My Quest

Who am I?

It is easier to tell you, who I am not. I am not an ornithologist nor indeed, any other kind of ologist (I did manage to get a grade C in O'level Biology but other than that, I have had no formal training in this field). I claim no credentials other than my own experiences and limitless enthusiasm. I have always been fascinated by birds (and other areas of natural history) and together with my love of photography I am now in a position to bring these two fields together. I am reminded how easy it is to get things wrong by recalling the time, when reading my first bird book, I was fascinated to learn that swifts 'caught insects on the wing'. In my mind, I pictured sticky strips along the birds' wings with which they snared unfortunate insects! So if you spot any errors on my pages, please let me know - it's how I learn. Approaching my 50th birthday (January 2009), I have decided on the quest of photographing Britain's birds and my hope is, that along the way I can help other 'non-experts' in their own efforts in identifying some of our species. Whilst many photographs are, to say the least, poor from a pure photography standpoint, I have included them where they portray the species and offer some help in a recognition process. It is to be hoped that as time goes on, I will be able to replace these 'poor' shots with better quality ones.

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The List.

If I am going to aim to photograph each of Britain's birds, the first thing I need to know is - what birds are in Britain? Googling 'British Bird List' gave me so many answers to this question, that I was confused right from the start. Lists appeared in many different forms and with anything up to 500+ species (including birds that Aunt Nellie's great grandfather brought back from the Antipodes in 1869 and then released in his back garden where they were promptly eaten by his neighbours cat. By the way, if you are going to google 'British Birds', I recommend doing so with the Safe Search on to avoid a plethora of unsolicited emails!!!) I need to be realistic: I need a list of species that I have a reasonable hope of being able to find. Taking the British Ornithologists' Union's 'Bird species recorded in Great Britain', I have extracated all 'resident' species, all breeding summer visitors and other visitors with at least ten records in any calendar year since 1999. The second challenge was the bird's actual names. With many local variations, I was pleased to find that Messrs. Gill & Wright (2006) had addressed this issue and whilst I personally will never be able to refer to a Goosander as a 'Common Merganser', I see the sense in using universally agreed names and these are included in parenthesis in the list below and on the individual species details pages on my site. My list of 269 species is detailed below. (There will, no doubt, be inaccuracies - I am not an expert - and if you find any, please let me know; I am keen to learn.) If I should happen across, and be lucky enough to obtain a photograph of any species not on my list, then I shall open a new page for 'Happy Accidents'.


Anatidae: Mute Swan / Bewick’s Swan (Tundra Swan) / Whooper Swan / Bean Goose / Pink-footed Goose / (Greater) White-fronted Goose / Greylag Goose / Canada Goose / Barnacle Goose / Brent Goose (Brant Goose) / Egyptian Goose / (Common) Shelduck / Mandarin Duck / (Eurasian) Wigeon / Gadwall / (Eurasian) Teal / Mallard / (Northern) Pintail / Garganey / (Northern) Shoveler / Red-crested Pochard / (Common) Pochard / Ferruginous Duck / Tufted Duck / (Greater) Scaup / (Common) Eider / Long-tailed Duck / Common Scoter (Black Scoter) / Velvet Scoter / (Common) Goldeneye / Smew / Red-breasted Merganser / Goosander (Common Merganser) / Ruddy Duck


Tetraonidae: Red Grouse (Willow Ptarmigan) / (Rock) Ptarmigan / Black Grouse / (Western) Capercaillie


Phasianidae: Red-legged Partridge / Grey Partridge / (Common) Quail / (Common) Pheasant / Golden Pheasant


Gaviidae: Red-throated Diver (Red-throated Loon) / Black-throated Diver (Black-throated Loon) / Great Northern Diver (Great Northern Loon)


Podicipedidae: Little Grebe / Great Crested Grebe / Red-necked Grebe / Slavonian Grebe (Horned Grebe) / Black-necked Grebe


Procellariidae: (Northern) Fulmar / Cory’s Shearwater / Great Shearwater / Manx Shearwater


Hydrobatidae: (European) Storm Petrel / Leach’s (Storm) Petrel


Sulidae: (Northern) Gannet


Phalacrocoracidae: (Great) Cormorant / (European) Shag


Ardeidae: (Eurasian) Bittern / Little Egret / Grey Heron


Ciconiidae: White Stork


Threskiornithidae: (Eurasian) Spoonbill


Accipitridae: (European) Honey-buzzard / Red Kite / White-tailed Eagle / (Western) Marsh Harrier / Hen Harrier (Northern Harrier) / Montagu’s Harrier / (Northern) Goshawk / (Eurasian) Sparrowhawk / (Common) Buzzard / Rough-legged Buzzard (Roughleg) / Golden Eagle


Pandionidae: Osprey


Falconidae: (Common) Kestrel / Merlin / (Eurasian) Hobby / Peregrine (Falcon)


Rallidae: Water Rail / Spotted Crake / Corncrake (Corn Crake) / (Common) Moorhen / (Common) Coot


Gruidae: (Common) Crane


Haematopodidae: (Eurasian) Oystercatcher


Recurvirostridae: Black-winged Stilt / (Pied) Avocet


Burhinidae: (Eurasian) Stone-curlew


Charadriidae: Little Ringed Plover / (Common) Ringed Plover / Kentish Plover / (Eurasian) Dotterel / (European) Golden Plover / Grey Plover / (Northern) Lapwing


