Wintibird's attempt to see 900 species of birds in 2011 (1 Viewer)

[wintibird]

Yes, that's the big goal. A trip to Peru will make it a bit easier and another one planned to the Andaman Islands next December should complete the mission. As 1000 seemed out of reach I went down to the next good number. Not as impressive of course as 1000, but still pretty good for me.

So today I started:

01/01/2011

001: Bean Goose
002: Greylag Goose
003: Greater White-fronted Goose
004: Brent Goose
005: Common Merganser
006: Great White Egret
007: Grey Heron
008: Common Buzzard
009: Kestrel
010: Eurasian Curlew
011: Yellow-legged Gull
012: Feral Pigeon (yes, I count them)
013: Common Wood-Pigeon
014: Collared Dove
015: Great Spotted Woodpecker
016: Blackbird
017: Blue Tit
018: Great Tit
019: Short-toed Treecreeper
020: Eurasian Jay
021: Magpie
022: Carrion Crow
023: Rook
024: House Sparrow
025: Tree Sparrow
026: Chaffinch
027: Greenfinch
028: Siskin
029: Hawfinch
030: Yellowhammer

That was the morning at Fanel, then a text came and I went back to the train. This was seen from the train then:

031: Little Grebe
032: Great Crested Grebe
033: Black-headed Gull
034: Mallard
035: Tufted Duck
036: Common Pochard
037: Red-crested Pochard
038: Great Cormorant
039: Nuthatch
040: Common Coot
041: Common Moorhen

Then I arrived at Landquart and went to Zizers, near Chur. That's what I added there:

042: Canade Goose A Swiss Lifer!
043: Bullfinch
044: Marsh Tit
045: Fieldfare

Fabulous day with five species of geese (which is pretty good for a landlocked country like Switzerland). Some crappy record shots taken too....

 

[wintibird]

Not very lucky on the second day, all the good species were not showing (Black Stork, Smew) or I wasn't able to find them. Still some new ones, all at Greifensee near Zürich:

02/01/2011

046: Long-tailed Tit
047: Gadwall
048: Common Teal
049: White Stork
050: Mew Gull
051: Red Kite
052: Jackdaw
053: Mute Swan
054: Common Goldeneye
055: Robin

 

[wintibird]

Day number 3 on the mission was spent at Lake Constance. Sunny weather and good visibility, good birds and a cold wind, perfect winter birding!

056: Slavonian Grebe
057: Water Pipit
058: Green Woodpecker
059: Arctic Diver
060: Red-breasted Merganser
061: Red-necked Grebe
062: Grey Wagtail
063: White Wagtail
064: Ruddy Shelduck
065: Great Northern Diver
066: Wigeon
067: Caspian Gull
068: Whooper Swan
069: Common Snipe
070: Herring Gull
071: Black-necked Grebe

 

[wintibird]

A wonderful day today, the morning spent at Greifensee (a lake near Zürich), this time much more successful:

04/01/2011
072: Dipper

05/01/2011
073: Smew
074: Northern Shoveler
075: Great Grey Shrike
076: Tundra Swan
077: Black Stork
078: Wren

The Black Stork is wintering here since some years, the Tundra Swans are quite rare, actually the first ones I've seen in the Kanton Zürich. Attached a little record shot.

 

[wintibird]

Today I tried to find a Crested Lark, a major rarity here. There is one around somewhere in the Grisons but the record is surpressed. Well, I had some hints but in the end it was fruitless, no Lark around. And at the same time the first Pink-footed Goose was found in Switzerland, but somewhere else and I had no chance to get there in time. Well, at least I know what to do tomorrow

08/01/2011
079: Raven
080: Mistle Thrush
081: Coal Tit
082: Sparrowhawk

 

[wintibird]

And I found the bird:

09/01/2011

083: Pink-footed Goose (First record for Switzerland and Swiss Lifer for me)

 

[wintibird]

Not much birding in the last few days as I have been in Scotland for a family gathering and there wasn't much time for me to evade... Still some slow progress with the year list.

