So here we go.
JANUARY
Northern Waterthrush Heybridge Essex 17 January
The eighth record for Britain of this North American warbler and my second, having seen one on The Isles of Scilly in October 2011. Provided one was prepared to withstand sub zero temperatures and wait for long periods doing nothing but staring at a bird free ditch of water lady luck would eventually play ball. A sensational and totally surprising start to the year.
Barn Owl nr Hawling Gloucestershire 28 January
The day after my birthday an unexpected opportunity presented itself whilst waiting in a rural lane in The Cotswolds for Short eared Owls to commence flying in the late afternoon This Barn Owl appeared from nowhere and made two close passes of me as it hunted. A sheer fluke but none the less very welcome.
FEBRUARY
Lesser Yellowlegs Frampton RSPB Lincolnshire 14 February
I spent an entire day watching and photographing this long staying, supremely elegant North American wader on one of my favourite reserves. So much more delicate in build and refined in movement than our familiar Common Redshank, its British counterpart.
Waxwing Abingdon Oxfordshire 25 February
The winter of 2023/2024 was a relatively good one for Waxwings irrupting into Britain and Oxfordshire had its fair share of this visitor from the pine forests across the North Sea. After a frustrating wait a small group showed themselves well in a large tree on a housing estate with this one bird coming down low to snatch one of the last berries left on a hawthorn
MARCH
Woodlark Greenham Common Newbury Berkshire 14 March
This bird allowed me to get very close as it both sang and fed on the ground. An early harbinger of Spring its haunting song could not fail but bring a sense of hope and promise in equal measure
APRIL
Black necked Grebe St Aidans RSPB nr Leeds West Yorkshire 5 April
I got really lucky when a pre breeding pair swam into a small channel of water very close to the bank on which I was standing.When such a circumstance arrives you do not hesitate. I particularly like the composition of this image of a bird not quite in full breeding plumage.
Yellow rumped Warbler Kilwinning North Ayrshire 13 April
This image was taken on a third visit to see this rare American warbler (only the 28th to be found in Britain) residing in an unremarkable garden in Scotland and which through the winter had gradually assumed its full male breeding attire, transforming itself from a rather drab brown bird to this very pleasing smart. grey, black and white plumage with a dash of bright yellow. As they say 'a real stunner' and it is very rare (only the second time?) that an American warbler has been seen in full breeding plumage in Britain. I much prefer its alternative name of Myrtle Warbler.
Puffins Farne Islands Northumberland 14 April
Having seen the Yellow rumped Warbler the day before, on the way back south we diverted to spend an afternoon on the Farne Islands. Taken from the boat as we approached the Inner Farne to make our landing I like the symmetry of these two Puffins flying over a blue sea and everyone likes these sea parrots do they not?
Gannets Bempton RSPB East Yorkshire 16 April
It is impossible to not get acceptable images of the Gannets at Bempton as they stand close to the edge of their breeding cliffs displaying or flying past.These two, pair bonding, were oblivious of me as I stood on one of the reserve's cliff edge viewpoints.
Marsh Sandpiper Lymington Hampshire 22 April
On a morning of strange diffused sunlight which I at first considered would preclude anything but a record shot the resulting image surprised me as it gave this rare sandpiper an almost ethereal appearance as it fed in the still water of a distant lagoon.
Swallow Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire 28 April
On a foul day of high wind and rain migrant Swallows were forced close to the reservoir's causeway where I stood, to avoid the strong wind and where they could more easily pick off hatching flies from the water's surface. A quite moving experience watching them struggling to survive in the hostile conditions and a chance to admire their supreme elegance and grace as they flew back and fore.
MAY
Alpine Accentor Pitstone Buckinghamshire 5 May
A real surprise and one that required immediate action as it was found on Sunday lunchtime and was gone the next day. It was doubly remarkable that the bird was found in a quarry by a person looking for a rare type of moss and not knowing what he was looking at sent some images to a colleague on holiday in Turkey who identified it and put the news out on social media. Isn't the internet wonderful!
Little Stint Isle of Arran North Lanarkshire 28 May
Whilst on holiday and casually checking a group of migrating Sanderlings that had stopped off to feed on the seashore I was delighted to discover this Little Stint amongst them, the first to be recorded on Arran for twenty two years. It was also notable that it was in breeding plumage not something that I have seen for a very long time
Yellow crowned Night Heron Belcarra Co Mayo Rep of Ireland 14 June
I rarely twitch birds in Ireland but this spectacular heron was just too tempting being a first for Britain and Ireland. It was frequenting a small river with a high shaded bank which made for the almost perfect background to highlight the bird. Myself and my twitching pal Mark were the only people looking at it and were there and back in two days. The trip was memorable also for the fact I caught covid for the first time, probably from a man coughing and spluttering in the seat next to me on the flight over. The first time I have got anything for free from Ryanair!
JULY
Franklin's Gull Crossness nr Erith Kent 16 July
A spur of the moment decision to go and see this rare gull from North America feeding with Black headed Gulls at a sewage outfall by the River Thames on the furthest outskirts of London seemed a good idea at the time. It was great to see the gull but not so enjoyable was the nightmare drive across London to see it and enduring the malodorous smell at the sewage outfall. This was only the second one to be recorded in London with less than a hundred having been recorded in Britain
AUGUST
Three pelagic trips off The Isles of Scilly 29-31 August
I took hundreds of images over the three days and it was difficult to choose from them but the three below strike a chord with me.The image of the Long tailed Skua will win no prizes but the bird hanging above our boat in the afterglow of a late evening out at sea seems to capture the essence of a very different existence. I also rather like action shots such as the Cory's Shearwater pattering along the sea on take off and the raft of Great Shearwaters becalmed far out to sea on a day of little wind was also notable.I remember them calling to each other with voices like a toy trumpet
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| Long tailed Skua |
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| Cory's Shearwater |
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| Great Shearwaters |
Steppe Grey Shrike Dunbar Lothian 19 September
On the way to my annual stay on Shetland I stopped off to see this very confiding bird on a golf course by the sea. A great start to my three week birding trip.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
Each year I go to Shetland in the hope of seeing rare birds and generally enjoying just being in a strange and bewitching land. Sometimes it can be disappointing birdwise but these last two years have been the opposite and below are some of the highlights from this year's visit.
Long may it continue!
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| Red breasted Flycatcher |
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| Pechora Pipit |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Arctic Warbler |
DECEMBER
Purple Sandpiper Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire 8 December
A very unusual and out of place visitor to my local reservoir on a day of extraordinarily high winds.I was the only person to brave the conditions and was overjoyed to be rewarded for my persistence with this birding prize.
Short eared Owl nr Hawling Gloucestershire 19 December
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