January 2018 was a particularly difficult month for me. My brother passed away so suddenly and unexpectedly on the 5th and so the rest of the month, apart from a week in Bulgaria that had been prior planned, has been spent taking care of his estate, arranging the funeral and doing those awful jobs that […]

During the mid-part of January 2018 I made a visit to the Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria and Romania. I must thank Chris from Wise Birding and Dimiter, his local representative in Bulgaria, for the arrangements, for the friendship and for helping to make this trip happen for me. It came at a most awkward

The 5th January 2018 kicked off with the first year & patch listing. There is nothing better than finding a good bird on your local patch and I did exactly that, a fine male Hawfinch at Staunton Harold Reservoir. Along with a few Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, Lesser Redpoll, Siskin, Goosander and Goldeneye, I managed to

A flock of 40 odd Redpolls, consisting of Lesser, Common and a single Coue’s Arctic, had been faithful to a small garden on Hazlewood Common near Aldeburgh in Suffolk. We had planned our New Year celebrations around a trip to Dunwich, staying at a really nice pub and so this coincided perfectly for a visit