Malta year List 2011

With 2011 come to an end and we start looking forward to start a new year with lots of birding, here is my year list for this year! A year which will be remembered  apart from amazing birding experiences in Spain and Norway, for some good birding and ringing in Malta, Spoonbills in February, large Garganey flocks and other ducks in March, the great Honey Buzzard passage in April, the 200 strong flock of White Storks in May, raptor migration in September especially the Lesser-spotted Eagles and Booted Eagle plus loads of passerines in October and November! 8 lifers in all in marked in blue and Malta ticks (4) marked in green.

1.    Common Quail

2.     Common Shelduck

3.     Eurasian Wigeon

4.     Eurasian Teal

5.     Mallard

6.     Pintail

7.     Garganey

8.     Shoveler

9.     Ferruginous Duck

10. Pochard

11. Cory's Shearwater

12. Yelkouan Shearwater

13. Little Grebe

14. Great Crested Grebe

15. Black-necked Grebe

16. Black Stork

17. White Stork

18. Glossy Ibis

19. Eurasian Spoonbill

20. Little Bittern

21. Night Heron

22. Squacco Heron

23. Little Egret

24. Great White Egret

25. Cattle Egret

26. Grey Heron

27. Purple Heron

28. Northern Gannet

29. Great Cormorant

30. Lesser Kestrel

31. Common Kestrel

32. Red-footed Falcon

33. Merlin

34. Hobby

35. Eleonora's Falcon

36. Peregrine Falcon

37. Lesser Spotted Eagle

38. Short-toed Eagle

39. Booted Eagle

40. Common Buzzard

41. Honey-buzzard

42. Black Kite

43. Red Kite

44. Marsh Harrier

45. Pallid Harrier

46. Montagu's Harrier

47. Eurasian Sparrowhawk

48. Osprey

49. Water Rail

50. Little Crake

51. Spotted Crake

52. Moorhen

53. Common Coot

54. Common Crane

55. Oystercatcher

56. Black-winged Stilt

57. Avocet

58. Stone Curlew

59. Little Ringed Plover

60. Ringed Plover

61. Kentish

62. Dotterel

63. European Golden Plover

64. Little Stint

65. Temminck's Stint

66. Curlew Sandpiper

67. Dunlin

68. Ruff

69. Common Snipe

70. Great Snipe

71. Bar-tailed Godwit

72. Curlew

73. Common Redshank

74. Greenshank

75. Green Sandpiper

76. Wood Sandpiper

77. Marsh Sandpiper

78. Turnstone

79. Common Sandpiper

80. Mediterranean Gull

81. Black-headed Gull

82. Slender-billed Gull

83. Audouin's Gull

84. Lesser Black-backed Gull

85. Yellow-legged Gull

86. Caspian Tern

87. Sandwich Tern

88. Whiskered tern

89. Black Tern

90. Pomarine Skua

91. Collared Dove

92. Turtle Dove

93. Common Cuckoo

94. Short-eared Owl

95. European Nightjar

96. Alpine Swift

97. Common Swift

98. Pallid Swift

99. Common Kingfisher

100.European Bee-eater

101. Roller

102. Hoopoe

103.Wryneck

104. Woodchat Shrike

105. Golden Oriole

106. Sand Martin

107. Barn Swallow

108. House Martin

109. Red-rumped Swallow

110. Short-toed Lark

111. Sky Lark

112.Zitting Cisticola

113.Cetti's Warbler

114.Moustached Warbler

115.  Sedge Warbler

116.  Reed Warbler

117. Great Reed Warbler

118.  Icterine Warbler

119.  Blackcap

120.  Garden Warbler

121.  Common Whitethroat

122.  Spectacled Warbler

123.  Subalpine Warbler

124.  Sardinian Warbler

125.Western Orphean Warbler

126. Wood Warbler

127. Common Chiffchaff

128. Willow Warbler

129. Yellow-browed Warbler

130.Goldcrest

131.Firecrest

132.  Common Starling

133. Blackbird

134.Song Thrush

135.Redwing

136. Robin

137. Common Nightingale

138. Bluethroat

139.Black Redstart

140. Common Redstart

141.Moussier’s Redstart

142.Whinchat

143.Common Stonechat

144. Isabelline Wheatear

145. Northern Wheatear

146. Black-eared Wheatear

147. Blue Rock Thrush

