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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Chris's 52nd year list ! (1 Viewer)

chris butterworth

aka The Person Named Above
January 1, Champagne-Ardennes, North-eastern France

Yet again I started the year at Annettes parents. The weather hasn't really been condusive to bringing lots of birds down from the north but I still managed to top 100 for my 'New Years Day Bash'.

1 Mute Swan
2 Whooper Swan. ( c.60)
3 Taiga Bean Goose. ( c 100 )
4 Tundra Bean Goose. ( c. 300+)
5 Gtr Whitefronted goose ( 90+ )
6 Greylag Goose ( of uncertain provenance )
7 Mallard
8 Gadwall
9 Common Teal
10 Northern Shoveler
11 Red-crested Pochard
12 Tufted Duck
13 Goosander
14 Reeves Pheasant ( 4 )
15 Common Pheasant
16 Red-legged Partridge
17 Grey Partridge
18 Little Grebe
19 Great Crested Grebe
20 Rock / Feral Pigeon
21 Stock Pigeon
22 Common Wood Pigeon
23 Eur. Collared Dove
24 Common Crane ( c. 1700+ )
25 Common Moorhen
26 Eur / Black Coot
27 Grey Heron
28 Nthn Lapwing
29 Green Sandpiper ( 2 )
30 Eur. Woodcock
31 Common Snipe
32 Black-headed Gull
33 Mew Gull
34 Eur. Herring Gull
35 White-tailed Eagle ( 19 )
36 Red Kite ( 12 )
37 Rough-legged Buzzard ( 3 )
38 Common Buzzard
39 Nthn. Sparrowhawk
40 Nthn. Goshawk ( 1 )
41 Common Barn Owl
42 Eur. Eagle Owl ( 1 )
43 Tawny Owl
44 Little Owl
45 Long-eared Owl ( 5 in roost site )
46 Eur. Green Woodpecker
47 Grey-headed Green Woodpecker ( 6 )
48 Great Spotted Woodpecker ( 7 )
49 Midd. Spotted Woodpecker ( 4 )
50 Less. Spotted Woodpecker ( 2 )
51 Black Woodpecker ( 5 - getting commoner )
52 Eur. Kestrel
53 Great Grey Shrike ( 5 )
54 Black-billed Magpie
55 Eur. Jay
56 Western Jackdaw
57 Rook
58 Hooded Crow ( 19 )
59 W. Carrion Crow
60 Marsh Tit
61 Crested Tit
62 Coal Tit
63 Eur. Blue Tit
64 Great Tit
65 Sky Lark
66 Crested Lark ( spreading northward ? )
67 Wood Lark ( single flock of 7 )
68 Common Longtailed-tit
69 Cetti's Warbler ( 2 seen )
70 Eur. Nuthatch
71 Short-toed Treecreeper
72 Eur. Wren
73 Goldcrest
74 Firecrest
75 Bohemian Waxwing ( a pitiful 31 this year )
76 Common Starling
77 White-throated Dipper ( 1 on dam @ Lac d'Foret )
78 Mistle Thrush
79 Eur. Blackbird
80 Song Thrush
81 Redwing
82 Fieldfare
83 Eur. Robin
84 Black Redstart
85 Hedge Accentor
86 House Sparrow
87 Tree Sparrow
88 Water Pipit ( 2, with Dipper )
89 Meadow Pipit
90 Common Chaffinch
91 Brambling ( c.100 )
92 Lesser Redpoll
93 Mealy Redpoll ( c. 35 )
94 Eur. Goldfinch
95 Eur. Greenfinch
96 Eur. Siskin
97 Eur. Bullfinch
98 Hawfinch ( 'lots' )
99 Red Crossbill
100 Corn Bunting
101 Reed Bunting
102 Yellowhammer
103 Cirl Bunting

There were 'easy' birds missed as well as crackers like Tengmalm's Owl - but I'm not bitter. Honest. I'm not. Really. :C

Chris
 
January 3, 'Run to the Ferry', Belgian coast ( including Het Zwin )

As in previous years we were booked to get the ferry from Oostende. Unlike previous years someone had turned the sea on it's side. When the boat finally left it sailed across the North Sea appearing somewhat damper on the inside than the outside. I still managed a good selection of birds along the Belgian coast road though. :t:

