Patch neglect

It's definitely not the first time I've used that heading for a blog post, and probably won't be the last, and I supposed that's one measure of my on-off relationship with Swineham. During the first lockdown year of 2020 I reconnected with it big time, initially out of necessity, subsequently out of choice, visiting a minimum of once a week and often more through the lighter months. 

Roe Deer at North Bestwall

I was handsomely rewarded for this effort with a handful of minor rarities, my purplest patch in over a decade of regular watching. I visited even more religiously through 2021 but rewards in terms of finds were scant and restricted to a few local 'first of the year' hirundines, warblers and waders. And I even managed to miss the best bird of the year - an inland Sanderling found by Paul Morton - which would have been a patch tick. That said, it would churlish not to recognise that there were some good birds in 2021 - a couple of Ring-necked Duck, long-staying Little Gull and Red-throated Diver, the now regular Cattle Egrets and Yellow-legged Gulls, not to mention the spectacle of early spring Bitterns departing at dusk.

'Welcome to Swineham': the shouty signage and triple-stacked lines of barbed wire would be more in keeping with a PoW camp than a rural location which is marketed by the owners as a wildlife haven - but only to paying guests

As 2021 drew to a close I was a bit too busy chasing exotic targets for my non-motorised year list to spend much time on the patch, and with daylight at a premium in the early weeks of 2022, I've also been spending most weekends cycling to more distant locations and have been equally neglectful as a result - just 2 or 3 visits until this weekend. A bout of illness (not Covid, thankfully) kept me off the bike and indoors most of last weekend but for a brief stroll to Swineham, and I've been there twice in the last two days as I continue to recover and the strong winds would have made cycling an unattractive option even had I been feeling better.

Tundra Bean Goose - bird of the year so far for 2022 at Swineham (taken 20th Feb)

These last two visits kind of sum up the contrasting emotions provoked by visit to the patch. Yesterday was a good day, relocating the three Tundra Bean Geese found late on Friday by Adam Day. These birds, which I last saw at Upton on New Year's Day, were illustrative of the potential which Swineham always holds, especially for wildfowl. Today I went back hoping that the winds might have blown something else in, but there was absolutely nothing to write home about. On days like these the harsh weather and unwelcoming signage can make Swineham an unforgiving place, and while I know I am fortunate to have such a good site on my doorstep, it doesn't stop it feeling, well, like hard work on occasion.

The other two of the trio of Tundra Bean Geese at Swineham yesterday

I shall, of course, persevere - a local patch is a local patch after all. Time of year and the prevailing weather conditions do, of course, play a part - cold spells usually make Swineham more interesting than the recent mild and stormy conditions, and I usually fall in love with it again in April when the acros return. But don't be surprised if there isn't much news from those quarters over the next few weeks! 

Delightful Stock Doves have at least been reliable at Swineham on my infrequent visits this year

Birding by numbers: 2021 in charts and graphs

This is a post for those who like a nice stat - I can think of at least two friends who might fall into that category, based on their love of a juicy morsel of e-bird data (Jono) and a perfectly formed spreadsheet (Bradders). Basically it's a few charts I pulled together based on a big year of birding mainly by bike in 2021. I'm partial to a bit of data myself - I put it down to a mis-spent youth as an amateur psephologist whilst studying politics at Uni - and while my charts are not exactly works of art, I think they tell the story of the year in a different way. And perhaps one a bit more accessible to those who couldn't face my 'review of year', which was somewhat longer than a Fidel Castro speech to the faithful. 

My friend Jol keeps telling me to write a book about my 2021 non-motorised year list, but in the highly likely event that this doesn't happen (or that even if it does that it'll never make it into print), rather than saving the charts for that I thought I probably ought to lodge them here so at least the effort which went into totting up the numbers isn't totally wasted. And with 2021 rapidly becoming old news in the fast-moving world of social media it's in danger of becoming a bit ripe anyway. 

Anyway, to the charts, and first up (above) is the number of species seen broken down by month. This pattern will be familiar to many a keen year-lister, with the usual binge in January followed by a bit of a dry spell before spring migration kicks in, succeeded by the summer doldrums. I haven't year listed for ages so I'm not sure what the last third of the year would normally look like, though I suspect my profile for that period isn't typical. I had certainly expected to pick up more than 2 new species in September, though in truth Dorset was pretty dire for early autumn migration. The real surprise though was the acceleration through to December, my fifth most productive month after Jan-April inclusive. That said I guess 'effort expended' and 'time off work' played a part as commitment/desperation drove me over the border into Hampshire for a 3-tick day during the Christmas holiday. 

