January 2025

Happy New Year !

With the final part of my family arriving this morning I had to be busy in the kitchen and so I took the opportunity to start my year list as I pulled up the blinds. It was another grey and gloomy day with the threat of a storm approaching. It was already windy as I opened the blind and the bird feeder was almost empty. I filled them up and watched as the usual suspects of Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Dunnock and Woodpigeon added themselves to the list. A Red Kite flew over and made it onto the first top ten birds of the year along with a Collared Dove. Sadly a distant corvid was too far away for me to identify it. Several Jackdaws were sat in my tree as I walked upstairs for some bedding for the children’s sofa bed.

After some cooking my son and family arrived and after a bite to eat and some Lego construction, we drove to Sandringham and made good use of the playground where my 3 grandchildren entertained themselves. With the exception of some Black-headed Gulls flying over I saw no other birds today!

Although it was a bright and sunny day, it was a cold wind that blew along Old Hunstanton beach as my son Mark and family walked along towards the Glaucous Gull that was still feeding on the dead seal. All too soon two of the children were complaining of cold so it was only Mark, Brodie and I that climbed over the gabions further along as the channel of water was too deep to cross, with the others returning to the cafe to warm up. I climbed up into the dunes and could see the Glaucous Gull still feeding on the seal. Turnstones, Sanderlings, Oystercatchers and a Redshank ran along the sand in front of us before we too returned along the beach and took sanctuary for something to eat and drink.

After a quick stop back at home we all enjoyed the Cinderella pantomime in King’s Lynn marking an end to the family Christmas celebrations.

John and I had a frustrating evening coping with yet another online form to fill for out upcoming trip. Online form-filling is getting more and more demanding and complicated for many of our trips.

It’s been a bit of a scrabble today doing chores from my son’s visit and doing my final packing of my suitcase and camera bag. The only birding I have done, was watching a Red Kite from my driveway as I was washing my car and watching a family party of Long-tailed Tits that were visiting my garden feeder, that were not at all bothered by me washing the car only a few feet away. I suspect that they were desperate for food, given that it was hovering around nought degrees!

John arrived with Chris Lotz and after loading up my suitcase and camera bag we drove down to Heathrow. We decided to leave early as snow had been threatened for later in the day and we wanted to be sure of getting to Heathrow in plenty of time. We enjoyed the facilities of one the Heathrow lounges where we enjoyed a free meal and drinks but were dismayed by the fact that our flight was delayed. It was going to be touch and go whether we would get away before the predicted snow arrived. Luckily the delay was not to long and we were pleased when we took off bound for Doha in Qatar.

We arrived in Doha at 5.15am, a bit blurry eyed having had little sleep on the plane with a 3 1/2 hour wait for our next flight. Doha airport is huge with really long walks to the various gates. We made the most of one of the airport lounges once again and then found our flight was delayed. We walked to our gate and looked out on a clear blue sky to the control tower where I didn’t see a single bird!

We eventually took off and flew to Manila in the Philippines where after a very quick procedure through immigration, collected our luggage and were met by Annie and Jerry who walked us to our on airport hotel, where we spent the night.

Because of jetlag I could not sleep at all last night. We thought this might be a problem so Chris, John and I had flown out a day early giving us a free day in Manila. Unfortunately there was no park nearby our hotel and we spent the day either wandering around a huge nearby shopping mall or catching up with sleep. The only birds we saw were Tree Sparrows. We met the rest of the group in the evening and shared an evening meal together at an Italian restaurant.

We were all down for breakfast at 6am and left our hotel for a 3 hour drive arriving at Infanta Quezon where the birding was difficult because of low cloud up the mountain and constant rain showers necessitating the use of umbrellas. We arrived at our hotel where Grey-rumped Swiflets and Pacific Swallows were flying around putting on a good show. We decided to brave the rain and watched a Scale-feathered Malkoha in a roadside tree but the light was grim. Philippine Bulbuls were chasing one another around as a Bicoloured Flowerpecker and a Buzzing Flowerpecker flitted above our heads in a fruiting tree.

Over the other side of the road we watched a Blue-headed Fantail flitting around and I was lucky along with Chris and Annie to see the Yellow-throated Warbler. Annie spotted a Philippine Fairy Bluebird which I had a feeble attempt to photograph in the gloom unsuccessfully. Elegant Tit and a Coppersmith Barbet added themselves to the list before we walked along the road where a Brown Shrike and a pair of Yellow-vented Bulbuls were posing. We returned to our hotel for lunch before heading out again to get wet.

