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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Lazza's 2015 list (1 Viewer)

And the France addition in March:

At the Pas de Morgins, flying into France from Switzerland(!):

28. Bullfinch - new for France!
 
So, to get up-to-date on Switzerland, 3 more species added on a brief drive through Switzerland from GVA airport, heading to Evian in France this last week:

At Port Noir:

34. Red kite - new for Switzerland

At Corsier:

35. Kestrel

And in Geneva city centre:

36. Greylag goose
 
And to get fully up-to-date with France.... last week's sightings during my work trip (with, sadly, almost no time at all to get out and about birding, so all species were incidental sightings, expect for 30 minutes near Ferney Voltaire while waiting for my flight out of GVA airport):

Driving to the hotel in Evian, through a small town called Sciez:

29. Black kite
30. Barn swallow

During my stay in Evain-les-Bains:

31. Common swift
32. House martin - dozens each evening feeding over the hotel gardens
33. House sparrow
34. Great crested grebe
35. Blackcap

During a stop in Thonon-les-bains:

36. Feral pigeon

And, finally, when I was early for my flight at GVA, I popped across the border to Ferney Voltaire, where I know of a short path through farmland and woodland, where I had some nice surprises:

37. Pied flycatcher* :)
38. Serin - new for France
39. Nightingale* (belting out its song, but unseen) - new for France
40. Goldfinch
41. Short-toed treecreeper*

*3 species not on any previous list
 
And, finally, a long weekend down in London added some of the UK's introduced species!

But first, on count-back, I noticed I had somehow missed out Canada Goose from the early January lists this year, which takes me to 126 for the UK list, not 125 as in my last post (and I'm not going back to correct all my other entries!)

So, a couple of hours in Hyde Park in London added:

127. Ring-necked parakeet
128. Egyptian goose
129. Red-crested pochard

- all free flying and seemingly self-sustaining, so countable in my book!
 
Right then.... loads more to post.... let's start in the UK, last week of May.

A short stop at Castle Island to look for reported avocets was quite successful, with 4 avocets present as well as 3

130. Black-tailed godwit

And the same evening, I headed out on my bike, with the aim of heading to the QEII park in Ashington to look for the reported Iceland Gull, but my route took me past Bothal Pond, where something quite spectacular had obviously been spotted, as the lane to the south of the pond was full of birders and scopes! And indeed, a "mega" was sitting quietly on the opposite bank, and my first UK lifer of the year:

131. Black-winged pratincole

A stunning bird to see anywhere, but remarkable on my nearest birding site!
 
Was away in Sweden and Finland this week for customer meetings, but because of the long days, I was able to find some time each evening for some birding, and also I travelled from Stockholm to Helsinki by ferry, which gave me a fab opportunity to spend a few hours with my bins as we sailed out through the islands east of Stockholm.

In just a couple of days in Sweden, I managed 48 species, including a stunning lifer and 16 other new species for the Sweden life-list!

At Arlanda airport:
1. Barn swallow - new for Sweden
2. Starling
3. Hooded crow*

Followed by an evening in Uppsala near the Landsbruck(?) University, where I know of a small forest containing some bird feeders, as well as a small lake and river habitat.
4. Mallard
5. Tufted duck
6. Canada goose
7. Redwing - new for Sweden
8. Blackbird
9. Common whitethroat - new for Sweden
10. Great tit
11. Great spotted woodpecker
12. Bullfinch
13. Chaffinch
14. Woodpigeon
15. Nuthatch
16. Black-headed gull
17. Mute swan - new for Sweden!
18. Reed bunting - new for Sweden
19. Common tern - new for Sweden
20. Blue tit
21. Common swift - new for Sweden
22. House martin
23. Coot
24. Skylark - new for Sweden
25. Greylag
26. Lapwing
27. Grey heron
28. Teal - new for Sweden
29. Cormorant
30. Jay
31. Magpie
32. Jackdaw
33. Herring gull

Then while heading to a meeting in Södertälje:
34. Common gull - new for Sweden
35. Fieldfare

And heading back to Stockholm along the motorway, at Botkyrka:
36. Buzzard - new for Sweden?!?