Next up, the sweat-ometer: my mileage cycled by month during 2021 (above). You can see how the year list was a bit of a slow burn thing, and that I didn't super-commit until spring migration kicked in. That said, this only shows miles cycled not walked, and there were a fair few of the latter in January and February as I swept up all available species wintering on the patch at Swineham (more on which later). Perhaps surprisingly, given how much it felt like I was hammering it on the bike from about April onwards, only three months (April, May and July) saw me break the 300 mile barrier (which I've already done in January 2022). Then again, in the winter months when my cycling tends to be more restricted to daylight at weekends, 200-300 miles a month still works out at about 50-75 every weekend so not bad going.

The maths geniuses among you might have worked out chart 3 (above) already as it's basically a function of chart 2 divided by chart 1. And although not surprisingly the early months of the year offered the best effort:reward ratio, it kind of illustrates how hard I had to work to add to the year-list in the later months - and particularly September!

Next up, the epics: my top 25 twitches by bike in 2021 (above) - just the one over 80 miles (the only time I crossed the border into Devon) and also only one over 70 (the last of four trips over the border in the other direction to Hampshire). Interesting (to me at least) that there were almost twice as many trips over 50 miles as over 40, though that probably reflects the lure of Portland, a 56 mile round trip without detours, to which I cycled 6 times over the course of the year. Only a couple of dips made the top 25 - Black Tern at Blashford Lakes being the biggest - with the other one (Glaucous Gull) being seen eventually at the third attempt. There were a lot of 30+ mile trips that didn't quite make the top 25, and if I go a weekend these days without a journey of that length I almost consider myself to be slacking!

And my final chart, of more local interest, and even then I'm not sure how much interest (!), a breakdown of the sites where additions to the year list were acquired. I'm not sure this tells you much really, other than 'where I went' in 2021. But I include it if only to prove to doubting friends that I did actually visit my local patch at Swineham over the course of the year. A typical visit produces c.45-50 species so I must have gone at least twice ;-). I guess it does also illustrate the importance of the Studland peninsular to a good year list in these parts, blessed as it is with a range of habitats to attract waders, seabirds, heathland and woodland birds, not to mention the odd exotic pheasant or parrot!

A few final stats then: for the hard-core 'green' birders, the number of species seen by non-motorised means in a year expressed as a percentage of ALL species seen is one of the ultimate tests of list purity. Over 90% is pretty pure. I didn't quite manage that, as the carbon-halo slipped on a very productive trip with Team Shetland which added a whopping 27 species to the 'all modes' year list, reducing my score to 86.15%. If I discount Shetland (which I know is a bit like the Government not counting aviation to calculate the UK's carbon footprint), it comes out as a more respectable 95.73%. But my Dorset ratio is probably the most flattering: of 223 species seen in the county in 2021, 220, or 98.65%, were seen on foot or by bike. Only Ring Ouzel, Chough and Desert Wheatear were seen travelling only by car, and it would have been dark had I attempted to see the last two by bike!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the charts as much as I enjoyed fumbling with Excel. I'll try to make them even prettier next year!

January highlights

I'm blessed with some amazing birding hotspots near where I live and many of them are also spectacular landscapes. I made it to several in the second half of January, the first being the Arne peninsular where the RSPB has one of its flagship nature reserves. It's become very popular in recent years - too popular for some - thanks to the opening of a cafe and the improvement of visitor facilities. But chilly, misty Saturday mornings in January are as good a time as any to avoid the worst of the crowds. 

Little Gull, Maiden Castle, 16 January

Little Gull, Maiden Castle, 16th January

Several friends had been seeing a Black-throated Diver from Shipstal Point at the tip of the Arne peninsular, a species which took me until December to see in 2021, so I thought I would have a look for myself. It was tough viewing through a light mist but I eventually located a Great Northern Diver. A 'Birds of Poole Harbour' bird boat hoved into view at this point and just as I was texting Paul Morton, who I guessed would be on board, that they were close to it I heard the boat tannoy booming news of the same. 

