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Birding targets for 2015 (1 Viewer)

My Targets for Uganda

Iam targeting to find 10 new birds in Kidepo National Park. This a place that we have not birded well for a long time due to the hostilities that were around the area It is now becoming a popular spot and I will be leading a group of local birders in Feb.

My other target this year is 5 species from Semliki Forest. This forest is the Eastern End Limit of the Ituri forest.
 
I'm hoping to get to Tarifa in late March for the raptor migration and with Namibia & the Caprivi though to Victria Falls plus one other week pencilled in for September I hope to get to 400 this year. I managed to crack 300 in 2013 and now have a scope to see those birds further out, so its possible.
Locally, I would like get the elusive (for me) Hobby and Stock Dove, which I've yet to see.
 
My goals for this year are to have a good first year in birding, establish a vibrant feeder area (I've already built my own feeder!), and to identify as many owl species in the US as I can. I have a work related trip planned to Colorado in March, an unplanned anniversary trip with the wife (it's usually a camping trip to a state park), and if the stars align I may be going to Australia for two months this coming summer for work! That would be a great opportunity to see unique bird species! I hope everyone has an enjoyable 2015!
 
My goals are the same as last year , get out as much as I can. I'm 2 away from 300 UK birds as of today so that will be a bonus if I can break the 300 mark. But mostly I will be happy if I can look back at the end of the year and say I got out a lot and enjoyed my hobby.
 
I'd like to try and knock off at least 10 of my 44 remaining British species to see/photograph - crossbill, honey buzzard, pied flycatcher, wood warbler, lesser whitethroat, bean goose, caspian gull, any of the skuas and wryneck are probably some the more likely ones without any specific pelagics/trips to Scotland planned at this point.

A nice trip abroad to easily wrack up some lifers without too much effort would be nice too.
 
Am limited due to family, last year got 212 in Uk which included a trip to Scotland. Going for 200 again and hopefully get rid of some very obvious omissions of my list. Also have a 5 day trip to Morocco in March planned which I am really looking forward to as not been birding abroad for a few years now.
 
2015 will be my first full year of birding so my target is just to go out once a week and see whatever I can see in my local patch and familiarise myself with it.
 
I am going for three species that are on a brink of dying out in Estonia. Spotted Eagle (maybe 1-5 pairs left), Willow Ptarmigan (only one known bog left) and Green Woodpecker (10ish pairs on Saaremaa island).
 
I refuse to tempt fate. Every time I have a particular species for a target it migrates (if non-migratory) to avoid me. (Bloody King Vultures, Sodding Stone Curlew, etc, etc).
 
Peter C. said:
Just to get out of the country at all, is the current goal ... new birds will (almost inevitably) follow.
Click to expand...

Okay, now that the vacation in Colombia is officially a "go" I have some more specific ones - Santa Marta Warbler, Santa Marta Tapaculo, Santa Marta Mountain-tanager ... a few others, but just those would be nice. |;|
 
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Just to go out birding again with the interest that I had last year. I wouldn't say I'm a hardcore birder and my birding interests have been in and out the last few years so I hope I hope I'll be passionate again this year.

I really want to learn some more songs and have practice in identifying shorebirds and gulls because thats where my identification weaknesses lie. Hopefully I'll get a few lifers.
 
peter.jones said:
I have a couple of targets for the year:

1. First is well overdue, and is to see 100 species in a day in UK, (without twitching to make it a little harder). I'm surprised I've never managed it before to be honest. Looking thru my records I've seen 87 on a couple of occasions. So, towards the end of April / early May I'll go out with the sole intention of racking up numbers, and putting this to bed. I should also attempt this within a 20 mile radius of my house, but this shouldn't be too much of a handicap as it includes all the likely target areas, Coast, Keyhaven, Newforest, Farmland etc.

2. I hope to eventually (not in 2015!) see all European "regular" species, (again without twitching to make it a little harder). I have a week in Lapland that should edge me 3 species closer all being well. (2 of which have currently been present in the UK in the last week!)

3. I have a fantasy target of reintroducing Tree Sparrows to Hampshire via a daisy chain of strategically placed bird feeders! but the closest colony I have found in Wiltshire is still 10 miles from the border, so can't afford the required bird food and feeders!

Rest of my time is spent hoping to find something good, and maybe making more use of my trail-cam, and bat detector.
Click to expand...

So how is everyone's targets progressing?!

