With 2023 coming to a close I have never, ever been so glad to see the back of a year in my life. It has been a very challenging year beset by funerals and ill health and I hope that 2024 sees an upturn in our fortunes. It has however been another fantastic year for wildlife but with everything going on it hasn't always been the balm to my soul that it usually is and at times I haven't really fully enjoyed my wildlife sightings and have just felt like I was going through the motions.
Being unwell throughout the year has been quite the eye-opener too, having to navigate the ins and outs of the NHS and the shocking lack of proper patient care from my GP has been an "interesting" experience and one that I was aware of but never had to deal with myself. Also as someone who has enjoyed very rude health up until now it has been quite a humbling experience, I take so very much for granted with my health and it has been a surprise to me at how impacting ill health can be on my day to day activities and how anxious and low in mood being unwell has made me feel, sadly something I was begining to forget when dealing with patients - I think leaving nursing was a good decision for me this year.
Still, forwards and upwards, let's see what the New Year brings, at least I no longer have to endure the stresses and strains of nursing in the NHS. And here are my Top Ten wildlife experiences of 2023.
1. Seawatching
I always viewed seawatching as a birding activity beyond my reach, requiring dawn starts to remote headlands in wind and rain to watch distant birds flying by but once I had purchased myself a decent telescope and had done some homework I started to take more of an interest.
I've been on a few sea watches now and yes, they have been cold, wet and windy at times but despite that I've really enjoyed them although I still have a lot to learn. I never managed to get to Berry Head this year for a seawatch but 2023 has been a remarkable year for seabirds off the coasts of Cornwall and Devon and I took full advantage of this, getting my first UK sightings of Cory's Shearwater and Sabine's Gull and a lifer in the form of Wilson's Storm Petrel in the process.
Great, Manx, Sooty and Balearic Shearwater, Arctic Skua and Storm Petrel also gave great views but the stand out sighting was the Cory's Shearwater I found on the deck of the ferry as we headed into port in Plymouth and which I released into the air off the side of the ship, I only wished I'd checked it more closely to see if it was in fact a Scopoli's but never mind!
2. Wembury
I made a concerted effort to visit Wembury more often this year and it paid off with some remarkable bird sightings and I finished the year on 114 species, knocking The Plym and Saltram into second place for the first time since starting my 100 species in a year challenge back in 2021.
My first UK Cory's Shearwaters were seen at Wembury this year with Sooty Shearwater, Storm Petrel, Turtle Dove, Black-tailed Godwit and Red Kite all Wembury firsts too and Wryneck, Curlew Sandpiper and Arctic Skua other highlights. I wonder what next year will bring?
3. Local Wildlife
This comes up every year on my Top Ten but I really am so lucky with the wildlife present right here on my doorstep. Wembury aside, I've seen a great range of flora and fauna not that far from home with highlights being Little Gull, Goshawk, White-letter Hairstreak, Black Guillemot, High Brown Fritillary, Purple Sandpiper, Spotted Flycatcher, Bee Orchid, Great White Egret and Black Redstart to name but a few.
I didn't have the moth box out in the back yard very often this year, a combination of working lots of night shifts, poor weather and a lack of motivation but I did catch 3 Vestals and hopefully next year will be better.
4. Isles of Scilly Day Trip
My (mostly) annual day trip to the Isles of Scilly in 2023 was my best one ever, a long and tiring day but well worth it. I nearly didn't go because of ongoing health issues but I'm very glad I did as it was a fantastic day in perfect conditions.
Sea watching from The Scillonian ferry was fantastic with brilliant views of Cory's, Great, Sooty and Manx Shearwaters in flat calm seas. My first UK Sabine's Gulls were a lovely bonus despite being a little distant and Common Dolphins, Harbour Porpoise, a Risso's Dolphin and a Bottle-Nosed Dolphin were the icing on the cake.
My 4 hours on St.Mary's flew by but I did get to see my first UK Western Bonelli's Warbler after dipping one on my last visit in 2021, it was active and mobile in the very top of a stand of pine trees but I managed some decent views despite getting a crick in my neck from staring upwards for over an hour!
An absolutely amazing day out, can't wait for next year!
5. Northern Ireland
I remember watching all the troubles in Northern Ireland on the news as a kid growing up and never imagined it would be a part of the UK that I would ever visit. However things have changed and with Northern Ireland being the only place in the UK where Cryptic Wood White butterflies are found we planned a trip to go and see them.
And what a trip it was, Belfast was a delight, I saw my butterflies and we had a great time. We did visit Dublin for the day during our trip and as enjoyable as our visit was we much preferred Belfast to Dublin.
