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World Year Listing Review of 2009

Year and Life Listing reminds us of the wonderful diversity of birds inhabiting this planet and the importance of conserving them. Some of this year's most dedicated listers raised money for conservation whilst others focussed on their local patches or seeing how many species they could see without burning up any fossil fuels.

The year listing review isn't just about setting world records and travelling to all corners of the planet. We also want to feature some of the top listers from all over the world in categories ranging from Local Patch, Self-found and Non-motorised.

If you keep a life or year list for your country, state or even your local patch, why not enter your 2010 totals online in to the Surfbirds Rankings.

Click here to See a Complete Archive of all the 2009 Year Lists

Have a listing question or want to share your latest listing highs and lows? Please go to the Surfbirds Forum.

Top World Listers

No. 1 David Shackelford (Total 2815 )

David with a Kagu
Undoubtedly the greatest thing about international birding travel is the joy of sharing wildlife and other aspects of natural history with others.  2009 was no exception with some amazing destinations, memorable birding experiences, and fantastic travel companions.  One of the highlights of the year was walking across the snowy tundra in Barrow, Alaska with my wife to find my 7,000th world life bird – a stunning drake Spectacled Eider!  As usual, many of the bird species I saw this year was while leading tours for Rockjumper Birding Tours.        

The year was off to an incredible start leading a tour through Guyana where we marveled at the maniacal growls of Capuchinbird, Crested Eagle, the stunning Guianan Cock-of-the rock on the lek, Crimson Fruit-Crows visible in the scope, and the sought-after Rufous-winged Ground-Cuckoo attending an ant swarm!  Just a handful of other birding highlights included the critically endangered Sun Parakeet, a sunlit male Crimson Topaz, Crestless and Black Curassows, amazing views of White-winged and Rufous Potoos, near endemic Blood-colored Woodpecker, displaying Red-fan Parrot, and the rare Red Siskin. 

A short promotional visit to Florida was a chance to observe wintering waterfowl and populations of Manatee plus the charismatic Florida Scrub-Jay.

Besides awesome sightings of the highly threatened Indian One-horned Rhinoceros and Hoolock Gibbon, a tour through India’s Assam also produced the sensational and highly endangered White-winged Duck.

As usual, touring through the Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan was remarkable with highlights such as the stunning pink Ward’s Trogon, Himalayan Monal, Beautiful Nuthatch, male Satyr Tragopan, and Fire-tailed Myzornis.

Of course my home state of Texas produced lots of birds throughout the year, although most memorable was my favorite backyard bird, the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler.

My wife and I enjoyed a fantastic vacation to Alaska with friends including sightings of Wolf and Northern Hawk-Owl in Denali, fantastic seabirds such as Crested Auklet and Red-legged Kittiwake breeding along cliffs of the Pribilof Islands and Kittlitz’s Murrelets off the Kenai Fjords, and the breeding waders and Polar Bears at the northern extremes of Barrow. 

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Parakeet Auklets © David Shackelford
My first visit to the impressive country of Honduras was a pleasure with lifer Spot-bellied Bobwhite, the endemic Honduran Emerald, a gorgeous male Lovely Cotinga, Keel-billed Motmot, Slaty-breasted Tinamou, and Black-throated Jay.

A birding trip into the geographic center of Australia yielded some true outback specialties such as Painted Firetail, a family of Dusky Grasswren, Chiming Wedgebill, Banded Whiteface, and Cinnamon Quail-Thrush.

Two tours through Papua New Guinea produced all the possible bird-of-paradise species on our route although King-of-Saxony still has to be rated as my favorite.  Other species vying for close seconds include the colossal Southern Crowned Pigeon, Wattled Ploughbill, highly sought-after Shovel-billed Kookaburra, and a lifer Wallace’s Owlet-nightjar.

Endemics were abundant during a tour to the island of New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago, and I scored a lifer Bismarck Hawk-Owl on the day roost.  

A pelagic field trip during a promotional visit to Monterey, California offered the localized Ashy Storm-Petrel while I was thrilled to see one of the few wild-born California Condors along the rocky coastline.      

A tour to the mountainous island of Jamaica yielded all of the island’s endemic birds with a few favorites including the Red-billed Streamertail, Jamaican Owl caught in the spotlight, and a perched Crested Quail-Dove.

I was happy to return to Antarctica on a voyage this year with the vast penguin colonies predictably stealing the show although seabirds and cetaceans were extremely cooperative including the rare Arnoux’s Beaked Whale. 

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Dusky Grasswren © David Shackelford
The year concluded leading tours to both northwestern and southern Argentina with some memorable encounters including a vocal pair of Black-legged Seriema, Puna Tinamou, the rare Horned Coot nesting, sprightly Sandy Gallito, Red-tailed Comet, Magellanic Horned Owl on a day roost, and the localized Rufous-throated Dipper.

With tours scheduled to all the continents in 2010 it is sure to be another busy year of travel with some unforgettable adventures.


No. 2 Pete Morris (Total 2225)

2009 was another block buster year for me, with a packed year of tour-leading and a 'holiday' in Peru to bump up the life list!

I started the year with a local Caspian Gull, a fine adult and a good bird for East Lancs!

My first foray overseas was in February when after a gap of a few years, I returned to the Philippines in February for a brilliant trip with highlights including Mindanao Wattled Broadbill, an excellent selection of kingfishers, Palawan Peacock-Pheasant, a great set of nightbirds and the eagle of course!

Colombia was next in March, and was as awesome as ever. 11 antpittas seen well as were 11 tapaculos (including the amazing Ocellated), 10 toucans and many goodies such as Northern Screamer, Yellow-eared Parrot, Chestnut and Black-fronted Wood-Quails, Black Solitaire, Black-and-gold and Gold-ringed Tanagers and the recently discovered Santa Marta Screech Owl (to name just a few!).

Taiwan in April produced all the goodies including cracking views of all the game birds (10 Mikado Pheasants!), all other endemics, Fairy Pitta, Oriental Plover, Asian Dowitcher and many more.

Japan in May/June produced all the hoped for goodies such as Amami Woodcock and Thrush, Okinawa Rail, Blakiston's Fish Owl and lovely rubythroats and Locustellas on Hokkaido.

The holiday in Northern Peru was extremely successful with most of the hoped for endemics seen. Bird of the trip was probably the superb male Ochre-fronted Antpitta, but other goodies included Fiery-breasted Fruiteater, wild White-winged Guans, the spatuletail etc etc.

October in Aus was brilliant. Began with Red Goshawk and Northern Shrike-Tit, cleaned up the mallee and outback finding Letter-winged Kites, Grey Falcons, 10,000 Flock Bronzewings, Yellow Chats etc and we saw all the Tasmanian endemics. Snook in White-faced Plover in Singapore on the way home and then straight to Madagascar where highlight was walkaway views of Slender-billed Flufftail with all other likely endemics, including Red-tailed Newtonia and Helmet and Bernier's Vangas showing superbly. I suspect 2010 will be slightly less species rich!  

Amami Woodcock
Slender-billed Flufftail, Madagascar 2009 © Pete Morris/Birdquest


No. 6 Chris Gooddie (Total 1901)

alan davies ruth miller
In 2009 I set out to find all of the world's pittas, and set up a blog so that folks could follow my progress (www.pittasworld.com) I followed the speciation in Frank Lambert's 'Pittas, Broadbills and Asities' monograph, which gave me 32 species to go at. (This assumes that Sula Pitta and Black-crowned-/Black-and-crimson-/Black-headed Pitta are full species.)

January was fully occupied serving a notice period at work, so the year didn't start in earnest until Feb 2nd. I landed at Phuket airport on the morning of the 3rd and by nightfall had photographed a male and female Gurney's Pitta at Khao Nor Chuchi- not a bad start! Another five pitta species were in the bag before I left the Thailand, and side-trips allowed me to find 'White-faced Plover', Oriental Bay Owl, Javan- and Gould's Frogmouths, Chinese Egret, Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, White-hooded Babbler, Giant Nuthatch, Mrs Hume's Pheasant, and Mountain Bamboo Partridge.

Next stop was Luzon, where a five-day expedition sorted out Whiskered Pitta after an immense amount of physical effort; Mt Hamut is not for the faint-hearted! Other montane goodies included Flame-breasted Fruit-Dove, Luzon Bleeding-Heart, Rabor's Wren-Babbler and White-lored Oriole. A flying visit to Mindanao secured Azure-breasted-, Hooded- and Red-bellied Pittas at PICOP, which also played host to a Celestial Monarch and Philippine Frogmouth. Nest stop was Vietnam, where Bar-bellied Pitta was as easy as expected, and Blue-rumped Pitta as tricky as imagined. The latter species held out until my very last evening before finally giving itself up. Pale-headed Woodpecker, Germain's Peacock-Pheasant, Golden-crested Myna and Grey-faced Tit-Babbler made up an attractive supporting cast.

After a brief visit back home to remind my girlfriend what I looked like it was on to Assam, India, where I managed to find Blue-naped Pitta at Kaziranga after a couple of days of lying under tea-bushes. My rapid success here allowed me to go after other things, and Bengal Florican, White-winged Duck, Ibisbill, Grey-bellied Tesia, White-cheeked Partridge, and a Golden Bush Robin were all appreciated. After a tediously roundabout route to keep things within budget, I managed to make it to Peninsula Malaysia where Garnet Pitta put up only token resistance at Taman Negara. The latter site also hosted Large Frogmouth, Cinnamon-rumped Trogon, Bushy-crested Hornbill, Malaysian Rail-Babbler, Crested Wood Partridge, Rufous-tailed Shama and Rufous-collared Kingfisher, but best of all was a Chestnut-capped Thrush, putting an end to years of pain. Fraser's Hill provided the Rusty-naped Pitta I had missed during five, ravine-centric days in Northern Thailand, and Malayan Partridge, Marbled Wren-Babbler, Blyth's Hawk-Eagle and Bamboo Woodpecker were additional bonuses. After a brief stopover in Jakarta, (Milky Stork, Sunda Coucal,) it was time for some hardcore action in south-west Sumatra. Ten days living in the forest at Way Titias/Danau Ranau delivered Schneider's- and Graceful Pittas, Sumatran Trogon, Salvadori's Pheasant, Long-billed Partridge, Sumatran Cochoa, Rusty-breasted Wren-Babbler, Rajah Scops Owl and Cinnamon-headed Green Pigeon, plus four range extensions for the south-west. Then it was time for a recuperative week in Taiwan, where I managed to find every one of the endemics, including all the new splits. The best birds, (apart from Fairy Pitta of course,) were Taiwan Hill Partridge, Taiwan Wren-Babbler, Mikado- and Swinhoe's Pheasants, Taiwan Shortwing and Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush.

Gurney's Pitta
Gurney's Pitta, Thailand, KNC March 2007 © Benjamin Schwartz - Tropical Birding from the Surfbirds Galleries
A two-week trip to Sabah with a group of old friends in July was one of the highlights of the year. We saw all bar 4 of the achievable endemics, and given that we nailed 5 species of pitta in the first 4 days (including schwaneri 'Bornean' Banded Pitta and Giant Pitta,) I was even reasonable company! Thereafter we could relax and enjoy Bornean Bristlehead, Bornean Ground-Cuckoo, Fruithunter, Hose's Broadbill, Everett's Thrush, the Whitehead's trio, Kinabalu Friendly Warbler and Crimson-headed Partridge. Marbled Cat, Flat-headed Cat and Proboscis Monkey were amongst the highlights of a long mammal list.

A change of scene next, with nine days in south-west Uganda. I ended up with 17 of the 26 possible Albertine Rift endemics seen, including Short-tailed Warbler, Equatorial Akalat, Red-throated Alethe and Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, plus the reason for going- a stunning Green-breasted Pitta- and African Finfoot.

