I urge you to sign up to #My200birdyear

Well, what a year 2017 was. After encouraging people this time last year to sign up to #My200birdyear, I hope they enjoyed the challenge as much as I did. Mine being a Uk-only list, I finished the year on 243, one down on my 2016 total of 244, which was the best since I started a UK year list in 2011. Had I included a trip to the USA and Canada in October/november, my year list would have stood at more than 300, but, for me, it’s the UK list that counts; 243 was not a bad total to celebrate my 50th year of birding and record keeping (now into volume 19!). Looking back in last year’s records, I see that I had passed the 200 mark by the end of April, then struggled a bit to reach my final total. This year has seen a slow start, but there’s plenty of time to make up lost ground. So, if you haven’t signed up yet, what’s stopping you? Go on, challenge yourself, but remember it’s not a competition, except with yourself! Get out there and enjoy it. I can guarantee you’ll look harder at every bird you see.

John Boarder, Gillingham, Dorset

Ed: What a great result for 2017, John! And we couldn’t agree with you more about people signing up! For those who want to know more about the challenge, visit birdwatching.co.uk/my200