Back before forward

I've been contemplating my own blog for some time, simply as an online diary of my birding life. As we are in the first few days of 2017, perhaps it's best to start with a reflection of my personal avian highlights of 2016.

The year began with a brief trip accompanying my mum to see her ailing sister in Lanzarote. Never one to miss a birding opportunity, I managed great views of Houbaras and displaying cream-coloured coursers, as well as lesser-short toed larks, southern grey shrikes, Barbary partridges, canary and African blue tit amongst the commoner species.

Houbara, Lanzarote, January 2016

Displaying CCCs - fantastic birds

The annual blokes snowboarding trip to the French Alps was excellent fun in March, I even managed to be competent on the snow using my shiny new Jones board. Not many birds, but the usual suspects - snow finch, Alpine accentor and Alpine choughs were entertaining as ever.

Snowfinch, French Alps Feb 16.

It was encouraging to see a pair of lesser-spotted woodpeckers back on the Marbury patch in the spring - the first known nesting attempt in several years. The birds chose to nest in a suspended log which looked about to fall any minute. The log held, but the birds disappeared and so presumably failed. Fingers crossed for 2017.

Other spring patch highlights included a pair of garganey,  but the less said about the reported goshawks the better.

Just up the road in Manchester, Audenshaw reservoir hosted a fine male Kentish plover in April, an amazing record and reminiscent of the female on the patch way back in May 1991. Later on that same month I thoroughly enjoyed the superb World's End black grouse lek, where it's good to see them responding well to conservation efforts. Dipper, pied flycatcher and redstart completed a sunny spring day in the Welsh borders.

The first twitch since last autumn came in early May with the arrival of a Dalmatian pelican in west Cornwall. It gave as a runaround but we eventually saw it well, thermalling around the Land's End area looking like it wanted to carry on westward. The bird ultimately lingered until the autumn and may or may not be of wild origin. One for the BOU to ponder, although my money is on Category D. A fine day out regardless with Al Orton and Malc Curtin, and we also enjoyed a smart woodchat.

Dalmatian Pelican, just enormous!

May also brought me to Hampshire for work, where I finally saw my first Natterjack toads, along with grass snake and slow worm, on Woolmer Common. Good to see nightjars, Dartford warblers and woodlarks flourishing on this MoD site too.

Natterjack, a long overdue first for me.

One of the highlights of the year for me was discovering a nightjar nest close to home, the first confirmed breeding in Cheshire in perhaps 40 years, although it's likely they have been doing so at this location for a few years now. Amazingly these birds were right by the path used by dog walkers, but thankfully protected by a fence and so they could be watched without disturbance.

female nightjar and 2 chicks, 30th July 2016

Same birds, 5th August and ready to go

Late July slumber was interrupted by the arrival of a purple gallinule at the RSPBs Minsmere reserve, almost certainly a wild bird of the western form and neatly arriving during a cluster of Northern Europe records too - surely a no brainer for the BOU. We needn't have hurried, it lingered a few days here before relocating to Lincolnshire where it stayed into the autumn. Stone curlews were the only other bird of note during our all too brief visit.

Minsmere purple swamphen, photo by Steve Gantlett / www.cleybirds.com

Our family summer holiday was spent in Morzine, the French Alps, along with good friends. It was action packed and full of fun. I did manage to see a few good birds too - lammergeier, griffon vulture, nutcracker, black woodpecker (a tick) were the highlights, plus the brilliant red-backed shrikes breeding by our chalet and plenty of honey buzzard action. The kids were most impressed by the views of golden eagles - soaring low over a supermarket car park!

September and the autumn began with a bang when Graham Gordon found a cliff swallow on Scilly. Work was hectic at the time, so I went for a quick solo raid flying from Newquay. This turned out to be a good move as others struggled whilst I was lucky enough to watch the bird with just 2 other birders for a couple of hours. Always a favourite from my US days, and nice to grip this one back finally. A lesser yellowlegs and Temminck's stint provided added interest. Even rarer was the sight of Laurence Pitcher indulging in some filthy twitching. Always a pleasure to visit Scilly and hopefully I'll be back soon.

