bluethroat #
Red-flanked Bluetail
Black Redstart #
Redstart #
Whinchat #
Siberian Stonechat #
Stonechat #
Northern Wheatear #
Pied Wheatear
Desert Wheatear
Ring Ouzel #
Blackbird #
Fieldfare #
Song Thrush #
Redwing #
Mistle Thrush #
Grasshopper Warbler #
River Warbler
Sedge Warbler #
Blyth's Reed Warbler
Marsh Warbler
Reed Warbler #
Great Reed Warbler
Icterine Warbler #
Subalpine Warbler (#)
Barred Warbler #
Lesser Whitethroat #
Whitethroat #
Garden Warbler #
Blackcap #
Greenish Warbler #
Arctic Warbler
Pallas’s Warbler #
Yellow-brow Warbler #
Hume’s Warbler
Radde’s Warbler
Dusky Warbler #
East Bonelli Warbler
Wood Warbler #
Chiffchaff #
Willow Warbler #
Goldcrest #
Firecrest #
Spotted Flycatcher #
Red-breast Flycatcher #
Pied Flycatcher #
Bearded Tit #
Long-tailed Tit #
Marsh Tit #
Willow Tit #
Coal Tit #
Blue Tit #
Great Tit #
Nuthatch #
Treecreeper #
Red-backed Shrike #
Isabelline Shrike
Great Grey Shrike #
Woodchat Shrike
Jay #
Magpie #
Jackdaw #
Rook #
Carrion Crow #
Hooded Crow #
Raven #
Starling #
Rosy Starling
House Sparrow #
Tree Sparrow #
Chaffinch #
Brambling #
Greenfinch #
Goldfinch #
Siskin #
Linnet #
Twite #
Lesser Redpoll #
Mealy Redpoll #
Arctic Redpoll
Common Crossbill #
Scarlet Rosefinch
Bullfinch #
Hawfinch #
Lapland Bunting #
Snow Bunting #
Black-faced Bunting
Pine Bunting
Yellowhammer #
Ortolan Bunting
Rustic Bunting
Little Bunting
Yellowbreast Bunting
Reed Bunting #
Corn Bunting #

# = self-found (includes several co-found with others)
(#) = relocations

:gn:

Michael

[Fulmar]

That's a mighty impressive list Michael! And congratulations with your 3000th post, that many more may follow :clap:

Peter

[Tero]

My lifelist is also my yearlist, as I never thought to write them down before. They were just check marks in a book before that. Not sure why. I guess I thought the list was a bit too nerdy, serious. Wanted to be casual.

[Brian Stone]

Hi Erik!

Just realising the ghastly truth . . . . this is my 3,000th post . . . so I thought I'd post my Northumberland bird list:

<snip>
Lesser Black-back
Yellow-legged Gull
<snap>

Michael

You seem to have allowed this species to wrap onto two lines ;)

[Michael Frankis]

Thanks Peter!

Hi Tero,
But you do have a life list . . . if you look at everything that's got a check next to it in your book, that's your life list!

It doesn't have to kept on a seperate piece of paper, lots of people do it with checks in their bird books.

Michael

[sparrowbirder]

dont really do much twitching now!! my life list in Uk has stalled on about 360 or so!! sad i know! did go for the black lark though and have seen a few decent birds in britain,tend to go on overseas trips more ,world list is very near to 1000 but aint been bothered working it out!!
have seen a few decent birds in britain though,ancient murrelet,blue cheeked bee eater (yet to see common bee eater), still need corncrake though,need to plan a trip to the outer isles before it becomes extinct!!

[Tero]

Yes, Michael, but some are just check marks, some are check marks with question marks. those got erased! ;)

[Harry Hussey]

Hi Michael,
Need 47 species on that list for Ireland,plus two forms not treated as species here that I have yet to see(Sibe Stonechat and Mealy Redpoll),also have two forms on that list that aren't treated as species here(Yellow-legged Gull and Carrion Crow).
However,it must be pointed out that some of these species(Tawny Owl,LS and Green 'peckers,Nuthatch etc)are unlikely to occur here.
Have a few species NOT on that list,of course....;)
Harry H

[erik]

i'm going to Ameland, on a camp with my dispute from my studentunion, so again it's not mainly on birding purpose. Eventhough I'll spend as much time as possible on the beach and in the dunes, i have been checking out the sightings on the isle for a few days now.

