Having received a number of comments concerning my recent up-load of species scores onto the Pan Listers Facebook site, I thought I might write a blog concerning my lists, the reasons I make them and some of the conditions I apply. Although of interest to, I believe, a very few, I am as concerned about world listing as I am about more local UK or British Isles listing. Personally I do not keep a garden, or county list in any group, but that is my choice as are all the conditions under which I keep my record totals. I do keep a year list, as I believe this keeps me on my toes in species...

This morning I had an amazing, but strangely extreme experience that makes quite a nice story, which I will share. On 9th June, I was being driven by my wife Amanda south of Wych Cross when I noticed a large raptor with a pale underside to the east of the road to Chelwood Gate. I wondered what it was, but not having further information and not being able to stop, dismissed it without much thought. At that stage, I had heard of a Short-toed Eagle in the New Forest, and vaguely thought I might go for it, if it hung about. On the tenth, I read amongst the reports from Rare Bird Alert, that a...