British Big Year - 2016. 398 so far. (1 Viewer)

dantheman said:

A theoretical 400 shouldn't be too much of a problem at all - hindsight of what to go for and when and should be easy(ish) to work out where to be for the next one and link it all up.

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Dan

I don't agree. We are talking 420's species totals for the highest 3 or 4 BOU British years in history and all of those contained a myriad of brief short stayers or ungettables as with this year - Red-footed Booby, Siberian Thrush, Eye-browed Thrush, etc, etc.

400 on a BOU British List may be possible with a lot of luck and good judgement in an exceptional year but even then you'd need to check if it has ever really been possible.

All the best

dantheman said:

Have said before that 400 in a year should be possible ... but not many agreed

A theoretical 400 shouldn't be too much of a problem at all - hindsight of what to go for and when and should be easy(ish) to work out where to be for the next one and link it all up.


But that's a moot point. For the guy (Mark) to get 400 (we assume he's there by now?) is pretty amazing - apart from a lot of good decision making/accessibility of the birds and them playing well/presumably a very flexible job!

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Don't forget that it also needs to be a year of good rarity numbers which hang on long enough to be twitched.

If I did it, I'd keep quiet as well to prevent a certain person pipping me at the post with e.g a Savi's Warbler on an undisclosed site which no one else knew about (93 or 94 I think that was)!


A

Phil Andrews said:

Would 400 ever be possible listing to BOU?

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Yes, if the BOU adopt UK400Club taxonomy next year over IOC/Clements etc

Jhanlon said:

Yes, if the BOU adopt UK400Club taxonomy next year over IOC/Clements etc

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I know he deson't recognise 'Scotbill' but what does he split that differs from the IOC, Geese I assume?


A

The Killdeer obliged...


I can assure you all that this list is totally real, Mark is a genuine and great chap. He kept it secret because he didn't want fuss and attention at the start because of the very reasons mentioned above. He's been more relaxed about it recently hence the greater knowledge. He has had an amazing year.The thing is time and cash were not a major problem from what I understand, only physical endurance judging by a couple of times I've seen him on the road:-O... Oh and an understanding wife on logistics!

If I were able to do the same I wouldn't want anyone to know either, the grief through the year given the history and baggage it carries would be too much.

Gomphus said:

The Killdeer obliged...


I can tell you all that this list is totally real, Mark is a genuine and great chap. He kept it secret because he didn't want fuss and attention at the start because of the very reasons mentioned above. He's been more relaxed about it recently hence the greater knowledge. He has had an amazing year.The thing is time and cash were not really a problem, only physical endurance judging by the times I've seen him on the road:-O... Oh and an understanding wife on logistics!

If I were able to do the same I wouldn't want anyone to know either, the grief through the year given the history and baggage it carries would be too much.

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Gonna stand for a very long time at 400+.....Evans will be having a breakdown!

andyadcock said:

I know he deson't recognise 'Scotbill' but what does he split that differs from the IOC, Geese I assume?

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An assortment of geese and wagtails, plus probably various other identifiable variants (therefore, "species") like Kakhi Campbell, Aylesbury, Rhode Island Red (established feral flock near the sign saying 'free range eggs for sale'), and so on :king:

But he is right on Scotbill, one has to give him credit for that :t:

andyadcock said:

Gonna stand for a very long time at 400+.....Evans will be having a breakdown!

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Quite...oh, to be a fly on the wall...where's that Downfall clip from a few years ago with all the replaced dialogue & birding context? Could be mileage in an updated version :-O

Jhanlon said:

Quite...oh, to be a fly on the wall...where's that Downfall clip from a few years ago with all the replaced dialogue & birding context? Could be mileage in an updated version :-O

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How long before he comes on e.g Twitter, 'dissing' and not recognising the record....everyone knows that all sightings and records have to be assessed, verified and accepted by LGRE before they are deemed official!




A

I just had a glance and found these differences
Greenland/Eurasian White-fronted Goose vs. Greater White-fronted Goose
Tundra/Taiga Bean Goose vs. Bean Goose
Snow/Ross's Snow Goose vs. Snow Goose
Dark-bellied/Pale-bellied/Black Brent Goose vs. Brent Goose
North American Wood Duck vs. Not on list
Cinnamon Teal vs. Not on list
Marbled Duck vs. Not on list
American/Stejneger's White-winged Scoter vs. White-winged Scoter
White-headed Duck vs. Not on list
Cory's Shearwater vs. Cory's/Scopoli's Shearwater
Bulwer's Petrel vs. Not on list
Madeiran Storm-Petrel vs. Not on list
European White Pelican vs. Not on list
American Least Bittern vs. Not on list
Little Blue Heron vs. Not on list
Greater Flamingo vs. Not on list
American Bald Eagle vs. Not on list
Eurasian Griffon Vulture vs. Not on list
Eurasian Black Vulture vs. Not on list
Red-shouldered Hawk (ship-assisted) vs. Not on list
Booted Eagle vs. Not on list
Western Swamphen vs. Not on list
Azorean/Yellow-legged Gull vs. Yellow-legged Gull
Iceland/Thayer's Gull vs. Iceland Gull
Little/Least Tern vs. Little Tern
Elegant Tern vs. Not on list
North American/Black Tern vs. Black Tern
European Eagle Owl vs. Not on list
White-rumped Swift vs. Not on list
Northern Flicker (Ship-assisted) vs. Not on list
Middle Spotted Woodpecker vs. Not on list
Acadian Flycatcher vs. Not on list
Eastern Kingbird vs. Not on list
North American/Horned Lark vs. Horned Lark
Yellow/Eastern Yellow/Black-headed Wagtail vs. Yellow Wagtail
White/Pied/Amur White Wagtail vs. Pied Wagtail
Siberian Accentor vs. Not on list
Siberian/Caspian Stonechat vs. Siberian Stonechat
Grey-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush vs. Grey-cheeked Thrush
Western/Eastern Subalpine Warbler vs. Subalpine Warbler
Desert/Lesser Whitethorat vs. Lesser Whitethroat
Two-barred/Greenish vs. Greenish Warbler
Siberian/Chiffchaff vs. Chiffchaff
Mugimaki Flycatcher vs. Not on list
Great Grey/Saxaul Grey Shrike vs. Great Grey/Southern Grey Shrike
Indian House Crow (ship-assisted) vs. Not on list
Daurian Starling vs. Not on list
Mealy/Northwestern Redpoll vs. Common Redpoll
Hornemann's/Scandinavian Arctic Redpoll vs. Arctic Redpoll
Parrot Crossbill vs. Parrot/Scottish Crossbill
Blue-winged Warbler vs. Not on list
Canada Warbler vs. Not on list
Spotted Towhee (ship-assisted) vs. Not on list
Field Sparrow (ship-assisted) vs. Not on list
Fox Sparrow vs. Not on list
Chestnut Bunting vs. Not on list
Red-headed Bunting vs. Not on list
Rusty Blackbird vs. Not on list
Yellow-headed Blackbird vs. Not on list