I then embarked on an 8-week stomp through Indonesia, northern Australia, Manus and The Solomons. Ivory-breasted Pitta gave itself up without too much of a struggle on Halmahera, where I also saw Wallace's Standardwing, Sombre Kingfisher, Scarlet-breasted Fruit-Dove, Chattering Lory, Nicobar Pigeon, and a surprise Barking Owl. A hop westwards to Tangkoko, Sulawesi resulted in a meeting with a vagrant nominate elegans Elegant Pitta, plus Sulawesi Dwarf Hornbill, Red-backed Thrush, Sulawesi Black Pigeon, Sulawesi Scops Owl, Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher plus a ton of other Tangkoko specialities. Then I took a short Merpati flight down to Luwuk and a ferry over to Peleng for the tricky Sula Pitta. The jury's out on whether this is a good species in its own right or part of the Red-bellied Pitta complex, but it was a nice bird to see, and also gave the opportunity to find Banggai Crow, Henna-tailed Jungle Flycatcher, Helmeted Myna and Slaty Cuckooshrike along the way. Bali was next, just two days to find 'Javan' Banded Pitta, but the pittas were co-operative, as were Bali Starling, Black-winged Starling, and Rufous-backed- and Javan Kingfishers. The next two weeks saw me in Nusa Tenggara, firstly in Sumba, (maria Elegant Pitta, Sumba Flycatcher, Sumba Hornbill, Red-naped Fruit-Dove, Sumba Green Pigeon,) then a single day on West Timor, (Orange-sided Thrush, Tricoloured Parrotfinch, Timor Stubtail at Bipolo,) rounding off with five days on Flores. The latter locality produced some great birding, highlights being concinna Elegant Pitta, Chestnut-backed Thrush, Flores Jungle-Flycatcher, Flores Crow, Russet-capped Tesia, Flores Hawk-Eagle, and on the last day 4 (!) Chestnut-capped Thrushes and Flores Monarch at Puarlolo.

Then it was back to Bali in transit, escaping just a few hours before the earthquake hit, and on to Darwin, Australia. Rainbow Pitta was as easy to find as usual- a disgrace to the tribe!- before I hooked up with Andy Mears from the UK and headed inland to Pine Creek and Katherine for some of the dry country species. Happily Hooded Parrot, Gouldian Finch, Red Goshawk, and Northern Shrike-Tit all made an appearance. We then headed east to Cairns to find Noisy Pitta on Mt Whitfield, before a few relaxed days birding around the Atherton Tablelands. A short stay at Cassowary House yielded Southern Cassowary and Red-necked Crake, and in the northern Tablelands we managed to dig out Golden Bowerbird, Squatter Pigeon, Australian Bustard and Black-throated Finch.

The next stage of the mammoth trip proved logistically complex, but eventually I made it to Manus Island, north-east of Papua New Guinea, although sadly my baggage didn't! It's still missing at the time of writing...Superb Pitta was the highlight of course, plus Meek's Pygmy Parrot, Admiralty Pied Monarch, Meyer's Goshawk, Yellow-bibbed Fruit-Dove, Bismarck Black Myzomela and Melanesian Scrubfowl. We had only a single day in transit in Port Moresby, just enough time for a day visit to Varirata, where we experienced our first PNG species. Chestnut-backed Jewel-Babbler, Doria's Hawk, Barred Owlet-Nightjar, Raggiana-, and Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Brown-headed Paradise Flycatcher, Dwarf Fruit-Dove were just a few of the stars of a fabulous day. Then it was on to the Solomons, specifically Santa Isabel, where we spent a week in the village of Tirotonga. Black-faced Pitta proved to be one of the toughest of the family, but both Andy and I had views after four days hard work, and I managed to get a reasonable photograph, the first one ever taken in the field as far as I am aware. Other key Solomons species seen included Imitator Sparrowhawk, the newly described Solomon's Frogmouth, Solomon Hawk-Owl, Solomon Sea-Eagle, Finsch's Pygmy Parrot, Melanesian- and Solomon Cuckooshrike and Steel-blue Flycatcher.

After a few days back in London, (cramming in three UK ticks: Eastern Crowned Warbler, Brown Shrike and Fan-tailed Warbler...) it was off to Sri Lanka, where I succeeded in seeing all the endemics including Serendib Scops Owl, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Crimson-fronted Barbet, Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, Sri Lanka Woodpigeon, Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush, plus Pied Ground-Thrush. Indian Pitta proved to be common and relatively confiding, so I even found time to propose to my girlfriend during the trip!

That left only one last pitta to get to grips with, and it was far from easy. I chose to go to southern Zambia to try to find African Pitta, and after four long days, finally managed to find one individual. It was a great feeling to have finally achieved the full set. That left three days free, which I managed to fill watching Boehm's Spinetail, Pennant-winged Nightjar, African Broadbill, Chaplin's Barbet, Bronze-winged- and Three-banded Coursers, Kurrichane Buttonquail, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Spotted Creeper and Souza's Shrike.

All in all, a fabulous year, and one I would love to repeat at some point if time and finances allow; 1901 species all told, of which more than 670 were new for me. Now all that remains is to finish the book detailing the adventure...'The Jewel Hunter' is scheduled for launch in August 2010."


No. 7 Nigel Voaden (Total 1841)

2009 was never intended to be a big year for me and in comparison to the totals of the top listers in 2008 it wasn’t really that big at all. Nonetheless it was my most successful and busiest year of world birding to date during which I visited 15 different countries across 5 continents all of which yielded at least a few additions. Realistically with 15 different countries visited a higher total should have been achieved but for a number of these I spent little more than a few hours birding.

The first month of the year was spent in the UK where I did a bit of birding with the highlight probably being Bonaparte’s Gull in South Wales. In February I returned to my job as a consultant geologist in southern Madagascar where I had been working in 2008 and added a selection of the dry country specialists. I was evacuated during the coup there in March and never returned. This coupled with the global financial crisis and the resultant lack of work meant that I had most of the rest of the year to go birding.

I started with the long planned West Pacific Odyssey from New Zealand to Japan with highlights too many to recount but at sea there was Beck’s Petrel, Heinroth’s Shearwater, New Zealand and Polynesian Storm-Petrel, Japanese Murrelet and Short-tailed Albatross whilst landings in New Caledonia, four of the Solomon Islands, Truk (Micronesia) and a few of the Japanese islands produced Kagu, Truk Monarch, Truk White-eye, Bonin Honeyeater and many more.

I went immediately on from Japan to Taiwan for a private trip with Frank Lambert where we cleaned up on all endemic species and forms (except Taiwan Thrush) and also saw Fairy Pitta, Black-faced Spoonbill and numerous passage waders. We even had time to find a few scarce landbird migrants including the countries first Rosy Starling.

horned guan
Jocotoco Antpitta © Nigel Voaden
Through the summer I worked on a contract in northwest Russia and added a few northern breeders with the highlight being a hunting Northern Hawk Owl on my birthday at 2am in broad daylight. In between spells here I joined a Tropical Birding tour to Borneo at the last minute and did very well with endemics missing only a couple of possible species. Highlights were definitely Bornean Ground-Cuckoo and Bornean Bristlehead.

I finished work in Russia in early September and decided not to take any more contracts for the year and then went straight to Sulawesi and Halmahera on a Birdquest tour. Unbelievably we connected with Invisible Rail however this was just the icing on the cake of a superb trip which also included Pale-bellied Myna, the undescribed muscicapa Flycatcher and a multitude of other endemics.

Through October I had three weeks in the UK but birding was pretty limited although I did twitch the Brown Shrike to get my only UK tick of the year. Late in October I headed to Ecuador for five weeks and although primarily this was to attend Spanish school in Quito I managed 14 days in the field with Boris Herrera and Roger Ahlman as great guides. The south produced the hoped for target species; Violet-throated and Neblina Metaltail, Jocotoco Antpitta, White-breasted Parakeet, Orange-throated Tanager and Pale-headed Brush-Finch whilst weekends east and west from Quito yielded Masked Mountain-Tanager, Mountain Avocetbill, Greater Scythebill, Spot-fronted Swift, Slaty Becard and many others.

horned guan
Short-tailed Albatross © Nigel Voaden
On the flight back to the UK I had a day in Lima and with Gunnar Engblom headed north to pick up Cactus Canastero. There was less than a 24 hour turnaround before flying onto Myanmar for a tour with Birdtour Asia where all of the endemics gave themselves up pretty easily and we had a fabulous encounter with Burmese Yuhina whilst displaying Hume’s Pheasant and close Himalayan Cutia were other highlights.

The last two weeks of the year were spent in the UK reflecting on the wealth of fabulous birding experiences during the year and preparing for what has just been a very successful five week trip to Colombia with 730 species seen including 57 endemics. It looks like 2010 is shaping up to be another big year!


No. 10 Dion Hobcroft (Total 1680)

I was quite happy with my year-listing result as all travel was in the Asia-Pacific realm. Things kicked off properly in Cambodia in January. One of the first major surprises was flushing a fine male Bengal Florican at Ang Trapeang Thmor whilst trying to find button-quail with clients. This represented a most unusual record at this site and raised my hopes that there are more of this globally threatened species present than currently known. My first new bird for the year was the scarce Pale-capped Pigeon seen in flight at Tmatboey. This was my third visit here and I was especially happy to connect with this global rarity. Plenty of other good birds followed in this exciting destination with great views of Giant and White-shouldered Ibis, White-bellied and Great Slaty Woodpeckers and a good in flight view of the elusive Small Button-quail. Whilst en route to the Mekong Wagtail at Kratie I explored some roadside forest with the group. It ended up being an excellent fortuitous stop with Blue-rumped Pitta, Black and Buff Woodpecker and Black-browed Fulvetta complementing the discovery of quite a good relic population of the handsome Grey-shanked Douc, an Indochinese endemic primate.

Between tours for a few days in India I headed to Mount Abu. Here I connected with another sought after specialty the Green Avadavat. This was especially pleasing as I had searched for it unsuccessfully for several days the previous year in sites like Melghat and Kumbalgarh. However my enjoyment was short-lived as I succumbed to some undiagnosed ailment that saw me feeling like death warmed up for several days. I struggled along to Siana to meet my good friend Pradeep. I recall staggering along some sand dunes through beautiful thorn scrub eventually connecting with a mixed flock of passerines. I suddenly felt a lot better when my bins focussed on a stunning male White-bellied Minivet-another long term jinx released.

Back on tour through India I visited the wonderful Kanha and Corbett National Parks with sightings of three tigers and being chased by elephant in the jeeps at the latter site being memorable highlights. Bharatpur had received an excellent monsoon was in its full winter glory. My best bird highlight on this tour was a Red-necked Falcon catching a small shorebird (a Temminck’s Stint) almost at my feet while at yet another unscheduled stop next to a highway between Agra and Unchagaon although good views of both Brook’s Leaf-warbler and Rock Bunting at Bund Barater were notable.

My next trip was to Yunnan province in China in March. Although birding was largely in secondary forest and scrub it was exceedingly diverse and resulted in fine views of a number of Asia’s wonderful birds ranging from Red-billed Scimitar-Babbler to Red-tailed Laughingthrush. Time was spent birding along the Burmese border hoovering up a number of birds for my China list. Best rarity was a male Yellow-rumped Honeyguide at Yungfengshan Monastery-one of very few recent Chinese records of this enigmatic species. A flyover male Derbyan Parakeet with its raucous honk was a big tick whilst a roosting flock of 100 Collared Mynas near Ruili proved to be our only sighting after several days in the area. Stunning views of Bar-winged and Long-tailed Wren-babblers, Yunnan Nuthatch, Black-bibbed Tit, two subspecies of Brown-winged Parrotbill, Blood and Silver Pheasants, Wallcreeper, Rufous-tailed Moupinia, Black-necked Crane and Cinereous Vulture made this a wonderful exploration.

Green Avadavat
Green Avadavat, India, Mount Abu December 2009 © Ian Merrill/BirdTour Asia from the Surfbirds Galleries
My next trip to China folded with unrest, earthquakes and flu viruses combining with the global financial crisis to produce the perfect storm. May is not a time to be missed and I was lucky enough to join two of my good Australian birding friends Gerry Richards and Trevor Quested on a trip to eastern Turkey. One bird we were all very keen to see was the Little Crake. A global tough guy anywhere unless you live in Hungary I suppose. The crake became our first priority so we flew from Sydney to Bangkok to Dubai to Istanbul to Antalya picked up our hire car drove for hundred or more kilometres and finally crashed out in my case in a reed bed. The next morning we arose found our swamp and after some anxious searching great views of three Little Crakes. Migration was in full swing with hundreds of European Bee-eaters, Black-headed Buntings, a scattering of Barred Warblers, a dozen Little Bitterns and four species of shrike in view at once making this a great start to a fantastic trip. Sadly the swamp was being filled in whilst we were there.

Eastern Turkey was fantastic with many great birding experiences. White-headed Ducks with Montagu’s Harriers, See See Partridge and Dead Sea Sparrow, Caspian Snowcock and Caucasus Black Grouse, Grey-necked, Ortolan and Cretzschmar’s Buntings, Fire-capped Serin and Marbled Duck. Great scenery, good food, friendly people. A ferry trip to Cyprus was a quiet pelagic by Tasman Sea standards. The shelfbreak did provide some good views of Cory’s Shearwater and Yelkouan Shearwater. Eleonora’s Falcon was the highlight of Cyprus.