Had a couple of hours to kill in Sotckholm while I waited for the ferry, spent at the Viking Line terminal:
37. Lesser blackback gull - new for Sweden
38. House sparrow
39. Feral pigeon
40. White wagtail

And as the ferry departed, within the first 10 minutes while leaving Stockholm:
41. Barnacle goose
42. Goosander

About an hour out of Stockholm, we made a big left turn (near Norra Lagnö), where I had the pleasure of seeing a hunting:
43. Osprey - new for Sweden

and also
44. Goldeneye
45. Eider - new for Sweden

But the best came another half-hour later, as we passed two cormorant-infested islands near Björnhuvud, as a huge raptor caused chaos:
46. WHITE-TAILED EAGLE* - lifer!!

Finally, as the islands thinned out and we approached the open sea, the last couple of islands held
47. Oystercatcher - new for Sweden
48. Great blackback gull - new for Sweden

of which 2* species not on a previous list
 
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So, to Finland.... where I started with a few "midnight" observations as the ferry docked at Mariehamn in Åland, with an hour on deck as the ferry drew into Helsinki the next morning, and then managed an hour at lunch time followed by nearly 3 hours in the evening (birding until the sun set at around 22:45!).

Overall, 50 species in a day-and-a-half (mostly working!) including a startling 3 lifers, 18 further species new to my Finland list, of which two I had only ever seen once before!

At Mariehamn:
1. Herring gull
2. Black-headed gull
3. Common gull
4. Lesser blackback gull - new for Finland

Approaching Helsinki on the ferry:
5. Black guillemot* - lifer - and the 450th bird on my life list
6. Eider - new for Finland
7. Mallard
8. Barnacle goose
9. Oystercatcher - new for Finland
10. Mute swan - new for Finland
11. Goldeneye - new for Finland
12. Great blackback gull - new for Finland
13. Common swift - new for Finland
14. Common tern

And in Helsinki:
15. House sparrow
16. Hooded crow

While waiting for a meeting, I had a wander along a lakeside (Laajalahti?) near Espoo, adding:
17. Canada goose
18. Fieldfare
19. White wagtail
20. Great crested grebe - new for Finland
21. Barn swallow
22. Great tit
23. Goldcrest - new for Finland
24. Chaffinch
25. Robin
26. Lesser whitethroat*
27. Reed bunting
28. Sedge warbler
29. Blackbird

And finally, the highlight of last year's visit to Finland, and the same for this year's - Viikki Nature Reserve:
30. Grey heron
31. Citrine wagtail* - lifer, pointed out by a group of other birders
32. Great spotted woodpecker
33. Common whitethroat - new for Finland
34. Rosefinch* - new for Finland, and only my second ever sighting, the first of which was not very conclusive
35. Corncrake* - lifer - heard right near the boardwalk, but did not reveal itself!
36. Willow warbler
37. Brant goose (dark bellied)* - new for Finland
38. Wigeon
39. Caspian tern*
40. Lapwing
41. Shoveler - new for Finland
42. Ringed plover
43. Starling
44. Coot - new for Finland
45. Song thrush - new for Finland
46. Reed warbler
47. Great reed warbler! - new for Finland
48. Stock dove - new for Finland
49. Icterine warbler* - new for Finland, and also only my second ever sighting of this species.
50. Greenfinch

*8 species not on any higher/earlier list
 
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Out on my bike, along the coast at the weekend, and managed another few for the list.

In an hour's sea-watch from the headland in Seaton Sluice, I didn't see a great deal, but on the rocks on the sea's edge was a single

132. Arctic tern (my first for a couple of years)

And out to sea, a couple of

133. Shag

headed south, along with just one gannet in the hour, while a single Sandwich tern fed near shore. Several more terns fished out at sea, but too far off to identify.

Then, my first UK

134. Common tern

of the year were found at the Marina in North Shields, with a further single bird fishing at Burradon pond.

Also, a couple of other things to report from earlier in the month.

Firstly, while out on my bike near Alnmouth a couple of weekends ago, I added bank vole [10] to my mammal list, and then a few days later, a short wander around Rainham Marshes in London, although not adding any bird species, did add a further mammal - water vole [11].

Finally, I have managed to confirm the ID of the newts in our pond as palmate newt {2}.
 
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A slow month, with little time to get out birding to see any of the reported rarities nearby, so haven't added anything new for 3 weeks, but this weekend, I finally got out to the coast, and spent 45minutes looking out ot sea from Snab Point, then had an hour at Druridge Pools (although all the interesting birds had left the latter!)

So, at Snab Point, I managed to add:

135. Fulmar - a breeding pair on the cliffs, with a third bird circling
136. Puffin - two small groups passed very close in-shore
137. Manx shearwater - several individuals passed, heading south

Also, quite a few gannet, tern and guillemot passing

Then on Sunday, a ride out to Bolam Lake didn't add any new birds, but I did find a (dead) water shrew [12] near Meldon Park stables
 
Not much chance to get out in the last few weeks, but had a family outing to Harthope Valley last weekend. Although there wasn't much opportunity to go birding, I was rather pleased to spot a:

138. Peregrine Falcon

soaring and diving over the crags, before being mobbed by a pair of crows and then a kestrel!

Then, during the week, I headed over to Manchester for some meetings with work. I headed home via Clitheroe to drop off a colleague, and then took the route over the Dales. While heading up-hill out of Skipton, I was gob-smacked to get a lifer....!! Sitting clear as day sat bolt upright on a post by the road, was a stunning:

139. Long-eared Owl!!

This is a long-sought absentee from my species list, so was a delightful surprise!!

Oh, and while I was away, I stayed at my parents in Hazel Grove, where I spent half an hour watching a common pipestrelle [13] feeding over the garden
 
Now out in Spain for the second holiday of the year, to our usual haunt at the in-laws at La Marina, near Elche. Have been working the last week, so not had much chance to get out birding, but before I start on the summer list, I was cross-checking my spring list, and realise I missed some of the species from the records here, so should add:

84. Woodpigeon (seen in March), Urb La Marina
85. Chiffchaff (seen in March), El Pinet
86. Whiskered Tern (seen in April), El Hondo

And now to this summer's sightings, starting with a few additions seen on a ride out to the coast:

At the mouth of the Rio Segura:

87. Spotted flycatcher*

Then on the canals near the Urb La Marina:

88. Squacco Heron*

Finally, a surprising find for me (seeing as it was not singing), but hopping around in scrub and orchards near the south-western edge of the Urb:

89. Nightingale

* two species not seen on previous lists
 
Had an early morning cycle out to the Vistabella road hides, which was rather productive. The ride started well with large groups of egret and ibis on flooded fields on the way, then 4 stone curlew flying over. And then it got better!

The first new addition to the list was one of the day's target species

90. Purple heron*

Along with

91. Little tern*

both seen from the first hide on Vistabella Road.

From the other hides, a wonderful mixture of herons, egrets, ibis, grebes and Ducks was seen, but the best was yet to come. As I headed home along the track between the two ponds and Urb Oasis, I picked up a lifer! As I trundled up the track, a black head and orange throat poking out of the crops in one of the fields caught my attention:

92. Great spotted cuckoo! *

An amazing bird, which performed nicely, hawking for insects just 20-30m away. It also turned out to be species 200 for the year!

I also connected with my target species further along the track:

93. Roller*

More to come, I'm sure, over the next two weeks, and a first ever three-figure year list for Spain looks well within my reach!

*4 species not on an earlier list.
 
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Down to El Pinet salinas yesterday in the hope of some wader action, but remarkably quiet, with a pair of

94. Black-tailed Godwit

being the only slightly unusual bird on the water, although it was nice to watch the acrobatics of several Little Tern, too.

The next addition to the list was in fact new for Spain for me:

95. Linnet

A single male spotted feeding on wild fennel as I cycled up the edge of El Pinet Urbanizacion.

A puncture curtailed my ride, but I still managed to add

96. Bee-eater*

as I headed home along the top road to Urb Oasis with my bike in the back of the car.

* one species not on a previous list
 
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Slowish progress over the last week, but still edging closer to my Spain-100 for the year, which would be a first!

