How's your 2004 year list going? (1 Viewer)

[Denis J]

People should have some sympathy for me....my wife is trying hard to break my spirit and stop me birding!!! Its not condusive to domestic harmony or at least thats her belief!! Emotional blackmail and outright threats have been used which has so far limited me to 2 full days in the field and 2 half days....i`m tearing my hair out!! Still weather permitting i`m hoping to get out again for a full day to Dumfries and Galloway and to Devon again in the next week or two!

So far only managed 129 but does include Glossy Ibis, Ferruginous Duck, Surf Scoter, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-eared Owl, American Robin & Humes Leaf Warbler.

I have the oposite problem with my wife last year I got 208 birds she got 202 she is as keen as I am. Only trouble is I wanted a pair of Leica ultravids for christmas and could not find a reason why she should not have a pair as well!
it gets damned expensive when you have to buy 2 of everything!
Seriously I am very lucky we have been married for 27 years and we still share the same interests)

 

[Gill Osborne]

That's brilliant Denis....Neil likes to come birding with me as he finds it really relaxing and enjoys seeing wildlife of all sorts but he's not like me in that he HAS to put a name to everything...he's content to just see the things! Poor chap put up with two and a half hours in the freezing winds at St Mary's today whilst I looked for the Black Redstart and chatted away to other birders...even though I told him to get off home and I'd get the bus when I was finished...usually sometime about duskish!!!

GILL

 

[HH75]

Hi Gill,
Duskish Warbler,perhaps?
Understand what you mean about putting a name to everything: try looking through a few hundred large gulls(the odd time that one gets the chance these days)....
Harry H

 

[Gill Osborne]

Hi Harry,
Duskish Warbler...I WISH!!!!!! :-O

Unfortunately(for my OH's stomach!)I tend to lose ALL sense of time when I'm out in the field...especially in the summer months when I'll often be going through the terns and stuff on the rocks at St Mary's and only really stop when I realise that it's nearly dark and I can't actually see anything except black outlines in front of me!!! That's when I think "Whoops, better head home and do Neil's dinner!".....only to be distracted by bats and stoats in the undergrowth around the Wetlands!!!!! The times poor Neil has had to ring me on the mobile!!! Well,serves him right.....he should flog his hi-fi,buy himself a scope & bins and join me!!! LOL

GILL

 

[StevieEvans]

SW Scotland

Added NO year Ticks (nor any Owls) on Sunday........!
Set off at 05:15 to get to Caerlaverock for 1st light. (07:15)
SPECTACULAR.
7000 Barnacle Geese on the reserve.
Saw the 3 'small' Canadas.
A drive around the fells at Laurieston & then on to Loch Ken with its greenland Whitefronts & picture postcard scenery.
This was a perfect birding day with excellent weather & good company.
I had a list of Birds we had hoped to locate, but these went by the wayside, as we thoroughly enjoyed whatever came along.
(had expected Kite, RLPartridge, Scaup, HHarrier)
This perfect day realy put 'birding' into perspective............
S

 

[LSB]

hi all,
im on 87 for year so far been mostly sticking to my local patch.BUT i did go and twitch smew and american wigeon for the year the other day(old habbits die hard)

 

[Gill Osborne]

Ok Steviewol, you've made my mind up for me!!! Despite cash being a teensy bit tight at the mo I'm going to pay a visit to the folks at the Natural History Society of Northumbria at the Hancock museum tomorrow....was just looking at their website last night and saw that they are doing a trip to Caerlaverock in three weeks time and on Saturday 6th March they're doing a trip to Loch Ken,Laurieston Forest & Mersehead. Hopefully they'll still have a few places going so I'll book up tomorrow...there's half a dozen lifers on your list there for me!!!

GILL

 

[Larry Lade]

Great Bird for Year Bird #90

Birding my regular route this morning during a light snow fall I observed my 90th bird of the year. I was watching some feeder birds south of Saint Joseph, Missouri. All of a sudden a "largeish" gray,black and white bird swished through my field of vision. It landed in a red cedar tree, sat there for a few seconds and then flew to a bush in a yard some 50 meters to the north. From there it flew off again, not to be seen again. It was a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER! A common bird in the western US but there have only been a handful of sightings in Missouri. I don't know if anyone else here will be able to see it because I covered the general area for a couple more hours and never could relocated it. Needless to say, it was a new bird for my Missouri List.:bounce:

 

[Michael Frankis]

..... It was a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER! ....

