Acts of Random Birdwatching

One of my childhood loves was birdwatching. As is the case for many people, this interest disappeared but I have refound it in mid-life. One of my happiest things is to sit and watch birds, or listen to them. Every year I keep a list of the birds I have seen. For the last two years I have seen 91 different species without making a lot of effort. In 2025 I am aiming for 92! I am also going to try recording on BirdTrak (will see how this goes) and learn to identify some more birds by sound. This page will be a log of what I see each month and a list of the bird species I see for the year, along with some random notes.

Current Number of Bird Species for 2025

90

July

I expected July to be slow and it looked like it would be, then whoosh. Suddenly 5 more birds for my year list. This has been helped enormously by a pretty low level of water at the Country Park which is down to lack of rain and water being drawn off to feed the Grand Union Canal. I took my scope out and found a Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and two Ringed Plovers. The Ringed Plovers were a patch first for me. And then, later in the same week I heard the distinctive call of a Raven, looked up and there it was flying over the house; this took me to 90 birds for the year which is where I finished the month.

Notable Birds 2025

My second ever Water Rail at the Country Park (bird 45 heard, not seen, on 4th January).

Bird 50 was a beautiful Great Spotted Woodpecker - just outside my window - looking amazing on the silver birches.

I know some who have to live near the skwaky green parrots hate them, but they are rare enough for me right now that I loved seeing the Ring-necked parakeets flying around Bloomsbury on a freezing cold grey January day. February and March were unremarkable, with Chiffchaffs appearing early, and blackcaps on the same day as the previous year. A highlight, even though it was a brief glimpse was the Kingfisher that I saw zipping past - just because I could so easily have missed it. A Cuckoo in Northamptonshire was an unexpected treat, as was seeing a Peregrine from the train.

June

June got off to a better start than expected. I attended an event near to Irthlingborough Lakes, got there early to avoid the traffic and go for a walk and found my first Sedge Warbler singing away. Then I heard a distant Cuckoo - amazing start to the day that also included a Little Egret and Red Kites. I also saw a Peregrine from the train on the way to Birmingham. I saw an Oystercatcher at the local country park for the first time ever. In the same trip I saw 6 Little Egrets as well as a Great White Egret - all unexpected. A Reed Warbler finally put in a verbal appearance in the middle of the month. Lots of House Martins and Swifts over the reservoir as well as regular sightings of Red Kites. Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps are still singing. I was hoping to add a few more birds when I went to Wicken Fen - but it was at the end, rather than at the beginning of the month and the only additions were a Marsh Harrier and a Garden Warbler (the latter identified via Merlin sadly). Even the Cetti's were not singing and no sign of a Hobby this year. Total at the end of June - 85.

May

The first full week of May has brought the Swifts back, along with Common Terns and Yellowhammers. I seem to be hearing more Whitethroats than ever, and the Chiffchaffs are still singing. The Housemartins are back round the housing estates most days now. On an organised walk I was surprised to see a Kingfisher zipping alongside a brook, the first I have seen in a couple of years and totally unexpected, I just happened to be looking the right way. There are still not that many Swifts though or House Martins which is a little concerning, although I am not sure if there is much mud for the House Martin nests.

April

The start of the month has seen (or heard) increasing numbers of chiffchaffs joined by singing blackcaps. My first sighting of House Martins were two very high in the sky on the 5th. Still listening for willwobs. The Country Park has installed what looks like a Sand Martin nesting thingy, although I have only ever seen Sand Martins there once, ever. My first Willow Warbler of the year arrived on the 10th, in the garden on a morning when I was wfh, and on a day that I don't usually wfh. Win win. There was a late flurry of activity at the end of the month with Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and Bullfinch bringing me up to 70 birds. On 28th there seemed to be some more House Martins around, flying lower and looking for nest sites and the 30th brought my first Swallows of the year.

March

The first day of the month brought a coal tit to the list - briefly seen at the start of a walk. Chiffchaffs have been calling a couple of weeks earlier than usual, and the blackcaps appeared right at the end of the month. Otherwise it has been quite a quiet month really, with five new birds added bring the total to 65.

February

The first week of February has been notable for a lack of new birds (although those that are about are singing more now that there is a bit more daylight. The second week was also very dull and completely lacking in new birds. Week three of February brought a bit of sunshine and some new birds for the list including a skylark singing away - earlier than I heard it last year. I finished the month on 60 birds and am still annoyed about missing the bittern.

January

January got off to a slow start because I didn't leave the house. Since the first though I have made more of an effort. I went for a walk round Becket's park which is a place that I know is frequented by Mistle Thrushes and wasn't disappointed. I've also had a couple of visits to Daventry Country Park - the goosanders are there in good numbers, and I also managed to see some Pochard and a pair of Goldeneye. I used the Merlin app to discover a Water Rail in a bit of the park extension that I never heard them in before. Bird number 47 was a nuthatch, heard but not seen (but the arcade game call is unmistakeable). This wouldn't be remarkable but I didn't see or hear one at all in 2024. Bird 50 came on the 18th January, and was soon followed by bird 51. A Black Redstart was apparently seen very close to where I live - missed that (it would have been a lifetime first for me) and I haven't seen the Red-crested pochard yet that are apparently still at the local country park. My trip to London did allow me to add in Ring-necked parakeets which I haven't seen locally for a couple of years, as well as pheasants from the train. A flock of lapwing in a dusk sky over a motorway junction on my commute home brought the January total to 56. Lapwings remind me of my childhood and trips out to the farmland dominated countryside.