A trip out to El Hondo earlier this week was slightly disappointing, one of the main pools being almost devoid of water, but of the two identifiable waders on the mud, at least one was new for the year list!

97. Little Ringed Plover*

while I also added Iberian Green Frog{3} to the amphibian list!

And on the Camino El Hondo near Catral, I finally picked up the year's first

98. Little Owl*

I think I may have flushed a Short-toed Eagle from trees along one of the canal paths, but I didn't get a clear enough view, and my new binoculars are proving to be a load of rubbish and very difficult to focus, by which time the bird had gone (only a very pale sandy back and wings were seen).

Finally, this morning, on a short ride out with a neighbour (i.e. not much opportunity to stop and look for birds) we passed alpng the Vistabella Road, where a field held four:

99. Whimbrel*

Quite a surprise!

* 3 species not any earlier list
 
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Anothe mid-morning ride out along the N332 through Santa Pola salinas brought up my 100 for Spain this year, a milestone I've never reached before. And it was:

100. Collared Pratincole*

which got me there.

Also seen were:

101. Little Stint*
102. Curlew Sandpiper*
103. Turnstone

And then a rather nice, low fly-over from a

104. Short-toed Eagle*

As I headed back to the Urb past Iceland!

Also, in the evening, as we sat out on the terrace, there were a good dozen mid-size bats (unknown sp.) [14] over the garden.

* 4 species not on any earlier list.
 
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A tough cycle ride up into the Sierra Crevillente was enjoyable for both the challenge of the ride and the birding, although with better binoculars and better knowledge, I would probably have added more than two species to year list, but as one was a lifer, I can hardly complain!

As I heaved my way uphill through the first canyon if the day, a bird flitting between bushes caught my eye, and although I didn't identify it at the time, I saw enough to know it was something new, and noted enough features ("russet chest, dark patches on head") to be able to confirm a lifer from my bird guide when I got back:

105. Black-eared wheatear*

Then as I reached the highest point of my ride, I found myself among a couple of dozen

106. Alpine swift*

which hawked for insects along the cliffs above me, and in the valley below, with a wonderful swooshing sound as they passed close by! Possibly some distant Crag Martins too, but couldn't say for sure.

With a bit better knowledge, I might have added Rock Sparrow, Calandra Lark and Tawny Pipit (all potential lifers!) as there were three other unidentified species seen, but I didn't get good enough views or make good enough notes to be able to say for sure what I saw. Gives me a target for next year, though!

* two species not on any other list
 
Back home, and not much going on for a couple of weeks, then this last weekend, I was out at the coast and picked up another three species for my UK list, adding one to the year list:

First, at Creswell pond, among a large number of lapwing, a single

140. Greenshank

flew in and out several times.

Then, on to Druridge Pools, where I was pleasantly surprised to find a

141. Whinchat

on the posts by the new path at the north of the ponds.

Finally, from the only open hide at Hauxley NR:

142. Common sandpiper

strangely missing from my UK list so far this year (but then a second seen a few days later at Bothal Pond)
 
I'm desperately in need of a trip to the coast for some migrants, but beggars can't be choosers, and I made do with a short stop at Bothal Pond today, which turned up a:

143. Green sandpiper
 
Not really any chance to go birding in the UK this last few weeks, but I did manage to add a new species during a trip to Switzerland last week.

While packing my suitcase at my hotel in Martigny, in the Valais region of Switzerland, I noticed some hirundines swooping around the parkland outside, and quickly got my binoculars on them:

37. Crag Martin*

Clearly on Migration, as they soon headed off along the valley heading North.

In addition, I added

38. Jay
39. Goldfinch

to the list while in Martigny, and then stopped off in the Pas de Morgins on the way back to the Airport, adding

40. Little grebe

* of which one species is not on a previous list in 2015
 
And although there are no new bird species for the UK, on the way back from the Airport after my trip to Switzerland, there were loads of hedgehogs [16] about, in Dinnigton, Stannington Station and Hepscott.

A possible other addition to the mammals list came in Switzerland, where some large bats were hawking for insects over the hotel's grounds one of the evenings I was there, but they remained unidentified.
 

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