Holmethorpe 2010 Bird Race … Sunday 25th April 2010

Our annual bird race took place on Sunday, a rather mad affair in as much as, although it is always planned as a dawn to dusk event, there are those who seem to register dawn as being a lot earlier than it is in reality.



I received this email from Gordon Hay: "3.08 a.m. its raining just as I am about to go owling!!!"

Are you completely mad, Gordon? Well, perhaps not, as he managed to locate a hooting Tawny Owl, the first one heard at Holmethorpe this year. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t read that email until the evening!


Steve Gale and Gordon Hay just after day-break.

The list of birds logged throughout the day was pretty good:

Great Crested Grebe
Little Grebe
Cormorant
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Shelduck
Egyptian Goose
Mandarin
Mallard
Gadwall
Shoveler
Teal
Red-crested Pochard
Tufted Duck
Ruddy Duck
Marsh Harrier (female – Gordon Hay)
Common Buzzard (10)
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Hobby (2)
Pheasant
Moorhen
Coot
Little Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Common Sandpiper
Greenshank (Thomas Blumire)
Whimbrel (Des Ball)
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Tern (4)
Feral Pigeon
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Tawny Owl (Gordon Hay)
Little Owl
Swift
Ring-necked Parakeet
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Pied Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Wheatear
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Blackbird
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Lesser Whitethroat
Common Whitethroat
Grasshopper Warbler (Neil Randon)
Reed Warbler
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Goldcrest
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Magpie
Jay
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Reed Bunting
Yellowhammer

A total of 88 species (the record is 91 species).

Notable omissions from this year’s list were Little Egret, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Common Snipe and Meadow Pipit, which were all expected although Kingfishers have become very scarce locally since the freeze-up earlier in the year.

Although I do not have all the competitors lists in yet, it would appear that Gordon Hay is this year’s winner with a provisional total of 83 species (yet to be confirmed by him).
Steve Gale was close behind with 77 species.
I crept into third place with 73 species.
Thomas and Jerry notched up a respectable 65 species for fourth place.

My thanks to all who took part.

Graham