...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!