My Birding Year

Year list (British): 164*
'Total' year list (inc abroad): 179
Lifers: 55
Number of times Woodpigeon mistaken for something else: 18

A brief glimpse of a Water Rail today, darting between reed beds, was a welcome late year tick on an otherwise overcast and dreary day at Rainham. It's been a frustratingly slow trawl through winter, but otherwise I've had an absolutely brilliant year watching birds.

So what is this 'year list' thing? Well, simply, it's a record of each species I saw this year. Not everyone keeps lists but like those that do, I had certain rules; I had to see the bird, not just hear it, they had to be wild too and on the official 'British list'. So, for example, the Black Swan that I spotted with a Mute flock on the marshes can't be counted. 164 in my first year of actually keeping a record seems like a good achievement. It helped that I travelled a bit; made short trips to far flung corners of the British Isles, including Wales, Ireland and Scotland. It also helped that since July I have found myself living on a stunning nature reserve in Kent. What a privilege it's been...it's unreal sometimes. It's not about ticks really, it's about birds and there have been some great moments.

Ok, so there were some misses too. You'd think that I should have been able to rustle up a Bittern somewhere, given their widely reported and welcome return from near-extinction in the UK. I missed a sitter on Egyptian Goose and Wood Warbler proved elusive during a camping trip to Wales in June. I felt sure that Brambling and Woodcock would be sure bets this winter, but not near me apparently. The latter, I'm 99% sure I had one day - my only glimpse a small, dark, brown shape flushed from undergrowth in a thumping whirr of wingbeats. So a classic Woodcock encounter but an element of doubt and it don't cut the cheese - them's the rules. And then of course there is THAT bird. The one that got away. We don't talk about it here, we'll just refer to it as that punk-haired visitor from Scandinavia and beyond. I think I'm the only person in the UK who didn't see one last winter.

My 2011 list apparently started with a Jay seen from my bedroom window in Lewisham on Jan 1st. To the untrained eye, south east London probably looks like a never-ending parade of fried chicken places and Tesco metros' (and that's a fair assessment). But in amongst it there is green gold and my favourite spots (stand up Sydenham Hill Wood, Hilly Fields, Nunhead Cemetary, Brookmill Park) were good for nearly 60 species between January and April. College field trips were great for birding (less so for actually working) and nabbed me a fine male Smew at Amwell Lakes in Herts and a pair of Whoopers over Enfield. Spring was spring and I went everywhere, whenever I could. My first Blackcap arrived in Lewisham on March 29th, closely followed by Willow Warbler in Crystal Palace on April 5th. Swallows weren't far behind, arriving on my patch by the end of the month, shortly before the first Swift of the year on May 3rd.

Great Crested Grebe, Hatfield Forest

 The fantastic array of habitats on offer at Northward Hill and Cliffe Pools (wet grassland, grazing marsh, saline pools, woodland and scrub) meant I swapped the daily coo and shuffle of pigeons outside my window for yellow wagtails, bearded tits, barn owls and all manner of waders. An amazing run in September and October also saw the sites share 3 'not-quite-megas'', but still very scarce birds. A stunning juvenile Pallid Harrier, a rare passage migrant from the east, roosted at Cliffe Pools for several nights in late September. Dipping this gorgeous bird on the 2nd day, I was thrilled to get several views on the next - the last day it was seen. Cliffe also turned up a superb adult male Isabelline Shrike (17th-18th Oct), the day after a Red-flanked Bluetail was found at Northward Hill. I didn't include Bluetail on my list because the bird was recovered during a ringing session. Assisting the ringer, it's hard to describe the joyous disbelief I felt at seeing this bird, probably the rarest bird Northward Hill has ever had. Unfortunately the encounter showed me the best and worst of the birding 'community' and triggered a series of decisions that I don't entirely agree with. Some people are petty - just because you didn't see it, howabout you congratulate those who did and celebrate it's remarkable journey.

A stunning female Red-flanked Bluetail

Oustide the UK, a flying visit to Portugal in June was memorable for unforgettable close-up views of Black-winged Stilts, Bee-eaters and more. But it was watching nesting Avcoets, a bird I probably take for granted here, that really brought home what I love about birdwatching. It's not just watching; it's learning something new and respecting the small, feathery life that goes on around us. The life that doesn't  really have a voice but that will still shout the heavens down if you get too close to its young.

But if I had to choose one bird that summed up this year for me, it would be this one (sorry crap pic):

Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) from my bedroom window, RSPB Northward Hill, 9.7.11

 I always read that Turtle doves' were the 'sound of summer' in rural areas - certainly there was little chance of hearing or seeing one in London. But since this was the first lifer I got in Kent, perhaps it's the bird that I'll always remember as symbolising this chapter in my life. It also symbolises the massive struggle we face in this country to protect our birds and their habitats. A report in November revealed that Turtle Dove is now the most threatened farmland bird in the UK - in danger of extinction as a breeding bird within years. For every 7 birds there were 10 years ago, there is now 1. That's mindblowing. Once it's got passed the hunters' guns in the Med it has to contend with epic, industrial-scale farming both here and in Europe. It is just one of many species we face losing if we don't take a look at what is happening around us. It aint easy being a bird but I hope this is one that I can tick off for years to come. Here's to more awesome birds in 2012!

So what was your highlight of 2011? What did you see and what did you miss? Got a birding story? Get in touch...