I'd set myself a target of seeing 200-ish species of birds in 2018. It turned out I reached 210 by mid-November and then stopped there (I missed a great grey shrike at Leighton Moss by 30 seconds and scan as I might the hundreds of teal at Martin Mere I couldn't magic one into being a green-winged teal). It was nice to add eleven to the life list and only involving just the three twitches (though it has to be said that the Timperley rose-coloured starling was not so much a twitch as a congregation of bewildered middle-aged men).
As part of the point was to get out and about and get some exercise I also aimed at averaging 100 species a month and managed 107, mostly by a combination of public transport and shanks' pony (a friend and I had a day out in July travelling round Furness and Lancashire for terns, owls and red grouse)..
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| My birdwatching locations in 2018 |
There were some lovely birds along the way.
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| Avocets, Leighton Moss |
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| Long-tailed tit, Stretford |
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| Mandarin duck, Etherow Country Park |
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| Pied wheatear, Meols |
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| Redshanks, West Kirby |
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| Wood sandpiper, Leighton Moss |
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| Snow bunting, Crosby |
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| Grey phalarope, Crosby |
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| Great Egret, Leighton Moss |
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| Red-throated diver, Dawlish Warren |
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| Eiders, Dawlish Warren |
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| Bullfinch, Pennington Flash |
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| Glossy ibis, Marshside |
A day off tomorrow, probably. I think I'll go on a wild goose chase on Thursday.
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