June Update

Now, June is supposed to be notorious for birding, or the poor quality thereof. So here's my June so far in only NUMBER bullet points:

• Saw the Red Kites in Wales on 1st June (and actually got Wood Warbler and Dipper on my lifetime list, so not THAT bad).
• Spent five days in Lisbon, Portugal where I got very close to hundreds of Swifts, saw some kind of Treecreeper, and a group of what I can only think were Sardinian Warblers. Nice eh?
• Got an e-mail back regarding that Common Tern that I found the leg ring on - it was ringed in June, 2000 at Bedfont Lakes, West London. So it's 11 years old and breeding about 21 miles from its birth site! Assumedly male as it was feeding its mate who didn't leave the raft. Really exciting!
  
• Visited Dad and twitched (and subsequently 'dipped') a pair of Turtle Doves and a Spotted Flycatcher, but got a year-tick in the form of Bullfinch - ridiculously late, I know - and an Aylesbury tick in the form of Red-legged Partridge.
• Decided to start 'mothing'. So far I've identified 2 out of the 880+ macromoths in the UK. They were Heart and Dart and Rustic (ironically I think it COULD have been an Uncertain). Ah well, no doubt I'll find more soon and there'll be some stunners. A full post on mothing soon.

And that's it. I've been too busy with gigs and restaurant-work to do much in the way of birding but from what I've heard, June's not the most amazing time. No doubt July will be quite the same. Exciting news though - Dad and I are heading off to Dorset come 22nd August for four days of birding goodness. Can't wait!

Leeet's Goooo Seeee the Kiiites

For a while, Linda and I had had places booked on a small trip run by the Redbridge Birdwatching Club to Wye Valley; more specifically we were heading to Gigrin Farm, the central hub that the Red Kites visit every day in order to be fed in front of hundreds of people. The day was a little bit mixed - certainly for Linda whose interests aren't massively on the birds side of things - but picked up hugely towards the end!

The main gripe, I suppose, was the near 6-hour minibus journey to the location. London traffic was bad, there were roadworks along quite a few stretches of motorway, and despite our driver's best attempts to floor it the whole way there, we were still rather delayed. Having left London at 7:30 and arrived at our first destination, Gilfach Farm - a small relatively unmanaged Wildlife Trust reserve situated in the steep hills along the river Wye.

It was a bit cold and windy with rain looking likely but, undeterred, we set off along the trail (all 17 of us). There were a number of Buzzards and Red Kites to be seen even along here, with Willow Warblers calling everywhere (after Red Kites - obviously - Willow Warblers were the most prolific bird on this trip). We spotted a Chiffchaff hopping relentlessly from branch to branch and failed to find the incessantly calling Yellowhammer further up the hillside. I spied a Great Spotted Woodpecker whilst listening to a very vocal Blackcap, and then Daniel, our group leader, somehow managed to spot a Tree Pipit sitting in the top of a tree not moving and not making any noise, perfectly invisible even when you knew where you were looking. Brilliant spot and good identification... I'm not sure I'd've stood much of a chance of ID'ing it as Tree Pipit other than the fact it sat in the tree for a long time.

Up and onto the bridge, and immediately I found a smart, male Redstart and... would you believe it, a Dipper sitting in full view for ages, face-on. Now, I only vaguely recall seeing a Dipper once before somewhere up in Derbyshire, but that's one of those memories you're not quite sure about. This, basically, was my first Dipper in the UK, and I've updated BUBO to reflect this...! A Grey Wagtail flew past, calling, and we heard a Cuckoo cuckoo-ing in the distance as well. Then it got really good. After watching a Pied Wagtail and some Ravens, we entered a bit of dense woodland on our way back to the minibus. A bloke called Mahinder pointed out a strange call that neither he nor Daniel could identify. We racked our brains and decided the closest it could be was Wood Warbler but it wasn't the textbook song we expected. Sure enough, though, a small bird flitted into view. Much like a Willow Warbler but with a very yellow face, supercilium and throat, this bird that sounded a bit like a Wood Warbler was suddenly a very real Wood Warbler! My very first ever, and such good views too as it flitted about for 10 minutes or so relatively low down in the trees.

Anyhow, onwards to Gigrin Farm. If you've never been before, then go. It's an amazing display. Essentially, all the Red Kites in a huge radius come drifting in at the same time (3pm) each day in order to feed on all the old chicken bits that the farm throws out for them. We arrived little after 2pm and already there were in excess of 50 Red Kites wheeling around. This just got better, as the pictures and videos below show:

How many are there in just this one shot, seriously?!

Some were way up on high.

A beautiful photo of one Kite.

What appeared to be a leucistic Red Kite joined the others.

Gives you an impression of the spectacle and movements!

A Buzzard sitting in a tree waiting for the feeding to begin.

More of the masses flying around, and the tractor that brought all the food.

The birds swooping down to feed.

Whew, that's a lot of multimedia. But it's not over yet. After we watched the Red Kites, Buzzards, Rooks, Crows and Ravens feeding on the ground, we had a little walk up and around the farm trail. There were Swallows and Sand Martins galore, and we heard a Reed Bunting calling from a small hide by a pond. Further up the hill we encountered what we all agreed was Lesser Whitethroat song, which was a wonderful surprise, and a female Yellowhammer at last. Then we got to a bit of woodland with two nestboxes...

Immediately into one of the nestboxes flew a female Redstart who didn't come out again - presumably she was incubating her eggs. However, the other nestbox was visited by a female Pied Flycatcher! She kept coming back and forth with food, which means she must have been feeding chicks.

The female which we saw first.

Another view of the female.

Then the male turned up and wowed us all for about 20 minutes until we had to leave! Such smart birds, and such a pleasure to get repeated and close-up views of something like feeding young. Definitely the bird and experience of the day, with the Wood Warbler a relatively close second.

Shows up really well, even from a distance!

Such a striking bird.

Both Pied Flycatchers bringing food back to their nestbox (hopefully) full of young!

Another video showing both the parents in action.

We had a long journey back home, but made it safe and sound! A couple of days ago I spotted a Swift from my living room window, which was a good one to tick. Off to Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow, so perhaps you'll be hearing about a few birds on that trip... come ooooon, Hoopoes.

A Rainham Visit In Pictures

And some text too otherwise you'll miss out... but the point is that Linda came with me and took photos with her lovely DSLR camera and zoom lens! It's not one of those zoom lenses 20-feet long that you see some people hefting, but it's enough for what we wanted!

