Rain. And, like every other birdblog out there, a bit about years and lists.

To generalise somewhat, whether or not you have the time or inclination to yearlist and whether or not you yearlist properly (and yes, to yearlist is a verb, so far as I'm aware) it's always nice to get out on January 1st and make a good start to the birding year. 

While I think the assumption about birders liking to start the year well is fair enough, the one about it always being nice to get out on January 1st for a spot of birding...?

Oh.

It had only just started to think about raining when we arrived at Rainham yesterday but it didn't look or feel dangerous, so we went out anyway. It started fairly well; a male peregrine was soaring over Aveley and amongst the panicking masses a small group of golden plovers headed south. Good January 1st birds. However, the rain kicked in properly when we were at precisely the furthest point of the site and as a result we got soaked and saw nothing else. Fantastic.

Today, we went out on Southend Pier. Not sure why. We didn't get soaked, but we also didn't see anything. I don't know if not getting soaked and seeing nothing is better than getting soaked and seeing nothing.

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I've added a new page. It's a list that I'll keep over the course of the year. Almost - almost - a yearlist. But not. It's more a list of the year's species.

As I don't have the lifestyle or money to allow me to do a yearlist any justice I won't be doing one "properly", which is a shame, depending on who you talk to. It should be, as Mr Wanstead recently pointed out, fairly easy to hit the high 200s or even 300 in a year. But you have to be able to do some big trips. You'd have to do Scotland for a few days in May for all those northern specialities. Being able to drop everything and run in October is a must, as is some West Country seawatching between August and November, as and when the weather dictates. And, in between this and the daily drudgery of life, you have to be able to find and see everything else. You have to make all those trips out for those scarce breeders - monties harrier, golden oriole, stone curlew, etc. You certainly can't miss out on easy stuff like pied fly and wood warbler as they migrate through in Autumn, like I do, every sodding year.

In 2011 I racked up a little over 200 species, which is frankly shite, if you're trying. But there are a lot of really, really easy species missing simply because I wasn't able to make the necessary trips or twitches at the right times. And so, in 2012, rather than expecting that I'll be able to get out and see all the stuff I could easily see and consequently feeling frustrated by it I'll just be counting up what I see, in the order I see it. There won't really be time for anything else. I suspect I'll hit 200ish, again.

2013, though? Now there's a year I might start - and aim to finish - properly...