Little Gull, Maiden Castle, 16th January

Little Gull, Maiden Castle, 16th January

The boat was a long way out and the sound was travelling incredible distances in the still morning air. As I scanned the water in front of the boat the Black-throated Diver suddenly appeared, with the white flank patch showing well despite the distance. My phone pinged and it was Paul on the boat sending me a photo of the Black-throat!

Corn Bunting, Maiden Castle, 16th January

Corn Bunting, Maiden Castle, 16th January

The day after the Arne trip the body was voting for a lie-in but by mid-morning itchy feet had once again kicked in and I made the snap decision to head to Maiden Castle near Dorchester. A Little Gull had been there since New Year's Day and although I was in Dorchester on the bike that very morning, news of the bird only materialised after I got home. On this occasion I saw the Little Gull immediately on arrival and got some half-decent pictures as it fed hyperactively over the fields. Corn Buntings and Linnets were bathing in puddles but the regular flock of Golden Plover was notable by its absence.

Rook, Maiden Castle, 16th January

Common Gull, Maiden Castle, 16th January

I didn't have long to wait to rectify this last omission on the year-list as on the last weekend of the month I reprised one of my more epic bike rides of 2021 to go back to the west Dorset coast for a Bexington Bunting. Whilst this may sound like a P G Wodehouse character, it is in fact a reference to a trio of Cirl Buntings, a specialty of south Devon but a bit of a mega in Dorset, which had been seen most days over the previous week. When Phil Saunders and I met at the same location back in December we saw one, possibly two female birds, but they had since been joined by a male, and both being keen to see the latter, we agreed to met up again on Saturday morning.

A Purple weekend mid-month saw me pursuing this lone Purple Sandpiper at Sandbanks...

...before news of a Glossy Ibis at Lytchett Minster saw me tearing back in that direction

The journey there was hard, leaving in the dark into a stiff headwind. I've been struggling to fit in any mid-week cycling and felt out of condition attempting such a mammoth journey before breakfast. The 20 mile climb from home through to Dorchester and on up to the Hardy Monument at the top of the South Dorset Ridgeway was by now a familiar one, but no less daunting as a result. 

A few of the 34 Cattle Egret at Abbotsbury, 29th January

Sparrowhawk, West Bexington, 29th January

Things looked up though as I rolled down to Abbotsbury and stumbled across a 34-strong flock of Cattle Egret - my biggest to date in the UK. Not long after I met up with Phil at the West Bexington car park and we repeated the calf-wrenching yomp across the shingle to the Bunting site. On arrival, I set up my scope and virtually the first bird I set eyes on was the male Cirl Bunting! 

One of two Great White Egret at Middlebere mid-month

Flock of Grey Plover (with Knot far right) at Middlebere

I was too busy getting a record shot to see the two females located by Phil but did later see one of them sitting up in the hedge. After extended views of the Cirl Butings, Yellowhammers and a bonus Red Kite found by Phil, and a chat with Al Barrett, Alan Membury and Colin Chainey, we headed back to the car park and went our separate ways. For me that meant rejoining national cycle route 2 above Abbotsbury and heading back to Maiden Castle, where the Golden Plover flock was present this time. I had cycled 56 miles by the time I got home, and the legs were telling me to take it easy for what was left of the month!

Male Cirl Bunting, West Bexington, 29th January

Male Cirl Bunting, West Bexington, 29th January

As January drew to a close I had cycled just over 300 miles and seen 112 species - over twice as many miles but seven fewer species compared to the same month last year. However, with local scarcities such as Tundra Bean Goose, White-fronted Goose, Glossy Ibis, Purple Sandpiper, Little Gull, Black-throated Diver, Hen Harrier, Great White and Cattle Egret, Corn and Cirl Bunting on the list, January had definitely been a month for quality if not quantity.

Just to show the Cirl Bunting (bottom right) in comparison with Yellowhammer (top left)

Little Gull, Maiden Castle, 16th January

We go again

Several friends have asked me 'what now?' after I put quite a lot of time and effort into a non-motorised year list in 2021. I doubt I will be able to repeat seeing 224 species in 2022 - only the combination of working mostly from home, neglecting domestic obligations, and benefitting from a belting spring for migrant birds in Dorset made that possible. But I certainly don't intend to stop birding locally by bike, and for several reasons. 