We spent a good 3 hours wandering around the reserve in the sun, and saw some nice birds to boot (not literally). As seems to be the case at the moment, we saw a Whitethroat very soon after entering and heard/saw many more on the way round. Several Blackcaps were in full song, and we got good views of both male and female birds in the woodland area. There was supposed to be a Spotted Flycatcher but we didn't have the time (or one of us the willing!) to wait for it to turn up. Then my summer hirundine list was added to when both a pair of Swifts flew over with some Sand Martins - that's my first for the summer!

A photo of a Dunnock singing what Linda took on her camera.

The reeds outside the woodland area yielded Reed Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler that only flew out very briefly so I didn't get much of a look at all, and a pair of Lapwings flying overhead. We also enjoyed really beautiful sights of a few Linnets and a Greenfinch together in a bush - some of the most prolonged views of Linnets I've had (flighty creatures they do be). A Reed Bunting was also the first of several seen, both male and female.

One of the many loud, intrusive, alien Marsh Frogs that was sunning itself and making a racket.

The first hide yielded little (very dry and all the greenery hides quite a lot now too) except for a Grey Heron, Little Egrets, Swallows, a few ducks and a House Martin, thus completing my hirundine list for 2011! Well, the regulars anyway. I'm not bothered about Red-rumped Swallow or Alpine Swift at the moment if I'm honest; I'm perfectly excited by House Martins for now! There was only one, but it was lovely to see swooping across the water.

The aforementioned Little Egret, which landed here just before we left the hide, giving us great views of it feeding.

We heard a Water Rail squealing in the reeds! I hadn't heard one before, so that was a treat. Finally we found Sedge Warblers after the first half of the reserve being dominated by Reedies for so long. One gave us really good views, especially through the scope. Linda got a nice photo of one, but it was a bit distant for the strength of her lens. Click on the photo, though, and you'll get a much larger version to look at.

Sedge Warbler singing to its heart's content!

After the butts hide produced nothing new to add, we were starting to head back when I saw what looked like a Sparrowhawk flying north, a little distance away. I pointed it out to Linda and then looked through my binoculars... it was no Sparrowhawk... it was actually an adult Cuckoo, very grey, flying along with that characteristic below-horizontal wingbeat pattern, very steady and direct. What a great way to end the day and an excellent addition to the year list!

Until next time which will probably be my post about the trip to Wye Valley I shall be taking on 1st June... can't wait!

East India (...Dock Basin)

I had a wonderful three hours at East India Dock Basin this afternoon. There had been reports of an exciting bird there, but I won't tell you quite yet what it was... With the grand yet imposing Millennium Dome squatting menacingly on the opposite side of the Thames, I began my search for birds, immediately finding a group of about eight Cormorants with many others flying over and about. A pair of Shelduck and some Mallards flew by, and a Herring Gull landed on a post just on the river. I turned northwards and towards the small inlet of water where the birdlife was going to be, and watched Sand Martins race overhead. There were some Common Terns swooping about and calling over the water too. Apart from Coots, a Moorhen, Mute Swans, Canada Geese and Tufted Ducks, there wasn't a lot on the water.

With a Lesser Black-backed Gull and some Great Black-backed Gulls soaring over, I listened to and finally watched 3-4 Reed Warblers in the patch of reeds, one giving me excellent views! Quite a striking difference between upperparts and underparts. Then something unprecedented happened. I heard a loud squawk behind me and turned to find an adult Common Tern sitting on the railing extremely close. I knelt down and moved closer and closer, to within a mere 5 feet or so of the bird.

Common Tern, easily identifiable at such close range! This was a phone photo by the way.

It was beautiful to see the Tern so closely and especially when focussing the binoculars as close as possible - a real identification treat! It was then I noticed it had a small silver ring on its right leg. Careful manoeuvring around the bird, some patience and an absolutely hilarious pun (I thought to myself: "Come on, turn, Common Tern!" - just pure gold, I know) allowed me to read and record it:

BRIT MUSEUM
LONDON SW7
XR18809

Very exciting! So I've submitted it to the BTO on their EUring database so I just need to wait to hear back and I'll post any details they have on the bird here. It was a British-ringed bird, I know that much, but that doesn't stop it from being exciting!

I met Stuart Fisher, a local patch-birder, who was really nice and friendly, giving me advice on local birding areas and what to look for at East India Dock Basin. Both species of Blackcap were spotted, along with a single Black-headed Gull flying over and an elusive Jay and Long-tailed Tits. Then we saw something that had been reported three days previously but not seen since; the really exciting bird I mentioned earlier: a Spotted Flycatcher! It was very hard to spot at first, and when Stuart left, I still hadn't really seen it properly. I waited patiently and suddenly caught sight of it again through the foliage of the tall tree in the copse - I was able to follow it for a minute or so and confirmed it definitively as a Spotted Flycatcher. I was really pleased to see one of these as my only other sighting of one was rather putative in Exmoor. Hopefully its continued presence (at least 5 days now) points towards the fact that it may be breeding there! I'll be back soon to get longer views of it and anything else that may turn up!

I'll end on one final pun: now that I've seen it, it really is a Spotted Flycatcher. Think about it.

Suffolk 'n' Brilliant (Part 2 of 2)

Welcome back to the second and final instalment of the epic Suffolk saga.

20/04 - Strumpshaw Fen

After a well-earned rest at Great Yarmouth Travelodge and a delicious Morrisons breakfast, we headed out relatively early to Strumpshaw Fen, an RSPB reserve situated in the marshes east of Norwich. We actually managed to rack up an impressive 16 species (including Red-legged Partridge and Swallow) in the car before we even reached the reserve. The car park was a glorious mixture of singing birds once again, with many seemingly invisible birds giving away their identities through song.

Dad went to the toilet and I saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker. And he didn't. Just thought I'd put that into its own paragraph.

We spotted a Mistle Thrush up in a tree near the train tracks, and watched a lot of Black-headed Gull action through the screen by the visitors' centre. Once we left, we began hearing a Cetti's Warbler really quite close by. Ten minutes of patience yielded the bird in question leaping out of the undergrowth, perching for a fraction of a second and then flying off to bury itself elsewhere, of which unfortunately Dad got a very unimpressive view. There was still time! And plenty of Cetti's Warblers to go round.