My no.1 above has just been achieved, with 105 yesterday. All within 20 miles of home, and no twitching involved (although the Spoonbills were at Pennington, and are included in my total).

My route: I started with a Woodcock and Tawny Owl near home.
Headed North for Farmland birds,
New Forest,
Blashford,
Keyhaven, which was devoid of Waders quite startlingly! and had me on 99 but barely able to walk!
So hobbled onto the beach at Hurst and let the remaining birds come to me.

Great fun!
 
Andy Hurley said:
I'm hoping to get to Tarifa in late March for the raptor migration and with Namibia & the Caprivi though to Victria Falls plus one other week pencilled in for September I hope to get to 400 this year. I managed to crack 300 in 2013 and now have a scope to see those birds further out, so its possible.
Locally, I would like get the elusive (for me) Hobby and Stock Dove, which I've yet to see.
Click to expand...

I got the Stock Dove and also Ring Ouzel, Long Eared Owl and Red Backed Shrike. 4 lifers in Germany so far, 12 in Spain. My 2015 list is on 174 and climbing so the 400 should be easily doable.
 
Farnboro John said:
Move my British Isles photographed list closer to 400 (don't think it will actually get there this year with about 20 to go.)

At least one British Isles tick (preferably something non-controversial!)

The rest of my targets are in other classes, principally Mammalia and Insecta.

John
Click to expand...

Three British Isles ticks so far (Great Blue Heron, Hudsonian Godwit and Citril Finch, with no controversy about any of them I think) with fingers crossed for another tomorrow (Moltoni's Warbler please be there!)

Photograph list is up to 388, 12 to go and not half the year gone yet, so it is certainly turning into a vintage year already.

John
 
ovenbird43 said:
Tentatively planning a trek up into Canada for Boreal Owl, last of the ABA area owls for me. Also would like to pick up Purple Sandpiper this winter.

Might be visiting Puerto Rico and Brazil for meetings/workshops, but until I know for sure and know how much free time I'll have I'm trying not to get too excited about target species in those places.

Also seriously thinking about a trip to see Kirtland's Warbler in late May or June.
Click to expand...

Well so far a big fail on all counts! Puerto Rico and Brazil aren't happening, didn't go for Boreal Owl in late winter/early spring as planned, didn't go for Purple Sandpiper, and my summer is filling up with work travel that will likely not leave time for a trip to see Kirtland's Warbler.

But a last-minute work trip to the UK netted me quite a few good lifers, Red Grouse, Little Owl, Brambling, Golden Plover among others.

New goals: Leach's Storm-petrel and maybe Manx Shearwater when I visit Maine for a conference this August. Still time to try for Purple Sandpiper next winter, there's a place on Lake Ontario an hour from my home where they regularly appear in late fall. Also some chance I can work out a pelagic from Cape Hatteras this fall, I'm going to Virginia in September for a meeting, maybe I can take a few extra days to head further south for a pelagic before returning home. Haven't done much pelagic birding on the east coast.

Otherwise I'm just happy to be enjoying my first spring in New York, netting lots of eastern warblers for my state list, some of which I hadn't seen in years, having moved out to Arkansas and then Arizona.
 
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I didn't end up searching for Sedge Wren on my Tawas trip...there had been no reports yet at Tuttle, the weather was horrible, and overall birding had been super slow on the day I had time to do so. Hopefully get time later this summer???

Otherwise my next target is Prairie Warbler, and beyond that I don't expect to get much in the way of lifers/ABA birds until I move to the NYC area.
 
dandsblair said:
Sarah

Yellow-headed Picathartes (Ghana)
Whitehead's Trogon (Borneo)
Great Argus

David

Akun Eagle Owl
Bornean Bristlehead
Banded Pitta (or any new Pitta at Rainforest Lodge)
Click to expand...

Sarah got her Yellow-headed Picathartes, great views of wonderful birds.
I missed Akun Eagle Owl (heard only) but some compensation in the form of both Greyish and Fraser's Eagle Owls which were seen well and lifers for us both.

Roll-on September for Borneo targets
 
ovenbird43 said:
But a last-minute work trip to the UK netted me quite a few good lifers, Red Grouse, Little Owl, Brambling, Golden Plover among others.
Click to expand...
How on earth did you manage Brambling?? They've been as rare as hen's teeth in Britain this last winter, one of the poorest winters for them ever!
 
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