Yes, here it is, another attempt at keeping a year list. I started keeping year lists – not just blogging about them but really keeping track of what I see each year – as late as 2012, roughly 30 years into my birding career. Back then, in 2012, the motivation was to have something nice to blog about and to show Corey how the cow eats the cabbage since he was seeing too many good species too easily. Therefore, the 2012 list itself was never the focus of my year listing, it was competition and blogging. I realized around 10 months into my first year-list-year that the competitive part is nothing I enjoy. Of course I still beat Corey – three years in a row, mwahahaaaar – but this was the first time ever I experienced pressure in my birding and I didn’t like this one tiny bit. So very soon, the “competition” element was scrapped from my list of reasons to keep a year list. What was left? The blogging element. Therefore, I started to turn my year list into something people would find pleasurable to read. Endless lists of what someone you likely don’t even know and will never meet in your life saw is not something people enjoy. Therefore, I greatly expanded the structure of my year list in 2013 to include maps, statistics and a diary. This was fun. And a lot of work. I was able to maintain the new structure in the 2014 list, and this was a mighty fine birding year in all aspects. However, I started to fail in the following year, and my blog post on 2015 is still – to this day – incomplete. And 2016? Well, I started the post, but I stopped at the end of January and it has joined the ranks of this blog’s eternal drafts. This year however, I really, really want to keep a list again, on this blog. Of course I have to make a few changes in order to give me a realistic chance to maintain the list throughout the year. I failed twice in a row and am too old to be idealistic. Now, I really like the 2013 layout and am planning on keeping it, but I’ll make the diary shorter this year and will keep the list in chronologic order instead of systematic. I am not entirely sure if I am going to include a graph of my species total since I will not define a numerical goal.
I always defined birding goals in previous year lists, but again these goals add pressure to the hobby and are thus a complete no-go. Furthermore, too much of my birding activity depends on the will and want of forces outside my sphere of influence, so even defining a minimum total number or a number of lifers is moot. Therefore, this year’s goal is simple:
In 2017, I want to enjoy birds as much as possible.
Diary
January
01 Jan: a busy day, leaving the island of Sylt in the early morning for the long drive back to Heidelberg. In horrendous weather, I manage to successfully chase a long-staying Sabine’s Gull at Hauke-Haine-Koog, a desperately-awaited lifer.
16 Jan: a boring train ride to attend a meeting in Bonn. Nevertheless, I manage to see three Waxwings flying by the conference centre, which saves the day and makes me happy.
Bird of the month: Sabine’s Gull – an easy choice made even more easy by the fact that it was found during my only birding trip in January.
February
04 Jan: A nice few hours at a former quarry about an hour away nets me a few nice first-of-years, like Black Woodpecker and Common Raven.
16 Feb: I have to attend a Seminar near Karlsruhe all week and am trapped inside a darkened room during the first week of sunny weather we’ve seen in Ages. However, one fine lunch break I slip out for half an hour for a small walk, with Skylarks flying over.
19 Feb: A business trip to France offers the chance of a quick visit to a nearby large lake, where waterfowl abounds, amongs them a group of 4 Smew – 3 females and a fine male. Further on into France, an endless stream of Cranes heads north-east into Germany. Spring has sprung.
20 Feb: You know you have come to a cool site (near Paris) when Cirl Buntings are part of your front-lawn avifauna.
21 Feb: The drive back to Germany is less exciting but I do see my first Red Kites for the year. Another early spring indicator.
26 – 28 Feb: A very short but marvelous family trip to the heights of the northern Black Forest is a bit too early in the year for some of the specials but nevertheless allows me to encounter a few exciting mountain species, like Spotted Nutcracker and Three-toed Woodpecker.
I managed to not take a single bird picture in February, so this landscape shot of the Schliffkopf summit will have to fill that space, a place where I saw Red Crossbills and Meadow Pipits for the first time this year.
March
12 Mar: Boy, the birding year is slow as I can’t find the time to actually get out and see stuff. A nice short walk through the vineyards outside Rohrbach/Heidelberg produces some first-of-years, like Chiffchaff and Blackcap.
20-24 Mar: my first big road trip of the year, from the lower Rhine towards Münster and Berlin, with some grand observations and my almost-yearly visit of the Great Bustards.
