YEARLISTING IN 2016

Compared to most recent years, when for example I recorded 165 species in the county in 2011, 187 in 2012 and 173 in 2013, this has been a particularly poor one with just 157 species recorded by mid December - one of my worst years on record

YEARLISTING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

It's all over - 2012 has come to an end. I managed a total of 187 out of the 198 species recorded all told in Buckinghamshire - 94% of the total - probably my highest-ever annual tally.

The current record is 191 species achieved in 2006 and held jointly by both Rob Hill and Simon Nichols



Thursday 9 September 2010

And yet another MARSH HARRIER

WEDNESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER: I found a presumed female MARSH HARRIER at 5:50pm circling the east side of the valley heading generally north, but in no particular hurry - it had a reddish tail and plain brown upper wing with no obvious sign of pale tipped greater coverts. Over the next 40 minutes it remained on view on and off in the area around the lower part of Ragman's Lane, where a newly cut corn field is partially viewable from my house. There are obviously some small animal corpses available and the Harrier was seen twice on the deck in the company of 2 Common Buzzards (to which it deferred) whilst a corpse was picked at. Otherwise it was quartering the field in late afternoon sunshine - I tried a record shot at great distance which was truly awful! I last saw it at 6:30pm, but it might well have stayed longer, as my view is quite restricted.

Earlier in the afternoon a Peregrine flew over high east - 4 Red Kites interacted with it ( one of the few birds they seem to take an interest in) seemingly trying to see it off. The size and upper wing colour would suggest adult female, but it was always fairly distant.

Early pm at LMGP found only a juv Yellow-legged Gull moulting to 1W and a Common Sandpiper of note (Adam Bassett)