In 2012 I was lucky enough to be able to visit Suriname, Yucatan, NW India, Ghana, Finland, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, NE Brazil and Southern India and the Andamans. An amazing year with many highlights.

All in the Americas (US, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina)

My final tour of the year to UAE and Oman yielded up a nice host of year birds, many of which were great records for where they were found: Koel, Taiga Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Little Bunting, Common Crane, Demoiselle Crane, and others, along with the myriad of regional specialties, many of which I had seen in February. Thanksgiving holiday with friends in Southern California added nearly all the California specialties, including the Gnatcatcher. Amazing tour to Guyana picked up many special birds including the Cock-of-the-Rock, Crimson Fruitcrow, Purple-breasted and Pompadour Cotingas, Red-and-Black Grosbeak, Dusky Purpletuft, Blood-colored Woodpecker, White-bellied Piculet, Black Manakin, and some great mammals including White-faced Saki, Brown-bearded Saki, Giant Anteater, and Ocelot! Photo tour in Ecuador cleaned up a few species missed in May: Wattled Guan, Peruvian Antpitta, Scarlet-and-White Tanager, Scarlet-browed Tanager, Dusky-faced Tanager, and others. BirdFair in Rutland, UK this August!!! Got a few species in and around the area. Beartooth Plateau, Wyoming USA: Just picked up several mammals, plus Black Rosy-Finch. NW USA: picked up some fine birds in WA state from Seattle including a few Alcids, Sooty Grouse, Red-breasted Sapsucker, White-headed Woodpecker, Hermit Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, and others. Northern Ecuador Tour: 667 species SEEN. 5 species Fruiteaters, 60+ species hummers including Black-breasted Puffleg(!!), 11 species antpitta, etc.....At Magee Marsh, Ohio: Philly Vireo, Alder Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and several warbler species including a beautiful male KIRTLAND'S WARBLER(!!!) seen my over 25o birders. In SE US: Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Painted Bunting, Bachman's Sparrow, Many Wood-Warbler species including some great nests! Recently in Cuba: All endemics and near-endemics seen wondefully, except Zapta Rail and Cuban Kite (didn't go to Moa). In Jamaica: All Endemics and near-endemics seen very well. In UAE/Oman: Hypocolius, Eversmann's Redstart, Hume's Owl, Variable Wheatear, Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak, Sociable Plover, 4 species of Sandgrouse, Masked Shrike, Persian Shearwater, Jouanin's Petrel, and loads of other great birds, plus Ruppel's Sand Fox, Arabian Jackal, and Arabian Oryx. Chile in January: 4 species of Thalassarche Albatross, Juan Fernandez Petrel, Stejneger's Petrel, Masatierra Petrel, All the Tapaculo species recorded in the country, 3 species of Tinamou, Rufous-tailed Hawk, Chilean Hawk, and the best - Magellanic Woodpecker

Updated Feb 2012. Sweden,Burma,Ecuador,Cameroon, Bahamas, USA, South Africa and Indonesia.

Another diverse year with some great tours to many places. Numerous highlights, too many to list here. Currently in Southern Ecuador having just seen El Oro Prakeet, stunning Long-wattled Umbrellabirds and a nice tame El Oro Tapaculo. Roll on the new year!

Essentially only in the old world. Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, PNG, South Africa, California and SE China

Worked it out at long last and was pleasantly surprised. IOC checklist. Entirely Old World- Australia, Japan, Cambodia, Ghana, UK, Uganda, PNG, New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Madagascar

