My local birding reached a new level in 2025. I connected with 276 species in Comunitat Valenciana including unexpected rarities, highlights of different seasons and countless hours shared in the field with friends.

An unprecedented influx of juvenile red-footed falcons shifted their southbound migration through Western Europe. While autumn records are being broken, I managed to connect with one of these raptors in El Hondo.

Summer season brings an array of specialties to Helsinki, including broad-billed sandpiper and common rosefinch in Viikki, red-breasted flycatcher in Haltiala and stakeouts of Blyth’s reed warbler and river warbler.

Ceuta hosts different North African birds: African chaffinch and blue tit, common bulbul, Levaillant’s woodpecker, long-legged buzzard, house bunting, black-crowned tchagra, Maghreb owl and Barbary partridge.

My last days in Helsinki are coincident with the arrival of thousands of migrant birds and the vegetation green-up. Scenic walks with friends result in European otter, red-breasted flycatcher, corn crake, and much more.