We broke our return to Australia with a day in the United Arab Emirates. With the temperature hitting 48 degrees C conditions were somewhat oven-like. The police were happy with our excuse of looking for Desert Eagle-owl when they disturbed us from our slumbers in the predawn hours. Unfortunately the eagle owl did not show and although we could only rally 35 species on our UAE big day it came with some quality. Highlights for me were Hume’s Wheatear, Streaked Scrub-warbler, a handful of White-cheeked Terns and Arabian Babbler.

June rolled around and I took my dad on a road journey in Western Australia from Perth to Esperance to meet my sister Marina. We stopped in the Stirling Ranges in relatively freezing conditions. Western Shrike-tit was my first sighting in 25 years of this scarce endemic. Listening for Ground Parrots in Cape Arid was a wash out but I was lucky enough to find a Honey Possum crossing the road in the afternoon gloom-a big mammal tick for me.

For a total change of scenery it was off to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo for 35 days. The two tours I did were on an identical itinerary and yielded almost exactly the same number of species on both trips though the cast line up was quite different on each. Sabah is home to so many great birds with highlights for me ranging from the outrageous Bornean Bristlehead to Chestnut-necklaced Partridge and Cinnamon-headed Green-pigeon. Mammals also stole the show with Flat-headed Cat, Moon Rat and Temminck’s Flying-squirrel being highly appreciated. With a couple of days off at the end I travelled to Poring. Here up on the escarpment I bumped into my Irish birding friend Aidan Kelly. Whilst hanging around for the Hose’s Broadbill he had glimpsed I managed to get him his lifer Olive-backed Woodpecker. The next day he reciprocated with my lifer White-necked Babbler. Thankyou Aidan!

Next it was to Papua New Guinea-ultimately my favourite birding destination in the world. I was joined by my good friend David Bishop and it was to be an excellent tour. New Britain was in good form with some new access roads allowing us to bird in some higher altitudes than previously and I saw a number of birds I had not seen for a few years including my third Webster’s Kingfisher, Black Imperial-Pigeon, best views of New Britain Buzzard and several White-mantled Kingfishers. Bensbach River provided the spectacle of watching Great-billed Herons roaring whilst Spangled Kookaburra was a treat. Kiunga provided an amazing in forest perched New Guinea Harpy-Eagle, wonderful Wallace’s Fairy-wren and the monumental Southern Goura. Tari produced superb Orange-crowned Fairy-wrens, my lifer Bicoloured Mouse-warbler; Tabubil finally gave me a good view of a Rusty Whistler whilst Kumul was simply sensational. In one day we had great views of Rufous Woodcock, Mountain Owlet-nightjar, Crested Bird of Paradise, Archbold’s Bowerbird, Chestnut Forest-Rail, Bronze Ground-dove and Painted Tiger-Parrot. Sensational quality on a day of torrential rain.

My Australian season loomed large in October and November. In 35 days we racked up just under 500 species. Great views of Wandering Albatross, Superb Lyrebird, Rufous Owl, Chestnut-quilled Rock-pigeon, Banded Fruit-dove, Partridge Pigeon, Red Goshawk, Pictorella Munia, Star Finch, Gouldian Finch, Hooded Parrot, Dusky Grasswren, Black-breasted Buzzard, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo, Square-tailed Kite, Glossy Black Cockatoo, White-eared Monarch, Marbled Frogmouth, Albert’s Lyrebird, Freckled Duck, Plum-headed Finch, Southern Cassowary, Mallee Emu-wren, Superb Parrot, Black-eared Cuckoo, Malleefowl and Forty-spotted Pardalote. Extra curricular sightings included Ground Parrot and Australasian Bittern.

December involved buying and selling and moving house and celebrating Christmas with the kids. Before I knew it, it was nearly 2010 and I was back on a plane to India. What an amazing year.

Top North American Listers

2009 North American State and Province Year Listers


No. 1 John Sterling, California (Total 399)

California is a birder’s dream with its varied geography and loads of vagrant birds. I didn’t really do a big year, but traveled often enough to accumulate a yearlist worth noting. If I had been a bit more serious, I could have easily added 30 more species including many easy resident species, but I was happy with my year.

I started off with a trip to southern California with Matt Brady where we chased a lot of stake-out vagrants including Worm-eating, Pine, Yellow-throated, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided warblers, Painted Redstart, Gray Catbird, Scarlet and Hepatic tanagers, Eastern Winter Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron to name a few. Best bird though was one that I found along the lower Colorado River—a White-eyed Vireo for the first Imperial County record and the first for winter in California.

A couple trips to the desert in spring and fall yielded Blue-winged Warbler, Painted Bunting and other goodies (including some rare dragonflies).

white-crested elaenia
White-chinned Petrel, Half Moon Bay © John Sterling
Pelagic birding was a highlight and it started well with Parakeet Auklet in January, then great August trips with multiple Hawaiian and Cook’s petrels, Laysan Albatross, Brown Boobies, and then topping it off in October with a White-chinned Petrel that Alvaro Jaramillo and I photographed for the second North American and first California record!

Best gulls and shorebirds were near my home at the Davis sewage ponds (in the Central Valley) where Todd Easterla found an adult Slaty-backed Gull, several Lesser Black-backed Gulls, one probable Iceland Gull, a juvenile Red-necked Stint (first juvenile for lower 48 states!), and an adult Sharp-tailed Sandpiper! Fortunately he always calls me first with his finds, so I was able to see these rarities quickly.

A July Red-eyed Vireo and Northern Parula in Davis were also quite unexpected as was the singing Ovenbird in the middle of Sacramento in mid-summer. Getting to all four corners of the state enabled me to cover a lot of habitats and appreciate the diversity that California offers. Sticking close to home in for much of the fall and winter hurt my chances for racking up a big year list, but preparations for an Antarctic trip and work/family commitments kept me busy.

white-crested elaenia
Red-necked Stint, Davis © John Sterling


No. 5 Russell Cannings British Columbia (Total 338)

British Columbia is truly one of the most diverse geographic and birding regions in North America and this year was all about exploring the areas unfamiliar to me.  I’ve spent most of my birding career close to home in the southern interior but 2009 saw me along the coast, way up north, and on the east side of the Rocky Mountains in BC’s Peace River Region.

January/February was a very cold period in my hometown of Penticton, BC as record lows swept across the country so it was no surprise to catch up with a gorgeous GREAT GRAY OWL in Enderby.  Things really picked up in the spring however highlighted by a FERRUGINOUS HAWK (around 10 provincial records) that Chris Charlesworth and I spotted flying north over Kelowna, BC in April.  Then in May I cleaned up on “Okanagan Valley specialties” (in a BC context) like GRAY FLYCATCHER, SAGE THRASHER, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, BREWER’S/LARK/GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, and FLAMULATED OWL.  AMERICAN AVOCETS and BLACK-NECKED STILTS were showing up all over the province in spring, including the far NE where I carried out surveys for rare wetland breeders such as NELSON’S SPARROW, LE CONTE’S SPARROW, AMERICAN BITTERN, and YELLOW RAIL (the latter species was a lifer!). 

Throughout the month of June I did breeding bird surveys in Fort Nelson, BC (way up in the NE on the other side of the Rockies) where a fair number of “eastern” birds can be located within BC!  Some examples include: CONNECTICUT WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER (lifer—finally!), PALM WARBLER, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, and RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (new BC bird for me). to name but a few!

On my return to the south I was happy to catch up with a singing male INDIGO BUNTING near Merritt, BC, then in August I got onto my first BC pelagic trip where some easy lifers were picked up like BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS, PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER, and TUFTED PUFFIN.  Some other great coastal birds for me this fall included seeing Victoria’s SKY LARKS, some rare migrant shorebirds like BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER, WILLET, and HUDSONIAN GODWIT, and of course a few vagrants such as BLACK PHOEBE (found while looking for an Emperor Goose!) and a McCOWN’S LONGSPUR.

Probably the highlight of the year was working with a pair of SPOTTED OWLS (less than 5 individuals left in the province now) alongside expert Jarred Hobbs.  3 days in the middle of Garibaldi Provincial Park with BC’s rarest resident—what a treat!!! It is truly sad that we have allowed the mass exploitation of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest.

Very few new year birds were added in November/December but a lone SNOWY OWL in Kelowna, BC would have to be the highlight.  All in all a very fun year!

2009 North American County Year Listers

No. 2 Roberto Torres, Miami-Dade County, FL (Total 298)

alan davies ruth miller
300 in one county, are you nuts?

That’s what I said.  After hitting a personal best of 285 species for the year in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 2007, the buzz among my close birding friends was the possibility of 300 in one year.  This is considered a great goal for the entire state, but to hit this mark in the most populated of Florida’s 67 counties was something I considered impossible.  I took 2008 off from year-birding, but was persuaded to join in a friendly competition in 2009.  My personal goal was to beat my 2007 total, but always the thought of 300 loomed in the background.  January got me 175 species, a pretty decent start.  Not many rarities, but I got Lesser Nighthawk, Short-eared Owl, Lesser Canada Goose (only the 2nd state record), Bell’s Vireo, Franklin’s Gull, a Tropical Kingbird that had stayed all winter, Brown-crested Flycatcher, and Marbled Godwit, which was a county first for me.  Still, winter was on the slow side, and I didn’t even have an American Robin.

From February to April I didn’t get many numbers of species, as this is typically a rather slow period as we wait for spring migration.  However, I was fortunate to get such goodies as Black-headed Gull, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and Black-throated Gray Warbler.  The Black-headed Gull was a really nice winter adult, and showed up at the same location where I found a 1st winter bird in October, 2005.  The Black-throated Gray was a one-day-wonder, and I got the call while I was down near the Everglades that it had showed up in a park 2 minutes from my house.  I was lucky to get there just in time to see it and for my friend Trey Mitchell to photograph it.

Spring migration was one of the slowest I’ve seen, and I only managed Connecticut Warbler and Black-billed Cuckoo as noteworthy migrants.  I would have to make it up with a good showing of pelagics in summer, and they started off with a bang on May 23 when I went out on my boat and found an adult Red-billed Tropicbird.  Amazingly, I had found a Red-billed Tropicbird on the same date in 2008.  Although I got Audubon's and Cory’s Shearwater, Wilson’s and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, Masked and Brown Booby, Northern Gannet, Brown Noddy, Bridled and Sooty Tern, Red-necked Phalarope, and Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers on my pelagic trips, I missed others I had hoped to get like Sooty and Greater Shearwater and Leach’s Storm-Petrel.  A nice consolation prize was the discovery by other birders of the first confirmed nesting Western Spindalis in Florida (and more than likely the U.S.) in July.

Fall started off slow, especially for shorebirds. The goal of 300 seemed to be getting beyond my reach, and I even considered quitting, but soon some nice birds started showing up.  Cerulean Warbler is always tough in South Florida, but yet I saw three different individuals.  I managed to pick up many of the migrants I missed in spring, and when the height of migration rolled around (we call it Octoberfest down here) things really turned on. In a period of just a few days, I got Warbling Vireo, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Nashville Warbler, and Mississippi Kite, all of which can be tough in this area.  Another nice find was a Baird’s Sandpiper, which I had hoped to get in August, in mid October.

I hadn’t given up on pelagics, so I headed out on October 31st and found good numbers of Jaegers migrating south and managed to pull off a Jaeger trifecta which included a subadult Long-tailed Jaeger.  A few days later on November 5th, after the offshore winds really picked up, I got what may be my best bird of the year doing an afternoon seawatch: an adult Sabine’s Gull.  To think I was only looking for a sea duck on that day.  The Sabine’s was #283, and I still had almost two months in the year.  The 300 goal seemed reachable all of a sudden.  I had no easy birds left to get, but good birds kept coming.  Rufous Hummingbird, Dickcissel, Black Scoter, Bufflehead, Whimbrel along with a couple of sparrows I still needed all showed up in November, and I was at 292 on November 30th.  I didn’t expect much else, but a La Sagra’s Flycatcher showed up in Everglades National Park in mid December, then I was sent in search of Yellow Rail for the Christmas Bird Count and as luck would have it, I found one!  Also on that date I got a Song Sparrow, a trash bird for most of the country, but a write-up species for the CBC down here.  A Red-footed Booby that showed up injured on Miami Beach was released from rehab in December, and it stayed around our area.  According to ABA rules, the bird was countable, so it was a nice addition to the list and completed my sulids for the year.

