top 10 nature moments of 2008.....

So i thought I'd wait until 2009 officially started to unleash the top 10 nature moments of 2008 meme. Below are my biggest moments of the year (nature-wise):

1. A peregrine falcon hitting a blue winged teal right in front of me - I was close enough to hear a bang on impact.

2. Isla de guadelupe, Huge great white sharks, a little cage, me and a hundred foot visibility. I doubt anyone could leave this out of their list.

3. Ricord's and Rhinoceros Iguanas feeding together in the Dominican Republic.

4. A huge pod of Risso's dolphins crossing our bow on the way to Mexico (photos to come).

5. Finally catching up with our seahorses, red, stripey and, er, fuzzy.

6. Rekindling my fascination for the cycads all over again at San Diego Zoo (and properly rekindled it is too - I spent this morning relentlessly photographing and identifying some more species).

7. Watching Humpback Whales feeding off the coast of Boston.

8. Standing at the foot of the General Sherman tree, the world's largest living thing, in California.

9. Getting my first really good looks at the mighty Blue Marlin.

10. The overwhelming feeling of hope that came with seeing dozens of Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas - formerly the rarest reptile in the world.

I'm a little surprised there was only one bird on the list - an awesome sighting but to be honest the best of a quiet year for birds. The iguanas were great and symptomatic of a wonderful year with reptiles - lots of lizards, turtles and snakes. I'm going to turn this into a meme again and go tag some people. If you want to participate, just share your top 10, drop me a comment and I'll collate everyone's lists. Here's 2007's participants.

Update: I've tagged Patrick at Hawk Owl's Nest, Amy at WildBird on the Fly, FC at Pure Florida and Duncan of Ben Cruachan.

The Ethical Paleontologist and 10,000 birds' Corey have already put up their lists.