AA Birdpix, Birds, Travel and More

  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...

British Pterodromae A lucky few (probably more than a few by now) will have a Pterodroma  petrel on their UK list. Whilst looking for photos for my webpage  https://www.aabirdpix.com/BRITISH LIST/british-list.htm,  I made an interesting discovery regarding the official British List. Fea's Petrel isn't on it, but Zino's and Soft-plumaged Petrel are. So if you go by the official list you probably haven't seen a British  Pterodroma , unless you were on the Scilly pelagic in 2020, or the northeast coast seawatching in 2021 (the 2025 Cornish bird hasn't yet been accepted).  Let me explain. If you've seen a "Fea's-type" it was almost certainly a Desertas Petrel, but could have been a Zino's. Had you seen it before 2010 (when it was on CategoryA) it would have been a Fea's Petrel, assuming you could have eliminated Zino's. Had you seen such a bird in the last century it would have been a Soft-plumaged Petrel, which it almost certainly wasn...

  Garden Birdwatch I've never taken part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, a personal view because I don't think the results are scientifically valid, but it does encourage an interest in wildlife, which is far more important. If only government ministers were forced to take part. However, I do keep a garden list for interest. We moved in to a new property in 2007, and overlook farmland, which at that time was used for daffodils. The first week we had a Little Owl on the fence, and Curlews always used to winter in the fields. Obviously such sights are long gone, as are Grey Partridges which have wandered off the fields and down the tarmac in front of the bungalow!   Nothing much has changed in terms of our small cul-de-sac or the surrounding fields, but wildlife has been much affected by other developments in the area which have resulted in much more disturbance, traffic and light pollution, like almost everywhere else in the country. We have always put out feeders, and h...