Sunday, 17 January 2010

Now where are the new birds in 2010?

Winter in Europe is probably a good time to plan a little birding in new year. Given that my favourite birding spot near Rome is now out of bounds (Maccaresse dams are now fenced and locked), I will even need to look a little further afield locally.  There are a number of places I could go but probably never as productive or as variable as Maccaresse.

Given that my life list has only been rolling on slowly this year (not sure of the exact number but around 50 I think), I think it is time to plan a little more activity when I travel. If all goes well, I should pass through India, China and Indonesia this year and get back to South Africa and Australia. Adding another 300 species to my life list would be great. Somehow I think I need to get to South America to ensure this happening - if I could spend 2-3 weeks in South America in addition to my other travel, then another at least 1000 new species is very achievable for 2010.



The bottom line is that I need to start buying tickets for the lottery again otherwise it will be another year of what could have been. Taking a day or two off while travelling for work is great but not always that productive in terms of numbers and good birding places I can visit. Life is all too often about compromises.

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