Today's Little Owl photos + Last weeks Yellow-Legged Gull

Yellow-Legged Gull 

Today's Little Owl photos

 I'm Looking at you

Peek-a-boo

Greenland Dock at Rotherhithe lets me pick up a juvenile Yellow-Legged Gull or so I'm told, how you tell I don't know. But that's another tick for the year & I never got one last year so that's. a bonus. Up early this morning so a quick look for the local Little Owl again, it seems that we have four Owls here at the moment. Just seen on bird guides that 150 Yellow-Legged Gulls have been seen on the Thames at Rainham, why has it taken me so long to see just one.

Bonaparte's Gull Oare Marsh.

An unexpected phone call at about 8 o'clock means Brian has managed to get a day off work & we are off to Oare Marsh for the Bonaparte's Gull.
As we pull up at the scrape the first person we meet is John again & he puts us onto the bird right away, always a bonus when you pull up & somebody is on the bird for you.
A good view in the scope but once again a bit far away for my little camera.
So another year tick, looks like things have started to happen for us at last with a good few ticks over the last couple of weeks.
While here a scan of the water shows many Common Sandpipers, Ruff, Dunlin &Avocet all over the place. A quick walk over the other side of the road to try to find a Turtle Dove that I need but still no luck. After spending a few hours here we decide to give Dung a quick visit, turns out to be very much a bad decision as there isn't to much about.

A record shot of the Bonaparte's

Just nice

Linnets

The Gull again

Swallow

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Today's up date on the Little Owl. + Clouded Border in my Garden.

About time I pay a visit over to our local Little Owl to see the baby. It's only over my local field in the Roding Valley, but the last couple of times I have looked for it I just couldn't see it, but today I meet up with it.

Our Little Owl

Clouded Border in my Essex garden

2 Lifers) Great Knot + Collared Pratincole.

Out over B&Q with the wife when we get a phone call from Brian saying he will pick Jimmy & myself up in twenty minutes to shoot up to Breydon Water for the Great Knot, this being a mega & a lifer for us all, it is a quick drive home to drop the wife off with the D I Y goods, the jobs will have to wait for another day now.
Two hours later as we near Breydon the pager tell us that a Collared Pratincole is at east hide Minsmere so decision time with both being lifers, we decide as the Minsmere one has just come on the pager we think go get it now.
On arrival at the hide we find it packed out, but as people move in & out we get a seat & only have to wait a short while before the bird shows on the scrape, it's over the back so a bit to far away then we would like.
We get really good scope views & a couple of short flight views that was really nice, I take a couple of photos just for a record, but the bird was a very long way off for my camera. A large flock of Little Gulls land in front of the hide along with a Med Gull plus Spotted Redshank .

Just about see it in the middle of the two birds.

Off now to Breydon Water for the Great Knot, we pull into the rugby club car park & find we only have to walk a little over the length of the rugby pitch to join the many birders all ready here.

The target bird is soon picked out althrough not easy as the light did'nt help, it was in a group of six or seven Knots, but we pick it out as it swims away from the group for a while.

Not the best bird to see but another lifer & well worth the rush to get here.

I get a year tick as a couple of Whimbel are seen near the Knots,

So two more lifers plus a year tick on a nice warm day spent with the boys. What a great hobby this is.

Just the Collared Pratincole

On the move again at last.White-winged black Tern

Not expecting to get out anywhere today then a 9 o'clock phone call from Brian set's us off to Abberton as a White-winged black Tern is about.
It's been a few weeks since we have visited anywhere looking for any new ticks, so really nice to be heading off again for some birding.
With my leg improving week by week it feels good to arrive at the causeway just to do some bird watching again.
After only about 10 minutes Jimmy get's us onto the Tern & we get great flight views & then although a long way off good views as it lands on the end of the spit & stays about for a really good long view.
A Black Tern is also seen along with at least 5 Common Sandpipers, a Hobby is spotted hunting amongst the Starlings, Yellow & Grey Wagtail walking about by the causeway wall.
Nice to meet up with John once again along with a few familiar faces, not to many people here but we seem to know most of them.
So nice to get the old year tick going again & we even get back in the car just before the heavens open that was a right bonus.