Decade summary #7 - Best of 2016

2016 was a year, or more specifically and autumn, that many UK birders will never forget. In fact, the entire year was jam-packed with brilliant rarities, making me wonder how I made any progress in my PhD with all the twitching. The year started well with my first Euro-twitch, the obliging Siberian Rubythroat in NL:

In May I visited British Columbia, where my brother Gidon lived back then. Together with Amir we had some awesome wildlife experiences, including paddle-away views of Black Bears:

A stonking summer-plumage Great Knot in North Norfolk was just one of many rarities that showed up locally-ish in summer...

September came, and the rarity gates opened up into a flood, mainly from the east. It was a monster autumn, with winds constantly delivering goodies from deep in Siberia. The most exciting phenomenon was the irruption of Siberian Accentors in Europe. I twitched the first mainland one in Kilnsea:

I wasn't alone...

And the top-rares kept coming. Eastern Crowned Warbler @Bempton:

Dusky Thrush in Derbyshire:

And a nice bonus from the west - American Cliff Swallow in Suffolk:

I was pleased to experience my first proper Waxwing winter - fascinating birds.

Full summary here.

So long, and thanks for all the birds

After four years living in the UK, my time here is up. In less than two weeks I am heading back to Israel with my family. Amidst all the packing and farewells, I feel I should take some time to summarize the birding journey I went through in the UK.
We as a family, and me personally, had a great time in the UK. I appreciate the opportunity I got to live in this country, and in the fine city of Norwich. We moved to the UK essentially for my PhD studies. However, I tried to do as much birding as could in between all other duties, and I am glad I did. During these four years I had many lovely experiences, not all bird related. Over the course of my stay here, I was fortunate to travel the length and breadth of the UK, visit fantastic locations, meet wonderful people and see brilliant birds. In this post I will highlight the best birding experiences I had in a chronological order since moving here in September 2014.

2014

In October 2014 I had my first taste of east coast birding, with a good migrant fall along the north coast of Norfolk. This was also my first date with James. With Red-flanked Bluetail, Radde's Warbler and a self-found Little Bunting, this was sure to develop into a deeper relationship...

In November I enjoyed a typical seawatch in northerlies, that produced good numbers of fantastic Little Auks:

On a frozen late December day I headed up to West Yorkshire to see my first WP Blyth's Pipit:

2015

In the early part of 2015 my birding slowed down a bit, but I did enjoy wildlife spectacles in the form of high-tide roost on The Wash, at RSPB Snettisham in late January.

February went by without much birding, while in March I managed to get one WP tick in the form of Iceland Gull.

In late March and early April I first did some fieldwork in Iberia and then visited Israel. Back in the UK, I twitched the Isles of Scilly for the first time, for a Great Blue Heron than lingered on Bryher:

In late May we visited the Yorkshire coast for the first time, spending time with friends in Flamborough, RSPB Bempton Cliffs, and Filey. My friendship with the late and sorely missed Martin Garner, Mark and Amity, and many other local birders, strengthened my connection with this beautiful part of the UK.

Summer 2015 was rather slow, but in July I twitched a long-staying Greater Yellowlegs at Titchfield Haven in Hampshire.

In September birding certainly picked up. First, a quick-response twitch to Dungeness connected me with what was the rarest WP bird I saw in the UK, Acadian Flycatcher, and my first yankee landbird in the WP:

In late September I headed up to Shetland for a fabulous week with Martin, Sharon, Roger and Paul. Birding was a bit hard-going but I did see a wet Pechora Pipit, and self-found a Blyth's Reed Warbler two hours after I started birding:

2016

I know this isn't quite the UK, but in January 2016 I did my first and only Euro twitch, for the popular Siberian Rubythroat in a quiet Dutch village - such a fine bird that it had to make an appearance in this summary:

Winter 2015/16 ended without further drama; in spring I went to Israel again and then to British Columbia. Birding back home was pretty slow. Towards the end of May I enjoyed a brilliant Firecrest in James's garden. Not a big rarity, but what a cracker!

