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Since I'm relatively new to birding, I only have one complete year-list, for 2008, which stands at 198 (inc. 98 lifers); I do not have a car at present, so the 2008 list was quite overseas-trip-heavy (Sweden and Greece), with 95 (inc. 81 lifers) seen only overseas. So 198 is my target to beat for 2009.
I'm starting this late, but will try to break it up into months, and rough locations. Lifers in capitals.

Trips this year away from the usual local Oxfordshire/Derbyshire haunts should include Cyprus (March), West Scotland (July & Christmas), Central Greece (July)

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1. Greenfinch
2. Woodpigeon
3. Collared Dove
4. Rook
5. Blackbird
6. Bluetit
7. Jackdaw
8. Magpie
9. Starling
10. Goldfinch
11. Robin
12. Dunnock
13. Goldcrest
14. Chaffinch
15. Moorhen
16. Wren
17. Redwing
18. Fieldfare
19. Bullfinch
20. Great Tit
21. Dipper
22. Raven
23. Carrion Crow
24. Common Kestrel
25. Pheasant
26. Grey Heron
27. Mallard
28. Song Thrush
29. Coal Tit
30. Siskin
31. Long-Tailed Tit
32. Black-Headed Gull
33. Herring Gull
34. Common Buzzard
35. Mute Swan
36. House Sparrow
37. Cormorant
38. Pied Wagtail
39. Great Spotted Woodpecker
40. Feral Pigeon
41. Greylag Goose
42. Canada Goose
43. Coot
44. Tufted Duck
45. Eurasian Jay
46. Eurasian Nuthatch
47. Little Grebe
48. Great Crested Grebe
49. Wigeon
50. Gadwall
51. Common Scoter (1st for UK)
52. Pochard
53. Goldeneye (1st for UK)
54. Lapwing
55. Redshank
56. Lesser Black-Backed Gull
57. Willow Tit (1st for UK)
58. Tree Sparrow (1st for UK)
59. Reed Bunting
60. Great Black-Backed Gull

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61. Yellowhammer
62. Meadow Pipit
63. Teal
64. Common Kingfisher
65. Mistle Thrush
66. Marsh Tit
67. Eurasian Treecreeper
68. Red Kite
69. Sparrowhawk
70. Skylark
71. Shoveler
72. Golden Plover

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73. LESSER REDPOLL
74. GREATER FLAMINGO
75. Hooded Crow
76. House Martin
77. SLENDER-BILLED GULL
78. Green Sandpiper
79. Common Snipe
80. Chiffchaff
81. Blackcap
82. Barn Swallow
83. RÜPPELL'S WARBLER
84. Crested Lark
85. Common Swift
86. Hoopoe
87. Subalpine Warbler
88. Black-Eared Wheatear
89. Little Egret
90. Black-Winged Stilt
91. Northern Wheatear
92. Ferruginous Duck
93. Pintail
94. KENTISH PLOVER
95. Ruff
96. Common Whitethroat
97. Yellow-Legged Gull
98. PALLID HARRIER
99. SPOTTED REDSHANK
100. Marsh Harrier
101. ZITTING CISTICOLA
102. CYPRUS WARBLER
103. CYPRUS PIED WHEATEAR
104. Corn Bunting
105. GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO
106. Linnet
107. Peregrine Falcon
108. NIGHTINGALE
109. CHUKAR
110. Black Redstart
111. ORTOLAN BUNTING
112. CRETZSCHMAR'S BUNTING
113. Yellow Wagtail (various, inc. Black-Headed)
114. OLIVACEOUS WARBLER
115. Sardinian Warbler
116. Whinchat
117. Lesser Whitethroat
118. Reed Warbler
119. Stonechat
120. SHORT-TOED LARK
121. SPUR-WINGED PLOVER
122. GREAT WHITE EGRET
123. Blue Rock Thrush
124. CINEREOUS BUNTING
125. SHAG
126. SPANISH SPARROW
127. BLACK FRANCOLIN
128. Wryneck
129. TAWNY PIPIT
130. RED-RUMPED SWALLOW
131. WOODCHAT SHRIKE
132. Alpine Swift
133. Cetti's Warbler
134. PALLID SWIFT
135. Willow Warbler
136. Common Redstart
137. BONELLI'S WARBLER
138. COLLARED FLYCATCHER
139. Serin
140. Short-Toed Treecreeper
141. LITTLE RINGED PLOVER
142. LITTLE STINT
143. Hobby
(Cuckoo H)
144. GLOSSY IBIS
145. SQUACCO HERON
146. Wood Sandpiper
147. WOODLARK
148. CRAG MARTIN
149. SCOPS OWL
150. GRIFFON VULTURE
151. LONG-LEGGED BUZZARD
152. Lesser Kestrel
153. SPECTACLED WARBLER
154. GARGANEY
155. BLACK-NECKED GREBE
156. MARSH SANDPIPER
157. Dunlin
158. Sand Martin
159. Black-Tailed Godwit
160. Greenshank
161. TEREK SANDPIPER
162. CURLEW SANDPIPER
163. MASKED SHRIKE