La Sagra's Flycatcher
La Sagra's Flycatcher, Florida (Dade County), Bill Bagg's Park, Key Biscayne 3/14/10 © Jeff Bouton from the Surfbirds Galleries
On December 30th, I found myself sitting on 297, a healthy step up in my personal best, but shy of the magic 300 number.  I took the risk of heading out on yet another pelagic on December 31st to score with a big find to finish the year. I chased a probable Manx Shearwater, but the seas prevented me from giving chase.  Although I was sure of it being a Manx, I refused to count such a good bird for this area without getting up close and personal.  My previous Manx flew next to my boat for about a mile, never more than 30 feet off the transom.  Despite all sorts of troubles heading back in, I managed to make it to Everglades National Park in the afternoon, and at 5:15 PM, with 45 minutes left of daylight in 2009, I finally got American Robin to finish with 298 for the year.  Turns out, there were two White-crowned Sparrows seen earlier in the day nearby, which I still needed.  If I’d had a better look at the Manx, and known about the sparrows, 300 would have been attainable.  There were a total of 306 birds reported in Miami-Dade County in 2009, and I only missed 8 of them.

Despite falling two birds short of 300, I had the most enjoyable birding year of my life.  Having a goal that at times seemed insurmountable is what motivated me to get out and look when I otherwise felt like being home.  There were misses and frustrations, but these were more than countered by moments of great excitement and satisfaction.  I found some good birds, and chased some good birds found by others, but always the best birds were the ones that all of us got to enjoy together.  I hope that by putting this much effort, I did my small part to bring enjoyment of this great pastime to others.  As for all the great birds I saw, I say to them farewell for now, and I thank you.

Top Britain and Ireland Listers

2009 BOU Year List

No. 1 Lee Evans (Total 347)

2009 was another bumper year for me in terms of year-listing, with no less than 643 species recorded in the wider Western Palearctic region and just under 350 in Britain. Although six months of Western P touring from February to July took its toll on my home turf, and cost me Brown-headed Cowbird, I did have my best year for over a decade in adding SEVEN new species to my British Life List - with the addition of GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, CRESTED LARK, NORTH ATLANTIC LITTLE SHEARWATER, YELKOUAN SHEARWATER, AMERICAN BLACK TERN, EASTERN-CROWNED WARBLER and ASIATIC BROWN SHRIKE.

However, like most things in life, it was the 'dips' that really hurt, like missing both of 2009's mega seabirds - TUFTED PUFFIN and BLACK-BELLIED PETREL - as well as a Pendeen Watchpoint MADEIRAN STORM PETREL by 17 minutes and the highly mobile AFRICAN ROYAL TERN - and a Kent BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER and Norfolk CASPIAN TERN by less than a minute.

Additionally, it was yet again another extremely poor year for those species once classed as 'banker birds', and again I failed to connect with Tawny Pipit, Bluethroat, Little & Rustic Bunting, Pallas's Leaf Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit or Red-throated Pipit in 2009, nor White & Black Stork or Little Auk. Desert Wheatear failed to put in one appearance, the first time in the entire decade. Furthermore, for me, the continuing demise of Scilly was a traversty, 2009 being the first autumn since the 1970's that I had not set foot on that magical archipelago.

On the more positive side, it was another enjoyable year, with 31,000 miles or thereabouts covered in pursuit of what was on offer, and in some great company. Congratulations must go to the Galvin family for their efforts and gritted determination (even though Chris got both the Cornish Albatross and the Black-bellied Petrel - gripped off or what) and to Northamptonshire stalwarts John Ward and Ray Wright, both of whom I shared many moments along the way.

Eastern Crowned Warbler
Eastern Crowned Warbler, Co. Durham, South Shields 23rd October 2009 © Adrian Webb from the Surfbirds Galleries


No. 4 Jonathan Lethbridge (Total 314)

Like so many birders on January 1st, I was so over-excited that I arrived at my first port of call in the dark. This was the year I was going to see 300 species, but I had to wait over an hour before I could actually see anything. I was after the King Eider at Earlsferry in Fife – I thought I had it on silhouette in the pre-dawn though couldn’t be sure – but once the sun came up, there it was, bobbing about in its usual bay. A cracking start, made better by adding Surf Scoter about half an hour later just around the corner in Largo Bay. What a fabulous place that is – all the Divers and most of the Grebes safely under the belt before breakfast!

The rest of the month was largely spent birding close to home in London and Essex. Places like Abberton and the Essex coast are simply fabulous in winter, but despite the abundance of great birding nearby, I felt compelled to go and see the wintering Snowy Owl in Cornwall. We had a great weekend, including finding the Owl, but it refused to move in the foul weather, and we ended up only seeing its head. This was a shame as I had wanted to see its furry feet…I ticked it anyway, and ended January on 152 species. Over halfway!

I added a few scarcities before spring started, mainly returning wildfowl like the Ring-necked Duck at Foxcote, but mostly it was business as usual. I didn’t neglect the patch, and was pleased to get my first spring migrant, a Wheatear, on Wanstead Flats on March 15th. This was #183.

Over the next few weeks, the floodgates opened, and I hit 200 in early April, with a Whimbrel at Old Hall Marshes, and by the end of the month I was on 218, including such goodies as the White-throated Sparrow in Hampshire, and a Hoopoe at Landguard which was my 300th UK tick. Yes, I am a low-lister. One of my abiding memories is of visiting friends in Oxford, and whilst en route (and bemoaning a day to be spent not birding) praying that Farmoor might deliver something. As we approached the ring-road, somebody found a Bonaparte’s Gull….

May was rather good, everything seemed to fall into place. I spent the morning of the 2nd running around after the Crested Lark at Dungeness with several thousand other nutcases, and once that was seen well enough, zipped back home to London, changed cars, and headed off to Portland for the Collared Flycatcher, which I got at about 4pm. A hellish day of driving, but two amazing birds. Well, one amazing bird, one boring brown one….

On the 12th I finally connected with the Black-winged Pratincole which I had dipped two days in a row, once at the original location on its first day, and then a speculative visit to Grove Ferry the following day. Guess where it was the day after that? Yup, Grove Ferry. Three trips to Kent in three days, that’s dedication for you. And stupidity. Actually, make that four trips in four days, as the following day I went again, this time to Dungeness for a unique Hippolais double – I ticked Icterine a mere 18 minutes after Melodious in a memorable evening twitch. Soon after that a Collared Pratincole turned up in Norfolk. This was a lifer too – two Pratincole species in five days. My mates joked that I’d be lucky to get Oriental….

On June 3rd, the pager came up with “Pratincole sp” at Dungeness. Could it be? It was!! In fading light I had excellent views of this gem of a bird to complete a hat-trick of Pratincoles in just over three weeks. I still can’t really believe it.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Kent, Bockhill 22nd July 2009 © Phil Chantler from the Surfbirds Galleries
I was shopping with the kids when the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater came up on July 22nd. Could I get there? To my regret I continued shopping, albeit with a picnic substituted for the original list. About half an hour from Dover, the message came through that it had flown out to sea. My heart sank and I thought about turning around. Good job I didn’t, as it came back! At Bockhill I found a space and commando-rolled out of the car. Kids in the buggy, and we were off, down to where I could see a small crowd. The man in front of me was running. With the buggy and unsuitable terrain, there was no way I could go any faster, and a good thing too - a funny “Prrruuupp” call caused me to stop and raise my bins. To my surprise the Bee-eater flew past me, up the hill, and out of sight. It was never seen again. The man in front didn’t see it; he was too far down the hill. I have never come closer to dipping. Rather unsatisfactory given it had been sat in a bush for the previous three hours, but you take what you can get in these situations. Next time I’m abandoning the shopping.

By the last week in August I was on 276 species and fairly confident of meeting my target. Then I had a run of rare birds that I will probably not see the like of again. If May was good, the final weekend of August and the first ten days of September were incredible. Stupendous even.

Dawn on the 30th saw me and a couple of friends at Porthgwarra for the second time in a fortnight. I had gambled on the weather the previous weekend but come away empty-handed. This time it looked even better, and indeed almost the first bird seen once I had my eye in was a Great Shearwater moving east past the Runnel Stone Buoy. It got better though, much better. Just before 11am the bloke next to me called another Great Shear. Then he changed his mind. “It’s not a Great Shear, it’s got dark underwings! It’s a……” I can’t write what came next – the air turned blue as a Fea’s Petrel sheared slowly west, remaining in view for about three minutes. We followed up this stunning success with Citrine Wagtail just down the road at Marazion before the long drive home, adrenalin overcoming tiredness.

There was to be no let-up though. The next day, August 31st, I was in Hampshire for the Blue-winged Teal at Cosham. On September 2nd I jammed in on the Arctic Warbler at Landguard within 30 seconds of arriving, and on the 5th managed to get from the Ortolan Bunting in Norfolk back to London in time to get Alpine Swift at Aldenham in the fading light. On the 7th I went for the Pallid Harrier in Cambridgeshire, what a bird that was, easily my favourite of the year, and on the 8th I got the Fan-tailed Warbler in Kent after a two hour wait. These were all lifers, I think it ended up being 8 in 10 days, 9 if you count the American Black Tern which we twitched on the way down to Porthgwarra.

On 11th October I was at West Runton, Norfolk, on 298 for the year. A friend I was with was on 296. Somewhere in the stubble field were the birds to get us both to 300 - a Richard’s Pipit, a Short-toed Lark, and a Lapland Bunting, and in the brambles at the disused farm, a Barred Warbler. Could we do it?

An emphatic YES! We had the Richard’s Pipit in flight within about five minutes, and the Lark about an hour later. 300 up! After that my mate had a quick look for the Barred Warbler, and got it within about five minutes when a lot of people had been waiting for about 3 hours. I missed it but I’d already seen one in Sussex. Then we went looking for the Lapland Bunting which had been pinned down on the far side. This was surprisingly difficult, but we got the bird eventually, for his 300th. Field of Dreams. Ended the day at Choseley where we got the Rose-coloured Starling in glorious beige, and then a Jack Snipe at Titchwell was my 303rd bird for the year.

I can’t not mention the fabulous Brown Shrike on Staines Moor, but the rest of the year petered out really. Or I petered out, one or the other. I spent a week on Scilly soaking up cakes, added Radde’s Warbler, and finally got a Wryneck. I had dipped four before going, and then got one about half an hour after landing. Needing to chase round for minor scarcities like this is one of the reasons I won’t be year-listing again in a hurry, although as I write this, on February 25th, I’m already on 167 species whilst attempting NOT to year-list in 2010. I should just stay indoors.

I ended the year on 314 species, the last one being the Rainham Serins on November 29th. I’m not sure what I did in December. Rested, probably.

No. 7 Neil Fletcher (Total 308)

For a variety of reasons I had really struggled to see 200 species in 2008.  I regard this as my minimum, so I decided that I would try to get a good start in 2009.  Little did I know where that would lead me!  I’ve never seriously tried to do a UK Year List, though in 2004 I had a good year and reached 267 species, but that was not really planned, it just happened. In 2009 I set out to get comfortably past 200, this is an abbreviated story of my birding year.  Species in Bold were UK ticks, in CAPS are the photos.

I love January 1st, everything is a tick! Spent the day locally, got GND, Water Pipit and Common Sandpiper at Farmoor Res. Just outside Aylesbury got Short-eared Owl and Chinese Water Deer. There followed a busy January ….  Westcliff-on-sea, Rossi’s Ice-Cream Parlour, Ring-billed Gull; waders at Blackwater Estuary; Rutland Water, Common Scoter, Smew, and Red-Crested Pochard.  Pitsford Reservoir; Slavonian Grebe and Ruddy Duck.  Greenfield, Beds WAXWING.  Foxcote Res. Ring-necked Duck; Draycote Water, Shag and Red-necked Grebe. Norfolk; Golden Pheasant near Wolferton, Titchwell added Woodcock, Merlin and Black Brant, Salthouse for Snow Bunting.  Devon, Clennan Valley Country Park, Penduline Tit showing extremely well, Broadsands car park for Cirl Bunting and Velvet Scoter, finally Brixham for Purple Sandpiper and Surf Scoter at Dawlish (3 Scoters in a day!).   By the end of January I had notched up 139 species, a good start, I thought 200 for the year should be OK.

February started in a lively way, I won a holiday on Speyside with Heatherlea for early March which I hoped would get some otherwise hard to see species.  Norfolk Willow Tit at Wayland Wood, Hawfinch and Common Redpoll at Lynford and GREAT GREY SHRIKE at Lakenheath. Welney added Bewick’s Swan, Corn Bunting and Tundra Bean Goose. Sheppey, Little Owl from the familiar view by the Emley toilets! Rough-legged Buzzard, White-fronted Geese.  Onto Lydd to catch up with the KING EIDER, which showed very well.  Little Gull at Dungeness rounded off a long day.  I finished Feb with 158 species.

