Up to 150 species for 2026, and my quest to get my record # of species per month every month this year doing ok. 145 species in Jan beats prev recd of 136 and 70 on day 1 of February, including, at Carsington Water, my first Willow Tits since 2020. Target for Feb: 139... #birds 🪶🐦

Overcame a staggering headache to get to the mega-rare-for-the-UK Killdeer in Hampshire, which also gave a chance to see a Little Gull and to revisit the Great-tailed Grackle nearby. Nice to see Fieldfare in the garden today. 24/1/26 #birds 🐦🪶

A slow start to the bird photography year so far, but I've seen a lot of species by today (17/1/26): 125 which is my best start to a year ever. Highlights so far in 2026: Snow Goose, Tawny Owl, Greater Scaup, Black-winged Kite. #birds 🐦🪶

Top birds of 2025 for me... overseas: Greater Painted Snipe, Long Valley, Hong Kong 6/4/25; UK: Pechora Pipit, South Shields, 21/9/25. #birds 🪶🐦ok so the pipit might be a bit prosaic, but, like the Song Sparrow, these are birds I only expected to turn up on the "islands" so great to get to them.

Top birds 2025 also-rans. Nice views... Snow Bunting in Leics; Bonelli's Eagle in Oman; E Black Redstart in Norfolk; Alpine Accentor in the Pyrenees. #birds 🪶🐦

Top birds 2025 also-rans. Nice surprises: self-found Wryneck in the Pyrenees, Gtr Painted Snipe in HK, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in HK; Wire-tailed Swallow in Oman. #birds 🪶🐦

Top birds also-rans: grip backs Arabian Warbler, Black-crowned Tchagra, Black-faced Bunting, Pallas's Gull #birds 🪶🐦

Top 2025 birds 2 & 3. UK 3: Lesser Crested Tern; UK 2: Song Sparrow; Overseas 3: Corsican Finch; Overseas 2: Citril Finch (would have been first if in better plumage) after sooo many attempts! #birds 🐦🪶

2025 was a year of "grip backs" (starred), so such birds feature a lot in this list and in the also-rans. Top 5 birds of 2025: 5 and 4 (UK and overseas). UK 5: Purple Sandpiper (photogenic!); UK 4: Booted Eagle*; Overseas 5: Powerful Owl*, Sydney suburbs; Overseas 4: Tawny Frogmouth*. #birds 🐦🪶

Last bird of 2025 was the first Barn Owl I had seen in months by the road into my village (and I come home in the dark often). A welcome sight. #birds 🪶🐦had thought it would be the 2 woodcock I saw on the outskirts of Brandon after a lovely walk at Lynford Arboretum seeing crossbills et al.

Good visit to Norfolk today, 30/12/25, for the Black-winged Kite with @jonheath.bsky.social and a nameless friend, good views, then a bit of a seawatch at Sheringham with the E Black Redstart as an incentive, finishing with some nice wild swans. #birds 🪶🐦

Unexpected bonus of being near Ellesmere for the past few days was to see this female Lesser Scaup at the Mere, 29/12/25. My third of the year, first for the county. #birds 🪶🐦

Christmas birds have been pretty good: two good year ticks (Tundra Bean Goose and Snow Goose) and a charming Eastern Black Redstart, 25 and 26/12/25. #birds 🪶🐦

Reidentification news: the not countable Boat-tailed Grackle in Holbury, Hants has been reidentified through DNA as a not countable Great-tailed Grackle. My American friends: could we have worked this out without DNA? #birds 🪶🐦

A day out at the seaside, 19/12/25. Bracing and beautiful, the long shingle Suffolk beaches produced numerous great species, but none better than my favourite wader, the Purple Sandpiper; supporting cast included 40+ Snow Buntings, Med Gulls, Kittiwakes and Turnstones. #birds 🪶🐦

Not much birding this weekend, meaning that the Red-necked Grebe, seen briefly and fairly distantly at Fen Drayton RSPB, Cambridgeshire, was the so-called highlight! A bit of video is the best I can do... 14/12/25. @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social #birds 🪶🐦 www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRgE...

Weather in Norfolk was poor today, meaning that birding was pretty limited and pretty gloomy. The highlight was this Siberian Chiffchaff, among a number of flocks of numerous species, at Titchwell RSPB, Norfolk, 7/12/25. #birds 🪶🐦

6/12/25 - a great day for me in terms of UK ticks: 2020 (Ring-billed Gull and Sociable Plover) and now, in 2025, this Lesser Crested Tern, at Dawlish Warren, Devon. #birds 🪶🐦

A quiet couple of weeks but managed to get 90 minutes of birding at Cley today, 29/11/25 and so nabbled my best UK views of Water Pipit, plus close-up of Jack and Common Snipe. #birds 🪶🐦

Stand-out bird today was the Hume's Leaf Warbler at Holme NOA, Norfolk, 16/11/25. Great views, in view most of the time, calling occasionally. Managed a video and some decent pics. #birds 🪶🐦https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbp4JioG74

Friend @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social and I caught up with this untickable but amazingly bold Boat-tailed Grackle at Holbury, Hampshire today, 15/11/25. Yes, I know I'm just adding to the zillions of pics but I want you to know that I saw it too #FOMO #birds 🪶🐦

