Dungeness again.

Out of the door at 4.30 am to meet up with Brian & we are parked up by the beach at Dungeness & on a really sharp cold morning we are glad to be able to get in the hide to look out to sea.
A few bird recorders were in the hide so we miss nothing going past, we spend an hour or so in the hide & see hundreds of Sandwich Tern, many Common Tern, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Diver,Common Scoter, hundreds of Brent Geese, 3 Shelduck & some Shoveler. so not anything to go mad about tick wise just adding the two Tern but a nice time spent with the people in the hide.
As we drive about 2 Wheatear are seen, starting to see a few about now.
A quick drive down to the visitor centre nets us our first Sedge Warbler of the year & our first House Martin flies over head to give the tick count a boost.
When ever we go to Dungeness we call into Elmley on the way home & today is no exception.
A Yellow Wagtail would be nice but not looking likely after about an hour driving down the entrance track.
The Marsh Harriers are up in numbers so we have to watch them gliding around the track above the car & try to get myself a photo.
Before we head home a single Yellow Wagtail drops onto the grass not far away to make it 5 year ticks for the day.

Little Egret, just had to take a photo

Skylark

One of the Marsh Harrier

Yellow Wagtail

Over six hours to tick the Purple Heron at Wat Tyler cp

Headed to Blows down with Jimmy on Monday only to dip on any of the 7 Ring Ozuel that had been around on Sunday, it rained during the night so we set off in the hope that they had stayed around for a while, but alas they had moved on.
So we wait till Friday & go for the Purple Heron at Wat Tyler CP, with it only being 40 minutes from home & not being open till 9 o'clock it's a late start for us & we are in the first hide just after 9 am, we are still there at 1 o'clock with not any sight of the Heron in that time, sitting at home later the bird comes up on bird guides as flying past the hide at 2 30 pm just our luck.
So a text to Brian as he leaves work today gets the three of us once again in the hide to try once more for a nice year tick.
The Heron had shown just before we entered the hide & we are told it had gone down just over the road to the left of the hide so we feel we have a chance.
A couple of hours later we are rewarded when the bird flies up & back over the hedge across the road & lands just to the left of the hide but it quickly goes out of sight in the reeds & that is all we saw of the bird. On the way home it comes out on the pager as flying past the hide, really glad to hear that as some nice people that we left in the hide were desperate to see it & it was a lifer for some of them.
A Sparrowhawk plus a couple of Marsh Harrier give some good entertainment along with a few Bearded Tit, a flash of blue announces the arrival of a nice Kingfisher & we hear & see a few Cetti's & a Water Rail also seen.
So well worth the trip to get another year tick. Our first Swallow gets us a second tick before we head home.

                                                                   

Brian's photo

Purple Heron Brian's photo

The day starts early at Minsmere & Dunwich ends with Wheatear at Landguard.

5 am start from home gets us looking at our first Sand Martins of the year as they fly about around the sand bank at Minsmere at about 6. 30.
Quickly on to North hide where we pick up the Garganey without to much trouble & I get my fourth Jack Snipe in the last two weeks as it bobs about not far from the hide.
Walking on to the next hide we search for the Iceland Gull but only pick out a Caspian that's nice but not needed for a tick.
It's still pretty cold but the sun is on it's way & it gets warmer as we walk round the reserve, we see & hear many Cetti's Warbler plus a sprinkling of Bearded Tits. Booming Bittern heard but not seen today,must say we never looked to hard for one.
Jimmy & I have been a bit lazy with not going for Med Gull but pick out many here today for a year tick. A nice break in the restaurant before shooting off to the Heath to get me a Dartford Warbler & I also pick up a tick when a Woodlark flies up & over my head.
It's off now to Landguard where we pick up our first Wheatears of the year & a pair off Black Redstart show well.
We missed out on the Iceland Gull but despite that & the fact that it came on the pager as we got near home we had a great day & I picked up 6 years ticks to move on to 177 for the year.

                                                                   