The afternoon saw us adding, Ridgetop Swiftlet, Grey-backed Tailorbird, Sulphur-bellied Nuthatch, Yellowish White-eye, Brahminy Kite, a pair of Philippine Pygmy Woodpeckers, Stripe-headed Rhabdornis and a White-browed Sharma. We called it a day and retreated back to the hotel for a hot shower and an evening meal.

We woke up to pouring rain and abandoned the idea of pre-breakfast birding at Infanta Quezon, Manila. After breakfast we waited until the rain had eased and walked along the hotel’s boardwalk where Annie had located a Philippine Trogon. I managed a few photos of it as it zipped around catching insects. Afterwards we braved the rain and birded along the roadside that we had been along yesterday. It was extremely hard going in the dark gloomy weather. We re-saw some of yesterday’s birds but added Citrine Canary Flycatcher and Arctic Warbler before returning for lunch.

After lunch we had a break in the weather and although it was still very gloomy ,at least the rain had stopped and we added White-eared Brown Dove, Common Emerald Dove and Philippine Jungle Crow. Later we stopped at a lookout and added Black-naped Monarch as well as watching several Philippine Fairy Bluebirds.

We were still dodging the rain on Luzon Island in The Philippines but saw some lovely birds, including, Blue-headed Fantail, Crested Honey Buzzard, Brown Shrike, Olive-backed Flowerpecker, Rufous-crowned Bee-eater (eating bees!) and Whiskered Treeswift before driving to the airport and flying to the island of Palawan in the Philippines yesterday.

With our alarms set for 4.45am, we drove after breakfast to a hide to sit and wait for Palawan Peacock Pheasant. It was down a steep muddy path set in a gully and after watching a Hooded Pitta we watched the forest floor in silence until we eventually saw a young male Palawan Peacock Pheasant and a female bird. We also saw 5 Common Emerald Doves, Ashy-headed Babbler and a Palawan Bulbul.

Later we walked along a road adding many endemics species to our list. The sunbirds were wonderful as was the Falcated Wren-Babbler. Later we found a Palawan Frogmouth in the dark.

After a 6am breakfast we drove to Ira Eco Park, stopping off along the way to watch Palawan Sunbird and Brown-throated Sunbird. We also saw Pygmy Flowerpecker and Philippine Pied Fantail here too.

Once we had arrived in the park we walked a track, watching Pale Spiderhunter and Blue Paradise Flycatcher down to a riverside watching a Common Kingfisher. After a short rest we walked to a hide where some worms were put out. We soon had a couple of White-vented Sharmas chasing off the Palawan Bulbuls. A Blue-eared Kingfisher posed a bit of a shuffle for me to get into position to take its photograph but the real surprise came when a Philippine Pitta came hopping out of the vegetation. What a wonderful surprise for us all! Goodness knows how many photos I took of it over 3 sessions of it appearing!

Jerry kindly offered to stay with me until I had had my fill and then ensured that I could then join the others watching a Stork-billed Kingfisher in another hide. After lunch we saw several other endemic birds before stopping at Princesa Garden Hotel to see a Spotted Wood Owl and then driving in the dark to see a Palawan Scops Owl.

(Apologies to NarVOS members reading this, who are braving the cold for the bird (race) count, but given the choice of freezing to death counting winter birds in the NarVOS area this weekend or watching a Philippine Pitta in the heat……well I will leave you to decide where I would rather be!)

We left at 9am for one of the local guide’s (Randy’s) mangrove garden in Puerto Princesa, where he had various feeders and fruit put out the for birds. We watched Palawan Flowerpecker, Brown-throated Sunbird, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, Philippine Pied Fantail, Ashy-fronted Bulbul and a White-breasted Waterhen before getting in the minibus and driving to the airport.

