WWT London 27 Oct

Mallard Coot Moorhen Gadwall Shoveler Pintail Tufted Mute Swan Magpie Green Woodpecker Great, Blue Long tailed Tit Grey Heron RN Parakeet Little & GC Grebe Cormorant Lapwing Goldfinch Herring & BH Gull Swallow Teal Wigeon Robin Blackbird Jay Pochard Woodpigeon

Wyver Lane 5 Nov

Buzzard, poss. Hobby in a tree (but isnt it too late?, or Goshawk. maybe Peregrine?) with buff breast, Goldcrest, Mute Swan, Tuftie, Teal, Wigeon, Grey Heron, BH Gull, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Robin, Blue Tit, LT Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch.

Later Coal Tit, nuthatch, Kestrel

Palm Springs 16-19 Sep 2012

Costa's Hummingbird

Sri Lanka 18 Aug - 2 Sep 2012

Non-Birds
- Hanuman (Grey) Langur
- Toque Macacque
- Green Vine Snake
- Giant Squirrel
- Bear Monkey
- Asian Water Monitor
- Common Garden Lizard
- Sri Lankan Elephant
- Asian Water Buffalo
- Palm Squirrel
- Wild Buffalo
- Samba Deer
- Rhino Lizard
- Black-lipped lizard
- Asian Land Monitor
- Leopard
- Mongoose
- Wild Pig
- Spotted Deer
- Mugger Crocodile
- Centipede
- Millipede
- Green Pit Viper
- Hog-nosed lIzard
- Kangaroo lizard
- Rat Snake
- Purple-faced (Black) Leaf Monkey
- Spotted House Gekko
- Giant Wood Spider
- Blue Mormon Butterfly
- Clipper Butterfly
- Tree Nymph BF

Asian Koel L
Little Cormorant B
Indian House Crow L
Asian Openbill (R)
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Purple Rumped Sunbird B
Common Myna
White Bellied Drongo B
White Throated Kingfisher
Rock Dove
Spotted Dove
Purple Heron

At Polonnaruwa:
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Brahminy Kite L
House Swift
Malabar Pied Hornbill B
Lesser Adjutant

At Minneriya NP
- Green Bee-eater
- Blue-tailed Bee-eater
- Red Vented Bulbul
- White-bellied Sea Eagle
- Painted Stork
- Black-headed Ibis
- Grey Heron
- Great Egret
- Spot-billed Pelican
- Crested Serpent Eagle
- Black-winged Stilt
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Barn Swallow
- Paddyfield Pipit
- Indian Peafowl

Chaaya Village (Elephant Ride)
- Brown Headed Barbet
- Asian Paradise-Flycatcher
- Indian Robin
- Common Kingfisher
- Crested Treeswift

Sigiriya
- Pale-billed Flowerpecker
- Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill
- Black-hooded Oriole
(42)

Luckgrove (mid-level) Spice Garden
- Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Dups @ Knuckles
- Crested Serp eagle
- Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
- Pale Billed Flowerpecker
- RV Bulbul
- Common Myna
- Pale-Bellied Drongo
- Brown-headed Barbet

Knuckles
- Greater Coucal
- Scarlet Minivet
- Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot
- Great Tit
- Black Eagle
- Crimson-Backed Goldenback
- Hill Myna
- Black Bulbul
- Brown Breasted Flycatcher
- Dull-blue Flycatcher
- Loten Sunbird
- Purple-backed Sunbird
- Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler
- Yellow Fronted Barbet
- Velvet Fronted Nuthatch
- Common Iora
- House Sparrow
- Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
- Oriental White-eye
- Common Tailorbird
- White-rumped Munia
- Shikra
- Sri Lanka Hill Myna
(65)

Kandy Botanic Gardens
- Large-billed Crow
- Scaly-breasted Munia
- Asian Palm Swift
- Purple Sunbird
- Yellow-billed Babbler

Glenlock Tea Plantation
- Jerdon's Leafbird
- Golden-fronted Leafbird

Horton Plains
- Sri Lanka Junglefowl (ie wild chicken!)
- Pied Bushchat
- Yellow-eared Bulbul
(76)

Uda Walawe
- Coppersmith Barbet
- Changeable Hawk-Eagle
- Woolly Stork
- Indian Roller

- Indian Pond Heron
- Lesser Whistling Duck
- Yellow Bittern
- Darter
- White-breasted Waterhen
- Purple Swamphen
- Pheasant-tailed Jacana
- Collared Scops Owl
- Stork-billed Kingfisher
- Lesser Goldenback
- Small Minivet
- Baya Weaver (apparently responsible for the hanging nests, whereas Streaked Weaver nests are in low bushes)
- Little Grebe
- Little Pied Kingfisher
(9 4)

Yala
- Spoonbill
- Kentish Plover
- Redshank
- Black-tailed Godwit
- Richard's Pipit
- Black-necked Stork
- Blue Malhoka
- King Quail
- Hoopoe
(103)

Sinharaja
- Sri Lanka White-eye
- Black-capped Bulbul
- Sri Lanka Green Pigeon
- Dark-fronted Babbler

Gull-Billed Tern
Great Crested Tern

109. c55 lifers.

Northern California 25 June 2012

After late afternoon arrival, I took a stroll along the front at Larkspur, getting as close to San Quentin as I felt comfortable with! *Lincoln Sparrow, Great Blue Heron, House Finch, California Towhee, Red winged Blackbird, Common Tern.


On a road trip to Chico, *Northern Harrier.


On the big trip to Point Reyes: Red Tailed Hawk, Osprey, Cormorant, Stellers Jay, Western Scrub Jay, *Wood Duck, Dark Eyed Junco, California Quail, American White Pelican, *Common Murre ( hundreds on the rocks at the lighthouse), White Cowned Sparrow, Turkey Vulture, *Pigeon Guillemot (distinct in the sea at the foot of the lighthouse cliffs.

Washington DC

A missed connection meant an enforced stay near Dulles. at the local Marriott I made my usual request for a room overlooking trees and got one overlooking a tree by the lake.


This really paid off as I saw  a Yellow Warbler, Mourning Dove, Grey Catbird. Black-Crowned Night Heron. Northern Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Song Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, American Crow, American Robin.

Wyver Lane

Beautiful late afternoon. Mallard, Wigeon, Shelduck, Pochard, Shoveler, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull, Arctic Tern, Oystercatcher, Greylag (pair with 8 Goslings), Coot, Moorhen, Canada Goose, ChiffChaff (heard), Mute Swan.

Next day we added Mistle Thrush, Buzzard, Dunnock, ChiffChaff, Tufted Duck, GC Grebe, GS Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail

Chile: El Yali and Santo Domingo

One day off on a busy trip to Santiago, and I was very keen to get to a coastal location this time. Our very kind host volunteered to join me and drive, and suggested the El Yali reserve, a couple of hours away.



It took us a long time to find the reserve entry (Chimango caracara, Southern Lapwing, Long Tailed Meadowlark and Black chinned siskin on the journey), close to a very smelly SuperPollo battery hen mega-farm. The man on the entrance said that permits were needed and only obtainable from Santo Domingo (but I got a nice view of a Fire Eyed Duicon while he told us). However he gave us a tip as to how to get in round the back!



The reserve is a series of sea-water lagoons amongst woods and pasture. Even as we parked the car Coscoroba Swan flew over - very goose-like and as such missing the usual swan elegance. On the lagoon we came to, Great Egret, Neotropic cormorant, Black Necked Swan, White backed stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, Brown Hooded Gull.



Walking alongside the lagoon, a Green Backed Firecrown in the only flowering bush and Scale Throated Earthcreeper, Southern House Wren skulking around.



A magnificent Cocoi Heron flew past, then an American Kestrel.



There didn’t seem to be much chance of anything else without several hours' tramping over slow terrain, so we headed back to the car and in the scrub on the way out got good views of a Tufted Tit Tyrant.



Rufous Collared Sparrow, Chilean Mockingbird, Turkey Vulture also around.



On to Santo Domingo and the beach, which we walked along Northwards towards a rock which had birds on it. Tiring work on soft sand dunes or shingle. Strong surf so a dramatic overall scene.



