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Scottish independence and your UK list.... (1 Viewer)

I'm struggling to remember a Black Guillemot in England now some come to mention it.

A small number of birds can still be found at North Head, St Bees, Cumbria. There doesn't seem to be any definitive evidence as to whether they still actually breed there or not. In between lockdowns in 2020 I did see one individual carrying a fish into a crevice in the rocks although unfortunately the fish was a Lesser Pipefish which isn't exactly ideal food for auk chicks.

I also saw a couple of 2cy birds (moulting into adult plumage) in the area although I have no way of knowing which colony they came from. In most years recently I haven't seen more than six individuals present at St Bees at any one time although last summer I did see two groups of five adult birds present at the same time. They are usually fairly easy to find in the breeding season as they frequent one particular spot below the cliffs at North Head although in winter they do tend to disperse somewhat.

(Pic shows Black Guillemot with Lesser Pipefish at North Head, St Bees, Cumbria, June 2020 / Black Guillemots, Fleswick Bay, St Bees, Cumbria, July 2020).
 

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I also wonder how many Twite I've seen in England since someone mentioned it and I don't have my notebooks handy to look back on.
A few flocks of Twite spend the winter in the south west corner of Cumbria around the River Duddon estuary and Walney Island. A ringing project over several years suggests most of these birds breed in the Hebrides, particularity on Coll and Tiree.
 
I have put an English list on BUBO, which is about 25-30 less than my British list (haven't checked lately). A few of those are from Wales though - Black Lark, Black Stork, Pied-billed Grebe, Rock Thrush, Marmora's Warbler, Yellowthroat, Pacific Diver - so maybe about 20-22. Most will be from five Shetland trips but also Capercaillie, Ptarmigan, Crested Tit, Golden Eagle, Barrow's Goldeneye, Rock Dove & Ross's Gull.

All largely academic as I'd envisage going with a 'Great Britain & associated Islands' list.
 
Thanks, Andrea. As a wee small boy I planned on making the journey across to St Bees from Durham to see Black Guillemot, but I never did make it there. Nice to know they're still around.

If anyone is ever in Oban I can recommend a stroll along the seafront there and the amazing views of Tysties sitting on the promenade right there in front of you.
 
Rather suspect you are the only birder alive to keep an EU list - if indeed you really do. Almost all keen birders keep a WP list and a few keep a European list though that is entirely geographic.
I'd think it's quite common, particularly if including the common travel area (add Iceland, Norway, Switzerland), as for most EU citizens you can visit that huge area without needing a passport. They may well call it their European list or even WP list, just thay they may not have been to those parts of the WP that are more complicated to get to.
 
Thanks, Andrea. As a wee small boy I planned on making the journey across to St Bees from Durham to see Black Guillemot, but I never did make it there. Nice to know they're still around.

If anyone is ever in Oban I can recommend a stroll along the seafront there and the amazing views of Tysties sitting on the promenade right there in front of you.
Tysties are not too difficult in Northumbs in winter, I've seen about a dozen or so altogether, mostly around the Farnes or (more distantly!) from Stag Rocks, but also a couple when seawatching in the southeast (Newbiggin, St Mary's I.), and also seen one on a seawatch from Whitburn (Durham). Otherwise, seen them at Fedw Fawr on the N coast of Anglesey (probably the best site in N Wales), and a couple in Danish waters (from the Esbjerg ferry) for my homeland list :giggle:
 
I’ve kept an English List for sometime (after realising Scottish, Welsh and Irish Birders keep national lists) 536 BOU would come down to 515 for England, after losing 13 Scottish and 8 Welsh ticks. I guess a few of these could be ‘got back’ with a bit of effort and luck.
 

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American birder here. I can say that I've done a birding trip to Scotland and had some extra days in Wales where I birded during a business trip. Although I lived in England before I was a birder, I've never birded in England. Anything I've seen has been "incidental".

So on that basis:
Scotland: 107
Wales: 50
England: 6
UK: 115

If Scotland were to leave, my UK list would drop to 74. Not impressive compared to the locals, but a data point.

And I do have a WP list (347) and a Europe List (323).
 
I'd think it's quite common, particularly if including the common travel area (add Iceland, Norway, Switzerland), as for most EU citizens you can visit that huge area without needing a passport.
Not really true ...for Iceland and for most EU countries, other EU citizens require an identification document to visit, be it a passport or national identity card.

Thus, despite your protests, nothing much has changed - as British don't have identify cards, you needed a passport to visit before, you still need now.
 
Thanks, Andrea. As a wee small boy I planned on making the journey across to St Bees from Durham to see Black Guillemot, but I never did make it there. Nice to know they're still around.

If anyone is ever in Oban I can recommend a stroll along the seafront there and the amazing views of Tysties sitting on the promenade right there in front of you.
Black Guillemots have wintered on the South Coast from time to time - most of my early ones were in Portland Harbour, which again hosted one when the Brunnich's Guillemot was there - but I also remember a very showy one in Sussex a few years ago.

John
 
I'd be thinking more in terms of what species I might regain on my sadly depleted EU list - King Eider, Capercaillie, Ptarmigan, Red Grouse, Ring-billed Gull, and a few others (y)

Of course, if Northumbs seceded from Little England to (re)join Scotland & EU, that would be a huge re-gain.
Nutty, with respect I have to agree with a few that have mailed admin about you constantly banging on about Brexit, EU , Scottish Indy etc, please leave those references and comments off the forum, or at least keep them limited to Ruffled feathers.
 
at Fedw Fawr on the N coast of Anglesey (probably the best site in N Wales),
Fedw Fawr used to be the go to site, but it's a swine to access and Tysties are easy enough around Holyhead these days so it's probably not so much on the itinerary of many Anglesey jaunts any more.
 
I wouldn't lose any, as keeping a list based on a political entity like the UK is surely time dependent. I saw the birds while Scotland was part of the UK, therefore, they remain on my UK list...

If Scotland does leave and become a new country, then I can visit and start a brand new list for Scotland, assuming that the right to free movement is returned to us of course...
 
I wouldn't lose any, as keeping a list based on a political entity like the UK is surely time dependent. I saw the birds while Scotland was part of the UK, therefore, they remain on my UK list...

If Scotland does leave and become a new country, then I can visit and start a brand new list for Scotland, assuming that the right to free movement is returned to us of course...
Expect a long wait at a hard border and be prepared for losing all your ham sandwiches ;)
 
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Thanks, Andrea. As a wee small boy I planned on making the journey across to St Bees from Durham to see Black Guillemot, but I never did make it there. Nice to know they're still around.

If anyone is ever in Oban I can recommend a stroll along the seafront there and the amazing views of Tysties sitting on the promenade right there in front of you.
Totally agree. And the water is so clear you can see them swimming about under the surface. Last time I was there it was to see the sperm whale in the harbour and there were loads of black guillemots around, literally within an arm's reach.
 
Totally agree. And the water is so clear you can see them swimming about under the surface. Last time I was there it was to see the sperm whale in the harbour and there were loads of black guillemots around, literally within an arm's reach.
Last time I was there 2 years ago, I was leaning through railings, on my knees, and filming a couple of them on my phone from about 10 feet away, when one of them toddled along the seawall towards me, and kept coming until it stood directly below me for a second, before flying down to the water. Video in parts.

 
Just worked mine out - minus 10

Harlequin Duck
Barrow’s Goldeneye
White-winged Scoter
Snowy Egret
Western Sandpiper
Capercaillie
Ptarmigan
Rock Dove
Crested Tit
Scottish Crossbill (shouldn’t be on any of my lists really)
 

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