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Our Birding List. A Big year

    Our birding journey officially starts January 2018.  Fitting, since 2018 is The Year Of The Bird.

    We include some of the awesome prior sightings that gets us started as we add them to our life list.  Our journey start in South Africa then we travel through England and end the year with birding in America to witness the fall bird migration.  This could well be a big year or atleast a mini big year.

    June 8, Friday 2018

    Rowarth, High Peak, England

    85. Willow Warbler

    Willow Warbler

    May 27, Sunday 2018

    St James Park, London. England

    Red-crested Pochard

    84. Red-crested Pochard
    83. Tufted Duck
    82. Ruddy shelduck
    81. Common shelduck

    Tufted duck

    Ruddy Shelduck

    Shelduck

    May 23, 2018

    Borham Park, Wembley / Harrow, London

    80. Mistle Thrush

    May 11, Thursday 2018

    Bath, Somerset. England

    79. Short-toed treecreeper.

    Spotted at the Royal Crescent, creeping up a tree and pecking at the bark like a mini woodpecker.

    The short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecreeper species, the common treecreeper, with which it is easily confused where they both occur. The short-toed treecreeper tends to prefer deciduous trees and lower altitudes than its relative in these overlap areas. Although mainly sedentary, vagrants have occurred outside the breeding range. (Wikipedia)

    78.  Buff Orpington Duck.

    Spotted in a pond in Royal Victoria Park with Mallards.

    Kingfisher

    May 10, Wednesday 2018 @ 11h20

    Bath, Somerset.  Boat Cruise on the river Avon.

    77. Common Kingfisher

    Spotted Flying low over the river Avon infront of our river boat in Bath today. An endangered beauty.

    76. Yellow Wagtail

    75. Great Heron

    May 08, Monday 2018

    Bath, Somerset. Pulteney Bridge (River Avon)

    74. Gray Wagtail

    Spotted at Pulteney Bridge in Bath today the Gray Wagtail is more colorful than it’s name suggests. They’re always associated with running water when breeding, which is where we saw them.

    May 06, Sunday 2018

    Chippenham, Travelodge

    73.  Little Gull

    72. Songthrush

    Sat May 05, 2018 1:40 PM

    Report all sightings for Global Big Day

    The Long Walk, England

    GB (51,452, -0,609), Berkshire County, England, GB
    Duration:4 hour(s)
    Distance:8.4 kilometer(s)
    Observers:Lindsy Williams List , Matthew Williams

    Species: 13 species total (no new species)

    X 18 Canada Goose
    X 1 Egyptian Goose
    X 12 Mallard
    1 Female swimming with 11 recently fledged young.
    Breeding Code: FL Recently Fledged Young (Confirmed)
    X 4 Red Kite
    Breeding Code: F Flyover (Observed)
    X 2 Rose-ringed Parakeet
    X 50 Eurasian Jackdaw
    Probably more than 50 all over Deer Park at The Long Walk from Windsor Castle, but we couldn’t keep count.

    King Edward VII Avenue, England

    GB (51,487, -0,604), Berkshire County, England, GB Map)

    Sat May 05, 2018 9:38 AM

    X 1 Great Tit

    12 Hillcrest Avenue, Chertsey, England

    GB (51,376, -0,521), Surrey County, England, GB Map )

    Sat May 05, 2018 6:37 AM

    71  1 Rose-ringed Parakeet
    In back garden flying from tree to tree.

    X 1 Eurasian Jay
    X 1 Eurasian Magpie
    X 1 Great Tit
    X 1 European Robin
    X 3 Eurasian Blackbird
    X 2 Dunnock

    May 04, 2018

    Chertsey

    In the back garden of our Airbnb house for the week we see these birds darting from tree to tree almost every day.

    70. Warbler type tbc.

    69. Great Tit

    68. Coal Tit

    May 02, 2018

    Virginia Waters Lake

    Great Windsor Park, England, GB (51,409, -0,599) 6:00 PM
    Random.  Duration: 60 minutes
    All birds reported? Yes
    Comments: Today we download the eBird app from Cornell Lab of Ornithology and learn how to properly record bird sightings to provide information that they can use.

    67.  1 Mandarin Duck – OS.  What a beauty!

    67.  2 Eurasian Coot – OS

    X 2 Mute Swan – NE.  Our first time seeing a nesting pair. The female sits on the eggs. We’re informed by park ranger that she’s been sitting for a week and has 3 more weeks to go to incubation. They’ve come to feed the pair and the children are excited that they get to help while learning about swans from an expert.