Elliot's Pheasant, White-necklaced Partridge, Moustached Laughingthrush, Oriental Stork, Chinese Merganser, Reeve's Pheasant, Baikal Teal, Japanese Reed Bunting, Streaked Berrypecker, Bali Myna, Javan Plover, Rusty-chested Whistler, Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeon, Lemon-bellied White-eyeGrey Falcon, Black Grasswren, Western Crowned Pigeon, Wilson's and Red Bird of Paradise, Kofiau Paradise-Kingfisher, Kofiau Monarch, Wallace's Standardwing, Sulawesi Dwarf-Kingfisher, Javan Scops-Owl, Javan Cochoa, Sunda Coucal,South Georgia Pipit, Chevron-breasted Babbler, Solitary Snipe, Beautiful Sibia, Beesley's Lark, Peter's Twinspot, Bar-tailed Trogon, Mindanao and Visayan Wattled Broadbill, Philippine Eagle, Ashy Ground-thrush, Palawan Peacock-Pheasant, Philippine Eagle-Owl

29 Dec. Taiga Bean Goose - a lifer to end the year. 22 Dec. Med Gull which I haven't seen in 35 years will probably be my last new bird of the year. 4 Dec. - Ivory-breasted Pitta, Sombre Kingfisher, flocks of Fieldfare to end the year. 14 Oct. - Rufous Scrub-bird, Eastern Bristlebird, Pilotbird, Powerful Owl, Parma Wallaby. 20 Sept. Sumatra - Buttikoffer's Babbler; 8 White-winged Wood-ducks and sev. Lesser False Vampire Bats; 4 Aug. Eastern Indonesia - Kofiau Monarch and Paradise-Kingfisher, displaying Wallace's Standardwing, Green-backed, Sulawesi Dwarf, Lilac-marked and Ruddy kingfishers all in one day! Bear Cuscus and Spectral Tarsier to round things off. 17 July: Umpteen Orang utans; loads of rain and a Blue-headed Pitta at the last gasp 10 June: My first trip to Mongolia -- what a place! Aside from the country itself, highlights incl. Swan Goose - many; Henderson's Ground-Jay; Andrew's Three-toed Jerboa and Argali. 3 May: A little local birding in Australia, including a lovely male Rose Robin in my garden! 1 May: Short trip to Bhutan produced the usual Satyr Tragopans, Monal etc AND a Bay Owl - first for Bhutan! 23 March: Vietnam - Black-crowned Barwing; 250 km range extension for Grey-crowned Crocias; 'scope views Orange-breasted Laughingthrush; First Vietnam record Booted Eagle. 3 Mar. A wonderful return to Cambodia including Seima WLS. Some of the top birds included: Giant and 9 White-shouldered ibis; Green Peafowl, Orang-necked Partridge, Spotted Wood-Owl, Mekong Wagtail and Black-shanked Douc Langur. 15 Feb. Exploring northern Aceh, Sumatra - Blue-masked Leafbird, Shiny Whistling-Thrush; 4 Feb. Despite the floods managed 80+ spp in the country to the west of Armidale incl. Square-tailed Kite. 28 Jan. Blue-billed Duck at Dangers Lagoon (a nearby wetland) is the best species to date on my home patch. 25 Jan. Despite the rain went for a walk on my property and added several more species. 24 Jan. Added a handful of birds as I made my way home to my property in Australia incl. Double-barred Finch; 20 Jan. It's only taken 40 yrs but at last a much desired Smew (a pair) at Minsmere. 12 Jan. Got the year off to a great start with superlative views of Yellow-headed Picathartes plus African Piculet, displaying Rufous-sided Broadbill, Tessman's Flycatcher, Red-chested Owlet.

Thailand in Feb 12 - Highlights included Mrs. Hume's, Grey Peacock and Silver Pheasants, Malayan Night Heron, Blyth's, Hodgson's and Gould's Frogmouths, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshank, Spot-bellied Eagle Owl, Giant Nuthatch, Chinese Egret, White-rumped Falcon, Asian Stubtail and Black-breasted Thrush to name just a few (an incredible 559 species recorded). Also Cameroon in Apr 12 - highlights were 2 seperate sightings of Mount Kupe Bushshrike, Savile's and Arabian Bustards, 50 minutes with 4 Grey-necked Rockfowl, Rachel's Malimbe, Long-tailed Hawk, Adamawa Turtle Dove, Spotted Thrush Babbler, 6 Quail-plover, Cricket Warbler, Black-bellied Seedcracker and Black Spinetail to name just a few of the 579 species recorded. Trips also around Cape Town and just returned from Namibia, Botswana and Zambia where highlights included all possible endemics on the route including Herero Chat and Bare-cheeked Babbler, 7 Caspian Plover in Etosha, all 10 possible owls on the trip including Pel's Fishing Owl in the delta and Rufous-bellied Tit and Sharp-tailed Starling in the Caprivi. Just back from Ghana where highlights included Nimba Flycatcher, Frest Penduline Tit, Spot-breasted ibis, Akun Eagle Owl and Red-chested Owlet, Green-tailed Bristlebill, Congo Serpent Eagle, African Piculet and Long-tailed Hawk to mention just a few