Early March Scotland trip cleaned up on all of the Scottish specials and a few more, 21 species were added including Green-winged Teal, Scottish and Parrot Crossbills (birds with very different calls, all common crossbills frozen out of the area), both eagles, all three divers, Capercaillie, Black and Red Grouse, Ptarmigan, Glaucous, Iceland and RING-BILLED Gulls, Pale-bellied Brent Geese, Tree Sparrow and Rock Dove. At this point it started to get serious, I was on 178 and started to think that I might be able to a get good UK year list total.   Also in March, a trip to Nags Head produced Goshawk, then onto Cardiff for the Lesser Scaup, but missed the Bonaparte’s Gull. Osprey at Latimer, Lesser Redpoll at Sandy and nothing at Rutland Water!  On 29th Mar a stunning male RING OUZEL in my garden.  By the end of March I was up to 186 species with 9 months to go.

April started well with common migrants at local sites, incl. Yellow and White Wagtails at Startops Reservoir.  Black Redstart and Wheatear in Milton Keynes.  A putative Pacific Golden Plover at Norfolk, Breydon Water RSPB would have been a lifer, but it was an American GP.  At Old Winchester Hill the White-throated Sparrow was my 200th species for the year. Bonaparte’s Gull and Arctic Tern at Farmoor Reservoir. A trip to Dorset added Whimbrel, Spoonbill and Dartford Warbler. Willington GPs, Derbys. WHISKERED TERN and Whinchat.  Pectoral Sandpiper, Leics.  By the end of April I was on 222 species but still no real ideal of where it might go, but hoping to beat my previous record.  Friends started to say that 300, the gold standard for UK listers, might be possible, I did not think so!

Collared Flycatcher
Collared Flycatcher, Dorset, Portland 2/5/09 © John Carter from the Surfbirds Galleries
May was manic! Portland for the COLLARED FLYCATCHER, a stunning bird but no sign of the Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler.  Hooded Merganser at Radipole was coming to bread, not added to list!  Lots of daylight left, so we headed off to Dungeness and got the Crested Lark, but it was elusive and flew long distances across the Dungeness wilderness at frequent intervals.  Detour on the way home via Lea Valley Country Park added Savi’s Warbler and Nightingale, a stunning day! Finally found an elusive Grasshopper Warbler at Otmoor, White-winged Black Tern at Staines Reservoir. Stodmarsh for Black-winged Pratincole and Wood Sandpiper. (Pratincoles are my bogey birds, this was my first ever, all 3 species in the UK this year, I only managed one.)  Forest of Dean, Wood Warbler (I never tire of hearing the song), Pied and Spotted Flycatcher.  Chew Valley Lake, long-staying Ferruginous Duck. Wicken Fen, tried for the SQUACCO HERON but no sign, onto Lakenheath for Golden Oriole (very poor view on the nest in gale!) and Weeting Heath for Stone Curlew.  I decided to give Wicken Fen another go, after 90 minutes I was walking away when it flew out of reeds right under the hide and showed well for 20 minutes, another result! Seaforth, Merseyside,a long way to go to dip on Pallid Swift and Roseate Tern, but got Curlew Sandpiper at Marshside RSPB. Dawlish Warren, dipped on Western Sandpiper, but did see Cirl Bunting and 3rd Spoonbill of the year.  242 at the end of May.

In June things slowed down a little, Ham Wall RSPB, Little Bittern calling frequently and showing in flight (my 370th UK species). Baldock, Hertfordshire, after work trip to catch up with Quail. Snelsmore Common, Nightjar, Minsmere RSPB, Little Tern, dipped on Purple Heron (by 15 mins!) Great White Egret and Roseate Tern (again!). Otmoor; Marsh Warbler showing well.  By the end of June I was on 247 species, but still no real idea how many I might get, at this point 275 looked like a tall order! 

July added some good species, but slowing rapidly.  Was lucky to get Caspian Tern at Wiggenhall St. Germans, raced there and saw it distantly on the river bank.  Rushed back to the car to get my camera, when I got back it had flown.  Strumble Head, Manx Shearwater, CHOUGH and Puffin. Suffolk, Hen Reedbed, Great White Egret, Minsmere, Roseate Tern, I’d finally cleared 2 difficult birds. A week in Norfolk on holiday with the wife added Monagu’s Harrier, Honey Buzzard and Pacific Golden Plover (at Breydon Marsh RSPB – 10th lifer!) Welney WWT White-rumped Sandpiper (on the way home from Norfolk). Up to 259 at the end of July.

August started well with GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (and a million ladybirds) frustrating to have to go back to Norfolk after being there for a week when the bird did not show at all.  Quick trip to Farlington HWT for the Spotted Crake.  Had a few days holiday and thought about a trip to seawatch in Cornwall. Incredibly, got a late cancellation on a Scilly-based trip with 3 days’ pelagics and overnights either end for birding in Cornwall. A fantastic trip providing Storm Petrel, 13 WILSON’S PETREL (stunning photo courtesy of Bill Dixon), Sooty Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, 2 Great Shearwater, 9 Cory’s Shearwater, Arctic Skua and Sabine’s Gull.  On Scilly also got Lesser Yellowlegs, Melodious Warbler and Buff-breasted Sandpiper.  Many Common Dolphin also seen.  Martin Mere, Wilson’s Phalarope showed well. At the end of the month a great day started at Elmley RSPB for Long-eared Owl, Dungeness for RED-BACKED SHRIKE then to Farmoor for juvenile  American Black (not counted), Black and White-winged Black Terns providing a unique comparison of otherwise difficult species.  I was on 274 Species at end Aug.

September was a month of dipping on Grey Phalarope, Alpine Swift, Pallid Harrier, Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Common Rosefinch, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Icterine Warbler and Zitting Cisticola (again).  But picked up with Glossy Ibis at Stodmarsh NT and on to Alexandra Park to finally catch up with Alpine Swift.  A tour of N. Norfolk added only Red-necked Phalarope.  At the end of the month, finally nailed Zitting Cisticola at Pegwell Bay, onto on to Stewartby Lake in Beds to catch up with Leaches Petrel.  Early still, so on to Chew Valley for Long-billed Dowitcher.  By the end of Sept I was now on 280.

October started slowly with a disappointing week on Scilly. Got the Woodchat Shrike also 2 Chough at Nanquindo Valley on the way, but only managed to add Dotterel on airport, Common Rosefinch on Tresco, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Rose-coloured Starling, Wryneck and Tawny Pipit on St Agnes, and Yellow-browed Warbler in a week that should have produced more.  A Pomarine Skua at Pendeen was a minor consolation before the long trip home.  A hastily arranged trip to the West London Office allowed me to catch up with the newly discovered Brown Shrike on Staines Moor first thing, though I popped back at lunchtime on my way home for a view without the fog!  A trip to Norfolk /Suffolk mid-month added Short-toed Lark, Barred Warbler, PIED WHEATEAR, Red-flanked Bluetail and Shorelark. Connected with Azorean Atlantic Gull (not counted) at Didcot and a day out in Norfolk added Grey Phalarope and Jack Snipe.  Most interesting though were 30 Snow Buntings which came into land in very shallow water on the Freshmarsh at Titchwell to drink.  A short notice trip to the north east in order to get the Eastern Crowned Warbler at South Shields, a magical experience.  Also got a LAPLAND BUNTING at South Gare. On my way south took a detour via Flamborough Head to try for Little Bunting and Pallas’s Warbler, saw neither, but did get brief views of Dusky Warbler, which was bird number 300, I’d made my target with just over two months of the year left.  At the end of October a late Red-rumped Swallow at Witcham, Cambs. was too good to ignore.  I finally connected with Caspian Gull at Didcot.  Having got to 302 by the end of Oct, I must admit that my enthusiasm for trekking around the country did wane a little, despite a friend insisting that 325 was still possible!  I was convinced that anything else was going to be very hard work.

November was much quieter, good views of SERIN at Rainham Marshes, in the same spot they had been in 2008.  For reasons that now escape me, I went to Carsew Baisin in Hayle to try for the Pacific Diver that had been reliably seen at close range for the previous four days.  Needless to say there was no sign.  Topsham on way back added SPOTTED SANDPIPER.  Ended Nov. on 304.

December was hard work, I had great views of TWITE at Knott End-on-sea and the four Snow Geese on Aldcliffe Marshes.  I was now struggling to find anything else for the list, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker being the main species I might possibly find despite several fruitless attempts.  Had a few attempts at Church Wood which had had previous regular sightings but without success.  Late in December 3 were reported at Coombe Abbey CP in Warwickshire, gave it a try on 28th Dec but no joy.  Desperate to find something else went to Exminster Marshes to see the Red-breasted Goose, opinion is divided on this bird but I counted it anyway. 

With time rapidly running out on 31st Dec, decided to try Coombe Abbey CP again, and after 4 hours and late afternoon, I finally saw a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, closing out the year on 308 species. 

Looking back over the year at leisure I’m really pleased with the result, particularly the time I spent in the field and the variety of things seen.  I added 21 species to my UK list, I’m now on 384, and two (American Black Tern and Azorean Atlantic Gull) that may be added later.  On the down side, I dipped on several species; Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler, Temminck’s Stint, Pallid Swift, Western Sandpiper, Purple Heron, Icterine Warbler, Little Bunting (3 times at least), Richard’s Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Pallas’s Warbler and Pacific Diver.  I was holding down a full time job, so was restricted mostly to weekends so missed many more that I simply could not get away for, including Sandhill Crane, Collared and Oriental Pratincole etc. etc.  I spent a lot of time on the road, drive over 18,000 miles.  Would I do it again?  Well not in a hurry!  But if you have the time and money available I’d certainly advocate doing at least once in your life.


2009 British Self-found Year Listers

No. 1 Paul French (Total 225)

Like many birders, finding rares has always been a major motivation for my birding, and twitching has gradually taken more and more of a back seat over the last few years. Towards the end of 2008 i realised i needed an added dimension to this, and decided to do a self-found year list.

The first decent find of the year was an adult kumlieni Iceland Gull at Thurlby Sand Pit, Lincs. Unfortunately only countable as an Iceland, likewise the Black Brant I found at Frampton Marsh on Feb 9th was relegated to a note next to Brent Goose. Spring dawned at the end of March, and a rush of early migrants graced my local patches of Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore. I traditionally never find anything during the spring, and this year was no different. My best bird of April was probably my first Willow Tit in several years during a hike in the Lincolnshire Wolds. May was slightly better, and i managed to come across a couple of Montagu's Harriers around The Wash. Rather embarrassingly, a completely unexpected Golden Oriole flying over Kirton Marsh in late June was a full on "find tick".

Moving into the summer, and my second of three trips to Scotland produced most of the specialities, but it wasn't until August started that my luck finally began to change. A Pectoral Sandpiper at Frampton Marsh was soon followed by a Spotted Crake there, while a trip to Pendeen on Aug 29th proved to be a day too late for anything too good, but i was happy enough with Grey Phalarope and Balearic Shearwater.

My second find tick of the year came with some style in early September. Scanning through the local Eider flock off Freiston Shore, I located Lincolnshire's first ever King Eider. This was followed a week later by some of the most rewarding seawatching I've ever had, especially considering it was on my patch. Linc's 5th Cory's Shearwater, flocks of Pomarine Skuas, several Leach's Petrels and a couple of Roseate Terns all moved past the Witham Mouth, some almost within touching distance. A trip to Foula in late September promised much and almost failed to deliver. Finding a Barred Warbler on the first day was encouraging, but then a week and a half of gale force westerlies led to despondency on a grand scale. All that changed when I flushed the first of three hornemanni Arctic Redpolls that my group found, but the only other additions to my year list on Foula were Common Redpoll and Purple Sandpiper! Luckily, a Short-toed Lark at Sumburgh Farm ended the trip on a high note.

October produced a few decent birds and catch ups from the first winter period I had missed. Yellow-browed Warbler, Shore Lark and Ring Ouzel in a good day on the Lincs coast was followed by a stunning and rather late Sabine's Gull off Huttoft on Oct 17th. After failing to find a Yellow-legged Gull in over nine months in The Wash (and only two in four years!), I succumbed to temptation and ventured inland. A Black-necked Grebe and several Yellow-legged Gulls were just reward for a trip to west Lincs. The final ticks of the year came with a Water Pipit at Frampton Marsh and a Little Auk on the last day of November. This was to be the last new bird for the year, and with a total of 225, i was pretty pleased. My target had been for 200, with anything over that a bonus. I had missed many relatively easy species, including lots of breeders or regular wintering species, but i had seen and found some quality birds and added a new dimension to my birding. Its not something i'll be doing again in 2010 for a variety of reasons, but perhaps 2011 will rekindle the flame?   


