For those that don't know a "blocker" is twitching slang for a species that has not been twitchable for some years so that the younger generation of twitchers won't have it on their lists.
My question stems from a casual remark made by a friend the other day. I was slightly taken aback when he said that Gray-cheeked Thush is "a bit of a blocker these days". Having seen two or three back in the days when they were reasonably regular this hadn't ocurred to me. I know there have been one or two in recent years, but I'm not sure how widely "available" they've been. It got me wondering what other species might be considered blockers these days.
So go on, make me jealous. What birds have you seen that you consider to be blockers? (Expecting some long lists here!)
Never having been much of a long-distance twitcher, my list of ticks that haven't been readily twitchable in the last ten years is very short, but at least the quality's not bad:
Oriental Pratincole
Bridled Tern
Ancient Murrelet
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (except for those who went for the Shetland one)
Tree Swallow
Yellow-throated Vireo
Golden-winged Warbler
I suppose the only real blocker I have on my list is Royal Tern, the only other one which could be is Marmora's Warbler.
David
I suppose another obvious (or potential) "blocker" is the slender-billed curlew. I am probably not really old enough to have anything on my list but I know a friend of mine has little bustard. Sandgrouse have not irrupted recently either. Sadly, the reason for this almost always seems to be dwindling populations