New Year bird race - 9 January 2004
		This was the first 'official' New Year bird race, and the terms 'friendly' and 'fun day out' were soon out of the window. The winner's names on a coveted new shield were up for grabs and it was to be new birds at any cost.  A total of 97 species were seen on the day, and the final totals for the teams who took part were: Peter Collins, Ross Ahmed and Mick Simpson - 87 species Mark Newsome, Tom Tams and Walter Moss - 87 species John Brown, Dave Foster and Andrew Watts - 85 species So the unexpected happened, a tie! With no way of determining an overall winner, we'll have to come up with some way of getting all the names on the trophy! The full species list and highlights are shown below.   Red-throated Diver   Black-throated Diver (1 close flyby at Whitburn Obs.) Little Grebe   Great-crested Grebe (several in South Shields bay) Fulmar   Cormorant   Shag   Grey Heron   Mute Swan   Greylag Goose   Shelduck   Wigeon   Gadwall   Teal   Mallard   Pintail (the usual drake at Boldon Flats) Shoveler (a female at Boldon Flats) Pochard   Tufted Duck   Eider   Common Scoter   Sparrowhawk   Kestrel   Peregrine (an adult male catching pigeons over Moor Lane) Grey Partridge   Pheasant   Moorhen   Coot   Oystercatcher   Ringed Plover   Golden Plover   Lapwing   Sanderling   Purple Sandpiper   Dunlin   Jack Snipe (one flushed from fields near Follingsby Lane) Snipe   Woodcock (one at dusk at Boldon Flats) Curlew   Redshank   Turnstone   Mediterranean Gull (at least 2 adults on South Shields Leas) Little Gull (2 past Whitburn Obs) Black-headed Gull   Common Gull   Herring Gull   Iceland Gull (adults seen at Boldon Flats and in the Trow gull roost) Great Black-backed Gull   Kittiwake   Guillemot   Razorbill   Feral Pigeon   Stock Dove   Wood Pigeon   Collared Dove   Little Owl (the usual one in Trow Quarry, 1 Follingsby lane) Short-eared Owl (3 on South Shields Leas, 1 Follingsby Lane) Kingfisher (on the River Don at Boldon Colliery and near Jarrow) Great Spotted Woodpecker   Skylark   Meadow Pipit   Rock Pipit   Grey Wagtail   Pied Wagtail   Waxwing (a flock of 50+ by the River Don at Jarrow) Wren    Dunnock   Robin   Stonechat (2 on the Leas, 1 Follingsby Lane) Blackbird   Fieldfare   Song Thrush   Redwing   Mistle Thrush   Chiffchaff (1at North Marine Park and 1 at Mount Pleasant) Goldcrest   Long-tailed Tit   Willow Tit (2 at Mount Pleasant marsh) Coal Tit   Blue Tit   Great Tit   Jay (2 in the River Don valley) Magpie   Jackdaw   Rook   Carrion Crow   Starling   House Sparrow   Tree Sparrow   Chaffinch   Greenfinch   Goldfinch   Linnet   Bullfinch   Snow Bunting (35+ near the Academy of Light) Yellowhammer   Reed Bunting