Finally we saw our first Willow Warbler of the year, identified by song first, then by sight! Always pleasing. A male Hen Harrier circled around fairly high up and drifted south - a fun bird to identify from such an angle!

We reached the first hide and finally saw (rather than just heard) a Sedge Warbler, perching nicely and repeatedly. Male and female Marsh Harriers were swooping low over the reeds and at least 3 Hobbies made an appearance, hawking about a long way up in the sky. Then I spotted a group of four ducks flying in our rough direction and glanced at them through the binoculars. They were Pochard, but one appeared to have really white wing bars and was quite dark otherwise... my mind briefly skipped back to what I had read on the 'Recent Sightings' board at the visitors' centre and my casual venture into the bird book to give myself a couple of pointers in case I happened to see it... and there it was! A Ferruginous Duck flying! I exclaimed so, and there was a sudden, mad rush in the hide to spot this bird in flight! Luckily the birds flew round the marsh in plain sight three or four times, letting everyone see them well, before zooming out of sight. What a brilliant sense of excitement and panic! There was also a wader that someone spotted far over to the left, in the form of a Green Sandpiper, which we watched and confirmed (in our minds) the identity of. A Reed Bunting also graced us with its presence.

Continuing round, we heard a distant Cuckoo, but of course saw nothing of it. However we did find a lone White-fronted Goose, a bizarre addition to our late April list. We decided that it shouldn't be too unusual to find late migrators or birds injured or too weak to make the journey north, but it was still a surprise! The Tower Hide didn't yield much new except for Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Common Terns. There was also a Cetti's Warbler going mental outside the hide!

A fresh alternative to all the Black-headed Gulls

Aside from a Common Gull and relatively putative Stock Dove, that was our lot for Strumpshaw, and time to move onto the next location...

Buckenham Marshes

This was an unusual reserve - basically two ENORMOUS fields on either side of little more than a dirt track, with one hide facing north-west. We even needed to cross the train line by way of waiting for a lady in her hut to come out and manually move the gates for us! The dirt track (in the car) should only have taken a couple of minutes, but we must have pushed it to upwards of ten, what with all there was to see on either side whilst travelling along it. Entire gaggles of Egyptian Geese, Greylag Geese, Lapwings, Black-headed Gulls, and Canada Geese were the immediate birds to view.

Once we disembarked, we found 2 Avocets flying across and into the opposite field - a find made all by myself I hasten to add! We watched a great number of birds here in the sun, including: Linnets, Sedge Warbler, Skylark, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, a Cormorant, Golden Plover (in full breeding plumage; spectacular!), Shoveler, Pied Wagtails, Mallards, a Grey Heron, Rooks, a male Marsh Harrier, a stunning Wheatear (courtesy of Dad), a Reed Bunting, Jackdaws and a few Swallows, with a Cetti's Warbler singing away on the sidelines out of sight. A wonderful selection of birds at a rich and ideal site; one I would very much like to visit again some day.

Surlingham Church Marsh

We arrived quite late on in the day at this small, tucked away reserve, and unfortunately the sun was not favouring our views of the birds that dwelled on the marsh and pools. Never mind, we still saw and heard a nice selection of birds, though none really to add to the day's list. In a field opposite the car park we found yet another Mistle Thrush (they're everywhere these days!) with Carrion Crows and a Blackbird. The small circular track yielded Blue Tits, Great Tits, Wrens, Robins, Mallards, Greylag Geese, singing Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Cetti's Warblers, Teal, Goldfinches, Sedge Warbler, Chaffinch, Pheasant, Dunnock, Great Crested Grebe, Blackcap, Magpies, Woodpigeons, Greenfinches, Moorhen, a(nother) distant Cuckoo calling, and the highlight of the reserve: a reeling Grasshopper Warbler. We couldn't see the 'gropper' (I still can't say that seriously) but listening to its call is a new experience in itself for us, so we relished it.

Then we bought some honey from one of those little wooden boxes in which people sell their wares at the end of the garden, and set off to Lowestoft Travelodge (notice a theme here?) for our dinner and a sleep. We tried the Harvester just opposite the Travelodge but it was absolutely rammed, causing us to take the more preferable option anyway and visit Tesco just across the road, stock up on beer, pasties, bread, houmous, pasta and A WHOLE APPLE PIE AND CUSTARD, and retreat to our room to dine and watch the bloke from 'Coast' talk about ancient England.

22/04 - Minsmere

Aaah, there we go! Minsmere: the cream of the crop, the icing on the cake, la pièce de resistance! To be honest, we had discussed Minsmere through rose-tinted glasses throughout the week (and rightly so if you'll recall our previous excursion to Suffolk's finest reserve which spoilt us rotten for birdlife) and were worrying that we had built it up a little too highly in our minds and were in for severe disappointment. Ever trying to be the optometrist (wait, what?) I stayed positive and believed strongly that we'd have a successful and exciting day. And, true to Minsmere's current form, I was absolutely right!

We exited the car to the sounds of a Greenfinch and walked down to the visitors' centre. Bam - straight away there were 2 Marsh Tits on the feeders! Good way to start. The lady greeting us was very friendly and helpful, guiding us to specific places to see specific birds and giving us general information too. What she told us was enormously exciting but I shan't give it away yet. We walked down to the Sand Martin burrows and there were quite a few Sand Martins zooming around. Nothing hugely of note was visible until we reached the first hide - the North Hide.

Aside from the many birds such as Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Black-headed Gulls by the truckload, Avocets and Redshank, there was a male Garganey asleep on the bank! Soon he woke up and swam across the large pool he was on, then swam back, feeding.

What a striking bird! Unfortunately he has his head underwater quite a lot of the time.

The Garganey wasn't the only thing on view. There was a small, dispersed flock of Barnacle Geese which were apparently part of a feral population, but good enough for the ticklist in my view (after consulting Dad of course). Plenty of Black-tailed Godwits were probing all over the place as well, and one flew overhead in what I can only think was a display flight, producing a really odd and repetitive call that was almost comical! Then we left the hide, and the best moment of the entire trip happened.