90 minutes at Ferry Meadows, Cambs, 9/11/25, gave @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social and me good views of YB Warbler, Whooper Swan and a very confident Great White Egret. Then to Titchwell RSPB for a good afternoon that brought us 79 species. #birds 🪶

decent views but no photos of the Dusky Warbler at Aylestone today, but the Lesser Scaup at Ditchford showed consistently well, while the American Golden Plover at Eyebrook finally gave itself up to @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social and me, hearing its distinctive call, 7/11/25. #birds 🪶

Views of the Pallas's Warbler at the Naze, Essex on 1/11/25 were predictably brief, though my circa 2 seconds of footage was turned into a series of smart stills by @darkus-markus.bsky.social (ta!). @birdguides.bsky.social #birds 🪶

Back to Suffolk for another look at the Brown Shrike, this time with @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social . Not the loveliest habitat (rusty barbed wire) behind a chicken-wire fence, but the bird showed well even in the wind and rain. #birds 🪶

Two great American waders in a day; the Pectoral Sandpiper at Hollowell took three goes to get, but when I eventually saw it, it was stupidly close! #birds 🪶 The White-rumped Sandpiper was much more distant at Blithfield Reservoir, Staffordshire.

my best views of a Brown Shrike in the UK, Upper Hollesley Common, Suffolk, 24/10/25. #birds 🪶

A rush off and a rush back for a mega Black-faced Bunting, Spurn, East Yorkshire, 21/10/25. #birds 🪶

A few hours' birding spread over a couple of days brought audio Dusky Warbler, two YB Warbler (Norfolk), a typically confiding Snow Bunting (Leics) and a lovely, active Jack Snipe (Northants), 18-19/10/25 @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social #birds 🪶

Dipper for dipping day, Scalby, North Yorkshire, 10/10/25. #birds 🪶

So I didn't get to try for the WT Needletail, but a late pm dash for my best (only good) views of a rare-for-the-UK Baird's Sandpiper paid off. My favourite moments are those when the bird is at ease, I sit still and just enjoy it coming towards me, nonchalantly. @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social #birds 🪶

Back to East Anglia for great views of the Turkestan Shrike at Dunwich then Greater Short-toed Lark at Snettisham, Norfolk, 5/10/25. White-tailed Eagle and Yellow-browed Warbler also great to see. #birds 🪶

A decent, if not earth-shattering start to October 2025: Red-tailed Shrike (mega rare) at Dunwich Heath and American Golden Plover (scarce), Pitsford Reservoir, Northamptonshire. #birds 🪶photos taken in less than ideal conditions

Lesser Grey Shrike, Winterton Dunes, Norfolk, 28/9/25. My 4th for the UK, and 2nd for Norfolk. #birds 🪶

Pechora Pipit, South Shields, County Durham, 21/9/25. Not a bird I contemplated seeing when I woke up this morning. #birds 🪶

Good few hours at Titchwell 20/9/25: two year "ticks" and a host of confiding waders at the shore. #birds 🪶

After a couple of abortive attempts, it was great to see the Lesser Yellowlegs at Etton-Maxey Pits, Cambs, making it a "Cambs tick" on 18/9/25. #birds 🪶Had only about 25 minutes with this before it flew off SE, calling in a very similar way to a Greenshank.

#ornithology www.nature.com/articles/s41...

great day in East Anglia today with four year ticks and what great birds! Curlew Sandpipers, Hoopoe, Wryneck and Red-necked Phalarope. #birds 🪶

Just back from France - great holiday and some brilliant bonus #birds 🪶! Citril Finch I've already mentioned, but the Lammergeier took some beating, as did the Wrynecks; Col des Tentes = fabulous! Video trip report: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h0y...

Currently in the French Pyrénées - three great French "ticks": Wryneck (I've now found 3), Citril Finch - most-wanted!!! and Egyptian Vulture (meh...). #birds 🪶 The Col des Tentes was one of the best places I've been for birding in France.

a long but easy walk at Boyton Marshes RSPB, 9/8/25, culminated in brilliant views www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RO3... of the long-staying Black Stork - glad to have joined the party! #birds 🪶

a late evening twitch to March Farmers RSPB, @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social , failed to produce the hoped-for views of Purple Heron, but this Bittern was a great consolation, 7/8/25. #birds 🪶

2/8/25 #birds 🪶 This Pectoral Sandpiper at Freiston Shore (great reserve!) @rspb.bsky.social rewarded the longer walk round to get a closer look. Nice to find it after about 20 minutes' scanning. Other goodies included Ruff, Whimbrel. @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social @rspbframptonmarsh.bsky.social

Not the heron I wanted to see, but this Grey Heron at Kingfishers Bridge, Cambridgeshire, was impressive in its determination to swallow a tench, which I think it eventually did! @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social #birds 🪶https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omrmb3Xjjb4

Timed it all wrong to get good looks at waders at @rspb.bsky.social Snettisham, Norfolk, today, but this Turtle Dove came a lot closer. #birds 🪶#norfolk

An amazing find at the tiny Dernford Reservoir, Cambridgeshire 6/7/25: Spotted Sandpiper! @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social #birds 🪶 www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9E0...

hot weather isn't always great for birding, but I spent a pleasant two hours at home looking for a Cattle Egret - saw 30 species but no Egret. The swifts continue to delight... and it was nice to see swallows and a kestrel 2/7/25 #birds 🪶

Before the great find, @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social and I were watching Purple Emperors at Woodwalton Fen, Cambridgeshire, 22/6/25. #butterflies 🦋

not often you get a big find: friend @jonnycaribou69.bsky.social (and I) found a Collared Pratincole (rare for the UK) at @rspbframptonmarsh.bsky.social today! #birds 🪶GET IN!!!