Late January saw me visiting Staines reservoir in Surrey on the 22nd with Malc Curtin to see an American Horned Lark which showed really well after much finding.
AMERICAN HORNED LARK
I visited the Isles of Scilly on the 2nd April with Phil woollen to try and see a Belted Kingfisher that had been seen the previous afternoon.On arrival there was no sign of the bird.We spent the whole day trudging around the Island but the bird had gone!1ST DIP OF THE YEAR!
On the 11th May a Moltoni's Warbler was found on Blakeney Point in Norfolk.I was working until the monday but made the trip across to Norfolk and walked the dreaded walk but the bird had gone.2ND DIP OF THE YEAR!
All was quiet then until the 17th May when a Song Sparrow was found on the Fair Isle in Shetland.I visited the Island with Fred fearn on a scheduled flight and we got cracking views of the bird feeding outside the observatory.
SONG SPARROW
On the 19th of June I made my way down to Church Norton in West Sussex to see an American Royal Tern that had roosted overnight in a tern colony.All was going well when we took a wrong turn and missed the bird by minutes.GUTTED!3RD DIP OF THE YEAR!
Cheshire and Wirral hit the headlines on the 12th of August when a Bonaparte's Gull was found at Hoylake on the north Wirral coast.I was working the next day but thankfully the bird hung around and I connected with it on the 14th.
BONAPARTE'S GULL
September started off quiet and then another mega bird was found at Parkgate on the 14th ,a Pallid Harrier.I missed this bird last year as I was on Shetland and never dreamed another one would turn up again so soon.I spent the afternoon watching the bird and got great views.
PALLID HARRIER
On the 7th of October a Green warbler was found on Lundy Island.I went down with Fred fearn who charted a boat the next morning.It was a boat trip i'll never forget,we were tossed from pillar to post.Again no bird!4TH DIP OF THE YEAR!
The autumn continued to be very quiet until the 14th of October when a White Rumped Swift was found at Hornsea Mere in East Yorkshire.Hundreds gathered the next morning but there was no sign of the bird.5TH DIP OF THE YEAR!As I was travelling home across the M62 news then broke of Grey Catbird at Lands end in Cornwall.Arrangements were made and I was there at first light to see this mega bird!
GREY CATBIRD
This was a great bird for me to see as for years I had ridiculed my late good friend Pete Antrobus's sighting on Holyhead mountain in Wales as he had seen it on the saturday when no one else had so my nickname became SATURDAY CATBIRD to wind him up!It was also Pete's birthday that day as I stood watching the bird,I know if he were still alive I would have mithered him to see the bird and he would have ventured south to get the bird on his England list!
My good friend Allan Conlin rang me on the 17th October to tell me that the Chough was still present at Thurstaston by the sailing club.I arrived and got great views of the bird.
CHOUGH
On the 19th October an Eastern Stonechat was found at Salthouse in Norfolk.After much debate after people had been to seen it,all key id features were leaning towards Stejneger's Stonechat.Currently this species can only be validated 100% by DNA analysis which thankfully was collected as well and sent off.I went to see the bird on the 29th and got great views of the bird.
PROBABLE STEJNEGER'S STONECHAT
On the 23rd October I stood at Burton mere RSPB and saw my first Bearded tits for the county and then on the 6th of November a local birder found Cheshire and Wirral's first Pied Wheatear.I managed to catch up with the bird the next morning.
PIED WHEATEAR
On the 17th November news filtered through via social media that the Salthouse Stonechat was STEJNEGER'S.This was my 500th bird for Britain!😎
With the birding year coming to an end news broke on Anglesey on the 10th of December that an American Royal tern had been found and it was presumably the same bird I had dipped in West Sussex with a metal ring on his right leg.I arrived on site the next morning and got stunning views of the bird sat preening on the beach.WHAT A GRIP BACK!
AMERICAN ROYAL TERN
Another great years birding but a few painful dips over the year and thankfully I got one back at the endI've now officially seen 500 birds in Britain which I am very proud of and thanks to all my birding mates that have driven miles with me all over the country,dipped ,laughed and seen some mega birds with.ROLL ON 2019!
