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

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..............