Little Bustard ( lifer ) Slimbridge WWT

We pick up news around 2.30 yesterday of a Little Bustard a  mega bird at Slimbridge WWT that will be a lifer for all of us.
The call comes from Brian & we are on our way for a drive up the M4 that will take us nearly 3 hours after diverting onto the M40 after the M4 was closed after a car overturned.
After learning that the reserve will be putting on hourly escorted walks down to the sea wall where the bird has been found, we relaxed a bit but still felt a bit of tension as we got closer to the reserve.
We miss the 5 pm walk by a few minutes & along with other birders think why have we got to wait for an hour when the bird could have flown by then.
Then we got lucky when a member of staff turns up just after 5.30 & after paying £10 each he walks us down to the wall where we find many birders stretched out along the sea wall that over looked the dumbles. where after a short wait the Bustard shows when it moves around the long grass at a distance just a head & neck showing .
Over the next 3 hours that is all the bird showed us as it moved about the long grass. I got about ten sighting of the head & neck & have to wait till after 8pm  for the bird to walk out into shorter grass to give a whole bird sighting but it was back out of sight after 30 seconds or so.
So well worth the long drive to give us all a very nice lifer.

Just some of a very large crowd

If we could of got a closer photo of the bird this is how it looks.

The Little Bustard at Slimbridge  Thats why I put the other photo of another bird elsewhere.

What a rush ( Black-winged Pratincole ) Lifer.

Just about to sit & read the paper when Jimmy asks do I want to rush up to Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire for the Black-winged Pratincole & as it would be a lifer for both of us he didn't have too ask twice.
We meet up with Brian around 1 o'clock and with fingers crossed we start the 2 hour drive.
We get no news all the way till about 5 miles away when it comes on the pager to say it had just been seen again.
On arrival we find Graham & he puts us onto the bird to give us another lifer.A fair group had gathered & people were coming to join us some in suits as they had rushed here straight from work.

Some of the birders plus a look at the new attire for birding.

The Pratincole hardly moved for the next 2 hours apart from a short flight of about 6 feet & some preening but as we are about to leave the bird flies off & heads away from us before turning & flies back over the track we are standing on & we get a great flight view before going out of sight over the sea wall. As I am  writing this on the morning after it has just come on bird guides that the Pratincole has just been seen back by the sea wall so good luck to all those heading off to see it.

The Black-winged Pratincole  (lifer )

What a night.

A late evening trip up the A11 to the Brecks for our annual look for Nightjars. We arrive at the lay by around 9pm & take the short walk down the track to our favourite spot to wait for the churring call.
We don't have to wait long before we get some brief churring at 9. 20pm. We are lucky to have a full moon so plenty of light.
Woodcock had already been seen & Owls were heard & some large Bats add to the eerie feeling.
Ten minutes later a male & female Nightjar show right in front of us & as the night closed in we see plenty more & the churring was heard really loud all around the clearing.
The tree only feet away from us was a favourite spot to see a few land & show well, we are now hearing the wing clapping all around us.
This is the best experience  we have all had while visiting this place.

Nightjar from a couple of years ago.

Lesser grey Shrike + Quail sighting.

The three of us set off to Hazlewood Common in Suffolk in search of the Common Quail.
We are walking down the track just before 7 am & we hear the Quail give a short burst from behind us, we are just after the cross road by the iron gate.
The bird calls again this time for longer & then we get a good flight view as it flies low & then goes over the hedge row & lands in the pea field.
As we walk back to the car we hear the Quail a few times but no more sightings.
Kessingland next up in search of a Woodchat Shrike that's been around for a couple of days.
We walk the top trail first without any luck & decide we need to be walking down on the beach.
We walk a long way up the beach & spend a lot of time searching but on a dull morning we are out of luck so off we go to Horsey in Norfolk to look for a Lesser grey Shrike.
After  we park the car at the top of Nelsons head track, the rain arrives & we get a bit wet as we take the long walk down to the green shed just before the beach.
It is not nice weather wise now but we shelter by the shed & hang about for an hour before we get lucky when we spot the Shrike perched on a post behind the shed before it flies up to the bushes 100 yards back up the track.
Brian manages to keep it in sight so we are able to get some other people onto it & we get another good view ourselves. So 2 out of 3 birds that we set out to get so not a bad day even if it meant getting a bit wet & walking a bit further than we really wanted too.

The Lesser grey Shrike

Black-headed Bunting & Subalpine Warbler in Yorkshire.

An early start before 5 am gets us to Flamborough in Yorkshire around 9 am a long drive & we dipped badly 2 weeks ago when we drove up there for the Brown Shrike, so fingers crossed for better luck this time.
On arrival we find cars parked all  along the road so we park up on the grass verge & join a fair crowd of hopeful birders scanning the bushes for the Black-headed Bunting.
We scan for 15 minutes before Jimmy picks up the bird in a distant row of bushes & gets all the others on the bird.
There is a path going down to the bushes so everybody sets off for a closer look.
By now we have a long line of birders & we all get some great close up views of a another Lifer for the 3 of us.
Not to far away up by the lighthouse we set about getting another year tick with a Subalpine Warbler that had been reported earlier,a large crowd was already present when we arrive,we are told the bird had been seen but had flown off & nobody knew where it had gone.
It was about an hour before the Warbler flies from behind us & lands on the favoured bushes in front of the crowd.
Just a quick view as it sits out for a very short time before moving further back in the bush  & I don't think there was many photos of the Warbler but a good year tick. So this time we get lucky & we have had a really good day with a nice friendly bunch of people.
On the way home we head to Welbeck in Sherwood Forest to search for Honey Buzzard but after an hour & sighting loads of Common Buzzard we have to give up & think about the long drive home.

Brian's photo the Bunting

Jimmy & Brian with another Lifer on the list at Flamborough Head Yorkshire.

Iberian Chiffchaff at Dunwich ( another lifer )

We decide on a trip to Minsmere but head off to Dunwich Heath first to try for the Iberian Chiffchaff that has hung about for the last week.
We walk down to Centenary pond  & hear  the target bird within 5 minutes of arrival.
The Chiffchaff was heard several times over the next half hour & then we get a great view as it flies onto a tree in front of us & sits out in the open & sings away to confirm that we have the right bird to give both Jimmy & I another lifer.
While here  we see Dartford Warbler,Whitethroat,Garden Warbler,Chiffchaff & also hear Cuckoo & Bittern on a very nice warm morning.
Off now for a look around Minsmere where we find very little of interest,the place was full of Gulls & Terns plus a few Kittiwakes but very little in the way of Waders.As we walk about we find another Dartford Warbler plus Stonechat & a couple of Grasshopper Warblers.
As we are heading for home the Broad-billed Sandpiper came on the pager & we are only 13 miles away from Orford so we have to try for another year tick.
Parked up we head off & end up walking a long way along the side off the water with little hope of finding the bird as the tide had come in & we find out later that the bird had flown over to the airfield & we had no way off getting over to that side of the lake.
The tide was not due out for 2 hours so we make the decision to give up & head off home.
Later on at home we see that the Sandpiper had come back when the tide receded maybe head back to try again.

Stonechat

Dartford Warbler

The Iberian Chiffchaff