End of Year Review 2017

For many people it's traditional to do an end of year review about whatever projects they undertake in their work or private lives. I've never really felt the need to do this before, but 2017 was such a special birding and wildlife year for me photographically that this time, I will.

January

• Dusky Thrush
• Crossbills

February

• Bought 500mm lens
• Norfolk Trip - Bluethroat, Crane, Egyptian Goose etc

March

• Bittern
• Slimbridge and Forest of Dean - Blue Rock Thrush, Hawfinch, Bewick etc
• Mull Trip - WTSE, GE, Otter etc

April

• Black-necked Grebes
• Broken Lens

May

• Grasshopper Warbler 
• Bee-eater
• Nightjar

June

• Farne Islands Trip

July

• Caspian Tern

August

• Purple Heron

September

• Barn Owl at Cresswell

October

• Red-breasted Flycatcher
• Red-backed Shrike
• Long-billed Dowitcher

November

• Donna Nook Trip
• Goldcrest

December

• Chough
• Hawfinch
• Grey Male Hen Harrier
• Marsh Harrier
• Bittern

Lifers in 2017

• Dusky Thrush (Beeley, Derbyshire, January)
• Eastern Black Redstart (Skinningrove, North Yorkshire, February) - Subspecies or race
• 'Black Brant' Brent Goose (Kilnseas, Spurn, February) - Subspecies or race
• Pallid Harrier (Welwick Marsh, near Spurn, February)
• Bluethroat (Willow Tree Fen, Lincolnshire, February)
• Glaucous Gull (Winterton-on-Sea, February)
• Crane (Hicking Broad, February)
• Egyptian Goose (Hickling Broad, February)
• Pine Bunting (Dunnington, near York, March)
• Goshawk (Wykeham Raptor Viewpoint, March)
• Blue Rock Thrush (Stow-on-the-Wold, March) - possible escape
• Eurasian White-fronted Goose (Slimbridge WWT, March)
• White-tailed Eagle (Mull, March)
• Black-crowned Night Heron (Shrewsbury, May)
• Grasshopper Warbler (Bickershaw, May)
• Bee-eater (East Leake, Notts, May)
• Nightjar, (Budby, Notts, May)
• Caspian Tern (RSPB St. Aidan's, July)
• Purple Heron (RSPB Leighton Moss, August)
• Leach's Petrel (New Brighton,Wirral, September) - distant
• Manx Shearwater (Leasowe, Wirral, September) - distant
• Red-breasted Flycatcher (Kilnsea, Spurn, October)
• Red-backed Shrike (Easington, Spurn, October) - brief
• Long-billed Dowitcher (Banks Marsh, October) - distant