Dad and I heard a Nightingale singing in the bushes very close by, with a Cetti's Warbler also going mental and moving about a lot. Neither was visible, but we chose to stare into the Nightingale bush to try our luck. A couple of minutes later, a bird panicked us by flying onto a low branch, then to another, then to another. I saw the fanned tail; "Cetti's Warbler!", I exclaimed, and it then burst into song, still flitting from branch to branch, then got lost in the undergrowth. Best view so far! We followed the sound further up a bit of heathland but had no luck. However, we heard a second Nightingale singing up ahead, and after a few minutes' searching with binoculars and scopes, we found the Nightingale sitting in full view and singing away near the top of a bush, relatively exposed! We hurried further forward to achieve better views and managed to get them for a minute or so! This was another of those 'wow' moments that I will make another post about soon. Our first proper, definitive view of a Nightingale.

After watching a beautiful singing male Blackcap that Dad managed to find through the scope, we continued round along the North Wall across the reeds towards the sea wall. Obviously keeping our ears open for pinging, we were very alert. This alertness bagged us a Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, and then as we scanned for Water Rails along a cut-out waterway, we saw a flash of orange fly across... then fly back out again and down the waterway TOWARDS us! It was a male Bearded Tit! And it began to feed and move through low down in the reeds a mere 15 feet away! It gave amazing views for about 3 or 4 minutes before flying back with a beakful of insects to the place we saw it originally. It then flew out again and off in the other direction, then a couple of minutes later it returned to where we now presumed it had a nest. It was joined briefly by another bird, which someone got a good enough view of to state that it was a female. But wow nonetheless!

After spotting a Skylark we headed into East Hide for a look across the Scrape from another angle. It was one of those moments when you sit down and don't know quite where to look as there is so much going on; very exciting. There were 6+ Turnstones wading about, turning stones (including 2 or 3 that were pretty much in full breeding plumage - a spectacularly striking pattern!), Pintail, 10+ Ringed Plover and 5+ Ruff that were in a wide variety of plumage stages, confusing Dad and myself somewhat. Then we noticed 2 Little Terns sitting on a small scrape just in front of us! Beautiful and tiny birds, which satisfactorily looked exactly the same as they do in the book, and gave me a new life tick! There were Greater and Lesser-black Backed Gulls, a few Oystercatchers, more Godwits, and someone pointed out a 1st-winter Mediterranean Gull that was sitting on a post nearby. Once we'd had our fill of everything the East Hide had to offer, we came back out and walked quickly along to the South Hide, catching a Swallow and several Whitethroats along the way.

As we went down the small path to the hide, Dad stopped and exclaimed: "Look!" - and there was an Adder, black with the yellow diamond pattern down its back, previously sunning itself on the path, that slowly slithered off into the undergrowth to one side. That was our first ever wild snake, so a real treat! Although it wouldn't have been so if Dad had stepped on it...

The South Hide gave us relatively good views, but we didn't stay for long as we knew we'd get better views from the nearby West Hide. However, we did see a group of 20-30+ Sandwich Terns standing on one island, with a Grey Plover a bit further away walking along a spit! My first Sandwich Terns after wanting to see them for years! However, we left the hide and rushed round to the next one to see these birds from a better angle... and there was a group of people just outside it waving us over. We hurried across just in time to see a Bittern stalking through some reeds! It disappeared a few seconds later, but then re-emerged for a second stalk before disappearing completely. Then we heard it booming. What a noise! Almost always four 'booms', a sound that is EXACTLY like blowing across the top of a very large bottle. We heard this sound throughout the day, which simply added to the magic!

But this West Hide gave us something else to enjoy... or some things else to be more precise. We found several Dunlin, most in summer plumage, standing near the Grey Plover from before. We also found a group of 5 small grey birds that were running along the water's edge and feeding quite erratically. A more experienced wader-watcher in the hide identified them as Sanderling - another new bird for me! It was a shame they were at a distance, but nice nonetheless. Then the same bloke suddenly exclaimed: "What the hell is that?!" and pointed out 2 Mallards flying with something quite different. It was roughly the same size, but had a brown head with white cheeks, then the rest was a sort of speckled light brown with a long, whitish tail and - perhaps most striking - a black bill with a prominent red base. It sent everyone in the hide into a fluster trying to identify it and keep it in their scopes. Luckily it settled down giving us these views:

The Mystery Duck - not a great video so my apologies.

Here it is again - not the best quality but you get the idea.

The big bod came along with a camera-scope the size of the Hubble, and took some record shots. He declared it was an escaped hybrid of some sort, probably Red-crested Pochard x Something Else. That was good enough for the time being, but further research (and a very helpful Youtube poster) proved this to be a White-Cheeked Pintail, native to South America! So it was an escapee afterall, but not some non-descript hybrid as we were told. Closure! But very exciting nonetheless to witness something totally new and unexpected. Dad also spotted an odd-looking gull which, after some careful identification, we deduced was a Little Gull that hadn't developed its full summer plumage yet! A nice addition. There were also 8+ Mediterranean Gulls in full summer breeding plumage - such a smart bird and one of my favourites from the trip too!

Aaaah, the satisfaction of picking out one of these beauties amongst thousands of BHGs!

Upon leaving the West Hide, we had our best view of a Cetti's Warbler. It sang, then burst forth from the undergrowth and sat for us to view it for a short while, then flew off singing again and again. That was finally it, after all those fleeting views that just got better and better this trip, we eventually got what we wanted!

On to the Bittern hide, then! We had skipped this entire section last visit so made a point of sparing enough time for it now. It was good that we did! We heard many booming Bitterns (though saw no more unfortunately), got great views of a male Marsh Harrier perching and flying repeatedly, not too distantly, and the same of a male Sparrowhawk that was one of the best views of a living Sparrowhawk I've ever had. Then, just to add icing to the cake for the day, I was looking along the reed edges for Water Rails as Dad always did... and there was a Water Rail. Brilliant! We were so chuffed that all the searching finally paid off, especially since it ran right across a large stretch of water and we got really good views.

The following Island Mere Hide didn't yield anything new, but the walk round to it was relatively productive, with a Coal Tit, a very elusive but eventually rewarding Treecreeper and likewise Great Spotted Woodpecker, a small group of Linnets and our first hearings of both Willow Warbler and Cuckoo, though neither was visible of course! We also, in the last few minutes, just because we could, climbed up the Canopy Hide, but only saw Green Woodpecker and Collared Dove - no 'crests of either kind unfortunately.

Still, I really can't complain as this trip surpassed all expectations, with Minsmere being the plainly obvious winner. Two more 'wow' moments to add to the memory and a fervent anticipation for our next trip... possibly autumn in Dorset...

So, 6 new life-ticks, 24 new year-ticks, and Bronze, Silver and Gold birds that I mentioned before were seen! No Hoopoe, but come on, that's just crazy. And 108 birds seen on the trip altogether, making this by far our most successful trip to date with a Diamond medal awarded for our efforts! Can't wait till next time.

Suffolk 'n' Brilliant (Part 1 of 2)

And so it was! Having looked forward to this trip for several months, I was getting a little worried that it may not live up to my built-up expectations. Let's just save the tension, the intrigue and the mystery, and state right here in this, the first paragraph (and the title... ahem) that this trip was absolutely brilliant.

Here was our original plan:
19/04 - Rainham Marshes, South Essex Marshes
20/04 - Stour Wood & Estuary, Wolves Wood, Dunwich
21/04 - Strumpshaw Fen, Surlingham Church Marsh, Rockland Marshes, Buckenham Marshes
22/04 - Minsmere, Fowlmere

It proceeded thus:
19/04 - Rainham Marshes
20/04 - Stour Wood & Estuary, Wolves Wood
21/04 - Strumpshaw Fen, Buckenham Marshes, Surlingham Church Marsh
22/04 - Minsmere

Suffice it to say that we didn't get left with nothing to do!

19/04 - Rainham Marshes
This trip boasted the perfect opportunity to introduce Dad to my (by now) old friend, Rainham Marshes. Many a tale had I recounted for him, many a treasure I had shared; now it was time for him to enjoy the benefits of being such a short distance from a flagship RSPB reserve.

We arrived at around 12:30 to a fullish car park (Easter holidays and all that). We were greeted immediately upon exiting the visitors' centre with at least 2 Whitethroats in full song, one of them a wonderfully showy male. What a fantastic year I reckon we're going to have for Whitethroats.

Ignore Dad saying "Is that a Blackcap?"; he's not being a moron, he could hear one singing.

After enjoying the sights and sounds of these freshly-migrated warblers, we continued round to the 'bus stop' where we heard (and saw) a Reed Warbler singing away, giving fairly good views. We also chose this point to eat lunch, and spotted a very buff-fronted Wheatear out with all the cattle whilst looking for Yellow Wagtails. Buff front suggests the 'Greenland' race. I really don't care either way. It was a lovely Wheatear, let's just leave it at that.

There was further warbler-watching when we arrived at the wooded part of the track. Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps (male and female) were in abundance, along with your usual suspects. Once we hit the boardwalk, we were watching another Reed Warbler for a long time, listening to singing Cetti's Warblers (oh how good this trip was for Cetti's Warblers...) and none other than a Kingfisher shot across and into the woodland! We saw it so fleetingly and in silhouette that we didn't even see the dead giveaway that is the flash of blue, but nothing else has the flight or shape quite like that of a Kingfisher, and you know when you've seen one. Further along the boardwalk produced a small flock of Linnets (including a tremendous rosy-red male), a Kestrel, a laughing Green Woodpecker in the distance and good views of a hunting Sparrowhawk.

The Ken Barrett hide and its region yielded nothing out of the ordinary, and it was only when we reached the Butts hide (newly named by me due to that being its real name) that we found birds of note! There were a few calling Redshank, and a couple of Black-tailed Godwits in lovely summer plumage! We also found a Ruddy Duck on a distant pool, but we won't talk about that. What duck? No idea. Anyway, Dad and I, whilst looking at some Little Ringed Plover on one scrape, stumbled across a small and relatively plain-looking wader. After much deliberation, we decided upon it being none else than a Green Sandpiper! What a find! And with a pair of Greenshank further over, it was a fantastic spot for waders!

The day was pressing on, however, and was still relentlessly hot out in the sun, so we headed back to the visitors' centre (after stopping briefly by the river wall turnstile to listen to a reeling Grasshopper Warbler that we didn't have time to try and find, unfortunately) and headed to Chafford Hundred to look for the still-remaining Waxwings. We found no such Waxwings. Sad face. A long drive brought us to Ipswich Travelodge, whence we ate fish and chips in a nearby village and returned for a good night's sleep.

20/04 - Stour Wood & Estuary

Up at 8am, we had a lovely breakfast courtesy of Mr Tesco Cafe, and headed to Stour Estuary. On the way, we stopped off a little further up the river to look at what must have been hundreds of Mute Swans. Very odd to see so many all in this one stretch of river (back into which the tide was now flowing), and there was even a Black Swan in the mix. We also 'bagged' (I know, I know) Oystercatchers, Brent Geese and some Redshank, along with further Black-tailed Godwits.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by this:

I DON'T WANT TO GO FOR A WALK

But it got better.

We had Whitethroats, we had just about the best views either of us had had of a Mistle Thrush, we saw a Green Woodpecker shortly followed by seeing a Jay, and then we heard something we didn't recognise just by the train track. There was a single bird singing a song with which neither Dad nor I were familiar, and flitting from a large conifer down to the hedge on the other side of the tracks (haha!) and back. An eventual look at it (thank you for finding it, Dad!) through the binoculars and indeed the scope showed it to be a really dull-looking Whitethroat without the lovely rich brown and grey contrast on its back. This, paired with the habitat and the song - which we found on the MP3 player - proved it to be a lovely Lesser Whitethroat! I was so chuffed at this bird and our identification of it that I didn't at all mind the half an hour we spent watching and listening to it.

Down to the estuary, then. Unfortunately it was about as high tide as it could get, and we only found a couple of Gulls (Herring and Lesser Black-backed), some Shelduck, a single Curlew and a Swallow. However, the woods up ahead gave us astounding examples of the beauty of the song of the siren of the woods, the Nightingale. We were lucky enough to have THREE different birds singing simultaneously whilst we listened, peering intently into one clearing of bush where we really should have been able to see them. Despite our best efforts, they eluded us, but what an amazing experience, having never even heard one before.

We had lunch by a viewing screen overlooking the (still full) estuary, listening to the distant Nightingales. Then a group of 9 or 10 Red-breasted Mergansers swam across the desolate river, surprising us!

I believe it was 2 males and 7-8 females.

Wolves Wood

As the day drew on, we decided to press on to Wolves Wood; we had skipped over this location on our November trip in favour of spending time closer to the coast, and wanted to make sure we didn't neglect it once again! And well we did not, for there was a bounty of birds to be found in the small patch of woodland, including a 'wow' moment.

