Your Worst Blockers (1 Viewer)

AlexC · Feb 10, 2015

We've all got 'em. Some are tough ones that just never seem to happen. Some are downright embarrassing. But what better place than the listing forum to include a list of those that have eluded our lists?

I'll start, though I'm sure I'll add more the more I think about it.

Pine Warbler. Where the hell are you? This is getting ridiculous.
Harlequin Duck. Regional? Yes. Inexcusable based on my past geography? Yes.
Northern Bobwhite. I've accepted that I'm never going to see this bird.
Red Knot. It's knot meant to be.
Northern Pygmy-Owl. I'm pretty sure this bird is made up.
Calliope Hummingbird. Grr. Been so close.
Northern Shrike.
Townsend's Solitaire.
Hermit Warbler.
Golden-winged Warbler. Many wouldn't consider this a blocker because it's relatively rare. But I've banded countless Brewster's hybrids, and have even seen 2 Lawrence's crossbacks in the wild. Where's mom/dad??

ClarkWGriswold · Feb 10, 2015

Grey Partridge

Rich

Farnboro John · Feb 10, 2015

Lanceolated Warbler.

John

lazza · Feb 13, 2015

As in birds that you should have seen but haven't?

Well, probably too many to make a list, but a lot of sea birds come to mind, especially as I live so close to the North Sea.

I've never seen any of the usual winter visitor gulls, most of which appear annually along this coast (such as Glaucous Gull and Iceland Gull) - most probably because I find gull identification so difficult that I wouldn't know if I saw one!

And then there are the petrels and shearwaters - I've seen no petrel species and only Manx Shearwater.

And the skuas, too, with only Great Skua on my tick-list...

Hmmm.... looking at that, I think I need a pelagic trip!

Ian Lewis · Feb 13, 2015

I haven't got the most recent BBRC report to hand but I'm sure the commonest bird in the UK that I haven't seen is either Barolo's (Little) Shearwater or PG Tips.

Worldwide, I've no idea as there must be many species that I haven't seen which are locally common and I have no idea of the total population. I suppose using Birdlife Threatened Birds volume I could work it out but it would take a lot of effort.

Ian

coaltit · Feb 13, 2015

Hi Lazza

For some reason I could not post a reply to your post by useing the quote button, anyway you mention you have
Seen no petrels does that Include fulmar? (fulmar petrel)

paul Robinson · Feb 13, 2015

Green winged teal - just downright wrong to twitch one in Ireland. Haven't seen one (and don't deserve to) because I just don't put the hard yards in during the winter!
Paul

Peter C. · Feb 13, 2015

King Rail, Kirtland's Warbler, Henslow's Sparrow; been trying for more than a quarter-century to find all of these in my home province of Ontario without any luck.

AlexC said:
Pine Warbler. Where the hell are you? This is getting ridiculous.

Answer to that question, Alex, is: it's all about geography (well, duh, right?). But - just get to the East, and to the right habitat, and they're quite impossible to avoid, or at least impossible not to hear. In spring and summer, you may rely on finding a loose colony of them breeding right here.

We used to live right across the street from the green space on the map, for about 17 years (!). We got plenty of practice, every year, distinguishing their voices from the numerous juncos and Chipping Sparrows that also frequented the neighbourhood - a useful birding skill, let me tell you! (And for all that, their songs can still throw me, sometimes.)

PC.

Xenospiza · Feb 13, 2015

I thought you could only have "best blockers" (i.e. rare birds that you have seen but others haven't).
I still need to see Atlantic Puffin and European Storm-Petrel in the Netherlands. A prolongued northwesterly storm is the best I can hope for.
On a world scale, Lesser Kiskadee and Sooty Tern should really be on my list.

chris butterworth · Feb 13, 2015

My most embarrassing has to be Japanese Night Heron. A few winter in the Yambaru, 20-30 min from my house on Okinawa. I've searched for them on Kyushu and Miyaki-jima and ......... nothing, not a sniff, bugger all. :-C

AlexC said:
Pine Warbler. Where the hell are you?