No. 2 Ross Ahmed (Total 218)

Goa, Israel and the gull conference in Aberdeen each provided distractions to my usual rounds in the first quarter, but in amongst the Black Drongos, hordes of Steppe Buzzards and P10 discussions, I was secretly pleased with my scarce per hour ratio. The ratio would have been even better had a more than likely Ross's Goose which flew past Eyemouth, Borders on 25th February been just quarter of a mile closer in. Meanwhile Smew, Hen Harrier, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and the like kept me mildly entertained...this was winter after all. A Black-necked Grebe at one of my faves, Covenham Reservoir, on 19th March put a serious dent in my 'embarrassingly still yet to find list'. Spring rolled into view sooner rather than later, but the self finder in me never did get on well with April. Mid-month work commitments did however place me rather conveniently on Lewis, and of course Lewis + April = White-billed Diver. It may have taken umpteen Great Northerns to get through before a banana-bill emerged (two in fact), but I got there in the end.

After staring on enviously at the resident warden John Bowler’s finds list, I had given Tiree the ‘potential’ tag. And it was here I found myself in the opening days of May. Howling westerlies and horizontal rain on the travel up - the omens were looking more than good. Unbelievable densities of breeding waders and idyllic scenery galore, but this wasn't what I came for, and as usual I found my asking 'where were all the birds?' Of course, the answer was 'on Shetland'...in the form of yanks. A Siskin may have excited the natives, but like Blue Tits on Shetland or House Sparrows on the Farnes, I really wasn't bothered. After last year's deluge, mid-month May saw another retro-style fall, and I couldn't complain after bagging Bluethroat, Icterine and Wood Warblers on Holy Island.

horned guan
American Golden Plover © Ross Ahmed
Promises of extreme vagrants in June delivered little more than Quail, and July wasn’t much better. I don’t think I have ever been as excited about an autumn as I was this autumn. Any bona fide finder knows this is where the money lies. But August and most of September were, to put it bluntly, rubbish. A pain in the arse in mid-September suggested I had been sat on the somewhat-less-than-soft wooden benches of the Whitburn Obs for a long time - 28hrs in 2.5 days to be precise. The rewards? Great, Cory’s and 2 Sabs; all nice yes, but predictable to the core. As tales of alberts at point blank range and multiple Madeirans began to filter out from where else but the south west, the pain in my arse just got worse.

Evidently not fed up from the first time, the late September/early October period saw me back on Tiree for more. I had a good feeling this time - a volley of Pectoral Sandpipers (as many as 6) and back up along the lines of Grey Phalarope, Leach's Petrels and Barred Warbler kept on teasing me with the prospect of better things. The icing on the cake, the Blackpoll, catharus thrush or Buff-bellied Pipit never came, but my very own American Golden Plover on 1st October was just a brilliant, brilliant moment. I jumped up and down, and punched the air. This was a bird I really wanted, and there it was right in front of me (quite literally). Just like Lesser Scaup, Dusky Warbler, and Rustic Bunting, AGP is one bird every finder needs to do at some stage. With the list on 215 on coming off Tiree on 6th October, things were looking up.

 

horned guan
Black-legged Kittiwakes and Sabine's Gull © Ross Ahmed
Eastern Crowned Warbler. October was all about these three words, and Trow Quarry was the venue. A site I've have stomped through literally hundreds of times and a site which so sweetly delivered me a Subalp last year, this year turned the villain. Was I the only person stood in Trow at dawn on 23rd October who felt gutted? Well ok, maybe it was actually a little bit exciting, but I still felt gutted.

By mid-October I was pulling out all the stops, right from checking each and every Ringed Plover for a Semi-p through to trying figure out what a flyover OBP might sound like. As eight hour session after eight session, and disappointment after disappointment went by, I was seriously beginning to question exactly what I was doing out on the field. Why were others finding crazy Pacific alcids and transatlantic Cranes when I couldn't even find a Yellow-browed (or Ring Ouzel, Little Stint and Black Redstart)? Impulses of hope were provided by Siberian Chiffchaff, Barred Warbler and Firecrest. But even by mid-October, each finding attempt felt more and more 'last ditch'. I knew that as walked back to my car, head held low, having fruitlessly checked St Abbs Head on 29th October, that really was it. A trip to New York as November began came as a welcome relief, a place where I was quite content leisurely strolling through Central Park enjoying the residents, without feeling the torment of birding back home.

 

horned guan
Trow Quarry © Ross Ahmed
Here's a joke, how many Tufted Ducks does it take to find a Lesser Scaup? If finding rares really is just a numbers game, then I should have found dozens of Lesser Scaups (and Ring-necked Ducks) by now. Work sent me to the hidden gem that is Dumfries and Galloway in the closing two months of the year, and I resolved to spend as long as possible birding its lochs, estuaries and salt marshes. Green-winged Teal, Garganey and 3 aythya hybrids later, scanning through the hordes of ducks was at least producing something.

I ended the year on 218, having added just three new species since coming off Tiree on 6th October. What went wrong? On paper, I actually had a semi-decent year, but in the thick of the action, it really didn't feel like it.

2009 British County Year Listers

No. 1 Stuart White, Norfolk (Total 267)

Working as a tour guide in Norfolk I thought I would spice things up a bit and go for a big year list total. The year had many highs and lows, stand out memories were a classic day at Cley in May some excellent sea watching, the Black Winged Prantincole and Great Spotted Cuckoo.

The year started well with January producing a small flock of Waxwings, both Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, Jack Snipe, an over wintering Great Grey Shrike and the Black Bellied Dipper from last year.

February was equally as productive with a Long Eared Owl, 2 Golden Pheasants, well timed views of the elusive Penduline Tit, a Cattle Egret and a couple of yank ducks close to Norwich a Green Winged Teal and Ring Necked Duck.

March was spent mainly in the brecks working enjoying many views of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Goshawks, Hawfinches with up to 18 on one day and Firecrests. Spring migration took off mid month and I recorded my first ever march Willow Warbler and House Martin.

April produced an American Golden Plover at Breydon followed late month by a tricky Hoopoe at upper sheringham and a Wryneck only seen by a handful of lucky observers at Waxham.

For me personally May had one of the best days UK birding of my life. The first half of the month produced a self found Temminck’s Stint, returning Montagu’s Harriers, 3 Dotterel and 2 cracking Red Rumped Swallows together at Blakeney. On tour on the 13th the morning yielded Citrine Wagtail, 2 Temminck’s Stints, the first of 40+ Black Terns and lots of common migrants. The afternoon was the highlight though, walking up east bank at Cley I spotted a Hoopoe coming in off the sea over the reed bed !! It headed straight into a wood not to be seen again by us. After getting over the shock we carried on up the east bank round to Arnold’s marsh and there sitting right in front of us a Kentish Plover the only one seen in Norfolk that year! What a day. The rest of the month found it hard to live up to that day but Collared Pratincole , Woodchat and Grey headed Wagtail and returning Honey Buzzards helped.

June went off with a bang with cracking views of the Black Winged Pratincole hawking for insects around our heads. A very early morning meant catching up with the elusive Great White Egret at Hickling just before a 9am flight to Japan !! The holiday cost me Marsh Warbler and Red Backed Shrike but hey ho.

caspian tern
Caspian Tern, Norfolk, Welney WWT 5/07/09 © Christopher Upson from the Surfbirds Galleries
July was a surprisingly productive month with some real luck, firstly seeing the Caspian Tern 15 seconds before it flew off. A Quail only heard and not seen cost me £100 for a new bumper but that’s another story. Cley struck again with White Winged Black Tern, which hung around long enough for me to connect after work, often seen in the same view as a Buff Breasted Sandpiper! A few days later another American Golden Plover this time in summer plumage. Later in the month a Pacific Golden Plover turned up at Breydon initially identified as the cley American it caused some confusion. One of the highlights of the year a Great Spotted Cuckoo was next and on the last day of the month a White Rumped Sandpiper at Welney.

Hickling was the place to be in August turning up both Baird's & Pectoral Sandpipers and a Red Footed Falcon. Late in the month and unpredictable Osprey was seen by peddle power at Buckenham.

September was all about sea watching, it kicked off with a huge passage of Manx Shearwaters followed by a distant Cory’s and brief adult long tailed skua these were but a taste of things to come. A four day period in mid month produced daily passages of 1200 Kittiwakes, 1,000’s of Gannets another 4 Long Tailed Skuas one a fine adult. 2 days running we had all 4 species of Skua the others in bigger numbers. Also 20+ Sooty Shearwaters, a few Balearic Shearwaters, at least 3 Leach’s Petrels, a probable Great Shearwater and 2-3 more Cory’s Shearwaters one close enough to see the finer plumage detail. Other good birds included Ortolan Bunting, Barred Warbler in the hand, Red Necked Phalarope, Red Breasted Flycatcher, 3 Glossy Ibis close to Norwich, the first Yellow Browed Warbler on the 20th and a Spotted Crake which nearly slipped away unnoticed.

October was a bit of an anticlimax a few good days one yielded both Short Toed Lark and Richard's pipit in the same field, a Pied Wheatear in the east a lingering Grey Phalarope, a fairly brief Pallas's Warbler and a Snow Goose and that was it apart form a confiding Siberian Chiffchaff at months end.

November produced no new year birds but plenty on the sea with Divers, Grebes, sea ducks, Skuas and a Leach’s Petrel.

December was fairly quiet with just two new birds in the first week, an American Wigeon at Welney and Ferruginous Duck at Snettisham. Also a possible Brunnich’s Guillemot that slipped through the net.

All in all an excellent year, I finished on 267 but missed 13 gettable birds, so the record was there for the taking, the most frustrating was the Sabine’s Gull which flew past Sheringham while I was sitting there! Oh well, the frustrations of birding. More importantly I made some good friends and had a lot of fun


No. 3 Penny Clarke, Norfolk (Total 260)

Fellow birders are always asking me 'what's your Life List on Penny?' and 'What's your County Life List?' - I have never seriously listed until 2009. I don't have a 'British Life List' or County Life List! I suppose one day I should compile my lists as I have had some some seriously good birds throughout my life, including Fan-tailed Warbler (I refuse to call it a Zitting Cisticola!), Ivory Gull and Thrush Nightingale to name but a few in Norfolk!

I decided it would be quite fun to do a county list for the year and also join Sue Bryan in the race, being one of the few women in the top rankings each year - and also to keep some of the men on their toes!!!! I generally work 6 days a week so found it quite difficult/frustrating to keep up with some fellow listers at times!

JANUARY 1st - a dull, freezing cold day with no sun, achieved 82 birds by the end of the day with nothing particularly unusual for the time of year. 10/1 produced Hawfinch and Little Owl at Felbrigg and Purple Sands and Snow Buntings at Sheringham. 11/1 Dipped badly on the Killdeer at Saddlebow - how frustrating when I live so close - I was asleep when Connor rang me and there it was on the pager - raced over there, but missed it by 20 minutes along with other very frustrated looking Mega Twitchers/birders!!! Managed to scoop Smew, Goosander and Green Sand whilst there though. 17/1 Short eared Owl, Water Pipit and Jack Snipe at Titchwell. 24/1 Caspian Gull and Grey Grey Shrike at Lakenheath along with Rough leg Buzzard out of county at Coveney. 25/1 bagged me the stunning Black bellied Dipper at Little Thornage Ford which was most definitely bird of the month! 31/1 - awesome day with Connor, Pete and Richard watching two Great White Egrets either side of the road at Pymoor drain. List: 132.

FEBRUARY 1st - fruitless search for the Glaucous Gull at Cley/Weybourne. 14/2 Gypsy Lane, Titchwell produced a Black-necked Grebe. 15/2 Cattle Egret at West Beckham and finally caught up with the Glaucous Gull at Cley. 21/2 Woodlark and Goshawk. News of a Penduline Tit at Strumpshaw had me sitting in the Fen hide in the afternoon but after studying every reed mace for several hours I gave up - but returned the following day to watching two Otters at 6.30am, bittern in flight AND stunning views of the Penduline Tit at 10.25am! 28/2 Second GGS of the year along with Crossbills at Wolverton. List: 146.