Cliff swallow by Martin Goodey

Fair Isle featured prominently in the - I ended up with 2 separate weeks there. The first was staying at Springfield with Laurence and Paul Cook, before returning just 8 days later for a stint in the Obs with Phil Woollen, Mark Payne and Chris Griffin. The east winds blew and the island delivered some incredible birding, although conditions were often tough as the wind was a little too strong most of the time.

Springfield, looking south

Highlights included pine bunting (x 3), Pechora pipit, lanceolated warbler, red-flanked bluetail, Blyth's reed warbler, Radde's warbler, paddyfield warbler, Siberian stonechat (2), olive backed pipits, Richard's pipits, barred warbler, great grey shrike, short-toed lark, bluethroats, red breasted flycatchers, little, Lapland and snow buntings, hawfinch, tundra bean goose, white fronted goose and stacks of yellow browed warblers. And that's not mentioning the masses of common migrants and sheer spectacle of migration.

Great birds and good company. Long days on foot in the field and a beautiful location. Fair Isle is simply awesome!!!

With a day on Shetland Mainland at the end, Phil and I also managed an impressive wheatear trio - pied, Isabelline and a smart male desert wheatear within an hour! I also managed to see a Swainson's thrush on Fetlar. We did dip the Bressay black-faced bunting and I won't linger over dipping another White's thrush or even mention the Hebs kingbird - it was a truly excellent autumn and I'll be back in 2017.

Lancey on a ledge, incredible views. Photo by Laurence Pitcher

Pechora pipit. Laurence and I fumbled this bird on flight views shortly before it was found by the AWs. Photo by Chris Griffin.

Pine burning number 1

Pine bunting number 2 - unringed

Lapland bunting

Tundra been geese, along with pink-feet and white fronts made for an impressive goose assemblage.

Waxwing, always a pleasure

Twitching is a recurring source of joy and pain in equal measures. The incredible easterlies of autumn 2016 had led to an influx of Siberian accentors in Scandinavia, so it was entirely expected when the first for Britain and Ireland was found on Shetland on 9th October. I was at home between my two jaunts up north (typical) and simply had to go for this perhaps once in a lifetime bird. I took the chequebook option and flew up and back in a day. Days later another was found at Spurn and the masses connected too, then incredibly another 10 British birds were found. Sure I could have seen one cheaper, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and I wouldn't have swapped the sheer excitement of the trip (complete with engine stall over John'o'Groats), nor the stunning views in the sunshine with a small crowd of elated birders. As good as it gets! We also saw a smart buff-breasted sandpiper on the way back to the airport.

Siberian accentor. Bird of the year!!

Sumburgh airport twitcher squadron

On board celebrations with Phil Woollen, Malc Curtin and Simon Slade.

Tragic news dominated November when a true friend of 20 years and many birding adventures Pete Antrobus died suddenly. Pod was a great character and friend; birding, twitching fun and rivalry, work and banter will never be the same without him. RIP Pete, you really will be missed.

Pete Antrobus. Top bloke, a terrible loss.

After the excellent eastern autumn, it was no surprise that good birds continued to be found into the winter. The Derbyshire dusky thrush was worth a visit, my second in the UK. Can we have a gettable male soon though please?

Dusky thrush, Beeley. photo by James Packer

The year ended with another controversial bird - a male blue rock thrush on the Cotswolds. Fortunately for me it turned up the day I was due to visit my brother nearby. Debate will continue over origins, but I'm not expecting this one to make the BBRC grade and I'll still be going for the next one.

Blue rock thrush at Stow on the Wold. hmmmmm.

So, lots of great birds. On a purely listing front not the most successful year - I missed green warbler, Eastern kingbird, White's thrush (again), as well as lammergeier and the Welsh masked wagtail (apathy and work getting in the way). But I thoroughly enjoyed the birds I did see, common and rare alike.

Hopefully many more to come in 2017!!