Sadly once again, the check-in desk staff were not happy with my ticket, which had Sue Bryan written on it instead of Susan Bryan which is written in my passport. After trying to persuade them unsuccessfully that I was one and the same person, we ended up having to buy another ticket which they then made a mistake on. One and a half hours later, after goodness knows how many dealing with the mistake, I only just made the flight! I joined the rest of the group and tried to fly to Cebu Island. However the plane had a technical problem and after sitting in the transfer bus on the tarmac, thinking we were going to fly to Mindanao, we were taken back to the terminal. Not good. After a bit of a wait we finally flew to Mindanao island, where after a nice meal we drove to our accommodation at Malasag Eco Village where we watched an Everett’s Scops Owl before retiring very late to bed.

Just before dawn at 5.30 Jerry and Annie had invited the group to their balcony at Malasag Eco Village to watch Philippine Nightjars. We had a spectacular view over the city lights of Cagayan de Oro. It did not take long to see a Philippine Nightjar as it flew by the balcony and landed on a nearby cabin’s roof where we could all see it in a spotlight.

After we had enjoyed our teas and coffees, we got in the minibuses and drove to Mapawa Nature Park. We walked to a clearing where we added Philippine Magpie-Robin, Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo, Guaiabero, Black-throated Fruit Dove, Red-keeled Flowerpecker, Philippine Serpent Eagle and Grey-faced Buzzard to our lists.

We had a very late breakfast over-looking the city from a restaurant balcony where we watched a Brown Shrike, Ridgetop Swiftlets and a Philippine Serpent Eagle whilst we ate. We left the resort just after 11.30am, drove to a restaurant for a lovely lunch and onto O Suites hotel along the Sayre Highway where we had the rest of the afternoon off to catch up with ourselves.

We had an early start and a steep walk up to Mount Kitanglad in Mindanao. As soon as we were out of the minibus, we were watching Philippine Hanging Parrot and White-cheeked Bullfinch.

Once everyone had  got themselves together we started on a steep trail up the mountain, stopping to watch Apo Myna and Grey-hooded Sunbird. We ventured into the vegetation to see Long-tailed Bush Warbler but I was the only one to see it after hearing it calling with its high-pitched call. Back on the steep track we watched Rufous-headed Tailorbird before waiting to see Philippine Eagle which only two of our group saw, as most of us had followed Annie to see Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove up the enclosed track with no possible open sky, when we were alerted that it was flying over.

At the view point we added Fire-throated Flowerpecker, Eyebrowed Thrush, Short-tailed Starling, before retiring for lunch in a field where we added Turquoise Flycatcher, Mountain White-eye, Cinnamon Ibon and Long-tailed Shrike. Marlon, Chris and I also saw a Peregrine whilst watching Crested Honey Buzzards and Crested Serpent Eagles. Later we added Philippine Cuckoo Dove back at the minibus before we drove back to our hotel.

It was a very disappointing day to day as the weather was against us, with a lot of rain. We had a 6am breakfast but it was raining when we arrived at Mount Kitangland and we waited in the minibuses for it to stop. We got out after watching a few Warbling White-eyes and started the steep climb on foot up the mountain and into the potato field where Marlon set up a tarpaulin to shelter us from the next lot of rain. The wind had got up and we saw very few birds except a Long-tailed Shrike, Crested Honey Buzzard and a Brahminy Kite in a short spell of good weather. The Philippine Eagle failed to show and we left after lunch very disappointed not to have seen it but we were all cold in the chilly wind.

A very Happy Birthday to my grandson Finlay who will be 9 today.

Today was a transit day which saw us travelling from Cagayan de Oro over to the east of the island to Bislig. It was going to be a long day only stopping for comfort stops and lunch. We left at 7am and arrived at 4.15pm to the Paper Country Inn, a basic hotel not far from our birding area for the next few days.

After travelling for a few hours we stopped at San Fernando where we watched introduced Java Sparrow, Striated Grassbird and White-browed Crake as well as a few Pacific Swallows sitting on wires. We stopped for lunch at Bincungan sitting in a wooden structure over water where a snake swam under the board walk as we walked along to the restaurant.

By the time we arrived at the hotel in the humid heat at Bislig, my legs and ankles had swelled and I felt quite unwell with the pain in my legs. We quickly put our bags in the rooms and jumped into another minibus that took us to an old airfield now covered in bare, wet, earth covered in Medium Egrets, Eastern Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets and Wood Sandpipers. Several White-browed Crakes ran a round with Common Moorhens as we watched Philippine Duck, Javan Pond Heron, Philippine Coucal, Pied Bushchat and Striated Grasswren. A Barred Rail ran across the road in the gloom as dusk approached and disappeared into the vegetation. Feeling unwell I did not join the others for the evening meal and went to bed.

