Week commencing 1st January 2019

Busy with family commitments so haven't spent much time out and about birding until Friday 4th when off to Welney for a day of physical activity to burn off the turkey.

All quiet when I arrived as everyone was over in the Main Hide looking at the Ring-necked Duck (male), that had appeared the night before. It was showing well from the Main Hide, mixed in with the Pochard. By the time I go my camera out it decided to tuck its head away and snooze.

A rather poor record shot of it a little later in the morning when it had moved to one of the spits.

Good numbers of Black-tailed Godwit around but despite watching them while having lunch could not find any that were ringed.

While lunching spotted a Rough-legged Buzzard on the far side being driven off by Carrion Crow and the wandering White Stork in the same area. 

Number of species seen: 49

Review of 2018

So, a New Year, new lists and the possibility of new species....we can live in hope! Little to report over the Christmas period as family and eating took over. Time to reflect on the past year.

Number of species seen overall in the year: 237.

Yearly Species Count 2010 to 2018

So down on 2017 but up on the rest of the years since 2010

Looking at the monthly species count: 2018

Monthly species count 2018

In comparison to 2017

March 2018 saw me birding in Spain for a week whereas it was in May 2017 that I did the first Spanish trip to Extremadura.

The number of Lifers seen in 2018 was 32. The majority while in Canada and Alaska with four in Spain and a single at Burwell Fen and a First at Welney

2017 saw 19 First added to the list with 3 in the UK the rest from Extramadura.

In general, not a bad year but not one to remember for really outstanding birding, especially locally although the trips abroad were very worth while.

Specific to Burwell Fen, I was two species short of last years total of 114, still not reaching 2014 grand total of 120!

Visited and recorded sightings from Burwell Fen on 75 occasions during 2018 as opposed to 66 times in 2017. A product of full retirement. A total of 234 recordings submitted to Bird Journal,Bird and the BTO, which was only 6 more than 2017.

Local Patch

Number of species seen locally  in 2018 were 66. In 2017 it was 67 so down by one! Submitted 51 lists as opposed to 54 in 2017. No life ticks recorded for this location.