First, although I've never really had to watch my weight too much, as I edge closer to the next age range up on the census form (55-65), the exercise is proving necessary to keep it at a level I am comfortable with without having to make unwelcome changes to my diet (regular readers will be aware of my fondness for chips). Second, it's become an essential part of maintaining good mental as well as physical health - the endorphins really do kick in quickly when I get going these days, and the buzz of seeing a target species at the end of a long ride is surprisingly more satisfying compared to if I'd driven. Third, it's just become my preferred mode of birding locally: with some superb areas accessible by bike nearby but not by car, it takes me to places I might not otherwise get, giving a real sense of freedom. And I can't get the bike over the now locked gate at my Swineham patch any more, so cycling gives me a good excuse to neglect that as well ;-).

There are also the obvious environmental advantages compared to driving. I try not to bang on about them (I'll save that for the day job), but even if you aren't concerned about that low carbon/end-of-life-on-earth-as-we-know-it stuff there are other more direct impacts to worry about. To give just one example, on my travels at lower speeds last year I became visibly aware of the toll taken by vehicles in the form of roadkill. There were of course copious numbers of 'invasives' splattered on the roads - Grey Squirrels and, in these parts, Sika Deer, whose loss won't be mourned too much. But I also saw my first eared bat (of any kind, alive or dead) on the roadside, numerous thrushes, warblers and tits, a native Roe Deer and, most recently a dead Otter. So any reduction in that risk, however marginal, has got to be good too.

Anyway, as I say, I can't see myself reaching the dizzy heights of the 220s again this year in terms of the list - but with a few good wintering species lingering into the New Year in Dorset I thought I'd better sweep them up just in case. I'm nowhere near last January's total in terms of species, but while I clocked up about 120 miles in the first month of 2021, so far in 2022 I've done about 145 - so above par on that score at least. A few highlights of the year to date below.

New Year's Day saw me heading west to Charminster, a very wet 40 mile round trip, to see a flock of 11 Russian White-fronted Geese

The Charminster White-fronts were a lot closer than the flock I saw at Hampreston in December - and accessible via one of the best bits of cycle path in Dorset!

A short detour to Silverlake on the way home enabled distant scope views of a redhead Goosander - a species I didn't see until August last year. It was a long way off!

When I got back to Wareham from Silverlake, I knew the Tundra Beans were still at Upton - but for how much longer? I pressed on, adding another 15 miles to the journey, and saw them in fading light.

A good job I did - they were gone the next day

Iceland Gull as it should be seen: following a fishing boat miles out in a windswept bay (far left-hand bird). I really should have visited the Preston chippy on the way down and thrown some out to tempt it closer! Not the greatest of views, and not the nicest of journeys to Weymouth either, but a good bird to have under the belt in 2022. 

This Saturday took me back to Hampreston (another 30 miles in yet more foul weather) where the wintering Whooper Swan was still present

Sunday brought what felt like the first sunshine of 2022, and the lure of Studland proved irresistable despite heavy legs from the day before. Sanderling on the beach was my first of the year.

I like the shell adding a dash of colour to this picture

Studland also produced my first Scaup, Slavonian Grebe, Black-necked Grebe and Goldeneye of 2022

A bottle-green Shag looking glorious in the sunlight at Studland

Credit where it's due

I haven't kept a 'year list' for decades having come to the conclusion that driving around to see birds I'd already seen was a bit of a waste of time, money and fuel. Attempting a 'green' year list - walking and cycling only - might still be said by some to be a waste of time, but money and fuel at least were not required. It has, however, been sufficiently rewarding to make me feel that, although it did indeed take an awful lot of time - 14.58 days in the saddle excluding birding stops based on 3,500 miles at a notional average of 10 mph - 'waste' would most definitely not be the way to describe it.

I've been very touched by the reaction from friends and Twitter followers to my attempts to build the list over the last year, which became more apparent to me as 2021 approached its end. But although I was pushing the pedals, if it weren't for those who found and shared news of the birds I was able to pursue it wouldn't have been much of a list at all. Birders get a bad press from time to time but in pursuing the 224 species I saw in 2021, I encountered, with literally one sole exception, nothing but good will and generosity from the many birders who shared news and gave advice on where and how to see my main target species, including the 40-odd species found by others which I 'twitched'. 

