Charleton 10k 2016 Birding Awards

It's the start of a new year and its time to put on the Gucci birding jackets and Luois Vuitton binocular cases to attend the inaugural Charleton 10k 2016 Birding Awards.
These awards have been decided by a committee of one and in future years this committee will be open to every conceivable type of bribery and corruption.

Birding Event of the Year.

Has to be the numbers of Yellow -browed Warblers which passed through in the autumn as written in a previous post http://charletonbirding.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/rise-of-yellow-browed-warbler_10.html
One day there were so many calling I thought I had tinnitus and when I got home and could not hear any in my garden I thought I had gone deaf.

Birding Non-Event of the Year

When the unprecedented numbers of Yellow-browed Warblers arrived on the east coast in the autumn we received a fair share of the onward movement. When good numbers of Bluetails and other Sibes ( White's Thrushes, Siberian Accentors etc ) similarly arrived we waited with baited breath but nothing came. The last two weeks of October into early November should have produced a mega sibe locally but nothing turned up better than a Pallas's Warbler.

Pallas's Warbler, Start Point, 24th October 2016 ( Michael Brooking )

 

Patch of the Year

 

Has to be the brilliant still relatively new Devon Wildlife Trust Reserve at South Efford Marsh. Some great birds this year especially in autumn. Highlights included a Great White Egret in March and in Autumn a couple Wrynecks, Pectoral Sandpiper and new to the 10k patch a superb adult Spotted Sandpiper. Add to this a Woodchat Shrike and a couple of Cattle Egrets and you have a great year.

Twitch of the Year

 

No doubt about this one, the obliging Desert Wheatear at Thurlestone which must have been seen by many hundreds of birders since it was first found in early November. Elusive at first when it eventually settled for a prolonged stay on Leasfoot Beach it drew a steady stream of admirers. As it has stayed into the new year it could be twitch of the year 2017 as well



Desert Wheatear, Leasfoot Beach, Thurlestone, 29th November 2016 ( Mike Langman )

 

Bird of the Year

 

This is the big one. Unless I've forgotten something there were only three main candidates.

 

3rd Place, The aforementioned Thurlestone Desert Wheatear. First found on his garage roof by Mike Passman late on the afternoon of 8th November, it then disappeared until he saw it again at home on 13th November. Eventually it settled down on Leasfoot Beach for a long stay  into 2017. Probably bird of the year in the 10k patch for most people but only 3rd place as there have been at least 2 previous local records.

http://charletonbirding.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/desert-wheatear_3.html
                                       

2nd Place, a new bird for the 10k patch, a superb adult Spotted Sandpiper at South Efford Marsh from 6th to at least 14th August. Never easy to see and usually quite distant from the hide on South Efford it disappeared for long spells presumably going out on the Avon Estuary ( where it was originally seen on 6th by Rod Bone ). About the 12th record for Devon so one locally was overdue.

 

                                                Spotted Sandpiper, South Efford Marsh, August 2016 ( Barry Rankine )

                                 

 

2016 Bird of the Year

Prawle Point Seawatch

Seawatch from 7.05am till 11.50 in 4-5 going 6 , wind direction S/SSE/S to SW with rain, heavy at times, the highlight being a Black-Browed Albatross seen very close gliding majestically east at 8.15am.!(No signal from the Point so was unable to alert other seawatchers till returned to the village at 12.30)

Also 2 Cory's ,1 Sooty,16 Balearic Shearwaters. And 2 Arctic Skuas and 1 Bonxie. 3 Whimbrel, 27 Kittiwakes ,2 Common Scoter and 6 Fulmars made up the rest of the cast.

Posted August 19th at 7:35 pm by Tony Marchese in Scarce / Rare Birds & Passage Counts

 

The above is taken from the Devon Birds News Blog. It must be every British seawatchers dream to have a Black-browed Albatross glide by and that is exactly what happened to dedicated Prawle Point seawatcher Tony Marchese at 08:15 on 19th August, I would say more of a Supernova than a highlight, and as if 2 Cory's Shearwaters was not good enough ! There was a spate of Albatross sightings around UK waters around this time and it was thought at least 2 birds may have been involved. Tony's bird was the first in Devon for over 50 years, the only previous record being off Morte Pt., N. Devon on 25th April 1965. Would have taken a hell of a bird to beat this one so well done Tony and well deserved for all the times you spend getting drenched seawatching at Prawle when you don't see anything.

 

Unsung Heroes

 

Finally there should be an unsung hero award to be shared amongst the many people who gave up a lot of their time to produce the brilliant 182 page 2015 Devon Bird Report, especially the county recorders Julia Harris and Steve Waite. Thanks to Kevin Ryland for taking over from Steve going into 2017. All the section writers, checkers etc deserve gratitude from people like me who just pick it up off the floor when it arrives and read it. What a brilliant achievement for a group of volunteers to get together and somehow manage to get the report collated, edited and into our homes before the following year has ended, thank you and take a bow all of you.