It's year 3 of birds!!
At the end of 2021 I decided that 2022 was going to be my first real attempt at a 'Big Year', or at least the biggest big year I could really practically do.
A Big Year in simple terms is where bird watchers/enthusiasts spend the year attempting to see and identify as many different species of birds in the wild as possible. There are leader tables that include the US & Canada and Worldwide birders but the traditional Big Year can end up being terrible for the environment, of which is home to the beautiful birds being spotted, due to the amount of travel undertaken, including numerous flights throughout the year.
That being said, my Big Year will probably seem like a very Little Year to many as I only stuck to my home counties as well as a couple of places we drove to on small holidays. I have neither the time nor money to dedicate a full 365 to doing nothing but travelling the width and breadth of the UK (or world!) in search of birds but I can still compete with myself and previous years haha!
Some people also count birds they have physically seen, however, I am only counting those who I have photographed. There were a few awesome bird encounters had in 2022 that were sadly not caught on camera, but that's just tough ha.
In 2020 my annual total was 34, with 4 more at 38 in 2021. See the birds I photographed in both 2020 and 2021 in the posts below. And scroll down for all the birds I photographed in May 2022.
At the end of 2021 I decided that 2022 was going to be my first real attempt at a 'Big Year', or at least the biggest big year I could really practically do.
A Big Year in simple terms is where bird watchers/enthusiasts spend the year attempting to see and identify as many different species of birds in the wild as possible. There are leader tables that include the US & Canada and Worldwide birders but the traditional Big Year can end up being terrible for the environment, of which is home to the beautiful birds being spotted, due to the amount of travel undertaken, including numerous flights throughout the year.
That being said, my Big Year will probably seem like a very Little Year to many as I only stuck to my home counties as well as a couple of places we drove to on small holidays. I have neither the time nor money to dedicate a full 365 to doing nothing but travelling the width and breadth of the UK (or world!) in search of birds but I can still compete with myself and previous years haha!
Some people also count birds they have physically seen, however, I am only counting those who I have photographed. There were a few awesome bird encounters had in 2022 that were sadly not caught on camera, but that's just tough ha.
In 2020 my annual total was 34, with 4 more at 38 in 2021. See the birds I photographed in both 2020 and 2021 in the posts below. And scroll down for all the birds I photographed in May 2022.
The Birds of 2020:
The Birds of 2021:
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Birds Photographed in May!
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Wood Pigeon
Grey Wagtail
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Wood Pigeon
Grey Wagtail
Dunnock
Great Tit
Robin
Blue Tit
Common Pigeon
Mallard
Moor Hen
Mute Swan
Coot
Release Dove/White Pigeon
Canary
Bantam Chicken
Pheasant
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Emden Goose
Turkey
Starling
Coal Tit
Total - 23
Yearly Total - 37
Great Tit
Robin
Blue Tit
Common Pigeon
Mallard
Moor Hen
Mute Swan
Coot
Release Dove/White Pigeon
Canary
Bantam Chicken
Pheasant
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Emden Goose
Turkey
Starling
Coal Tit
Total - 23
Yearly Total - 37
Carrion Crow
Herring Gull
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Blackbird
Black Headed Gull
Fulmar
European Robin
Common Starling
Rock Dove (Common Pigeon)
House Sparrow
Collared Dove
Wood Pigeon
Dunnock
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Cormorant
Jackdaw
Raven
Release Dove (White Rock Dove/Common Pigeon)
Goldfinch
Chaffinch
Wren
Blackbird
Partridge
Red Kite
Mallard
Grey Wagtail
Robin
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Coot
Canary
Bantam Chicken
Pheasant
Emden Goose
Turkey
Coal Tit
May brought out all the birds! Compared to the last couple of posts in this series, this is a super long one and I still didn't even include all the photos I took. To see more of water birds including baby Mallards and baby Coots pop on over to these blog posts:
The Birds of Exhibition Park - Part 1
The Baby Birds of Exhibition Park - Part 2
We started the month with a walk to Holywell Dene for Dawn Chorus Day (which also has it's own blog post - Dawn Chorus Day at Holywell Dene!) where we were lucky enough to spend time with lots of wonderful wildlife. May also includes two separate visits to Beamish, the aforementioned trip to Exhibition Park and as always we had lots of visitors in our gardens at home.
You'll see the bird eating and feeding its young, the little spiders from our garden waste bin. This is why we encourage all wildlife into our gardens - a variety of creatures promotes a healthy little ecosystem. Many people would have swept that spider nest off their bin, destroying them but their life is precious and has a purpose, and although it's obviously sad for anything to die, it is fascinating to watch the circle of life continue outside my window.
A total of 37 bird species were photographed in 5 months...how many do you think will be on the list at the full 12-month mark?
Until next time!
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