Hampshire - 25.1.26

Killdeer

I joined Brendon Fagan for a trip down south and our first stop was a new site for me. Ripley Farm Reservoir had held a drake Baikal Teal a few years ago but this time it held something from the other side of the planet in the shape of a Killdeer. It was almost 20 years since I’d seen my one and only in the UK with one at Blakeney Freshmarsh. It showed well on the far bank of the small reservoir though occasionally disappearing behind some furrows.

Also on the water was an adult Little Gull which I failed to see last year.

Little Gull

After our fill of these two we headed down the road to the village of Avon where after a bit of a wait we finally saw our intended target when Brendon picked out the big lump of a White-tailed Eagle as it headed south. It was one of the Isle of Wight introduction birds but it’s good enough for the year list!

White-tailed Eagle

News of a Red-necked Grebe at Hythe marina saw us heading over but upon arrival a strong wind and heavy showers made looking for it tricky and as such we didn’t see it. I did however find a Great Northern Diver so it wasn’t a total loss.

Great-tailed Grackle

Our final stop was in the village of Holbury where after a short wait staring into a small front garden out popped a cracking male Great-tailed Grackle. It’d first been seen on the coast but had moved inland after a couple of days. It was a wild bird from America but as they’re not known as a long distance migrant and it most likely arrived on a boat docking at Southampton it isn’t tickable though if I’d not seen them before in America it would’ve been a world tick but not a UK tick! 

 

Watford

The next few days things were added to the list whilst at work including 3 Redpoll, 2 Egyptian Goose and Peregrine.

Great Gaddesden - 4.1.26

After a message from George Moreton letting me know he’d had as many as 6 Jack Snipe at his local patch I decided to join him the following night to see if we could find any. I arrived first and added Stonechat and Tawny Owl to the year list before we wandered out into the flooded field but sadly despite it being dark and below freezing a woman was walking her dog right through the area as we arrived! With the use of my thermal monocular we still managed to pick out 2 birds along with a couple of their common cousins.

Hemel - 2/3.1.26

 Coal Tit and House Sparrow on the garden feeders made the year list. 

Tring - 1.1.26

Great White Egret

So another year’s birding begins and after my biggish year in 2025 which finished on 250 species (my 2nd highest total) this year wasn’t going to be as busy/manic. I started the year at Tring Reservoirs slowly going around the 4 reservoirs year ticking everything I saw. From the hide at Wilstone a Great White Egret was the highlight though 3 Black Swan tried hard to be notable!

Black Swan

At Tringford another Great White Egret was showing on the far side along with 9 Little Grebe.

Great White Egret

Tundra Bean Geese

The real highlight of the day was 5 Tundra Bean Geese in a field viewed from the canal between the reservoirs and Bulbourne. These were part of a National influx and were the first birds around Tring since the 14 birds 20 years previously. The day ended on 64 species.

 

500! - 7.12.25

Way back in July 1982 my mum bought a house that she still lives in to this day. The garden is only about 30ft long and about 15ft wide so doesn't exactly look like a magnet for wildlife but at one point we were visited by a very lost Badger that took delight in smashing its way through the neighbourhood fences to get in the various gardens!

If our garden wasn’t very big the old man next doors garden was strangely enormous compared to all the others in the road. The old man was a compulsive hoarder with numerous cookers, bikes and washing machines in the garden. No gardening had been done in many years and so it was full of brambles and self set trees creating an oasis in the middle of houses. With this it brought in a fair few birds most of which we didn’t know what they were. So some cheap binoculars and a bird book were purchased and over the following years numerous species were identified including Redpoll and Siskin and so my love of birds began. 

Fast forward to the early 2000’s and with local trips and the occasional coach trip I’d reached about 240 species. Along with the late Bob Harris I started twitching further afield for new species gradually hitting 300 with a Bluethroat on St.Agnes, 350 a Pine Bunting in Worcs, 400 a Brown Shrike at Staines, 450 a Red-eyed Vireo on St.Mary’s and then 475 a Black-browed Albatross in July 2021. By now it was getting harder to add new birds but I set myself a target of hitting 500 species before my 50th birthday which was this August. 

2 more were added in 2021, 6 in 2022 and 2023 certainly helped with an amazing 11 ticks. 3 further species were added in 2024 but then we all lost 2 species of Redpoll so the Booted Eagle in February should’ve been my 500th species but wasn’t. August came and went being stuck on 499 so I now hoped I’d reach my target before the end of the year. 

Lesser Crested Tern

As luck would have it an orange billed tern species was seen briefly in Devon on the 1st and a couple of days later it pitched upon the Exe Estuary at Dawlish Warren. Thankfully despite the weather it was still around on Saturday so Brendon Fagan offered me a lift down on the Sunday. After a fruitless search from Cockwood steps it was then found 15 minutes further up the estuary at Turf. Off we went and after making our own parking space in the car park and a brisk walk along the canal we arrived at the Turf hotel and there on a pontoon with Oystercatchers was my first ever LESSER CRESTED TERN and with it my 500th species in the UK with with 24 days to spare before the end of the year. 

After enjoying this moment despite the rain we headed to Dawlish Warren to try and get Cirl Bunting on the year list but sadly the weather wasn’t very conducive.

The only down side is soon a new listing authority will take over and with it I’ll be losing Green-winged Teal, Hooded Crow and Stejneger’s Stonechat after their lumping. Oh well I guess I’ve got getting to 500 species to look forward to again! 

Finally I’d just like to thank all those who have driven me or joined me on my adventures and raise a glass to those who are sadly no longer with us.

