Friday 30 August 2013

Reaching 300...........

As you all know we are keeping count of the PWC cumulative total of species found on our patches but we are a bit worried a few may slip by without us noticing. So, below is the list we have compiled so far, 278 species. With the end of the month fast approaching and everyone posting their end of August scores could you please add into the Highlights column any species you have seen on patch this year that is not on the list? 300 ain't far away! Cheers

Species
American Golden plover
arctic skua
Arctic Tern
Avocet
Balearic Shearwater
Barn owl
Barnacle goose
Barred Warbler
Bar-tailed godwit
Bean goose
Bearded tit
Bewick’s Swan
Bittern
black guillemot
Black Kite
Black Redstart
black tern
Blackbird
blackcap
Black-headed Gull
Black-necked grebe
Black-tailed godwit
black-throated diver
black-winged stilt
Blue Tit
Bluethroat
Bonaparte’s Gull
brambling
Brent Goose
Bridled Tern
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Bullfinch
buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Caspian gull
Cetti’s Warbler
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Chough
coal tit
Collared Dove
common crossbill
Common Gull
common sandpiper
Common Scoter
Common tern
Coot
Cormorant
corn bunting
corncrake
Cory’s Shearwater
crane
Cuckoo
Curlew
Curlew Sandpiper
Dartford warbler
Dipper
dotterel
Dunlin
Dunnock
Egyptian goose
Eider
Feas Petrel
ferruginous duck
Fieldfare
Firecrest
Fulmar
Gadwall
Gannet
Garden Warbler
Garganey
glaucous gull
Goldcrest
golden eagle
Golden Oriole
Golden Plover
goldeneye
Goldfinch
Goosander
goshawk
grasshopper warbler
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Crested Grebe
Great Northern Diver
Great Shearwater
Great Skua
Great Spotted woodpecker
Great Tit
Great White Egret
Green sandpiper
Green Woodpecker
Greenfinch
Greenish Warbler
Greenshank
Green-winged teal
grey heron
grey partridge
Grey Phalarope
Grey Plover
grey wagtail
Grey-headed Wagtail
Greylag Goose
Guillemot
Gull-billed Tern
gyr falcon
Hawfinch
Hen harrier
Herring Gull
Hobby
Honey Buzzard
hooded crow
Hoopoe
House Martin
House Sparrow
Iceland Gull
Jack Snipe
Jackdaw
Jay
Kestrel
kingfisher
Kittiwake
knot
Lapland bunting
Lapwing
Lesser black-backed Gull
Lesser Redpoll
Lesser Scaup
lesser spotted woodpecker
Lesser Whitethroat
Linnet
Little Auk
Little Egret
Little Grebe
little gull
Little owl
Little Ringed Plover
little tern
long-eared owl
long-tailed duck
Long-tailed Skua
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
mandarin duck
manx shearwater
Marsh harrier
Marsh tit
Marsh Warbler
Meadow Pipit
Mealy redpoll
Mediterranean Gull
Merlin
Mistle Thrush
Montagu's harrier
Moorhen
mute swan
nightingale
Nightjar
nuthatch
Osprey
Oystercatcher
Paddyfield Warbler
Peregrine
Pheasant
Pied Flycatcher
pied wagtail
Pink-footed Goose
pintail
Pochard
pomarine skua
puffin
purple heron
purple sandpiper
Quail
Raven
razorbill
red kite
Red-backed Shrike
Red-breasted Flycatcher
Red-breasted merganser
Red-legged Partridge
red-necked grebe
Red-necked Phalarope
Redshank
Redstart
Red-throated Diver
redwing
Reed bunting
reed warbler
Richard’s Pipit
Ring Ouzel
ring-billed gull
ringed plover
ring-necked parakeet
Robin
Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon
rock pipit
Rook
roseate tern
Rosefinch
Rough-legged Buzzard
Ruff
sabine's gull
Sand Martin
Sanderling
sandwich tern
Savi's Warbler
scaup
sedge warbler
serin
shag
Shelduck
short-eared owl
Short-toed Lark
Shoveler
Siberian Stonechat
Siskin
skylark
Slavonian Grebe
Smew
Snipe
snow bunting
snow goose
Song Thrush
sooty shearwater
sparrowhawk
Spoonbill
Spotted Crake
Spotted Flycatcher
Spotted redshank
Spotted Sandpiper
Starling
Stock dove
Stonechat
Stone-curlew
Storm Petrel
Subalpine Warbler
Surf Scoter
Swallow
Swift
Tawny Owl
Teal
Temminck's Stint
Thrush Nightingale
Tree Pipit
Tree sparrow
Treecreeper
Tufted duck
Turnstone
turtle dove
twite
Velvet Scoter
water pipit
water rail
waxwing
Wheatear
Whimbrel
Whinchat
White-billed diver
White-fronted goose
white-tailed eagle
Whitethroat
Whooper Swan
Wigeon
willow tit
Willow Warbler
Wood Sandpiper
wood warbler
Woodchat Shrike
Woodcock
Woodlark
Woodpigeon
Wren
Wryneck
Yellow Wagtail
Yellowhammer
Yellow-legged gull

Friday 23 August 2013

Meopta and Forest Optic best find – July



July, a birders nemesis, time to dig out the moth trap, butterfly book, wild flower book, anything to get over the tedium of Julys birding. That’s my view on July, with no wader habitat and east coast sea watching being pretty poor I find the month to be very dull on patch. And it appears that I’m not the only one who thinks this judging by the highlights comments sent in such as ‘not July’, ‘nil’, ‘terrible month’ etc etc.

For every dull day in Hemsby though there are great days elsewhere as waders arrive and the seawatching in the west hots up. And its sea watching where we start and we head over to Galley Head, Cork. Patch old timer Colin B had a sea watch to dream of on patch as he found not one, not two but three Fea’s Petrels in one afternoon! Incredible and you can read more about it here http://galleyheadbirding.blogspot.ie/2013/08/feas-fun.html, including Cory’s, Great and Balearic Shearwaters and Long-tailed Skuas. Can’t see a day like that happening on my patch!

This however, was beaten further north and this time on the east coast. Mark Newell on the Isle of May has already been mentioned in these pages regarding a cracking find of Sperm Whales off the island but this time he gets the points. The long staying, wandering, disappearing, Farnes Birdled Tern decided to pop in past the Isle of May for a day, an amazing addition to the PWC list and one a host of NE England patches had hoped to add and in fact probably had flying over their patch, unfortunately never when they were there!

So, what else did July have to offer aside from these two megas? As always there are some good patch birds, several patch megas including John Bowlers Honey Buzzard, second for the island of Tiree, while emptying his moth trap. Rob Fray had another good month by finding patch megas Scaup and Red-necked Phalaropes and also catching up with the Gull-billed Tern on patch.

So, that’s July over with and August is in full swing, sea watching is proving popular, perhaps a tropicbird will make it onto a patch and migration has started so best get out there..............