A personal account of the rare and scarce birds seen in Britain in 2005. Features some of the year's major rarities including Belted Kingfisher, Barrow's Goldeneye, Trumpeter Finch, Sooty Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Sora and Green Heron. For a complete list of species see below.
Disc One
Black Brant – Holkham, Norfolk – January
Lesser Yellowlegs – Stiffkey, Norfolk – January
Great Grey Shrike – Dunstall Common, Worcestershire – January
Richard’s Pipit – kinmel Bay, Conwy – February
Glaucous Gull – Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire – February
Ross’s Gull – Petershead, Aberdeenshire – February
Red-necked Grebe – Stanwick G.P’s Northamptonshire – February
Little Bunting – Caunsall, Worcestershire – March
Slavonian Grebe – Barrow upon Trent G.P’s, Derbyshire – March
Black-necked Grebe – Nene Barrage lake, Northamptonshire – March
Black Grouse – Langdon Beck, Teesdale – March
Great Northern Diver – Culverthorpe Lake, Lincolnshire – March
Hoopoe – Cefn Cribwr, Glamorgan – March
Great Grey Shrike – Walton upon Trent, Derbyshire – March
Caspian Gull – Long Drove, Cambridgeshire – March
Belted Kingfisher – Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire – April
Hawfinch – Parkend Church, Forest of Dean – April
Great Spotted Cuckoo – Brooklands Pleasure Park, West Sussex – April
Purple Heron – Morden Forest, Wareham, Dorset – April
Blue-headed Wagtail – Blithfield Reservoir, Staffordshire – April
Waxwings – Blithfield Reservoir, Staffordshire – April
Snow Goose – Holkham, Norfolk – April
Spoonbill – Trimley Marshes, Suffolk – April
King Eider – Troon, Ayreshire – May
Iceland Gull – Irvine Harbour, Ayreshire - May
Stilt Sandpiper – Burham Norton, Norfolk – May
Barrow’s Goldeneye – Meikle loch, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire – May
Whiskered Tern – Ashton’s Flash, Cheshire – May
Red-necked Grebe – Knowsley Safari Park, Lancashire – May
Woodchat Shrike – Cromer Golf course, Norfolk – May
Trumpeter Finch – Languard N.R. Suffolk – May
Terek Sandpiper – Cliffe Pools RSPB, Kent – May
Spotted Sandpiper – Belvide Reservoir, Staffordshire – May
Balearic Woodchat Shrike – Uphill, Somerset – June
Marsh Sandpiper – Bowling Green Marsh RSPB, Devon - June
Disc Two
Collared Pratincole – National Wetlands Centre, Carmarthen – July
Sooty Tern – Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey – July
Lesser Crested Tern – Happisburgh, Norfolk – July
Bee-eaters – Hampton Bishop, Herefordshire – July
White-billed Diver – Holm Sound, Orkney Islands – July
Laughing Gull – Burray, Orkney Islands – August
Black-throated Diver – Lochindorb, Highlands – August
Ring-billed Gull – Otterspool, Merseyside – August
Mediterranean Gull – Otterspool, Merseyside – August
Long-billed Dowitcher – Rutland Water, Leicestershire – August
Cattle Egret – Brampton, Cambridgeshire – August
Wilson’s Phalarope – Farlington Marsh, Hampshire – August
Black-headed Wagtail – South Huish, Devon – August
Spotted Crake – Ambaston G.P’s, Derbyshire – August
Red-backed Shrike – Gunthorpe, Lincolnshire – August
Booted Warbler – Wintereton Dunes, Norfolk – September
Red-backed Shrike – Lodmoor, Dorset/Spurn point – September
Little Crake – Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire – September
Lesser Grey Shrike – Spurn Point, Yorkshire – September
Long-billed Dowitcher – Drift Reservoir, Cornwall – September
Spotted Sandpiper – Pinnis Head, Isles of Scilly – October
Sora – Lower Moors pool, Isles of Scilly – October
Squacco Heron – Newton Abbot, Devon – October
Red-necked Phalarope – Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire – October
Grey Phalarope – New Brighton, Wirral, Cheshire – October
Arctic Warbler – Portland, Dorset – October
White-rumped Sandpiper – Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire – October
Paddyfield Warbler – Torness Powerstation, Lothian – October
Black-throated Diver – Chelmarsh Lake, Shropshire – October
Green Heron – Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey – November
Grey-cheeked Thrush – Northaw Great Wood C.P Hertfordshire – November
Upland Sandpiper – Kingston Seymour, Somerset – November
Sociable Plover – Rainham Marsh RSPB, London – December
Hooded Merganser – Chilham Fisheries, Kent – December
Hume's Yellow-Browed Warbler - Filey, North Yorkshire – December
Great Northern Diver – Draycote Water, Warwickshire – December
Laughing Gull – Porthcawl, Glamorgan – December
Black-throated Thrush – Curload, Somerset – December
Bittern – Upton Warren, Worcestershire - December
