Best UK year for decades - how was it for you? (1 Viewer)

A bit of a pants year for me in terms of my UK birding, there has been a lot about, but just seemingly never where I've been at the time, a grand total of one new UK species this year (Long-billed Dowitcher in February) to date. It really seems like when I've been at home in Northants something interesting turns up in London and when I'm in London something interesting turned up near Northants.

Fortunately I've been to Spain, Malaysia and Singapore this year between which I racked up a substantial quantity of species including more than doubling my world total of eagles (from 4 species to 9), doubling my kites (from 2 to 4) and tripling my Kingfishers from 1 to 3. Kind of makes it easier to ignore the frustrating year back at home!

Despite my real only out of patch area UK birding this year being to Fair Isle in Spring and Autumn I have managed my best year list for quite sometime, the Isle producing some outstanding birding in my visits there.

The unquestionable highlight if the spring there was the albatross that entertained for half a day whilst the autumn gave me back the Accentor after failing to get off island for the Shetland bird, that comeback bird was one if the sweetest moments in birding I can remember.

The other autumn highlights were if 4 Pine Buntings, a couple of Lancies, a long over due tick in the form of a Pechora Pipit but it was also the less headline catching birds that made my autumn one of my best: the Beast of a male Northern Bullfinch, the Waxwings at the Obs, Shorelarks and even the Blue Tit on the Isle. The Yellow-browed Warbler frenzy that was much of the isles Super Sunday when there were birds just everywhere with a rarity being found every couple if hours it so.

But it's not been all Fair Isle as I was for once around locally when the Rares were found, I am usually away when the local area produces the goods so getting local ticks if Penduline Tit, Purple Heron and Finding a smashing Red-footed Falcon was just a fun.

I guess this year I've found some reconnection with birds I've not looked at properly for some time, such as the local Mistle Thrushes for instance.

I only need 4 additional birds to make this year the best in the 2000's and that's doable as some common winter birds are missing and I may be tempted by the Dusky Thrush.

Some great birding this year despite not twitching anything. Birds seem to eventually come to me.

wolfbirder said:

...compared to the multi-cultural melting pot of Tampere

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Recent course I was on: American, Armenian, Australian, Brazilian, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Ghanaian, Japanese, Mexican, Romanian, Russian, Spanish plus our lovely Finnish lady teacher.

Daily at work: American, Australian, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish.

Not bad for a city of 250k with 4 Universities...

Calscot59 said:

You could always come to Scotland...

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I left Scotland to come here!

Anyway...birds...a couple of FinnTicks and great local patch birding...none of your british nonsense...

McM

wolfbirder said:

I should imagine foreigners enjoy visiting Britain more than Finland, based on the proportion and numbers who settle here, compared to the multi-cultural melting pot of Tampere

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FWIW, and to counteract the hyperbole, I've enjoyed visiting both countries, although I've seen/heard almost twice as many species in Finland in half the time (which has more to do with the season and how much time I was able to spend birding), and haven't been able to visit Britain this year. So my UK country list is still stuck at around 54 birds

Farnboro John said:

I've seen 53 mammal species so that's done, [...]

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How do you manage to do that? I always struggle to see even twenty mammal species per year.

McMadd said:

Anyway...birds...a couple of FinnTicks and great local patch birding...none of your british nonsense...McM

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In a slight variation of your experience, as a Scot birding this year in Australia and enjoying the multicultural Alice Springs (over 70 nationalities taking part in the 30th Alice Springs Masters' Games, so finding accommodation was not easy), I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph well for the first time Splendid Fairy-wren. It's a species that never fails to lift my heart!
MJB

MJB said:

In a slight variation of your experience, as a Scot birding this year in Australia and enjoying the multicultural Alice Springs (over 70 nationalities taking part in the 30th Alice Springs Masters' Games, so finding accommodation was not easy), I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph well for the first time Superb Fairy-wren. It's a species that never fails to lift my heart!
MJB

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That's a Fair-l-y Wren-ching Image MJB.

I tend to measure the year in the quality of what I've seen (and found)...and more importantly the images that I may, or may not have attained. Overall it's been a great year, and one that I will certainly cherish, although I have been much chagrined by some of the birds that I was unable to go for...particularly those in the North East. :-C

From a tick perspective 2 UK life ticks (images not brilliant), Great Knot and Cliff Swallow, however overseas was much more rewarding in the image department, these were taken with a lightweight Bridge Camera (1.83 lb) and often under gloomy conditions....thus I'm very pleased with the results.

In the finding stakes...pride of place goes to the last image, albeit low on resolution (shot through double glazing), it came exactly 371 days after the last visit (which in itself was a 1st)..for the garden!! If lightning was going to strike twice then 2016 was going to be the year for the species.

