Header image is one of the highlights of Charley Hesse's year. Resplendent Quetzal by Kit Day
From professional tour guides who covered the entire globe to 2 entrepid and very fit birders who conquered the non-motorised year list, we're proud to present this group of Surfbirds listers who were the best in class of 2016.
Enter Your 2017 Year ListsAlthough I am based in South Africa now, I am originally from the UK and I was back visiting family in Europe. I spent xmas and the new year in Italy which is where I had my first year birds. With all the hunting there, the birds were relatively skittish and I only saw a handful.
My first tour of the year was a short custom tour in Costa Rica which got me off to a great start. It had been many years since I had been there, so I arrived early and had a recce before the tour. Despite only visiting a few sites, I still managed over 400 species with Resplendent Quetzal as a highlight. February was my annual winter birding tour in Japan. Not big on numbers but definitely one of my favourite tours with all the cranes as a highlight. In March, I lead a tour to Ghana which got me another 400sp including White-necked Picathartes. In April, I guided a 2-week tour in Taiwan, which in my opinion is one of the most under-rated birding destinations in the world. Probably my favourite bird is the stunning Mikado Pheasant. I also tagged on a short custom extension to Okinawa where I picked off one of my biggest Nemeses, the Okinawa Rail. June took me to the UK and Ireland, which was surprisingly enjoyable and I managed to pick up a Dotterel in the Cairngorms. In July, I got back to Ecuador for the first time in 7 years. This is where I used to live and it was great to reacquaint myself with the place and see old friends. My highlight there was to finally see Rufous-crowned Antpitta at Mashpi Shungo, a species that had eluded me during the 5 years I spent in South America. After that, it was back to Africa, and after a short custom tour of Kruger NP in South Africa, I did my annual tour of Namibia & Botswana. Having done the tour so many times before, there were obviously no lifers for me, but I hung around at the end of the tour to do a short trip up to the Zebra Mountains with my good friend & colleague Ken Behrens to see the Angola Cave-Chat and Cinderella Waxbill. Next was a full South Africa tour which can sometimes produce up to 500sp, but this year the country was hit with one of the worst droughts for years and numbers were a bit down. A short custom trip to NE Argentina added quite a few year birds, then I finished the year out with a full month guiding in Madagascar (including the incredible Helmet Vanga) and a short custom tour in Lesotho and around my local area of KZN in South Africa. I hoped to see 2000sp in the year but in the end my total was 2274 seen in 15 countries. The best part of it is that this is my job.
Charley Hesse Tropical BirdingHumboldt's Sapphire, Colombia, Choco February 2016 from the Surfbirds galleries © Pete Morris/Birdquest
2016 was another full on and fun year of tour-leading and birding around the world.
I kicked off with an amazing tour to Colombia, travelling to far flung parts of the country including San Andres and Providencia (both with endemic vireos), the far northwest for Sooty-capped Puffbird, the Chocó for the rare Humboldt's Sapphire and much more, the High Andes for a suite of rare endemics including Urrao Antpitta and then to the Amazon for Chestnut-crested Antbird and many more specials. Western Mexico saw me comfortably past the 1000 species and included the little-known Cinereous Owl, a much wanted lifer for myself and Birdquest! A brilliant clean up around Micronesia was only spoilt by the news that two forms on Kosrae had just been split - a good incentive to get back! Hawaii delivered some great Drepanids, seabirds and Bristle-thighed Curlews and this was followed by a short jaunt to Mallorca to celebrate Birdquest's 35th year in the game! I then settled down to a summer in the UK. My next trip was a family holiday to South Africa, where I wasn't allowed to relax. Egged on by two enthusiastic children and a demanding wife, I could not escape tour-leading mode, but enjoyed Black-footed Cats and Aardvarks!! The year was rounded off with two epic African adventures. An amazing trip around Tanzania produced more endemics than we even hoped for, with special mention going to Usambara Eagle Owl, Udzungwa Forest Partridge and Rufous-winged Sunbird. South Africa also produced all of the hoped-for endemics, but the highlight was our flufftail brace on the last afternoon when Buff-spotted and Red-chested Flufftails paraded before the group. The run up to Christmas produced my only Dusky Thrush of the year (unusually not in Japan), but I am pleased to say Blue Rock Thrush was already on my World Year List! So I ended the year on 2220, but also as the only one in my family not to have seen Siberian Accentor this year!! To see more of Pete's photos, have a look at his Facebook Page. To see what Pete will be up to in 2017
Pete Morris BirdQuestBlakiston’s Fish-Owl Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan February, 2016 from the Surfbirds galleries © Sam Woods
The year largely featured birds seen while on tour, guiding for Tropical Birding, save for some short, personal trips, (like Yellowstone). I managed to cover 5 continents, 10 countries, and was lucky to get over 1900 birds in doing so, while not aiming for a number!