I had a bit of a celebration in The Philippines today as I reached my 6,000th species of birds in the world that I have seen. I would have liked it to have been the amazing Azure-breasted Pitta that sat and posed in front of me in PICOP, Mindanao but it was a Rusty-crowned Babbler instead!

I had a wonderful day in the sweaty, humid forest and suffered for my enjoyment of bird watching, but nearly every bird I saw today was endemic to The Philippines, meaning that virtually every bird that I laid eyes on was a world tick.

At PICOP, Road 42 at Bislig, early in the morning, we enjoyed watching a pair of Blue-capped Kingfishers and a pair of Short-tailed Drongos in the low light conditions. A Hooded Pitta was calling but we did not see it but we soon had an Azure-breasted Pitta fly up and sat right in front of us posing as John and I took photos of it.  Jerry realised that I now needed 2 more birds for 6000 and it wasn’t long before I added Striated Wren Babbler and then the magical Rusty-crowned Babbler to my world list giving me 6000 species! There were congratulations all round as I beamed!

Our guides continued to work very hard for us again as they spurred us on up a steep hill, as we puffed and panted in the extremely hot conditions adding a variety of birds including Handsome Sunbird and Metallic-winged Sunbird. We had breakfast and lunch on the go at the jeep today but after our steep climb we called it a day by early afternoon as we had an hour’s journey back to the hotel and we were all in need of a shower and a rest! A Coppersmith Barbet at the end of the day sat and posed for the camera for a while as we got into the jeep.

I must thank our guides Annie and Jerry and also to John who has been my partner in crime for most of the recent bird sightings on my list reaching 6000 species of birds.

It was a 4am start for us this morning and after a cup of tea and coffee, we drove for one hour in a jeepney so that we could be in the forest early to road 4 of the PICOP forest near Bislig.

We soon watched 11 Writhed Hornbills crossing the road into the clearing in the forest. A Philippine Leafbird was hard to see as it hid, a green bird in the same size green leaves is never easy to see, let alone photograph! Several Philippine Green Pigeons sat and posed as a pair of Black-faced Coucals did their best to hide before flying across a gap. A group of Philippine Bulbuls had a Yellowish Bulbul amongst them before flying and disappearing into the jungle. We watched a Philippine Jungle Flycatcher before returning to the road where a Mindanao Hornbill flew across the road. By 10.30am it was hot and very humid and most bird activity had ceased, so we returned to the hotel to rest before venturing out again later.

After a rest we drove to Bislig Airfield where we watched Philippine Nightjar, Purple Heron, Eastern Grass Owl, King Quail, Striated Grassbird, Pied Bushchat, Philippine Duck, Spotted Dove and Zebra Dove, before a lovely evening meal sitting outside in the wonderful warm evening.

We awoke to tropical pouring rain and some sleepy participants who once they had discovered that it was raining, went back to bed! The intrepid amongst us braved the elements and boarded the jeepney, after coffees and tea and trundled for the next hour and a half into the PICOP forest. It was a bumpy ride with the blinds pulled down to prevent some of the rain from getting in. Once we had arrived in the forest, it was still raining so we ate our pancakes and syrup and waited for the rain to stop. Luckily we didn’t have to wait too long so we ventured out along the track. We saw nothing!

Our guides took us along the trail to the clearing, where we had to dodge many tropical rain storms and I discovered that my umbrella was not keeping me dry. However during the intermittent dry periods we added Naked-faced Spiderhunter to the list and I managed to see the Black-headed Tailorbird which sadly most of the others missed. Birds came and went as we re-saw many of the birds that we saw yesterday, including better views of Mindanao Hornbill and Yellowish Bulbul. We had good views of Philippine Drongo-cuckoo and Asian Glossy Starling.

Lunch had been booked for 12.30pm and by 10am all the bird activity had ceased, so we walked back to the jeepney, where we watched a Crested Goshawk, Handsome Sunbird and a Metallic-winged Sunbird. We drove back to the hotel and after sorting out some laundry issues, we drove to a restaurant and enjoyed a delicious lunch together.

