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

Rylirk's 2019 list (1 Viewer)

13/7/2019 - Badshot Lea, UK

Well, the rest of June and the first half of July in Lubbock were a total write-off! No birds to be found in the Texan summer, apparently...

Back in the UK for a couple of weeks for another wedding and a graduation ceremony. Went to Tice's Meadow to look for LRPs and a common scoter that has been around. Dipped both but got one for the list:

355. Common Sandpiper
 
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20/7/2019 - Titchfield, UK

Took the weekend to go and visit my favourite sites from when I was based back in Southampton. Plenty of birds about, but July continues to be a dry month for year ticks.

356. Green Sandpiper
 
21/7/2019 - Lymington, UK

Down to Pennington Marshes today; seems like a lot of notable birds have been passing through lately, so I was hoping for a few more year ticks! Fairly successful for a change; eiders were absolutely everywhere, and was very nice to see 2 spotted redshanks in summer plumage.

357. Common Eider
358. Little Tern
359. Spotted Redshank



Summary for July:

5 year ticks
0 lifers (first month in my birding career with no lifers)
 
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1/8/2019 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Back in Texas. Too late to stave off my first ever liferless month, but good to get a new bird after a 50+ day dry spell! Thanks to the eBird reporter of this bird who, after some emails and text messages, let me come see the bird in her back yard :D

360. * Rufous Hummingbird
 
17/8/2019 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Birding Lubbock in summer continues to be a grind... nothing of interest has been reported for months, and its boiling hot every day. Ah well, still going out when I can in case I find anything interesting. One more for the year list today from Yellow House Canyon:

361. Lesser Goldfinch
 
18/8/2019 - near Abernathy, TX, USA

At last! Some Autumn migration! Up early morning to Uber to a Playa lake ~5 miles east of Abernathy to chase up on a report of (amongst other things) Virginia Rail, Western Sandpiper and Black Tern. Only heard the rails and no sign of the Western sandpipers, but got a couple of bonus birds too. Black Tern has long been my biggest bogey bird; there were a couple of months last year when I would go out to Hill Head (Hampshire, UK) every week to try and find them! So I'm glad to finally get them on the life list!

362. Least Tern
363. * Black Tern
364. * Upland Sandpiper
 
21/8/2019 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Another trip to one of the seasonal playas after work. Many assorted sandpipers present, two new ones for the list (and a lifer!):

365. Short-Billed Dowitcher
366. * Western Sandpiper
 
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Back from a short trip to California, so now I can finally update this with what I found...

23/8/2019 - Mountain View & San Francisco, CA, USA

Quick trip to visit a friend back from my undergraduate years at Southampton. Birding wasn't the aim of the trip, but my non-birder friend may have had to put up with a little more birding than he'd expected ;)

First some California commons from near the house in Mountain View:

367. California Towhee
368. California Scrub Jay
369. Western Gull

Then we headed into San Francisco for the day. Walked from the station up to Pier 39 and got a few more for the list, including the first lifers of the trip:

370. Heermann's Gull
371. * Red-Masked Parakeet
372. Brandt's Cormorant
373. * Western Grebe

Then onto a boat for a whale-watching tour. Had hoped for a few pelagic birds, and did indeed get a few, but the sea was extremely rough and the trip was generally a bit of a washout...

374. * Pelagic Cormorant
375. * Sooty Shearwater
376. * Elegant Tern
377. Caspian Tern
 
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24/8/2019 - California, USA

Travelled around a lot today, so the birds on the life list are from various locations. First stop was at Sempervirens Point near the edge of the Big Basin Redwood Forest:

378. Acorn Woodpecker
379. Band-Tailed Pigeon
380. * California Quail

Then onto Big Basin Forest proper. On a birding front, this place did not disappoint! The woodpecker in particular has been on my wishlist for quite some time now. I could have easily spent days here...

381. * Steller's Jay
382. * Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
383. * Pileated Woodpecker
384. * Townsend's Warbler

Onto Santa Cruz for a look around the boardwalk. No coastal birds for the list yet, but did find one year tick:

385. Anna's Hummingbird

Then on towards the Monterey area. Took a scenic route, and picked up a couple more year ticks from the car in the vicinity of Castroville:

386. Red-Necked Phalarope
387. Whimbrel

We spent time at a few places around Monterey; the only spot that yielded birds for the year list was the coast in the vicinity of the lighthouse at Pacific Grove:

388. Black Turnstone
389. * Black Oystercatcher
390. * White-Tailed Kite
391. * Wandering Tattler
 
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25/8/2019 - Mountain View & Sausalito, CA, USA