In June things picked up a bit with two WP ticks in Suffolk (Greenish Warbler and Blue-winged Teal) and a superb Great Knot at Titchwell on the North Norfolk coast:

 

In July Suffolk provided me with another WP tick, a Baird's Sandpiper at RSPB Minsmere:

In August I headed down to Kent for the returning Bonaparte's Gull at Oare Marshes:

Autumn 2016 was one to remember, and I was lucky to enjoy some of the headline birds along the East Coast. In October I headed up to East Yorkshire twice, first for the beautiful Eastern Crowned Warbler that showed superbly at Bempton Cliffs, and then for the first mainland Siberian Accentor at Spurn, amidst a brilliant migrant fall on the peninsula:

Towards the end of the month I was part of a group that found an Isabelline Wheatear at Burnham Overy Dunes (well, Dave found it and we just joined in):

In November action did not end. First, back to Minsmere it was for a lovely Cliff Swallow:

I really enjoyed my first proper Waxwing fix, with nice numbers in Norwich:

In early December I saw my final major rarity of 2016. I visited Derbyshire for the exciting Dusky Thrush in the small village of Beeley:

2017

2017 started with a bang - within a few January weeks I had three WP ticks - Pacific Diver and Black Scoter in Northumberland, and White-billed Diver in Lincolnshire - what a fine bird:

The tail end of the winter went by without further drama in the UK, and I went to India for a couple of weeks in February. Then I spent most of the spring doing fieldwork in Iberia. Back in the UK in June, I headed down to RSPB Pagham Harbour for the Elegant Tern:

In August I went up to Shetland with my family, where we had a lovely time with friends. Wildlife highlight was not a rare bird, but a heart-pounding encounter with Orcas:

In September I returned to Spurn Migfest. Among the many wildlife spectacles and experiences at this special event, headline bird was a Long-billed Dowitcher:

In mid-month I headed down to Dorset to twitch two storm-driven shorebirds at RSPB Lodmoor - Stilt and Least Sandpipers:

Towards the end of the month I worked hard to eventually see one of my most-wanted birds, found by my pub-mate Stu - Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler at Burnham Overy. No photos of it (I was lucky to see it at all); an Arctic Warbler nearby was a bit more obliging:

The rest of autumn 2017 was a complete opposite to autumn 2016 - weather was awful (for birding) and there were basically no birds along the east Coast. In November I visited Israel briefly, and soon after my return I saw several Parrot Crossbills along the border between Suffolk and Norfolk, in Thetford Forest.

Best bird of December was a lovely, frosty Coues's Arctic Redpoll in NE Norfolk:

2018

Half of the additions to my WP list in 2018 included American shorebirds. In late January I connected with the sweet-looking Spotted Sandpiper in Nottinghamshire:

In February I traveled in South Africa for a couple of weeks which was brilliant. A huge storm in late February brought in a welcome visitor from the Arctic - a fantastic Snowy Owl on the beach at Titchwell:

In March I headed to Israel again, for Champions of the Flyway. After submitting my PhD thesis I had more time but there were not too many birds to see, sadly. Very slow spring migration, and few rarities. In April and May I had luck with two American herons - American Bittern at SWT Carlton Marshes, and Green Heron in SW Wales:

In June I (most probably) self-found a Paddyfield Warbler on Blakeney Point, and later on added another most-wanted species to my list, that showed up exactly as I had anticipated it (albeit in horrible conditions for photography) -a lovely Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Potter Heigham:

In July I traveled in Sweden for a week with my family, and just before the month ended and my birding time in the UK was up I added a last-minute WP tick - Semipalmated Sandpiper at RSPB Snettisham.

