Monday, 12 January 2026

Staying local (01-11 January 2026)

Thursday 01 January 2026. Widewater (seawatching 8:30-09:15): Great Crested Grebe 4W, Kittiwake 60W, Guillemot 4W, Razorbill 1320W, auk sp. 600W, Gannet 560 offshore feeding frenzy and 34 Mute Swans, 5 Teal, 7 Coot and 6 Little Grebes on the lagoon. Shoreham Fort/Boardwalk with Megan and Otis: 7 Turnstones and a Purple SandpiperRiver Adur: 2 Brent Geese, Kingfisher, Peregrine and 200 Black-headed, an adult Mediterranean, 490 Common, 46 Great Black-backed, 400 Herring, an adult Yellow-legged and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The Common Gulls were mostly roosting between the A27 and Cuckoos Corner and included German bird A39P.

Purple Sandpiper at Shoreham Harbour (west side)


Mediterranean Gull on the Adur near Cuckoos Corner

Common Gull A39P in the gull roost near Cuckoos Corner, a German ringed bird (history awaited)

Friday 02 January 2926. Widewater (mostly seawatching 07:50-09:00): Great Crested Grebe 5W, Kittiwake 116W, Guillemot 4W, Razorbill 62W, auk sp. 350W, Gannet 110W and 6 divers E including single Red-throated and Black-throated. Old Toll Bridge to Cuckoos Corner and back with Otis: Stock Dove, Water Rail heard, Little Grebe, 2 Common Sandpipers, Red Kite, Green Woodpecker heard, 4 Skylarks, Goldcrest, Redwing, 2 Song Thrushes and 2 Stonechats.

Common Sandpiper on the Adur at Dacres Gardens


perfect full moon

Saturday 03 January 2026. Widewater (mostly seawatching, 08:25-09:30): Great Crested Grebe 2 on sea, Kittiwake 1W, Guillemot 1W, Razorbill 25W & 80 on sea, auk sp. 125W, Gannet 525 offshore feeding frenzy and 30+ Mute Swans, 9 Teal, 7 Coot and 7 Little Grebes on the lagoon. Worthing Pier with Megan and Otis: 3 Great Crested Grebes on the sea and 7 Turnstones.

Gannets off Widewater


Sunday 04 January 2026. Adur Rec, mostly frozen Widewater and Adur Saltings with Otis: 180 Teal, red-head Goosander, 8 Coot, Grey Plover, 2 Curlew, 20+ Common Snipe, Greenshank, 55 Redshank, 2 Razorbills on the sea, 30+ Gannets offshore, Kingfisher and Chaffinch.

fourth time lucky with the Widewater red-head Goosander
it wasn't particularly co-operative

Monday 05 January 2026. Adur (highish tide) with Megan and Otis: 8 Lapwing, 2 Grey Plover and a Peregrine.

the white-headed Grey Plover giving better than usual views on the Adur

Tuesday 06 January 2026Tottington Woods and nearby with Otis: Stock Dove, 17 Lapwing flying high SW, female Goshawk flew east out of wood, 3 BuzzardsLittle Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay heard, 5 Long-tailed, 20 Blue and 2 Great Tits, 2 Goldcrests, 4 Nuthatches, 15 Blackbirds, 25 Redwings, single Song and Mistle Thrushes, 12 Meadow Pipits, 2 Chaffinches, Bullfinch heard and 4 Goldfinches.

Little Owl

Wednesday 07 January 2026. Brooklands with Megan and Otis: 80+ Coot, 2 Little Grebes, Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Coal, 6 Blue and 8 Great Tits, Goldcrest and 2 Chaffinches.

Friday 08 January 2026. Widewater with Otis, 09:30-11:10, cold NNW wind and rain: Common Scoter 1 landed on sea, Goosander 1 on lagoon, Little Grebe 6 on lagoon, Great Crested Grebe 7 on sea:1W, Razorbill 5E:1o/s, Red-throated Diver 5E:1W:6o/s, Gannet 11 offshore.

Goosander on Widewater

Red-throated Divers on the sea off Widewater

Saturday 10 January 2026. Mill Hill with Megan and Otis: male Pheasant, Skylark, Goldcrest, 6 Blackbirds, 4 Song Thrushes, 2 Wrens, 7 Robins, male Chaffinch, 2 Linnets and 8 Goldfinches. Crown Road: 5 Goldfinches.

Sunday 11 January 2026. Adur with Megan and Otis: 7 Teal2 Little Grebes30+ Lapwings, 2 Grey and 3 Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin and 77 Great and 7 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls.


Thursday, 1 January 2026

Living off memories - TRIP INDEX 2025>1974

The following lists and gives links to the relevant blogs of all the foreign birding and some family trips that I have been fortunate enough to have done. It is ordered by year with the most recent first. Blogs of the older trips use scanned slides, some having degraded badly with age, or digitised prints of varying qualitySome use photos taken by those I was with. These are usually easy to tell as they are significantly better than mine (and in most cases acknowledged). Many of the older blogs are based on my unreliable memories as my notes were very lacking in detail, other than the birds seen, something I now greatly regret. The blogs were initially done to find a 'home' for boxes of old slides which I had not looked at for years, my dad giving me his slide scanner providing the necessary impetus to digitise them. Doing these blogs has brought back many very happy memories, and a few sad ones. I’ve been very fortunate to have various like-minded friends whom I have been able to travel with. Sadly several are no longer with us.
Kagu, New Caledonia August 1998 (digitised print originally taken with an instamatic).  One of my all-time top five birds. Giant Pittas (1987), displaying Wilson's Bird of Paradise (1993), displaying Western Parotia (2013) and Royal Penguins (2023) are the others. Recent Hooded Grebe (2024) and Waved Albatross (2025) are not far behind although a top 10 requires a bit more thought