Cassiobury - 28.10.25

As I was off work for the week I joined the Watford RSPB groups midweek visit to Cassiobury Park (I just can’t stay away). Half a dozen of us met up in the car park and as we waiting for someone getting a cup of tea 4 Redpoll flew over. Notable birds seen were Little Grebe, Skylark and Meadow Pipit but the best were 3 Firecrest on the other side of the canal.

Cornwall - 18.10.25

Sadly my flight left on time and with it the end of my trip. But I wasn’t too sad as there was still some potentially good birds to see in Cornwall on the way home!

Once I’d reached my car and cleaned the salt spray off the windows I headed straight to the Hayle Estuary where from the road I quickly saw the year ticks of Curlew Sandpiper and just my 3rd ever White-rumped Sandpiper which frustratingly spent most of the time I was there asleep. A Spotted Redshank and Brent Goose were notable as were 20+ Mediterranean Gulls and a Peregrine that swooped in but failed to catch anything for breakfast.

Spoonbills

From the hide at Ryan’s Field 2 Spoonbill were doing what they do best and sleeping. I then stopped off at Philp’s Pasties to grab a couple to take home and from the car park was a 3rd Spoonbill feeding in the channel.

It was then onto Truro Tesco’s where after parking in the store car park I crossed the road and joined 3 birders. Quite quickly I re found the juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs as it probed the sticky mud. As I turned around to leave I bumped into Paul Freestone who helped me with directions for my next stop.

Baird’s Sandpiper

My final stop before heading for home was Colliford Lake. This was a new site for me but with Paul’s directions and help from a couple heading back to their car I quite quickly got onto my 3rd ever Baird’s Sandpiper that was hanging around with 3 Ringed Plover in the near gale force wind.

I arrived home just before 5pm having seen 129 species on Scilly which had risen to 142 after my Cornish stop offs and a Great White Egret over the car near Huntspill in Somerset.

An excellent couple of weeks with a lifer, 2 Scilly ticks and 21 year ticks in total. Plus it was great seeing familiar faces and meeting some new ones. Roll on next year! 

Scilly - 17.10.25

The last day of my 2 weeks was upon me and it started off at Porthcressa with another 1st Winter Caspian Gull. Up on Peninnis 6 more Skylark flew over and I found yet another Firecrest. Walking down the Peninnis farm trail I spotted a bird that looked good for a female Redstart but it barely showed at all in the 15 minutes I gave it so one that had to be forgotten. 

In Standing Stones the Brambling was seen again and as I’d forgotten something in my accommodation I headed back there but not before I found another Firecrest this time in the Chaplaincy gardens. At Porthloo beach I counted 11 Black Redstart! 9 on the beach, 1 on the houses behind the boatyard and another at Porthloo farm chalets. Also on the beach were 2 Wheatear. 

At Content Farm I had 2 Mistle Thrush followed by a flyover Hawfinch near Maypole. This was just my 2nd on Scilly. At the Maypole triangle I found my 3rd Firecrest of the day before I was told about a Lapwing just past Carn Vean. I headed in that direction and picked out 6 House Martin over the cafe but sadly the Lapwing had gone. But I did find my 4th Firecrest of the day and 19th of the week in the roadside hedge! 

My 12th Black Redstart of the day was on Old Town beach and the last bird noted for the holiday was a Common Redstart in the strange surroundings of Town Beach where it was flycatching off the ropes holding the boats !

Scilly - 16.10.25

Any day that starts with 3 Black Redstart and a Redpoll isn’t too shabby and that’s what I had at Porthcressa. Sadly that decent start shortly went horribly as a birder camping on St.Agnes had been woken by a calling Stone Curlew at 3.30am and that it’d just been flushed from the rocks at Old Town heading towards Peninnis. 

Thinking that’d never be seen again I headed to Porth Mellon where 2 1st winter Common Gull were added to the trip list and the female Common Scoter was offshore. News then broke of a Caspian Gull where I’d just been at Porthcressa so I headed through the dump and was almost by the hospital when news came in of the Stone Curlews reappearance at Old Town. I turned round and started running much to the bemusement of a fellow birder coming up the hill. I told him why I was running and together we headed back to Old Town. Radio messages came through it was below the church, then flown to Tolman’s then back towards Peninnis! I literally arrived as people were lowering their binoculars saying they lost it to view. Missed it by 2 seconds and Cliff Smith had been there but couldn’t see it below the church due to trees being in the way. It was then re found on Bryher. Bloody birds!

With this disappointment I headed to Longstones to try and cheer myself up with some of their lovely lemon drizzle cake! Along the track from the road past Carreg Dhu and up to Longstones I found 4 Firecrest.

Post drizzle cake I had a Mistle Thrush and another Firecrest at Holy Vale and then in the last field before the beach at Pelistry my 6th Firecrest of the day. Whilst having a cuppa at Ralph’s a Merlin shot through and a Yellow Wagtail flew over heard but unseen.

1st winter (top) and adult Caspian Gulls

I then had a distant Cattle Egret that was near Longstones. 1 of 2 that had appeared just after I’d left there. A quick look at Porth Hellick provided nothing of note and then I bumped into Cliff out on the road and he very kindly gave me a lift to Porthcressa where we saw a 1st Winter and adult Caspian Gull. These caused quite the twitch and were a Scilly tick for most even those who’d been coming for 30 plus years. Thankfully I’d seen Scilly’s 5th record last year on a pelagic but over the last couple of days of my visit as many as 10 were seen across the islands. 

As we were watching the gulls Mick Scott pulled a tube out of his pocket of a lovely Merveille du Jour moth which is still quite a rarity on Scilly and then someone said about seeing his even rarer moth at his accommodation. I followed him up to Buzza and saw his smart looking Feathered Brindle which was a new one for me.

Feathered Brindle