Monday, January 1, 2001 - Year report - 2000
I began bird watching in 2000, a new pair of Nikon 10x25 Travelite IV binoculars for Xmas started getting me closer to things I'd enjoyed growing up.
I had discovered Little Marlow Gravel pits in late 2000, and with a very cold and snowy spell during late December and early January I made the most of the holiday period.
However having married in June of 2000, I had completely missed the opportunity to sample the avian delights of Hong Kong and Australia, something I have lived to regret.
My list as the year closed was hardly impressive, however a single Waxwing on the 28th December at Little Marlow Gravel pits proved a noteable highlight.
Birds seen in UK prior to 2000:
# 1: Common Pheasant - Phasianus colchicus
# 2: Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos
# 3: Greylag Goose - Anser anser
# 4: Canada Goose - Branta canadensis
# 5: Mute Swan - Cygnus olor
# 6: Common Swift - Apus apus
# 7: Rock Dove - Columba livia (feral)
# 8: Common Wood-Pigeon - Columba palumbus
# 9: Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
# 10: Common Coot - Fulica atra
# 11: Common Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus
# 12: Herring Gull - Larus argentatus
# 13: Black-headed Gull - Larus ridibundus
# 14: Red Kite - Milvus milvus
# 15: Common Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus
# 16: Great Crested Grebe - Podiceps cristatus
# 17: Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo
# 18: Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea
# 19: Carrion Crow - Corvus corone
# 20: Rook - Corvus frugilegus
# 21: Eurasian Jackdaw - Corvus monedula
# 22: Eurasian Jay - Garrulus glandarius
# 23: Black-billed Magpie - Pica pica
# 24: European Robin - Erithacus rubecula
# 25: Eurasian Blackbird - Turdus merula
# 26: Song Thrush - Turdus philomelos
# 27: Mistle Thrush - Turdus viscivorus
# 28: Common Starling - Sturnus vulgaris
# 29: Winter Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes
# 30: European Blue Tit - Cyanistes caeruleus
# 31: Great Tit - Parus major
# 32: Coal Tit - Periparus ater
# 33: Long-tailed Tit - Aegithalos caudatus
# 34: Northern House-Martin - Delichon urbica
# 35: Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
# 36: White Wagtail - Motacilla alba yarelli
# 37: House Sparrow - Passer domesticus to here
# 38: Hedge Accentor - Prunella modularis
# 39: European Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis
# 40: European Greenfinch - Carduelis chloris
# 41: Yellowhammer - Emberiza citrinella
# 42: Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs
# 43: Eurasian Bullfinch - Pyrrhula pyrrhula
4 lifers for the year, 47 in total
Australia
# 44: Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae: June, a cracking bird high in an old dead tree in Cairns, unmistakeable!
# 45: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo - Cacatua galerita: June, to say they were common was an understatement as they wandered into our room on the Whitsundays!
# 46: Rainbow Lorikeet - Trichoglossus haematodus: June, a pretty common lorikeet on the Whitsundays.
UK
# 47: Bohemian Waxwing - Bombycilla garrulous: December, and one of my first visits to Little Marlow Gravel pits. A single bird was present in the lane towards the river, I was unaware at the time just how rarely these birds were seen.
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