A month of upgrades and early spring migrants, and you couldn't start earlier than the first day of the month. After checking out the gravel pits, John Reddish and I found Crossbill, an upgrade just inside our recording area at Helsington Barrows. The following day, with John Reddish and Pete Fletcher, the first spring migrant was seen off Heysham North Harbour Wall, if you can call Gannet a migrant, with Guillemot also recorded as an upgrade. The first Avocet returned to Leighton Moss on the second, with the total eventually reaching twenty-one.

There was nothing new until the sixteenth, when I saw my first Wheatear (other people may have seen them earlier) on the harbour wall. Also that day I saw Kingfisher and Ruddy Duck at Leighton Moss.

The next day I birded was the twenty-second and I picked up Chiffchaff, Garganey, Marsh Harrier and Sand Martin at Leighton Moss, with Sand Martin being my hundredth Leighton Moss year tick.

I mainly bird at weekends so the twenty-ninth was the next birding day for me, and three new birds were seen, Green Woodpecker at Thrushgill, Little-ringed Plover at Hare Tarn and Blackcap at Leighton Moss. On my last day's birding of the month I saw a Goshawk chasing a Skylark, two ticks at once!

APRIL

On the way home from work on the third, an Osprey flew over the van near Hornby. Then the following day I travelled home by way of Hawthornthwaite Fell, and the Trough of Bowland, where I had Short-eared Owl and Ring Ouzel. Willow Warbler was ticked at Leighton Moss on the fifth, then I had to wait a week to see Yellowhammer.

Working during the week means that new birds are ready to be "picked up" at the weekend, so Sandwich Tern, Common Scoter at Heysham North Harbour Wall, Swallow at the Yacht club, Morecambe and Tawny Owl at Woodwell were listed. On Sunday the twentieth Arctic Tern and Whimbrel at Heysham  and Arctic Skua at Jenny Brown's Point took my total for the year to over a hundred and fifty

Saturday the twenty-sixth saw ten birds "ticked": Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Redstart at Heysham Reserve; Iceland Gull from Golden Ball; Whinchat at Halforth; and Greenshank, White Wagtail, Swift, House Martin and Common Sandpiper at Leighton Moss. There were no new birds on Sunday, but on Monday after work I saw a Fulmar off the Harbour wall.

MAY

After a two week holiday I was lucky that on my return the Savi's Warbler was still at Leighton, and I ticked it on the twentieth, along with Reed and Sedge Warblers.

On Sunday the twenty-fifth during a trip up Barbon Fell with John Reddish I saw Cuckoo, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher and Tree Pipits (the usual suspects), then Garden Warbler at Leighton Moss. Saturday the thirty-first and a Little Stint on the Eric Morecambe pools was my last bird of the month, bringing my total up to a hundred and seventy-one.

JUNE

Sunday the first started with Corn Bunting at Cockersands, then Wood Warbler in Lords Lot Wood. It took two weeks before the next new birds were seen by John Reddish, Pete Fletcher and myself: Blue-headed Wagtail at Halforth and Long-eared Owl at Leck Fell on Saturday the fourteenth. The following day I saw a Common Tern at Heysham, then Yellow Wagtail at Halforth, a bird missed the previous day.  Last bird of the month was Wood Sandpiper on the Eric Morecambe Pools, taking my years total to one hundred and seventy eight.

JULY

Only two new birds seen all month: Ruff on the Eric Morecambe Pool on the nineteenth and then Yellow-legged Gull on the River Lune at Glasson Dock on the twenty-ninth.

AUGUST

Three new birds this month: Curlew Sandpiper on the EM pools on the ninth and Pectoral Sandpiper there the following day. The third and last bird of the month was White-winged Black Tern found by Pete Woodruff at Conder Green on Thursday the fourteenth. This took my total year list to one hundred and eighty-three species and four hundred and fifty-three points.