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164. Little Owl (1st UK Owl seen!)
165. Green Woodpecker
166. Grey Wagtail
167. Common Tern
168. STOCK DOVE
169. Sedge Warbler

Some more pics below from Cyprus; other shots in my gallery

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170. Shelduck
171. Ringed Plover
172. Whimbrel (1st for UK)
(Grasshopper Warbler H: 1st for UK)

Pic of the four Godwits, Port Meadow 18.04.09, plus a Stock Dove:

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173. Curlew

Pic of Skylark from yesterday:

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174. Red-Legged Partridge (seen from train on Friday)
175. Cuckoo (2 seen at Otmoor: see below)

Brilliant day yesterday at Otmoor: lots of brilliant birds, inc. hobbies, couple of cuckoos, marsh harrier, peregrine, whimbrel, curlew, warblers, and a variety of ducks. I spent all afternoon there, walking in from Islip via Oddington, doing a clockwise circuit ending up at the reedbed screens late afternoon, where I saw the marsh harrier. Cuckoos flying in Saunders Field (the rifle range area).
List of birds seen, in order of sighting (* = UK tick): Bluetit, Starling, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Wood Pigeon, Bullfinch (pair, + 1 male), Carrion Crow, Robin, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Buzzard, Rook, Chaffinch, (Wren H), Magpie, Goldfinch, Swallow, Whitethroat (lots of these!), Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Lapwing, Black-Headed Gull, Linnet, Hobby (at least 3 seen; up to 7 seen by others), Great Tit, Kestrel, Peregrine, Curlew, Redshank, Garganey (1 possible female, 1 certain male)*, Gadwall (2 pairs), Cuckoo (2), Reed Bunting (lots!), Shoveler, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Whimbrel, Skylark, (Pheasant H), Long-Tailed Tit, Pied Wagtail, Mute Swan, Little Egret (2 sightings of single birds flying over reeds), Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Reed Warbler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Dunnock, Jay, House Martin, Marsh Harrier*, Little Grebe, (Yellowhammer H)
Although only Cuckoo was new for the year, it was my best day at Otmoor and the weather was wonderful!
Some shots below; I'll put some others in the gallery

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Quite overcast and windy today compared with yesterday's glorious weather, but one or two good things about on the local area: more whitethoats, blackcap, grey and pied wagtails (no yellows today), two or three common terns, great crested grebe, kestrel, hobby viewed briefly from southern entrance to reservoir, first uk swift of the year, and common sandpiper (1st for UK).

176. Common Sandpiper


Some more pics from yesterday below, inc. record shot of female Garganey (with Gadwall pair behind):

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Another visit to the reservoir today, though weather was windy and cloudy with spots of rain, so not too hopeful. Did however see our first Red Kite over Banbury (normally pretty easy further south), and got record shots of the Common Sand and Grey Wag.

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177. GRASSHOPPER WARBLER
(Turtle Dove H)

Another excellent day at Otmoor on Saturday; along with Hobbies, and lots of swifts there now (they must have finally arrived in numbers mid-week), we (my wife and I) heard our first Turtle Doves, in the Oak trees on the path on the way to the screen turn (no sightings since deeply embedded in the leaves); and had our first view of Cetti's Warbler in the UK, our first UK Wheatears for the year, and a lifer in the form of Gropper (only heard hitherto); we also had views of Red-Legged Partridge (about 4 birds), which I got my first shots of.
Pics below:

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A couple more pics from the local patch:

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Nothing much to add recently, but here's another shot of a swift, with my new lens.

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Still playing in back garden with the new 600mm beast. Here's a starling and what we like to call a "wood pig". Oh, and a blackbird.
No luck with shots of House Martins!!

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Still not a great deal to report, since haven't been out very far lately. Unfortunately doesn't look like the speculative House Martins are going to nest under our eaves, but we have however managed to locate two active GSWoodpecker nest-holes nearby, so perhaps I'll get some shots soon.

A couple of new pictures below: juvenile Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Greenfinch, and one of the woodpecker holes. Didn't have time to wait for adults to return today.

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A few more shots from this afternoon, though pretty distant:
The other woodpecker nest came up trumps, with both adult birds present around the nest, making a lot of noise. Also found a treecreeper.

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Still nothing new to add, but I ought really to post a pic of the definitive bird of my local patch. More shots in my gallery. Plenty of these about, esp. over winter, but still a handful that do occasionally pose for shots for the patient, and which don't seem to be overly bothered about the local dog-walking fraternity...

