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

Lazza's 2014 lists (1 Viewer)

Had low expectations of a ride back from Whitley Bay via St Mary's in dull weather, but was pleasantly surprised to have at least 2 (possibly 3) reeling

119. Grasshopper Warbler

at St Mary's wetland. The tide was very high so few waders about (although a large gethering of Sanderling and Turnstone) but out to sea, a couple of

120. Guillemot

were seen, as well as a few feeding (but unidentified) tern.
 
A trip to Reading and London for work, managing to fit in an hour at Burnthouse Lane Gravel Pit in Berkshire, a couple of hours at sunset at Richmond Park, and an hour and a half after a meeting at London Wetland Centre.... which altogether moved my UK list on by 11 species!

121. Red kite - seen over the M4 at the Reading turn-off

Then at Burnthouse Lane GP:

122. Common whitethroat
123. Greenshank

The evening walk around Richmod park was a revelation. I've never visited it before and was amazed to see such a huge, wide open wild space in so close to the centre of London. And I added a few more to the UK list:

124. Manadarin duck
125. Green woodpecker (not seen, but 3 or 4 heard)
126. Common tern

Then, today, after an early meeting, I had a couple of hours to kill before my flight home, so called in to London Wetland Centre, adding 5 more species, including a new one for the UK:

127. Cetti's warbler - new for the UK - several heard, but not seen
128. Garden warbler
129. Little ringed plover
130. Reed warbler
131. Common swift

Also moved the animal lists on a little. Presumably can't count the red deer and fallow deer in Richmond Park, but can count the fox [9] and the common toad {3} at LWC
 
A weekend in the North West with family, included a day out at Rufford Old Hall. A surprise addition to the list came in the form of a

132. Sedge warbler

singing and calling from reeds along the Liverpool-Leeds canal (and doing some good blackbird and goldfinch impressions to boot!)
 
A quick call in at Bothal pond this morning added another to the UK list:

133. Common sandpiper

(also seen a year ago to the day in the same corner of the same pond!)

Also, my first swifts up here this year, which was nice to see.

And last night, I added a 4th amphibian to my year list, as the palmate newt {4} have returned to our pond.
 
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A big leap forward last week!

Had a work trip to Norway and Finland, and managed to squeeze in a couple of short outings. So, a whole new country list added (as both previous trips to Finland were in mid-winter and devoid of any birdlife at all!) and, amazingly, 4 lifers added!!!!

First up, I was in Norway for a day, with a visit to a customer near the Swedish border in southern Norway. A few incidental sightings were complemented by an hour spent at a site I've been to a couple of times, in Fetsund, near Lillestrøm, while heading back to the airport. The full list for the day was as follows:

At Gardermoen airport:
1. Hooded crow
2. Magpie

From the motorway near Moss:
3. Herring gull
4. Mute swan (new for Norway)
5. Black-headed gull
6. Lesser blackback gull

In Halden:
7. Woodpigeon
8. White wagtail
9. Barn swallow (new for Norway)
10. Greenfinch
11. Common gull
12. Tree sparrow (new for Norway)

Heading back north via the minor roads, I stopped off just north of Rakkestad, adding:
13. Chaffinch
14. Goldcrest (new for Norway)
15. Blue tit
16. Fieldfare

And then, finally, in just over an hour at Fetsund:
17. Willow warbler (new for Norway)
18. Great tit
19. Meadow pipit
20. Red-breasted merganser (new for Norway)
21. Sand martin (new for Norway)
22. Chiffchaff (new for Norway)
23. Reed bunting
24. Lesser spotted woodpecker* - a lifer
25. Yellowhammer
26. Common sandpiper (new for Norway)
27. Blackcap (new for Norway)
28. Starling (new for Norway)
29. Common tern (new for Norway)
30. Oystercatcher (new for Norway)
31. Redwing

So, 31 species, 13 additions to the Norway life list (taking it to 52), of which 1* is not on a previous/higher list.
 
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A late flight over to Finland and a night at Helsinki airport, followed by more customer meetings. But an early start allowed me about and hour and a half at Viikki Nature Reserve just to the north east of Helsinki.

