Review of my birding year 2024.

A mixed year with some superb birds seen and some memorable trips.  I managed to add 3 species to my local patch and house list in 2024. All of them wildfowl - an indication of the wet weather we've experienced that affected so many of our small passerines during the breeding season.  Once again the pond opposite our house was the focus of attention with a memorable one afternoon Green-winged Teal proving to be the highlight. Other new birds were a juvenile Garganey that arrived with the first Teal of the Autumn and numerous sightings of Mandarin. Starting in the spring with a single male on the flooded part of the field and culminating in 9 juveniles that revisited on several occasions.

                                      Mandarin

                                        Garganey

Green-winged Teal

Locally our Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat populations crashed with only two pairs of the former and none of the latter present during the breeding season. Lesser Whitethroats were recorded as passage birds only. Once again I've not had a treecreeper on my local patch for the 3rd year running.

My Cheshire list increased by one with the superb Hudsonian Godwit found by Colin Wells at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB. See here for details of that bird.

August saw me, Chris, Steve and Al making my 1st Scilly's pelagics trip for 11 years and what a memorable few days it turned out to be with the undoubted highlights being the record number of Wilson's Petrels seen in British and Irish waters in a single day (121) and a lifer in the form of Scopoli's Shearwater. Coupled with a very showy Spotted Sandpiper and an evening Storm petrel ringing it was a great trip. See here for details of that epic 'big Wilson's day'.

I had to wait until our annual trip t oFair Isle for my next lifer. After the disappointment of two years ago when we missed Tennessee Warbler on two consecutive days on Yell by 5 minutes (see here ) one turned up on Fair isle the day before we were scheduled to arrive. A nervous wait ensued with no news of the bird but  it was re-found just as we were picking our luggage up off the runway on the Fair Isle airstrip. A brisk 10 minute walk later and we were watching this little American gem by ourselves!  See here for details of that trip.

A great trip with Pectoral Sandpiper and Golden Oriole being self finds and seeing the Tennessee Warbler , Ortolan Bunting and Arctic Warbler in the hand along with colour ringing numerous Yellow-browed Warblers in the hand.

My next lifer of 2024 came in the form of the widely expected Pale-legged leaf Warbler at Flambourough in October - just as I'd returned from Fair Isle and just before my trip to Fetlar. Details here. What a bird! 

Fetlar proved to be wet and windy with the highlight being a putative Eastern Yellow Wagtail found by Paul Macklam and submitted to the BBRC. having to leave Fetlar early due to the poor wether I managed to jam in on the White-winged Scoter on the mainland - my 2nd in the UK and by far the best views. Details here

Next up was the sublime Yellow Warbler at Hythe in Kent. Being found fairy late on Christmas Eve meant a nervous wait for me until the day after Boxing Day when all the family events were behind us. I'm glad  I made it on the 27th rather than waiting until the weekend as the bird promptly did what has become known as the infamous Friday night flit.

The undoubted highlight of 2024 for me personally was my long-awaited and anticipated trip to Antarctica in January. A dream trip and one that lived up to all expectations. I fell in love with Antarctica and am  already planning a return trip within the next few years. A close second was visiting our family in Australia to see Amy perform as Maria in the Sound of Music in May. A time that happened to coincide with a big local influx of Swift Parrots. An Australia lifer for me - see here  - along with Rose Robin - see here. With a trip to Malaysia in March and Florida in November I ended up with a global year list total of 516 species.

So, what of 2025? I'm hoping for at least three lifers in the year to take my BOU list up to a nice round 550 species. Finally catching up with Green Warbler would be nice along with Siberian Thrush and a Yellow-breasted Bunting!  Hopefully I'm going to Iceland for two weeks in May catching and flagging Red Knot on their migratory staging grounds. We've already booked Fair Isle from 26th September until 3rd October and I will probably end up on Fetlar for a week early October. I'm taking Jan to the Seychelles for her birthday in November so that will provide an opportunity to see a few more island endemics.