It would be a high risk strategy to try to name them all as I am bound to miss someone out, plus the names of the finders of some of the rarer birds remain unknown to me in any case. But mother always made me send thank you notes as a child after Christmas, and old habits die hard, so here goes. Rather than just a long list of names, and to avoid any suggestion of favoritism, I've tried to weave my acknowledgements to these helpful souls into a review of the year in roughly chronological order. As a result, it's a bit long, so pour yourself a drink, sit back and prepare to be thanked for your help/offended by your omission accordingly. Errata will be published as comments at the end of this post as memory permits and any gaps are pointed out!

January (119 species, 120 miles cycled)

I hadn't set out to do a 'big year' in 2021 and it was only after I clocked up 94 species on a New Year's Day non-motorised bird race that curiosity about just how many species I could see in a year travelling under my own steam started to get the better of me. Dave Foot's discovery of two local Ring-necked Ducks provided the first minor rarity of the year - a lockdown-friendly 3 miles from home, they later relocated to my local patch at Swineham. Top find Dave!

January photo of the month: Sanderling at Studland - one of three trips in January which added Long-tailed Duck, Scaup, Black-necked and Slavonian Grebe to the year list

January bird of the month: two female Ring-necked Ducks, found by Dave Foot, taken after they relocated to Swineham

February (12 species, 164 miles)

My neighbour and fellow Swineham regular Trevor Warwick, who was doing a 5km from home list in 2021, shared news of numerous good local birds early in the year, notably in February with my only Little Gull of the year which spent over a week in the Piddle Valley. This was just one of a number of species which might not have made it on to the list but for timely info from Trevor. I tried to return the favour but despite numerous visits to Swineham throughout the year I couldn't repeat the success I had in 2020 of finding minor rarities there - sorry Trev, and thanks for the news!

Also in February Garry Hayman and family found one of the patch birds of the year in the form of a Red-throated Diver on the River Frome. At other times during the course of the year I was grateful to Garry for helping me connect with several species including Long-tailed Duck and Velvet Scoter. Marcus Lawson's excellent discovery of a Golden Plover flock at Holton Lee during a February cold snap was an important one in that it was one of the first to make me think a big total for the year might be possible.

February photo of the month: Little Gull, found by Trevor Warwick, a short walk from home in the Piddle Valley

February bird of the month: Red-throated Diver found by Garry Hayman and family - also a short walk from home on the River Frome 

March (10 species, 245 miles)

Somehow I had not met cousins Rob Johnson and James Leaver, local birders from Church Knowle, before our first encounter on Stonehill Down on 1st March watching a mighty (but untickable) White-tailed Eagle from the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme, but I seem to have bumped into them every other weekend since. Their information and encouragement was greatly appreciated, and they literally cheered me on on several occasions as I wheezed towards a target species which they had already seen! They also helped me connect with several tricky species in a local context including Marsh Tit.

March photo of the month: I heard three singing Firecrests on a short bike ride from home in March - this one was at Holme Lane

March bird of the month: Bittern leaving Swineham in the dark on the 9th

April (30 species, 360 miles)

With Phil Saunders' recent record of good finds at St Aldhelm's Head, I was pleased when he agreed to meet up there one bright April morning which added no less than seven new birds to the year list. The best of them was a Red-rumped Swallow picked up by Phil coming 'in-off' and watched by just three of us - myself, Phil and Steve Smith, on whom more later. Phil was also present for quite a few of the 15 hours I spent over a period of three days that month (not including 9 hours spent travelling to and from) looking for a Glaucous Gull in the grim surroundings of Alderney water works. So cheers to Phil for being a good companion in 2021.

April photo of the month: Whinchat on Stoborough Heath

The Glaucous Gull was eventually seen on the way back from my first 50+ mile excursion of the year for a Glossy Ibis at Stanpit and Purple Sandpiper at the very tip of Hengistbury Head, after which local birder Jan Toomer helpfully gave me a tour of a few good locations. The month ended with my first post-work twitch to Weymouth to see a pair of Black-winged Stilts - a trip which helped make April my most energetic month of the year in terms of miles cycled, as well as the second most productive after January in terms of species added. Not for the last time during 2021, Pete Coe and John Wall were on hand to point out the birds and show me their superb photos making me wonder why I had bothered to lug my own camera around in a pannier bag!

