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

KB57's 2017 UK list (1 Viewer)

Just been puzzling over a discrepancy between Scythebill and the list I keep on here...hadn't added razorbill from my Coquet Island trip! A bonus species, which I'd overlooked probably because I'd normally have a visit to St. Abb's earlier in the year, and assumed they were already on the list...now I'm going to have to edit it in, or the numbering sequence will be wrong!
 
Early start this morning as I took my partner to the airport. Another few days before I join her in Portugal, and a last chance to focus on my UK list before we reach the end of September and the realisation that there are quite a few summer migrants I'm not going to get this year.
Had to go to the town today too, but managed a couple of hours at Druridge Bay first, including an hour's seawatch. Picked the lowest of low-hanging fruit from my still-to-see wildfowl list, but satisfyingly added another species which could so easily have got away this year.

24th September, Druridge Bay
169. common scoter
170. Arctic skua *

Scope views of a pale phase adult harrying gulls offshore before heading north. Some nice views of summer plumage & immature red-throated divers too, as well as the inevitable scoter flocks, plus gannets, shags, wigeon, and groups of auks flying way too far out to make out...though guillemot are prime suspects, with a group of three on the water a little closer in. The strengthening south-easterly may be making things more interesting for observers later in the day, but I think I need to go and lie down for a bit now and recover from my pre-dawn start!
 
No more additions to the UK list due to being on holiday, a few 'world' list additions though...as before * = not seen last year, capitals = lifer
28th September: Santa Luzia, Portugal
greater flamingo, yellow-legged gull (although can't believe I didn't see one in Geneva...), Audouin's gull
29th September: Santa Luzia
Kentish plover, black-winged stilt
30th September: Santa Luzia
zitting Cisticola, Sardinian warbler, pied flycatcher, crested lark
1st October: Faro saltpans and golf course pond
SLENDER-BILLED GULL, Iberian magpie, WESTERN PURPLE SWAMPHEN, greenshank, booted eagle*
3rd October: Tavira
white stork, SPOTLESS STARLING
4th October: Sagres / pelagic
BALEARIC SHEARWATER, Cory's shearwater, great skua, European storm-petrel, Wilson's storm-petrel, sooty shearwater, (western) black redstart (ssp.*)
8th October, Faro
osprey*
According to Scythebill, that brings my 'world' year list to 199, although I wasn't really counting. 4 lifers weren't bad either- although I've almost certainly seen spotless starlings in the past, this is the first time I've properly 'seen' one, as in observed key features and listened to calls.

Good to catch up with pied flycatcher, greenshank, great skua and osprey somewhere this year, but a pity their chances of getting on my UK list are diminishing or have already disappeared...
 
A number of years ago (early '90s I think) I turned up at a black-winged stilt twitch at Wallsend Swallow Ponds. The stilt was roosting at the time, head tucked in, and was trying its best to look uninteresting. Elsewhere on the pond was a veritable wader-fest...spotted redshank, curlew sandpipers actively feeding, the latter if my memory is correct still retaining some summer plumage. I pointed this out to the other birders, to be met with zero interest, as they focussed exclusively on the roosting stilt.
I recount this, because yesterday I did pretty much the same thing myself..went to a pond and focussed exclusively on the target species. By way of mitigation I had limited time in a weekend dominated by family commitments, and our target was doing a whole lot more than roosting. It was spinning around actively foraging, closely following shovelers which were presumably stirring up food items. I wish I'd had time to check there weren't any other waders about (particularly greenshank and little stint, for example!!), but it justified being the star attraction. Every species counts, but some are more equal than others...so...

15th October, Druridge Pools

171. red-necked phalarope * (1st WP**)

** I'd previously only seen a RNP in North America, and have only seen a Wilson's phalarope in Britain
 
Working in Teesside today, and added one that I should've seen in the latter part of last winter, but didn't.

20th October, Eaglescliffe

172. redwing

Once I finished work, the relative proximity of RSPB Saltholme tempted me. Another species I should've had by now was quickly added. Year list species #3 of the day took a little more patience, but thanks to an Australian couple who picked it out, I managed distant but conclusive scope views...so...

RSPB Saltholme

173. pintail
174. little stint
 
After kick-starting my list before the weekend, 21st-22nd October didn't really pan out as planned...
As my partner reminded me, I'd explained to her a while ago that she would unfortunately have absolutely no chance of seeing a bee-eater this year...I was proven wrong at Druridge Pools on Saturday. Great to see, but it reminded me of why I don't really like twitching stray birds...unlike a collective breeding attempt in Nottinghamshire, seeing a lone young bee-eater in a blustery Druridge Bay in late October makes me worry about its welfare and chances of relocating to a more favourable climate. Guess I'm just a big softy at heart!
I hasten to add that I have nothing against twitching or twitchers per se...in fact people were really friendly and helpful, and I was as keen as anyone present to take my fill of this superb bird. Hopefully the north-westerly on Sunday gave it a tailwind to somewhere with a better flying insect biomass.
Sunday 22nd was a planned trip to Lindisfarne, hoping for YBW and maybe a 'proper' Canada or cackling goose. We managed to miss a ring ouzel that must've flown past us (probably whilst trying to photograph roe deer and struggling with the settings on my partner's Panny G5), the closest we got to the estimated 5 reported YBW was a goldcrest in the Straight Lonnen willows, and the G5's battery had predictably called it a day just before getting close views of a very dark and streaky looking redwing at the Snook. By the time we got to Budle Bay it held nothing but greylags and a couple of very robust looking Canada geese.
On looking at the Birding Frontiers redwing article, we concluded that our smudgy bird was probably just a Scandinavian, not an Icelandic bird, on the basis of white undertail coverts, and a well-defined white stripe on the lower breast.
 