I could have added a new species to my list today...A spotted Nutcracker has been sighted for the past few days now in the same village which happens to be my village of birth! It's near my parents home (30 min bikeride) but i decided not to go and seize the next opportunity... Did i choose wrong?

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik,

Do go for it! - there may not be another chance to see one so easily for a long time! And they're lovely birds to see, real characters (and probably the most intelligent bird there is, too)

If it has been there for a few days, there's a good chance it will still be for a few more . . . . try tomorrow or Sunday o:):bounce:

Michael

[Tim Allwood]

Wow bit of effort must have gone into that Mr Frankis and I bet a fair few were self found so well done indeed

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Tim,

Thanks! I'll try and edit in the self-found ones

[Bluetail]

dont really do much twitching now!! my life list in Uk has stalled on about 360 or so!! sad i know! did go for the black lark though and have seen a few decent birds in britain,tend to go on overseas trips more ,world list is very near to 1000 but aint been bothered working it out!!
have seen a few decent birds in britain though,ancient murrelet,blue cheeked bee eater (yet to see common bee eater), still need corncrake though,need to plan a trip to the outer isles before it becomes extinct!!

That's almost exactly a pen picture of me too! Got a slightly bigger UK list (somewhere around 390) and a much smaller world list (I've no real idea either), but otherwise, spot on.

Jason

[Tim Allwood]

Hi Jason

same here!
not got a clue what my Brit List is to nearest 20 or 30 but over 400.
World list likewise no idea.
After a trip abroad I hardly get my notes written up never mind counting species and what with all the taxo upheaval at the mo it's not worth bothering. Asian birds esp. are set for a major revamp taxo wise resulting in many more species you've got to work out if you've seen or not.
takes off all the pressure too when u stop counting and u enjoy the birds much more!

[sparrowbirder]

I know I went to south africa last year and saw 356 species in 2 weeeks, i think at least 310 were new birds!! at a cost of £3.00 per tick!! excellent VFM..ive been to scilly (once) cost a bomb got 12 ticks at about £40 per tick..maybe this is why my British list has been neglected slightly!!

[erik]

I am going for the spotted nutcracker today! It seems to be still there, so let's take a chance! Also a slight chance on carduelis cabaret, something untranslatable.
We have common redpoll (grote barmsijs) but also kleine barmsijs (kleine = little). So it's the smaller version of common redpoll. Any english name connected to that?

[Edward]

Hi Erik,

Carduelis cabaret is called Lesser Redpoll in English, recently made into a new species by the powers that be, although I've also heard that it may be "lumped" with Common Redpoll again soon. Or will it?

Good luck with the Nutcracker.

E

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik,

Hope you get the Nutcracker!

Kleine Barmsijs (Carduelis cabaret, previously Carduelis flammea race cabaret) is a fairly common breeder in the Dutch coastal and heathland Pinus (den) plantations, and feeding in Betula (berk) and Alnus (els) trees in winter. It is the commonest 'barmsijs' in the Netherlands.

Grote Barmsijs (Carduelis flammea) is a regular winter visitor in small numbers, with larger numbers in invasion years.

In a really good winter you might also get one or two Witstuitbarmsijs (Carduelis hornemannii) - if you are very, very lucky!

Hi Edward,
I reckon this one is a good split which will very likely be maintained (unlike some ducks I could name!).

Michael

[Tero]

I think you folks should just stick to Latin names. More civilized than American, and even English names. ;)

Oops, should be civilised maybe? We Americans can't even spell in an educated manner...

[erik]

well people, i can tell you i did not see the nutcracker. I guess it has found other places to stay. I did have a good day, seen some nice birds just for fun. And i had a great bikeride! Since it was in my village of birth i biked past the house i made my first noise in and i biked through all the forests.

Good weekend to y'all!

[Michael Frankis]

Hi Erik,

Shame you missed it :-C
Try again if it gets re-found, of course!

Did you see any of the Lesser Redpolls?

Michael

[Jane Turner]

Michael... how many have you seen in Northumberland... it looked like a lot!