6. Dorset
My sister and brother-in-law moved to Dorset at the start of the year and gave us a Christmas gift voucher for a day trip by boat and steam train from Poole to Corfe along with an invite to stay with them and so we duly booked up a visit in June.
We were very lucky with the weather on the day of our trip and had a fantastic time with the highlight being excellent views of Lulworth Skippers at Durlston Country Park near Swanage and at Corfe Castle.
Dorset is a very beautiful county and one we rarely visit despite being next door to Devon, we had a very enjoyable few days away with some interesting wildlife sightings and it was great to spend some time with my sister.
7. Minsmere
We visited my Mum and Dad in Suffolk back in July for a few days and during our time away I managed to get an early morning visit to Minsmere. Usually I get dropped off at Minsmere mid-morning for just a few hours but this time I decided to catch an early train and then a taxi and get picked up at lunchtime giving me a much longer visit, an expensive option but well worth it.
Back in my youth I visited Minsmere regularly by train and bike and always remember having a fantastic time. However when I have visited Minsmere more recently it seemed to have lost some of its sparkle but this trip was an absolute corker, just as I remembered my visits as a teenager with some amazing sightings - Little Gull, Spoonbill, Hobby, Marsh Harrier, Avocet, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Bearded Tit, Little Tern, Essex Skipper, White Admiral, Great White Egret, Norfolk Hawker, Bee Wolf and Willow Emerald Damselfly were some of the highlights and I was really disappointed when Mum and David arrived to take me home!
8. Black-winged Stilt and Alpine Swifts
I have seen many Black-winged Stilts over the years on my foreign travels but have always failed in my quest to see one in the UK, having endured quite a few dips in my time. However with an influx of birds into the UK this spring I finally managed to catch up with one at Bude, distant views but I was very glad to see it!
There was also an influx of Alpine Swifts into the UK at the same time, again a bird I have seen many times on trips to Europe but never in the UK. Multiple birds and sightings were being reported in Devon but work, ill health and a prebooked trip to London meant I couldn't get out to try and see them. However 3 birds were regularly coming in to roost at a church tower in Teignmouth and I eventually managed to catch up with them there, seeing 2 birds on my first visit and just 1 bird on my second visit.
9. Gulls
I love to hate to love Gulls but it has been a very good year for Gull sightings. The year started off very well with a 1st winter Little Gull found feeding off Plymouth Hoe on New Years Day, I thought it might have been a good omen for the coming year but there you go. Little Gull is probably my favourite UK Gull so I was also pleased to find 4 together in Plymouth Sound in November after Storm Ciaran with sightings of 4 at Minsmere in July also a bonus.
A Laughing Gull at Beesands in January gave everybody the run around before finally giving itself up, only my second sighting of one, but Penzance and Hayle was the place to be that month with an 11 Gull species day out had on the 16th - Kittiwake and Herring, Black-headed, Common, Lesser Black-backed, Mediterranean, Glaucous, Great Black-backed, Yellow-legged, Caspian and Ring-billed Gull all logged on a great day out.
Juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were also a feature of late summer and it was great fun picking them out amongst the assorted Gulls along the beach at Wembury. More frustrating was trying to find one on The Plym but eventually I managed to nail one, my first at this site.
No Iceland Gulls were seen this year, I dipped one at Newlyn Harbour in January, but then I mustn't be too greedy!
10. A Trip to Slimbridge
I have been to Slimbridge many times over the years and it is always a fantastic days birding and as I haven't been there for 3 years now I treated myself to an (expensive) pre-Christmas visit in December.
It was a great trip as always and while I failed to see the wintering White-fronted Geese for the first time ever I had a brilliant time with some amazing close up views of the wintering Bewick's Swans which are always an absolute delight. How much longer the Bewick's Swans will return to Slimbridge is anyone's guess as globally their numbers continue to decrease and climate change encourages them to winter further east on the continent and so I really should make the most of them while they are still visiting Slimbridge for the winter.
Runner Up : Hume's Leaf Warbler
It was relatively quiet on the bird front as the year came to an end but a Hume's Leaf Warbler was found at Clennon Valley Lakes in Torbay in December and it seemed to be sticking around and showing well so I went to have a look for it.
It was a trip reminiscent of last Decembers Olive-backed Pipit in Exmouth which likewise was sticking around and showing well, the visits were all blue skies and sunshine sandwiched between the more usual wind and rain and the birds showed exceptionally well. Both birds were also lifers for me and were nice ways to end the years although both trips were also a little bit too twitchy for my liking.
And so that was 2023, probably no proper birding now until the New Year so roll on 2024. There's lots to look forward too, plenty of wildlife out there to try and see and things will get better!
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