Peruvian Pelicans flying past in sea-skimming formation. Kelp Gull looks like a Lesser BB, but behaves very differently, scuttling about as the waves go in and out like a Sanderling.



When we finally made the rock, the birds on it were revealed not as Penguins, which I had half-hoped as the Humboldt current cools the water here, but Peruvian Booby (had no idea 'Peruvian' applies to so many sea birds) and Red-legged Cormorant.



Common Diuca Finch and Chilean Swallow in the scrub behind the beach



Back in Santiago, a flock of Shiny Cowbird outside the Vitacura Starbucks and on a run round the local park I distinguished Eared Dove amongst the various pigeon-types.

Malta Apr 2012

Walking round St Julian’s Harbour, House Sparrow and Redstart.
 
Later, on the NW coast, Spotted Flycatcher, Sardinian Warbler, Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush. Chiffchaff heard.
 
Next day on Gozo, Spanish Sparrow, Willow Warbler and most excitingly a Subalpine Warbler near Ramla.
 

Chile March 2012

After 24hrs travelling, we needed some sun and air so strolled up to the park near the shopping mall: Rock Dove of course, Chilean Mockingbird everywhere and soon distinguished from Austral Thrush. The local escapee Parakeet breed is the Monk Parakeet which has dark wings when in flight. The dove on the floor soon identified as
Picui Ground Dove. Southern House Wren creeping around a tree-trunk.
Rufous Collared Sparrow everywhere, and Southern Lapwing screaming on any open space.
From hotel window, Rufous Tailed Plantcutter with distictive bright red eye. Majestic pair of Peregrine patrolled across at dusk.
Later in the week, a poke round the local park.
Black Necked Swan, Snowy Egret and Spot flanked Gallinule
on the pond. Long Tailed Meadowlark and Yellow Winged Blackbird.
Traveling south to the wine region in a minibus, Southern Caracara and
Turkey Vulture. Later, at beautiful Viu Manent, Black Chinned Siskin
Plain-Mantled Tit-Spinetail in the courtyard shrubs. The Aussie manager tells me they have an albino owl in one of the older trees.
On Sunday, our hosts kindly took us up beyond Farellones and then Valle Nevado, in a hunt for Condores. Variable Hawk rather a dull name for what in this area is a handsome bird, which we watched hovering (impressive in such a big bird) and pouncing.
Correndera Pipit by the roadside.
Common Duica Finch in the shrubs.
And then a couple of bigger birds...stop the car! 2 big birds gliding out high high over the valley. A hint of white on the back, rectangular wings, upturned fingers. They are Andean Condors. Locals confirm a pair and seven offspring live in the area and subsequently we see more and closer - close enough to see the neck ring by eye!
Common Miner (pic) and a rather dishevelled Grey-hooded Sierra Finch).
Finally, Mountain Caracara perched on the eaves of a ski chalet.
Lots of other birds around, especially in the late afternoon. Definitely a place to return to...
 
(25 species, 19 lifers)
 

California Twitchin' Jan/Feb 2012

In the little Foster City Park, Western Grebe, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Eurasian Coot, Common Merganser, and another grebe (Eared or Horned?) too distant to tell, and this White Crowned Sparrow,


Around our hotel: Snowy Egret, California Towhee, Mallard, American Green-Winged Teal, Great Blue Heron, Black Crowned Night Heron and this Rough Legged Hawk, which I saw when I heard a commotion of crows heckling something



After a hard week of work, I took Saturday off and headed up beautiful Route 1, along the San Andreas fault, to Port Reyes National Park. With 490 recorded species it is a top US birding destination.
Turkey Vulture, Ruddy Duck, Northern Pintail, Bufflehead, California Quail, White Crowned Sparrow, Acorn Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, American Crow, Stellars Jay, Dark Eyed Junco, Fox Sparrow, California Towhee, Winter Wren, Red Winged Blackbird, Brewers Blackbird, American Robin, Black Phoebe, Canada Goose, Mallard, American Wigeon, Western Gull, this Surf Scoter



, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling, Starling, American Kestrel, Western Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Killdeer and this Savannah Sparrow