Linda and I got together through birding (well: twitching to be honest!) and most of our close friends are birders. Linda, Brian, Norman and I try to get a few days away together every year and, as regular readers will know, Peter and Sue are also very keen: they must have huge world lists, given that they've visited some amazing locations: Ethiopia, Egypt, Easter Island, Costa Rica....
My UK life list, as you'll know, stands at 439 at the moment: I fully anticipate creaking to 450 eventually, but, since I rarely travel outside East Anglia for a bird these days, that might take a while! What struck me, as I was searching for 'possibles' among the empty tick-boxes on the list, was just how many species I've only seen once. I really do wonder (given my self-imposed restrictions on travel!) whether some of these may never be repeated.
Redhead
Canvasback
Purple Swamphen
Great Bustard
Sandhill Crane
Stilt Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Red-necked Stint
Greater Sand Plover
Oriental Pratincole
Ancient Murrelet
Ivory Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Franklin's Gull
Lesser Crested Tern
Lesser Short-toed Lark
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Spectacled Warbler
Desert Warbler
River Warbler
Paddyfield Warbler
Black & White Warbler
Red-eyed Vireo
Snowy Owl
Gyr Falcon
Naumann's Thrush
Red-throated Thrush
Rock Thrush
Alpine Accentor
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Yellow-breasted Bunting
Pine Bunting
Lark Sparrow
So that's 34 species I've only seen on one occasion: there are a few more I've only seen twice or three times... Of these, I reckon Slender-billed Gull is most likely to re-occur, given climate change and all that. On the other hand, I've seen four or five Sociable Plovers, but I won't be holding my breath for another!
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