    X Mallard (Domestic type)  X 1 Great Crested Grebe – OS

    Number of Taxa: 6

    Wentworth Golf Course

    66. 1x Albacot Ranger / Hooded Ranger duck.

    Apr 27, 2018 Windsor

    Brocas Street, Eton, England, GB (51,485, -0,609)
    Approx time: 11:32 AM.  View type: Random. Duration: 20 minutes
    All birds reported? Yes
    Comments: Not all birds counted (marked x) Counting only new type of birds sighted.

    65.  1 Black Swan – OS

    X 1 Eurasian Moorhen – OS.  X Mallard  X Mute Swan – OS
    Number of Taxa: 4

    14 April 2018. Legoland, Windsor

    64. Egyptian Goose

    5 April 2018. Park pond at Leisure Centre, Woking, Surrey.

    63. Eurasian Moorhen

    20 March 2018. Iverwood Farm, Hungerford (Berkshire/Wiltshire) UK

    62. Perigrin falcon

    A random sighting on our way to the barn on Calcot road near Shalbourne, of a perigrin falcon hovering right above us while hunting. We weren’t sure which bird it was, but using the Merlin ID bird app we finaly confirmed it today, the 3rd of May! Very excited about this one.

    16 March 2018. Bedford, Embankment. The Great River Ouse

    • 61. Great Crested Grebe
    • 60. Canadian Geese
    • 59. Icelandic Gulls

    March 2018. Newbury Park.

    • 58. Domesticated Mallard Duck (White)
    • 57. Mute Swans
    • 56. Mallard Duck

    March 2018.  Iverwood Farm, Hungerford (Berkshire/Wiltshire) UK

    • 55. Chaffinch
    • 54. Tree Sparrow
    • 53. Golden Finch
    • 52. Pied Wagtail
    • 51. Pheasant M & F
    • 50. Blackbird
    • 49. Rook
      48. Robin
      47. Magpie
      46. Starling
      45. House Sparrow
      44. Jay
      43. Barn Owl
      42.Redkite

    23 Jan 18. Botanical gardens bird hide

    41.Mousebird
    40-Kiewiet type bird walking on lilypads (video)??????

    Ebb & Flow north (Oom Jeremy)
    39.-Cape Battis (m& f)

    December 2016: Jongensfontein

    Oystercatchers seen in breeding season deserves a place on our list!

    38. Oystercatchers (M & F). We jumped back a few years because seeing the rare ouystercatchers in breeding season was a special.

    January 3rd, 2018: George Botanical Gardens bird hide
    37. Mousebird
    36. Kiewiet type bird walking on lilypads (video). Unidentified

    Ebb & Flow North (With Oom Jeremy and Derek)
    35. Cape Battis (m& f)

    Pretoria 3 Jan 2018  (Uncle Marcus’s house) 

    • 34. African Hoopoe
    • 33.  African Hornbill
    • 32. Ostrich
    • 31. Blessed Starling
    • 30. Myna Bird

    December 2017 – Hartbeeskuil Dam

    • 29. Blue crane (Stanley Crane)
    • 28.  Secretary bird

    Nov 2017. Gr 3 Bird Outing – Mrs. Wagner & Class.  Malachite bird hide: 
    27. Three-banded Plover
    26. White-throated Swallow
    25. Grootbrak – Pied Kingfisher

    13 Aug 17 – Us.  Montagu Pass: Nothing!!!  Enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

    Old George Rd, Geelhoutboom
    24. Blue Falcon
    23. White Ibis
    22.Egrett

    Glentana rd
    21. Knysna loerie

    6 Aug 17- (All of us) 8 New birds.  Seaglimpse – Victoria Bay
    20. Willy Wagtail

    Malachite Bird Hide (Rondevlei/Hoekwil)
    19.Bosluisvoel/Cattle egret

    18. Grebe
    17. Reed Cormorant/Rietduiker
    16. Red Knobbed Coot/Bleshoender
    15. White-backed duck/witrugeend

    Wildernis boardwalk:
    14. Cape Bull Bull
    13. Finch (orange chest)
    12. Goliath Heron / Reuse Reier
    11. Cape Weaver. Yellow bird with red eyes

    30 Jul 17.  Garden – Erica Rd (Oupa B, Oom Renaldo, Daddy, Nick, Leah)

    9. Coucal Birchells/ Vleiloerie
    10.Rock Dove

    Mon 24 Jul 17 – Botanical Gardens – George. Mom, Nick, Leah

    1.Drongo
    2. Cape White Eye
    3. 3African Finfoot (F)
    4. Fiscal Shrike
    5. Kurrichane Thrush
    6. Epytian Goose
    7. Sunbirds MF
    8. Weaver MF

    Our Birding List. A Big year

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