The birding wasn’t bad with ten lifers eventually plucked out following a very slow start. January saw Pine Bunting added and then the next tick didn’t come along until 11th June when the Elegant Tern was found down at Church Norton.
In July I manged to get on the Marsh Sandpiper at Cliffe Pools in Kent. I then waited until September for it to kick off with Least and Stilt Sandpiper along with Citrine Wagtail, Arctic Warbler, Pallas’s grasshopper Warbler and Red-throated Pipit.
October saw me put in a few miles before getting on the Common Rock Thrush in Gwent for my last tick of 2017. I also had a couple of armchair ticks when both Purple Swamphen and Blue Rock Thrush got accepted.
The life list now stands at 382 leaving me trying to find eight in 2018 with the hurdle of 400 in my sites. The year list reached a respectable 274 but it’s getting harder to put in the miles for the year ticks. The best bird was the Rock Thrush.
Brian Anderson
Essex Birder using the blog as a diary of my trips around the country chasing birds. Enjoying the places it takes me and the people I meet along the way. Great to spend time with my Dad and brother as we chase our year lists and grow our life list in the process.
Leave a Reply