Madagascar, 4 weeks Canada, 8 weeks east Africa, 6 weeks Cameroon and 6 weeks Ethiopia

trips include New Zealand, Western Pacific Odyssey, Japan, Australia, Northern Peru and Ecuador, plus living in Fiji: Highlights: Banded Ground Cuckoo, Peruvian Antpitta, Bicolored Antvireo, Long-whiskered Owlet, Scarlet-banded Barbet, Pale-billed and Ochre-fronted Antpittas: Fiji Petrel, Long-legged Warbler, Pink-billed Parrotfinch; Painted Buttonquail, Powerful Owl, Ground Parrot, Rufous Scrub-bird, Eastern Bristelbird; Pleske's Warbler, Ijima's Leaf Warbler, Marsh Grassbird, Short-tailed Albatross, Beck's Petrel, Pycroft's Petrel, Heinroth's Shearwater, New Zealand Storm-Petrel, Polynesian Storm-Petrel, Roviana Rail, Kagu, Japanese Murrelet, Meek's Lorikeet, Crow Honeyeater, Kulambangra Monarch, White-winged Fantail, Truk White-eye; North Island and Little Spotted Kiwis, Black Stilt, Malherbe's Parakeet, Yellowhead, Kokako;

Nov: Australia - Victoria and Tasmania, 200 birds including a great day with Simon Starr (Firetail tours) with 123 species in 24 hours. Aug/Sept: Colombia with Trevor Ellery, over 600 birds, 450 new for the year, including 8 Tapaculos and 9 Antpittas. May: Scottish Crossbill at last! Apr: A quick weekend in Marrakech gets a few Atlas Mountain birds inc. Levaillant's Woodpecker. March: Belize with Paul Willoughby - a great trip to an excellent and un-frequented country with really nice forest - 280 more inc. Orange-breasted Falcon, Solitary Eagle, Stygian Owl, Tody Motmot and Rufous Piha. Feb: A very productive week in Sri Lanka with Chinthaka De Silva got all the endemics and around 190 in total. A few lifers locally in Sussex inc. Parrot Crossbill, Bewick's Swan and Rough-legged Buzzard.

Visits to Jordan, India, Peru and Texas

Australia 223, Philippines 184, Malaysia 142, Belgium 7, Netherlands 65, Germany 19, Costa Rica 530, Hawaii 42

Peru / Ecuador Ireland

Peru October included Iquitos Gnatcatcher, Nocturnal and Wattled Curassows, Allpahuayo and Black-tailed Antbirds, Ancient Antwren and lots of river island specialities. All in Colombia including visits to the Fuertes Parrot Reserve where around 15 parrots were seen along with Black-thighed Puffleg and both Grey-breasted and Black-billed Mountain Toucans. A trip to Las Tangaras added plenty of Choco specialities including both Bangsia Tanagers, Alto Pisonus Tapaculo, Orange-breasted Fruiteater, Cloud-forest Pygmy Owl, Indigo Flowerpiercer and Munchique Woodwren. Colibri del Sol produced the usual big 4 of Fenwick's Antpitta, Paramillo Tapaculo, Chestnut-bellied Flowerpiercer and Dusky Starfrontlet while day roosting Rufous-Banded Owl and a couple of Rusty-faced Parrots were also nice.. I spent the whole of January on the road in Colombia with a short trip to San Andres. Highlights included Chestnut-capped Piha, Multicoloured Tanager, Red-bellied Grackle and Ornate Hawk-Eagle at the Piha Reserve on the 1st. San Andres produced the usual large nos of migrants including such Colombian rarities as Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Yellow-rumped and Yellow-throated Warblers and Forster's Tern. Several trips to Santa Marta produced pretty much all the endemics, including the young male Black-backed Thornbill which continues to visit the feeders at El Dorado Lodge. The most recent highlight was a perched pair of Military Macaws in the Santa Marta foothills. I calculated the total from memory so it will probably increase as I review my notes.