Yellow Warber, Hythe, Kent

Yellow Warbler is one of those birds I really wanted to see in the UK. Theres only been 7 UK records since the first one on Bardsey Island in 1964. The majority have been short stayers on the northern isles. Many of my birding mates got the Barra bird in 2004 or the Shetland bird in the following year. There was a single day bird at Portland in 2017 and a long staying bird in Hoswick, Shetland last year  - at the time I was supposed to be on Fetlar but couldn't make it as I'd knackered my knee up on Fair Isle a few weeks previously.

Roll on Christmas Eve 2024 when news broke of a seemingly overwintering bird in Hythe, Kent. Literally a short walk away from where I saw the UK's only Golden-winged Warbler in 1989! It was to late for me to get there that day and Christmas Day and Boxing Day are sacrosanct family days. I'd been on antibiotics on the lead up to Christmas with 'walking pneumonia' and was still feeling breathless and slightly feverish. I decided that I'd go on news on 27th December as the bird had been showing around 08.00 so I'd have had just enough time to get there if the news broke early enough. 

As it happened I couldn't sleep and was awake at 5 am so decided to slip out the house quietly and head down to Kent. I fully expected to get there just after 9 armed with the news the bird had been showing. I even debated stopping at Beaconsfield services and waiting on news but decided to press on despite the negative news from site where Steve Stansfield had relayed the news to Chris.

Arriving on site, and finding a parking spot in the car park easily, there was still no news as I headed down the footpath to the designated spot opposite the sewage works at Ham Hill. Not the most salubrious spot but obviously well liked by the Chiffchaffs, Firecrest and Goldcrests that hunted for insects in the canal side vegetation.

Meeting up with Steve we discussed the possibility that the bird  had either gone or succumbed. I couldn't believe it had gone as there was overnight mist and it was still gloomy when I arrived - in fact the mist didn't lift all day. The presence of a Sparrowhawk sitting  in the Yellow Warblers preferred territory, on several occsasions, filled us not a little pessimism. 

The time slipped by and my enthusiasm was waning but this is the time of year when old friends aren't forgotten so chatting with Steve, Colin Green, John Hague (of Shrike Birding Tours), Paul Baker, Kieran Foster and Paul Wren helped keep me on site as we reminisced about past birding glories.

People were departing, some had been theres since dawn, whilst others wandered off in search of something to eat. Suddenly there was a shout that it had been seen further down the footpath. Steve had wandered off so I rang him only to find he was watching it and he had actually picked it up on call. I managed a brief glimpse before it disappeared back into the brambles calling all the time. Reasoning it was heading back to its preferred stand of Alders I headed back just in time for it to fly in and spend the next 10 minute feeding and calling before eventually flying off towards the back of the sewage works.

It was an eyeball searingly yellow and certainly lived up to its name. The call was a distinctive 'chip. chip, chip' delivered almost continuously whilst it was on show.

Waiting around for another 30 minutes or so I decided that I'd head for home. Reports were coming in that the traffic was horrendous and it certainly was. An accident by Heathrow meant my preferred route around the M25 and up the M40 was closed so the sat nave diverted me over the horrendous mess thats the Dartford Crossing and up the M1 where another accident meant all traffic was held for an hour.  

Photos below by Alex Jones. 

The red breast streaking says the bird is a male but I'm not sure on the age. The American ringers guide, Pyle, says there is occasionally a moult limit in the greater coverts in 1st winter birds but the lack of one doesn't necessarily mean it's an adult. The most reliable method of ageing seems to be the amount of yellow in the inner webs of the outer rectrices (tail feathers). I haven't seen good enough photos showing this to make an informed decision but the probability is that it is a 1st winter.

When the Yellow Warbler arrived is another mystery open to conjecture. The perceived wisdom is it arrived during autumn gales and has filtered down from further north. We'll never know! 

A great bird to end the year and one of my most wanted to boot! 

Florida 2024. Part 2. Woodpeckers and Black Bears

Soon after our arrival at our rented villa in Kissimmee we got a message to say a Black Bear had been seen wandering the streets at night. The neighbouring villa had actually caught it on their ring camera. Obviously I was keen to see it but despite several night forays the closest I go was coming dow none morning and looking out the front door to see the bins opposite and alongside us had been raided and were lying on their sides with all the rubbish strewn over the road. After that incident the community cleaning team emptied the trash cans daily and moved all the rubbish into a large metal dumpster.