There was at least one on Theo. Roosevelt I. on the 11th of this month. Oops, wrong side of the country.

Ian Lewis · Feb 14, 2015

Ian Lewis said:
I haven't got the most recent BBRC report to hand but I'm sure the commonest bird in the UK that I haven't seen is either Barolo's (Little) Shearwater or PG Tips.

Dug out the last few years BBRC reports (hidden previously due to decorating activities) and I was wrong on the first post. The biggest misses on my British List with the the number of records accepted up to 2013 are:

80 White's Thrush
64 Barolo's (Macaronesian/Little)Shearwater
56 Killdeer
52 PG Tips
32 Isabelline Wheatear
24 Crested Lark
19 Lesser Kestrel
12 Pine Grosbeak
10 Veery

Don't do much twitching these days and I don't expect many of those will be found in Dorset in the near future, so I don't expect this list to change much in the future.

Ian

Nightjar61 · Feb 14, 2015

AlexC said:
Golden-winged Warbler. Many wouldn't consider this a blocker because it's relatively rare. But I've banded countless Brewster's hybrids, and have even seen 2 Lawrence's crossbacks in the wild. Where's mom/dad??

If you're ever in north-central West Virginia (or even western Pennsylvania) in May, let me know. I have a place where they breed and are easy to hear and see. I've never missed them yet, but saying that I probably just jinxed it and they'll never show up at that site again.

Dave

Helenelizabeth2 · Feb 14, 2015

I've still never seen a Dotterel. They're annual in the fens near here but always bugger off before I get there and my two attempts in Scotland failed.

Also Sabine's Gull - and as I don't do much sea watching at the moment, I'm saving that one up for my retirement.

GusHawk · Feb 15, 2015

I'd say Stock Dove for me. I live near farmland but am yet to see one :/

wolfbirder · Feb 15, 2015

Having seen them in europe, i still need black stork, lesser kestrel, black eared wheatear, & even Tawny pipit here in UK.

As a lifer i need corncrake.

JWN Andrewes · Feb 15, 2015

Xenospiza said:
I thought you could only have "best blockers" (i.e. rare birds that you have seen but others haven't).

That's my understanding of the term. Had I started this thread it would have been titled "Your Worst Tarts". Perhaps just as well I didn't.

My front runners are Little Bittern, Olive-backed Pipit, Savi's, Arctic & Booted Warblers, Serin, hmmmm, more than I'd realised. Perhaps one day I'll reboot my twitching career and put them all to bed at last.

Cheers

James

stevo · Feb 15, 2015

My blockers are embarassing ,little auk & pom skua being real bogey birds for me.

Steve.

AlexC · Feb 15, 2015

Nightjar61 said:
If you're ever in north-central West Virginia (or even western Pennsylvania) in May, let me know. I have a place where they breed and are easy to hear and see. I've never missed them yet, but saying that I probably just jinxed it and they'll never show up at that site again.

Dave

Thanks, Dave! Used to live in Baltimore, so not too far.

RE: "Blocker"
Maybe I just misunderstood the Britishism of the word. Nemesis bird. Whatever you want to call it.

dantheman · Feb 16, 2015

AlexC said:
Worst Blockers ...

Xenospiza said:
I thought you could only have "best blockers" (i.e. rare birds that you have seen but others haven't).

I was struggling to come to terms with that too. Think there can be no such thing as a 'worst blocker' and a 'best blocker' means something else entirely?

Think perhaps 'worst bogey bird' is the appropriate term? (Or worst dip (but then you've got to have tried ... ) Most glaring omission?)

(There are a handful of threads at the bottom of this page in the 'similar threads' section with Blockers in ... for reference)

Nutcracker · Feb 16, 2015

dantheman said:
Think perhaps 'worst bogey bird' is the appropriate term?

Yep :t:

Your Worst Blockers (1 Viewer)

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