Our 2025 birding year was a very different one for us. We reigned in the number of day trips and the amount of driving so consequently saw fewer birds than we'd normally see. Contrarily, we took more holidays, whether short breaks or proper vacations, so spent a lot of time birding during those times. One of those holiday's was spent on the Greek island of Lesvos which was the first foreign birding trip that we'd ever taken. That hectic week of full on birding brought us many new birds for our life list and memorable encounters, lots of which will feature prominently in the account below.
As for last years wish list, I pretty much failed to achieve any of them. I finally admitted defeat, and admitted to myself, that my own photos, whilst good to my eyes and a few others, are sub-standard compared to the top toggers efforts. Therefore I ceased kidding myself that they could be worthy of attention to the BirdGuides weekly judges so stopped posting them there; I feel better for not beating myself up every time a photo is ignored. To be fair, I fell out of love with social media in general. I didn't find a Capercaillie again; I really have to address that aching gap in my birding soon. I once again failed to keep up with my blogging, and have only gotten as far as writing up the Lesvos trip (which was taken at the end of April!). Maybe when I retire (soon), then I'll get the time to write them up for the handful of you kind folk that still like to read them. Although astonishingly, one of my Lesvos blogs received over 3000 hits; probably because one of those AI bots out there misspelt Lesvos! Every year I see lots of good stuff in Scotland, Cornwall and other places post-June and yet never get to write about them because I get so far behind. This is supposed to be a diary, but it's a diary where the last six months have been removed. Keeping the diary is important to me, since it acts a reminder of what we see during the year. If I was a footballer, then I'd definitely be substituted off at half-time.
Our birding escapades resulted in us seeing 281 birds for our UK year list, our lowest total since the lockdown years of 2020 & 2021. We also saw 139 on Lesvos, giving us a combined total of 343 overall, which conversely is our highest ever year total. Of those birds, only 7 (5 count) were lifers at home but another 31 seen on Lesvos were new. Birding abroad definitely broadens the birding horizons, and brings many more special birds but we still prefer the relaxation of our annual Scottish holiday.
So, onto the highlights of 2025, which has much more content than usual owing to those "Lesvos lifers". Just prey I never go birding in Costa Rica or Kenya!
UK Life Ticks
Our annual take of new birds had been steadily decreasing for a few years owing to the overall total growing. In 2025 it plummeted down to just seven new additions. Of those seven, two were subspecies, and another was deemed to be ship assisted, none of which officially count on official lists. Luckily I don't care one jot about officialdom so all are welcomed onto my own list, although in the case of the two subs, they won't get a number. As far as I can, I don't allow anybody else to decide what I can and can't do. I can make my own mind up about things. Anarchy rools OK!
1) #436 Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla). Our first trip of the year, on the second of January was made to Greylake in the Somerset levels. We travelled there to see a very showy female Merlin that had been wowing many birders for weeks. The Baikal Teal that we'd seen at the back end of 2023 had also been putting in erratic appearances. We saw the Merlin (see below) but the duck failed to materialise. As we ate our picnic lunch, news arrived that a probable Least Sandpiper had been seen at Steart Marshes just a half hours drive away. A Least Sandpiper in January seemed highly improbable so rather than desert our aim of adding some lovely Bearded Tits photos to my portfolio (which I ultimately didn't), we stayed put at Greylake. By mid-afternoon the identity of the Least Sandpiper had been confirmed. I kicked myself all the way back home to Oxfordshire. I couldn't believe that I'd been so stupid in not travelling there and then to see the tiniest of all wading birds. So stupid that I woke early on the following morning, convinced Mrs Caley to get up, and then drove along deserted motorways and icy minor roads to the WWT reserve. After a bit of dis-orienteering since we'd never been to Steart Marshes before, we found the hide where the bird was still reported to be viewable from, and amazingly found no other birders at all. So no help available whatsoever. There was no immediate sign of any birds either but ten minutes later I had found a tiny little wading bird, almost at the far edge of the scrapes and at the furthest reach of my scope. I couldn't be sure that I had the right bird. Luckily it took to flight to join another small wader, and when they landed half the distance away, I could see that the larger bird was a Little Stint. The smaller bird had to be the Least Sandpiper. The views didn't were better but still distant. Somehow however, I managed to photograph the lifer in flight!
2) #437 Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata). Towards the end of the previous year, we had narrowly missed out on seeing a Booted Eagle on the Oxfordshire/Berkshire border because I had unwisely chosen to travel to Sussex to see a Desert Wheatear (lovely bird though), rather than stake out the Chiltern ridge near Henley-on-Thames with hundreds of others. We looked for the Eagle at roosting time but there was no sign, nor was there the following morning (although it was seen again in another area). So, when a different Booted Eagle was refound in Cornwall during January after being first seen during the previous October, I arranged a short break to the Penzance area in early February. We saw the Eagle distantly from a lay-by on the A30 on the evening we arrived but went on to get superb views the following morning from a railway bridge on the A394. It was a hairy twitch at times with speeding traffic passing so closely by, but very much worth it.