Shortly after entering the woods, we found a nice clearing where we stood and waited for quite a while (as is often best when woodland birding). After a short time, I heard what I now knew as a Nightingale singing over where Dad was standing. I shuffled across and we began bush-watching again to try and locate the thing. Then, after quite a long period of time, Dad suddenly exclaimed: "NIGHTINGALE!" and I looked in the same direction just in time to see something vaguely brown and roughly the right size disappear further into the thicket. Dad had seen a very rufous tail as it landed, and from what we had seen and from what we could hear, we had definitely just seen a Nightingale, despite it being relatively unsatisfactory.

Don't feel too sorry for us yet though. Whilst the Nightingale continued singing, Dad and I had a wow moment. A Treecreeper excited us first of all, after I heard a trilling call coming from a nearby tree, and it climbed up and up, with the Nightingale still singing in the background. Suddenly, whilst Dad looked for the Treecreeper we'd just lost that was still calling, a Nuthatch appeared on another nearby tree, also calling, with the Nightingale still in full song, and something else just overhead making a slightly strange Tit noise - it was a Coal Tit! It was one of those moments when you just didn't know where to look or what to do! Grinning, looking from one bird to another, and just enjoying the cacophony of different calls and songs going on, that was probably the best moment of the trip for the both of us!

We stopped by Dunwich beach on our way up to Great Yarmouth Travelodge, just for a bit of nostalgia for me and just in case anything super-exciting was immediately visible. It wasn't, but we did see a few Swallows swooping over the car park in the late afternoon sun, and I reminisced about our Shore Lark moment in November whilst gazing out over the hazy sea. We also briefly saw a couple of Red-legged Partridges from the car on our way back across Dunwich Heath to the main road, which was a nice bonus to finish the day.

I shall write about the final two days in another post in order to preserve the little sanity I have left.

Mystery Night Bird [Still Unsolved]

EDIT: The best bet is a weird-sounding Robin but that's by no means definite.

I was packing away my gear after a gig in Marlow on Friday and in the dead of night, I heard a strange and slightly haunting call continuing for a long time from a tree in the car park of a hotel. This was recorded in Marlow at 1:00 AM on 16/04/2011 coming from a large tree in a hotel car park. As yet unsolved! I'm asking the London Birders group for help with identification, and no doubt it will end up being a Blackbird or Thrush of some kind. Something really embarrassing. Watch this space.

Oh and there was also a Swallow flying about over the river.

The mystery calling bird!

"They're twitterpated!"

Aaaah, the Owl in Bambi. How right he was.

With a morning and afternoon off work and the sun beating down upon London, I seized the opportunity yesterday to enjoy Rainham Marshes. It truly felt like Summer, and I was so happy to be outdoors enjoying it. Unfortunately Linda couldn't come with me but made perfectly clear that she will be attending next time!

From the second I stepped out of my car into the car park, I was bombarded with birdsong - namely Chiffchaffs. The usual birds were at the visitors' centre, with a few Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, and a Grey Heron on the small pools closer by. Round to the "bus-stop" screen where there was a non-stop, anxious, very familiar buzzing, whistling, twittering and chatting coming from one bird. It was none other than a beautiful Sedge Warbler, the first of the year! In Northern Africa mere days ago, now it graced Rainham's reedbeds in the brilliant sunshine. And a Stock Dove and small group of Shelduck flew overhead. I attempted to get some video but only had my phone with me and it was appalling, so no uploads today I'm afraid.

Continuing round, I saw several Chiffchaffs and then heard that (once again familiar) woodland song of a Blackcap. Waiting a minute or so yielded lovely views of the bird, a smart and restless male, another first for the year! Shortly afterwards, I found more males and a female feeding in the trees - to think I used to consider Blackcap a semi-rarity and saw one once a year at best. I suppose that just shows how much I was paying attention or cared.

Then just after the Blackcaps, I looked up for some unknown reason and a Swallow graced my binoculars! It was flying East-South-East which was weird. But I don't care - the Swallow marked my 100th bird seen in 2011 and I think it is a highly appropriate bird to do so. A pheasant promptly proceded to scare the crap out of me by calling what must have been 3 metres away from inside a thicket. You don't realise how loud they can be until they do that.

Further round, the Chiffchaffs were all "twitterpated"; they were chasing each other all over the place preventing me from seeing if any of them were Willow Warblers. I couldn't identify any of them as WWs and heard no song either so I have a bit more searching and waiting to produce what is supposedly the most common breeding bird in Britain.

Now for an amazing paragraph. I hit the boardwalk and decided to stand and wait for a few minutes, just to watch. Almost immediately, I heard and saw a Whitethroat fly down into a bush, stay for around 20 seconds, then fly off never to be seen again! Yet another migrant! Unfortunately I didn't see or hear it quite well or long enough to discount Lesser Whitethroat but I shall get plenty more opportunities in the future (and had been informed in the centre that there was supposed to be a Whitethroat in the area). Good enough for me. But then: "CHIU, CHIU-TII CHIU-TII CHIU-TII" (or whatever) exploded from a location mere feet away from me. 'A Cetti's Warbler!', I proclaimed in my head, pleased at the opportunity to hear the bird calling. Then the Cetti's Warbler hopped out, flew across the boardwalk, perched in a bush, sang, flew back to another bush, perched for a while longer, sang for even longer, and then disappeared singing at regular intervals. No doubts! No small flash of brown in the reeds that could have been a Wren if I'm honest. This was my first and probably best forever sighting of a Cetti's, and I am so enormously chuffed, that it almost beats the feeling I get from seeing all the migrants. Wow!

There wasn't a lot else around the reserve, with the waters exceedingly quiet, save for a large number of Shelduck, some Shoveler and Pochard hanging on with the three Lapwings. The Marsh Frogs, which I had never seen or heard before today, confused the hell out of me for a couple of hours until I worked out what they were, with their utterly bizarre laugh/scold/croak noise. And they were loud. And everywhere. However, there were more Sedge Warblers further round amongst the reeds, and a Reed Warbler to add on top, which gave me an excellent chance to listen to both birds and try to identify determiners to distinguish between them by song. I concluded that the Reed Warbler has a more Rhythmic, Regular, Ranged song, and the Sedge Warbler tends to insert Squeaks, Shrill notes in a very much more Superfluous manner. Pathetic I know, but it'll come in handy!

So this one trip brought my year list up by six ticks! Notably absent were Wheatear (for the site, not for the list), Willow Warbler and Yellow Wagtail, despite my awareness of their possible presence and concerted efforts to see them. There's still a lot of time until October/November though.