148. Rock Thrush

149.Spotted Flycatcher

150. Collared Flycatcher

151. Pied Flycatcher

152. Red-breasted Flycatcher

153. Spanish Sparrow

154. Tree Sparrow

155. Dunnock

156. Tawny Pipit

157.  Tree Pipit

158.  Meadow Pipit

159.Red-throated Pipit

160.Water Pipit

161. Yellow Wagtail

162. Grey Wagtail

163.White Wagtail

164.Common Chaffinch

165. Greenfinch

166.Linnet

167.Reed Bunting

168.Corn Bunting

Happy new year with even more birding experiences to all!

Spain :)

Currently I am at Gallocanta, Spain, with fellow Maltese birders. We're spending a week here in wonderful country, writing about the experience on our new blog: http://youngbirdersmalta.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!

End of November

20th November: Ringed my 27th species, Meadow Pipit, at a good site for them. Enough open ground but still some growing trees to provide some cover for the nets. Did four Meadow Pipits, two Chiffchaffs and a Spanish Sparrow in all. 11 Meadow Pipits were ringed in all, some by a licensed ringer and another trainee. 
23rd Nov: Yet another species to add to the list! A Chaffinch this time at Simar, an adult female. Had eluded me so far with two ringed by other trainees on Comino and up to 9 ringed at Simar in one session but always when I was at uni. Ringed 24 birds in all, of course as always under supervision of a licensed ringer who is also my trainer with most being Chiffchaffs, with a few Robins and Blackcaps. Retrapped 2 Moustached warblers from earlier in the season, a record of 8 have been ringed at Simar this autumn, two of them at least seem to have decided to stay for a while. A curious retrap or rather retraps, were a pair of Sardinian warblers caught together, they had been first ringed this September when they had also been caught together...

One of eight Moustached Warblers ringed this autumn at Simar

Another session at Simar on the 25th. Quite varied with a Dunnock, two Reed Buntings (did 7 in all so far), a Song Thrush and a Sardinian Warbler apart from a few Chiffchaffs and Robins. Retrapped a Wryneck from earlier in the autumn, two Cetti's Warblers and a 1st year male Sardinian Warbler male first caught as a juvenile in July 2005! Its all black flight feathers contrasting to the 1st year which had half the secondaries tinged brown.
A good session on the 27th, up to 29 species with a Tree Sparrow. A Yellow-browed Warbler, the 4th record this autumn was caught too, so we had something to answer with to the birders seawatching and seeing a small passage of Shelduck and even better 5 Red-brested mergansers and a flock of 10 Wigeon.
Ringed my second Black Redstart, a 1st year male, three Blackcaps plus 9 chiffchaff and 2 Robin.

Yellow-browed Warbler, an annual vagrant in Malta, Photo by Adin Vella

Two Tree Sparrows, the bird on the right ringed today and the one on the left ringed in the early summer as a female with brooding patch, photo Adin Vella

The first bird ringed on the 30th at Simar, was a Black Redstart raising hopes for a good session but only 4 Chiffchaffs and 2 Spanish Sparrows were ringed. A retrap Kingfisher from the 14th September of this year, was the first I hand handled and a good compensation. We also retrapped the third Robin ringed this autumn, on the 3rd October.In the evening another short session at another site, with three Meadow Pipits, one for each trainee plus a few Chiffchaffs.

 Adult female Black Redstart ringed at Simar, note only slightly dark vane of 6th tail feather indicator of an adult bird. 

 Tomorrow and Sunday more ringing awaits!