And what a fabulous place! A superb mix of read beds, open water, woodland and farmland, attracting dozens of species in good numbers.

First species, added at Helsinki Vantaa airport were:
1. White wagtail
2. Fieldfare
3. Common gull
4. Black-headed gull

Then, at Viikki NR:
5. Herring gull
6. Redwing
7. Chiffchaff
8. Willow warbler
9. Chaffinch
10. Great tit
11. Goosander
12. Mallard
13. Hooded crow
14. Blackbird
15. Blue tit
16. Common snipe
17. Garganey - a lifer (at the time, but seena week later in the UK!)
18. Reed bunting
19. Reed warbler
20. Redstart (very close views indeed of a stunning male hopping from one post to the next about 15ft ahead of me!)
21. Great spotted woodpecker
22. Barn swallow
23. Lapwing
24. Robin
25. Ringed plover (lots!)
26. Spotted redshank* (in fab summer plumage)
27. Ruff* (also in amazing summer garb!)
28. Blackcap
29. Moorhen
30. Starling
31. Wigeon
32. Tufted duck
33. Teal
34. Grey heron
35. Wood sandpiper
36. Common tern
37. Caspian tern* - a lifer
38. Barnacle goose*
39. Skylark
40. Sedge warbler
41. Greenfinch
42. Lesser whitethroat - a lifer (at the time, but seen 2 weeks later in the UK!)

Wow!

My trip finished off with a couple of meetings, and the journeys between them also added:

At Lehitsaari (west of Helsinki):
43. Canada goose
44. Magpie

And at Kerava, about 40 minutes north:
45. House sparrow
46. Jackdaw

So, a stunning 46 species, all new for Finland(!), including 3 lifers, of which 4* not on any earlier/higher list!
 
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Finally, good to see the arrival of

134. House martin

in the housing estate here. Much later than usual for some reason.

Wonder if I can also add the black swan I saw at Bothal today?!
 
Out on my bike on Saturday, with a ride from Druridge Pools up to Alnmouth and back. Plenty to see, and my list ticked along nicely:

Firstly, at Druridge Pools, my first

135. Northern Wheatear

of the year. Several seen through the day along the dunes between Druridge and Amble.

Next, at Amble Braid:

136. Whimbrel

- a single bird on the mudflats, with a curlew nearby to help with ID!

And finally, a final stop off at Cresswell Pond:

137. Garganey - new for the UK list!

So, having added Garganey to my life list only 2 weeks ago in Finland, I see my first in the UK!

Then, on Sunday, a trip to Cresswell beach with my girls, added:

138. Sandwich tern

15-20 were fishing out in the bay as the tide came in.
 
More progress over the long bank holiday weekend while away camping near Filey in North Yorkshire, with three birds added to the UK list, all of which were new for the UK, and one of which was a lifer :)

139. Corn bunting - new for the UK
140. Lesser whitethroat - new for the UK (and coming only a couple of weeks after my first one, in Finland)

And the highlight:

141. Quail - this year's 13th lifer
 
One more for the mammal list - hedgehog [10] seen on the housing estate this weekend.
 
A lunchtime trip to Cresswell pond added four more to the list, including two of the four scarcer targets....

The first two:
142. Black-tailed godwit
143. Little egret

both seen as soon as I arrived, and then eventually making an appearance were:
144. Little gull
145. Bearded tit - my 1st in Northumberland
 
A pleasant afternoon amble along the coast from Craster to the Ship Inn - in very mixed weather, including heavy downpours and glorious sunshine - was good for seeing lots of the typical coastline species (mipits, skylark, reed bunting, stonechat), and although the sea was mostly fairly quiet, it was nice to see a few species on the cliffs and water in the lee of Dunstanburgh Castle, including Guillmeot, Eider, Lesser Black-backed gull, Sandwich tern, and

146. Kittiwake

....somehow still missing from this year's list.
 
Had a few days in Switzerland this week with work, very full with meetings. On my first evening, before the storms arrived, I managed to add:

36. Common tern

...from my hotel room in Montruex!

