Funny sort of weekend birding.

It's off to Dungeness again early Saturday morning,it's a bit misty early on but turns into a beautiful sunny day.
First up we hit the beach,the sea is calm with not a bit of wind.
The only tick we got was when a single Sandwich Tern is spotted going past the buoy.We missed a few Garganey & never saw the flock of Little Gulls that got reported later.
A drive around shows a lot more Wheatear than last week plus another Black Redstart but overall not a lot about.
We drive down to the visitor centre hoping for the first Sedge Warbler for us but not to be.
A visit to Dennis hide to look for a Garganey is a let down but we do see 4 Cattle Egret again.
Off to Oare to try for the Little Owl once again ends in disappointment.
On to Elmley on the way home to find lots of water but not much else.
So a funny sort of day with only one tick but always nice to be out birding.
Funny how things work out when an early look on Bird news tell us that a Garganey was on Jubilee pond on Wanstead Flats this morning, so after missing out yesterday we head to the flats that are only 20 minutes away from home.
After parking across the road from the pond we are onto the bird & get the best views of a Garganey that we have ever had.
So we end up with 2 ticks for the weekend & that is better than one.

Wanstead Garganey

Visit to Lodmoor Lesser Yellowlegs

The Lesser Yellowlegs has been at Lodmoor for a long time now,so we think it's about time we pay a visit.
Setting off at 5.30 am See's us arrive at the car park at RSPB Lodmoor around 8 am,with the car park fee payed at a reasonable £1.50 for two hours it's a short walk before we meet a single birder who has the target bird in view.
This saved us some time as it would have been really hard to find as it was tucked down in a grass bank over the back of the water. As it turns out we return later & get a better view as Jimmy spots it on a closer scrape.
On walking around the reserve we pick up a few year ticks when we see Sand Martin along with Swallow plus our first Willow Warbler of the year. We saw Chiffchaff last week with no song but this week they were singing away, always nice to feel spring on the way.
A visit to Portland in the hope of ticking the Little Owl that is often spotted in the quarry there proves fruitless for us & there was nothing else that I needed for a tick but a few Firecrest had been seen they are always nice to see. In the garden at the top of the hill by the lighthouse we see a very nice Black Redstart plus Wheatear seen.
On the way we pass Weymouth harbour & pick up a tick when we spot a Shag sitting on a wall.
We call in at Radipole Lake so we could get some more photos of the Ring-necked Duck & after parking along the road by the tennis courts we walk across the road & pick out the bird within minutes , so we round off the day spending some time with the duck.
So over 5 hours in the car getting there & back home but we had a really nice day birding on a warm sunny day.

Lesser Yellowlegs

The Ring-necked Duck

Black Redstart

Dungeness again for 3 ticks

A text from Brian as I was leaving the most remarkable game of  Rugby at Twickenham tells me to meet up at 5.30 this morning & we will head off to Norfolk for a days birding.
On meeting up we decide the weather is going to be horrible in Norfolk with 40 mile an hour winds so once again it's off to Dungeness where the forecast is for lighter winds & no rain.
First up a look in the lighthouse garden gets us 2 Firecrest that we watched for over an hour so a nice early tick, also in the garden a few Chiffchaff seen.
A visit down to the Observatory where we see our first Wheatear of the year & also pick out another year tick when we spot a Raven flying past the pylons
A trip back up the main road gets us a onto the four Cattle Egret that we saw last week & after we pull round the back of the Sheep field we have them all to our self & spend another hour watching them, also seen on the field opposite we find a Buzzard sitting feeding that was nice to watch as well.
So not out to long & not to much to see but 3 ticks out of the day & it's always nice to be out where you just might see something.

Chiffchaff in the lighthouse garden

One of the Cattle Egret

One of the two Firecrest

Rough-legged Buzzard saves the day.

Wanted to go out somewhere but nothing planned, we meet up with Brian & the usual conversation takes place where too, don't know,OK off to Dungeness.
When we arrive we scan around the life boat station for the single Wheatear reported last night.
A nice early tick was the aim but after a good scan it's not happening,so probably come back next week when maybe a few more will be here.
A drive around looking for a year tick hoping to spot a Raven but once again out of luck.
Speaking to birders coming back off the beach we are told nothing doing up there, so off to Scotney maybe to catch a look at the Little Owl that lives by the barn on the farm.
With the wind really getting up I find myself the only one to get out of the car to look & that was not to long away from the warm car.
Of course along with the way the day was going no sign of the Owl or anything else with the water really rough so nothing on there.
Might as well head home but of course we can't give up that easy.
A call into Elmley gets us a year tick with a very distant Spoonbill,we see a lady in her car & stop to tell her where the Spoonbill was,she informs us that she was the one that found the Spoonbill but thanked us anyway.
On returning down the track the same lady stops us & tells us that she has just picked out a Rough-legged Buzzard & gets us onto it & we spend the next 2 hours watching the bird along with Marsh Harrier & watched a Peregrine take a Golden Plover for lunch.
So thanks to the the lady just shows you one good turn deserves another & that saved our day.

The Rough leg

Mobbed but held it's own

Green-winged Teal, Stone Curlew year tick.

Our destination today is Herringfleet in Suffolk for the chance to see the Green-winged Teal.
We travel up the A11 & stop on the way at Thetford to search for a Shrike that had been reported from being seen from the second enclosure along the track at no 7 ride.We walk a long way before we find the spot,an hour is spent looking without any luck. Loads of birds about we see Siskin ,Stonechat ,Meadow Pipit,Skylark,Brambling & many Yellowhammer also a few Woodlark seen, but we give up on the Shrike none of us needed it for a tick but always nice to watch them so a shame.
Onward now to tick the Teal ,we find the estate car park & park for free as the pay machine is broken.
A short walk through the forest till we see the flooded fields in front of us where a small group already had scopes on the bird & tell us that we are in luck as they had been here all morning & the bird had only just been found,so we are onto it with no trouble at all, so a good year tick for all of us.
The Teal never came close enough to get any photos but good scope views were had.Never been to this place before but they have recently pumped water to flood the fields so looks like we might visit again.
We have no time limit so we call in at Cavenham heath hoping some of the Stone Curlew had returned.
It takes us a good half hour before Jimmy spots just one bird & it's not to far off.
We are told that there are 5 birds about but we only saw the one bird.

The only S Curlew seen

The Stone Curlew

Woodlark

Penduline Tit at last after 8 hours looking.

Jimmy & I visited Crossness last Friday but dipped on the Penduline Tit. We spent over 5 hours looking for it,but we get no sight or sound of it at both the dipping pool or at the viewing screen.
We shot of to Redhill to Mercer's lake in Surrey which was about 35 miles away & got a nice year tick when we spot the Black-throated Diver in the middle of the lake but only after an hour or so of scanning all round the lake,it was hard to get any clear views as there are trees all around the lake & not many gaps to scan from,so nice of the Diver to surface out in the middle for us.
So today Brian thinks we should try again at Crossness for the Penduline. So we arrive about 7am & head straight to the screen.
We are the only ones looking for the first couple of hours & are rewarded with a flight view & call.
Later on a few more birders arrive & with more ears picking up the call we get a great view of the bird as it sits in a Hawthorn bush & then feeds on the reed mace to give a long view for us all.
Bearded Tits,Long-tailed Tits,Reed Bunting plus many Cetti's warbler.Also seen my first Chiffchaff of the year.

The Penduline in the Hawthorn 

The Black-throated Diver

one of the Bearded Tits