One of the birds I really wanted to see was Pileated Woodpecker - the largest extant woodpecker in North America. Checking eBird I discovered one had been seen recently at the Tibet-Butler preserve a bout 25 minutes drive from where we were staying.  It's literally within earshot of Disney and is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. With 3 miles of trails and a boardwalk it sounded interesting so I set off early one morning and arrived, as usual, to find my self the only person there! 

Literally the first bird I saw was a female Pileated Woodpecker feeding in trees adjacent to the visitor centre! Result.

Another bird was calling nearby and the one I was watching flew off to join it. I was extremely lucky as although I heard, presumably the same pair in the same area later, I never had more than a glimpse of a flight view. 

With the pressure off I began to take note of other species around the preserve. By far the commonest warblers were Yellow-rumped and Palm Warbler. Palm Warblers were literally everywhere in Florida and I was really surprised at how common they were. I did see a Black and White Warbler and a single Common Yellowthroat from the boardwalk over swampy are and managed to find my first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the trip.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are seemingly the commonest woodppecker species in Florida. We even had them on our estate and every golf course we visited had several pairs.

The preserve was also full of Grey Catbirds giving their distinctive calls from within the undergrowth and the explosive song of Carolina Wren proved their presence but I only got brief views. I also saw my 1st Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the trip here, Osprey and Belted Kingfisher.

Returning to the villa I studied eBird planning my next trip out. The Disney Wilderness preserve is 11,500 acres created in an agreement between Disney, The nature Conservancy and Florida state. The next day was Thanksgiving and we were having a chill-out day by our pool followed by an Italian meal later. It appeared that the preserve trails were ope nthe day after Thanksgiving but the visitors centre was open on reduced hours . The toilets were, however, open and I was in need of the facilities after what happened! 

EBird listings showed two of my other target woodpecker species had been recently seen on the site but were considered 'scarce' - Red-headed Woodpecker and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Arriving early and once again finding myseflf to be the only person there I studied the trail map and decide to take the longer 6 mile trail that would, hopefully, give me the best chance of seeing my target species. Once again Gray Catbird, Pine Warbler and Palm Warblers were all over the place with a smattering of Common Yellowthroats and Eastern Towhees.

Gray Catbird

Northern Cardinal

House Wren

Eastern Towhee

By now I was familiar with the calls of Red-bellied Woodpecker so a different woodpecker -type call had me searching the treetops where  ifound my first Red-headed Woodpecker followed very quickly by another. A stunning bird.

Well chuffed I moved slowly along the track, as they moved in front of me, rounded a bend and nearly bumped into a Black Bear. Complete shock and surprise for both parties. I stood stock still and the bear blundered off into the bushes where I could hear it crashing around. Debating what to do my mind was soon made up when some ominous growling started coming from within the bushes. Discretion being the better part of valour, according to Will Shakespeare, I retreated slowly whilst keeping my eyes on the track. An ominous silence ..... no growling, no crashing of large black objects through undergrowth. Not particularly wanting to have another brown adrenaline experience I retreated around 300 m before studying the map on my phone and finding  I could take an alternative trail. Paying a bit more attention to the ground rather than the trees I came across a still steaming dollop of bear poo proving conclusively they do do it in woods and some massive paw prints - each one bigger across than my outstretched hands.

By now the adrenaline surge had died off a bit and my heart was slowly returning to normal so I excitedly texted Jan and told her about my encounter. Probably not the best decision as she then spent the whole of her round of golf worrying that I was going to get mauled by a bear! 

Following my new preferred route  I came across a mixed flock of small birds that included a pair of Brown Nuthatch. Whilst watching these a small Woodpecker flew in to a distant pine. I quickly realised it was my 2nd target woodpecker of the day - a female Red-cockaded Woodpecker.