Now it's time for some credits and thanks. When I moved to the UK, Martin Garner helped me a lot. One of the most amazing gifts he left behind is links and relationships he helped in formation. Martin recommended that I get in touch with James Lowen. I did, and we became close friends. James was my partner in crime in many of the above twitches. Martin casually invited Mark and Amity to meet me in his garden in Flamborough - what a deep friendship grew out of that first meeting. Thank you again, Martin. 

In this post I wrote 'I headed here' and 'I traveled there' but of course that's not accurate - I almost always birded with good friends. Nick, Mike, Quentin, Phil, Dave, Jake and Drew are just a few of the many generous, lovely people I was lucky to meet here. Thank you all!

So this is it. It has been one hell of a ride. Saw lots of good birds, never stopped learning and had many a laugh. But now it's time to move on. So long, and thanks for all the birds.

Special post - birds and wildlife highlights of 2016

This has become a fun tradition, to look back at what I have done this birding year. This is a classic demonstration of the dissonance between my constant feeling that I don't bird enough, and the very clear evidence that I bird far too much for a PhD student, employee, dad...

So here we go:

January

The year started with an extreme twitch, that was a harbinger of a hardcore twitching year. No more statements 'I normally don't twitch'... My UK birding this year was dominated by twitching. With so little time for birding (honest!) I had to choose well what to do and where to go, and too often I made the easy choice to twitch. A stunning Siberian Rubythroat took up residence in a small Dutch village - a national first. After a couple of weeks that it was porned by all Euro photographers, I couldn't resist temptation anymore, and went on a sleek one-day Euro twitch with Nick and local Gert. And a super day it was:

February

The main event of the month was a trip down to Dorset, to give a talk to Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group. It was a lovely meeting, and my WP list benefited from this trip with these two I picked up en route - Ring-necked Duck in Berkshire and Ring-billed Gull in Hampshire. Sorry for the crap record shots.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-billed Gull

March

In the UK, it was a quiet month. However, towards the end of the month I headed over to Israel to join the Champions of the Flyway race for conservation. I was lucky once again to be part of the organizing team - such a great event and super team! I had so much fun with old and new friends from around the globe. And birding in Eilat was nothing short of spectacular. 

Semi-collared Flycatcher

Sinai Agama

During my short visit I compensated for my absence from Israel by adding two species to my Israeli list - Red-billed Teal and Rough-legged Buzzard:

April

After COTF, I had a few more days in Israel. One day, or rather night, was spent with Arjan Dwarshuis, who's almost ending his record-breaking Biggest Year in E Asia now. We had a magical evening in the Judean Desert with Nubian Nightjar and Desert Tawny Owl being the highlights.

Back in the UK, April temperatures slowly climbed to something tolerable. But birding was still pretty slow. Towards the end of the month, everyone was going to watch Adders mating. And so did I.

May

In mid May I went to visit my brother and his family in Vancouver, Canada. It was a brief but wildlife-packed trip. Truly spectacular. Too many highlights to include in this summary, but both birds and mammals made the trip so amazing.

Surf Scoters

Western Sandpipers

Raccoon

Spectacled Guillemot

Humpback Whale

Harlequin Ducks

Black Bear

Later in May a cracking male Firecrest favoured my friend James's garden, and I was invited over for a cuppa and a pap:

Late May half-term holiday was spent with my family in Yorkshire together with close friends Mark and Amity - another tradition. A trip to Yorkshire is incomplete without an obligatory visit to RSPB Bempton Cliffs. It is truly spectacular there. This was not my last visit of the year to Bempton...

Atlantic Puffin

Northern Gannet

June

In June a rather crazy run of rarities kept me going almost to the year's end. Most twitches were local thankfully, but some were slightly more long-distance... These twitches were characterised by poor photography... First was a Greenish Warbler in Suffolk - a bird I really wanted to see in the WP. So I was very happy to catch up with this one locally.