2025:   FRANCE Somme (June) here
            GALAPAGOS (May) starts here
            INDIA North East (January) starts here

2024:   ARGENTINA Southern (November) starts here
             SPAIN Cantabria (Septemberhere
            USA Alaska (June) starts here
            CYPRUS (March) starts here
            PANAMA (February) starts here

2023:   NEW ZEALAND and BIRDING DOWN UNDER Cruise (December) starts here  
            FRANCE Boulogne (June) included here
            INDIA South and Andamans (January/February) starts here
           
2022:  FRANCE Somme (September) here
           BRAZIL SW Amazonia (May/June) starts here                
           COSTA RICA (April/May) starts here

2020:  SPAIN Fuerteventua (February) starts here
           MYANMAR (January) starts here

2019:   FRANCE Somme (September) here
            (BALI and) BORNEO (August) starts here
            NORWAY Varanger Fjord (March) starts here
            SRI LANKA (January/February) starts here

2018:  MADAGASCAR (October) here
           SPAIN Mallorca (September) here
           
PERU North (June/July) starts here
           FRANCE Somme (May) here
           
ECUADOR (February) starts here

2017:  BOLIVIA (November) starts here
           GREECE Northern (October) here
           FRANCE Somme (September) here
           MONGOLIA (May) starts here
           GUYANA (March/April) starts here
           
TRINIDAD and TOBAGO (March) here
           JAMIACA (February) here

2016:  
GHANA (October/November) starts here
           FRANCE Somme (September) here
           JAPAN (June/July) starts here
           
NORWAY & FINLAND (May/June) starts here
           
MEXICO Southern (February/March) starts here
           USA 
California (January) starts here

2015:  BRAZIL (September/October) starts here
           FRANCE Somme (August/September) here
           INDONESIA Lesser Sundas (August) starts here
           USA Arizona (April/May) starts here
           ECUADOR (January/February) starts here
          

2014: FRANCE Brittany (September) here
          COLOMBIA (July/August) starts here
          SPAIN Extremadura (April) starts here        

2013: FRANCE Normandie (September) here
          INDONESIA West Papua (August) starts here
          FRANCE Corsica (May) starts here

2012: FRANCE Somme (September) here
          MALAYSIA Sarawak & Sabah (July/August) starts here
          TURKEY (June) starts here
          
2011: TAIWAN (April/May) starts here
          ETHIOPIA (February) starts here

2010: UGANDA (June) starts here
          CHINA Shanghai, Wuishan, Yangxian & Pingtai (May/June) starts here

2009: VIETNAM Cat Tien & Da Lat (April) starts here

2008:
 NAMIBIA (July/August) starts here
          
PHILIPPINES (April) starts here

2007: INDIA Eaglenest (March/April) here     
          
2006: PAPUA NEW GUINEA (July/August) starts here

2005: INDONESIA Sumatra & West Java (June/July) starts here
          USA Texas (March/April) here  

2004:  PAPUA NEW GUINEA (June) starts here
           CUBA Western (April) here
          
2003:  CAMEROON (April) here
           JAPAN (January) starts here

2002:  CHILE (April)
 here

2001:  
GAMBIA (October/November) here
           PUERTO RICO & DOMINION REPUBLIC (April) starts here

2000:  CHINA Qinghai (June/July) starts here
           CYPRUS (April)
           
1999:  ECUADOR (August/September) here

1998:  AUSTRALIA and NEW CALEDONIA (July/August) starts here        

1997:  VIETNAM (March/April) here 

1996: NEW ZEALAND (August) starts here
          PHILIPPINES (April) here

1995: MADAGASCAR (August) starts here

1993: INDONESIA Irian Jaya (August) starts here

1992: INDONESIA Sulawesi and Halmahera (August) starts here

1991: SOUTH AFRICA (August)
 starts here

1990: ARGENTINA (August) starts here

1989: ICELAND (June) here

1988: BRAZIL (July/August) starts here
          THAILAND Peninsular (March/April) here 

1987: MALAYSIA Sabah and Peninsular (July/August) starts here

1986: 
ECUADOR and VENEZUELA Henri Pittier July/August 1986 starts here
          AUSTRALIA Queensland and Northern Territory (March/April) starts here

1985: COSTA RICA and PANAMA Canal Zone (July/August) starts here

1984: BOTSWANA (December 1984-January 1985) starts here
          PERU (July/August) starts here

1983: KENYA (July/August) starts here

1982: VENEZUELA (December 1982-February 1983) starts here
          ASIA (January-July)
           MALAYSIA Peninsular (January/February) starts here          
           THAILAND North (February) starts here
           NEPAL (March/June)
              Jomson Trek (March) 
starts here
              Kathmandu/Ilam bailout/Kosi/Kathmandu (April) starts here
              Everest Trek (April/May) starts here
              Kathmandu/Chitwan/Kathmandu (May) starts here
              Langtang Trek (May/June) starts here
              Kathmandu to Delhi (June) here
          INDIA (June/July)
              Ladakh starts here

              Kashmir starts here

1981: AUSTRIA (July) here

1980: THAILAND (December 1980-January 1981) starts here
          CANADA Ontario (May) starts here

1979: NEPAL (November 1979-January 1980) starts here
          CANARIES (June/July) starts here 
          ISRAEL (March/April) starts here

1978: THAILAND (December 1978-January 1979) starts here

1977: KENYA (December 1977-January 1978) starts here
          MOROCCO (April) starts here

1975: FRANCE Carmargue and Pyrenees (May) included here

1974: MAJORCA (October) brief mention here