Eravikulam National Park delivered stunning Western Ghats endemics. Nilgiri tahr, flycatcher and pipit, black-and-orange flycatcher and Palani laughingthrush obliged within breathtaking montane grassland and forest.

Flooding and plowing of rice paddies brings thousands of gulls to l’Albufera. Despite the intense winds, we connect with several common gulls, Caspian gulls, herring gull, little gull plus bonus ring-necked ducks.

Bright snow and northern lights lit up Helsinki over winter. Different owls, woodpeckers, crossbills and other northbound specialties show up randomly over cold breezes, turning outings harsh but rewarding.

I started a challenge trying to see a different bird every single bird this 2026. January brought nice sights in northern Spain, mountains and wetlands of Alicante and ultimately frozen forests in Finland.

A full day in Qatar with a rental car was the perfect scenario to look for the hypocolius, a mythical Persian Gulf wintering specialty. Namaqua doves, wheatears, desert warblers, sparrow-larks and more awaited.

A fieldwork-birdwatching day in El Hondo Natural Park provided awesome encounters with local winter goodies. Pallid harrier and several greater spotted eagles obliged, but a self-found red-breasted flycatcher stood out.

Our only city visited in India provided hornbills and hundreds of kites. Nearby Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary hosts pelicans, eagles, herons and ibises. Mysore blends culture and vibrant city life with some great birding.

Ría de Santoña in New Year’s provides cracking winter specialties: brant geese, horned grebes, loons and waders. Mega red-breasted geese and redpolls are bonus additions to an awesome short trip.

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.

On a legendary seawatching day with friends, while twitching Richard’s pipit and ring-billed gull, we connect with great skua, black-legged kittiwake and Castellón’s 4th red-throated loon and 10th velvet scoter.

A recent visit to the coastal lagoon of Merja Zerga, a stopover of the East Atlantic Flyway and home to slender-billed curlews before their extinction, yielded some of the critically endangered and WP’s last marsh owls.

Flocks of waterfowl in Merja de Fouwarate included American visitor ring-necked duck and blue-winged teal. We connect with Morocco goodies: Maghreb magpie, plain martin, African chaffinch, common bulbul…

A friends meeting in l’Albufera in the onset of winter resulted in good numbers of ducks and waders. Short-eared owl, black storks, several goldcrests and a cracking sociable lapwing were highlights of the day.

The dry forest of Ankarafantsika provided mega birds and mammals including Van Dam’s vanga, Madagascar fish eagle and jacana, white-breasted mesite, Schlegel’s asity, mongoose lemur or Coquerel’s sifaka.

Rainforest and vibrant town life merge in the village of Ranomafana: lemurs by the road, partridges in the outskirts and vangas in the village gardens bring nature into everyday life.