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In lieu of any decent birding over the next couple of weeks (busy! miserable rain?!?), I thought I'd start laying bets on what I might see in July: I have a week visiting inlaws in Scotland and then a work trip to Greece with a few extra days thrown in just for birding/photography (heat permitting). So here's a list of target ticks for July, and birds I want to photograph...

Scotland Target Year Ticks:
Goosander
RBMerganser
Common Eider
Common Gull
Oystercatcher
Turnstone (??)
Purple Sandpiper (??)
Gannet
Rock Pipit

Greece Target Year Ticks:
White Stork
Sombre Tit
Western Rock Nuthatch
Short-Toed Eagle
Rock Bunting

While in Scotland, transport may restrict, but I may get a trip to Bute and the Ayrshire coast, and I'd definitely like a decent shot of a male Eider: v. beautiful up close.
While in Greece, I'll be in Delphi for a week, so I'm hoping to get shots of most of the target species plus Hoopoe (all the above I found pretty easily in/en route to Delphi last year; I've had Hoopoe already in Cyprus, but you just can't spend long enough photographing these, and Delphi seems to me as good a place as any to get nice shots - check out my avatar!). Lifers for me for Greece would include Roller, Bee-eater, Olive-Tree Warbler, Golden Oriole, Stone Curlew, Vulture species other than Griffon, but I'm not at all sure how likely these are. If I get transport up to the Mt. Parnassus Ski Centre, I might also be able to pick up Rock Thrush, Alpine Accentor, Alpine Chough, Horned Lark, Firecrest??, but who knows.

If I manage just 14 new birds during my travels in July, which seems certainly doable, that will bring me pretty close to the target for the year after only 7 months, so that'd be pretty cool.
So place your bets, and wish me luck...

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On a walk around my local canal-side meadows patch yesterday afternoon, I had a couple of new birds for the patch, including Corn Bunting, which is a year tick for the UK (other bird was Linnet). This made me think about my patch list (to include birds seen around Southern Banbury/Bodicote within walking distance of home) which has only really been going for six months or so.
So here goes with the patch list, which I will add to as I go along. I've added breeding details for birds for which I have definitive evidence. Square brackets = passing flyover only.

1) Cormorant
2) Grey Heron
3) Mute Swan
4) Mallard
5) Common Buzzard (nesting)
6) Sparrowhawk
7) Common Kestrel (nesting)
8) Pheasant
9) Moorhen
10) [Lapwing]
11) [Common Snipe]
12) Black-Headed Gull
13) Herring Gull
14) Stock Dove (nesting)
15) Wood Pigeon (nesting)
16) Collared Dove
17) [Common Cuckoo]
18) Little Owl
19) Common Swift
20) Kingfisher
21) Green Woodpecker (nesting)
22) Great Spotted Woodpecker (nesting)
23) Skylark (nesting)
24) Barn Swallow
25) House Martin (nesting)
26) Meadow Pipit
27) Pied Wagtail
28) Wren
29) Dunnock (nesting)
30) Robin (nesting)
31) Song Thrush
32) Redwing
33) Mistle Thrush
34) Fieldfare
35) Blackbird (nesting)
36) Common Whitethroat (nesting)
37) Sedge Warbler
38) Chiffchaff
39) Goldcrest
40) Great Tit (nesting)
41) Coal Tit
42) Blue Tit
43) Long-tailed Tit
44) Eurasian Treecreeper
45) Magpie
46) Jay
47) Jackdaw
48) Rook
49) Carrion Crow
50) Starling (nesting)
51) House Sparrow (nesting)
52) Chaffinch (nesting)
53) Brambling
54) Linnet
55) Goldfinch
56) Greenfinch (nesting)
57) Siskin
58) Bullfinch
59) Reed Bunting (nesting)
60) Yellowhammer (nesting)
61) Corn Bunting (two pairs+?)
62) Garden Warbler
63) Tawny Owl (H)
64) Yellow Wagtail
65) Hobby (Bloxham Grove)
65) Coot (Bodicote Reservoir)
66) Little Grebe (Bodicote Reservoir)
67) Grey Partridge (pair in fields adjacent to Bodicote Reservoir)
68) Stonechat

Here are some more pics:

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Bodicote circular walk, 13.06.09

Had an extended walk yesterday afternoon around the local patch, also taking in footpaths around Bodicote that I hadn't yet explored. No new birds to add to the year list, but a total of 43 species for the walk didn't seem too bad to me. Notable additions for my local area were Coot, Little Grebe, breeding Yellow Wagtails, and a fly-over Hobby. I also found a load more Corn Buntings (with excellent views) on another farm just south of my usual area. Walking down a path through a field listening to Skylarks and Corn Buntings is an excellent experience to add for the local area. The local population of Yellowhammers is also extremely good: there wasn't a field I walked through or past without them being heard from the hedgerow.
I was hoping for Owls, but I reckon I wasn't out late enough, so I'll have to try again. I'm sure there must be an Owl or two still lurking in the little wood on the patch where I saw the Little Owl back in April, since the local thrush population was being particularly vocal for no other good reason.
No pics today, was giving my back a rest and took the bins and scope instead.

