AA Birdpix, Birds, Travel and More

  Changes and my website. I fell off the wagon the other day, and have finally given up trying to give up. Of course, I'm not talking about alcohol, smoking or drugs, but twitching. What is great is that I don't need to be in denial, or harm anyone else, nor feel guilty. In fact Ann was glad to get me out of the house.  In truth I just wanted a day away from an overgrown, parched garden, still not fully restored after I burnt the summerhouse down with my moth trap, and a better photo of Long-tailed Shrike. I have long since stopped having any interest in how many ticks I have in the UK, I think it was my first for two years, and the last one before it was a world tick, so I had a reason to go for that. The shrike was first reported on 19th July, the message  "belated news of 1st-summer at Macaroni Farm from 8-16 July but no sign since in extensive search." Back in the heyday of twitching there would have birders at the site almost immediately, despite the non-appeara...

  Godwit Musings Most birders like Godwits, and the current appearence of a Hudsonian Godwit has brightened up a summer for those in the south-east. The species has an amazing pattern of vagrancy, and I have an interesting personal history with them. It began in 1981;  I had started birding in 1980, but hadn't done any twitching. On holiday in Devon we saw a crowd of birders with telescopes trained on something, but as it wasn't a birding trip and we were with friends we didn't investigate. A few years, and integration in to the twitching fraternity, made me realise that I had driven past a Hudsonian Godwit, the long-staying (and returning bird) which was the UK's only record at the time, and was also recorded at Blacktoft Sands. Of course, that species (for me anyway), immediately joined the "most wanted" list. It was to be a long wait. I've never worried too much about my British list, although I did a lot of twitching I travelled a lot as I had a good j...

  Guide to guides No, not that sort, human bird guides. In fact the title is a bit arrogant on my part because I haven't known that many, but I do have a lot of experience of foreign travel, so have come across several. Most people aspire to a foreign birding trip eventually, in fact it is far more rewarding for many than birding in the UK. Many twitchers discover quite soon that for what it cost them to take a charter flight to Shetland they could have had a week in Florida, and these days there are far fewer "hard core" twitchers around. Plus, your actual carbon footprint will potentially be far lower since the flights will still go even if you're not on them.   There are several ways to bird abroad, personally I would always prefer to arrange my own tour, but this entails a lot of organisation and homework for success. It's not sufficient just to look at e-bird, some species which are "staked out" don't appear on there due to being endangered, or ...

  Thailand, one of my best trips? I have visited over eighty "countries". I include places which are not politically classed as countries, such as overseas territories. Birds from the Falklands/Malvinas and St. Helena don't appear on my British list, 'nuff said. However I am still having new and very enjoyable birding, my recent Thailand trip gave me over 100 new species, and was one of my best trips ever, despite being a destination that many people visit early in their birding lives.  This is because I have tackled the more difficult places whilst still young enough and fit enough, but also because I have always set myself targets as a focus for where to go. Apart from my early days twitching, I don't care about numbers, although I enthusiastically keep a world list for my own interest. It seems I have seen over 4.500 species, so to have over 100 new birds on any trip is great, but I've been on trips, like a recent trip to Finland, where the total was less t...

Thailand, world wader capital? My recent trip to Thailand was long overdue, I had bought a field guide in Hong Kong in 1993 intending to visit but never got round to it. I went primarily for two waders I needed, but thoroughly enjoyed all of it due to the variety of species. My particular interests are dictated by photography now, waders, raptors, owls, kingfishers and bee-eaters being among my favoured f amilies.  Waders en masse are always great, hence the title, but the main point about Thailand is, like Hong Kong before it, the range of species. We recorded 40 species, but there is nowhere else where you can easily see Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshank, Asiatic Dowitcher and Great Knot in the same area, plus Malaysian Plover and White-fronted Plover not far away. The last two were ticks for me, and they are usually seen on a boat trip, at the end of which you exit on to a sand bar and hope. Apparently the recently described White-fronted Plover is becoming scarce in...

WADERFEST. For all the time I have been birding Spoon-billed Sandpiper has been endangered, and this, in addition to its amazing bill, has made it a much-desired species in many birder's eyes. My recent trip to Thailand bought back memories of trips to Mai Po in Hong Kong, where I first saw the species, along with Ann. I can't remember quite how it happened, but I found myself with Mel, Heather and Jack on a self-organised trip to Hong Kong in 1991. In those days it was a popular venue as it had been discovered that huge numbers of waders, including several rare species, passed through Mai Po in spring. Although the hide, where most were seen on an incoming tide, was large, tour groups had to split to visit it, and there were instances of half the group seeing Spoonie (s) whilst the other half dipped! Great atmosphere for the remainder of the tour. There were permits involved in visiting Mai Po, but we had no problems as I remember. Asian Dowitcher was easily seen, Great Knot w...