Last full day in California and last few year ticks of the trip. Started the day at a bagel shop in Mountain View; while sat drinking a coffee outside I got 2 lifers! Not every day you get 2 lifers during breakfast ;)

392. * Oak Titmouse
393. * Nuttall's Woodpecker

Spent the rest of the day working our way up the coast past San Francisco. Got one final lifer from the trip from a headland west of Sausalito:

394. * Surf Scoter
 
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28/8/2019 - Lubbock, TX, USA

I'd almost forgotten how good Lubbock can be for waders during migration! A quick trip to one of the playas after work yielded sandpipers galore, including one new one for the list:

395. * Solitary Sandpiper



Summary for August:

36 year ticks
20 lifers
 
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1/9/2019 - Lubbock area, TX, USA

Early birding excursion with a regular in the Lubbock birding community and a visitor come to see his son at TTU. First stop was at a playa in the vicinity of the ghost town of Estacado:

396. Black-Necked Grebe

Then onto a playa near Abernathy to find burrowing owls for the visitor, then down to Slaton to get me another long-awaited life tick!

397. * Wild Turkey
 
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2/9/2019 - Lubbock, TX, USA

Up to the playa I went to back on 28/8 to pick up another bird I've wanted for a long time! Was nice and obliging for photographs too! Stayed around until sunset in the hope of getting some nighthawks, but no luck on that front.

398. * Wilson's Snipe
 
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6/9/2019 - Lubbock, TX, USA

I've been going back through old records to upload to eBird recently, and have decided to start uploading daily reports from my walk into work. 3 days into that project and I get a workplace lifer! My 3rd on TTU campus (Ruby-Throated Kingbird, Mississippi Kite) and 4th ever (Grey Wagtail in Southampton, UK)!

399. * Wilson's Warbler

Then out to Clapp Park after work with a couple of local birders, looking for vireos (which we didn't get) and nighthawks; an unexpected bonus lifer too!

400. * Willow Flycatcher
401. * Common Nighthawk
 
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11/9/2019 - Vienna, Austria

Off to another conference, and I'm rather hoping for some good birds from this one. But first I have to suffer through 4 flights. One of my layovers was long enough to go out and bird, so I had a look around the Tiergarten on the western edge of Vienna. Very very quiet, but got one lifer which eluded me last year in Germany:

402. * Middle Spotted Woodpecker
 
12/9/2019 - Yerevan, Armenia

Made it to the host city for this conference! Severely jet-lagged so didn't have any energy for birding or sightseeing really. Got one year tick aimlessly pottering around town at around dusk.

403. * Laughing Dove
 
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13/9/2019 - near Sevan & Dilijan, Armenia

First two Armenia lifers today! First one was at Tsovagyugh near Sevan (and very, very abundant there) and long-awaited second lifer was at Haghartsin Monastery near Dilijan.

404. * Armenian Gull
405. * European Bee-Eater
 
14/9/2019 - Armash, Armenia

First day's proper birding in Armenia, and my first time birding with a paid guide! Fantastic day at the Armash fish ponds on the Turkish border today! Got both the site specialties (lapwing and bee-eater), but the only roller sighting was extremely far away, which was slightly disappointing. Very good day regardless:

406. * White-Tailed Lapwing
407. Western Yellow Wagtail
408. * Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater
409. Bearded Reedling
410. Wood Sandpiper
411. * White-Winged Tern
412. * European Roller
413. * Purple Heron
414. * Spanish Sparrow
415. * Pygmy Cormorant
416. * Eurasian Penduline Tit
417. * Squacco Heron
 
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15/9/2019 - Yerevan, Armenia

A morning up at Victory Park in Yerevan gave a few more for the life list, including another one of the year's top birds! Incredibly confiding wryneck at close range was a real treat to see :D

418. Spotted Flycatcher
419. * Eurasian Wryneck
420. * Syrian Woodpecker
421. * Red-Breasted Flycatcher
422. Red-Backed Shrike
423. Lesser Whitethroat
424. * Icterine Warbler
 
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18/9/2019 - Garni area, Armenia

Wednesday, as is tradition, featured the organised conference trip! This time to Garni and Geghard. An obscenely long lunch rather limited our time at either of the tourist attractions (and my ability to bird them), but I did get a couple from today for the list. First of all, 1 from the bus enroute to Garni temple:

425. * Long-Legged Buzzard

Then one more flying over the temple itself in great numbers:

426. * Alpine Swift
 
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