The effect of a low-flying Red Kite on Greater White-fronted Geese, lower Rhine in Germany. The lower Rhine is one of Germany’s finest destinations for enjoying wild geese but I was there a tad too late, only managing more than 1,000 rather than a couple 10,000s.
Maps
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Birding activities in Germany (generated with ornitho.de)
Species List
The species list is in chronologic order, mostly because it is easier this way for me to update it and also because this reflects the spirit of a year list better than taxonomic order. Lifers are in red.
Abbreviations for German “Bundesländer” (states, provinces)
BB = Brandenburg
BW = Baden-Württemberg
NRW = Nordrhein-Westfalen
RP = Rheinland-Pfalz
SH = Schleswig-Holstein
SL = Saarland
- Tundra Bean Goose, Anser serrirostris – Sylt and Westcoast SH, Germany – 01 Jan
- Greater White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
- Greylag Goose, Anser anser
- Brant Goose, Branta bernicla
- Barnacle Goose, Branta leucopsis
- Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
- Common Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna
- Gadwall, Anas strepera
- Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope
- Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
- Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
- Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
- Common Teal, Anas crecca
- Common Pochard, Aythya ferina
- Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula
- Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
- Common Merganser, Mergus merganser
- Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator
- Common Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus
- Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea
- Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo
- White-tailed Eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla
- Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus
- Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo
- Common Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
- Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
- Grey Plover, Pluvialis squatarola
- Eurasian Oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
- Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
- Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata
- Red Knot, Calidris canutus
- Dunlin, Calidris alpina
- Sabine’s Gull, Xema sabini
- Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
- Mew Gull, Larus canus
- Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
- Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
- Common Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus
- Eurasian Magpie, Pica pica
- Western Jackdaw, Corvus monedula
- Carrion Crow, Corvus corone
- Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes
- Common Blackbird, Turdus merula
- Eurasian Rock Pipit, Anthus petrosus
- Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
- European Greenfinch, Chloris chloris
- Eurasian Siskin, Spinus spinus
- Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 02 Jan
- Eurasian Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
- Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris
- Redwing, Turdus iliacus
- Song Thrush, Turdus philomelos
- Common Pigeon, Columba livia – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 03 Jan
- Rose-ringed Parakeet, Psittacula krameri
- Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major
- European Robin, Erithacus rubecula
- Great Tit, Parus major – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 04 Jan
- House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
- European Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 05 Jan
- Rook, Corvus frugilegus
- Common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
- Short-toed Treecreeper, Certhia brachydactyla
- Eurasian Nuthatch, Sitta europaea
- Eurasian Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
- Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiaca
- European Crested Tit, Lophophanes cristatus – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 07 Jan
- Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 09 Jan
- Canada Goose, Branta canadensis – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 10 Jan
- Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 12 Jan
- Bohemian Waxwing, Bombycilla garrulus – near Bonn NRW, Germany – 16 Jan
- Tawny Owl, Strix aluco – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 18 Jan
- Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 19 Jan
- White Stork, Ciconia ciconia – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 21 Jan
- Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 24 Jan
- White Wagtail, Motacilla alba – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 25 Jan
- European Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 28 Jan
- Coal Tit, Periparus ater – Heidelberg/Leimen BW, Germany – 30 Jan
- Eurasian Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
- Black Woodpecker, Dryocopus martius – Helmhof BW, Germany – 4 Feb
- Marsh Tit, Poecile palustris
- Common Goldcrest, Regulus regulus
- Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella
- Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes
- Great Egret, Ardea alba
- Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus – Heidelberg BW, Germany, 9 Feb
- Stock Dove, Columba oenas – Heidelberg BW, Germany, 12 Feb
- Eurasian Skylark, Alauda arvensis – near Karlsruhe BW, Germany, 16 Feb
- Red-crested Pochard, Netta rufina – Roxheimer Altrhein and Silbersee RP, Germany, 19 Feb
- Smew, Mergellus albellus
- Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
- Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos minor
- Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos medius
- Grey-headed Woodpecker, Picus canus
- Common Crane, Grus grus – near Saarbrücken SL, Germany, 19 Feb
- Cirl Bunting, Emberiza cirlus – Guerville, France, 20 Feb
- Firecrest, Regulus ignicapilla
- Red Kite, Milvus milvus – somewhere along the autoroute, northern France, 21 Feb
- Woodlark, Lullula arborea
- European Stonechat, Saxicola rubicola
- Eurasian Pygmy Owl, Glaucidium passerinum – northern Black Forest, BW, Germany 26-28 Feb
- Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker, Picoides tridactylus
- Spotted Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes
- Eurasian Treecreeper, Certhia familiaris
- Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis
- Red Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
- Common Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita – Heidelberg BW, Germany, 12 Mar
- Eurasian Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla
- European Serin, Serinus serinus
- Red-necked Grebe, Podiceps grisegena – road trip lower Rhine, Münster and Brandenburg, NRW/BB, Germany 20-24 Mar
- Black Kite, Milvus migrans
- Northern Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis
- Great Bustard, Otis tarda
- Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
- Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans
- Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus
- Alexandrine Parakeet, Psittacula eupatria
- Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Bubo bubo
- White-throated Dipper, Cinclus cinclus
- Corn Bunting, Emberiza calandra
- Common Linnet, Carduelis cannabina
- Willow Tit, Poecile montanus – Heidelberg BW, Germany, 26 Mar
- Osprey, Pandion haliaetus – Heidelberg BW, Germany, 01 Apr
- Blue-headed Wagtail, Motacilla flava – Schmiechener See BW, Germany, 26 Apr
- Water Pipit, Anthus spinoletta
- Chukar Partridge, Alectoris chukar – near Aqtau, Kazakhstan 08-12 May
- Little Bittern, Ixobrychus minutus
- Egyptian Vulture, Neophron percnopterus
- Montagu’s Harrier, Circus pygargus
- Long-legged Buzzard, Buteo rufinus
- Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos
- Lesser Kestrel, Falco naumanni
- Saker Falcon, Falco cherrug
- Eurasian Stone-curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus
- Greater Sand Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii
- Caspian Plover, Charadrius asiaticus
- Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus
- Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
- Little Stint, Calidris minuta
- Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus
- Gull-billed Tern, Gelochelidon nilotica
- White-winged Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
- Whiskered Tern, Chlidonias hybrida
- Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Pterocles orientalis
- Little Owl, Athene noctua
- Long-eared Owl, Asio otus
- Alpine Swift, Apus melba
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus
- European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster
- European Roller, Coracias garrulus
- Eurasian Hoopoe, Upupa epops
- Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio
- Lesser Grey Shrike, Lanius minor
- Eurasian Golden Oriole, Oriolus oriolus
- Brown-necked Raven, Corvus ruficollis
- Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha calandra
- Bimaculated Lark, Melanocorypha bimaculata
- Greater Short-toed Lark, Calandrella brachydactyla
- Lesser Short-toed Lark, Alaudala rufescens
- Crested Lark, Galerida cristata
- White-winged Lark, Alauda leucoptera
- Mongolian Horned Lark, Eremophila brandti
- Sykes’s Warbler, Iduna rama
- Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Iduna pallida
- Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus dumetorum
- Central Asian Whitethroat, Sylvia halimodendri
- Desert Warbler Sylvia nana
- Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata
- Finsch’s Wheatear, Oenanthe finschii
- Pied Wheatear, Oenanthe pleschanka
- Isabelline Wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina
- Rosy Starling, Pastor roseus
- Black-headed Wagtail, Motacilla feldegg
- Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris
- Red-throated Pipit, Anthus cervinus
- Red-headed Bunting, Emberiza bruniceps
- Desert Finch, Rhodospiza obsoleta
- Rock Sparrow, Petronia petronia
- Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis – Almaty, Kazakhstan 12 May
- Masked Wagtail, Motacilla personata
- Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax – near Shymkent, Kazakhstan 13-17 May
- Black Stork, Ciconia nigra
- Black-eared Kite, Milvus lineatus
- Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus
- Himalayan Vulture, Gyps himalayensis
- Cinereous Vulture, Aegypius monachus
- Short-toed Snake Eagle, Circaetus gallicus
- Shikra, Accipiter badius
- Booted Eagle, Hieraaetus pennatus
- Oriental Turtle Dove, Streptopelia orientalis
- Laughing Dove, Streptopelia senegalensis
- Eurasian Scops Owl, Otus scops
- European Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus
- Red-tailed Shrike, Lanius phoenicuroides
- Indian Golden Oriole Oriolus kundoo
- Oriental Skylark, Alauda gulgula
- Red-rumped Swallow, Cecropis daurica
- White-crowned Penduline Tit, Remiz coronatus
- Cetti’s Warbler, Cettia cetti
- Siberian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus (collybita) tristis
- Hume’s Leaf Warbler, Phylloscopus humei
- Greenish Warbler, Phylloscopus trochiloides
- Menetries’s Warbler, Sylvia mystacea
- Hume’s Whitethroat, Sylvia althaea
- Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Monticola saxatilis
- Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis
- Rock Bunting, Emberiza cia
- White-capped Buntin, Emberiza stewarti
- Grey-necked Bunting, Emberiza buchanani
- Ortolan Bunting, Emberiza hortulana
- Mongolian Finch, Bucanetes mongolicus
- Little Egret, Egretta garzetta – Astana, Kazakhstan, 18 May
- Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus
- Steppe Gull, Larus barabensis
- Azure Tit, Cyanistes cyanus
- Paddyfield Warbler, Acrocephalus agricola
- Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica
- Black-headed Wagtail, Motacilla feldegg
- Garganey, Anas querquedula – Bukhtarma, East Kazakhstan, 18-21 May
- Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix
- Crested Honey Buzzard, Pernis ptilorhynchus
- Eastern Imperial Eagle, Aquila heliaca
- Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus
- Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
- Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla
- Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix
- Pale Martin, Riparia diluta
- Yellow-browed Warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus
- Lanceolated Warbler, Locustella lanceolata
- Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola maurus
- Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla tschutschensis
- Citrine Wagtail, Motacilla citreola
- Asian Buff-bellied Pipit, Anthus rubescens japonicus
- Meadow Bunting, Emberiza cioides
- Scopoli’s Shearwater, Calonectris diomedea – Italian Riviera and Switzerland 09-17 June
- Northern Gannet, Sula bassana
- European Shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelis
- Western Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
- Honey Buzzard, Pernis apivorus
- Sandwich Tern, Sterna sandvicensis
- Pallid Swift, Apus pallidus
- Crag Martin, Ptyonoprogne rupestris
- Sardinian Warbler, Sylvia melanocephala
- Italian Sparrow, Passer italiae
- Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus – near Caen, Normandy, France 26-30 Jun
- Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus
- Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
- Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis
- Melodious Warbler, Hippolais polyglotta
I too decided to do this year list thing in 2012, but stuck to the principle that I would not change the way I bird….have fun, see what I see, etc.! It is interesting how a common bird disappears on January 1st, though, when you start a year list!
Our only Sabine Gull record is about 250 kms south of Broome on Eighty Mile Beach 25th November 2004. 🙂
At this stage, my year list is only one species shorter than yours… but mine has a Red-breasted Goose 🙂
I just noticed that I had forgotten a few species and now stand at 86. no real birding yet this year except Jan 1st, so it’s a very easy start. Red-breasted Goose – sigh! I used to see them almost each year during my time at the German Baltic coast, but haven’t seen one in likely a decade!! They are amongst the world’s best, so congratulations!!
Yes, birding is so much more fun when you just take in what you find. Sabine’s Gulls are an amazing species with their world-wide migration. I was so happy to finally see one. Very happy to read you also saw one, in Australia!!
Yes, listing should be all about enjoying the birds. We won’t say anything about the Black Woodpecker. Because that would be mean. And competitive. I would like to see one. And a Red-breasted Goose.
Donna, I can’t even imagine how painful it must be to have such an easy bird as the Black Woodpecker as a nemesis. Mwahahaaaaaaar
And the local nickname for Red-breasted Goose is “Beauty”, which says it all. Darn, they are currently moving back through northern Germany from the Netherlands, and I am stuck here, down south…
This will be the first year I have kept an “Official” bird list…..my year is off to a great start, with all the migratory birds here in Mexico, a trip to mainland Mexico at Guadalajara, and then last weekend to the Pacific Northwest of the US. That puts me a ripping good 152 species…..But, no Red-breasted Geese here either!
I want your White-tailed Eagle. Would there not be a sadistic frisson to adding the woodpecker to a list that Corey is a participant in?