My avian year opened with back-to-back Asian tours… Starting with Sri Lanka in January, on the former “Ceylon”, all island endemics were seen, (34 species), with highlights being exceptional views of the trickiest endemic, Sri Lanka Thrush and a day-roosting, bright ginger Serendib Scops-Owl. In February, I was fortunate to visit Japan for the first time. Wintertime Japan is about big and spectacular birds, and my personal highlights were seeing of the largest owls on Earth - Blakiston’s Fish-Owl fishing at night; watching hundreds of Steller’s Sea-Eagles in Rausu Harbour; and an incredible day bookended by vagrants - ghostly white Siberian Crane at the start, and a male Scaly-breasted Merganser at the end. March was bookended by a Costa Rica tour at the start, and Jamaica at the end. The former always provides extremely rewarding birding, with an Agami Heron, two Three-wattled Bellbirds, a glowing Turquoise Cotinga, an Ocellated Antbird attending an antswarm, and the usual Resplendent Quetzals and Scarlet Macaws providing the headlines. In Jamaica, all 29 endemics were seen, including regular Jamaican Todies and Red-billed Streamertails, and a memorable close-up of a Jamaican Owl being less expected. April and May was migration time in the USA, where I covered High Island (Texas), Whitefish and Tawas Points (Michigan), and Magee Marsh (Ohio) during a six-week spell. Warblers were the obvious story, with 38 species seen, including a self-found Connecticut Warbler at Magee. June-July was time for a return to Asia, this time to Malaysian Borneo. 5 pittas were seen among 40+ endemics, which co-starred Whitehead’s Trogon, Spiderhunter and Broadbill, and Bornean Bristlehead. Three frogmouths in three nights at Danum were unexpected too. In September, I led tours in Ecuador, (my current home); where the Andes brought plentiful birds, including Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Velvet-purple Coronet, Giant and Plain-backed Antpittas, Foothill and Rufescent Screech-Owls, and White-capped Tanager. October saw a return to the USA, with a visit to Yellowstone National Park, where my bird of the year featured alongside myriad mammals wandering the park, Great Grey Owl. November was time for Australia, with Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania covered and held avian highlights like prowling Southern Cassowary, male Golden Bowerbird, several Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfishers, day-roosting Lesser and Greater Sooty Owls, Superb and Albert’s Lyrebirds, Hooded Plover, the rare Regent Honeyeater, and Pink Robin. December was time for a return to South America and Ecuador, with several short birding periods bringing in late additions to my year list (tipping it beyond 1900 species), like Andean Condor and Giant Hummingbird during a trip to see a Spectacled Bear; and New Year’s Eve was spent in the Amazon, where an Agami Heron greeted us (but wasn’t new), though Black-capped Donacobius and Hoatzin were additions, just before the alcohol began to take over!
Download a PDF of Sam's full year report packed with amazing photographs!
Sam Woods Tropical BirdingMale Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Waigeo, Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, November 2016 from the Surfbirds galleries © David Bishop
To put it quite simply it was quite a year.
Any year in which virtually my last lifer was the duel-rediscovery of Madanga; an aberrant species whose true affinities are unclear and is only known from just four species, has to be pretty special. Undoubtedly THE highlight, though, of the year was the trip that my wife and I made to the Galapagos. Guided by the outstanding, world class Andy Swash, what could be better. It was indeed a dream come true; everything we both had hoped for and more. Displaying Waved Albatrosses were arguably the pinnacle of the trip but, there are so many buts ..... We also spent 24 days on both slopes of the north Ecuadorean Andes and finally the opportunity to obtain digital images on the bird continent; 9,000 images to wade through is not trivial. But oh those hummingbirds, Rufous Potoo, Crested Owl and unbelievable tanagers. As if all this was not enough I made my near annual expedition to western New Guinea for six weeks, this time exploring the Arfak Moutains. This was quickly followed by bird tours led to The Philippines – think 11 species of nightbirds in 14 days including Philippine Eagle-Owl; Borneo; Thailand; my beloved Bhutan and my 29th tour in which I added three new species to my kingdom’s list. Then a 36 day expedition, starting in Chengdu, Sichuan and looping through the back-blocks of the Tibetan Plateau via Wild Yak, Chiru and Roborovski’s Rosefinch, before concluding in southeast Tibet and much to my joy superlative views of Lord Derby’s Parakeet. It really doesn’t get any better. Oh yes and I finally added Rainbow Bee-eater to my property list. Now for 2017 and Ethiopia!