And still managed an evening out birding. After checking ornitho.ch, I decided my target species was crag martin, which had been seen at several sites in the Valais region (where my work's offices are). So I set off to a small town called Bagnes, on the way up to Verbier, where I had an hour wandering the streets and down by the river. And....mission accomplished, as 8-10 Crag Martin seen immediately on parking up, and watched for 20 minutes returning to their nexts on the roof beams of one of the large chalets! Three other species new for Switzerland also added.

37. Common swift
38. Crag martin* - new for Switzerland
39. House martin
40. Greenfinch
41. Dipper
42. Willow tit* - new for Switzerland
43. Nuthatch
44. Fieldfare - new for Switzerland
45. Coal tit
46. Firecrest* - new for Switzerland

* of which three species not on any earlier/higher list
 
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Interestingly, I also had a brief trip over into Italy, via the Great Saint Bernard pass (WOW!) where I had my tea in a small village called St Rhemy en Bosses. As my earlier visits to Italy were before I began country lists, my Italy list previously amounted to a single species (black grouse!!), so even though it was a short trip, and the sun had set by the time I arrived, I added 8 species to my Italy list!! For the record:

1. White wagtail
2. Grey wagtail
3. Blackbird
4. Yellowhammer
5. Chaffinch
6. Chiffchaff
7. House sparrow!
8. House martin

no species not already listed in 2014.
 
A week in France with work, with little chance to do any birding, but still managed to add a couple of new species for the country list....and a lifer!!!

Firstly, on the way to our hotel, passing near Meximieux:

11. Little egret
12. Mute swan

...on a lake by the main road.

Then, that evening, in the centre of Lyon, dozens of:

13. Common swift

We stayed in some log cabins on the edge of a small village called Chazey sur Ain, and I got a big surprise the first morning as I looked out of my window at the pine trees around the site. Feeding in the branches were two:

14. Crested tit* - a lifer, and also the 200th species for the year (more than 2 months earlier than last year)!!

And further explorations of the site for 10 minutes before breakfast added:

15. Woodpigeon
16. Black redstart
17. Chiffchaff
18. Chaffinch

On two days, we had lunch off site, in a small village called Saint Jean de Niost, adding:

19. Garden warbler - two or three singing almost constantly!
20. Goldcrest
21. Barn swallow - new for France!
22. Collared dove - new for France!

And, when passing through a nearby town (Amberieu sur Bugey):

23. House martin

Finally, had a stop off in Paris for a meeting, where a short walk along the Seine added:

24. Mallard
25. Feral pigeon
26. Blue tit
27. Grey wagtail (2 juveniles feeding on the river's edge) - new for France.

* of which one species not on any previous list
 
Drove home from a meeting in Manchester via Teesdale earlier this week, with grouse in mind! And partly succeeded, as I managed to add:

147. Black grouse

Also, was delighted to have brief sightings of a male

148. Hen harrier

which set the curlews and lapwings off into a right paddy!

Both species are in fact new for me in the UK having seen black grouse only in Italy(!) previously, and hen harriers only in Spain and Denmark (and this was also my first male!), thus taking both my UK life list and year list on to 202
 
Not much chance to go out anywhere in the last week or so, but managed a ride out to Druridge and Cresswell on Sunday, and managed to catch up with one of my targets at Cresswell Pond:

149. Spoonbill
 
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Cycled out to Castle Island on the River Wansbeck at lunch time today, where there was a single

150. Green sandpiper

So, the UK 150 up by mid-July :) .......12 to go to beat last year's UK total!
 
As expected at this time of year, slow progress on the list...

A visit to Cresswell Pond at the end of July in the hope of seeing some of the rarer waders was unsuccessful, but I did add

151. Yellow wagtail

- several juveniles and a couple of adults flycatching on the mudflats in front of the hide.

Then, this weekend, had a cycle up the Coquet Valley from Rothbury to Chew Green (and back over Otterburn ranges), adding:

152. Whinchat
153. Raven - my first in Northumberland!
 
Missed an update from early August, as I was rushing off on holiday. I had a short visit out to Cresswell pond the evening of 6 August, where I managed to add two species for the year, including a nice vagrant:

154. Stilt sandpiper - showing very well in front of the hide
155. Ruff
 

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