December was a very quiet month indeed, I only saw a few notable birds on the daily dog walks with Bullfinch, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammers fighting for the top spot! Even the gull numbers off the front were low with a lot of the previous Great black backed's moving on. The weather didn't bring any good strong windy seawatching days either. Mothing again turned up nothing so the final tally of 2019 was 188 macro moths. The patch bird list stands at 172 and 101 for the garden. Now for a look at some of my highlights in 2019.
Iceland Gull in February.
Firecrest (pair) in March.
Osprey in off the sea in April. And Alpine Swift past the house.
Painted Lady invasion in June.
Always a joy when Hummingbird Hawkmoths turn up.
August saw an influx of Pied Flycatcher.
This "metal bird" was a sight to see!
My first B2 Stealth Bomber.
Med Gulls fly catching over the house is getting to be a yearly experience.
September saw numbers of Great White Egret moving along the coast.
This Common Redstart was a welcome addition to the garden list.
Sat 5th October, the morning of the Water Spouts
Sarah and I counted 6 on our morning walk.
Little Auk in October.
Black Redstart and Ring Ouzel both in October and Ring Ouzel finally getting on the garden list.
A welcome addition to the patch, Pomarine Skua.
One of my favourite's, Great Grey Shrike.
Great Northern Diver finally got on my patch list.
And my favourite moth of the year Garden Tiger, and a first for me.
Roll on 2020.
