The year in pictures

Here's a few monthly photo highlights from 2025. I've also done a couple of local personal reviews for Spring HERE and Autumn HERE. For the numbers behind 2025 see HERE. 

JANUARY

January highlight was a trip to Kuwait with Vince , with a few new lifers and WP ticks to get the year kicked off. Crab Plovers were a highlight. 

FEBRUARY

A trip to Iceland with the family was the highlight of February, Barrow's Goldeneyes (above) and Harlequin Ducks were lifers. 

MARCH

Locally based in March, the highlight of the month was the early Spring sea passage of wintering and waterbirds past Selsey Bill including good numbers of Brent Geese 

APRIL

The Least Sandpiper at Medmerry was an incredible find by Paul Bowley

Another family trip in April took us to Cyprus where I got a few more stealth ticks including Cyprus Wheatear (above), Cyprus Warbler, Cyprus Scops Owl and jammed in on the Lesser Moorhen (below)

Back to the local patch at the end of April to witness the Pom passage off Selsey Bill

MAY

A trip to Kuwait with Vince and Julian to visit Omar and friends was incredible with us finding the first Lesser Striped Swallow (above) for the WP and six Short-tailed Shearwaters (below) on a pelagic trip 

JUNE

Back at home it was a great spring/summer for moth migrants including Striped Hawkmoths (above)

A June visit to the Bulgaria project plot in June gave us the chance to complete the wildlife pond and carry out some more moth recording 

JULY

Another month spent locally with highlights being the garden moth trapping with many highlights and scarce migrants including Bright Wave (above) and Small Marbleds (below)

AUGUST 

Another family trip this time to France, staying at Le Moulin de Pensol. Highlights included good views of Honey Buzzard (above) and some nice moths including Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth (below)

Back at home the great moth migration season continued with more Striped Hawkmoths (above-pictured with a Cliften Nonpariel) 

SEPTEMBER

Another trip to the Bulgaria project where we did some autumn bird migration recording and exploration and found Middle-spotted Woodpeckers in our village wood (above)

Back at home there were a few autumn birding highlights including Grey Phalarope (above) and Wryneck 

OCTOBER

The third visit to the Bulgaria project in October was incredible with finding the 5th Rustic Bunting and 7th Caspian Stonechat for Bulgaria and also having Pallas's Warbler (above) and witnessing some breath taking visible migration and falls including a large fall of Robins (below)

Pallid Harrier mowing through 50,000 Swallows 

NOVEMBER

With late October/early November being peak vagrant time locally we had this Pallid Swift over Selsey and also had Yellow-browed Warbler 

This ship-assisted Boat-tailed Grackle in nearby Hampshire was one of the autumn birding highlights. For a species that 'naturally' colonises via ships within it's range, Grackles in the WP pose an interesting case study of the mechanisms and consequences of vagrancy in an increasingly human modified world

DECEMBER 

A trip to Oman in late November/early December was a highlight of the birding year. Our group found the first Paddyfield Pipit for Oman (above) and we racked up a trip list of 232 in two weeks with plenty of lifers and Greater WP ticks

Male Lichienstien's Sandgrouse

Plain Leaf Warbler 

Jouanin's Petrel

Back home this nice male Snow Bunting was a local highlight