David Bishop Bird ToursSiberian Accentor, Shetland, Lund, Unst October 2016 from the Surfbirds galleries © Alan Lewis
A BIGBY, a Big Green Big Year is one where the birder, in a perfect world, doesn't use carbon fuelled transport. My name is Gary Prescott aka The Biking Birder and let me say straight away that I used a few ferries over my BIGBY. I went to Orkney, Shetland, Fair Isle, Mull and Coll, all by ferry. I went to the Isle of Wight to see the Greater Yellowlegs.
Ok, that said all other transport was by bicycle, my trusty 1984 Claude Butler Black Diamond, with a Brook's saddle of course, and my legs! Cycling just under 7,000 miles, my third year of biking Birder adventures saw me take back the European Big Green Big Year crown from Ponc Feliu Latorre of Barcelona. I agree with Ponc that his Green tour was 'greener' due to his not using a ferry but whatever, my tour included many other aspects of Green Living; food, housing and the like where my carbon footprint must have been way below that of any other European Green Birder.
I could never have dreamed of such an incredible year. The list of the better, if there is such a thing, I love them all, includes Hoopoe, Grey Phalarope, Lesser Scaup, Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egret, Dusky Warbler, American Wigeon, Cirl Bunting, Smew, Red-necked Grebe, five diver species including Pacific and White-billed; Glaucous, Franklin's, Yellow-legged, Ring-billed and Caspian gulls, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Chough, Rose-coloured Starling, Slavonian, Red-necked and Black-necked grebes, Green-winged Teal, Great Grey Shrike, Goshawk, Hawfinch, Firecrest, Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Long-tailed Duck, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Penduline Tits, Water Pipits, Crane, Lapland Buntings, Black-winged Stilts, Purple Heron, Savi's Warbler, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Little Bittern, Red-necked Phalarope, Bonaparte's Gull, American White-winged Scoter, Leach's Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, Fea's Petrel, Wryneck, Barred Warbler, Arctic Warbler, Booted Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Lanceolated Warbler, Siberian Accentor, Dusky Thrush, Blue Rock Thrush, Pied and Isabelline wheatears, Black-faced Bunting, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Raddes Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, White-winged Black Tern, Great Snipe, Pine Bunting, Bluethroat, Siberian Stonechat, Bean Goose, Little Auk, Pomarine Skua, Marsh Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, Richard's, Olive-backed and Pechora pipits, Pallid and Northern Harriers.
Yet the year was not only about the birds; it was about the people met. A plethora of personalities, wonderful, beautiful people keen to help, share and relate.
Gary Prescott Biking Birder Facebook Page | My BlogPallas's Warbler, Lincolnshire, Donna Nook October 2016 from the Surfbirds galleries © Glyn Sellors
Each year I submit my year list to the British Non-Motorised Year List ranking on Surfbirds, entering all the species I manage to see on walks starting from my home in Weymouth on the south coast of England. Living very close to the RSPB reserves of Radipole and Lodmoor, and an hour's walk away from Portland, I am in a very fortunate position indeed. This year I managed to see 175 species without getting in my car - or anyone else's! One bird, a superbly approachable Pallas's Warbler, required a walk of almost 10 miles but it was certainly worth it to get this video. In May a Great-spotted Cuckoo had me walking six miles to the far end of Portland but again it was worth it for excellent views of a lifer. Apart from these two rarities most of the rest of the list was seen within a mile or two of my house.
Bob Ford Bob's BlogYellow-billed Loon, France, from the Surfbirds galleries © Yves Dubois
I have never put in an effort at a full on big year, but in the process of leading 10 or so birding tours to destinations across North America I usually manage to tally over 500 species. This year was no different. Big highlights from 2016 included male Tufted Duck at Vancouver in January; Montezuma Quail in Arizona in May; Yellow-billed Loon on Haida Gwaii, BC in September; Juv. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in Vancouver in September; Yellow-footed Gull at the Salton Sea in September; Boreal Owl in Kelowna, BC, in March; Island Scrub-Jay on Santa Cruz Is, CA in September; Redwing in Victoria on Vancouver Island in January; a Red-throated Pipit at Tofino, BC in October; Lucy's Warbler in Kelowna, BC in November. Best sighting of the year however was my first son born in June.
Chris Charlesworth Avocet Tours