American golden Plover at Oare

The boys need Grey Phalarope for a year tick, so we head to Birchington in Kent near Margate in the hope the one seen there has stayed for another day.
It's under 2 hours to get there so not bad.It's not too bad weather wise & we arrive to find a few birders already there.
The tide is out & there has been no sign of the bird,so we spread out & scan for the next 2 hours without any sign of it,the tide comes in but it is a no show.
We give up & head off to Oare as the American golden Plover has been reported again.
The boys have already ticked this bird but I still need it for a year tick.
We arrive & I have my tick within minutes as a lot of people have the Plover in view & I get great views when we get get onto it.
It was really easy to pick the bird out from the group of Golden Plover that it was with, being smaller darker & a nice bright eye stripe to set it apart from the others.

The American Plover

Side on at back

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler at Farlington Marshes

On Saturday around lunch time Brian calls have we seen that a lifer had been seen in Hampshire but he couldn't go till Sunday, so we arrange to meet at 5 am & get a trouble free run down the A3 to Portsmouth.
As we pull into the car park the pager tells us the bird had been seen & 5 minutes later we meet up with the Moreton brothers & they put us onto the bird to give us all a nice lifer.
The Olivaceous Warbler showed well as it fed on bushes around where we first saw it.
We spend a couple of hours with the bird getting some great views of it.
Off now to Warsash where a Bluethroat had been seen .
We have dipped at this place before & it proved to be the case again when we give up after getting no sign of it & some birders had been looking for over 4 hours one being Graham J & he had given up so we followed & left to travel to Pulborough Brooks for the Red-necked Phalarope.
On arrival we are told it's a long walk down to Jupps view platform,it's a fair old walk but we find the Phalarope as soon as we arrive so the long walk well worth it for another year tick.
So 5 year ticks one a lifer in the last week is not bad.

The Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Again ( nice bird )

Spurn Barred Warbler plus Grey Phalarope.

A short break in Yorkshire with my wife Jean

allowed me to pay a few early morning visits to the Spurn sea watching hide.
It was a very pleasant experience indeed with some really nice birders to pass the time with, but unfortunately on all 3 days I was there nothing very much passed through & I never got any ticks on the sea, but on the first day while sitting on the bench in front of the hide word spread that a Barred Warbler had been seen,everybody moved off to see it & I followed thinking it would be a long walk but was pleasantly surprised to find it was only 20 yards away at the Warren at the back of the sea hide.It was showing well to give me a nice year tick.
I had to wait till Thursday around tea time when Brian sent me a text saying a Grey Phalarope had turned up on the sea at Spurn,so only being 3 miles away at the time I shoot off & find the bird with ease just along the beach from the hide, so a good year tick.
With the break over I head for home but take a detour to Blacktoft sands in the hope of picking up a tick as a Spotted Crake had been about for a few days.
I have to walk to the third hide & after 10 minutes or so the Crake walks out of the channel to show very well in the scope but a long way off.

 seen from the Warren