3) Kumlien's Gull (Larus glaucoides kumlieni). We were enjoying a short break at the end of March to North Wales, primarily to take in the well known Black Grouse lek. A Kumlien's Gull was found at the mouth of the River Ogwen near Bangor. Although a subspecies of Iceland Gull, Kumlien's hails from arctic Canada and is structurally more robust and subtly distinct enough to warrant its own moniker. We connected with it immediately, and I was able to take a series of flight shots which showed the intricately patterned feathers.
4) #438 Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica). Having missed the one at Shapwick Heath a few years ago, this impressively built wader from North American climes at Titchfield Haven on the 17th May was a welcomed addition to the Old Caley life list. sharing the build of a Bar-tailed and the tail of a Black-tailed, it's those smudgy dark "armpits" that give it definition. It'll probably get lumped with similar Godwits in the future but when I saw it, it was a Hudsonian Godwit and always will be. Names are just arbitrary anyway.
5) #439 Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis). At last a non-contentious tick for the life list. We travelled to Walberswick in Suffolk in August to see the tiny warbler (aka Fan-tailed Warbler) despite having seen one on Lesvos during our time there. The "Disco-dancing-bum-tickler", as superbly termed by my good friend Mark, performed its song flight with much gusto but was always distant and I couldn't get the camera to focus on it even once. I failed to photograph one in flight on Lesvos as well. A few days later it was established that there were a pair of the birds settled in the marshes, and a few weeks after that breeding was confirmed with at least three offspring seen as well. Photo from Lesvos.
6) Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris). Another subspecies but at least this one has a chance of being split one day by the folk that like to orchestrate everybody's lives. I wonder at the hypocrisy of it all sometimes, especially for birds like the Steppe Grey Shrike which is afforded its own significant name and yet is treated as a variant of Great Grey Shrike. We caught up with this fine looking bird on a Cornish clifftop late in the day on the 21st of October for woeful distant views but returned the following morning in bright sunshine for much better viewing.
7) #440 Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus). Yet another dubious addition to my life list, this time because Great-tailed Grackles are not considered worthy enough to make a transatlantic crossing without jumping on a ship in order to make it. The validity of such migrants is another subject of much controversy with some deemed able of making the journey unaided whereas others are not. We actually dipped this bird on the 6th November at Calshot Spit by arriving just fifteen minutes after the bird had flown strongly across Southampton Water. Interestingly those in the know had by then, decided that the bird was actually a (much more suitably named) Boat-tailed Grackle, a very similar looking cousin of the Great-tailed. When the bird was rediscovered a few days later in the village of Holbury, just a mile or so away from Calshot Spit as a "not likely to make it under its own steam" Grackle could fly, we chose to travel again to see it, scoring on the morning of the 16th November. The Grackle showed incredibly well, seemingly having no fear of people, in gardens of bungalows in a quiet street. Over the Christmas period the Boat-tailed Grackle returned to be a plain old Great-tailed Grackle again owing to a sample of its poo being analysed for DNA which, as we all know, gives a 100% accurate diagnosis of identity. Science takes a lot of the magic out of birding, although it does provide the long and strange italic notation after a bird's common name which few of us ever remember but I rather like.
Lesvos Life Ticks
A new category for my year review, additions to my world list. Until our trip to Lesvos in April my world list had about three more on it than my UK list did. I have travelled all over Europe in my adult life as well, but the trips were made to watch Chelsea play football and hardly ever did I bother with any birding apart from when I did a stint of work in the south of France when I saw some Flamingos. I also remember seeing a few Nutcrackers in Moscow one winter way back, although they may have been in the zoo. I seriously regret not taking binoculars with me on those breaks. Mind you, I was mostly drunk as a skunk when abroad, and would have seen two of everything.
Lesvos was a breakout holiday for Mrs Caley and myself. It's all blogged up elsewhere on this blog as well; I invite you to look them up. We saw thirty-one new species in our seven days there, and we left a few behind as well. One day I hope to visit the island again but will be aiming for a more relaxing and prolonged break next time.
The lifers, in chronological order of seeing them were;
1) Crested Lark (Galerida cristata). I went to Lesvos armed with a list of the birds that I wanted to see. Crested Lark featured highly amongst those "wants". My travelling companions, all stalwarts of the Lesvos scene, told me that most would be easy to get, including the funky looking big cousin of the Skylark. They were right of course, Crested Larks were everywhere on Lesvos, and we saw our first on our first drive out to the Kalloni salt pans on our first evening. Towards the end of the holiday I had almost stopped looking at them. Only almost though because they are very smart looking birds and deserve attention.
2) Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus). I have a penchant for small passerines so was delighted to see several Red-throated Pipits also on the first day. The stunning adult males have to be the finest looking Pipit species. They also recognisable and relatively easy to identify. unlike most Pipits which are a nightmare family to separate, especially young ones which mostly look identical to my eyes. This was the first bird that I photographed on one of Lesvos's iconic rusty wire fences!
3) Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) was the real star bird of that first day though. Warblers are my bag and I had several targeted for the week. I was attracted to the curious song flight of a tiny little bird over the marshes at the salt pans. I failed in capturing a photo of it in the air (I blame jet-lag), but luckily it perched on a weedy stem for long enough to give me a chance of getting some good photos. In August we'd go on to see one in the UK but this one was the real tick(et).
4) Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmeus). The smallest of Cormorant species have been slowly colonising wetlands in Eastern Europe, and reached Lesvos just a few years before. Two of the barely Coot sized birds flew across the mouth of the Tsiknias River in the morning of the 21st April. We saw a couple more elsewhere during the week too. All sightings were distant, and either in intense heat shimmer, or dense fog! Definitely would like a better view of this bird.
5) Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus). We dipped out on seeing one of these impressive raptors in Scotland a couple of years ago so I was delighted when I glanced up and saw one fly over closely overhead as we birded the salt pans. The tick is always made more sweet when you spot and identify a bird yourself. This was my first moment of glory on Lesvos. We saw many more Short-toed Eagles that week but this first sighting was extra special.
6) Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris). A species that I would have hoped to have twitched in the UK by now presented itself a few moments after seeing the Short-toed Eagle, in the dry spiny tussocks at the edge of Kalloni Bay. Views were brief and very much hampered by the morning heat shimmer.
7) Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala). The first addition to my set of my favourite "Sylvia" type warblers was encountered on a dry rocky hillside after an excellent couple of hours birding at the famous Faneromeni Ford on the Tuesday 22nd April. That day was probably the best full days birding of the holiday with no fewer than eight new birds seen as well as lots of other special birds including Golden Orioles. The singing male Sardinian Warbler was most obliging.
8) Masked Shrike (Lanius rubicus). After a couple of near misses on the first day, I spotted my first Masked Shrike perched prominently up on an overhead wire just metres away from the Sardinian Warbler. My new favourite Shrike species was warbling away as well. That mornings birding was intense and very fruitful. The dawn chorus was exceptional and went on for hours.
9) Eastern Orphean Warbler (Sylvia crassirostris). I discovered my second new Sylvia warbler in a matter of minutes after, and just a hundred metres away from, the first. This "brute" of a warbler sang from a thorny thicket emerging for long enough for me to grab a few photos before disappearing into a hedgerow. I was in my element. Any bird that has crass in its scientific name has to be respected too.
10) Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). Another bird that I was really keen to see, gave me the run around for a while. Eventually one was pinned down for me in the orchard of Sigri sanitorium after lunch in the village on the Tuesday. The energetic flycatcher was tricky to photograph as it flitted in and around the trees and the best I managed was a record shot or three. Nice bird regardless.
11) Cretzschmar's Bunting (Emberiza caesia). The afternoon drive through the Meladia Valley provided countless new birds for the trip and five new ones for the life list. The second of those, following on quickly after the Collared Flycatcher, was perched up in a spiny bush and singing its "Beethoven" style refrain. "dee-dee-dee-deeee". We'd go on to see a few more during that afternoon.
12) Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni). As we drove away from the sanitorium, two smallish falcons were hunting insects at the top of the hill. These proved to be our first Lesser Kestrels, a bird that I'd hoped to see while on Lesvos. The heat haze was particularly bad on the rocky hillside so it was record shots only of the dynamic falcons.
13) Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia). A Rock Nuthatch nest close to the river in the Meladia Valley had been taken over by a pair of Rock Sparrows. Either would be lifers so it was win-win for us. The chunky Sparrows were guarding the entrance hole to the cleverly engineered nest placed between two rocks.
14) Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis). We found a large flock of these gregarious sparrows feeding at a field edge. They were distant but identifiable. We'd go on to see more of the birds that, in the case of the males, look a bit like they've been made from bits of all the other sparrows of the world. The flashy males are tempered by the less flamboyant females which basically look identical to a female House Sparrow. However, as far as I'm aware, the two species stay apart, and favour slightly lifestyles with the Spanish being found away from buildings. Spanish Sparrows form huge flocks as well often numbering over a hundred individuals.
15) Baillon's Crake (Pozana pusilla). On the morning of the 23rd April we spent a frustrating couple of hours trying to see a Baillon's Crake, which eventually consented to giving us a three-second view as it scarpered across a channel at the Tsiknias ford. Luckily Paul grabbed a photo of it earlier. We arrived too late and should have skipped breakfast.
16) Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei). The surprise find of five of the elegant Slender-billed Gulls by our friends at the salt pans, had us scurrying to join them. Again they were distant so I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing some more one day. The Gulls were loafing close to a couple of Dalmatian Pelicans so despite the distance and heat haze, it was another memorable moment.
17) Rock Nuthatch (Sitta neumayer). On the track down to Makara Beach, Peter directed us to a Rock Nuthatch territory that Rock Sparrows hadn't taken over. This large Nuthatch species is actually the western variant despite us being in the east of Europe! The eastern form hails from much further east in Iraq and surrounding countries. It felt weird watching what we know as woodland birds in a rocky habitat.
18) Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus). A lone soaring bird high above the Makara track gave us our first and only sighting of a much wanted Long-legged Buzzard. Identifiable by its rufous tail, as well as long wings, this bird appeared to be carrying a prey item in its talons. We watched the bird at length but once again the heat shimmer defeated my best efforts at gaining top notch images. The best times for photography on Lesvos are definitely early morning and late afternoon onwards. The airspace above the track also held several Short-toed Eagles and Lesser Kestrels. It was the best place we went to for seeing raptors.
19) Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan). The mediterranean cousin of the Manx Shearwaters occur in good numbers around Lesvos. Luckily Manxies are absent here so identification isn't problematic. We saw several flocks offshore during the week but a dozen or so off Makara Beach were our first. Apparently on New Years Day, Yelkouan Shearwater is being lumped with Balearic Shearwater to create Mediterranean Shearwater. I hate scientists; always trying to organise things for everyone else. Bah humbug!
20) Spur-winged Plover (Vanellus spinosus). This smart and unusual leggy wading bird was one os the star birds of Lesvos. We had superlative views of it on several occasions. When I first saw it at the salt pans, I was confused because it didn't look very lanky at all. When I looked at my photos, I realised it had been knelt down resting!
21) Chukar (Alectoris chukar). This partridge species was Mrs Caley's most favourite bird of Lesvos. And I nearly parked on top of it when we arrived at Charamida on the morning of the 24th April! Initially I couldn't see it because I was almost stood on it when I stepped out of the car. It was so close that I had to back off in order to get photos. Talk about confiding!
22) Rüppell's Warbler (Sylvia ruppeli). The bird at the top of my wish list for Lesvos, and I found it myself for all of us to enjoy. Much kudos was received for that. Absolutely stunning bird and although never close enough for any quality photography on my part, it was great to see and a massive highlight of the holiday. I was buzzing for a long time after seeing it.
23) Eastern Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans). Although we saw a probable female of this species a few years ago in Cornwall, there is almost no distinction between females of both Eastern and Western Subalpine Warblers. So the male we saw sharing the same habitat as the Rüppell's Warbler underscored that sketchy record. I now have both Eastern & Western confirmed on my list.
24) Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis). A short way from Charamida, we stopped for a coffee at a small taverna in Loutra where Laughing Doves have colonised. The owner of the taverna has turned the doves into a top draw event for many visiting birders by dishing out free corn and seed for them. We paid him back by buying cups of the coffee treacle that people drink on the island. Moving up from North Africa there are several pairs of these sweet looking allies of the Turtle Dove in Lesvos now. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Laughing Doves will reach Britain just as Collared Doves did back in the 1950's and have flourished ever since.
25) Krüper's Nuthatch (Sitta krueperi). Another of our most sought after birds was found in the Achlideri forest. A well known nest site was visited to see these smart looking small Nuthatches. By necessity we kept our distance and only stayed a short time so as to leave the birds undisturbed. If I ever visit Lesvos again, I'll take a longer walk in the pine forest and see what else I can find.
26) Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla). Sharing the forest with the special Nuthatch was the European cousin of our familiar Treecreeper. Differences between the two are subtle and is definitely a job for the experts to establish. Luckily those experts have noted that only the Short-toed version occurs on Lesvos. Take their word for it. Forest birding is tricky and I came away with no photo of the Treecreepers.
27) Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius). Photographing birds that fly across the road ahead of you, whilst driving a car is another skill that I'm yet to master so the Middle Spotted Woodpecker that did just that went unrecorded too. It definitely was one, since it was a black & white, with a red crown, was certainly a woodpecker, and no other types of woodpecker like that occur on Lesvos.
28) Cinereous Bunting (Emberiza cineracea). This fabulous Bunting was encountered singing at the foot of the Ipsilou Monastery on the morning of the 25th April. I loved the understated grey bird with just hues of yellowish-green to lighten the drab. The scene was set for a brilliant few hours of birding around the monastery.
29) Eastern Bonelli's Warbler (Phylloscopus orientalis). This chiffchaff type bird proved tough work to see despite singing continually in trees below the monastery. I caught glimpses of it but that was about it. One to see better next time.
30) Sombre Tit (Poecile lugubris). Named sombre because of its subdued plumage tones, there was nothing sombre in the way this active little bird flitted around the same tree as a radiant Blue Rock Thrush perched in, close to the monastery walls. I do like the less extravagant.
31) Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris). I have long regretted not going to see the long staying Crag Martin that graced Chesterfield a while ago. So, acting on a tip off from our friends, we drove back to the Ipsilou area on our last day to look for a small colony of the dusky brown swallows in a steep sided gorge. We found a few and had good flight views but once again I failed to pin one down to photograph. I must have been tired. Photo kindly supplied by Pete.
xx) Blue & Black-headed Wagtails (Motacilla flava flava & feldegg). Even I can't claim these two variants of Yellow Wagtails for my life list, but these were the first of both types that I've ever seen. The males of both are very smart looking birds. Both races were regularly encountered just about everywhere on the island. By contrast I only saw a couple of the "regular" Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava flavissima) that we see at home.
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xx) Jay (Garrulus glandarius atricapillus). There is also a subspecies of Jay on Lesvos, known locally as Greek Jay, which is distinctively different in having a black crown and white forehead. We saw a few during the week, the first of which was in an oak tree at Metochi Lake.
