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.

To my surprise and delight I spotted my 79th different species of bird of 2019 on 26 May! However, I continued with the challenge during the rest of the year, with the aim of seeing how many more species I could find.

The final results show that I saw and photographed 97 birds in the year, so I am very pleased with that! Counting birds that I saw but didn't manage to photograph, my total was 102 - very pleasing to have broken through the 100 barrier.

Here are some of the highlights of the second half of my bird year 2019.

These were all lucky spots. The Grey Wagtail paid a visit to the Zoo, so I photographed it standing on some rocks in the Tapir enclosure! I was in a hide at RSPB Burton Mere when the Stonechat came and sat by the window opening next to me. Black Terns are a rare sight at Burton Mere, but I caught a glimpse of it flying in, and managed to capture a photograph. And I was in a different hide in Burton Mere when the Sedge Warbler came and sat right in front of me and my dad so I could take a good photograph of it.

I have started my bird list for 2020 and look forward to encountering more fascinating birds during the year.

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