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178. Garden Warbler

Picked up GW this evening, and thanks to the ID thread for confirmation: the only regular warbler I'd not seen yet this year; I believe they arrive later than the majority of other warbler spp.

Also had wonderful views, with some shots, of Buzzard returning to nest site with (decapitated!) rabbit, to be greeted by partner. Must have been dinner time, since arrival was right on cue at 6pm exactly!

Went out to attempt some decent shots of Corn Bunting on a good perch. Unfortunately disturbed by cyclist who stopped for a chat just as I was creeping up on the bird, so the shots of the song perch are unfortunately distant. Did pick up the Yellow Wags again, though. Will post shots later this evening when I've processed them properly.
Also encountered dog-walker who watched me taking pics then came up and told me he used to go 'nesting' in his youth, collecting eggs and sticking them in a box. Not good.


Here are some pics:

[EDIT: Sorry about the gore LOL]

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179. Grey Partridge (pair!)

Had a walk over some local footpaths this afternoon north of Bodicote and was v lucky to find a pair of Grey Partridges scooting along some short grass before flying off into a nearby barley field. Not sure how rare these are in Oxfordshire, but they are difficult to see, so v. pleased. Had my first and only other sighting five years ago in Derbyshire.

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Just back from excellent week visiting in-laws in Ayrshire, Scotland, and we managed a few birding excursions while we were there. I'm pleased to say that I managed to find 8 new species for the year list, including two lifers! We saw 70 species in total, as follows, with locations (also including Red Kite and Pheasant from the train to London to catch the sleeper):

In and around River Irvine near Kilmarnock:
House Sparrow, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, House Martin, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Starling, Swallow, Carrion Crow, Song Thrush, Willow Warbler, Yellowhammer, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Wood Pigeon, Great Tit, Wren, Treecreeper, Chaffinch, Robin, Skylark, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greenfinch, Jackdaw, Swift, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Feral Pigeon, Magpie, Chiffchaff, Kingfisher, Mallard, Pheasant H, Common Buzzard, Long-Tailed Tit

No Dippers this time, though we've seen them before (ditto Mippit)

Trip to Bute:
Oystercatcher (year tick), Cormorant, Mute Swan, Curlew, Common Kestrel, Common Eider (year tick), Common Sandpiper, Black-Headed Gull, BLACK GUILLEMOT, Ringed Plover, Shag (UK tick), Gannet (year tick), Great Black-Backed Gull, Pied Wagtail, Common Gull (year tick), Hooded Crow, Sparrowhawk, Common Whitethroat, Rock Pipit (year tick), Sand Martin, Linnet, Northern Wheatear

Barassie and Troon
BAR-TAILED GODWIT (two)
Common Tern

Ayr Harbour and South Beach
Lapwing, Goosander (year tick)

Martnahan Loch
Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Reed Bunting

The Godwits were feeding in the surf on Barassie beach; saw Black Guillemot first at Wemyss Bay just as we got there for the ferry to Rothesay. I saw another in the scope from the ballast bank at Troon, and then had plenty more in Ayr Harbour: best views (and photographs) were had from the first Mariner's Wharf carpark on North Harbour Road opposite York Street - they nest in the harbour wall just below where I was standing.
Though there wasn't too much visible on the Loch, this site looks excellent for winter so we shall be returning at some point...

So, additions to year-list as follows:

180. Oystercatcher
181. Common Eider
182. BLACK GUILLEMOT
183. Gannet
184. Common Gull
185. Rock Pipit
186. BAR-TAILED GODWIT
187. Goosander

Some pics below (not too many since conditions were quite harsh, esp. with heat-haze on Bute, and male Eiders were in eclipse plumage); others in my gallery.

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A few more pics here, all taken on Bute.

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Here's a pretty poor shot of the Goosander at Ayr, with an Eider for company. There were two Goosanders, the other one on the rocks at the little River Doon estuary.

I'm getting pretty excited now since I'm homing in on my target of 198 for the year. I'm off to Greece next week, so here's hoping for one or two special new birds for the list. May also be visiting the folks in Derbyshire in August for a few days, so will aim to pick up Red Grouse and some decent shots of the Dippers at Lathkill Dale.