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The birding on Lesvos produced many other good birds of course. In addition to the lifers we also saw the following birds that we'd only seen once or twice before; Alpine Swift, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-headed Bunting, Citrine Wagtail, Collared Pratincole, Common Rock Thrush, Dalmatian Pelican, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Greater Flamingo, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Gull-billed Tern, Little Bittern, Little Crake, Olivaceous Warbler, Pallid Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Roller, Scops Owl, Serin, Short-toed Lark, and Whiskered Tern. Other terrific birds seen which are far from regular sightings here included; Bee-eater, Black-crowned Night Heron, Black Stork, Golden Oriole, Great Reed Warbler, Isabelline Wheatear, Kentish Plover, Ortolan Bunting, Purple Heron, Red-footed Falcon, Spotted Crake, Squacco Heron, White Stork (genuine), and Woodchat Shrike. Add in an undercard featuring the likes of; Hoopoe, Long-eared Owl, Nightingale, Red-backed Shrike, Richard's Pipit, (genuine) Ruddy Shelduck, Stone Curlew, Temminck's Stint, Turtle Dove, Wood Warbler, Wryneck, and more then you realise what a great birding destination Lesvos is. All of these birds are documented on my series of Lesvos blogs already posted. It's all relative though; you don't get birds like Black Grouse, Arctic Skuas, Capercaillie, Crested Tit, Dipper, Green & Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Ptarmigan, Puffin, Tawny Owl, and others on Lesvos very often, if at all. Now that I've sold it to you, I guess there'll be no rooms at the inn available there for a few years.
A special mention and big thanks to Jason, Peter, Paul & Vicky, Andy & Hannah for their company and guidance but mostly for putting up with my endless questions which they all helped answer. Hopefully, The Old Caley's will return to Lesvos again one day.
Old Caley's Top Bird Encounters of 2025
The birds that I remember the most from 2025. Not necessarily the most impressive or beautiful, although some undoubtedly are, but the bird experiences that provide memories that will live with me forever. It's hard to put an order to them, and there will be some crossover with the lifers already described in brief above. I have no idea as I write the beginning of this section, how long this part will be either. Bear with me.
1) A real tough choice to pick a "bird of the year" this time with so many to pick from. After much deliberation, I'm going with the fantastic experience of hearing and seeing Golden Orioles on Lesvos as my standout moment. We first saw some at the Faneromeni Ford but being immersed in the middle of at least twenty of the brightly coloured birds whilst at the Ipsilou Monastery was unforgettable. The photographs I gained of them certainly weren't anywhere near the best I took during the year, but they were the first meaningful ones that I've taken of the superb Orioles. Golden birding indeed!
2) Picking a winner was hard. Picking a runner-up was also tricky. However, Arctic Skuas get my vote for providing the most thrilling photographic experience of the year. We have been to Handa island many times before and seen the Skuas there every time. This year though, we took our holiday a fortnight later than usual. This coincided with the Arctic Skuas either sitting on eggs or brooding chicks. They are fiercely protective parents and anyone that comes close to a nest, which is unavoidable with a pair nesting within metres of the boardwalk, gets bombarded (see the header photo above). The Skuas don't take any prisoners either, one actually winged my ear as it blasted past. I spent a very happy hour taking umpteen photos of the birds.
3) Even choosing a bronze medalist was a tough decision. I've finally plumped for the Hawfinch. We saw more Hawfinches in 2025 than in any year before, starting with some at Honington Church, followed up by a good number at our regular haunt in North Oxfordshire. A magic encounter with a male followed at the hotspot at Parkend on our way home after twitching a Bonaparte's gull in South Wales. Then our friend Gareth established a few in another West Oxfordshire churchyard which we had great views of. The icing on the cake was provided by a trio of the chunky finches drinking at a small pond at another site in Oxon. To see the full set of male, female and junior (all shown here) within a few minutes was very, very exciting.
4) Many of those that know me, also know that there isn't much that beats a Dotterel in my eyes. In any other year without Golden Orioles and Hawfinches gracing it, the four of the best waders on the planet that we saw, would have won this selection hands down. We travelled to South Wales on a beautiful day at the beginning of May, and scrambled across a boggy moor to reach a fabulous Limestone Pavement, where the two males and females performed as elegantly and confidently as Dotterel always do. The most photos I took of any species on any one day and almost every one of them could have been shared here. One of each of the sexes shown below.
5) The twitch of the year probably has to go to the Booted Eagle in Cornwall. Seeing it perched in the trees by the railway bridge on the Marazion bypass was very exciting, especially as we'd had to drive and then walk with the spectre that the bird could depart at any time. Luckily it stayed put until we reached it and we had our fill of a spectacular bird.
6) Other than the Golden Orioles, there was a huge amount of fantastic birds seen during our holiday to Lesvos. It's tricky to pick out other favourites since the whole week was a whirlwind of new birds and exciting times. However, even though I struggled to gain any decent photos, I'm going for the Rüppell's Warbler as the best single bird of the trip. Sylvia warblers are much cherished by me, Dartford Warbler was one of the birds that hooked me into birding. The thrill of actually being the one to spot the Rüppell's gave me a major buzz.
7) One of the longest twitches undertaken in the year was to see our second Western Sandpiper. Even though we were taking a short stopover in Northumberland on our way to the Cairngorms, the drive to the Ayrshire coast was and arduous trip and took almost four hours. It was a leap of faith too since the summering wader hadn't been reported for s few days and had been fairly mobile during the previous couple of weeks, moving around other sites as well as the small harbour at Maidens. Walking close to the beach, I flushed a small bird and knew instinctively that it had to be the target. Luckily it hadn't flown far and we were able to gain superb views and photos. A massive upgrade on our first sighting at Snettisham.