Back at the hotel, after an hour of sorting out a few domestics in our room, we boarded the jeepney once again and set off for the forest where we watched Philippine Falconet and several Philippine Spinetails. Once again we had to contend with several downpours and took refuge in the jeepney as night fell. We heard several owls and a frogmouth calling but the thermal imagers failed to pick them out and the rain started again. We drove a little way along the track in the dark and tried once more to call in an owl, this time the thermal imager picked out a Giant Scops Owl.

We drove to Tinuy-an Waterfalls in the rain which dogged us all day and made life difficult for birdwatching and photography. We saw Pinsker’s Hawk-Eagle and Black-naped Oriole and much better views of Mindanao Hornbills.

We headed for Compostela Valley and after lunch, dropped our bags at the hotel and drove up the mountain where we saw Bukidnon Woodcock, Lina’s Sunbird and Mountain Shrike all in the mist and low cloud, making photography almost impossible!

We were up for 4am and left at 5am for the mountain at Compostela Valley where we saw Black and Cinnamon Fantail, Negros Leaf Warbler, Little Pied Flycatcher and after lots of perseverance from Annie and myself, a Philippine Shortwing that was lurking in the bushes along with Annie and I.  A flock of Mindanao Racket-tails flew over whilst Annie and I were in the bushes but I popped out just in time to see them. Later we saw Sunda Brush Cuckoo and Flame-crowned Flowerpecker.

After picking up our luggage from the hotel we drove to Penabo and watched Gull-billed Terns, Osprey and some waders which I will put in my trip report. We moved to Carmen where we watched Great Crested Terns, and Pied Triller and Golden-bellied Gerygone.

We then drove to the Eden resort where we watched a Japanese Night Heron, a very rare bird now that is difficult to find and see.

We were up for a 6am start and joined by Peter Simpson, an ex-pat who had lived in the Philippines for some time who had arranged transport for a few hours birding in the park and up the mountain. We set off into the Eden Nature Park and down to the river where we saw the Southern Silvery Kingfisher and Cryptic Flycatcher straight away, both usually difficult birds to locate. We then had a very rough ride up a track through the local community to a spot where he had seen Whiskered Flowerpeckers, a highly territorial flowerpecker only known from a few sites. We were lucky to see one within a minute of stepping out of the vehicle but getting a photo of a bird swaying at the top of the tree in the early morning gloom was another matter!

Once back at Eden Nature Park, Ira, Frank and myself joined Pete and wandered around the grounds and I tried for a better photo of the Japanese Night Heron and Southern Silvery Kingfisher but sadly neither bird was there. A Grey Wagtail flew in a posed for a while whilst Arctic Warblers called above us but sadly I could not see them.

After a leisurely breakfast we packed our bags, drove to the airport and flew from Davao on Mindanao to Manila on Luzon Island where we thanked Annie and Jerry for being such wonderful guides, said goodbye to Sarah, Jon, Ira and Romano and joined Chris and Frank for an evening meal at The Belmont Hotel.

Chris joined John and I for breakfast at The Belmont Hotel at which all three of us ate far too much as it was such a range of foods at the buffet provided. John and I then thanked Chris and wished him well for his next leg of the journey in Thailand.

John and I retreated to our room and got on with our dairies and photographs after sorting out the checklist between us where we both discovered some discrepancies in our notebooks!

The staff at the Belmont Hotel then helped us in the afternoon with our luggage to the door of Terminal 3 at Manila airport where we caught a flight to Doha, Qatar.

John and I caught a flight from Doha back to Heathrow where it was pouring with rain and cold!

After a miserable journey around the M25 the day brightened up and we saw a few Red Kites as we headed north back up to Norfolk. I don’t suppose I will be seeing any pittas in the next few weeks! After checking bird information channels it would seem that there has not been any birds of interest around unless you want to add escaped or introduced birds to your lists! I know I shall be having a few lie-ins, as now that I am retired my time will be my own and I will be counting down the weeks to my next adventure, where the focus will be on some mammals that I have not seen! (I suspect that I will look at the birds too though!)

With my body clock still struggling to adjust for the UK, I was up early for first light to take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch. I recorded 40 birds of 14 species that landed in my garden. After submitting my results, sorting out some washing and taking down some Christmas cards that I had forgotten to take down before I went on holiday, I had a look at the weather forecast and decided that if I wanted a walk I had better go this morning before the predicted rain later on.