MARCH 7th - Rough leg Buzzard, Wolverton. 13/3 Lesser Spot W at Holkham. Black b. Dipper again at Hunworth Bridge and Manderins at Felbrigg. 14/3 Saw my first Chiffchaff and Firecrest at Holme along with Twite at Brancaster. Dipped on the Hoopoe at Thornage on 21st! 29/3 4 Waxwings at Weybourne along with 2 Black Redstarts at Beeston Bump. List: 156.

APRIL 1st - 2 Wheatears at Holme. 4/4 Swallow and House martins at Burnham Overy Dunes. Sand Martin and Red c. Pochards at Titchwell took the list to 161. 5/4 Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler. 10/4 Drake Gargeney at Titchwell. 11/4 Grasshopper Warbler, 3 Ring Ouzels and Cuckoo at Snettisham C. Park - top draw day with male Redstart and black redstart x 2 and Yellow Wagtails and blue headed wagtail (my pic on surfbirds) at the Lighthouse/cliffs at Old Hunstanton. 13/4 saw me joining fellow birders: Mark G and Steve to watch American Golden Plover at Breydon and then onto Hickling to watch Common Cranes. 25/4 running on shingle to Cley beach carpark to get to car and fly to Cley windmill to see a stunning Red rumped Swallow in the evening sunshine that someone had put on the pager (don't know who) - watching this though mean't I dipped out on the black headed wagtail at Titchwell! 26/4 Turtle Dove at Titchwell. 29/4 Stone Curlew at Weeting. List: 186.

MAY 4th - Nightingale and Whinchat, Cley. 6/5 Montague's Harrier and Dartford Warbler. Spoonbill and Wood Sand at Cley and Temmicks Stint at Stiffkey Fen. 8/5 3 Dotterels at Ringstead. 9/5 Dipped badly on a Hooded Crow - was asleep on the NOA carpark in the sunshine when I received a frantic phone call from Paul 'Hooded Crow sitting by the fence line by the road near the lighthouse at Old Hunstanton' - its extremely difficult to bomb along the Firs road as I am sure many of you know - but gave it my best shot and missed it by 5 minutes - I was not happy! 12/5 was a mega birding day and also a 'Lifer' - Mark Golley had found a Citrine Wagtail at Cley but it had disappeared - sitting in Dawkes' Hide along with top birders I felt quite smug refinding it again!!! 13/5 Awesome Black Tern passage! 13/5 Dipped out on RM's Blythes' at Gun Hill. Kentish Plover on North Scrape, Cley. 14/5 15 Black Terns and a Little Stint at Stiffkey Fen. 15/5 Mega day - Pied Fly at Salthouse, walked Blakeney Point, dipped on Wood Warbler at Muckleborough - phone call from Pete Snook which had me racing to Salthouse beach carpark to watch a Collared Pratincole sitting in a field!!! Also dipped on another Hoopoe at Great Ryborough late in the evening. 16/5 Hoopoe bagged! along with Nightjar at Salthouse and Woodchat Shrike at Friary Hills. 23/5 Golden Oriole, Lakenheath. Spot fly at Weeting. 25/5 Overhead views of Honey Buzzard. 29/5 Great Knot expedition after work was deleted from my list! 30/5 Short-toed lark at Cley and Quail at Choosely brought the list to 216.

Black-winged Pratincole
Black-winged Pratincole, Norfolk, Titchwell RSPB June 2009 © Sean Nixon from the Surfbirds Galleries
JUNE 3rd - took 5 attempts to see the awesome Black winged Pratincole at Titchwell! List: 218.

JULY 5th Caspian Tern at Welney. 11/7 Buff breasted Sandpiper at Cley. 18/7 Cory's Shearwater from Coastguards, Cley along with 5 other birders. 23/7 Another fantastic mega: Great Spotted Cuckoo at Salthouse found by John Furse! 25/7 LEO. 30/7 Manxie at Holme. 31/7 White rumped Sandpiper at Welney. List: 227.

AUGUST started off extremely well with a Pacific Golden Plover at Breydon Water on the 1st! 9/8 self found Red backed Shrike in the 'House on the Hill, Blakeney. 10/8 Baird's Sandpiper at Rush hill scrape. Much debate over the possible semi-palmated sandpiper at Cley! 16/8 Osprey at Lynn Point. List: 232.

SEPTEMBER 4th Ortolan Bunting, East Bank, Cley. 5/9 Sooty Shearwater, Sheringham along with Bonxies and Long tailed skua. 9/9 2 Scaup, East Bank, Cley. 12/9 Red necked Phalerope, Stiffkey Fen. 17/9 Red-breasted Fly at Wells and at Stiffkey Campsite wood on the 18/9. 19/9 Wryneck at Snettisham RSPB and Glossy Ibises at Stoke Holy Cross! 26/9 Spotted Crake at Cley brought the list to 243. Stupid accident with car which insurers had written off (cat C) mean't from Monday 28th September I would not have a car!!!! List: 243.

OCTOBER 10th - a long and tedious bus journey proved very lucky and I managed to scoop the Barred Warbler at West Runton and later on YBW at Holkham. 16/10 2 Shorelarks at Titchwell. 17/10 Seawatch at Sheringham produced 2 Little Auks, Pom Skua and Great Northern Diver. 18/10 at last a Mealy and Lesser Redpoll on the Sycamore tree by Obs. at Holme. Grey Phalerope at Titchwell. Raced over to East Runton to dip badly on the Pallas's Warbler by 15 minutes - 2nd prize was a YBW and a Firecrest! 19/10 Green winged Teal, Daukes' Hide, Cley. 20/10 2 Lapland Buntings, West Runton. Snow Goose, Docking. 24/10 1st for Britain EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER (my longest twitch!) seen with Andy Wilkinson, Pete Snook, Ray Roche and Connor Rand - Cracking day!!! Bumped into Sue Bryan as we all got out of the car! 25/10 Finally after dipping several others, Pectoral Sandpiper from Teal Hide, Cley along with another White rumped Sandpiper found by John Miller. 31/10 Dipped on GWE at Hockwold. Rares in Norfolk this autumn were virtually non-existent, very sadly. List: 258.

NOVEMBER 8th Great White Egret, Hockwold! 15/11 Slavonian Grebe, Titchwell and Black throated Diver on 22/11. List: 260.

DECEMBER 5th Ferruginous Duck, Snettisham RSPB - raced over to Welney to dip on the American Wigeon but scooped it the next morning between two hospital shifts on Sunday 6th! very luckily some birders had re-found it and Dave Appleton had it lined up in his scope for me! Got my car back after waiting a couple of months for second hand parts to be sourced and now back on the road! Spent the 31/12 doing a freezing seawatch at Sheringham and dipping on the ring necked duck for the second time!

Ended on 262 for Britain including Golden Oriole in Suffolk and Eastern Crowned Warbler in South Shields and 260 for Norfolk.

See full diary on http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=59348.

I really enjoyed the whole listing experience, apart from when I wrote my car off and had to attempt birding via pubic transport which cost me a Rose-coloured Starling and a Richard's Pipit! I can see how it becomes addictive - in fact I REALLY miss not doing it this year!

2010 - Just simply enjoying birding around Norfolk - and looking forward to returning to Fair isle again in May/June. With the price of petrol as it is, I am quite pleased I am not listing! Good luck to 2010 listers!


No. 4 Phil Whittaker, Suffolk (Total 244)

I had more spare time for birding in 2009 and I spent most days in the field, even if it was only an hour walk around my local patch. The incentive of a good Suffolk year list provided the right kind of motivation to get me out and about in the county more than usual. I also managed to maintain coverage of a number of Atlas squares, monthly Webs counts and yearly BBS surveys. I was out of Suffolk for three trips, to the Canaries at Easter, Scotland in August and an end of the year trip to Sri Lanka.

I started the year with a laid back New Years Day total from my local patch at Pipps Ford of 39 species. Green Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail and Little Egret were first day highlights. The following day brought the first Bewick’s Swans at Westleton, a Merlin hunting over North Warren and good numbers of Tree Sparrow at Beach Farm, Benacre. On 4th Jan I found a single Tundra Bean Goose at East Lane and saw four more later on the same day at Minsmere. A search at dusk of the beach at Dunwich gave brief views of an elusive Lapland Bunting. Good numbers of Corn Bunting were seen mid month at Chelmondiston. At the end of the month I caught up with the Lesser Yellowlegs at Walberswick.

February highlights included, 2 Long-tailed Duck on the Stour at Stutton Mill, River Stour, Willow Tit in Breckland and Great White Egret on my local patch (one of five sightings I had in Suffolk in 2009).

March saw me at sites in Thetford Forest for Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and Goshawk as well as the usual Breckland species. A Glaucous Gull at Minsmere and Cattle Egret at Bures followed. Also a Ferruginous Duck and 6 Garganeys on the same day at Loom Pit Lake, Levington. 3 Penduline Tits at Westwood Marshes were the highlight of the month. 3 Common Cranes and Great Grey Shrike at Lakenheath Fen ended the month on a high note.

In April I was out of county for the first 2 weeks, but on return I soon had Wryneck and Ring Ouzel at Kessingland and a flighty Hoopoe mid-month at Landguard. Little Ringed Plover returned to breed on my local patch and a reeling Grasshopper Warbler on my River Deben Webs count was a bonus.

Birding in May started well with the elusive Purple Heron finally sighted at Minsmere, I had spent a couple of weeks looking for this, wandering along much of the coast. The 14th turned into a red-letter day, at Shingle Street early morning to find the Icterine Warbler and Wood Sandpiper at nearby Boyton RSPB . Baby sitting at home in the afternoon news came in of White-winged Black Tern in the west of the county at Great Livermere, where with 15 month old grandson Archie we got great views of this with a group of Black Tern. On returning home, I was straight out again to Trimley Managed Retreat for a female Red backed Shrike which was hunting on the river wall in the gathering gloom of late evening (phew!). Melodious Warbler arrived at Languard mid-month along with good numbers of Pied Flycatchers at various coastal sites. The month ended with the excellent views of breeding Golden Orioles at Lakenheath.

In June, the highlights were, singing Marsh Warbler at Landguard , Montague’s Harrier Orford Ness and more sightings of Great White Egret at various locations.

July was generally quiet in the county but sea watching perked up mid month with early Arctic Skuas and a Bonxie appearing off the coast.

August started with a returning Osprey on my local patch which spent a few days fishing my local GPs. A juvenile Montague’s Harrier was seen well on Orford Ness.

On my first day back at work in September, an Arctic Warbler (lifer for me) showed up at Landguard meaning a sharp exit from the toils. This was a sign of things to come as it was followed by an influx of Glossy Ibis with the first at Boyton RSPB. A Long-tailed Skua off Southwold, Cory’s Shearwater from Thorpness and Greenish Warbler at Landguard . The tally of good birds rose even further with Red-breasted Flycatcher at Thorpness towards the end of the month.

The first good bird of October was Red Kite at Gedgrave Marshes. A red-letter five hour sea watching day at Southwold with, Leach’s Petrel, Pomarine Skua, Black-throated Diver and Manx Shearwater all passing. Red-flanked Bluetail was a good bird at Minsmere, mid-month soon to be followed by a superb Pied Wheatear at Shingle Street seen after work at dusk. Later in the month a short staying Radde’s Warbler was located early morning at Thorpness.

Pied Wheatear
Pied Wheatear, Shingle Street, Suffolk 19-10-09 © Brian Small from the Surfbirds Galleries
Good birds continued to appear into November with a Dusky Warbler at Gunton and Red-necked Grebe on the Stour. I ended the year on December 17th when I left for Sri Lanka with 244 species.

Notable Dips : Woodchat Shrike, and Long-eared and Short-eared Owl, it is amazing that I did not see the latter species in Suffolk, as I spent many days wandering in coastal areas. Saw but did not tick the dodgy Ortolan Bunting at Landguard and 2 possible Marsh Sandpiper on the Stour!

I am trying for a national list of over 300 for 2010!


No. 5 James Emerson, Norfolk (Total 231)

I began 2009 with the aim of seeing more than 220 species within Norfolk, beating my previous years total of 216.  I spent the first two days visiting local sites, clocking up a modest 49 species, including Goosander and Scaup.  A big trip out on the 4th saw me add Hawfinch, Glaucous Gull, Brambling & Tree Sparrow amongst others.  Buckenham Marshes proved a useful site, with Taiga Bean Goose in January and a Green-winged Teal in February.  More local birding, with Smew & Mealy Redpoll added to the list.  Golden Pheasant, Willow Tit and Bittern were also seen in February, along with an unseasonal Black Redstart and a twitched Black-necked Grebe.