8) The "most ridiculously showy" bird of the year goes to the name-changing Great-tailed Grackle. It could have been one of the worst dips of the year had we not been lucky enough to see it at the second attempt. I think the people who constantly say that it doesn't or shouldn't count on anyone's list are depriving themselves of a spectacular looking bird. And it counts as blue too, and blue birds are the best!
9) I hadn't had a really good view of a Merlin since seeing one perched on a fence post in Northumberland many moons ago, when stupidly I had left my camera with Mrs Caley while I retrieved something from our car. I will always regret that missed opportunity. So the female that wowed so many birders and toggers with her presence at Greylake on the Somerset levels was to be cherished. Such a fabulous little raptor that had decided to take up camp in her own refrigerator!
10) On our way down to Cornwall in October we stopped at the bleak and windy "cold" spot of Colliford Lake on Bodmin moor. We'd already taken a coffee break at the famous, and decidedly eerie, Jamaica Inn as immortalised by Daphne de Maurier in the equally famous novel. There was nobody else foolish enough to be out and about in such a forlorn spot in the inclement weather of the day. We walked for a fair way around the exposed foreshore, testament to the near drought of the summer, before finally spotting out target bird, a Baird's Sandpiper. After much careful crawling and slithering along the sand and mud, I managed to get close enough to add some nice photos of the small wading bird to those taken of our first Baird's seen just the autumn before. This was our second Baird's of the year after a distant one at Eyebrook reservoir a month before, and it was a great year for us with small "peeps", seeing Least, Baird's, and Western Sandpipers as well as Little, and Temminck's Stints.
11) Most of the best birds seen in Lesvos are covered in the section above. One that wasn't was the Temminck's Stint that paraded just a few metres away from our car on the Kalloni salt pans. At times even one of the smallest of wading birds was too close for me to focus the camera and I had to wait for it to walk away slightly before taking shots. A marvellous close encounter, and proof of how being able to drive a car along the tracks in Lesvos, thus enabling to get close, and then use it as a mobile hide is a massive bonus when photographing the birds.
12) I can't leave the Lesvos Bee-eaters out of this round-up. The flocks of them were often spectacular, we counted well over hundred in one. From the first evening excursion to the last, noted on every day bar the last (going home day), we saw tons of one of the most colourful of birds, and I took countless photos of them. They are truly one of the most beautiful birds that we see. The sound of a huge flock of them chirruping overhead is music to the ears as well.
13) After twitching the Steppe Grey Shrike, our walk along the cliffs back to the car took us past the most confiding Chough that we've ever encountered. We sat and watched the gorgeous symbolic bird of Kernow seek out and eat grubs and worms found in the short turf. After every dig, the bird would raucously shout its own name at us!
14) Another of the "monster" birds of Lesvos, even though they are pretty small, was the sought after Scops Owl. We were lucky to be able to watch one twice in "Owl Alley", an avenue of eucalyptus and pine trees, and was a massive upgrade on our previous view of the famous Thrupp bird in our home county many moons ago. Scops Owls were secreted in the eucalyptus, and Long-eared Owls in the pines. Owl heaven!
15) We saw many Black Storks on Lesvos, and all were fantastic. They are really weird, almost prehistoric Pterosaur look-a-likes, especially when flying. Genuine White Storks were common on Lesvos too. However, the incredibly confiding juvenile Black Stork that we saw in August at Boyton Marshes in Suffolk after successfully twitching a Zitting Cisticola, gets the mention here. That bird was happy to feed in channel just metres away from the admiring birders, and often so close that it was impossible to get the whole bird in the frame. Head and shoulders shots are nice to get though.
18) No Old Caley Year Review would be complete without the inclusion of something Swift-like. We missed out on the annual Swift bonanza at Farmoor because on the special grey and damp, end of April days, we were sunning ourselves on Lesvos. However, we had the consolation there of seeing hundreds of Swifts, and not just Commons either, since there were Pallid & Alpine Swifts too. The Alpine Swifts were amazing to watch at the mouth of the Makara river, where they whizzed in to take drinks while remaining on the wing. The spectacle was made even better by sharing in the enthusiasm that Swift aficionado, Paul, had for the birds.
20) On our first evening out on Lesvos, Jason casually announced that there were some Purple Herons flying past. I turned to see them expecting maybe a couple of them. Incredibly there were twenty-one of the elegant multi-coloured birds, four times as many as we'd seen before. Lesvos was like that, birds that we'd seen a few times before in the UK, were here in spades. I also appear to have a good luck charm when it comes to photographing Purple Herons. That first evening totally enthralled.
21) I didn't have the intention of running this list for this amount of birds but I have to make mention of the Spur-winged Plover (despite the sickening name). The something crap-winged-Plover is an unusual bird because it has a remnant claw halfway along the leading edge of each wing, the "spurs" (yuk*). That claw can't usually be seen however, so not so bad. Anyway, it's a very funky looking long-legged wading bird and it was great to watch it feeding along the aptly stinky channel (next to the sewage works) on the salt pans on several occasions. One to look out for in Britain one day.
