So Cetti's Warblers aren't mythical after all...

Went to Rainham Marshes today for a few hours - lovely day for it. Really productive too!

I spent the first hour or so trying to identify lots of horrid brown finches and buntings flying about in silhouette. Turns out they were linnets and a female reed bunting. Some would say that wasn't worth waiting an hour for, but I've got to learn identification skills somewhere! Carried on round and saw a pair (male and female) of great spotted woodpeckers. Then another one flew by a little later. I also found my first London redwings in a bushy area where I was looking for waxwings - nice to see nonetheless! Whilst watching another reed bunting, I heard a loud single note, turned around, and saw the reeds moving a little, carrying on in a particular direction. The noise came again and again, and then finally... the explosive, metallic 'plitt!' followed by 'ti-chuu ti-chuu ti-chuu'! I was listening to a cetti's warbler! I was then lucky enough to see it dart out, hold a pose for a fraction of a second, then dart back in again - long enough though to know what it was, especially coupled with the call. So finally I've had my first cetti's warbler, and they're not just some mythical creature that more experienced birders make up.

Onwards, I hit the first hide and noted wigeon, teal, shoveler, you know, the normal stuff. And also a common snipe was discovered by a pair of even-more-novice-than-I birdwatchers. They were adamant that it was a jack snipe, looking in their book and nodding self-assured that they were looking at a jack snipe; their reason for it not being a common snipe was that its "beak looks short". Its bill was perfectly reasonable snipe length, it was not bobbing around incessantly, it was too big, and it had a beige centre crown stripe. It was a common snipe. It's a shame, and I didn't have the heart to point out that it was not what they thought... if I were in that situation, would I want someone to correct me? Probably, but if I was middle-aged, like they were, I wouldn't want some stuck-up 23-year-old telling me in no uncertain terms that I am not in fact looking at a jack snipe. So I left them to it.

Then there were stonechats everywhere! Took me a second to differentiate them from whinchats, which I did so by the lack of a prominent supercilium, the relatively unusual habitat and the fact they're all supposed to be several thousand miles nearer to the equator than Rainham Marshes. There was also a little wren perching beautifully and rattling away. A few meadow pipits (was hoping for rock or water) fed in the mud and then I saw a small bird that I really did not expect to see - a wheatear. In mid-November. It looked perfectly healthy, and was actually really quite confiding, so I watched it for a while, and just to confirm, it flitted about showing a very prominent white rump. I can't believe it, considering they're supposed to be in Africa by this stage, or at least a long way in southern Europe on migration. Fantastic bird to see.

There were about 500 (estimate) starlings going back and forth from the electricity pylons, quite a noise! The next hide produced (amongst the usuals) a single pochard, a decent flock of golden plover amidst the flock of lapwing, and two male pintails. Walking further round produced very quick and limited views of what I took to be a young black redstart! Taken me a lifetime to see any of this species, then I see two in two weeks! I wasn't 100% sure that's what it was, and was going to write a big question mark next to the name, but then a fellow walked by 2 minutes later, "Have you seen the black redstart?" he asked, "It's been around this area for ages". Tick.

A kestrel hunted for a while as I watched some more stonechats in the semi-failing light (it was nearly 4pm), then finally, after walking the whole way round with no 'pinging' to speak of, I... well... heard some pinging. There was a pair of bearded tits, quite close by, flitting about but giving me some really nice views! Before I knew it, they were off, and I had a big smile on my face. There's just something about those birds that I absolutely love. I saw another pair for a more extended period of time just 5 minutes later too!

Finally, I was just packing my stuff into the car, when I heard a noise that was hugely familiar, but that I never seem to be able to identify - turned out that there were up to 30 rose-ringed parakeets flying overhead. I'd seen them in amongst trees, but a small flock of that size flying across a sky with no trees around is a surreal sight to behold. Superb! Back home I went before the London traffic got too bad...