14/01/2011 - Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow
084: Lesser Redpoll
085: Redwing
086: Goldfinch

16/01/2011 - Ziegelweiher Pfungen
087: Ferruginous Duck
088: Kingfisher

 

[wintibird]

After a terribly cold day out some new additions to the list (I'm still shaking...)

23/01/2011 - Leisental near Winterthur
089: Goldcrest

30/01/2011 - Birrfeld and Klingnauer Stausee
090: Rough-legged Buzzard (the third for me in Switzerland)
091: Green Sandpiper
092: Common Shelduck
093: Northern Pintail
094: Water Rail
095: Common Chiffchaff
096: Hooded Crow

 

[wintibird]

And here are the latest additions:

06/02/2011 - Greifensee
097: Eurasian Bittern - not only one but 7!
098: Common Scoter - only my second ever in Switzerland and a female (like the first)

13/02/2011 - in the forest behind my house
099: Eurasian Treecreeper
100: Crested Tit
101: Black Woodpecker - bird of the year in Switzerland

19/02/2011 - Rapperswil and in another forest nearby
102: Eider Duck
103: Common Starling
104: Tawny Owl

 

[wintibird]

And here are the newest additions:

21/02/2011
105: Alpine Chough - Flumserberge, skiing with the school

23/02/2011
106: Black Redstart - spring is coming!

27/02/2011
Another outing to Klingnauer Stausee
107: Reed Bunting
108: Middle Spotted Woodpecker
109: Grey-headed Woodpecker
110: Common Sandpiper
111: Greater Scaup - a first for my for this site

01/03/2011
112: Blackcap - a female at my feeder

02/03/2011
A day in the Valais. Missed out Wallcreeper but some other nice additions:
113: Rock Bunting - a stunning bird!
114: Common Crossbill
115: Eurasian Crag-Martin
116: Alpine Accentor
117: Golden Eagle
118: Lapwing
119: Linnet
120: Skylark

 

[wintibird]

At my feeder, 04/03/2011
121: Brambling

09/03/2011 - A day at Grosses Moos and Fanel
122: Song Thrush
123: Stonechat
124: Crane
125: Stock Dove
126: Golden Plover
127: Hen Harrier
128: Dunlin
129: Lesser Black-backed Gull

Attached a bad picture of a good species

 

[wintibird]

Spring is fast approaching and so are new species for my list:

20/03/2011
130: Black Kite (over my house)

23/03/2011
A good day out at Flachsee Unterlunkhofen near Zürich:
131: Bluethroat :t: what a stunning bird
132: Barn Swallow
133: Ruff
134: Little Ringed Plover
135: Little Egret

25/03/2011 - a short visit to Rapperswil
136: Great Black-backed Gull

27/03/2011 - an outing with our local society to Hüttwilersee
137: Firecrest
138: Meadow Pipit
139: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
140: Alpine Swift

 

[wintibird]

And here comes the first half of April:

03/04/2011
141: Yellow Wagtail - near Marthalen
142: Serin - in my hometown

09/04/2011 - a trip to Neeracherried
143: Penduline Tit
144: Eurasian Reed Warbler
145: Savi's Warbler
146: Wood Sandpiper
147: Marsh Harrier

12/04/2011
148: Dunnock - in the forest behind our house

13/04/2011
149: House Martin

15/04/2011 - Flachsee Unterlunkhofen
150: Greenshank
151: Sand Martin
152: Cuckoo

 

[wintibird]

An more:

21/04/2011
153: Grasshopper Warbler (on my way to work)

22/04/2011 - early morning trip to Neeracherried
154: Corn Bunting
155: Nightingale
156: Sedge Warbler
157: Garden Warbler
158: Whinchat
159: Garganey
160: Wood Warbler

23/04/2011 - Nuolener Ried
161: Calandra Lark - a first for Switzerland for me
162: Greater Short-toed Lark
163: Northern Wheatear
164: Common Tern

 

[wintibird]

And another good day, spent in the Grisons near Zizers:

25/04/2011
165: Common Redstart
166: Hoopoe - two wonderful birds, well seen
167: Cirl Bunting
168: Black Grouse
169: Wryneck
170: Western Bonelli's Warbler

 

[wintibird]

And some more, summer is near...