Neither list Dalmatian Pelican, Red-footed Booby, Daurian Shrike, Lammergeier. Most birds missing from the BOU list are Category D (which I think should be countable), some have yet to be accepted (Thayer's Gull (?), Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Siberian Accentor), some were ship-assisted (Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Flicker, Field Sparrow, Indian House Crow, Spotted Towhee), some occured only in Ireland (Slaty-backed Gull, Canada Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler) and the rest are splits.

I must admit I prefer the Club400 way, eventhough I don't support a few of the splits they do (Redpolls, Wagtails, Brants) and allowing to include ship-assisted birds.

Now on basis of this comparison I guess it should be possible to convert this years attempt to the BOU list

Maffong

Maffong said:

Common Crossbill vs. Common/Scottish Crossbill

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Small correction, UK400 treats Scottish Crossbill as a synonym of Parrot Crossbill, not of Common :t:

AFAIK these species have been observed/might have been observed in the UK that aren't accepted by BOU
Greenland White-fronted Goose (?)
Taiga Bean Goose (?)
Ross's Snow (?)
White-headed Duck
Dalmatian Pelican
Western Swamphen
Thayer's Gull
Azorean Gull
Eastern Kingbird
Black-headed Wagtail
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (?)
White Wagtail
Siberian Accentor
Caspian Stonechat
Eastern Subalpine Warbler
Two-barred Greenish Warbler
Pale-legged (or Sakhalin) Leaf Warbler
Siberian Chiffchaff
Northwestern Redpoll
Scandinavian Arctic Redpoll (?)

Maffong

Maffong said:

AFAIK these species have been observed/might have been observed in the UK that aren't accepted by BOU

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BOU status in bold:

Greenland White-fronted Goose (?) - cat. A, as subspecies
Taiga Bean Goose (?) - cat. A, as subspecies
Ross's Snow (?) - cat. D
White-headed Duck - cat. E
Dalmatian Pelican - awaiting assignation
Northern Harrier - cat. A, now accepted by BOU as a species
Western Swamphen - awaiting assignation
Thayer's Gull - cat. A, as subspecies
Azorean Gull - cat. A, as subspecies
Eastern Kingbird - awaiting assignation
Black-headed Wagtail - cat. A, as subspecies
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (?) - cat. A, as subspecies (check - not sure)
White Wagtail - cat. A, as subspecies
Siberian Accentor - awaiting assignation
Caspian Stonechat - cat. A, as subspecies
Eastern Subalpine Warbler - cat. A, as subspecies
Two-barred Greenish Warbler - cat. A, as subspecies
Pale-legged (or Sakhalin) Leaf Warbler - awaiting assignation
Siberian Chiffchaff - cat. A, as subspecies
Northwestern Redpoll - cat. A, as subspecies
Scandinavian Arctic Redpoll (?) - cat. A, as subspecies

The point was, that these are the species that could've been observed in 2016 and made it on a year list under Club400 rules, but not under BOU rules, at least not as full species

andyadcock said:

How long before he comes on e.g Twitter, 'dissing' and not recognising the record....everyone knows that all sightings and records have to be assessed, verified and accepted by LGRE before they are deemed official!




A

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The simple answer to this is just do a BOU/BBRC yearlist. He could always do a +x spp to indicate what else he's seen. I have no idea what the 'official' BOU/BBRC yearlist would be, but it sounds like this guy must be a contender

I am sure if one was year listing in 2016 to BOU rules the likes of Sibe Acc and the Swamphen would still be counted pending the definitive decision.

Maffong said:

What's the current record?
Can't imagine anyone in germany getting anything near 400! What an impressive number!

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For comparison, the Dutch yearlist record stands at 354 or so (DB taxonomy, so no "definite" Cat C birds).

Xenospiza said:

For comparison, the Dutch yearlist record stands at 354 or so (DB taxonomy, so no "definite" Cat C birds).

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Year-listing in the Netherlands must be a bit like year listing in Norfolk though? Or perhaps the Isle of Wight? It only takes a few hours to drive across the whole country.

cheers, a

Pariah said:

Already happening. Looks like British Birding has a new policeman. Too early to start drinking?

Owen

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And WHO is Justin Taylor???......

What's next on Mark's journey - the various Redpolls on Unst?