The year started off with me visiting Venus pools in Shropshire on the 3rd of January to see a female Pine bunting where I connected with my first life tick of the year.A tarts tick I no having missed so many over the years but it was nice to get this bird on my list.The bird itself hardly set the world alight being a female but I did get good views of it.
It was turning out to be a tremendous winter for Waxwings throughout the UK and Cheshire and Wirral hadn't gone without seeing good numbers being recorded during this influx.I was lucky on the 4th January when I was driving through my home town of Ellesmere port that I found five feeding on berries.
Not content with the previous Bunting back in January,luckily enough another Pine Bunting hung around at Dunnington, just east of York so I visited in late february and saw a cracking male.
At the end of October a Hippolais Warbler was found at Leasowe on the Wirral which was eventually identified as a Melodious warbler late afternoon but the news was put out to late for any birders to see this mega bird for the Wirral.The next morning the bird had gone!
A quiet year really but I added six new birds to my life list and dipped,Yellow warbler and Amur Falcon.Hopefully 2018 will see me hit the magic 500!
Early march was spent with my partner Dianne in north Norfolk where we spent a few days birding.A good variety of species were seen and the holiday was finished with cracking views of a Juvenile Pallid harrier and a Great grey shrike was found at Frodsham marshes which we called in to see on are way home.
Winter soon passed and spring migration started to warm up and on the morning of the 23rd April whilst at home gardening an Osprey flew over which was a nice surprise.
All was quiet then until the end of April when a Red Winged blackbird a first for britain was found on North Ronaldsay,Orkney.The usual crew of me,Fred Fearne,Malc Curtin and Simon Slade twitched it and we all got good views of the bird.
On the 3rd of May I visited the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire with my partner Dianne and we got stonking views of male Pallid Harrier which had took up residence there over the last few weeks.
Cheshire had a good month in May with a Shorelark being found on Hilbre island and a Buff breasted sandpiper at Burton RSPB.I managed to see both of the birds but they weren't county ticks for me but they were still nice to see.Cattle egrets also bred for the first time in the county at Burton RSPB.
On the 1st June Cheshire came up trumps again with an Iberian Chiffchaff being found at Kelsall.I managed to get great views of the bird but again no tick for me!
The biggest kick in the teeth this year was an Amur Falcon which was found on the 6th July in Cornwall.I was at a funeral and news of the bird didn't break till late evening at which point I was very intoxicated.Setting off later in the morning I made it down to Cornwall for just after 10.00am,the bird flew whilst I was driving through Penzance never to be seen again until the 17th July when it appeared again,another trip down to Cornwall and no sign the next morning!Harsh,annoying but hey THEY'LL BE ANOTHER!Late July I visited East Leake in Nottinghamshire to see one of my favorite birds the Bee Eater.Seven of these beautiful birds had resided on a gravel pit so I called in to see them whilst on a visit to see my Nan in nearby Leicester.
July passed and at last it was September I'm not one for wishing my life away but
September and October are my two favourite months and it wasn't long before the mega alert was sounding off!AMERICAN REDSTART-Barra-Outer Hebrides!TWITCH ON!I drove up with usual crew and had two great days in Scotland,we had the bird feeding in front of us,showing down to a few feet,amazing!
On the 19th September I visited Norfolk to see a Pallas's grasshopper warbler that had been found at Burnham Overy staines.The bird was very elusive but I got good views in the end perched up in the bottom of a ditch.
At the end of September I visited Shetland on my annual birding pilgrimage and ended up staying for three weeks.I missed a Siberian Thrush again but did gain Yellow breasted Bunting to my life list and our group found a Pallas's grasshopper warbler,the first for mainland Shetland since 2004!I did miss a first for the Wirral whilst away when a Pallid harrier showed up on the Dee estuary which gripped me off!
Whilst coming back from Shetland on the 8th October the bird of all birders dreams was found at North Ronaldsay bird observatory,a SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN!I got home shattered after three weeks away around midnight and headed straight to York with the crew to get a charter on news the next morning.The morning was spent on the airfield!NO SIGN!
An influx of Hawfinches scattered Britain in the first two weeks of October and Cheshire and Wirral birders started to see their fair share of this scarce species.I managed to catch up with four birds at St Oswalds church in Brereton
On the 18th of October a Two barred greenish warbler was found in Dorset which I needed after not being bothered with seeing the Filey bird in 2006 as it was only a sub species of Greenish Warbler but with the BOU changing over to IOC after the new year the Two Barred warbler will have full specific species status.