After 6 tours this year in Colombia including Mitu, Santa Marta area, 3 andean ranges, Magdalena Valley

Kenya (Oct 12) 595 species, France (Nov 12), Malaysia (Nov 12)

Netherlands, Ethiopia and South Africa,Sri Lanka

UK (236) + N.Ecuador (750). The thousand is slipping away but a bird-filled year all the same! Highlights - In Ecuador, Black-breasted Puffleg, Stygian Owl, Andean, Rufous and Long-tailed Potoos, White-rimmed Brush-finch, Military Macaw, Columbian Screech-owl, Choco Toucan, Barred Antthrush, Beautiful Jay, Zig-zag Heron, Yellow-throated Spadebill, Black-tipped Cotinga, Scarlet-and-white Tanager, Rose-faced Parrot, Moss-backed Tanager, Indigo Flowerpiercer, Black Solitaire, White-plumed Antbird and Connecticut Warbler. In the UK Sykes's Warbler, Short-billed Dowitcher, Orphean Warbler, Cream-coloured Courser and Common Yellowthroat stand out.

Last upd: 31-Dec-12. Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.

UK, Guyana, Southern Ecuador, Biscay & Madeira. Latest: American Pipit, Long-tailed Duck & Red-necked Grebe Dec.

Finland, Sweden, Iceland, USA, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Thailand and China were visited in 2012.

England (234), NW India (294) and Ghana (370).

in the last 3 months in E. Africa , 18 at bogoria , including Bathawk, N Red Bishop,14 in TZ , inclBanded Green Sunbird, Cabanis' Bunting, finally 11 in nakuru , incl Feruginous Duck,Gdwall n W Reef Heron

OZ - 410; Kenya - 150+; NZ - 50+; Penang Malaysia - 20.

209 in Europe, 260 in Vietnam/Cambodia and 95 on a weekend in Nicaragua. Highlights: Indochinese Fulvetta on Bi Doup/VN, Chestnut-crowned Bush-Warbler on Fansipan (1st for vietnam), White-winged Duck in Cambodia, Highland Guam in Nicaragua, Greater Spotted Eagle in Switzerland.

26/09/12 Kenya and Australia. Australasian Bittern, Black-fronted Dotterel, NZ Tomtit, Fairy Tern, Reef Heron, Banded Rail, N.Z. Storm Petrel 275 lifers.

All in Thailand - Latest; Christmas Island Frigatebird

UK, Myanmar, Germany, Sumatra, Russia and China so far, with highlights over 60 sightings of Spoon-billed sandpiper and several Nordmann's Greenshank (Myanmar and Sumatra); Middle-spotted Woodpecker, Black Stork and Monty Harrier in Germany and Buffy Fishowl in Sumatra, SBS in Russia too, Great Snipe, Ivory Gull and Kittlizt Murrelet in summer plus many more. China in october with over 60 SBS sightings, 200 Nordmann's Greenshank, 1400 Saunder's Gulls, Mugimaki Flycatcher. Japanese Thrush and Tristram's Bunting new

UK, China and Thailand.

