Quick run over the flats this morning.

 Brian called to see if we wanted to shoot over our local Wanstead flats for an hour or so, Whinchat is the bird we are looking for and as soon as the car is parked we see a couple in the fenced-off area. Such a great-looking bird to watch as it sits up for great views.  

Jimmy gets a tick when we get Lesser Whitethroat as we have a walk around. 

Nice to meet up with Marko and a couple of local birders before we head off home, short but sweet trip.

The Whinchat on the flats today.

mid week trip to Minsmere plus Surf Scotor & Dunwich.

 The three of us set off early for a mid-week visit to Minsmere in Sufffolk.  It's only 7 am when we arrive and we have the reserve to ourselves for a while.  

As we head up to the new boardwalk we hear our first Cuckoo of the year, with the place being so quiet we hear Grasshopper Warbler as we walk, a good tick for me, the boys already had one last week. Nightingales are heard and we see a few Bearded Tits.

The new boardwalk up to the first hide is a great improvement to the site. Once in the hide, we see Dunlin, Ring Plover, Garganey, Med Gulls, Knot, Oystercatcher, Barnacle Geese, 2 Greenshank, and the only tick we needed was Sandwich Tern.

Looking out to sea large flocks of Kittiwake gives me another year tick. We spend a couple of hours walking around but no more ticks, a search for Dartford Warbler is in vain, so it's a short trip up the road to Dunwich Heath, and as a member of the National Trust I get to park for free always a bonus. 

Only walked a short way on the heath before a pair of Dartford Warblers show and more are heard. Many Sandmartin flew about with Swallows but never saw any Housemartin.

6 miles along the coast we head to Walberswick to search for the Surf Scoter. 

Parked up we walk a few hundred yards up the beach where a flock of Scotor are seen.

They are a fair way out and the sun wasn't helping us,  but the scopes soon picked it out and it was easy to spot once on it. 

A nice Bar-tailed Godwit

Two of the Barnacle Geese.

On the right a long way out to sea but that's the Surf Scotor.

Frampton comes up trumps with a few year ticks.

A late-night call gets us up early for a trip to a real favorite reserve of ours in Lincolnshire Frampton RSPB.  

We arrive in the car park at 8 am and scan over the fence where there is loads of water and it is packed with many birds.

The boys already had the Lesser-Yellowlegs from another trip that I missed but I soon put that right when the Lesser-Yellowlegs showed well for my tick.

A Black-winged Stilt was soon found over the back of the scrape for a good tick. Looking over this scrape is so good that we had to drag ourselves away to look for more stuff.

Up at 360 hide, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover are seen, while in the hide a lady that we had been talking to came back to the hide to tell us that the Black- Tern that had been reported had just been relocated up by the end of the track to the hide, so a quick run up there see's us get a really good year tick, the Tern gives a really good up and down display. 

Brian then picked out a couple of Little Gulls for another good tick and then a fellow next to us found a Gull that he wasn't sure of, so he got Brian to have a look and it turned out to be a Bonaparte's Gull. it had been reported the day before but had not been seen today so a really great find. 

Also seen while here Greenshank, Spotted-Redshank, a few Yellow-Wagtails a White Wagtail, a Great-white Egret, and a Little Egret a sedge Warbler get us a year tick. 

As I said we love this place and on the right day it's a magic place for us, and this visit was one of them.

The Black Tern

Again

The Bonaparte's Gull

A bit far off but the Black-winged Stilt

Nightingales & Yellow Wagtails at Abberton reservoir.

On Wednesday it's a short trip to Abberton Res in Essex hoping that Nightingales have arrived.

We tried our local patch at Waltham Abbey but never heard any on Tues. So we meet up and arrive nice and early and the Nightingales are singing loud and clear but seeing any was a bit harder, perseverance paid off and we all got a couple of sightings.

A quick scan from the causeway over the Res gets us a year tick of an Artic Tern also seen  Little-ringed Plover shows.

Once again time was of a premium so a quick drop into the farm where 3 Yellow- Wagtails show well for another year tick before we had to shoot off home.

Yellow -Wagtail

Again

Garganey & Stone-curlew gives us a nice morning in the Brecks & Lakenheath.

Brian gave us an early call asking if we wanted to go to Cavenham for the Stone-Curlews.  

So a quick cup of tea and some toast and on our way around 6am.

The early start pays off when we arrive to find a fellow birder already has a few Stone-Curlew

and we are soon onto them and we spot 5 in all.

I need a Woodlark for a year tick but to my surprise, I never heard or saw any, Brian heard one while Jimmy and I walked about in the hope of getting a year tick, Jimmy already heard one a couple of weeks ago when I again missed it.

We see a few Wheatear and Stonechat plus 0ne Lesser Redpoll, a Red-legged Partridge, and a 

nice Red Kite along with Kestrel gets us off to a good start for the morning.

Off now to Lakenheath 20 minutes up the road.

We soon pick out 3 Garganey way over the back of the pool but they are well hidden by the reeds so a long way off, as we walk around the water opposite the east forest we spot 3 more to give us the most that we have seen in one go, 4 Drakes and 2 female.

Water Pipit had been seen yesterday here but we never found them.

4 Great Egrets along with a few Little Egrets are seen to round off the morning.

 Stone-Curlew

One of the 6 Garganeys seen.

 

Ring Ouzel + Wheatears & Sand Martins at KGV res

 A late afternoon trip over our local reservoir as we have heard of a Ring Ouzel over there.

It's only a short trip but the 20 miles per hour signs slows us down.

As soon as we arrive we find a few first-of-the-year Wheatears, then another year tick when 2 Sand Martins fly along the water then back again over our heads.

We meet up with a couple of birders that Brian knew and after a talk, we head off in different directions in the hope of finding the Ouzel.

About 20 minutes later we heard a loud shout that told us that the other two fellows had found the bird.

We shoot off back toward the yacht club and meet up with them and the Ring Ouzel is there

just by the fence, so another good year tick for all of us.

One of the other fellows tells us he needed the Ouzel for a lifer so nice to share that with him.

The Ring Ouzel

Again

Jack Snipe at Amwell nature reserve.

Brian came over to us so we could pop over to Walthamstow to renew our  KGV reservoir permit but after a phone call, we were told that their printer was not working and can we go over next week.

So we decided to head to Amwell as that is only 20 miles away and we don't have a lot of time.

The aim is to see the Jack Snipe that has been reported from James' hide. I did the driving to give Brian a break as he is doing a load of that at the moment with family ties.

After a quick look from the viewing platform where we see a single Snipe,

some Shoveler, Teal, and a Little Egret and Heron before we move onto the hide to look for the Jack Snipe.

We scan a channel of flat reeds and Jimmy finds the target at the back of a pool of water along with another Common Snipe, that is a good year tick for all of us. While here we get the first Chiffchaff of the year for us. We never saw the Bittern that is here but to be fair we never looked for it. As I said it is a short visit so we headed off for home after a couple of hours with 2 years ticks. Just nice to get out to see some birds as it is hard finding time when all 3 of us can go at the moment. 

Although we got some great views in the scope of the bobbing Jack Snipe it never came right out of the reeds for great photos.