2007: The Facts and Figures

British Birds - 151

Garden List - 11 (not bad to say I don't have a garden!)

World Birds - 169 (all Australian!)

Total - 320

British life ticks - 3 (Garganey at Venus Pool, Red-crested Pochard at Lound, and Common Crane in Norfolk)

Australian life ticks - 106 (too many to list here!)

Best birding encounter - coming face to face with wild Cassowary.

Best birding experience - being covered in wild Rainbow Lorikeets during feeding time at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Queensland. So what if they pooped all over me and all over Dad's camera bag (sorry Dad!), left my hands and wrists in shreds, and left me deaf from their screeches directly into my ears. It was FUN!

Best view - Bittern at Potteric Carr (see entry for Christmas Eve).

Best bird books read - The Big Year by Mark Obmascik, The Big Twitch by Sean Dooley, and This Birding Life by Stephen Moss

So, I didn't get out half as much as I planned, visit half as many places as planned, nor seen a fraction of the birds I would have liked to have seen. That said, I still got out some of the time, visited some beautiful/interesting places, and saw some truly fantastic birds. And throughout the year, in different places and different countries, I did that with some great people. Oh, and I started the year with a new scope, and ended it with new bins.

No complaints then :-))