104 Tundra Swan
105 Pink-footed Goose
106 Lesser White-fronted Goose ( from a Scandinavian re-introduction scheme )
107 Barnacle Goose
108 Dark-bellied Brent Goose
109 Egyptian Goose ( becoming commoner ? )
110 Nthn. Shelduck
111 Nthn. Pintail
112 Eur. Wigeon
113 Common Pochard
114 Gtr. Scaup
115 Common Scoter
116 Velvet Scoter ( thankfully, in flight! )
117 Common Goldeneye
118 Smew
119 Red-breasted Merganser
120 Slavonian Grebe ( 9, sheltering in dykes )
121 Red-necked Grebe
122 Water Rail
123 Red-throated Diver
124 Gt. Cormorant
125 Gt. Bittern
126 Little Egret
127 Gt. Egret
128 Eur. Oystercatcher
129 Pied Avocet
130 Ringed Plover
131 Grey Plover
132 Eur. Golden Plover
133 Red Knot
134 Sanderling
135 Purple Sandpiper
136 Dunlin
137 Eur. Curlew
138 Black-tailed Godwit
139 Bar-tailed Godwit
140 Common Redshank
141 Ruff
142 Ruddy Turnstone
143 Jack Snipe
144 Mediterranean Gull
145 Caspian Gull ( in Zeebrugge harbour )
146 Less. Black-backed Gull
147 Glaucous Gull
148 Gt. Black-backed Gull
149 River Kingfisher
150 Marsh Harrier
151 Mrlin
152 Peregrine Falcon
153 Eur. Penduline Tit
154 Bearded Reedling
155 Horned Lark
156 Common Chiffchaff
157 Pied Wagtail
158 Grey Wagtail
159 Twite
160 Lapland Longspur
161 Snow Bunting

January 4, 'The Ferry!'

162 Nthn. Fulmar
163 Nthn Gannet
164 Black-legged Kittiwake
165 Common Guillemot

January 5, Wirral Peninsula

166 Canada Goose ( ! )
167 Pale-bellied Brent Goose
168 Short-eared Owl
169 Eur. Stonechat
170 Rock Pipit

Finally up to date ( phew! ) - but still smarting from dipping on a Sabine's Gull at Hilbre yesterday :C

Chris
 
January 8, West Kirby, Wirral

171 Northern Raven ( Flew over the Royal Liverpool GC while I was on the shore )
172 Eur. Shag ( juv / 1st w bird on West Kirby Marine Lake )
173 Yellow-legged Gull ( adult on Marine Lake )

January 9, Ashton Park, West Kirby, Wirral

174 Blackcap

Chris
 
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05 February, North Wales

Glyn Ceiriog > Llangollen road, Berwyns

176 Black Grouse

1 male and 3 females at first light.

Between Cerrigydrudion and Pentrefoelas, on the A5

177 Red Grouse

Baffled that I didn't pick any up in the Berwyns. 2 flying across the road in front of the car.

Slopes of Carnedd Dafydd, at the start of the Nant Ffrancon Pass

178 Red-billed Chough

I was on my way over to South Stack for this species but 5 were flying around the south-western face of the mountain.

Chris
 
03 March, Ormskirk and Mere Sands Wood, SW Lancashire, UK.

179 Sand Martin

I was sheltering from the rain when a single bird came belting through, like a drunken bat!

180 Osprey

We were just scanning through Common Buzzard ( in case one was the wintering Roughleg ) when I thought "That's not a gull!!!" as it glided away over the trees. Brief glimpse, but good enough. :t:

181 Ruddy Duck

My first for a couple of years. The cull must be finally biting.

04 March, Marshside, Southport, Merseyside

181 Pied Avocet

Chris, I see that you are off to another great start for your "year list". Way to go!

You can't keep a good man down Larry, or, as Annette is fond of saying to anyone who'll listen, "He's passed all hopes of redemption". It was nice to get out at the start of spring migration and get some more birds to go on the list. It's been FAR too long since the last ones.

Chris
 
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13 March, Haha-jima, Ogasawara Is, Japan.

182 Bonin Petrel ( 17 close in, in the channel between Haha-jima and Chichi-jima )
183 Wedge-tailed Shearwater ( 20+ as above )
184 Brown Booby ( 11 back on their nesting site )
185 Eastern Buzzard ( toyoshimai ) ( My first record of this taxon )
186 Pacific Golden Plover ( 3 )
187 Red-necked Stint ( 17 )
188 Eur. Whimbrel ( 5. It doesn't matter where you go in t'old world, there's a Whimbrel! )
189 Sooty Tern ( 20+)
190 Oriental Turtle Dove ( 20+)
191 Black-backed Wagtail ( 1 )
192 Brown-eared Bulbul ( 20+)
193 Blue Rock Thrush ( 20+)
194 White's Thrush ( 1 - "singing" )
195 Japanese White-eye ( 20+. As the birds in the Ogasawara's are a mix of the endemic taxon and the introduced nominate this is a bit of an 'iffy' tick but....)
196 Bonin Is. White-eye ( 20+. unlike most island endemics, the White-eye is really common. )

A cracking day spent wandering about the island with the highlight being a reasonable view of the endemic Buzzard. Having said that, sitting down eating lunch with a species of Pterodroma flying passed you is not something to be sniffed at. Off to catch the night ferry back to Tokyo soon so, more seabirds. :t:

Chris
 
14 March, Ferry between Ogasawara's and Tokyo

197 Black-footed Albatross ( 4 )
198 Laysan Albatross ( 9 )
199 Bulwer's Petrel ( 2 )
200 Matsudaira's Storm Petrel ( 1 ) Close enough to see the white shafts on the outer primaries.

