Biking Birder 2015 - A cycle ride to every RSPB and WWT reserve. (4 Viewers)

[Phil Andrews]

Clearly I am biased but I couldn't agree more Stuart. Not only the endurance and physical effort of pursuing this all year but also the minimal financial outlay. Gary has been funding this year purely from his pension; indeed when he has offered free food / accommodation he has insisted contributing an equivalent value to charity.

If you haven't already done so please visit his Just Giving page (will re-post the links this evening).

Please see below links - Gary is supporting 4 charities this year:

Asthma UK - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gary-prescott2

Wildfowl & Wetland Trust - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gary-prescott4

RSPB - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gary-prescott3

The Chaskawasi orphanage in Peru - http://www.chaskawasi-manu.org/en/donation-for-chaskawasi-manu-project/

Whilst I am sure people are donating in other ways, including cash along Gary's journey, the total committed of just over £2,100 via Just Giving is a pitiful amount. If you have followed Gary's Big Year or even just dipped in and out of his adventures please consider making a donation to these worthwhile causes.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Gary arrived back on Shetland Mainland this morning after a week on Fair Isle that added five new species. He will leave for Kirkwall tomorrow evening, arriving in North Ronaldsay on Friday (he may have a sneaky peak at the Deerness Sib Acc whilst he is on Orkney Mainland). He will spend a week on North Ron - principle target being the Northern Harrier - arriving in Aberdeen early on the morning of Sunday 4th November.

Based on current knowledge / birds it will then be down the east coast via the Northumberland Baird's Sand and the Lincs Swamphen, hopefully with one of the Yorkshire Hume's YBW also sticking. He will be ready to strike to the coast for a seawatch as soon as any Little Auk movement is detected. The last couple of weeks of the year will depend if there is anything in Norfolk eg wintering Pallid Harrier with a view to being back at his parents in the West Mids for Christmas with the final bird likely to be roosting Iceland Gull at either Chasewater or Bartley Reservoir.

 

[Periwinkle]

Surely better to spend another week in Shetland? Good birds still being found every day.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Surely better to spend another week in Shetland? Good birds still being found every day.

We can discuss this over a poppadom tonight Tom!

Gary's choice rather than my advice - he has a real affinity with North Ron and this year is as much about being a great birding experience as it is racking up the species. We shall see by the end of next week whether it was the right move! Northern Harrier, Iceland Gull and Little Auk all good possibilities with perhaps a late skua?

 

[Phil Andrews]

Gary's final day on Shetland today was rounded off nicely with an Arctic Redpoll (Coue's) along the Burn of Sound in Lerwick - BOU #310, AERC #308.

Tomorrow will be spent checking out the Deerness Sibe Acc before the Friday morning boat to North Ronaldsay.

 

[biking birder 2010]

:t::t::t::t::t: Can I take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to all of you on these pages for the immense support I have received from you? Your comments of support and congratulations have been so important to me. I especially want to thank Phil Andrews, The Oracle.
Just over two months to go, I would love to raise the bar to around 320.
Thank you so much everyone.
Gary :king:

 

[Paul Higson]

Can we have an up to date checklist and we will see what needs to be found.

Get that Northern Harrier would be my first suggestion !!

 

[Phil Andrews]

Can we have an up to date checklist and we will see what needs to be found.

Get that Northern Harrier would be my first suggestion !!

Please see attached Paul - Northern Harrier, Pomarine Skua, Little Auk and Iceland Gull would be the most obvious additions whilst on North Ron.

Due to bad weather the ferry was delayed from Friday until yesterday lunchtime, meaning Gary missed the 19 Poms off the north end of the island on Saturday morning :-C

 

[Paul Higson]

Thanks for that - hopefully a bit left to come out to sea. Was a Little Auk off Papa Westray yesterday so there should be more.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Get that Northern Harrier would be my first suggestion !!

Northern Harrier safely secured first thing this morning just for Paul (BOU #311, AERC #309).

Now trying to persuade Gary to drag himself away from the flocks of wildfowl and get sea-watching!

 

[Paul Higson]

Yowser, Yowser, Yowser !!!

 

[Phil Andrews]

Yowser, Yowser, Yowser !!!

Yowser indeed with Little Auk just secured by Gary as well (BOU #312, AERC #310*). Good passage of Sooty Shears this morning (90+ yesterday) so hopefully Pom Skua will follow.

* have yet to check that Northern Harrier is recognised by AERC

 

[Phil Andrews]

Yowser indeed with Little Auk just secured by Gary as well (BOU #312, AERC #310*). Good passage of Sooty Shears this morning (90+ yesterday) so hopefully Pom Skua will follow.

* have yet to check that Northern Harrier is recognised by AERC

No sooner have I finished typing the above that I get a text from Gary to say he has just had 4 Pomarine Skua passed! (BOU #313, AERC #311). Not bad getting three years ticks in 90 minutes having already been on 310 for the year!

 

[Phil Andrews]

Northern and Hen Harriers not recognised as distinct species by AERC - totals revised to BOU 313, AERC 310.

 

[dantheman]

Y, Y, Y ???

 

[Phil Andrews]

All the above has just been blown out of the water with a FEA'S PETREL off the north end of North Ron - 4 additions in under two hours (BOU #314, AERC #311).

 

[Paul Higson]

Thanks for that - hopefully a bit left to come out to sea. Was a Little Auk off Papa Westray yesterday so there should be more.

Didn't expect the Feas though !! :t:

 

[Nutcracker]

What's the counting rules for superspecies here? Obviously it's a new species for the tour, but was it definitely Fea's, rather than Zino's? And what do AERC do with the Fea's / Desertas split? (split by IOC, but not by BOURC)

 

[Phil Andrews]

Same to be true of the vast majority of Fea's / Zino's sightings.

Desertas not recognised by AERC

 

[Nutcracker]

Same to be true of the vast majority of Fea's / Zino's sightings.

That's the problem - they're not included in the Fea's total (6; all seen on pelagics) in the BBRC reports but have a separate Zino's/Fea's entry (58 to 2015). What's the rules on ticking the latter? Obviously it doesn't matter for a personal list (like mine!), but it does for a 'public' list like this one.