Oh, and: ONLY TEN DAYS UNTIL SUFFOLK!!!

Young Robins and Welsh Wonders

Linda and I went to the garden centre near Victoria Park today, the second day of Summer as far as I'm concerned. Whilst there, hopping about on the ground was a juvenile Robin and (assumedly) its parent. My first proper juvenile bird of the year, and hopefully the first of many! Though no doubt it could prove hideously confusing trying to identify some juveniles.

On another note, I have booked a place for myself and a place for Linda to attend a London Birdwatching trip to Wye Valley in Wales on 1st of June to see the Red Kite feeding station where hundreds of kites frequent to feed, and a local RSPB reserve that plays host to the breeding of many interesting birds.

And 12 days until Suffolk! Could I be happier?!*

*This is clearly a rhetorical question; please do not give an answer as the answer is mind-numbingly obvious.

The Spring Migrant, the Celebrity and the Ear Infection

By C. S. Lewis.

Not really. Terrible pun aside, I decided to brave the big outdoors as my last act of freedom before I return to work tomorrow, see if I couldn't have me some fun over at Wanstead. And fun I had indeed on this, the final day of March, 2011.

The day held a decent temperature (around 16°C) and the winds were very strong and westerly, so I wasn't expecting much in the way of productivity but birding is better than not birding, and I had a couple of nice surprises.

There were, of course, countless Carrion Crows all over the Flats, and the usual Blue Tits, Great Tits, Wrens and Starlings. But there was a high level of Skylark activity, with almost constant song (ah, that beautiful sound of the summer!) and display flights. I spotted a Meadow Pipit in the same area descending from a display flight, and gave myself a metaphorical, well-deserved pat on the back for being able to distinguish it from the Skylarks. Now I hope I got that identification right...

"Chiff-chaff-chiff-chaff-chiff-chiff-chaff" pealed out through every area of scrub, wood and copse! These singing Chiffchaffs (a couple of which I actually managed to locate) are going to be the norm for the next few months so we'd better get used to them. No Willow Warblers or Blackcaps yet but we'll get there; it's still relatively early in migration season yet! There was a surprisingly large number of Cormorants all flying into the wind (west) throughout the afternoon, and all quite distant; perhaps this is or is not strange for Wanstead but it was fun to see. A Lesser Black-backed Gull passed over, several Greenfinches were flitting about making a racket, and I had 3 Mistle Thrushes simultaneously at one stage (with others elsewhere). And a Green Woodpecker.

The highlight, though, was the cracking female Wheatear that I watched for about 20 minutes. There's nothing quite like looking at a bird feeding, preening and hopping about, when you know said bird was doing exactly the same thing in sub-Saharan Africa perhaps under a week ago. It's also exciting to have your first sighting of the year of a real Spring migrant, as it's a sign of things to come. And although you know that it happens every single year in the same way, about the same time, and it's the same birds, you still find yourself somewhat comforted to see that it is underway once again, as if there had ever been any doubt.

And it's especially exciting for me as a new lister as it means that I can now, without any hesitation or pause, state clearly and reliably that I, Steve Torpey, saw my first Wheatear of 2011 on the 31st March. In future I shall be able to consult my Spreadsheet of Joy and Happiness, filter by 'Wheatear', then mutter under my breath, tut and shake my head, because wasn't that unusually early or late for Wheatear, especially given the location etc. etc. etc.

You may be wondering about the title. Well, I have an ear infection (hence "braving" the big outdoors) and as for the 'celebrity' part: I met Johnathan Lethbridge just after seeing my Wheatear. "Celebrity" may not be quite the right word but it was certainly good to meet the man whose blog I have been reading for such a long time, especially since it was this that piqued my interest in Wanstead in the first place. And I pointed him towards the Wheatear so he could get a photograph. He had only had his first Wheatear yesterday. Not that I'm looking to get competitive or anything...

On one final note, I have been interested in the etymology (origin/history) of the word 'Wheatear' for a while and hadn't looked it up. Here is the entry on www.etymonline.com which is supposedly accurate: type of bird, 1590s, back-formation from white-ears, lit. "white-arse". Brilliant. Just brilliant.

...In Which I Decide it is Pretty Much Spring

Finally, it was Saturday, I'd had a long, hard week at work, and it was time to get out in the fresh air and do some birding at Rainham. Unfortunately, the weather was overcast, slightly cold, and a few drops were in the air (unlike the tremendous two or three days preceding this particular Saturday). Undeterred, I ventured to Rainham wrapped up warm and ready, and set off with Spring on my mind and a spring in my step. Pun intended.

Of course, there were the usual suspects making a noise around the visitors' centre, including the regular House Sparrows, Goldfinches, Greenfinches etc. and after a quick check for Bramblings and anything else out of the ordinary, I stomped round to the wooded area. Immediately I heard that familiar Summery call of the Chiffchaff, which I then managed to locate visually a couple of minutes later (no mean feat I tell you!) It was not prolonged, but enough to make sure that it was the bird making the noise, and had the correct colouring, size and shape. Chuffed with my first sighting of a Chiffchaff in 2011, I continued, heartened that the migrants were well on their way.

Unfortunately the wind was a cool north-easterly, ergo not good for migrants (again, unlike the previous few days which had encouraged reports of Garganey, Buzzards, Red Kites, Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and Sand Martins). Nonetheless, there is still much joy to get out of birding even during the crappier days - such as my Chiffchaffs; I continued to hear them most of the way around the reserve. I chanced upon a female Linnet sitting atop brambles where I hadn't expected to see a Linnet. I identified it primarily by its blackish wings as it sat, then it disappeared after a short amount of time.

Four Cormorants flew over quite distantly (I had actually got the scope on them to see what kind of geese they were... quite embarrassing) and I hit the Ken Barrett hide. From here there was quite a decent number of birds to see. I spent a good portion of time in this hide, and saw the usual Shoveler, Pintail, Little Egrets (about 7 or 8 altogether), and a huge number of Little Grebes which were making a lot of noise! I also briefly saw my first Great Crested Grebe for Rainham - an unlikely but significant bird to be missing! After checking for Snipe or Plover along all the banks and amongst the waterfowl, I began to peruse the gulls, of which there were a few dotted about swimming, and many hawking over the water diving to the pools regularly before flying back up again. Most of these were Black-headed Gulls joined by a couple of juvenile big white gulls (be they Black-backed, Herring or otherwise this birder neither knows nor cares!)

