Sardinian Warbler another lifer 400 up.

 Well, that was a pleasant surprise, I set off to South Foreland in Kent with the boys hoping to get my 390th life tick, the target being a Sardinian Warbler. We had visited the area on Friday for a lifer in the Eleonora's Falcon and didn't think I would be back here so quickly.

So the bird has been reported and is only around 90 minutes away so a must-go. it's a clear run and we arrive in the area without any trouble but then have some difficulty finding the site.

A bit of luck when Brian pops into a cafe on Beach road and finds Jamie p having a coffee & he soon puts us in the right spot, it's only a short walk but up a bit of a hill, before we reach a kissing gate & from there we could see a small group of people & we join up with them to search for the Warbler.

Over the next couple of hours all we get are a few short notes & some movement but no real sight of the bird. The group has grown a lot by now, so a lot more eyes looking.

In all, we spend 5 hours here & eventually get a longer burst of calling & song and then a flight view to confirm it is the target bird along with a few shorter in bush flights that was it. A few Buzzards a couple of Peregrines a single Hobby and some Fulmar's keep us entertained along with a grand show from a Spitfire. A couple of Essex boys had turned up so that's always nice to see them.

I didn't know at the time this was to be my 4ooth British bird. The boys keep the lists and had been telling me I was only on 390 so  I went along with that, so a big surprise when they give me high fives and own up to the fact they had held 10 birds back so as to keep me on my toes.

So I join the 4 hundred club quicker than expected 😉

So a big thank you to the boys who got me into this fantastic hobby and for most of the driving and the great times we have together.

Eleonora's Falcon( Lifer )

 The first report I saw of the Eleonora's was when Brian sent a text around 11am and that went on for a few hours each time an update came on bird guides.

Shall we go for it or not, will it stay, probably not. this went on until it got too much and we decide to give it a try, so just before 3 o'clock the three of us meet up & head off to Worth marsh in Kent.

The traffic heading over the Dartford crossing was very busy and the road's all the way were slow, but we got there around 5.20 pm with news that the Falcon was still around.

We drive down Jubilee road & see some of the Dungeness boys & they send us down an uneven dirt track to find a volunteer lady from the Sandwich RSPB group and a very pleasant

lady. she was doing a fantastic job of steering everyone into a large field to park. 

Off now to find the bird. we follow the flow down a narrow track until we meet a group of birders all with cameras ready, but we are told to head a bit further down the track to be able to see the Eleonora's.

Down the track, we soon meet up with a group of about 60 birders and we are onto the bird to give us all another lifer. It is sitting on the outside of a tree to give us good scope views.

After a good time spent watching the Falcon & seeing it do a few short flights, we head off to Worth in the hope of getting a better view of the falcon.

It turns out to be a great decision when we find a small group of birders in a farmer's field.

On joining them we find the bird a lot closer sitting on a fence post and we get a bonus when we see 2 Hobbys sitting on the next two posts and on the telephone wires behind us a female Red-footed Falcon to give us a year tick to round off a good trip. 

The Eleonora's Falcon 

The Eleonora's Falcon