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Could have done better? Confessions of a year-lister.

10,000 Birds

I only scored 43 in March, but that was because I was away birding in Portugal and Estonia. These birds (usually juveniles) are clearly linked to the growing breeding population in the region. Inland in the Alentejo I found Great Spotted Cuckoos and the first returning Short-toed Eagles. These are Dunlins.

Estonia 220
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The European Christmas Bird Count

10,000 Birds

And I didn’t pay enough attention because one very dark eagle flew by at the same time, an adult Greater Spotted Eagle. These globally threatened raptors breed from Ukraine eastward through Siberia and only a few come to overwinter here. Two hundred yards further, we found another Greater Spotted Eagle!

Geese 142