MY 2008 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE YEAR LIST

In 2008, I achieved one of my best ever Buckinghamshire County Year Lists recording a total of 180 species (see below) (182 if including ferals such as Bar-headed Goose and Ruddy Shelduck)

1) Great Crested Grebe
2) Little Grebe
3) BLACK-NECKED GREBE: 3 seen - an adult summer at Calvert Sailing Lake in April and an adult and first-winter at Furzton Lakes in December.
4) Atlantic Great Cormorant (predominantly Sinensis Cormorant)
5) EURASIAN SHAG: juvenile at Calvert BBOWT in September
6) EURASIAN BITTERN: 4+
7) CATTLE EGRET: my first-ever in the county at Haversham in December
8) LITTLE EGRET
9) Grey Heron
10) WHITE STORK - two juveniles which flew high south over Berkhamsted after spending an hour or so by Tring Station in early September
11) Mute Swan
12) WHOOPER SWAN: 3 wintering birds near Hillesden Pools Jan-March
13) TUNDRA BEAN GOOSE - family party of 4 birds at Hillesden Pools in November
14) Greylag Goose
15) Greater Canada Goose
16) Barnacle Goose (non-naturalised population)
17) Common Shelduck
18) Ruddy Shelduck (two feral adults at Little Marlow GP)
19) Egyptian Goose
20) Bar-headed Goose - presumed escape at Little Marlow CP
21) Mandarin Duck
22) Mallard
23) Gadwall
24) Pintail
25) Shoveler
26) Eurasian Wigeon
27) Chiloe Wigeon: escaped drake at Broughton Pools in November
28) Common Teal
29) GARGANEY
30) Pochard
31) RED-CRESTED POCHARD
32) FERRUGINOUS DUCK: adult drake at Calvert Lake BBOWT in October
33) GREATER SCAUP - juvenile at Calvert Lake BBOWT in September
34) Tufted Duck
35) RING-NECKED DUCK: regular drake at Foxcote Reservoir
36) COMMON SCOTER: several in April at College Lake and Willen Lake South Basin
37) Common Goldeneye; long-staying juvenile at Dorney Rowing lakes in Nov-Dec
38) SMEW: adult drake at Foxcote Reservoir in January
39) GOOSANDER
40) RED-BREASTED MERGANSER: adult drake at Willen Lake South Basin in December
41) Ruddy Duck
42) OSPREY: 2 over Ivinghoe Hills NR and another at Linford NR
43) Red Kite
44) MARSH HARRIER
45) HEN HARRIER: juvenile at Berryfields in October
46) Common Buzzard
47) EUROPEAN HONEY BUZZARD: 6 seen on passage in September
48) Eurasian Sparrowhawk
49) NORTHERN GOSHAWK - 4 resident pairs
50) Common Kestrel
51) Hobby
52) PEREGRINE
53) MERLIN: at Berryfields in November
54) Red-legged Partridge
55) Grey Partridge
56) Common Pheasant
57) Water Rail
58) Moorhen
59) Coot
60) Oystercatcher
61) Little Ringed Plover
62) Ringed Plover
63) GREY PLOVER: first-summer at Linford NR in May and juv at Drayton Beauchamp in Oct
64) European Golden Plover
65) Lapwing
66) RED KNOT
67) TURNSTONE
68) Dunlin
69) Green Sandpiper
70) Common Sandpiper
71) Common Redshank
72) SPOTTED REDSHANK - over Drayton Beauchamp
73) Common Greenshank
74) Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit
75) BAR-TAILED GODWIT - over Drayton Beauchamp
76) Eurasian Curlew
77) WHIMBREL: over Drayton Beauchamp
78) Woodcock
79) Common Snipe
80) JACK SNIPE
81) GREY PHALAROPE: two at Weston Turville Reservoir in September
82) RUFF: Linford NR in August
83) Black-headed Gull
84) Common Gull
85) MEDITERRANEAN GULL: Calvert Sailing Lake
86) Herring Gull
87) Yellow-legged Gull
88) CASPIAN GULL - numerous birds at Calvert Lakes
89) Lesser Black-backed Gull
90) Great Black-backed Gull
91) LITTLE GULL
92) GLAUCOUS GULL - Calvert Lakes
93) ICELAND GULL - Calvert Lakes
94) Common Tern
95) ARCTIC TERN
96) Black Tern
97) WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN - two juveniles NW into Bucks airspace in September

THE PASSERINES

98) Stock Dove
99) Woodpigeon
100) Collared Dove
101) EUROPEAN TURTLE DOVE
102) Common Cuckoo
103) Tawny Owl
104) LONG-EARED OWL
105) SHORT-EARED OWL - 5 at Berryfields; 1 at Ivinghoe Beacon; 4 at Linford NR
106) Barn Owl
107) Little Owl
108) Common Swift
109) Common Kingfisher
110) Ring-necked Parakeet
111) Green Woodpecker
112) Great Spotted Woodpecker
113) LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER: pair at Church Wood Hedgerley in March-April
114) WRYNECK: 1 in Prestwood in August
115) Skylark
116) Sand Martin
117) Barn Swallow
118) House Martin
119) Meadow Pipit
120) Pied Wagtail
121) WHITE WAGTAIL
122) Yellow Wagtail
123) Grey Wagtail
124) Wren
125) Dunnock
126) Robin
127) COMMON REDSTART
128) Northern Wheatear
129) Whinchat
130) Common Stonechat
131) Song Thrush
132) Redwing
133) Mistle Thrush
134) Fieldfare
135) Common Blackbird
136) RING OUZEL
137) Garden Warbler
138) Blackcap
139) Lesser Whitethroat
140) Common Whitethroat
141) DARTFORD WARBLER
142) Sedge Warbler
143) Grasshopper Warbler
144) CETTI'S WARBLER
145) European Reed Warbler
146) Willow Warbler
147) Common Chiffchaff
148) Goldcrest
149) FIRECREST
150) Spotted Flycatcher
151) PIED FLYCATCHER: 4 seen on autumn passage with 3 at Shardeloes and another near Bledlow
152) Great Tit
153) Coal Tit
154) Blue Tit
155) Marsh Tit
156) Long-tailed Tit
157) Nuthatch
158) Common Treecreeper
159) NORTHERN GREY SHRIKE: first-winter at Ivinghoe Cutting in October
160) Magpie
161) Jay
162) Jackdaw
163) Rook
164) Carrion Crow
165) COMMON RAVEN
166) Common Starling
167) House Sparrow
168) TREE SPARROW
169) Chaffinch
170) BRAMBLING
171) Linnet
172) Lesser Redpoll
173) Goldfinch
174) Greenfinch
175) Siskin
176) Bullfinch
177) HAWFINCH: 2 over Ivinghoe Hills in October
178) COMMON CROSSBILL: 23 in Wendover Woods in July plus
179) Reed Bunting
180) LAPLAND BUNTING - 2 with singles at Down Farm and at Dorney in October
181) Yellowhammer
182) CORN BUNTING