Your top 3 "bogey" birds? (5 Viewers)

[temmie]

Now, if I can ever see an Andean Condor....

I stumbled upon them in Peru at e.g. the upper Santa Eulalia valley on the way to Marcopomacochas, the Pariahuanca road (less travelled), in S-Peru the Salkantay trekking and many, many at the Colca Canyon.

So if you want to see Condor, go to the Colca Canyon. Or spend some time birding in the high Andes of C- or S-Peru (or probably Bolivia, N-Argentina and Chile)

 

[Farnboro John]

Finally looked these up after disposing of the last of the tarts with Lanceolated Warbler on Shetland this autumn(in the British Isles, this is):

1. Steller's Eider
2. Tengmalm's Owl
2. Scarlet Tanager

Good job stuff keeps turning up not from the form book - missed one Steller's and one Tanager, never had a chance at the owl yet!

John

 

[Nutcracker]

Now, if I can ever see an Andean Condor....

Pick this up, and take it with you - should pull them in

o

 

[Edward]

Birds I feel I should have seen by now in places I've spent some time
Europe:
Great Spotted Cuckoo - two spring trips to Spain, trips to Turkey (and one to Kenya) but still no sign. It is such a bogey that whenever any of my friends see one, I get a text message immediately.I'm told that that Cyprus in spring is a dead cert.

United States:
Brown Creeper - not a bird I'm dying to see but I think that after three trips to the northern US I should have come across one by now, I've seen plenty of more difficult birds there.

Australia:
Little Kingfisher - I've tried for this at several places in Queensland and NT. I was probably too worried about Salties.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Birds I feel I should have seen by now in places I've spent some time
Europe:
Great Spotted Cuckoo - two spring trips to Spain, trips to Turkey (and one to Kenya) but still no sign. It is such a bogey that whenever any of my friends see one, I get a text message immediately. I'm told that that Cyprus in spring is a dead cert.

We do the same with a friend and Bluethroat. Indeed, when twitching the Green Warbler on Shetland this spring, I detoured our car to twitch one and get another photo. Maybe I am a troll after all.

All the best

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

1. Grey Partridge(still!!!!)
2. Capercaillie (missed displaying male by 10 mins this year)
3. Dotterel

Will be up in Yorkshire so hoping to knock Grey Partridge off the list:t:

Rich

Back from Yorkshire and still no Grey Partridge:-C. Heaps of Red Legged Partridges but no Greys!!! On speaking to a few locals it appears they are not as easy to pick up as they once were. Certainly around Flamborough anyway. Looks like a trip to Norfolk will need to be planned for next year:t:

 

[MJB]

My top three bogey birds have all been de-bogeyed (not bog-eyed!) this year - Wallcreeper at close range, Dupont's Lark (March, Spain, near Zaragoza) and Gibberbird (yesterday, at a so far undisclosed, easily accessible site in South Australia).
MJB

 

[Julian61]

Enjoyable thread. Interesting to compare awkward species around the world. I've been birding for over 40 years and still haven't seen a Hawfinch. Atrip to Spurn tomorrow might get me a Yellow-browed Warbler. I also need to see Velvet Scoter (though I did see the Surf off Filey earlier this year).

 

[trw]

Enjoyable thread. Interesting to compare awkward species around the world. I've been birding for over 40 years and still haven't seen a Hawfinch. Atrip to Spurn tomorrow might get me a Yellow-browed Warbler. I also need to see Velvet Scoter (though I did see the Surf off Filey earlier this year).

Join the life listers,year listers,county listers and the rest of the merry throng at Sizergh Castle from November to March- bound to see a Hawfinch

 

[wolfbirder]

I still need Tawny Pipit in the UK, and its getting harder and harder to see each year, once easy.

 

[Cornish Chough]

1) Woodcock.
2) Nightingale. A very near miss early this year in Europe!
3) Shore Lark.
4) Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
5) Grey Partridge.

 

[AndyII]

Interesting to read about the Hawfinch. I lived in Germany for three years and never saw one. It was definitely on the list. I moved to Bydgoszcz and saw about a dozen in one day. Definitely a great bird.

As for the current bogey list, there's only one that really makes it: Black Woodpecker. In Europe, I've got greater, medium, and lesser spotted woodpeckers; wryneck; white-backed and green woodpeckers. In the US, I've got red-headed, red-bellied, downy, hairy, and flickers. There are several others I haven't seen, but it's the Black Woodpecker that gets on my nerves.

As I understand it, they're reasonably common too. Crazy.

 

[Sangahyando]

Interesting to read about the Hawfinch. I lived in Germany for three years and never saw one. It was definitely on the list. I moved to Bydgoszcz and saw about a dozen in one day. Definitely a great bird.

I guess it depends on where you are in Germany. I's possible that there are gaps in their distribution, haven't checked lately.

As for the current bogey list, there's only one that really makes it: Black Woodpecker. In Europe, I've got greater, medium, and lesser spotted woodpeckers; wryneck; white-backed and green woodpeckers. In the US, I've got red-headed, red-bellied, downy, hairy, and flickers. There are several others I haven't seen, but it's the Black Woodpecker that gets on my nerves.

As I understand it, they're reasonably common too. Crazy.

They're also quite conspicuous if present, calling frequently. I've found it most helpful to watch out for their two signature calls.

 

[Bokmakierie99]

As for the current bogey list, there's only one that really makes it: Black Woodpecker. In Europe, I've got greater, medium, and lesser spotted woodpeckers; wryneck; white-backed and green woodpeckers. In the US, I've got red-headed, red-bellied, downy, hairy, and flickers. There are several others I haven't seen, but it's the Black Woodpecker that gets on my nerves.

As I understand it, they're reasonably common too. Crazy.

I am in a similar position with the Black Woodpecker; I've "seen" it twice, but both were such fleeting glimpses that I barely feel I can count the bird.

 

[temmie]

I have seen Black Woodpecker 3 or 4 times this year. 2 times during field work. once while searching for Boreal Owl.
And that's in Belgium, not exactly the birdiest country in the world!

 

[kb57]

There are several others I haven't seen, but it's the Black Woodpecker that gets on my nerves.

As I understand it, they're reasonably common too. Crazy.

Try riparian forest on the Odra, near Wroclaw, only place I've ever seen black woodpecker but had great views (and I wasn't even birding at the time)

 

[Andy Adcock]

Got it on my local patch in Russia but only saw it once this year.


A

 

[Giselle Hayers]

Top 3 bogey birds in the US would be
1. Varied Thrush - heard many singing in Oregon but failed to see any.
2. Five Striped Sparrow - tried numerous times to see these in California Gulch when I lived in Arizona but always dipped.
3. Boreal Chickadee

Now living back in UK and after far to many dips it would have to be -
1. Thrush Nightingale
2. Rustic Bunting
3. Collared Flycatcher

 

[temmie]

Those are rarities... So if you dipped those far too many times, you have to be a top top twitcher

 

[Xenospiza]

Black Woodpecker is very easy where I live: dozens of sightings this year. They'll fly across between forest patches so I don't even need to go into the dreaded forest. They make some great sounds – I even enjoy just hearing them. I would likely fail to show one to any punters, haha!