Rarest birds

A short indulgent blog post to highlight the rarest of the 436 species I've seen to date.

The first bird I ever twitched was the 1990 Naumann's Thrush in Woodford. At the time this was a first for Britain but there has been a second which was strangely enough seen in 1997 in South Woodford.  Little did I know I wouldn't twitch my next bird until 2011 after giving up the hobby to raise my family. I worked long hours to give my boys everything I could and spent all my spare time running them to various football training and matches. I became a qualified referee and took the FA coaching course before a decade of coaching which took up all my spare time.

The Pond Heron in Hythe Kent 2014 was another first for Britain which I saw the day before it expired. Since the first there have been another subsequent accepted record of a bird that was seen in Norfolk and Hampshire. Despite the second bird this remains the bird that most other listers on Bubo have as a target species. I think like me many didn't think the Hythe bird would be accepted and I only twitched it as an insurance tick as I was driving by.

The Brown Booby I connected with in Cornwall of 2019 was a first for Britain until later a record from Kent was submitted and predated the Cornwall record by a week although they were probably the same bird. There has been another record since with a bird seen at sea in 2020 off the Isle of Wight.

I connected with Siberian Accentor back in 2016. At the time this was a first record for Britain and another was seen in 2017. 

Western Swamphen was a first for Britain back in 2016. It remains the only British record and I was lucky enough to see it during it's time in Linconshire having missed it's brief stay at Minsmere.

Short-toed Snake Eagle was only the third for Britain when I connected in Ashdown Forest back in 2014. There have only been two records since.

The Grey Catbird was only Britains second record when I made the long journey down tot Cornwall to see it in 2018 and we haven't had the third record yet.

Sandhill Crane was only the fourth for Britain when I saw my first back in 2011 and we've not seen another since. 

Masked Shrike have only made the British list five times and I was lucky to connect with the third and fifth. First in Yorkshire in 2014 and then in Kent in 2020

Spanish Sparrow was the eighth record for Britain when I twitched one in Hampshire back in 2011 and there have only been two since.

The Green Heron in 2018 was only the eighth for Britain, there's not been one since.

Common Yellowthroat was the tenth record for Britain when I connected in Gwent during 2012 and we haven't had another since.

American Barn Swallow was only the tenth record for Britain when I connected at Minsmere back in 2016 and there have only been a couple of records since.

I connected with the White winged Scoter that's been wintering in Scotland since 2016. This bird would appear to be the second record for Britain as another bird in the same area was seen in 2011.