I drove to Snettisham and met James McCullum who told me that all the Lesser Whitefronts, from a Swedish re-introduction scheme and a Russian White-fronted Goose had been flushed by a couple of women waving their arms around on Ken Hill Marsh and had flown south and landed in a field east of the RSPB reserve. I drove down (I am a volunteer now) and met up with John Gregory. We searched around for the geese and spotted a few distantly in the field where they were supposed to have flown to, but the distance was too far before they disappeared, apparently having been flushed by a Marsh Harrier, I learnt later on. A few Curlew were visible but as it was so cold and John wanted some breakfast (brunch by now) he left and I looked out on The Wash for a few year ticks. I could see Shelduck, Teal, Golden Plover and Dunlin. On the pits were Mallard, Greylag Geese, Little Grebe, Goldeneye and Tufted Duck. A Kestrel hovered overhead. After talking to some visitors, I was now cold and with a trip report to write I drove back home seeing two Jays and an Egyptian Goose.

John, Stew and I aborted our attempt of birding at Snettisham because of rain and drove to Old Hunstanton where we walked along the beach, where I located a flock of Snow Buntings. Mark then joined us, who said he had just inadvertently flushed some Shorelark that had landed on a shingle ridge. We soon located them and I attempted some photos with my little bridge camera as they walked towards me. Another couple of birders told us abut the Glaucous Gull, which was down on the tideline. John and Stew set off in hot pursuit but I stayed with Mark and watched it through his scope.

I spent this morning uploading my Philippine Trip Report to this website. It can be viewed here: https://norfolkbirders.co.uk/the-philippines-2025/

This afternoon I drove to Snettisham where the introduced Lesser White-fronted Geese, that originated from Sweden, were close to the inner sea-bank. However, a microlight had flushed the 24 geese and had spilt the group. Seven of the geese remained close to the bank and 12 had flown further down the marsh towards Heacham where I eventually found them. Because of the cold, I could not summon up the energy to walk any further to relocate the other five.

Two Marsh Harriers were hunting over the marsh, one with a red-wing tag. There were many, Wigeon, Teal, Shelduck and Shoveler present as well as Lapwing around the margins of the pools. A Stonechat was flitting around one of the bushes. Greylag Geese and Canada Geese were also present.

Later at Roydon Common I watched a pair of Stonechats on the fence, whilst in the field opposite Redwing, Fieldfare, Linnet, Yellowhammer and Pied Wagtails were running around.

My evening was spent at the monthly NarVOS meeting where John Fuller gave a talk about the birds he and Paul had seen in a week in SE Brazil. He showed some photos of birds that I had seen there back in 2005. I was impressed with his photos of the Tapaculos!

After the meeting many of us trooped across to the local pub where we had an enjoyable evening planning our next trip after listening to the various tales of what had been seen.

Before my meeting, John and I drove to Whitlingham Great Broad where we had difficulty in locating the expected Red-necked Grebe as we were told it had gone behind the island by the hide. Not exactly helpful as I was time-limited by my appointment. It was lovely to meet up with Rachel Warren again after 19 years when we were last together in Brazil in 2005. Together we searched the broad without success and made do with watching a Caspian Gull. After a while of searching John located two red-headed Goosanders asleep on the island and I located a Great White Egret hiding in the reeds. Luckily we asked Dave Farrow who had seen the grebe but it still took us a while to find it and eventually we gave in and looked through Dave’s scope. No prizes for our birding skills today!

We also saw Little Grebe, Cormorant, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Heron, Coot, Mute Swan and Greylag Geese.

It was a horrible, dank day in Norfolk today and I could not find the inspiration to go out for any year ticks today, even though I am well behind with British year-listing.

It seemed a good opportunity to sit down with my old Clements ‘Birds of the World’ A Check List book where, although I have long followed I.O.C listing on my computer records, and enter my hard copy of my new world ticks from The Philippines. My Clements copy is now 24 years out of date, so it was a bit of a challenge entering my records as so many species have subsequently been split.

The birding world was expecting Clements, I.O.C and Bird Life lists  to have come to the agreement on the Avelist by now and publish it by the end of January but it doesn’t seem to have come to fruition yet. It’s bound to be controversial, especially on names (Divers or Loons etc) but it will make life a bit easier.