Join the Q: My Bird Year 2019
Created | Updated Jun 16, 2019
Join the Q: My Bird Year 2019
In 2018 I took part in Birdwatching Magazine's #My200BirdYear challenge and succeeded in spotting 200 different species of birds. My list included a large number of so-called 'plastic' birds that were in captivity, but I also saw and photographed 78 wild birds.
For 2019, Birdwatching Magazine invited me to join their Group on Facebook. The Group's emphasis is on seeing wild birds rather than 'plastic' ones, but it is also about having fun outdoors and paying attention to birds rather than being totally focused on the number 200. Thus I decided to join the Group and simply aim to beat my previous result of seeing and photographing 78 wild birds.
As in 2018, my bird year got off to a good start as I saw plenty of garden birds, plus a buzzard visited for her New Year turkey dinner. Visits to RSPB Burton Mere, RSPB Conwy and Titchfield Haven boosted my list, as did more unusual activities like visiting car parks.
My wildlife-expert honorary sister- and brother-in-law, RSPB volunteers, and members of the #My200BirdYear Group all helped me to spot the difference between similar-looking birds so I could identify what I had seen. To my surprise and delight I spotted my 79th different species of bird of 2019 on 26 May!
Here are some of the highlights of my bird year so far, in addition to the Barnacle Goose, Eurasian Curlews, Eurasian Oystercatchers and Black Tailed Godwits that I have written about for h2g2.
 |  |
 |  |
Top of the spots is the Kingfisher - seeing the flash of blue feathers is always a highlight, and I was very lucky that a Kingfisher was fishing very close to the reception hide in Burton Mere so I could take some good photos. Second is a Long Tailed Tit - I saw some in my parents' garden last year but didn't manage to take their photograph so I was very pleased when a flock visited and posed for me this year. Third is a Snipe at Titchfield Haven - it was nestled in the grass very near the Pumfrett Hide so again I could take good photos. Finally I present to you a photo of a Great White Egret - Little Egrets and Cattle Egrets are a relatively familiar sight at Burton Mere these days, but it was a rare treat to see such a magnificently large bird.
I am amazed to have achieved my objective relatively early in the year, but that means I can set my sights higher than I thought. My next challenge for the year is to see if I can increase my list to include 100 different species in the wild!