Bird of the month for April: the Alderney Water Works Glaucous Gull - chosen not for its looks or its surroundings, but for the sheer effort put in to see it and the good company provided by Phil Saunders, Marcus Lawson, Shaun Robson and others while I waited. And waited. In all weathers...

May (16 species, 355 miles)

May began with a Bank Holiday weekend and the first of six bike rides to Portland over the course of the year. This produced another seven-tick day including the two 'easy' Skuas - but no Pom which were thin on the ground last year. The following weekend was one of the most epic of the year, with my dipping the Whiskered Tern at Abbotsbury by an hour, struggling against gale force winds to press on to Cogden for a Tawny Pipit, a 66 mile day in total, then doing another 28 by way of a warm-down the following day when the Whiskered Tern was relocated by George Green and others at Longham Lakes. 

May photo of the month: Tawny Pipit at Cogden, chosen as it looks like we both felt - a bit windswept huddling from a gale at the back of Chesil Beach

On this and other occasions Steve Groves, Joe Stockwell and the rest of the team at Abbotsbury Swannery provided invaluable advice and showed me to various hides secreted around the reserve - the fact that I saw none of my target species from said hides on three visits to the Swannery was clearly not their fault, and I caught up with all three species (Little Stint, Whiskered and Roseate Tern) elsewhere eventually. I was also grateful to Cliff Smith, Chris Griffin, Paul Welling and son Zach for pointing me in the right direction for the Tawny Pipit in fading afternoon light.

May bird of the month: the Whiskered Tern at Longham Lakes - the day after I dipped it at Abbotsbury Swannery

The light evenings made a couple of after work twitches possible, adding Woodchat Shrike (thanks to Mike Gibbons for directions), Iceland Gull and Bonaparte's Gull to the yearlist, the latter after somewhat recklessly cycling to Weymouth in the face of 50-60mph SW winds. The journey back by was a laugh though, I barely had to touch the pedals.

June (5 species, 295 miles)

June kicked off with my longest bike ride of the year on the 1st of the month - an 88 mile odyssey to Lyme Regis, during which I clocked up my top speed of the year (37.6 mph on the way down to Bridport), and came as close to being frightened to death as it's possible to be without actually dying. Never again will I attempt to get anywhere by bike via the A35! The trip produced, however, my only Dipper and Eider of the year so clearly worth the near death experience. Not just hearing but seeing a Quail near Kingston Lacey in June was another massive bonus for the year list.

June photo of the month: the Middlebere Melodious Warbler, singing its heart out a short bike ride from home - seen thanks to early morning calls from Paul Morton and Steve Smith

Steve Smith, who met his own personal non-motorised target of walking the equivalent of Scilly to Shetland in search of birds in 2021, was a font of useful information and moral support throughout the year. His perseverance in scoping the islands in Poole Harbour for Golden Pheasant gave me the inspiration to do likewise for an unlikely addition to the year list this month. Steve also played a key role in building my leg strength in the early part of the year, sending me yomping around various boggy parts of Studland where he promised (falsely, as it turned out) there would be a Woodcock. But all that is forgotten and the Studland Velvet Scoters were just one of a number of species I would not have seen without Steve's diligent scouring of the Studland peninsula - thanks Steve.

Bird of the month for June: a Lyme Regis Dipper - not a bird I would have dreamt of adding to my bike list at the start of year - it took an 88 mile bike ride to see it

Paul Morton and the rest of the Birds of Poole Harbour team were another reliable and frequent source of news throughout the year. On 1st June I had just crested the steep hill above Chideock on the bike, 40 miles from Wareham, when Paul called with news of a Golden Oriole at Rempstone, just a few miles from home. Unfortunately it didn't hang around - not that a u-turn was really an option at that point! It was also an early morning call from Paul which got me out of bed to see a singing Melodious Warbler before work one muggy morning at Middlebere. Paul, Mark and Mo Constantine also shared news from the Carey estate which added a few species to the list for which I was grateful.

July (5 species, 323 miles)

July is supposed to herald the start of the summer doldrums but I kept the list ticking over with my 3rd longest distance cycled of any month in 2021. An early start to Weymouth was rewarded when Chris Courtaux skilfully picked out a Roseate Tern at Lodmoor. I stumbled across another at Ferrybridge en route to tick Balearic Shearwater at Portland Bill. The 19th saw me make my first successful out-of county twitch by bike, and one of the most memorable for one of my favourite species: a Black Guillemot in Hampshire. 57 miles in a heatwave on a Monday night with work the next day was quite a challenge!

