Review of my UK 2020 year list

In my second post on this blog (see here), I wrote about a typical year of wildlife watching. Like the majority of birders, I keep a UK annual list and during a typical calendar year, I usually manage to record between 210 and 230 species. At the time of creating this blog, my 2020 year to date total was 144 species following some very successful New Year and winter birding but in advance of the spring migration and arrival of summer migrants.

At the close of 2020, I am going to be a long way off even 200 species for the year for 2 reasons:

Firstly, I have missed or will miss those species for which the spring and early summer period is the only or the best chance of seeing them. Restrictions on travel mean that I will not be able to visit my usual sites in Essex and wider East Anglia to see them.

Secondly, and again related to travel restrictions, I will not be able to undertake my regular annual trips to Wales and the Scottish Highlands to see species which do not occur in Essex or only do so rarely on passage migration.

Nonetheless, my 3 local sites plus my lockdown window have produced 8 welcome additions to my UK 2020 year list which now stands at 152 species:

Blackcap in the area around St. Nicholas Church on 26th March 2020

Grey Wagtail at Gloucester Park on 19th April 2020

Lesser Whitethroat at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve on 24th April 2020

Common Tern at Gloucester Park on 26th April 2020

Swift from my lockdown window on 27th April 2020

Common Whitethroat at Gloucester Park on 30th April 2020

House Martin from my lockdown window on 19th May 2020

If I hadn't already had the amazing sight of a Swallow at Abberton Reservoir on New Years Day, the first of 2020 for this species would also have been from my lockdown window on 19th April 2020.

💚🦆 🦉 🌼 🌳💚

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature