2021 year list

Hi H

I don't keep a list of lists but I know I got 250 in 1983-
had a job , no serious gf , had a great crew ( still bird with 2 of them occasionally) and went birding every weekend, did Speyside in summer and Scilly in Autumn.

From 1984 onwards I started going abroad every spring which meant more new birds for the money outlay- then serious gf by end of 1985: )

S

That was a good total in '83 when you were enjoying your carefree days !    Oh yes I remember your post  "Birding Men in tights" and bet you could write a book on your adventures !!      

Now, one question for any of you experienced birders ...... if you had just one birding destination that you would like to visit or even revisit,  where would you suggest we add to our "bucket list"     bearing in mind we don't do camping anymore (or outward bound courses for that matter !) and have a comfort zone standard more akin to semi-budget variation of Park Hyatt or Marriott ;)    South America seems to be on our draft wish list at the moment ..... assuming Omicron and other variants permit this type of travel -  eventually.      I would definitely like to See More Birds ;)   before I finally hit the feather pillow in the clouds !

Thanks Rob, always interesting to hear other suggestions; we hope to revisit Australia (northern NSW) within a couple of years, especially when my brother shows me all these tropical birds visiting his garden or within a few miles of his home, including the migratory Rainbow Bee-eaters which breed there during their spring/summertime - probably around now ! .
At the moment with ongoing pandemic we are sticking to UK too although with more staycations it's harder to find accommodation in popular birding spots and needing to book well in advance. Think we need a mortgage now to travel further afield overseas but we'll see once we get through the next year.

Hazel, Just saw this, not sure why it is no longer coming up in notifications, but never mind. As you know, while we cannot call our selves experienced birders, I "know one who is" (as they say!) She loved her trip to Costa Rica (has a bit of a thing about Hummingbirds), but she has been to numerous other places--Chile and possibly elsewhere in South America (Patagonia rings a bell), Finland, Spain and Portugal, somewhere in the Far East (sorry, forgotten just where), the Yukon, Cuba, much of the US including Alaska, several places here in the UK with us, Australia (not sure just where there), and likely other countries I have forgotten. I could ask her if she has a preference for anywhere in particular. Migration time on the US East Coast is good, so I've heard, especially a place called Hawk Mountain, in New Jersey if I remember rightly. Have you any preference for climate--hot, cold or just right?!

Unknown said:

Have you any preference for climate--hot, cold or just right?!

I guess at the end of the day it really comes down to the comfort of the accommodation  LOL      I'm not sure we would want to be on a defined intrepid explorer or group tour (we tend to like to explore surrounds on our own, safety permitting,  but with benefit of local expertise knowledge available to point us in the right direction)   At our age and older bones,  preferably an area not too far below zero, not up mountains even though we are a pair of old goats  !    and it would be nice if we could stay somewhere comfortable which has birds - even as close as in the hotel garden .............. I remember meeting a fellow birder a few years ago at Leighton Moss telling us of a famous old hotel (stayed in by some of the old ex-Hollywood stars)  and a place which was used by bird tour groups .        Think it was somewhere like Cuba but can't recall the name of this famous hotel  ..........story goes the birders got up very early to venture out on a days bird guided tour and when they returned that evening and compared the days events it turned out the guest that stayed in the beautifully landscaped and natural hotel grounds/garden saw more birds visit the garden than the group spotted on hours of dedicated guide searching   !       It's a difficult decision to make and to be honest we haven't given it much thought until recently but open to any/all suggestions.      I know for sure your birding expert will have a huge list of excellent places to add to a bucket list but we'd need to live for another hundred years    lol  !!!   thanks again Ann, much appreciated and I think Patagonia would absolutely be on the top of the list according to what I have read.     For now we will have to be content and explore more of UK and then Australia will definitely be the first place we will visit after not seeing my brother for over 12 years (Northern New South Wales - Clarence Valley area)       I would like to time it so I can bring you photos back of the Ospreys just down the road from his house  !!    I wouldn't mind a Bee-eater or two and a few Honeyeaters, raptors and sea birds.  

Hazel, one spot in Europe I would love to revisit would be a little spot in the hills around Crevillent not far from Alicante called Finca Bonellis . Run by an English couple we could lie in the pool watching Bonelli's Eagles and Crag Martins. We had an ex pat experienced birder who took us to the local hot spots and into the local mountain.We were even picked up at the airport. I'm not sure if the farm is still there but the birds will be. Still in Europe any of the crossing points for migrating raptors would suit me. Further afield I would like to visit some of the big raptor migration viewing spots in the USA.Nowadays  due to several  long term health  problems more  or less  rule out overseas  birding, the insurance  costs  alone  are prohibitive,  mention  the C word and a couple  of  noughts  go on the price. Plenty  of undiscovered  birding left in the  UK  for Chris and myself  to visit, Shetland and  the Hebrides worth  a revisit and I know very little  about  the  South  West  of the country.

Thanks for the info Pete, sounds an interesting place once we've done a bit more of UK then Australia family catch up - eventually. I know Tony (TJ) has travelled within Europe on various birding trips including Extremadura so maybe he has a favourite place too. So much seems to be changing and a chap I was talking to at our local reserve said the Amazonian area he went to on guided tour was very disappointing with the deforestation and said he saw half the number of birds he did a decade ago. We better get our skates on if habitat is continually being ripped out in some of these areas :(

Ecuador!

It looks like 2021 will end on 216- better than the 188 of 2020

S