My favourite photos of 2014

January: Great Northern Diver, Maxey Pits, Cambs

January: Great Northern Diver wing-flap composite, Maxey Pits, Cambs

February: Kingfisher, Ferry Meadows CP, Cambs

February: Treecreeper singing, Ferry Meadows CP, Cambs

March: Corn Bunting, Blackbush, Cambs

April: Little Tern, Ferry Meadows CP, Cambs

April: Spotted Crake, King's Dyke NR, Cambs

May: Turtle Dove, Langtoft, Lincs

May: Wheatear, March Farmers, Cambs

June: Brilliant Emerald, Ashdown Forest, Sussex

June: Penduline Tit, Neusiedl Am See, Austria

July: Red-legged Partridge family, Baston, Lincs

July: Juvenile Cuckoo, Maxey Pits, Cambs August: Gannets, Bempton Cliffs RSPB, East Yorks

August: Wood Sandpiper, Titchwell Marsh RSPB, Norfolk

September: Little Egret, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincs

September: Weasel, Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincs

October: Juvenile Marsh Harrier, Woodwalton Fen NNR, Cambs

October: Steppe Grey Shrike, Burnham Norton, Norfolk

November: Starlings, King's Dyke NR, Cambs

November: Wigeon, Ferry Meadows CP, Cambs

Devember: Stonechat, Ferry Meadows CP, Cambs

December: Redwing, Maxey, Cambs

Stonechat at Ferry Meadows CP

With caterpillar

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White-wingers at Star Pit, Peterborough

A first-winter Glaucous Gull and second-winter Iceland Gull on Star Pit, opposite Dogsthorpe Pit on 30 December 2014, made ticks number 185 and 186 for the PBC year list (later that afternoon I got Beared Tit to end the year on 187... again!). Here are the digiscoped shots of the white-wingers.

First-winter (juvenile) Glaucous Gull

Second-winter Iceland Gull

Sparrowhawks at Star Pit, Peterborough

Male

Female

Tundra Bean Goose at Goosetree

One of two, tick number 184 for my PBC year list

European White-fronted Geese, Deeping Lakes LWT

Tick number 183 for my PBC year list

Redwing

Fieldfares Part 2

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Fieldfares Part 1

Pink-footed Geese over Holme Fen, Cambs

The front of a V-shaped flock of c100 that flew over my head at 10.30am on Sunday, while I was on Rough-legged Buzzard-watching duty. These are scarce birds locally (despite being really numerous in neighbouring Norfolk), so a passing skein of this size was a little bit special.

Rough-legged Buzzard at Holme Fen

Composite of distant hunting bird poses

Note Peterborough Cathedral in the distance

This Rough-legged was initially reported on the Great Fen website (after they saw it on 9th November) by a couple of local birders who are infamously tight-lipped about their birds, preferring not to actively engage with other birders. Luckily, someone spotted this and tipped me off on Friday 28th. But it was already three weeks since the sighting with nothing since. So, I wasn't exactly full of confidence when I went to check out the site on saturday 29th. However, within half an hour I had relocated it and the twitch was on with local birders coming over the weekend to watch a special bird and add it to their Peterborough area lists.

This is PBC tick number 241 for me and 182 in 2014. On sunday afternoon it came much closer, but I wasn't there to see it and photograph it... Perhaps next weekend?