Family taxi duties gave me a free afternoon in Yorkshire on Saturday. I was intending to go to Blacktoft Sands to see if the curlew sandpiper reported earlier in the week was still there, then head across to Fairburn Ings to tick off willow tit. A quick check of a certain rival twitching service suggested an alternative, which paid off - I really like marsh terns, and also saw my second bittern of the year.

28th October, Potteric Carr

175. black tern *

Still time for a quick sprint back up the A1 to RSPB Fairburn Ings

176. willow tit

A couple of quick views at a grey squirrel and rat-infested feeding station didn't quite match the tern experience earlier. Caught the last of the light at the Lin Dyke hide in a vain search for a 2017 UK greenshank - wishing I'd spent more time trying to nail down the one I could hear calling at Druridge Pools a while back (it should be on my 'heard-only' list). Still, only 7 species to go now for my UK personal best...
 
No time to get out much and watch birds last weekend, but thanks to BirdGuides we still managed to twitch two additions in Northumberland to my year list, both 'lifers' for my partner. It helped that we needed to go to Morpeth anyway, but we'd both probably have preferred a long coastal walk with the chance of a self-found snow bunting.

4th November, Linton

177. red-necked grebe *

Abbey Mill, Morpeth

178. hawfinch *

The RNG was the more satisfying, insofar as we had to actually locate the bird ourselves, although we'd never have stood a hope of seeing the hawfinch were it not for a particularly sharp-eyed individual amongst the assembled birders. 5 more needed...
 
I'll be working late tonight to compensate for my longer than usual lunch hour, but it was worth it for the chance to add a second phalarope to my list. The usual inverse relationship between availability of camera and closeness of view rule was operating - views were stunning.

9th November, South Shields

179. grey phalarope (UK *)

Makes up for not seeing a UK greenshank this year!
 
Day trip up to Aberlady Bay on Saturday for a change of scene and coastal walk. Saw a bit less than last time we went (early 2016) - fewer fieldfares, no blackcaps, no Slavonian grebe in Gullane Bay. However, had the 'scope to hand to add what is I guess a nailed-on certainty for this site.

11th November, Gullane Point

180. velvet scoter
 
Not been able to get out birding for the last few weeks, due to work and family commitments. However yesterday I had to go to Heysham, Lancashire for work, and finished what I had to do by early afternoon. Before heading back north I checked BirdGuides local sightings, which brought me a somewhat unexpected addition.

7th December, Heysham

181. red-billed chough*

Thanks are due to whoever put yesterday morning's report in for stating the location more specifically - my first ever visit to the town, I'd have had no idea where to go otherwise (and yes, I submitted the afternoon sighting too...). First I've seen for a number of years - South Stack cliffs on Anglesey I think was my last chough, although my love of skiing means I get to see a lot more of the Alpine variety.
 
Brief trip to Islay was planned as an attempt to get me over the 182 mark, after last years visit to Galloway dipped on both white-fronted goose and black guillemot.

16th December, Kennacraig, West Loch Tarbert

182. great northern diver*
183. black guillemot* B :) beating my 1972 UK PB!

17th December, RSPB Loch Gruinart

184. barnacle goose
185. white-fronted goose*
186. hooded crow*
187. hen harrier
(plus a lot more red-billed choughs at Ardnave)

18th December, West Loch Tarbert

188. black-throated diver*
 
Taking stock of an ultimately successful years birding, 188 might not impress many but it's the largest number of species I've seen in a single year in Britain.

I didn't think I'd make it at the start of the year due to work and other time constraints, and said I'd try for a 'two-year' total..well, I abandoned that in pursuit of a single year PB, but there were still ten species I saw in UK in 2016 but dipped in 2017:
smew; long-billed dowitcher; greenshank; great grey shrike; Pallas's warbler; spotted, pied and red-breasted flycatchers; whinchat; and tree pipit.

There were 18 species I saw back in 1972 that didn't feature on my 2017 list. They included corn bunting (seen early and frequently then), Bewick's swan, turtle dove and (breeding) red-backed shrike - a roll-call of decline. At the same time, my 1972 'lifers' included little egret, spoonbill and yellow-browed warbler - all significant rarities at the time, but a foretaste of things to come. My 2017 list included species which I wouldn't have dreamt of at the time - little egret and spoonbill of course, plus glossy ibis, great egret, purple heron; red kite in NE England; and ring-necked parakeet in London, although my 14-year old self would've been most impressed by the fact I saw two water rails in the course of 2017!
 

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