Last years top 10 birding moments:
- Scotland, and being at the most westerly point in the Great Britain watching hundreds or possibly thousands of Manx Shearwaters passing the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Despite missing White-tailed and Golden Eagles on both our trips to Mull the popular sea bird colony on the Treshnish Isles was good compensation.
- Realising that my local patch (Kings Langley) has more to offer than I originally expected, leading me to even do a guided tour of the area to show some of the local nature novices some of the local birds including the Red Kites, not to mention the notable Yellow Wagtail passage.
- Ringing birds, an amazing insight to the details of feathers and molt patterns, also relising that birds are not perfect at all but vary amongst each individual, observing the beak of a pair of Bullfinches in the hand showed me first hand how evolution molds the form of each individual bird.
- Cassiobury Park, for offering me a welcome break from hard work at school during some of my free periods, before and after school. Offering an array of common yet amazing seaonal birds including Fieldfare, large flocks of 131 Waxwing and drumming Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the summer.
- The Isabelline Shrike (my first shrike species) for giving me an insight into rairities and megas that I hope to see in the future whilst still reminding me of last 2011's dips in the form of Slaty-backed Gull, Azorean Yellow-legged Gull, Eastern-crowned Warbler, White-tailed Eagle etc. notice how I dipped all the mega's. However, the successes being Hoopoe, Snow Bunting, Pectoral Sandpiper and a few others provided partial compensation.
- The Cornish Coastline, following peak migration period, all the same 70+ Wheatear were to be had as well as the local pair of Choughs and still a good experience despite missing the Wryneck and Buff-breasted Sandpiper that I had no idea was only under my nose.
- All the RSPB trips that I went on, meeting likeminded people and sharing some good birds including, Barn Owls, White-fronted Geese, Black Terns, an Isabelline Shrike, Avocets, a Glossy Ibis, Great White Egret and hearing my first Nightingale, although I already fear it may be one of my last.
- A class trip to south Wales, seeing dozens of Ravens, surveying several flypast birds from a lookout post on a wooden tower.
- Endless hours spent at Tring Reservoirs, encountering many of the years visitors including the recent Snow Bunting and Bewick's Swans but unfortunately missing much of the spring migration of Bar-tailed Godwits.
- New life in the form of nesting Blue and Great Tits in the garden (filmed with a nest-cam) as well as seeing the nestling Swallows close up at the Boxmoor trust.
1) European Robin
2) Woodpigeon
3) European Greenfinch
4) European Goldfinch
5) Blue Tit
6) Black-billed Magpie
7) Common Blackbird
8) Eurasian Collared Dove
9) Chaffinch
10) Dunnock
11) Long-tailed Tit
12) Great Tit
13) Eurasian Jay
14) Wood Nuthatch
15) Eurasian Treecreeper
16) Black-headed Gull
17) Carrion Crow
18) Great Cormorant
19) Common Gull
20) Mallard
21) House Sparrow
22) Common Starling
23) Peregrine
24) Great-spotted Woodpecker
25) Winter Wren
26) Coal Tit
27) Redwing
28) Red Kite
29) Fieldfare
30) Common Kingfisher
31) Song Thrush
32) Common Moorhen
33) Mute Swan
34) Grey Heron
35) Pied Wagtail
36) Tufted Duck
37) Common Pochard
38) Red-crested Pochard
39) Great Crested Grebe
40) Yellowhammer
41) Skylark
42) Northern Lapwing
43) Common Goldeneye
44) Gadwall
45) Canada Goose
46) Greylag Goose
47) Little Grebe
48) Common Coot
49) Grey Wagtail
50) Eurasian Wigeon
51) Common Teal
52) Northern Shoveler
53) Eurasian Jackdaw
54) Common Kestrel
55) Bohemian Waxwing
56) Ring-necked Parakeet
57) Brambling
58) Eurasian Siskin
59) Goosander
60) Great Black-backed Gull
61) Green Woodpecker
62) Goldcrest
63) Eurasian Curlew
64) Eurasian Marsh Harrier
65) Little Owl
66) Black-tailed Godwit
67) Reed Bunting
68) Common Redshank
69) Ruddy Turnstone
70) Eurasian Oystercatcher
71) Stonechat
72) Pied Avocet
73) Grey Plover
74) Common Shelduck
75) Dunlin
76) Northern Pintail
77) Red Knot
78) Barnacle Goose
79) Barn Owl
80) Ringed Plover
81) Little Egret
82) Greater White-fronted Goose
83) Brent Goose (dark bellied)
Slaty-backed Gull (uncertain ID)
84) Common Buzzard
85) Eurasian Sparrowhawk
86) Common Pheasant
87) Stock Dove
88) Common Bullfinch
89) Egyptian Goose
90) Rook
91) Herring Gull
92) Common Linnet
93) Common Snipe
94) Mistle Thrush
95) Common Chiffchaff
96) Ruddy Duck
97) Lesser Black-backed Gull
98) Mediterranean Gull
Hooded Merganser (possible escape)
99) Northern Wheatear
100) Water Pipit
101) Red-legged Partridge
102) Barn Swallow
103) Common Raven
104) Blackcap
105) Sedge warbler
106) Common Sandpiper
107) House Martin
108) Sand Martin
109) Meadow Pipit
110) Common Whitethroat
111) Eurasian Reed Warbler
112) Eurasian Hobby
Cetti's Warbler (heard)
113) Garden Warbler
Common Nightingale (heard)
114) Willow Warbler
115) Bar-tailed Godwit
116) Grasshopper Warbler
117) Common Swift
118) Mandarin
119) Yellow Wagtail
120) Common Cuckoo
121) Little Ringed Plover
122) Spotted Flycatcher
123) Common Crossbill
124) European Shag
125) Common Eider
126) Black Guillemot
127) Northern Gannet
128) Hooded Crow
129) Manx Shearwater
130) Red-breasted Merganser
131) Common Guillemot
132) Razorbill
133) Whooper Swan
134) Common Greenshank
135) Northern Fulmar
136) Great Skua
137) Arctic Tern
138) Atlantic Puffin
139) Black-legged Kittiwake
140) Rock Pipit
141) Green Sandpiper
142) Water Rail
143) Spotted Redshank
144) Common Redstart
145) Tawny Owl
146) Marsh Tit
147) Eurasian Hoopoe
148) Lesser Whitethroat
149) Black-necked Grebe
150) Little Stint
151) Whinchat
152) Ruff
153) Pectoral Sandpiper
154) Black Tern
155) Sandwich Tern
156) Red-billed Chough
157) Isabelline Shrike
158) Tree Sparrow
159) Merlin
160) Pink-footed Goose
161) Curlew Sandpiper
162) Bewick's Swan
163) Great White Egret
164) Smew
165) Glossy Ibis
167) Lesser Redpoll
168) Little Gull
169) Snow Bunting170) Feral Pigeon
(probable Slaty-backed Gull)
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