Now there's a good one! Guess there's been a Whitebark Pine cone crop failure out west, ties in nicely with Crispycreme's finding one in the AZ desert last month.

To relocate it, check any nearby parks or gardens with large conifers in.

Michael

 

[Larry Lade]

Michael, I had forgotten about Crispycreme's sighting awhile back. Maybe there was a pine cone failure out west. I have not heard of too many other reports here in the midwest though. But then again I have not been checking the other nearby state's listserves. I will be trying some the areas parks with large conifers. Thanks.

 

[StevieEvans]

Re-count...

'mist' two off......
Stonechat & Green Sandpiper
Total 140.

 

[Motmot]

98 so far in Majorca. Best stuff Brambling (rare here), Audouin's G., Great Egret, Red-crested Pochard, Booted Eagle, Red Kite, Merlin (rare here), Purple Swamp-Hen, Red-knobbed Coot (reintroduced last month at Albufera), Crane, Jack Snipe, Thekla Lark, Serin, Fieldfare (scarce here).
Still looking for Black Vulture... and a few more not found yet.

 

[Andrew]

Added two more, I was actually hoping for Jack Snipe and Woodcock but failed on them. The Woodcock would have been a lifer.

144 - Common Eider
145 - Black Redstart

 

[jada dulo]

29th of January and I'm well and truly stuck on 95 species !! I think my hopes of breaking the century by end of Jan. are now doomed to failure . But with 10 visit's to my local patch , 3 visit's to Belvide Res , 1 visit to Brown Clee , 1 visit to Wood Lane , 1 visit to Brim Pool , 2 visits to Priorslee lake and finally a day out to Porthmadog !!! I think it can be said I gave 100% effort ? Oh well , focus on beating last year's list now .

Bird's I have missed so far or failed to get ...
Bittern , Water Rail , Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Stonechat at Venus Pool .
Great Grey Shrike , Snow Bunting and Goshawk at Brown Clee .
Black-tailed Godwit at Wood Lane .
Iceland Gull and Glaucous Gull at Priorslee Lake .
Dunlin and Merlin at Belvide Reservoir .

Plus I have searched franticly for Green Woodpecker and Grey Partridge without any success .... yet !!

I had a chance of Waxwing at Wolverhampton the other day but I didn't go for them ....

Possible 15 bird's there ... but hey ! , if we all got ALL the bird's we went for ..... where would the fun be in that , eh ? ..

 

[deboo]

.. but hey ! , if we all got ALL the bird's we went for ..... where would the fun be in that , eh ? ..

Exactly,you hit the nail right between the horns there!

Dave.

 

[Andrew]

. . . I had a chance of Waxwing at Wolverhampton the other day but I didn't go for them . . . .

Got them at Fordhouses last Saturday :t:

Just added one more . . .

146 - Water Pipit

 

[Reader]

I have been visiting relatives in Essex for a few days and did a few hours birding on Tuesday and came back to the midlands via Suffolk on Wednesday. Added 12 birds to the list.

Iceland Gull
L.E Owl
Y L Gull
Fulmar
Black tailed godwit
Bar tailed Godwit
Avocet
Turnstone
Shag
Dartford Warbler
White fronted Goose
Brent Geese

That pushes me onto 120. I can't see me moving from that in January as I have no plans to go anywhere this weekend, unless a Green Woodpecker makes a sudden appearance in my garden.

Didn't enjoy the journey home though. It took me nearly 8 hrs to do a journey that normally takes me under 3 hours.

 

[deboo]

.

Didn't enjoy the journey home though. It took me nearly 8 hrs to do a journey that normally takes me under 3 hours.

With the weather as it is, I'm hoping for an Iceland Gull in my garden!
I cannot believe the number of folks on Birdforum who have got LEO on their lists............I still ain't seen one EVER!
Boo Hoo
Dave.

 

[jada dulo]

Green Woodpecker is really annoying me too in 2004 , so far . Cant find one anywhere , usually I hardly glance at them they are that regular around where I live ... nah ! got to accept fact's , I'm waltzing into February on 95 species !! .... Unless a kindly Barn Owl would glide into view of my headlight's on the way home .

 

[StevieEvans]

Hi Andrew
I cant understand How its possible to see 146 different species in the first month of the year & to have 'never' 'ever' seen a common breeding & wintering species like Woodcock.......as you said earlier "bizarre!"

Or are they not so common in Devon?

Regards Stevie.