And then I caught sight of something I hadn't really seen before. A few of the gulls (one with a full black hood and a couple with obviously winter plumage) were a little smaller and more agile than the Black-headeds that they were with, and had very strikingly dark underwings, the entire length of the wing. I zoomed in and watched for a long time, wondering what this could mean. In the end, I had an idea in my mind based upon the more summer-plumaged bird and consulted my bird guide. Indeed my theory was correct! I was watching a handful of Little Gulls doing what they do best, and the key feature of identification was in fact the almost black (by contrast and from a distance) underwing, when comparing it with the virtually white underwing of a Black-headed Gull. This was excellent news, and a new bird sighting for me! I was happy to watch them for quite a while longer (during which time a seasoned, veteran-looking birder plonked himself down next to me and enquired in an air of supreme casualness and superior knowledge: "The Little Gulls out today then?" - to which I could honestly answer "Yes, yes, yes they are!" which delighted me no end). The gull-watch also yielded Herring, Lesser Black-backed and Common Gulls at various intervals.

So on round to the "new" hide (so called by myself because a) I can never remember its proper name and b) because it's the newest hide, although that will change as soon as the even newer hide near the visitors' centre is completed next month - let's call the former hide the 'West' hide henceforth for painfully obvious reasons), where I was starting to get cold and feel a bit groggy. Never mind, I was there to bird, not complain. And it was lucky I did! Aside from getting some superb views of Little Egrets, I also found a total of 3 Little Ringed Plover running about along a pool's bank. This whole 'scanning the banks just in case something turns up' is excellent practice, and has bagged me a Ruff, a Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwits, a Curlew, Linnets and Skylarks in the past, so it's often worth doing! Anyway, it took me a short time to identify them as Little rather than full up Ringed, and that was mainly by the white band above the eyes that joined on top of the head, rather than on the Ringed where it nowhere near joins. That was the main feature, but everything else seemed to fit as well (from a distance, don't forget). So no need to go to College Lake this year after all!

Finally I left the hide and walked back to the visitors' centre. During this stint I was rewarded with a hovering Kestrel, a singing Skylark (which I only heard, typically), and a pair of out-of-place Lapwing flying madly about pee-witting and reminding me of the flocks of thousands I had seen at Rainham mere weeks ago. All gone to breed on hills now I suppose.

One thing that has been at the back of my mind is that I haven't seen any Bearded Tits for a long time now. Of the ten times I have visited Rainham Marshes, I have only seen the Bearded Tits twice: on the second and fourth times I went. I suppose I was just very lucky those two times, and to get such incredible and intimate views, but I can't help but suppress the feeling that I should stay reed-watching for about half an hour or so on my next visit, waiting for the little blighters to come pinging along for me. I miss them!

Google informs me that it is a mere 23 days until Dad and I head to Suffolk. I'm so excited about that trip - I have already set targets (not that achieving them has anything to do with skill whatsoever; I just need to be standing there looking in a particular direction - let's call them prizes rather than targets then): Bronze - Blackcap, Silver - Wheatear, Gold - Garganey, Platinum - Hoopoe.

I think they're reasonable!

First Chiffchaff!

I just heard my first Chiffchaff of the year on my way back to the flat in London from Sainsbury's! Unmistakeable call, and only a few days after Dad had his first call in Aylesbury! Very pleased, as it means spring is well and truly arriving.

In other news, the Mistle Thrush is still in Bethnal Green Park - I see it pretty much every other day when I walk through on my way to work. Also this weekend I should have a nice birding shift on Saturday morning when I shall go to Rainham and catch up with spring!

Rainham Againam

Since I hadn't been to Rainham for such a while, and with the potential lack of unemployment entirely imminent, I decided on Friday to spend half a day birding at the reserve. It turned out to be a pretty sunny day, and the temperature and wind were within acceptable limits too! Lovely!

I would love to say there was a definite feeling of Spring in the air, but unfortunately there was only a mere hint thereof. Nonetheless, I stomped round without time limiting me, taking in all the sights and sounds. Granted, there were more birds singing than there had been for the last few months, but it was still Dunnock-centric. They're early singers and I really wanted to be hearing more Blackbirds, Greenfinches and Great Tits. Even Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps but I suppose it's a bit too early to be getting into that quite yet...

Plenty of waterfowl! Teal and Wigeon in great numbers, with Shelduck, Shoveler, Pochard and Gadwall in only slightly lesser numbers (especially Shelduck - more than I've seen at Rainham before). I heard a Cetti's Warbler singing a couple of times, and counted at least 4 Little Egrets. There was one Greylag Goose in with all the Canada Geese. Otherwise, for the most part, pretty much what you would expect from a large body of marsh and water.

Although there were one or two surprises and/or nice things to see as I progressed round the reserve. I spent what must have been about 15 minutes watching one small Pipit, trying to work out what it was. I had pretty much decided on Rock Pipit, then to my disappointment I saw its legs finally in a better light: they were pink! This was sad as it meant that I had been studying a Meadow Pipit intently for a decent amount of time, although I look at it as experience in Pipit identification, which, let's face it, I need a hell of a lot more experience in...

Another surprise amongst the Lapwing and good few Golden Plover (some of which were developing a little black on their fronts ready for breeding plumage), was a Ruff that suddenly popped out from behind a mound and ran back and forth along an island feeding for a long time. Again, I'm not hugely good with a lot of waders, so it took a while to identify. My main deciding factor (after I'd decided I was pretty sure) was a reserve warden speaking to a friend, describing the Ruff, calling it a Ruff, and then assuring me it was a Ruff. So that was a nice thing to see anyway, although I missed the Little Ringed Plover he spotted further along the island while I was trying to identify the Ruff. Still, College Lake in the Summer is all I need for a LRP tick!

Along with a lone sleeping Curlew, a multitude of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a surprise Snipe, a Little Grebe that I snuck up on and scared the living daylights out of entirely by accident, and a pair of Stock Doves feeding under the feeders by the visitors' centre, I had distant but good views of a hunting female Hen Harrier. It was quite brief but the white rump was all too telling.

So unfortunately, I might not be getting the chance to do a lot of birding in the next while, what with full time employment starting up tomorrow (and hopefully going on further than the one-week trial period). Therefore these posts could be even sparser than they have been of late. Still, I'm immensely looking forward to my next trip with Dad to Suffolk: four days of birding bliss!