2025 was a very quiet year for birding. The couple of really exciting birds that were seen on the island were not seen by me! The avian highlights were finding the Pallas’s and the Dotterel - any birds that surprise you, appearing in front of your eyes are always the best. The American Herring Gull was interesting, and I was grateful it reappeared after missing it the first time. It was exciting to come across a Black Kite out on a drive, even though it arrived on the island a couple of days before, and bumping into a White Stork three times in one day was bizarre, even though it was probably a reintroduced bird.

In contrast, Moths were superb, with lots of new species added to the list. What was great was ticking off a few of the rarer scarce species that I have been looking out for for a long time, such as Pine-tree Lappet. Trapping more regularly on the cliffs with the entomology group meant more excitement and potential for good species, the highlight here being the Dusky Scalloped Oak which I have wanted to see for 20 years since arriving in Guernsey. Other local insects that I was particularly pleased to see included the continental fly species Coenosia tigrina, and finally seeing both Red-veined Darter and Asian Hornet, which were both giant gaps in the local list.

Of course, a full week of wildlife-hunting with the BUBO lads in Norfolk, plus a solo day in New Forest, was filled with lots of amazing critters, and I picked up a whopping 166 new species. Technically, the highlight was picking out Hemp Tortrix, only a second record for Britain. But my favourite times from that week were the moth-trapping session at Strumpshaw, along with the walk there the next morning, chasing moths round the amazing field in the Brecks and getting caught in the deluge at Wheatfen! My favourite morning of the whole year was wandering slowly, off-path down to Crockford Stream in the New Forest, amongst the bogs and the ponies, without a single person in sight, surrounded by hundreds of dragonflies and other creatures.

STATS

1 new bird for the World List - American Herring Gull - on 800.

1 new bird for Britain (inc. C.Is.) - American Herring Gull - on 408.

1 new bird for Guernsey - American Herring Gull - on 278.

(All these three totals have actually gone down due to the taxonomic spoilsports doing some “lumping”)

1 new 'self-found' bird - Pallas’s Warbler - on 280.

(Although Dotterel could probably be counted as this as I have only previously “found” birds on Cairngorm.)

0 new garden birds (in or from) - still on 98.

(It has been 3 full years now since the last new bird from the garden - maybe I’ll never get to 100!)

2025 Guernsey year list total - 135.

(Another poor year but totally my fault. Sometimes I don’t bother driving 1 minute out of my way to see a bird that has turned up, or even stop the car when that’s all I have to do! I must try harder this year)