Most enjoyable day at Dungeness & Elmley

Good Friday means Brian is off work, so the three of us are looking at Black Redstart  at Dungeness by 7.am, only the two to start with but I see 4 more later while looking by the lighthouse  garden a great start to the day for us they are not needed for a tick but a great little bird to watch.
The car is parked & it's off to look in the gorse bushes for some of the 18 Firecrest that landed the day before.
We are meet by many Firecrest & Goldcrest all feeding at the bottom of the bushes & as the day gets warmer they start to sit out a bit to give great views, we count over twenty & also get to see some more in the Lighthouse garden along with a good showing of Chiffchaff & at least two continental Coal Tit.
As we head back to the car after a good three hours watching all the small stuff  Brian picks out a
Woodcock as it flies up from just inside the power station fence & flies low along the fence line which enables us to get onto it for a good view & we needed it for a year tick so along with the Firecrest that's two ticks for the day as it turns out that is all we added for the day apart from Brian who walks the beach by the fire station & gets a Wheatear for his troubles.
 A quick drive down to the visitor centre gets us a pair of Smew & a single Great white Egret but with nothing much on the reserve we head off to Elmley.
Not been to keen on Elmley of late but Brian had been there a couple of days ago & was very happy with what was going on there, we only had time to drive the entrance track, but with a fair amount of water about we are looking at a lot of Redshank, Lapwing, many Curlew a single Snipe & then a great find as we see a Jack snipe tucked down in the grass,to think Jimmy & I spent six hours this week looking for one at Rainham, still never mind three in a week is not bad.
Many Marsh Harriers are about & we spend twenty minutes just watching them fly back & fro across the track.
Then a real bonus when we see a Short-eared Owl just sitting on the ground close by the track.
A really nice pleasant day on a warm sunny Good Friday , only two ticks but it was just a really nice day & we are not to far away from home  is another bonus for us.
                                                                           

Chiffchaff

firecrest

again

Goldcrest

Short-eared Owl

again

The great white Egret

Little Egret

Jack Snipe

Chiffchaff again

Rainham gets us Jack Snipe

Jimmy & I set off at 7. 30 am for a quick visit to rainham Marshes to see the Jack Snipe reported from Purfleet hide yesterday.

We scan the scrape from the Thames path as the reserve does not open until 9.30, we see no sign of the target but 3 Pintail & 3 Little Grebe are picked out along with many Redshank & Lapwing.
With no luck we wait for the reserve to open & meet Howard who tells us where the Snipe had been seen for the last few days, it is only a a short walk to the hide & once inside we think it will be an easy tick, 6 hours later after returning from the cafe for a cuppa we finally see 2 from the bench just a few yards down from the visitor centre on the bend.
So worth it in the end & with no walking it's a good tick, we also pick out a Spotted Redshank & at least 10 Common Snipe, 4 Dunlin fly in & land not far away from us.
                                                                 
                                                                         

Jack Snipe

At last our Little Owl shows at Roding Valley

I have been over my local fields a few times looking for the Little Owl that has been around for the last three years, the Parakeets have been flying around the Owl tree & I was worried that they had sent it away.
Then my wife Jean came back from walking our dog this morning & tells Jimmy & I that our neighbour had seen the Owl for the last two days in the usual tree by the play ground.
So without even having a cup of tea & I can tell you that never happens we are looking around the group of trees where the Owl sits.but we see no sign of the Owl, just about to give up & try again later when Jimmy thinks he may have it sitting right up against the trunk in a v shape making it really hard to see, a great spot by Jimmy as I also get on it & we get better views now that we know where it is. So really nice to know it is still about & just over the local field down my road, we have been trying a few different places looking for a Little Owl thinking our local one had done a runner & had dipped so a real bonus this morning.
Jimmy & I dipped on Monday as we went to Shut Heath Woods to look for the Lesser-spotted Woodpecker that Dave had seen over the weekend, we see many Treecreeper the odd Nuthatch a couple of flocks of Goldcrest that was nice to watch, also seen Great-spotted & Green Woodpecker some Redwing

but no sight or sound of the target bird, nice to meet Steve G again & have a talk while we are searching for the Lesser.
                                                                                 
                                                                           

Last years photo

Shut heath Goldcrest

Redwing

The Little Owl

Cranes + Bittern at Lakenheath

Meeting up with Brian at 6 am See's us head up to Lakenheath in search of the Cranes, on the way we stop off at Lackford Lakes to try for the Jack Snipe reported on Friday.
It has been seen from the first hide so no long walk,but after an hour all we pick out is a few Common Snipe, a single Kingfisher but no sign of the Jack Snipe.
So off to Lakenheath, the car park is empty on arrival, after a talk to the warden we are advised to walk the lower route as the top one was very boggy. I must say I find David in the visitor centre one of the most helpful an informative people that we come across on our trips around the reserves.
At Fen hide we have to wait a fair time before two Cranes fly over our heads & a few minutes later they fly back again but this time we see four of them, two of the Cranes come back over our heads again & the other two fly off to the right of us, what a great sight to watch such large birds fly by. Jimmy & I get a year tick when a Bittern flies past us.
Many Marsh Harrier's are seen plus one Buzzard & a Cetti's Warbler sit out in the open to give a short but clear view.
A quick look on the way home for a reported Lesser-spotted Woodpecker ends in failure but we are entertained by a couple of Grey Wagtails.

Two of the Cranes

AT Lackford Lakes

Also at Lackford