Wednesday 29 November 2023

Local birding around Shoreham (21-30 November)

Tuesday 21 November. Dacres Gardens/Coombes/Botolphs with Cookie: Common Sandpiper 1, Kestrel 1, Stonechat 2, Pied Wagtail 18.

Common Sandpiper on the Adur just north of Downslink bridge

Wednesday 22 November. Harbour Way/Boardwalk/Shoreham Fort/Harbour with Megan and Cookie: Eider 1, Black Redstart 1, Meadow Pipit 1, Rock Pipit 1.

Black Redstart on a roof by Sussex Wharf
Rock Pipit at Shoreham Fort

Thursday 23 November. Mill Hill with Megan and Cookie: Sparrowhawk 1, Kestrel 2, Song Thrush 1, Goldfinch 2.

Friday 24 November. No Man's Land/Lychpole Bottom/South Downs Way with David Buckingham and Cookie (shooting at NML caused a change of route): Grey Partridge 7, Red-legged Partridge 2, Stock Dove 120, Woodcock 1 (DB only), Red Kite 2, Buzzard 3, Kestrel 2, Raven 1, Skylark 5, Goldcrest 1, Song Thrush 4, Fieldfare 13, Stonechat 3, Pied Wagtail 20, Meadow Pipit 15, Linnet 95, Goldfinch 20, Corn Bunting 3, Yellowhammer 3, Hare 1.

Saturday 25 November. Adur Saltings with Megan and Cookie: Turnstone 30+, Redshank 35+, Greenshank 1.

Sunday 26 November. Beeding Hill triangle with David Buckingham and Cookie: Red Kite 1, Buzzard 2, Kestrel 2, Peregrine 2, Skylark 200+, Long-tailed Tit 3, Goldcrest 2, Redwing 1, Fieldfare 1, Stonechat 5 pairs, Linnet 60, Goldfinch 35, Corn Bunting 1, Yellowhammer 3.

Monday 27 November. Harbour Way/Adur Ferry Bridge/Boardwalk/Fort with Megan and Cookie: Teal 33, Eider 1, Turnstone 6, Purple Sandpiper 1, Common Snipe 55+, Meadow Pipit 2, Rock Pipit 1. 

Purple Sandpiper with Turnstone: high tide at Shoreham Fort

Tuesday 28 November. No Man's Land with Cookie (no shooting today): Red-legged Partridge 4, Stock Dove 400+, Red Kite 3, Buzzard 4, Kestrel 2, Jay 1, Skylark 15, Redwing 3, Fieldfare 15, Stonechat 7, Chaffinch 3, Linnet 45, Goldfinch 16, Corn Bunting 5, Yellowhammer 3, Reed Bunting 5.

Corn Bunting at No Man's Land

Wednesday 29 November. Brief walk along the Adur at high tide with Megan and Cookie: Brent Goose 2, Lapwing 64, Grey Plover 1. The rest of the day packing ...

Thursday 30 November. Brief walk around Mill Hill with Megan and Cookie: Great Spotted Woodpecker h, Green Woodpecker h, Blue Tit 2, Blackbird 8, Song Thrush 3, Redwing 2, Fieldfare 1. No finches at all.


Monday 27 November 2023

Living off memories - TRIP INDEX 2023>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 an increasing number are no longer with us.
Kagu, New Caledonia August 1998 (digitised print originally taken with an instamatic).  One of my all-time top four birds. Giant Pitta (1987), displaying Wilson's Bird of Paradise (1993) and displaying Western Parotia (2013) are the others.


2023:   FRANCE Boulogne (June) included in
            INDIA South and Andamans (January/February)
2022:  FRANCE Somme (September)
           BRAZIL Amazonia (May/June)
           COSTA RICA (April/May)
2020: SPAIN Fuerteventua (February)
            SRI LANKA (January/February)
            https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2019/01/
            https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2019/02/sri-lanka-20019-uda-walawe-and.html
2018:  MADAGASCAR (October)
           NORTHERN PERU (June/July)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2018/07/
           FRANCE Somme (May)
           ECUADOR (February)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/
2017:  BOLIVIA (November)
           https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/
           NORTHERN GREECE (October)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/northern-greece-03-10-october.html
           FRANCE Somme (September)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/st-valery-sur-somme-2-9-september-2017.html
           MONGOLIA (May)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/
           GUYANA (March/April)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/
           TRINIDAD and TOBAGO (March)
           JAMIACA (February)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/jamaica-2017-1-8-february.html
2016:  GHANA (October/November)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016_10_01_archive.html
          
 FRANCE Somme (September)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/st-valery-sur-somme-03-10-september-2016.html
           JAPAN (June/July)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/japan-2016-hokkaido-23-29-june.html
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016_07_01_archive.html
           FINLAND (May/June)

           https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2016/06/finland-2016-return-to-oulu-and.html
           NORWAY (May)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016_05_01_archive.html 
           MEXICO (February/March)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016_02_01_archive.html
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/mexico.html
          