Spring began in earnest in March, with Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler returning.  Resident Common Crane and Goshawk took centre stage along with over-wintering Great Grey Shrike and Dartford Warbler, whilst a 3rd-winter Caspian Gull was an unexpected bonus.  In April a controversial plover was found at Breydon.  Most people came round to the ID as American Golden Plover, but if you disagree then deduct one from my total!  Later in the year I was to see a Pacific Golden Plover at the same location.  My bird of the month was a Raven found in the Hickling area, which is currently with the county records committee.

I will remember May for two days in particular, firstly dipping the Collared Pratincole (it must have flown behind or over me whilst I scoured the marshes attempting to relocate it!), and secondly an all day bird race.  I saw 113 species, albeit a few in Suffolk.  Highlights included Stone Curlew, Tree Pipit, Black Kite (another record currently with the records committee), Montagu’s Harrier & Nightjar.  Summer highlights included Black-winged Pratincole, 9 Spoonbill, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Baird’s Sandpiper and Great Spotted Cuckoo.  The last bird coincided with a huge ladybird invasion, and viewing was hindered by the constant and surprisingly painful bites on the neck from these little red hordes.

The autumn was relatively poor, one Balearic Shearwater was the only seabird of note to come from a number of seawatches.  An obliging Ortolan Bunting at Cley was a lifer for me, as was Red-breasted Flycatcher at Wells.  My favourite birding day of the year came in September.  I saw the sun come up at Caistor St Edmund, where I saw a Glossy Ibis fly up from the river and down the valley.  In the afternoon I went to Cley, and was rewarded with close-up views of a Spotted Crake just in front of the hide.  A Short-toed Lark at West Runton in October made up for one I’d missed earlier in the year.

The year finished with a selection of ducks, American Wigeon, 2 Ferruginous Ducks, Ring-necked Duck and 3 Long-tailed Ducks meant I ended the year on 231 species.  This was past my personal target, and pleasingly meant I ended in the top 10 on the Surbirds county listings.  Here’s to an even better 2010

Great Spotted Cuckoo
Great Spotted Cuckoo, Norfolk, Kelling 05/08/2009 © Lynne Elizabeth Demaine from the Surfbirds Galleries

2009 British Local Patch Year Listers

No. 5 Steve Waite, Axe Estuary, Devon UK (Total 185)

I have been very much a patch birder for years now, with only a few winter days away in Norfolk, and the occasional 'twitch' when the subject bird 'floats my boat' being my downfall!  The reason patch birding excites me so much is that I feel I can really appreciate the rarity value of birds.  Some birds, which I wouldn't give a second glance at if I were on the nearby, and much larger Exe Estuary, would create a mini-twitch here.

The Axe Estuary in East Devon has always been a good site for birding, although numbers aren't always great, variety is, and as more and more birders have been concentrating on this patch, more and more is being found. 

The best year to date was 2007.  My local patch year list for that year ended on 197, and the year had been brilliant, with rarities and scarcities such as Audouin's Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Caspian Gull, Corncrake, Stone Curlew, Iberian Chiffchaff, Pallas's Warbler, Lapland Bunting and Serin.

2008 passed, and was less exciting, but when 2009 dawned I decided to make this the year the one I break the local patch year listing record, which was the 197 from 2007.  Well as you can see from my total, this didn't happen, but still it was an exciting year with many ups and downs...

The first winter period produced a good selection of wintery wildfowl, all the usual ducks, though a lingering young drake Surf Scoter right at the start of the year was certainly a bonus!  A Spoonbill spent a few days on the estuary mid January, and towards the end of the month, three Cattle Egrets were a very welcome sight.  Some strong southerly winds pushed several Little Gulls close to the shore, always a treat to see.  Several Iceland Gulls, our wintering flock of Woodlark, and both Red-necked and Slavonian Grebes ensured February wasn't a boring month, though the month's highlight came at the end with four fine adult Whooper Swans

The spring was probably one of the poorest springs I've ever witnessed!  Bar a few days in the middle of April and at the beginning of May, common migrant numbers were generally very poor.  I dipped the only Ring Ouzel and a couple of brief Cuckoos and yet again there were no Turtle Dove records.  My highlights were a cracking male Pied Fly, a brief Osprey (seen from work!), and rather good numbers of reeling Grasshopper Warblers - one of my favourite spring sounds!  The first, and only, patch first occurred in May, with a pair of Red-crested Pochards on the estuary briefly.  They were great to see, although their origin dubious!  May also brought the most painful dip of the year, when one of the regulars watched a Cory's Shearwater cruise past the sea front... ouch!

Summer, was as always, mostly uneventful, but a unseasonal Goosander and the first returning waders did mean there was something to keep the Axe birders ticking over!  August was a good month, though it would have been better had I'd seen the Ortolan Bunting which briefly graced Beer Head on 22nd.  I did score with one of my best finds of the year, an Alpine Swift hawking over Colyford Marsh on 24th.  Back to the star of the month, and three Little Terns which were first seen shortly after day-break on 4th, thankfully remained in the area 'til I finished work at 17:00. A Wryneck on Beer Head finished August off well, it remained for over a week.

Seawatching at the start of September failed to reveal any Sooty Shearwaters for me, which was very annoying!  But plenty of Balearics were noted, and a phone call on 1st had me leaving the sea front for Blackhole Marsh, where a juvenile Black Tern was lingering.  A Pectoral Sandpiper was our only American bird of 2009, but was totally eclipsed when six Glossy Ibis were found in the valley on the morning of 19th - certainly my highlight of the year.

October was poor, though one very enjoyable highlight was a stunning juvenile Long-tailed Skua which flew past a couple of us, in fact it flew over us - it was so close!  November was a much birder month for the patch year-lister, with Beer Head towards the end of the month producing a very confiding Snow Bunting and a late flurry of not so confiding Ring Ouzels.  Sea watching at the end of the month gave me five Leaches Petrel, a very notable patch record, but nothing like the event that was witnessed just along the coast in Chesil Cove.  My highlight of December was when one the two wintering Whooper Swans disappeared, and was soon replaced by a Bewick's Swan - a scarce bird in Devon.  A Black-necked Grebe on the sea mid month ensured all the regular wintery Grebes were on the list!

So I ended the year on 185, well short of my previous record, but still it was great fun!  The rarest birds I missed included the Ortolan, Cory's Shearwater and a Caspian Gull, but I also managed to miss some 'easy'  species which were seen by others; Marsh Harrier, Pomarine Skua, Puffin, Sooty Shearwater, CuckooCurlew Sandpiper, Turtle Dove and Dartford Warbler weren't even on the patch list for 2009, let alone mine!

My advice for anyone thinking of doing a patch list, do it!  You need time and flexibility, but you also need a good team of local birders to help you along.  Here on the Axe I am very lucky to be surrounded with many good birders, all of whom are very good at quickly and efficiently sharing bird news.  I won't be listing in 2010, but I hope one of the Axe team has a crack at my 197...

Worldwide Miscellaneous

2009 Young Birders' Year List

No. 3 Daniel Lopez Velasco (Total 1210)

Daniel watching a blue bird of paradise in PNG
I didn´t plan to have a big 2010 year list, as combining 4º year Medicine and spending much time birding abroad isn´t an easy task, but in the end I came up with 1210 species after several successful trips.

In January, I saw several good species in the north coast of Spain, including record numbers of Iceland, Caspian and Glaucous Gulls, Lesser Scaup (all of them self found), American Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, etc

The first week of February took me to France, to see my most wanted bird of the world. The first winter Ivory Gull at Gujan-Mestras, which showed extremely well.

The first major trip of the year was to Thailand, where I spent 13 days in February with a couple of good friends, guided by Nick Upton, mainly sticking to central locations and ending up with 370 species.

At Kaeng Krachan, apart from no less than 3 Leopards, highlights included Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Great-Slaty Woodpecker, Crested Jay,  Yellow-vented Green Pigeon, Grey Peacock Pheasant, Black Eagle, Kalij Pheasant, etc… apart of course from several broadbills, hornbills and trogons.In Nam Nao, best birds were probably White-bellied Woodpecker and Collared Falconet.

The rarest bird of the trip was seen at Bueng Boraphet, where we saw 2 (male and female) Baer´s Pochards (photos on the surfbirds gallery) A couple of Spot-billed Pelicans, and several Siberian Rubythroats were nice too.

Yellow-browed Warbler
Baer's Pochard, male, Bueng Boraphet, Thailand, Feb 2009 © Daniel Lopez Velasco
At Laem Pak Bia/ Pak Thale we saw what for me is one of the best birds of the world: 5 Spoon billed Sandpipers. Also in the area 65 Nordmann´s Greenshanks, 2 Chinese egrets and 1 White-faced Plover.

At Khao Yai, we eventually had good views of Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, as well as Blue Pitta, Siamese Fireback, etc..

Of course, from an European point of view, the number of Sibes (Siberian Blue Robin, Brown Shrike, Thick-billed Warbler, lots of phylloscopus warblers, etc) seen was fantastic.

The first bird I saw after arriving back to Spain, was, unbelievably, the stunning adult Ross´s Gull found by several dutch birders at Alcazar de San Juan. I had never thought I would see 3 of my dream birds (Ivory and Ross´s Gulls and Spoon-billed Sandpiper within less than one month!).

I visited southern, central, and eastern Spain in spring and early summer, seeing nearly all of our most typical birds, including Spanish Imperial Eagle, Tengmalm´s and Eagle Owls, Citril Finch, Black-shouldered Kite, White-headed Duck, Yelkouan Shearwater, Dupont´s Lark/ In between, in my region, I found a Roseate Tern from my bedroom window! and a Bonaparte´s Gull and also saw Terek Sandpiper and American Golden Plover, as well as all the high mountain and forest specialities, such as Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor, Grey Partridge, Snow Finch, Black and Middle-spotted Woodpeckers, etc..

In July I made a short non-birding trip to the Balearic Islands with my girlfriend, with the best birds being Balearic Warbler and Eleonora´s Falcon.

I then spent one month with a couple of friends in NW Ecuador, first doing volunteer birding work at reserva las Gralarias, where we saw  by ourselves "wild" Giant, Moustached, Ochre-breasted, Chestnut-crowned and Yellow Breasted Antpittas!!, without tapes, Black and Chestnut Eagle, Crested Guan, Plate billed Mountain Toucan, Ocellated Tapaculo, Scaled Fruiteater, etc... Afterwards, 10 days, still in the NW, visiting various places and guided by excellent birder Duzan Brinkhuizen, of Mindo Bird Tours. Main highlights were the Blue Grosbeak we found at Canande, apparently 3º for South America, and 1º one photographed, Torrent Duck, Sunbittern, Indigo Flowerpiercer, Black Hawk Eagle, Great Jacamar, Black and White Hawk Eagle, Lanceolated Monklet, Plumbeus Hawk, Oilbird, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Black Tipped Cotinga, Long Wattled Umbrellabird, Golden Chested Tanager, Colombian Screech Owl, Moss Backed Tanager, Rufous Breasted AntThrush, Western Hemispingus, etc.... A total of 410 species (only 10 heard only), with lots of Chocó Endemics, in those 10 days, with no shorebirds or coastal birds, plus 10 more we saw nowhere else apart from Las Gralarias.

I did a lot of seawatching, as usual, in late summer and autumn, and was rewarded with one of my best birding moments ever: a Fea´s type Petrel I found at Estaca de Bares, and, best of all, enjoyed by many of the friends that were together with me that day (no accepted records in Spain yet), as well as massive numbers of Long tailed Skuas (150 ads in one day), Wilson´s Petrels, Great Shearwaters and Sabine´s Gulls (a flock of 350 in a pelagic was an impressive sight)
In October I went with my classmates on a leisure, non birding trip to Cancun, Mexico, but I was able to see several nice species too, including Black headed Trogon, Northern Royal Flycatcher and 20 species of North American warblers.

Late autumn was slow in the north coast of Spain, with just a few good sightings, including good numbers of Leach´s Petrels, Short-eared Owl, Dotterel, Slavonian Grebe, Snow Bunting, Richard´s Pipit... In November I had the chance to do a short birding trip to Turkey, with several interesting species seen, including Iraq Babbler, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Pallid Scops Owl, etc

My last 2 new birds for the year were a couple of adult Lammergeiers which put on a great show near my grandparent´s house in the Pyrenees, in mid December, and a Spotted Sandpiper I found at my local patch on the 29th. A good end to a very successful year.

Yellow-browed Warbler
Scaled Fruiteater, male, Reserva las Gralarias, Ecuador. Photo © Jose Ardaiz
See the complete archive of 2009 World Year Listers