Scolopacidae: (Red) Knot / Sanderling / Little Stint / Temminck’s Stint / Curlew Sandpiper / Purple Sandpiper / Dunlin / Ruff / Jack Snipe / (Common) Snipe / (Eurasian) Woodcock / Black-tailed Godwit / Bar-tailed Godwit / Whimbrel / (Eurasian) Curlew / Common Sandpiper / Green Sandpiper / Spotted Redshank / (Common) Greenshank / Wood Sandpiper / (Common) Redshank / (Ruddy) Turnstone / Red-necked Phalarope / Grey Phalarope (Red Phalarope)


Stercorariidae: Pomarine Skua (Pomerine Jaeger) / Arctic Skua (Parasitic Jaeger) / Long-tailed Skua (Long-tailed Jaeger) / Great Skua


Laridae: Sabine’s Gull / (Black-legged) Kittiwake / (Common) Black-headed Gull / Little Gull / Mediterranean Gull / Common Gull (Mew Gull) / Ring-billed Gull / Lesser Black-backed Gull / Herring Gull / Iceland Gull / Glaucous Gull / Great Black-backed Gull


Sternidae: Black Tern / Sandwich Tern / Common Tern / Roseate Tern / Arctic Tern


Alcidae Guillemot (Common Murre) / Razorbill / Black Guillemot / Little Auk / (Atlantic) Puffin


Columbidae: Rock Dove - Feral Pigeon (Common Pigeon) / Stock Dove / Woodpigeon (Common Wood Pigeon) / (Eurasian) Collared Dove / (European) Turtle Dove


Psittacidae: Ring-necked Parakeet (Rose-ringed Parakeet)


Cuculidae: (Common) Cuckoo


Tytonidae: Barn Owl


Strigidae: Little Owl / Tawny Owl / Long-eared Owl / Short-eared Owl


Caprimulgidae: (European) Nightjar


Apodidae: (Common) Swift


Alcedinidae: (Common) Kingfisher


Meropidae: (European) Bee-eater


Upupidae: (Eurasian) Hoopoe


Picidae: (Eurasian) Wryneck / (European) Green Woodpecker / Great Spotted Woodpecker / Lesser Spotted Woodpecker


Alaudidae: (Greater) Short-toed Lark / Woodlark (Wood Lark) / Skylark (Sky Lark) / Shore Lark (Horned Lark)


Hirundinidae: Sand Martin / (Barn) Swallow / (Common) House Martin


Motacillidae: Tree Pipit / Meadow Pipit / (Eurasian) Rock Pipit / Water Pipit / Yellow Wagtail / Grey Wagtail / Pied Wagtail (White Wagtail)


Bombycillidae: (Bohemian) Waxwing


Cinclidae: (White-throated) Dipper


Troglodytidae: (Winter) Wren


Prunellidae: Dunnock


Turdidae: (European) Robin / (Common) Nightingale / Bluethroat / Black Redstart / (Common) Redstart / Whinchat / (Eurasian) Stonechat / (Northern) Wheatear / Ring Ouzel / (Common) Blackbird / Fieldfare / Song Thrush / Redwing / Mistle Thrush


Silviidae: Cetti’s Warbler / (Common) Grasshopper Warbler / Sedge Warbler / Marsh Warbler / (Eurasian) Reed Warbler / Icterine Warbler / Melodious Warbler / (Eurasian) Blackcap / Garden Warbler / Barred Warbler / Lesser Whitethroat / (Common) Whitethroat / Dartford Warbler / Yellow-browed Warbler / Wood Warbler / Chiffchaff / Willow Warbler / Goldcrest / Firecrest


Muscicapidae: Spotted Flycatcher / Red-breasted Flycatcher / (Eurasian) Pied Flycatcher


Timaliidae: Bearded Tit (Bearded Reedling)


Aegithalidae: Long-tailed Tit (Long-tailed Bushtit)


Paridae: Blue Tit / Great Tit / (European) Crested Tit / Coal Tit / Willow Tit / Marsh Tit


Sittidae: (Eurasian) Nuthatch


Certhiidae: (Eurasian) Treecreeper


Oriolidae: (Eurasian) Golden Oriole


Laniidae: Red-backed Shrike / Great Grey Shrike / Woodchat Shrike


Corvidae: (Eurasian) Jay / (Eurasian) Magpie / (Red-billed) Chough / (Western) Jackdaw / Rook / Carrion Crow / Hooded Crow / (Northern) Raven


Sturnidae: (Common) Starling / Rose-coloured Starling (Rosy Starling)


Passeridae: House Sparrow / (Eurasian) Tree Sparrow


Fringillidae: Chaffinch / Brambling / (European) Serin / (European) Greenfinch / (European) Goldfinch / (Eurasian) Siskin / (Common) Linnet / Twite / Lesser Redpoll / Common Crossbill (Red Crossbill) / Scottish Crossbill / Common Rosefinch / (Eurasian) Bullfinch / Hawfinch


Emberizidae: Lapland Bunting (Lapland Longspur) / Snow Bunting / Yellowhammer / Cirl Bunting / Ortolan Bunting / (Common) Reed Bunting / Corn Bunting