July photo of the month: Wood Sandpiper at Lytchett Fields - I think found by Ian Ballam!

I was indebted to Olly Frampton for helping me connect with the Tystie and indeed the other three species I saw from over the border in Hampshire during 2021. Olly also saved me the bother of a long trip to Ripley by confirming that an apparently settled Green-winged Teal had moved on overnight - so many thanks are due Olly.

July bird of the month: the Barton-on-Sea Black Guillemot - the first of four out-of-county bike trips to Hampshire

July also heralded the start of autumn wader migration, and the first of a run of good birds at Lytchett Bay which required my attention. I was very grateful to the Lytchett crew, particularly Ian Ballam and Shaun Robson, for setting aside patch rivalries to help me connect with such desirable species as Wood Sandpiper at the end of the month, plus Pectoral Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Hoopoe and Water Pipit in the weeks and months to follow.

August (5 species, 246 miles)

August is another theoretically slow month for birds. With a 2 week family holiday in Northumberland in the middle of the month, that was ok with me, but I still clocked up almost 250 miles on the bike in August either side of that. While away the only thing I missed was a Spotted Crake which did the decent thing and reappeared on the day we got back. I finally saw it at the second attempt having stood in the rain with Julian Thomas on the first attempt before getting the train home. The penultimate day of the month saw me finally catch up with Goosander at Silverlake thanks to news from Geoff Upton, though I would later see one at Middlebere and on the patch at Swineham. Paul Harris also very kindly helped me out with invaluable info during the month.

August photo of the month - Wheatear seen on a productive walk around Wareham with Trevor Warwick on 26th which also produced Tree Pipit and flocks of Spotted Flycatcher

  

August bird of the month: Spotted Crake (behind the Green Sandpiper) at Lodmoor was the 200th species for the non-motorised year list in 2021. I clocked up 2,000 miles for the year on the way home from seeing it. 

September (2 species, 276 miles)

September turned out, unexpectedly, to be my least productive month in terms of additions to the list - and it was not for want of trying with 276 miles cycled, including an unsuccessful 50 mile trip over the border to Blashford Lakes for a couple of Black Terns which re-apppeared only after I got home - my biggest dip of the year. But progress was still made, notably with a Friday night jaunt to Portland for a Wryneck. On this and other occasions Martin Cade at the Portland Bird Obs provided invaluable news and updates.

September photo of the month: Hobby at Swineham

September bird of the month: Wryneck at Portland Bill

October (5 species, 211 miles)

Special thanks are due at this point to the proprietor and fellow clients of Bradders Birding Tours (David Bradnum, Jonathan Lethbridge and Howard Vaughan) for sparing my aching quads by whisking me to Shetland for a week in early October. Fortunately their threat of sending me first into the iris beds never materialised and that particular joy was evenly shared. Had anything more than a Grey Phalarope turned up while I was away I might never have forgiven them, but in the end that was about all that I missed. More to the point, we had a memorable time and saw some wonderful birds, including the Yorkshire Long-toed Stint just a few miles detouring from our route home down the M1.

October photo of the month: the Lytchett Bay Hoopoe - thanks to more news via Shaun Robson

On my return I needed a bit of luck to pick up the pace again which materialised in the form of a Snow Bunting at Durlston, found by Martin Warren, and a Hoopoe at Lytchett Bay on consecutive days. I enjoyed point blank views of the Bunting late one evening with Garry Hayman, Steve Smith and Andy Millar, one of the highlights of the year. The Hoopoe was also memorable, causing an about turn when I was half-way to Portland, a change of bikes back at home due to a broken spoke and a breathless arrival at Lytchett Bay allotments to the amusement of the assembled crowd. 

October bird of the month: the Durlston Snow Bunting

November (6 species, 276 miles)

Water Pipit was belatedly added the list in early November thanks to Ian Ballam, Shaun Robson and the Stour Ringing Group who thoughtfully decorated one in bright yellow bling for me and Garry Hayman to pick out one morning. Another good weekend followed mid-month with Durlston again coming up trumps with a Pallas's Warbler, relocated by Rob, James, Steve and Phil shortly before my arrival. The next day Paul Morton's prompt sharing of news of a Red-necked Grebe at Studland provoked a mad dash through Rempstone to tick if after a quick look through Steve's scope as I had left mine at home.