MJB said:

, I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph well for the first time Superb Fairy-wren. It's a species that never fails to lift my heart!
MJB

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Indeed, but superb though it is, it is actually a Splendid Fairy-wren

Larry Sweetland said:

Indeed, but superb though it is, it is actually a Splendid Fairy-wren

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Don't know why I wrote 'Superb' when the image is titled 'Splendid'! Thank for pointing out the fingerpigs! :t:
MJB

McMadd said:

Recent course I was on: American, Armenian, Australian, Brazilian, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Ghanaian, Japanese, Mexican, Romanian, Russian, Spanish plus our lovely Finnish lady teacher.

Daily at work: American, Australian, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish.

Not bad for a city of 250k with 4 Universities...


McM

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Thats nothing...........Heath Town estate in my home town Wolverhampton (also a town of 250,000) has at least 46 different nationalities ,and not simply to attend a university. All uni's these days are extremely multi-cultural.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1420070/One-estate-46-nations.html

A true melting pot.

But its pretty much devoid of birds -

Sangahyando said:

How do you manage to do that? I always struggle to see even twenty mammal species per year.

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I'm working on a word version of my year list for this year - when its done I'll put it up on here, then you'll know! The short version would be (a) I've been mammal watching a long time and I know where to look for a lot of stuff; (b) I'm a member of my local bat group and I attend a good number of their trapping sessions through the year in places with a wide variety of species (c) I maximise use of time, so when I'm seawatching I also take note of and follow up on cetaceans and pinnipeds that pop up (d) I do get around a lot of the UK every year!

Cheers

John

Mammal year list as promised: meanwhile I have added Dusky Thrush to the bird list, reaching my target of 300 species for them as well.

John

It was a very good year for Dutch birding as well, with a maximum of eight ticks for me.
The Siberian Rubythroat must have been the most internationally twitched bird ever in the Netherlands. None of that enthousiasm for the Redhead (understandably).
The year was so exceptional that I managed to miss out on a whopping four ticks by going on a three-week holiday in April-May... I still had two, which is above average: Rock Thrush and Stilt Sandpiper, both just an hour from my home.
I also managed to see all three autumn megas: Eastern Crowned Warbler, Siberian Accentor and Dusky Thrush: with two weekday-only birds, that required some luck. I also finally saw Storm Petrel (quite a rarity along the Dutch shore).
My German local patch delivered some local rarities with two Purple Herons, Whooper Swan and weirdest of all a Common Scoter (on not much more than a puddle!)

Certainly a great year, with an exceptional run of easterly winds in the autumn. I've had 2 new British birds this year - Siberian Accentor, and Dusky Thrush. The Sibe Acc day was very memorable, one of my best ever autumn days on the east coast - Dusky and Pallas's Warblers, Firecrest, Jack Snipe, Ring Ouzel and Brambling, with winter Thrushes and Goldcrests everywhere. Good to get the opportunity to see rarities/scarcities, living in landlocked Wiltshire and having family and work commitments. Best "non-tick" UK bird this year - Great Knot in Norfolk, one of my favourite waders.
My other UK memory from this year is finally making it to the Outer Hebrides in June, and the constant backdrop there of calling and displaying waders. It was very special to see Snipe and Redshank adorning the fenceposts, with Curlew, Oystercatchers, Lapwing and Ringed Plovers on the adjoining machair - and 10 Hen Harrier flybys logged in an area where they can breed in peace.
On a world scale, breeding Waved Albatrosses on Espanola, Galapagos were amazing, so graceful in the air, but so ungainly on land.

And it's not over yet - Eastern Black Redstart yesterday at Tewkesbury.....

On a more sobering note, I've not recorded a Spotted Flycatcher in the UK this year. More rarities, and fewer "common" birds, seems to be the case.

Farnboro John said:

I'm working on a word version of my year list for this year - when its done I'll put it up on here, then you'll know! The short version would be (a) I've been mammal watching a long time and I know where to look for a lot of stuff; (b) I'm a member of my local bat group and I attend a good number of their trapping sessions through the year in places with a wide variety of species (c) I maximise use of time, so when I'm seawatching I also take note of and follow up on cetaceans and pinnipeds that pop up (d) I do get around a lot of the UK every year!

Cheers

John

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Even taking into account the difference between us in terms of experience (and in the amount of time spent seawatching. Only about six hours this year for me), I think the bats are the biggest problem. I really need to start looking for bat groups or guided tours - despite probably having seen at least ten bat species in the wild, I've never been able to ID one on my own. Which means they currently all occupy the same spot on my list :-C

Cheers

A