Birding places

As I build up to my usual end of year post, and with the merits of the fabulous Ivory Gull already dealt with, I thought I wouldn't go down the route of posting photos of birds as that would be too easy and too expected. Instead I thought I'd do something on birding locations.

Twitching rare birds has some side benefits; time with good friends, and in some instances, unbelievably beautiful locations that in normal circumstances you would never discover. I'd almost go so far as to say that together these perhaps even eclipse the lost waifs that you're attempting to see, even though I suppose it would be difficult not to be disappointed if the bird wasn't there - but of course this has never happened to me, so I cannot comment :-). So here are a few such places that birding has taken me to this year, but as this is holiday season and I am not in an altogether serious mood, the locations have been chosen not by me, but by Snuffi*.....

Berneray, just up from North Uist

The Erg Chebbi, Morocco

Cap Formentor, Majorca

Lamba Ness, Unst, Shetland

Collafirth, Mainland, Shetland

Debrecen Great Wood, Hungary

Getting Christmassy......in St Lucia

*Snuffi is one of the world's best-travelled panthers, and crops up periodically on this blog. He's not a big twitcher, but is always likely to make an appearance on any trip that goes beyond a couple of days. The reasons for this are unknown, he just seems to sense when a trip is in the offing and sneaks in the car when my back is turned. Honest....