Year List 2026 - Here we go again!!!!

I started the new Year List whilst in Northumberland on Thursday. By the end of the day, I had managed to spot 50 species, including my first lifer of the year.

The list began before dawn, as I drove down to St Mary's Island, with not one, but two, Barn Owls (1)! No other birds were seen before I arrived (as it was still dark!), but, on arrival, the following birds were seen: Carrion Crow (2), Herring Gull (3), Pheasant (4), Turnstone (5), Mallard (6), Black-headed Gull (7), Magpie (8), Oystercatcher (9), Cormorant (10), Dunnock (11), Redshank (12), Red-throated Diver (1 flew south past the Island - 13), Eider Duck (14), Great Black-backed Gull (15), Rock Pipit (16), Starling (17), Golden Plover (18), Lapwing (19), Dunlin (20), Curlew (21), Sanderling (22), Pied Wagtail (23), Stonechat (24), Grey Wagtail (25), Water Pipit (26), Shag (27), Blackbird (28), Great-crested Grebe (29) and Pink-footed Geese (c.40 in fields behind the Island - 30).

Water Pipit

The next few birds were seen on the drive back to Togston, and in a quick visit to Queen Elizabeth II Country Park: Jackdaw (31), Rook (32), Mute Swan (33), Coot (34), Common Gull (35), Canada Goose (36), Moorhen (37), Kestrel (38), House Sparrow (39), Fieldfare (40), Redwing (41) and Robin (42). A Whooper Swan was also seen here, but, as it is a resident bird, I'm not going to count it in the Year List.

Whooper Swan

The final birds were added in Berwick upon Tweed (numbers 43- 46) and on Budle Bay (numbers 47 - 50): Goldfinch (43), Wren (44), Purple Sandpiper (45), Buzzard (46), Shoveler (47), Wigeon (48), Teal (49) and Pale-bellied Brent Goose - 2 in fields just outside Seahouses (50).

A Tale of Three Pipits - Rock, Meadow and Water.

 I have to be honest, and say that, even as a "birder", I don't often look that closely at pipits. They are, after all, the very definition of an LBJ (Little Brown Job). For the last couple of years, however, I've been trying to find a lifer, in the form of a Water Pipit, so, whilst in Northumberland this week, I had to take notice of the various pipits at St Mary's Island, in order to see this particular species.

We started off on 30th December and spent an hour and a half looking at each and every bird!! Despite taking a lot of pictures, we only managed to find Rock and Meadow Pipit (photos below).

Rock Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Not to be beaten, I returned on New Year's Day, and after spotting several Rock Pipits, I managed to find, and photograph my first "lifer" of 2026, in the form of a Water Pipit.

Water Pipit