As usual, this list could be even longer but I have to stop somewhere. I could have included another Black Grouse lek, some great views of Crossbills in all points of the UK, a small group of Twite at South Stack on Anglesey, a Ptarmigan with chicks and Snow Buntings at the top of Cairngorm, unrivalled views of Firecrests and Peregrines close to home (see below), a fabulous Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, the usual visit to Wales for Wood Warblers and Pied Flycatchers, hundreds of Wood Sandpipers together on Lesvos, an almost full (read the disappointments below) set of terns in Northumberland, a superb singing Blyth's Reed Warbler (pic below) in the Scottish Borders, Dusky and Hume's Warblers, lots of lovely Black Redstarts, an instructively plumaged Siberian Chiffchaff, an equally interesting Iberian Chiffchaff, a fabulous Penduline Tit right at the end of the year, a self-found Wryneck, Eagles in Scotland, our first decent view of a Red-necked Grebe for a while, another fantastic low flyover from a Honey Buzzard, a special hour spent in a howling gale while watching Black Guillemots in Portpatrick harbour, and even some Pink-footed Geese seen locally. There is more left out than that which was included. Although not a vintage year, it was still crammed with so many birds.
The Not so Good Bits!
There were disappointments of course, and there were times when we felt as if we couldn't buy a bird, and during those periods we lost our collective birding mojo as well. But thankfully there is always something waiting around a corner somewhere, to lift the spirits. Last year I was lamenting on dipping a Booted Eagle. It took just five weeks of the New Year then to correct that so there's always hope to turn things around even when the chips appear stacked against you.
Having said that, in 2024 we missed out on a Bridled Tern at Coquet Island off the Northumberland coast because we'd already left for our Scottish hideaway just a couple of hours before it was found. The bird stayed for two weeks and we booked on a boat to see it on our way back. The Tern then wickedly disappeared during our last day in Scotland thus dashing our hopes. Roll forward to Friday 13th (should have known) of June 2025, our last day in Northumberland, before travelling up to the Cairngorms. We were enjoying lunch after spending a nice morning with the summering American Black Tern and other birds, when (presumably) the same Bridled tern was again reported from Coquet Island. I hastily arranged to be on the next boat that we could make in time, to see it. As we queued to board, folk disembarking the previous sailing were gleefully relating what amazing views they'd had of the tern. Excitedly we set sail, thinking we'd finally get our bird. Halfway across, Dave the skipper, turned to me and made the dreaded throat-slitting gesture. The Bridled Tern had flown. We stayed on for the next sailing as well but the tern never returned. That was a close miss, another ten minutes and we'd have had our lifer. Maybe we'll get lucky this year?
The Grackle tested our resolve although we prevailed in the end with that one. Another annoying dip came at the wings of another tern, the Lesser Crested Tern that spent ten days on the Exe estuary, and then did a moonlit flit the night before we could get there. We spent four hours watching forlornly for it to fly in and rest on its favourite buoy. It didn't. That hurt and I'm developing a deep mistrust of terns.
The biggest disappointment was as ever, despite much effort, in missing out on a Capercaillie. We found lots of evidence of their existence so at least we know they are still around. I'm thinking our best move would be to take a short break to Finland to get a very overdue Capercaillie fix, particularly in view of the species status in Scotland.
We also missed out on a pelagic trip this year, robbing us of the chance to see most of the special Shearwaters and Petrels off the Cornish coast. We did manage to see a couple at Pendeen during stormy October weather, and a Manx Shearwater graced Farmoor. You just can't do it all, all the time.
The Best Oxfordshire (and other local) Birds of 2025
Our local county birding was limited despite me wanting me to see more closer to home. The main issue is that there isn't enough to keep me interested for long enough. I don't keep a local patch and get bored with the same scenery. I have to see a variety of birds to keep going. Having said that we still saw some fine bird in the county. It was a reasonable year generally for decent birds, especially at Farmoor and Otmoor.
We did have more county ticks in 2025 than the year before. Three new birds hit the Old Caley Oxfordshire list, compared to just the one in 2024, and my total now stands at 249. The new birds were all underwhelming additions, not for the quality of the species, but for the distant, or brief, views of all three. The first addition was a Savi's Warbler, found reeling by the second screen at Otmoor at the end of May. I spent eight hours over two evenings for ultimately a five-second view, although it was audible at regular intervals. The Marsh Sandpiper at Standlake at the end of August showed well enough apart from the fact that it was around a quarter of a mile away! It was a welcome sighting though, just our second, and made up for missing the species on Lesvos where strangely there were none, when there should have been loads. The third is dealt with below.
1) The best county bird by a mile for me, owing to the surprise value, was the Bluethroat (the best birds are blue) found on the northern lagoon at the second screen at Otmoor on the last day of September. Unfortunately Mrs Caley was under the weather when I took the long walk out (all three county ticks required extended walks to see) to the screen on the following day. With just two other birders for company the first-year Bluethroat showed superbly well, albeit at long range. The juvenile Bluethroat stayed for a week or so, allowing Mrs Caley to see it a few days later.