November photo of the month: Pallas's Warbler at Durlston

The best was yet to come though with two trips to Weymouth to see the delightful Little Auk, one of the birds of the year, skilfully relocated on the morning of my first trip by my ex-colleague Tom Brereton from a survey vessel as it was about to leave the harbour - he kindly relayed news via the miracle of a Twitter.

November bird of the month: the Weymouth Little Auk

December (9 species, 261 miles)

I had limited cause to head west of Portland during the course of the year but kudos to Mike Morse and Al Barrett for finding, sharing news of, and laying on breakfast for the Cirl Bunting at West Bexington, which provided some real quality for myself and Phil Saunders to add to our respective year and county lists in early December.   

December photo of the month: one of the three very obliging Tundra Bean Geese at Upton

Woodcock remained stubbornly absent from the year list until December, to the extent that I was on the point of begging Paul Morton to meet me somewhere with his night vision goggles and a torch to fine one - but I eventually saw one locally thanks to Dorset Bird Club Secretary Jol Mitchell who had been almost running them over on a nightly basis in the same spot. 

December bird of the month: a New Forest Hawfinch - a lovely species to end the year and the 224th seen travelling under my own steam in 2021

I was grateful for Jol's constant encouragement throughout the year, and he was the closest thing I had to a coach for the duration. If I had a pound for every time he said 'I think you're mad, but you probably have to go for it', as he did when I was contemplating a 28 mile round trip for a Whiskered Tern the day after the marathon to Cogden, I would have, well, approximately five pounds. And if I had a pound for every time he said 'you should write a book about this' I would have considerably more money that I would make if I ever wrote a book about this.

Jol's particular speciality was breaking the bad news when big-hitting East Anglian 'green' listers had chalked up another species and edged ahead of me in the Bubo green-listing mini-league (a niche league if ever there was one). I'm not generally competitive, but these unwelcome nudges from Jol often spurred me on to greater efforts. Whether or not his intention was to push me to more extreme lengths, or he just enjoyed breaking bad news, only he knows. But it worked!

My final Dorset species of the year - Tundra Bean Geese - was like a greatest hits of many of the friends mentioned above with news first relayed by Paul, bumping into Rob and James in the dark the following morning to try to relocate them, before Phil and Ian Ballam did so in a neighbouring field. But the year wasn't over, and Olly Frampton again came up trumps with news from the east enabling me to connect with Red-crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck and Hawfinch in the same 73 mile triathlon (well, it was pretty wet) over the border in Hampshire.

That pretty much brought the birding year to an end, and an incredibly enjoyable one it proved to be all told. Many more people than those mentioned above helped me out in some way: Peter Robertson, Martin Wood, Adam Day, Steve Carey, Chris Chapleo, Mark Wright, Brett Spencer, Verity Hill, James Lowen, James Lowther, Roly Pitts and Rosy White all provided information and/or encouragement at various times. My travels also enabled me to meet various folks from the Twitter-verse for the first time in real life including Mark Eggleton, Steph Murphy and Rob Murphy.

No such post would be complete without paying tribute to my ever-tolerant family: no doubt they were glad to see the back of me, and their almost complete lack of interest in the whole listing thing kept my feet firmly on the ground if I was ever in danger of taking it all too seriously. Despite everything I say on this blog, life wouldn't be worth living without them.

A final thank you must be reserved for that special someone who was always there for me when I was most in need; who looked after me without judgement when I walked in soaked to the skin with rain or perspiration; and who kept me fed and watered at critical moments when I was close to expiring. I mean of course the proprietor of the Preston chippy, without whose deep-fried creations I might never have made it up that big hill out of Weymouth. To them, everyone else mentioned above and anyone I've forgotten - sincere thanks for the help, info and companionship!

Possibly the first time I have appeared on this blog but my former Kent birding buddy, now resident of Stewart Island, NZ, Matt Jones, and his partner Jules had been following the progress of my year list. One day in June a package arrived from them which nicely captured the spirit of the exercise. Bike + bins = bird sums up the year pretty well - cheers guys!