Photographer
Tom Bailey’s name usually graces the pages of this magazine alongside some wonderful photography – but, here, he explains how our #My200birdyear challenge rekindled his birding passion
Tom Bailey reveals how our #My200birdyear challenge rekindled his love of birdwatching.
My birding was rusty. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve always been half decent at raptors, but the rest, well, I’d allowed my boyhood expertise to wane somewhat. So, at the back end of 2017 someone mentioned the #My200birdyear challenge. Being one to shun any popular trends, it took a while for it to dawn on me that this would be the perfect way for me to fast forward my birding knowledge, experience and competence. I had a quest – 1 January would be my D-day. Before I go on, I should explain that
I HAD NUMBER ONE, I WAS OFF. WITHIN 10 MINUTES I HAD A LIST...
I work as a photographer at the same publishing company as Bird Watching. This means I know the team and benefit from their vast knowledge.
My job takes me all over the country. I spend many days and nights of the year in the British mountains, or squelching through muddy fields in winter fulfilling assignments. This random coverage of Britain would be what I hoped would make my list interesting; I would count any bird in the British Isles, heard or seen.
New Year’s Day was wonderful. Lifting the bedroom blind to see a female Blackbird, perched on the shed roof with an Ivy berry in her bill, I had number one, I was off. Within 10 minutes I had a list; 20 birds. This honeymoon period was wonderful, lasting almost to the end of January. Whenever I was out, I added to the
total. So much so, that I had a wobble. I’d never been one for lists and this approach to birding seemed like it was lessening the true appreciation of the birds, themselves. You’ve guessed it: I was disappearing up my own self-righteous posterior. This bubble of moral superiority was quickly burst when working in Whitby.
I parked the car, loaded up with gear for my day’s photography and set off, only to bump into 30 twitchers near the car park, all eyeing a rather lovely Desert Wheatear! That was too much for me, out came the list and on it went – one very large TICK. I’d decided I loved lists.
Unique record
The thing no one ever mentions, is that a list, my list, my list of birds seen this year in Britain, was becoming part of me. It lived with me. Every waking moment meant I could possibly add to it. It was always about my person. It became crumpled, dirty, misspelt, crossed out, annotated, but, above all else, it was becoming a record of my life, albeit only one year. That list, with the birds in that order will never happen again, it is unique. Each bird name conjures up a memory, it is the most stripped back of nature journals, almost a poem. A couple of times I tried reading out the names in order hoping that I’d stumble on some random rhyme scheme, but, alas, it didn’t work (I shall leave ‘all that’ to Bird Watching editor Matt).
A trip to Scotland in March produced a wonderful flurry of activity, adding Golden
and White-tailed Eagles, Hen Harrier, Black Grouse, Crossbill, Twite, Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting. The White-tailed Eagle was being mobbed by the male Hen Harrier, a truly memorable sight. As I write, the list acts as a key to my memory. It unlocks far more than just the birds listed, people met, places walked, emotions felt. BW assistant editor Mike Weedon found a male Bluethroat and twice I went to see it. Spending time with anyone with a superior knowledge to you is always time well spent, not to mention the fact that the BW chaps are good friends. Other times, I’d get chatting to birders I didn’t know and to a person they were forthcoming with information and enthusiasm for the birds we were there to see.
A real eye-opener
Pochard came late, June I think. Willow Tit eluded me until September. Black Terns were a highlight, I lingered, mesmerised by their flight. Little Owls were seen on barns in the Yorkshire Dales, Manx Shearwaters on the ferry to the Isles of Scilly, A Honey Buzzard flew over the lake I was fishing at in late July, Temminck’s Stint graced my local pits, Dippers were observed in the Lake District, Pied Flycatchers and Wood Warblers in the oak woodlands of North Wales.
A Red-necked Phalarope at Rutland Water (the Purple Heron that was there for a while escaped me) was an eye opener;
THE THING NO ONE EVER MENTIONS, IS THAT A LIST, MY LIST, MY LIST OF BIRDS SEEN THIS YEAR IN BRITAIN, WAS BECOMING PART OF ME...
I didn’t realise they were so small! Bitterns were seen in Suffolk along with Stone-curlew and Nightjar. My first Hobby of the year appeared while I was cycling home from a local pub with friends; through the very last smudges of daylight it crashed into the landscape. The only sharp thing in sight, it was hunting bats and was ‘smokin’ hot, my favorite bird moment of the year.
Diverse divers
The 200-mark was fast approaching towards the end of August. My fourth trip to Scotland this year would hopefully see me reach 200. Three other times I’d failed to see Red- and Blackthroated Divers (remember I’m there working on these trips and I’m not free to spend my whole time birding). Fortunately, things went to plan, up near Kinlochewe, a distant bird on a featureless loch turned out to be the beauty that is a Red-throated Diver. With the scope balanced on a fence post, I braved the midges for as long as I could, taking in every detail of that gorgeous bird. Two days later, driving towards Gairloch, three juvenile Black-throated Divers were huddled together 20m off-shore. The sun was low, the water calm, again, using a fence top mounted scope, ID’D them and I was congratulated by my colleague, I’d made it; 200 birds. The strange thing was it didn’t change a thing, the list was still on, it was only 30 August, who knows what the total would be come the festive season (212). This was the revelation; listing is a way to access fabulous experiences, if you’re not out there, you won’t achieve, and a list for me is the enabler, the catalyst, the spark. Long live the list.