2) An even bigger surprise, but not a county tick, was actually seeing, and photographing(!), a Common Quail in the north of the county on the first day of August. Whereas Quail are easy to hear, seeing one is much more difficult. A photograph of one flying is as rare as a quail hen's teeth. I was absolutely cock-a-hoop to grab a couple of shots of this one as it flew from one side of a wheat field to another. Probably my best photo of the year!
3) A bird that we had coveted seeing for some time was a juvenile Cuckoo. It had been over twenty years since we saw one perched on a fencepost at Dix Pit, long before cameras were available for bird photography. On the 5th July we went for a random walk on Otmoor. Not far from the "Bittern Bench", I became aware of a Reed Warbler constantly returning to the same spot in the bushes lining the ditch. I quickly established that it, and its mate, were feeding a recently fledged Cuckoo. Getting a photo proved extremely tricky owing to the birds preference to stick to thick cover but I was grateful for the luck in finding it. I later learned that the Cuckoo had been there the evening before as well, and had showed much more openly (as testified by others much better photos).
4) Not actually in Oxfordshire but just a few miles outside in a neighbouring county, and still very much local, we became aware of a breeding pair of Peregrines on a church tower. Our first two visits resulted in brief views but a subsequent visit gave us outstanding sightings of both birds. I took lots of photos from a respectful distance. There were Swifts present too, so it was a win-win.
5) In a similar vein to the Hawfinch experiences of the year, we also had many sightings of Firecrest. We took an early season visit (beginning of March) to our local hotspot in the east of Oxfordshire, where we know the diminutive birds breed. We struck very lucky when we found two male birds chasing each other around a holly bush almost right next to the carpark, well away from the breeding territory. Engrossed with battling each other, they paid no heed to us being there at all.
6) Following on from the leucistic Magpies of the year before, abnormal plumage was quite a thing in our area again. My mother had an almost pure white House Sparrow nesting in the eaves of her house, and "Luke", the well watched leucistic Pochard, frequented Otmoor for the seventh year. It was Farmoor that really provided the surprises though. I found a very pale Sand Martin in early August amongst hundreds of normally plumaged birds. The interest value in my best photo of it actually gained me a BirdGuides notable photo accolade (also surprising).
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7) A few weeks later we were back at Farmoor reservoir to see a leucistic Pied Wagtail that frequented the causeway but only after the place had quietened down in the late afternoon. With the sailors, walkers, and joggers largely gone home the strange looking Wagtail joined several of its normal plumaged cousins. It afforded great views too, and BirdGuides honoured me once again. Maybe I should stick to oddly plumaged birds!
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8) Also in August, and an unusual record for inland Oxfordshire, was the discovery of a juvenile Shag at Farmoor. The bird, the origin of countless juvenile jokes at the time, sadly succumbed after a couple of weeks of managing to survive. It should have realised that Oxfordshire water is far from the cleanest available these days. I wouldn't want to swim in it.
9) Finally, in which on reflection, now seems to have been a bumper year locally, this young Goosander settled in amongst the beached barley straw cages on the causeway on Farmoor, where it hunted small fry right close into the edge (along with egrets & other birds). We see lots of Goosanders but rarely one as close as this!
There were many other local highlights; There were the usual distant views of Goshawks (hopefully 2026 will provide the photo that I desire), Farmoor held the usual wading birds, best of which was a Little Stint, Calvert gave up a Jack Snipe, Glossy Ibis and the trio of Egrets graced Otmoor for much of the year, we saw a fine Grasshopper Warbler in our home town again, we had Blackcaps and Siskins in our garden Brambling and Redpoll joined a large mixed flock of birds in a stubble field near Beckley, both Ruddy Duck (our first for many years) and Ring-necked Duck graced pits in the county, I found a Barn Owl territory while at work in North Oxon, multiple Water Rails on an icy morning in February, and of course the Hawfinches and other fabulous birds at the pool in the south of the county. There were a couple of misses too; Both Snow Bunting and Twite at Farmoor would have been county ticks but frustratingly I was away (in Wales and Cornwall respectively) when both were found. You can't get them all.
2026 Wish List
Time will be limited owing to other pressing tasks, so we'll likely be much more selective in our trips out. We might even bird more locally for a change. Perhaps.
Unlike last year when we had holidays already planned and paid for, we've made no such plans this time around, not yet anyway. A quick return to Lesvos is off the agenda so no repeat of that bounty.
I want to see a Capercaillie! In fact I need to see one. Otherwise the name of this blog becomes a bigger fraud than ever.
Obviously I'd like a few more birds for the life list. And of course, fewer big dips would help as well.
My thanks go to everyone who has taken the time to look at my blogs during 2025, and I hope you'll keep looking in 2026. Your patience is respected and I'm grateful for your interest. I will still try to complete the years diary but that aim is probably doomed to failure because the New Year's birding will take over. Long may I retire soon. Then I can devote more time to the blog, and to more birding.
My wife deserves special praise, not only for exhibiting remarkable patience, but also because without her there wouldn't be so much magic in my birding.
I apologise to any birds that I've omitted in the round-up. Not that there are too many!
(*sorry Hughie)
A Happy New Year to you all, and I wish you very prosperous birding!
Great Birding! So many birds that I have never seen or heard of. Thank you
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