Life List

This is a complete list of all the bird species I have seen in Britain since I started birding 'properly' in 2002. I will keep it updated with new 'lifers' as and when I find them.

The list now stands proudly at 213 (as of April 2017) but with nothing new since 2012, when the recent additions included: wood sandpiper and red crested pochard at Brandon Marsh, black-necked grebe at Napton Reservoir, tawny owl in Harden, Yorkshire, nightingales at Fingringhoe, Essex, turtle dove, also at Fingringhoe, and pectoral sandpiper at Draycote Reservoir.

This sounds like a nice little burst of activity when I put them all together, but in fact it took me slightly more than two years to add these seven to my list. And progress shows little sign of speeding up!

It took me from the tail end of 2005 to the beginning of 2007 to get from 194 to 200 species (we welcomed a son into the world in the intervening period, slowing me down somewhat) but it was worth waiting for - the 200th species was a magnificent Common Crane at Cropredy in Oxfordshire. It then took two years to crawl to 206, and the next 18 months to get to 210. Eight months later I'd crept to 213, and then nothing for five years.

Still, it's not like I'm racing anyone but myself!

Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata
Black-throated Diver Gavia arctica
Great Northern Diver Gavia immer
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus
Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisigena
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
Fulmar (Northern) Fulmarus glacialis
Gannet (Northern) Morus bassanus
Cormorant (Great) Phalacrocorax carbo
Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis
Bittern (Great) Botaurus stellaris
Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Bewick's Swan Cygnus columbianus
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
Mute Swan Cygnus olor
White-fronted Goose (Greater) Anser albifrons
Greylag Goose Anser anser
Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
Bean Goose Anser fabalis
Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis
Brent Goose Branta bernicla
Canada Goose Branta canadensis
Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus
Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata
Wigeon Anas penelope
Pintail (Northern) Anas acuta
Gadwall Anas strepera
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Teal Anas crecca
Green-winged Teal Anas carolinesis
Garganey Anas querquedula
Shoveler (Northern) Anas clypeata
Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris
Pochard Aythya ferina
Red Crested Pochard
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
Scaup (Greater) Aythya marila
Scaup (Lesser) Aythya affinis
Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis
Common Scoter Melanitta nigra
Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca
Eider Somateria mollissima
Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
Smew Mergellus albellus
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
Goosander Mergus merganser
Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis
Red Kite Milvus milvus
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
Buzzard Buteo buteo
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Merlin Falco columbarius
Hobby Falco subbuteo
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa
Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
Water Rail Rallus aquaticus
Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Coot Fulica atra
Crane Grus grus
Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
Black-winged Stilt Charadrius himantopus
Avocet (Pied) Recurvirostra avosetta
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Lapwing (Northern) Vanellus vanellus
Knot (Red) Calidris canutus
Sanderling Calidris alba
Little Stint Calidris minuta
Temminck’s Stint Calidris temminckii
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Ruff Philomachus pugnax
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
Woodcock Scolopax rusticola
Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus
Snipe Gallinago gallinago
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
Curlew Numenius arquata
Redshank Tringa totanus
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Turnstone (Ruddy) Arenaria interpres
Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus Iobatus
Great Skua Catharacta skua
Common Gull Larus Canus
Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus
Kittiwake (Black-legged) Rissa tridactyla
Little Gull Larus minutus
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
Herring Gull Larus argentatus
Yellow-legged Gull Larus cahinnans
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
Little Tern Sterna albifrons
Black Tern Chlidonias niger
Guillemot Uria aalge
Razorbill Alca torda
Puffin (Atlantic) Fratercula arctica
Feral Pigeon Columba livia
Stock Dove Columba oenas
Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur
Cuckoo Cuculus canorus
Tawny Own Strix aluco
Barn Owl Tyto alba
Little Owl Athene noctua
Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus
Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus
Swift Apus apus
Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Green Woodpecker Picus viridis
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor
Sky Lark Alauda arvensis
Sand Martin Riparia riparia
Swallow (Barn) Hirundo rustica
House Martin Delichon urbica
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis
Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta
Rock Pipit Anthus petrosus
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
Pied Wagtail / White Motacilla alba
Waxwing (Bohemian) Bombycilla garrulus
Dipper (White-throated) Cinclus cinclus
Wren Troglodytes Troglodytes
Dunnock Prunella modularis
Robin Erithacus rubecula
Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos
Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra
Stonechat Saxicola torquata
Wheatear (Northern) Oenanthe oenanthe
Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus
Blackbird Turdus merula
Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
Redwing Turdus iliacus
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
Cetti’s Warbler Cettia cetti
Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Dartford Warbler Sylvia undata
Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca
Whitethroat Sylvia communis
Garden Warbler Sylvia borin
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus
Goldcrest Regulus regulus
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata
Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca
Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus
Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
Marsh Tit Parus palustris
Willow Tit Parus montanus
Coal Tit Parus ater
Blue Tit Parus caeruleus
Great Tit Parus major
Nuthatch Sitta europaea
Treecreeper Certhia familiaris
Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor
Jay Garrulus glandarius
Magpie (Common) Pica pica
Chough (Red-billed) Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Jackdaw Corvus monedula
Rook Corvus frugilegus
Carrion Crow Corvus corone
Hooded Crow Corvus cornix
Raven Corvus corax
Starling Sturnus vulgaris
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla
Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
Siskin Carduelis spinus
Linnet Carduelis cannabina
Redpoll (Mealy) Carduelis flammea
Redpoll (Lesser) Carduelis cabaret
Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes
Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella
Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus
Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis
Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra