Nightjars in the Forest of Dean

25 July - eventually, a fine evening and a dusk visit to Boy's Grave in the Forest of Dean - a pair of Nightjars seen well at 9.25pm, the male displaying, and I heard it churring briefly at 9.15pm then again from 9.30pm. Also heard, 2 Tawny Owls, probably young birds.

Madeira "Twitch"

10-11 June 2009 - a brief Madeira trip with Mark Finn from Birdwatching Breaks. The first afternoon, after flying via Lisbon, we headed up into the wooded hills to see Madeira Firecrest and Trocaz Pigeon - a good haul of other species included Plain and Pallid Swifts, Spectacled Warbler and Quail. After dinner, we then returned to the Pico de Arieiro with Hugo from Madeira Windbirds, and after an amazing moonlight ascent, with a cloud sea lapping the peaks below us, we waited by the cliffs and then heard the eerie calls of the arriving Zino's Petrels (top), and glimpsed several of these incredibly rare seabirds flying in the darkness, against the moon and stars. A memorable experience!
The next day, a Desertas boat trip was perhaps slightly disappointing in terms of seabirds, but still produced excellent views of over 300 Cory's Shearwaters (3 upper photos, JM), and 3 Bulwer's Petrels including very good views of the first one sighted (lower photo). Alas, no Fea's or Storm Petrels.

Kamchatka, Kuril Islands and Bering Sea - June 2009

15-30 June 2009 - a Heritage Expeditions trip to the remote Far East of Russia, including the Kuril Island chain, Bering and Medny Islands, and the Kamchatka peninsula. A very memorable experience, with generally very good weather (despite some fog), and a real frontier feel. Our base was the "Spirit of Enderby", an expedition cruise ship (pics 1-5). Wildlife highlights were many - Zapovednik island produced a glimpse of a Brown(Grizzly)Bear popping its head up at close quarters, as well as many White-tailed Eagles (p 6-7). Stunning weather on Iterup island gave us dramatic views of the volcano, and Pacific Swifts and our first very obliging Siberian Rubythroat (p 8-9). Highlights of the rest of the Kuril chain including
2 more Brown Bears (p 29-30), and thousands of auks including (p22-28) Parakeet Auklet, Horned and Tufted Puffins, Whiskered Auklets (a flight of thousands in from the sea at dusk), Spectacled Guillemot, Brunnich's Guillemot and Black Guillemot. Waders included Grey-tailed Tattler, Mongolian Plover and Rock Sandpiper. (p 10-12). The cruise around the Bering Sea was impressive in its own right - Red-legged Kittiwakes were much in evidence towards Bering Island (p 13-14) and cetaceans were very impressive - a Blue Whale on the last morning (p 15), also Sperm, Baird's Beaked Whales (p 16-17) and Orcas (p 18). Other seabirds included 3 Short-tailed and daily Laysan Albatrosses and long-tailed Skuas (p 19-21).
On the Kamchatka mainland, landings at river mouths gave us excellent sightings amidst dramatic snow-topped volcanic scenery. I finally saw a Lanceolated Warbler (p 31-34), and the Zhupanova River cruise in fantastic weather was memorable for multiple sightings of Steller's Sea Eagles and Red-throated Divers (p 35-38).
As a finale, Bering and Medny Islands (with a statue of Captain Bering himself) produced both dramatic fog-bound scenery (p 39-42) and splendid wildlife - including fantastic close-up Pechora Pipits, Sea Otters, Harlequins, and Glaucous-winged Gulls (p 43-46).
After the end of the ship cruise, a final day on the mainland in the Paratunka valley gave a last highlight, a mixed tern colony included a few pairs of Aleutian Terns, and numerous Olive-backed Pipits (p 47-49). The flight home left final memories of smoking volcanoes and dramatic sunsets (p 50-51).