Result! Both seemingly rare woodpeckers in the space of a few hours. Meandering back to the visitor centre I bumped into a few more people who were walking the shorter trails. The visitor centre was open and I spent awhile chatting to the lady about my day. Apparently I was very lucky to see a bear as they generally avoid people. The fact I was very quiet and had taken the longer trail, which was less disturbed, meant I'd stumbled across it as it was feeding on berries. She asked whether I'd seen Florida Panther which hadn't yet been seen in the area but the preserve was part of a network used by the panthers. She also told me I'd done the right thing by quietly backing off when the bear started growling. They can climb 100 ft into a tree so you can't out climb them and you certainly can't put run them. They only thing to do if one charges is make yourself as big as possible and basically scream at it to f&ck off whilst not making eye contact as they see that as a threat...... a sobering thought.

A great few hours and I was still buzzing about it when the others arrived back after their golf.

Florida 2024. Part 1. Florida Scrub Jays

We've been to Florida many times as a family with the emphasis being on the theme parks with just the bit of causal birding thrown in. This time was different. Jan was going to play golf with friends and the idea was that I could tag along and look at the wildlife along the golf courses, drive a buggy and drink a few beers from the mobile buggy bar! I also had my own car so I could go off birding when I wanted to. 

One of the target species I had in mind was the endangered Florida Scrub Jay and thanks to Kevin Kelly and a bit of internet searching I had a few sites in mind. The Florida Scrub Jay is endemic to Florida and is restricted to the few remaining areas of unspoilt sandy scrub generally close to the coast. There's estimated to be only 7-8,000 individuals left in the wild. One of the sites I found was Helen & Alan Cruickshank preserve about an hours drive from our villa base in Kissimmee. Leaving just after breakfast I figured I'd get to the reserve around 09.00 and get some birding doe before the main heat of the day and get home for lunch and an afternoon in the pool! 

Arriving in the car park I found I was the only person there. There had been report of Jays in the car park scrounging food from visitors so  I spent  good 15 minutes waiting and looking around in the hope of seeing one. Its now illegal to feed the Scrub Jays so I guess they've no further need to venture into the car park.

Making my way along one of the trails I soon heard a Jay and stood looking until one appeared and perched up in one of the taller scrubby bushes.

During my visit I eventually saw quite a few Jays but theres always the thrill of seeing the first one and the satisfaction of knowing a plan has paid off. Interestingly this seemed to be a sentinel btid o nthe look out for predators as  I could hear other jays feeding in the scrub but couldn't see them. I saw this quite often. A bird sat motionless for ages whist others fed around them. I also noted that Jays always seemed to be accompanied by Northern Mockingbirds. Where ever there were Jays there were always a couple of opportunistic Mockingbirds.

Moving on I came across a pair of Bald Eagles in a dead pine and a few gems such as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and the ubiquitous Pam Warblers. They were literally the commonest bird I saw in Florida.

I really wanted to have better views of the Jays though so I retraced my steps until I once again found a sentinel bird. This time it was much closer to one of the tracks so I sat and waited. Sure enough I could hear the excited chatter of Jays approaching followed by rustling in the track side scrub before three birds appeared a few metres a way from me and fed unconcernedly on invertebrates and acorns on the ground. 

Two photos above: sentinel bird

The Florida Scrub Jay population is heavily studied and many of the birds are ringed (banded in US parlance) and colour ringed so they can be individually recognised in the field. From my photos  I was able to identify two different banding birds and contact the Federal banding programme who put me in contact with one of the research scientists. It turns out the Jays generally have 2-3 colour rings so the ones I photographed couldn't be identified from the colour rings alone.Luckily I had plenty of photos and managed to read one complete Federal (metal) band and get all but one of the digits on another so I'm hoping to hear back as to when they were banded.

What  I did find out was that there are 11 genetic units of Florida Scrub Jay and the area I was in was area A/C. The map below also shows movement of birds between study areas which is important to keep the gene pool fresh.

A great way to start our trip  - by midday the sun was getting to hot and most of the bird activity had ceased so I headed back to the car and to the villa for a nice cool dip in the pool and a cold beer whilst waiting for the rest of the party to get back from their golf.