2017 A Pretty Good Year (1 Viewer)

[Original PaulE]

Trips to Northumberland and Yorkshire helped make 2017 a pretty good year.
7 lifers.
And didn't dip that often although a certain Green-winged Teal at Oare Marshes annoyed me a lot!!!

Anyway some Pics can be seen here

https://onedrive.live.com/?id=6356FB2BA7828F28!12207&cid=6356FB2BA7828F28

Hope everyone had a good year here's hoping 2018 is just as good

Happy New Year

Cheers

 

[Farnboro John]

Must admit I've had worse.

42 lifers and 12 mammals in Israel.

2 lifers and 2 mammals in Hungary.

1 lifer (well Brit tick): Yellow Warbler at Portland.

Lots of lesser highlights, old wildlife friends revisited, photo-ticks, fun days out with friends and acquaintances: not to mention that birders' tradition of just passing the time of day with like-minded folks and not worrying about names.

And here's to 2018: fine weather, fine birds and no dipping!

John

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

19 lifers for me but then it's a lot easier when your life list is so low. The dip list was much lower than 2016 as well.

Good luck for 2018 all.

Rich

 

[YuShan]

58 lifers in Arizona
140 lifers in Suriname
5 lifers in the UK

Happy new year to all!

 

[Trystan]

Great birding year for me.

126 Lifers (1 from Switzerland, 7 in the UK and the rest in Nepal)

My best ever UK year list (270) which included a further 14 UK lifers and my two most hoped for Yorkshire targets, Lesser spotted woodpecker and Hawfinch.

Hoping for a great 2018. Happy new year!

 

[Original PaulE]

Everyone seems to be doing better than me!!! Need to up my game in 2018!!!

 

[Farnboro John]

Everyone seems to be doing better than me!!! Need to up my game in 2018!!!

Its not a competition.... I have a close birding mate who it seems to me is always off abroad, but the other day in the car doing the Black Guillemot at Eastbourne (which gives tremendous views BTW) he was lamenting not being able to do the amount some of the other people he knows get up to!

The important thing is to wring every ounce of pleasure from the days you do go out, whether it's on your local patch, a twitch or a foreign trip: and remember the ticks rather than the dips, unless you're competing in the pub with those Yorkshiremen of the Monty Python parody.

That said, if others' successes propel you into doing more, your attitude is certainly right!

Happy New Year tomorrow

John

 

[martinboer]

Dear all,

As the year draws to a close, I am happy to have seen 273 birds this year, a wide improvement over my previous record of 230 last year. I also managed to lift my life list by 83 new species to 652.

I was fortunate to have had some work trips to foreign locales that made for some fruitful birding – including Japan, Malta, Oman and Paraguay – as well as personal travel to other cool places such as Norway and Panama.

Not sure what opportunities next year will bring. I note, especially in my own patch, that the appearance of many once common birds seem to be few and far between, and I hope that collectively we can do what we can to support our local ecosystems for all wildlife.

Happy holidays to you all and best wishes for a year of fruitful birding in 2018!

Martin
Chevy Chase, MD, USA

 

[Paul Chapman]

PaulE

In that case, I'll cheer you up then. Only 7 lifers as well.

Only a week abroad:-
4 British & Irish ticks (Red-winged Blackbird, Amur Falcon, American Redstart & Eastern Orphean Warbler)
6 British ticks (those plus Yellow Warbler & Cackling Goose)
9 WP ticks (three from those above plus six from Kuwait - White-cheeked Tern, Socotra Cormorant, Ruppell's Weaver, Hume's Whitethroat, Common Babbler & Basra Reed Warbler)

7 of those were World ticks (the six from Kuwait plus the Amur Falcon)

But 321 species per ebird & I did enjoy a bit more time with photography during the year and my favourite snaps of non-ticks attached.

All the best

Paul

 

[Helsinki Birder]

I didn't do too badly I suppose.

http://helhathnobirdies.blogspot.fi/2017/12/2017-year-in-review.html?m=1

Owen

 

[Original PaulE]

PaulE

In that case, I'll cheer you up then. Only 7 lifers as well.

Only a week abroad:-
4 British & Irish ticks (Red-winged Blackbird, Amur Falcon, American Redstart & Eastern Orphean Warbler)
6 British ticks (those plus Yellow Warbler & Cackling Goose)
9 WP ticks (three from those above plus six from Kuwait - White-cheeked Tern, Socotra Cormorant, Ruppell's Weaver, Hume's Whitethroat, Common Babbler & Basra Reed Warbler)

7 of those were World ticks (the six from Kuwait plus the Amur Falcon)

But 321 species per ebird & I did enjoy a bit more time with photography during the year and my favourite snaps of non-ticks attached.

All the best

Paul

Not cheered me up that much some great birds on your list! TBH John is right it's the amount of pleasure you get is the most important thing. I've definitely been more on the photo side this year than before and have enjoyed it immensely

 

[Farnboro John]

I didn't do too badly I suppose.

http://helhathnobirdies.blogspot.fi/2017/12/2017-year-in-review.html?m=1

Owen

Congratulations!

John

 

[Helsinki Birder]

Congratulations!

John

Thank you. I'm going to assume that was for the whole year rather than the individual aspects.

Owen

 

[Swindon Addick]

189 UK species of which 8 were lifers. Not bad for a year in which I didn't really prioritise the year list. The main highlights of the year were both non-birds - Lesser Emperor Dragonfly was both a lifer and my best ever self-found record, and otter will live long in the memory. Also another couple of butterfly species ticked off (thanks to the excellent leaders of a couple of Butterfly Conservation walks).

My effort to see Irish Damselfly was a washout, but that gives me a reason to go back, so no harm done...

 

[Paul Longland]

On the whole can't complain.

finished the year with 14 lifers, including one or two bogeys laid to rest (there are still plenty more) and a grand total of 212 species. Not bad considering I only get out on average once a month plus a full on weeks birding holiday in april/may.

On the down side there were also a couple of memorable (??) dips. Corncrake on Iona and Caper (yet again), ferruginous duck in Norfolk and again at Eyebrook reservoir (3 times!!) and a Richards pipit stand out.

Oh and also the height of frustration: hearing a Lesser Spotted Woody (my nemesis it seems) near Sherwood forest but unable to find the blighter.

I will be more than happy if I can get anywhere near that this year.