29/04/2011 - Rapperswil-Jona
171: Common Swift
172: Spotted Redshank
173: Black Tern
174: Little Gull
175: White-winged Black Tern

01/05/2011 - Greifensee
176: Pied Flycatcher

 

[wintibird]

...and the colourful ones start joining the party:

05/05/2011
177: Peregrine - in my hometown

08/05/2011 - a day in western Switzerland
178: Common Redshank
179: Black-tailed Godwit
180: Common Ringed Plover
181: Sanderling
182: Black-crowned Night-heron
183: European Bee-eater
184: Marsh Warbler
185: Turtle Dove
186: Greater Whitethroat
187: Golden Oriole

Attached another dreadful record shot. They were far away. It was in the heat of the day. And I am not a good photographer

 

[wintibird]

15/05/2011 - Neeracherried
188: Little Bittern
189: Great Reed Warbler

22/05/2011 - Neeracherried
190: Red-backed Shrike - very late arrival!

28/05/2011 - Vinschgau, Italy
191: Common Quail
192: Barred Warbler
193: Lesser Whitethroat
194: Italian Sparrow

29/05/2011 - Münstertal, Swiss Alps
195: Citril Finch
196: Tree Pipit
197: Willow Tit (alpine form)
198: Ring Ouzel
199: Nutcracker
200: Bearded Vulture (aka Lammergeier)

Only 700 left.....

 

[wintibird]

And some more before I go to Peru (in two days! I'm so excited!)

03/06/2011 - Niederhorn
201: Ptarmigan

04/06/2011 - Mythen
202: Honey Buzzard
203: Mandarin Duck

07/06/2011 - Greifensee
204: Willow Warbler
205: Icterine Warbler

 

[wintibird]

And here we go. Back from Peru and sure that I will get the 900

17/07/2011 - Schiphol Airport Amsterdam
206: Oystercatcher - seen from the plane to Lima

18/07/2011
Exploring Cusco, the ancient Inca capital and Huarcapay Lake (see picture), some 30 minutes driving from Cusco. All except 2 species (Cattle Egret and Night-Heron) lifers for me.
207: Andean Duck
208: Speckled Teal
209: Yellow-billed Pintail
210: Puna Teal
211: Cinnamon Teal
212: White-tufted Grebe
213: Cattle Egret
214: Black-crowned Night-heron
215: Snowy Egret
216: Puna Ibis
217: Neotropic Cormorant
218: Cinereous Harrier
219: Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle
220: Variable Hawk
221: Mountain Caracara
222: American Kestrel
223: Plumbeous Rail
224: Common Gallinule (split from Moorhen)
225: Andean Coot
226: Andean Lapwing
227: Greater Yellowlegs
228: Andean Gull
229: Spot-winged Pigeon
230: Eared Dove
231: Bare-faced Ground-Dove
232: Peruvian Pygmy-Owl
233: White-collared Swift
234: Sparkling Violet-ear (my first Hummingbird!)
235: Bearded Mountaineer
236: Rusty-fronted Canastero
237: Streak-fronted Thornbird
238: Wren-like Rushbird
239: White-crested Elaenia
240: Many-coloured Rush-Tyrant (what a stunner:t
241: White-browed Chat-Tyrant
242: Rufous-naped Ground-Tyrant
243: Andean Negrito
244: House Wren
245: Chiguanco Thrush
246: Hooded Siskin
247: Yellow-winged Blackbird
248: Rufous-collared Sparrow
249: Blue-and-yellow Tanager
250: Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch
251: Greenish Yellow-Finch
252: Band-tailed Seedeater