Next up was a Blue-winged Teal also in Suffolk:

Followed shortly by the first biggy of the year in the UK, a superb Great Knot at RSPB Titchwell in late June:

July

Most of the month was rather quiet; at last I could focus on work... A short family trip to Frankfurt allowed me a quick visit to the Natural History Museum there, to collect some data on Nubian Nightjars. Out of curiosity I checked some other skins too, and was amazed to find this mysterious 'black' wheatear, potentially the second-ever known specimen of 'Saxicola syenitica':

Putative 'Saxicola syenitica' (top) with Black Wheatear (bottom)

Towards the end of July I went twitching locally again, this time to RSPB Minsmere for an adult Baird's Sandpiper (again not my last visit of the year to Minsmere):

August

In early August I ventured slightly further south, this time to connect with the returning Bonaparte's Gull at KWT Oare Marshes Nature Reserve. The yank gull showed really well and I truly enjoyed the reserve - packed with birds.

Another annual tradition was my participation in the British Birdwatching Fair. It was good fun as always, and busy as ever. We launched COTF 2017, and I took part in Bird Brain of Britain competition.

My family summer holiday ended with a trip to almost birdless Switzerland for a week. But scenery was breathtaking:

September

September was the month everything started... Towards mid month, a high-pressure system settled over Western Europe for several weeks. Its easterly flows straight from Siberia delivered bus-loads of Sibe vagrants to UK shores. It led to an autumn that will surely be remembered in UK birding history as one of the best autumns ever.

In mid September I finally found myself a Greenish Warbler on East Hills, but weather was so bad I couldn't photograph it. 

Yellow-browed Warblers are always lovely. I didn't see as many this year as last, but I did have quite a few including one near my children's school in Norwich, and three ringed with the UEA ringing group at Waxham in late September:

October

The busiest month of the year. In early October I twitched the Eastern Crowned Warbler at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, found by my mate David. Super bird and brilliant find!

A few days later I found myself in Yorkshire again, joining the crowds to watch England's first Siberian Accentor at Easington. It was a mind-blowing day. My mind was blown away by the numbers of migrants at Spurn, and also by the number of birders and twitchers.

Siberian Accentor with Dunnock

This photo went viral on Twitter:

Later on in October, I was involved in a group-find of Isabelline Wheatear at Burnham Overy Dunes. When I say I was involved in a group-find, it actually means that I had screwed up and my mate Dave actually found the bird... At first it was pretty mobile: 

But I did go back for seconds a couple of weeks later, which is rather strange that I did because it's such a common bird in Israel.

There were some other nice birds at Burnham Overy - easterlies throughout the month produced more and more stuff. I really liked this fine Mealy Redpoll:

November

In early November I thought I could shut down my twitching season after this last bird - luckily another local twitch, the American Cliff Swallow at RSPB Minsmere. It did give us a bit of a run-around, but eventually showed exceptionally well for a hirundine:

One of my favourite birds is Waxwing. As this winter developed, fair numbers of Waxwing made it down to Norfolk. I had some nice encounters with them this season, but I am still waiting for the 'killer shot'. Some birds ringed by UEA ringing group allowed close inspection of their special waxy feather tips. Simply stunning. 

A smart drake Goosander added some quality to the normally dull UEA broad:

December

And after I had packed my birding gear up for the winter, the Dusky Thrush showed up in Derbyshire. Time for another twitch... What a bird!

My final birding session of the year in the UK was actually pretty good. Another great day out with James and Terry, we had both Red-breasted Goose and Todd's Canada Goose in the same scope view. 

I am now in Israel for a short family holiday. I was hoping to end the year with the potential first Asian House Martin in the WP, but dipped on it. However, it was lovely to be reminded how awesome birding in Israel is.

Black-necked Grebe

That's the end of another year, my sixth year operating this blog. I thank my followers and readers deeply - because of your support I continue writing here. Special thanks to my friends who shared these moments with me, and often drove me... And to my family and bosses who still tolerate me. 

I wish all, my readers and those few who don't read my blog, a wonderful 2017, full of birds, wildlife, love and peace. Happy New Year!