Mellow Yellow - Donovan

Country/Region number 164, Martinique, joins the readership today to a very warm welcome, not only 164 but also the 19th Caribbean Island on the list to date. Considered a good time to become part of the Blog given the upcoming travel plans starting this Tuesday. We hope you continue to enjoy the read and

pass on the link to your friends and family please.

On a day when 'rain' never seemed to be far away, the only word on most keen Birders lips would have been
Yellowthroat

More correctly Common Yellowthroat, one of which has turned up at Rhiwderin, Newport, Wales and not surprisingly already making an impact. Chances of getting to see it for me would best be described as not at all likely, but to entertain the readership here are a few photographs taken in the USA during 2010 and 2011.

Common Yellowthroat

Some light rain did arrive mid-morning which coupled with an overcast sky plus a breeze made for a dull day. Good call then to have decided to stay in and firm up on a few more plans and get things together for the upcoming trip.

Certainties, now booked, include a flight from London Heathrow on Tuesday 21 February 2012 to Beijing, China then transfer onward to Incheon,

Republic of Korea

From what I remember of a previous trip in 2007 it is a land of friendly people with, particularly at this time of year, not a massive number of birds but lots else of interest. A full 2 weeks will be spent on the ground here with the main trust being Relict Gull, while others of interest would include Black-faced Spoonbill, Baikal Teal and Scaly-sided Merganser.

From South Korea a short flight to Taiwan for a further 2 weeks before heading to the Philippines. Here onward things remain a little more flexible and undecided, but it is hoped that Hanoi, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia may feature in the mix. Indonesia remains a bit of an unknown quantity with varying reports received, but a highly likely destination before carrying on to various locations in Australia. High on the agenda there will be a visit to my daughter Lisa, husband Bernard and the 2 great delights, my grandsons Frederick and Alexander. It is also possible that the third grandson will have arrived by that time, so I could well have my hands full.

Yellow-footed Gull - Baja California, Mexico 2011

In addition to the arrival of Martinique, it will be noticed from the Stat Counter that Mexico have also reached the Treble Figure Zone, great to know that so many people took up the invitation to visit the Blog while twitching Yellow-footed Gull there last year.

	Num	Perc.	Country Name
	34304	75.29%	United Kingdom
	2897	6.36%	United States
	631	1.38%	Canada
	491	1.08%	Estonia
	476	1.04%	Germany
	431	0.95%	Australia
	399	0.88%	France
	321	0.70%	Italy
	320	0.70%	Netherlands
	306	0.67%	India
	294	0.65%	New Zealand
	284	0.62%	Spain
	267	0.59%	Brazil
	217	0.48%	Japan
	217	0.48%	Poland
	171	0.38%	Belgium
	166	0.36%	Sweden
	150	0.33%	Russian Federation
	107	0.23%	Ireland
	102	0.22%	Switzerland
	100	0.22%	Mexico
	100	0.22%	Taiwan
	90	0.20%	Korea, Republic Of
	86	0.19%	Norway
	86	0.19%	Greece
	85	0.19%	South Africa
	85	0.19%	Romania
	85	0.19%	Turkey
	84	0.18%	Peru
	84	0.18%	Indonesia
	81	0.18%	Philippines
	81	0.18%	Czech Republic
	79	0.17%	Finland
	70	0.15%	Saudi Arabia
	69	0.15%	Denmark
	68	0.15%	Portugal
	66	0.14%	Pakistan
	64	0.14%	Hungary
	60	0.13%	Ukraine
	59	0.13%	Bulgaria
	55	0.12%	Singapore
	55	0.12%	Sri Lanka
	55	0.12%	Thailand
	54	0.12%	Malaysia
	51	0.11%	Hong Kong
	51	0.11%	Israel
	50	0.11%	Argentina
	50	0.11%	Chile
	45	0.10%	Croatia
	44	0.10%	Colombia
	42	0.09%	Anonymous Proxy
	39	0.09%	Vietnam
	39	0.09%	Slovakia
	36	0.08%	United Arab Emirates
	36	0.08%	Serbia
	36	0.08%	Egypt
	34	0.07%	Austria
	30	0.07%	Oman
	30	0.07%	Venezuela
	23	0.05%	Madagascar
	22	0.05%	Ecuador
	22	0.05%	Malta
	21	0.05%	Europe
	21	0.05%	Qatar
	21	0.05%	Luxembourg
	20	0.04%	Palestinian Territory
	20	0.04%	Asia/pacific Region
	20	0.04%	Bangladesh
	19	0.04%	Guatemala
	19	0.04%	Lithuania
	18	0.04%	Costa Rica
	17	0.04%	Georgia
	16	0.04%	Lebanon
	15	0.03%	Mongolia
	13	0.03%	Belarus
	12	0.03%	Guernsey
	12	0.03%	Iraq
	11	0.02%	Isle Of Man
	10	0.02%	Slovenia
	10	0.02%	Jamaica
	10	0.02%	Morocco
	9	0.02%	Latvia
	9	0.02%	Yemen
	8	0.02%	Cyprus
	8	0.02%	Jersey
	7	0.02%	Trinidad And Tobago
	7	0.02%	Armenia
	7	0.02%	Algeria
	6	0.01%	Kuwait
	6	0.01%	Belize
	6	0.01%	Gibraltar
	6	0.01%	Macedonia
	6	0.01%	Bermuda
	5	0.01%	Cambodia
	5	0.01%	Ethiopia
	5	0.01%	Nigeria
	5	0.01%	Moldova, Republic Of
	5	0.01%
	5	0.01%	Montenegro
	5	0.01%	Namibia
	5	0.01%	Kenya
	5	0.01%	El Salvador
	4	0.01%	Maldives
	4	0.01%	Puerto Rico
	4	0.01%	Virgin Island, U.s.
	4	0.01%	Aruba
	4	0.01%	Albania
	4	0.01%	Panama
	3	0.01%	Netherlands Antilles
	3	0.01%	Zambia
	3	0.01%	China
	3	0.01%	Bahrain
	3	0.01%	Dominican Republic
	3	0.01%	Zimbabwe
	3	0.01%	Tanzania, United Republic Of
	3	0.01%	Azerbaijan
	3	0.01%	Bosnia And Herzegovina
	3	0.01%	Nepal
	2	0.00%	Satellite Provider
	2	0.00%	Uganda
	2	0.00%	Tunisia
	2	0.00%	Iceland
	2	0.00%	Jordan
	2	0.00%	Andorra
	2	0.00%	Dominica
	2	0.00%	Bahamas
	2	0.00%	Grenada
	2	0.00%	Uruguay
	2	0.00%	Gabon
	2	0.00%	Barbados
	1	0.00%	Macao
	1	0.00%	Guyana
	1	0.00%	Suriname
	1	0.00%	Botswana
	1	0.00%	Saint Lucia
	1	0.00%	Ghana
	1	0.00%	Bolivia
	1	0.00%	Turks And Caicos Islands
	1	0.00%	Cayman Islands
	1	0.00%	Cameroon
	1	0.00%	Mauritius
	1	0.00%	Kazakhstan
	1	0.00%	Honduras
	1	0.00%	Fiji
	1	0.00%	Martinique