Most recent additions came from India and included Tiger, Sloth Bear, Jungle Cat, and Fruit Bat

Britain: snow bunting, dartford warbler, crossbill, spoonbill, short-billed dowitcher, grey phalarope, Red kite, glossy ibis, spotted crake, Montagu's Harrier, ferruginous duck, great white egret, garganey, bittern, buff breasted sandpiper, puffin, short eared and little owl, chough, white stork, red-backed shrike. Jordan: lesser kestrel, sinai rose finch, short toed snake eagle, honey buzzard, wryneck, nightingale. Kenya: Egyptian vulture, Verreaux's eagle, pygmy falcon, Somali bee-eater, stone partridge, golden pipit, Hemprich's hornbill, montane oriole, African cuckoo, Hartlaub's turaco. Latest: Siberian stonechat, Portland Bill 25th October

Only Aussie birding, SEQ plus 3 weeks in Adelaide and Riverland,SA, incl a lifer Scarlet-chested Parrot

Latest: (Dec 18) Rose-coloured Starling, Exminster, Devon, UK. Highlights include Griffon and Black Vultures on Mallorca, Black-shouldered Kite in the Algarve, Purple Swamphens in Spain and Portugal, Red-breasted Goose in Devon, UK. Updated to reflect Green Woodpecker split.

ABA Area (West Virginia, Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio). Pink-footed Goose (NJ), Hooded Crane (IN), Black-tailed Gull (OH), Calliope Hummingbird (First Indiana record)

Abyssinian Roller African Darter African Green Pigeon African Grey Hornbill African Jacana African Mourning Dove African Palm Swift African Paradise Flycatcher African Pied Hornbill African Spoonbill African Thrush Alpine Swift Audoins Gull Avocet Barbados Bullfinch Barn Swallow Bearded Barbet Beautiful Sunbird Black-billed Wood Dove Black-crowned Night Heron Black-winged Red Bishop Black-winged Stilt Black-headed Heron Black Crake Black Egret Black Headed Gull Black Tern Blackcap Blackcap Babbler Blue-bellied Roller Blue-brested Kingfisher Blue-spotted Wood Dove Blue Tit Brambling Bronze Mannikin Brown Babbler Bullfinch Buzzard Canada Goose Carib Grackle Carrion Crow Caspian Tern Cattle Egret Chaffinch Chiffchaff Coal Tit Collared Dove Common Blackbird Common Bulbul Common Greenshank Common Ground-dove Common Kingfisher Common Moorhen Common Redshank Common Sandpiper Common Swift Common Tern Common Whitethroat Coot Cormorant Crested Coot Dunnock Fine-spotted Woodpecker Fork-tailed Drongo Gadwall Garden Warbler Giant Kingfisher Glossy Ibis Goldcrest Goldfinch Gray Kingbird Great Black-backed Gull Great Crested Grebe Great Egret Great Spotted Woodpecker Great Tit Great White Egret Greater Flamingo Greater Honeyguide Green Sandpiper Green Wood Hoopoe Green-throated Carib Greenfinch Grey-backed Camaroptera Grey-headed Gull Grey-headed Sparrow Grey Heron Grey Lag Goose Grey Wagtail Grey Woodpecker Gull-billed Tern Hamerkop Herring Gull Hooded Vulture House Martin House Sparrow Intermediate Egret Jackdaw Jay Kestrel Lanner Falcon Lapwing Laughing Dove Laughing Gull Lavender Waxbill Lesser Antillean Bullfinch Lesser Black-backed Gull Linnet Little Bee Eater Little Egret Little Grebe Little Owl Little Ringed Plover Little Swift Little Tern Long-tailed Cormorant Long-tailed Glossy Starling Long-tailed Nightjar Long Tailed Tit Magnificant Frigatebird Magpie Mallard Mandarin Marsh Sandpiper Marsh Tit Mediterranean Gull Mistle Thrush Mottled Spinetail Mouse-brown Sunbird Mute Swan Namaqua Dove Northern Red Bishop Nuthatch Osprey Oystercatcher Palm-nut Vulture Peregrine Falcon Pheasant Pied Crow Pied Kingfisher Pied Wagtail Pied-winged Swallow Piapiac Pochard Purple Glossy Starling Purple Heron Purple Swamphen Red-billed Firefinch Red-billed Hornbill Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu Red-chested Swallow Red-eyed Dove Red Kite Red Legged Partridge Reed Bunting Reed Warbler Robin Rook Rose-ringed Parakeet Rufous-crowned Roller Sacred Ibis Sand Martin Sandwich Tern Scaly-necked Pigeon Sedge Warbler Senegal Coucal Senegal Parrot Senegal Thick-knee Shrika Skylark Slender-billed Gull Song Thrush Sparrowhawk Speckled Pigeon Splendid Sunbird Spotless Starling Spur-winged Plover Squacco Heron Starling Stock Dove Striated Heron Tawny Owl Treecreeper Tufted Duck Variable Sunbird Verreaux's Eagle Owl Village Weaver Vinaceous Dove Wattled Plover Western Grey Plantain-eater Western Reef Heron Whimbrel Whiskered Tern White-backed Night Heron White-billed Buffalo Weaver White-faced Whistling Duck White Wagtail Willow Tit Willow Warbler Wire-tailed Swallow Wood Sandpiper Woodchat Shrike Woodpigeon Wren Yellow-billed Oxpecker Yellow-billed Shrike Yellow-billed Kite Yellow-crowned Gonolek Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Yellow-legged Gull Yellow Wagtail Yellowhammer Zenaida Dove Zitting Cisticola