Chris
 
15 March, Ferry between the Ogasawara Is and Tokyo

201 Short-tailed Albatross ( 2 NW of Torishima. )
202 Pale-footed Shearwater ( 15 off Aogashima )
203 Bannerman's Shearwater ( 3 )
204 Tristram's Storm-Petrel ( 2 S. of Sofu Gan )

A cracking group of birds from the ferry - but it was travelling through the breeding range of some real gems.

Chris
 
16 March, Tokyo ( Meiji-jingu + Shinobazu-no-ike )

205 Mandarin Duck ( 18 )
206 Chinese Spot-billed Duck ( 7 )
207 Chinese Bamboo Partridge ( 2 )
208 Black-crowned Night Heron ( 5 )
209 Black-eared Kite ( 20+ )
210 Black-tailed Gull ( 20+ )
211 Collared Scops Owl ( 1 )
212 House Swift ( 11 )
213 Ring-necked Parakeet ( 12 )
214 Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker ( 2 )
215 Eastern Sky Lark ( 5 )
216 Olive-backed Pipit ( 2 )
217 east Asian Pipit ( 6 )
218 Daurian Redstart ( 5 )
219 Pale Thrush ( 2 )
220 Varied Tit ( 11 )
221 Bull-headed Shrike ( 1 )
222 Azure-winged Magpie ( 4 )
223 Japanese ( Large-billed ) Crow ( 20+ )
224 White-cheeked Starling ( 20+ )
225 Oriental Greenfinch ( 20+ )
226 Japanese Grosbeak ( 7 )
227 Black-faced Bunting ( 4 )
228 Meadow Bunting ( 9 )

Another quick rummage around my favorite birding spots in Tokyo turned up the usual gems. Off to Okinawa tonight.

Chris
 
18 March, Okinawa

229 Cinnamon Bittern ( 1 )
230 Okinawa Rail ( 3 ). As usual, wandering around on someones lawn at first light.
231 White-breasted Waterhen ( 4 )
232 Lesser Sand Plover 9 20+ )
233 Grey-tailed Tattler ( 17 )
234 Ryukyu Scops Owl ( 1 )
235 Pacific Swift ( 9 )
236 Okinawa Woodpecker ( 2 )
237 Ryukyu Minivet ( 17 )
238 Barn Swallow ( 20+ )
239 Pacific Swallow ( 11 )
240 Ryukyu Robin ( 9 )
241 White-rumped Munia ( 20+ )
242 Scaly-breasted Munia ( 20+ )
243 Chestnut Munia ( 20+ )

The last three species are all introductions - but are both common and widespread on the island.

Chris
 
20 March, Gilroy NP, Wirral.

244 Northern Wheatear
245 Willow Warbler

I'd just got in from Japan and needed milk and bread and stuff so I called into Gilroy on the way back from the shops. Two Wheatear on the fence posts in the 'New Pond' field were my first for the year and a couple of brief snatches of Willow Warbler song in Gilroy NP itself had me stumbling around looking up at the tops of the trees in the scrubby part by the pond. I finally picked it up before it bounced off to be replaced by a rather clean looking Chiffchaff. I went down about half an hour after to see if I could get a photo but it had moved to the other end of the site ( still giving single bursts of song ) and was right up the top of a tree against a bright sky. :-C

Chris
 
28 March, West Kirby shore, Wirral

247 White Wagtail

Hoylake shore, Wirral

248 Ring Ouzel

New Brighton, Wirral

249 Little Gull

Chris
 
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29 March, West Kirby, Wirral

250 Barn Swallow

I was walking home yesterday afternoon when a single bird came belting through. Hopefully it'll be the first of many ( but - one Swallow does not a summer make :-C )

Chris
 
The only swallow species I have so far this year is our Tree Swallow, but it will not be too much longer before I get the others, namely, Barn, Cliff, Bank (aka. Sand Martin) and Northern Rough-winged. The Purple Martins should be arriving shortly also.
 
06 April, Gayton, West Cheshire

251 House Martin

08 April, Hoylake Langfields, Wirral

252 Eur. Whimbrel

Two birds in a field while I was carrying out my monthly WEBS survey.

10 April, Gilroy NP, Wirral.

253 Common Whitethroat

Hopefully, Larry, I should get a few of those in New York when I skive off from people making wedding arrangements 'n stuff later on this month :t: :t: :t:

Chris
 
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Today, Steve Kinder and I are taking a father and son (Amish folks from Chillicothe, Missouri) up to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge for a day's birding. We might see the Bank Swallows up there. I'm sure there will be Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows and perhaps some Cliff Swallow too!
 
Had a great morning out with our Amish friends, and we did get some Bank Swallows (Sand Martins, as you would call them over there) plus some other nice birds.
 

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