What was your best found “patch bird”this year? (2 Viewers)

[bernie b]

Many thanks for that. They were my two county ticks for the year.

Hope they continue Rob,a good year for you with two County Ticks,considering your ranking in the County

 

[Bewick]

Whooper swan and cuckoo for my English patch. More difficult for my French patch, if I was forced to pick two it would pick black winged kite and red-backed shrike.

 

[Andy Lakin]

A Hen Harrier for me first spotted from the garden then stayed on my local patch for c7 weeks. Most enjoyable was a Barn Owl the other evening when it flew towards me and was happily hunting about 40 ft away, best ever views.

 

[hookem2010]

2023 was a great patch year. We moved a little bit north to the suburbs of Austin, and my neighborhood park ended up being great for spring migration. I also did more patch birding than ever, as I was toting around a baby every day.
A male cerulean warbler in April kickstarted the rarities, followed by wood thrush and scarlet tanager a week later, all birds that are reported maybe 3x/year in my county.
A Brewer's sparrow in October was a state lifer and one of a dozen or so all-time county records.
Easily #1 was my lifer black-billed cuckoo in May. Great looks at this skulking bird that rarely gets reported in my area.
By birding it multiple times per week, I've gotten my little park up to 126 species over the course of the year. I would have never foreseen reaching that number after my first visit, but persistence truly pays off!

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Was a bit of a mixed year at Girdle Ness. A White-crowned Sparrow, which I refound after it had been belatedly reported, was probably the highlight. My best proper find was probably a Great White Egret, which was a patch tick for me. Other good finds included Hen Harrier, two Black Terns and several Storm Petrels. It was a slightly frustrating autumn on the whole though. I did nocmig for the first time this year, which produced some interesting bits and pieces, such as Barn Owl and Ring-necked Parakeet.

 

[BenjiS]

Probably my lifer garden warbler, nothing much but better than nothing!

 

[Steve Lister]

A quiet year on all my patches......
Garden - a heard-only LRP going over and a rather lost Red-legged Partridge
Vismig spot - Woodlark
Patchwork Challenge - all the best birds were found by somebody else but I identified the Little Tern
Countywide - Temminck's Stint

 

[Xenospiza]

After years of being too dry, this year my patch was probably too wet. Only two additions (Yellow-legged Gull and -hm- Alexandrine Parakeet), with four Black Storks, Wryneck, Savi's Warbler and Short-eared Owl as best species.
A day with 194 migrating White Storks was quite a spectacular improvement of my personal best.
A Red-breasted Merganser on the town lake was probably my best find of the year.

 

[Prestdj]

spent a lot of my days walking this year around mytholmroyd (try saying that after a few pints) found a few nice new birds for my local list

barn owl always thought the hill you can see from the garden looked good for one so very early one morning 1 hunting over the fields
grasshopper warbler reeling at 6am at broadhead clough
lesser whitethroat behind the garage we use
redstart a female type in a real migrant trap, a large overgrown garden just between the moors/fields
spotted flycatcher again in moor edge garden
greylag goose yep a first! six flew over the house

ive identified certain places that attracted migrants so looking forward to 2024

 

[KC Foggin]

Definitely nice birds Darrell

 

[KenM]

spent a lot of my days walking this year around mytholmroyd (try saying that after a few pints) found a few nice new birds for my local list

barn owl always thought the hill you can see from the garden looked good for one so very early one morning 1 hunting over the fields
grasshopper warbler reeling at 6am at broadhead clough
lesser whitethroat behind the garage we use
redstart a female type in a real migrant trap, a large overgrown garden just between the moors/fields
spotted flycatcher again in moor edge garden
greylag goose yep a first! six flew over the house

ive identified certain places that attracted migrants so looking forward to 2024

Identifying migrant traps, flyways/conduits is key Prestdj, indeed any “island” concentrations seems to work for me.👍

 

[sillyak]

My best local patch find this year was a Barred Owl.

A common owl in other parts of the province, but only found once or twice a year in my eBird region and mine was the first ever in my town.

 

[Nightjar61]

In late July, while relaxing on my deck, I saw a bird that at first glance I thought was a nonbreeding male Scarlet Tanager. But as I looked at it I realized with a shock that it was a first-spring Summer Tanager.

I ran in to get my camera but it had disappeared by the time I got back. Luckily it returned when I played the species’s “ki-ti-tuck” call and I was able to get a photo.

Summer Tanagers are fairly common in the southern part of the state, but are rare in this region. This bird turned out to be the first county record.

Dave

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Another year with limited opportunities for birding, largely due to reporting outweighing fieldwork something like 30 days to 1!
Most birding within 10km of home, and enjoyed the wader passage this autumn along the Severn, with a handful of Little stint and Curlew sand being the best for my efforts.
It looked a bit like this year was going to fizzle out rather than end with a bang, so I was pleased to find this Richard's Pipit this afternoon. Patch tick!

 

[pppppvvvv]

My best locally this year was probably today. 2 Corn Buntings, in Farmland North of Romsey, the significance best illustrated by the ebird species map.
Mine was the red sighting below Mottisfont. Right in the middle of a pretty big Corn Bunting hole.
I usually have to go North of Stockbridge, near the excellently named Over Wallop to see them.

 

[RyanI]

It’s been a good year on patch, finding red-throated pipit was probably best, melodious warbler, 3 Serin, 3 Richards pipits, 2 bee-eaters, Kumulien’s gull, night heron and golden oriole other highlights. Seawatching also good from patch, finding 10+ Wilson’s, 2 feas, barolo, scopoli’s etc.

Also rather frustratingly, I found squacco heron, Woodchat, alpine swift and hoopoe within a mile of my patch. SW Cornwall is very underwatched, I barely saw a birder on or near my patch all year.

I think 2024 will be quieter…

 

[Farnboro John]

It’s been a good year on patch, finding red-throated pipit was probably best, melodious warbler, 3 Serin, 3 Richards pipits, 2 bee-eaters, Kumulien’s gull, night heron and golden oriole other highlights. Seawatching also good from patch, finding 10+ Wilson’s, 2 feas, barolo, scopoli’s etc.

Also rather frustratingly, I found squacco heron, Woodchat, alpine swift and hoopoe within a mile of my patch. SW Cornwall is very underwatched, I barely saw a birder on or near my patch all year.

I think 2024 will be quieter…

I may have the answer: enlarge your patch just a little bit!

John

 

[KenM]

It’s been a good year on patch, finding red-throated pipit was probably best, melodious warbler, 3 Serin, 3 Richards pipits, 2 bee-eaters, Kumulien’s gull, night heron and golden oriole other highlights. Seawatching also good from patch, finding 10+ Wilson’s, 2 feas, barolo, scopoli’s etc.

Also rather frustratingly, I found squacco heron, Woodchat, alpine swift and hoopoe within a mile of my patch. SW Cornwall is very underwatched, I barely saw a birder on or near my patch all year.

I think 2024 will be quieter…

So which of the 16 quoted would (as per keeping to the thread title) would you regard as your best Ryanl?

 

[Farnboro John]

So which of the 16 quoted would (as per keeping to the thread title) would you regard as your best Ryanl?

I'm guessing the Red-throated Pipit he said was "probably best"!

John

 

[KenM]

I'm guessing the Red-throated Pipit he said was "probably best"!

John

Missed that!…amongst the others.😮