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Manx Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black Tern, Red-necked Phalarope, Parasitic Jaeger, Great Horned Owl, Clay-colored Sparrow, Swainson's Thrush, Wood Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Bald Eagle, Hermit Thrush, American Tree Sparrow, Northern Lapwing, American Pipit, Little Egret, Black-headed Gull 7/28/2012 - 12/2/2012

Update 17 Jan, excl heard-onlies. Highlights are Short-toed Eagle, 6 Black-shouldered Kite, 26 Great Bustard, Great Skua, Razorbill, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Dartford Warbler & Azure-winged Magpie (S Portugal, Jan); Long-tailed Duck, 3 Iceland & Glaucous Gull, Greater Yellowlegs (Netherlands).

Sharp-shinned Hawk,Wrentit,Wood Duck Hermit Thrush, California Quail,American crow,Northern Mocking bird,California Scrub Jay,Snow Goose,Tundra Swan,Nuttall's Woodpecker,Oak Titmouse,American Robin,Northern Flicker,Greater White-fronted Goose,Cedar Waxwing,Yellow-rumped Warbler,Belted Kingfisher,Turkey Vulture, Anna's Hummingbird, Spotted Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco(Oregon),House finch,Eurasian Collared Dove,Great-Horned Owl, White-tailed Kite, Song Sparrow, Sora,Marsh Wren,Virginia Rail,Lincoln's Sparrow,Ruddy Duck, Redhead, Common Moorhen, Western Bluebird, American Pipit, Yellow-billed Magpie, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Shoveler,Mallard, Rock Pigeon, European Starling,Canvasback, Gadwall, Bufflehead, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Great-blue Heron, Brewer's Blackbird,Killdeer,Golden-crowned Sparrow,Red-tailed Hawk.Black Phoebe,California Towhee, White-crowned sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, American Coot,Canada Goose, Acorn Woodpecker, Mourning Dove,White-breasted Nuthatch, Ring-billed Gull, Northern Harrier, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,House Sparrow, Pied-billed Grebe, Lark Sparrow, Say's Phoebe, Bewick's wren, Cinnamon Teal, Swamp Sparrow,Red-shouldered Hawk,Spotted Sandpiper,American Kestrel,American Widgeon,Long-billed curlew,Greater Yellowlegs,Red-winged Blackbird,Cackling Goose, Northern Pintail,Hutton's Vireo,White-throated Sparrow

Includes U.S., Peru, Kenya, UAE, U.K., and a few from Mexico City. Best bird: Junin Rail.