 CALIFORNIA (January)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2016_01_01_archive.html
2015:  BRAZIL (September/October)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2015_09_01_archive.html           
           FRANCE Somme (August/September)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/a-week-in-somme-29-august-5-september.html
            INDONESIA Lesser Sundas (August)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/indonesia-2015-flores-13-18-august.html
           ARIZONA (April/May)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2015_04_01_archive.html
           ECUADOR (January/February)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2015_01_01_archive.html
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ecuador-2015-sani-lodge-02-09-february.html

2014: SPAIN Extremadura (April)
           COLOMBIA (July/August)
          FRANCE Brittany (September)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/brittany-6-13-september.html
2013:  FRANCE Normandie (September)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/normandie-14-21-september.html
          INDONESIA West Papua (August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2013_08_01_archive.html       
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2011_04_01_archive.html
          ETHIOPIA (February)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2011_02_01_archive.html
2010: UGANDA (June)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2010_06_01_archive.html
          CHINA (May/June)
          Shanghai (Spoon-billed Sandpiper), Wuishan, Fuzhou & Xiaolongmen
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2010_05_01_archive.html
          Xi’an & Yangxian (Crested Ibis)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/china-31-may-2-june-2010-xian-and.html
          Pingtai (Jankowski’s Bunting)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/china-3-5-june-2010-pingtai-xiainghai.html
 2009: VIETNAM Cat Tien & Da Lat (April)
2008: NAMIBIA (July/August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2008_08_01_archive.html
          PHILIPPINES (April)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2008_04_01_archive.html
2007: INDIA Eaglenest (April) 
           https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2007/04/     
2006:  PAPUA NEW GUINEA (August)
2005:  INDONESIA Sumatra & West Java (July)
           https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2005/07/
           TEXAS (April)
2004:  PAPUA NEW GUINEA (June)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/2004_06_01_archive.html
            CUBA (April)
           https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2004/04/
2003:  CAMEROON (April)
           JAPAN (January)
2002:  CHILE (April)
2001:  GAMBIA (November)
            PUERTO RICO & DOMINION REPUBLIC (April)
           https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/2001/04/
2000:  CHINA Quinghai (June)
1999:  ECUADOR (August/September)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1999_09_01_archive.html
1998:  AUSTRALIA and NEW CALEDONIA (July/August)
1997:  VIETNAM (March/April) 
1996: NEW ZEALAND (August)   
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1996_08_01_archive.html
          PHILIPPINES (April)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1996_04_01_archive.html
1995: MADAGASCAR (August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1995_08_01_archive.html
1993: INDONESIA Irian Jaya (August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1993_08_01_archive.html
1992:  INDONESIA Sulawesi and Halmahera (August)
1991: SOUTH AFRICA (August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1991_08_01_archive.html
1990: ARGENTINA (August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1990_08_01_archive.html
1989: ICELAND (June)               
          https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/1989/06/
1988: BRAZIL (July/August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1988_07_01_archive.html

          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1988_08_01_archive.html
          THAILAND Peninsular (March/April)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1988_04_01_archive.html 
1987: MALAYSIA Sabah and Peninsular (July/August) 
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1987_08_01_archive.html
1986: ECUADOR and VENEZUELA July/August 1986
           AUSTRALIA Queensland and Northern Territory (March/April)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1986_03_01_archive.html
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1986_04_01_archive.html
1985: COSTA RICA and PANAMA (July/August)
           http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1985_08_01_archive.html

1984: BOTSWANA (December 1984-January 1985) 
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1984_12_01_archive.html
          PERU (July/August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1984_08_01_archive.html
1983: KENYA (July/August)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1983_08_01_archive.html
1982: VENEZUELA (December 1982-February 1983)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1983_01_01_archive.html
          NEPAL (March/June)
          Jomson Trek
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1982_03_01_archive.html

          Everest Trek
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1982_04_01_archive.html

          Langtang Trek
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1982_05_01_archive.html

          INDIA (June/July)
          Ladakh
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1982_06_01_archive.html

          Kashmir
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1982_07_01_archive.html

 
         THAILAND (February)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1982_02_01_archive.html

          MALAYSIA Peninsular (January/February)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1982_01_01_archive.html
1981: AUSTRIA (July)
1980: THAILAND (December 1980-January 1981)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1980_12_01_archive.html
          CANADA (May)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1980_05_01_archive.html
1979: NEPAL (November 1979-January 1980)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1979_11_01_archive.html
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1979_12_01_archive.html
          CANARIES (June/July)
          ISRAEL (March/April)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1979_04_01_archive.html
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1977_12_01_archive.html
          MOROCCO (April)
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1977_04_01_archive.html
1975:  CARMARGUE (May)
          included in The 1970s: Camargue, Shetland & Scillies in 1975 blog
          http://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.co.uk/1975_12_01_archive.html
1974: MAJORCA (October)
          brief mention in The 1970s: finding my feet - 1974 blog
          https://birdingneversleeps.blogspot.com/1974/