Stejneger's Stonechat ( NOT)

The 3 of us head off to Dungeness on a really cold morning to search for the Stejneger's Stonechat.
On the drive down the causeway we see our first Great-white Egret of the year in fact we see 3 over the back of the pool.
Straight up onto the beach to see a great sun rise but it's a freezing cold wind,hundreds of Black headed Gulls pass through & many Cormorants but apart from Kittiwake we get no more ticks & with the wind really getting to us we don't spend to long on the beach.
A drive around looking for Black Redstart gets us nothing.
Now it's a lot lighter so we spread out & start to look for the Stonechat, a few other birders are doing the same,after about an hour of looking a birder has found it along the fence by the gravel pit & makes sure we all get on it.
We spend a long time with the bird & hope it will be a tick for us, but when we get home we find out that the DNA of the bird now says it's just a pale Stonechat & that the bird is not a Stejneger's so a lot of time spent for nothing that's part of the hobby I suppose.
We pop round to the pool by the farm to help some birders from Sweden find the Ring-necked Duck & while there pick up a Ruff for a tick.
Off now to Scotney for the Bean Geese, on arrival we find a large flock of Geese & pick up another tick with Barnacle geese seen along with loads of Pink foot & Greylag.
But after an hour or so in really cold conditions we cannot find any Bean Geese despite other people saying they had seen them, maybe it was the ones that never moved & had their heads down the whole time we are looking at them.

The very pale Stonechat

SparrowHawk in my Garden

Just sitting looking out the Garden when I spot a Sparrowhawk land in the tree, it hangs about for over 20 minutes before dropping out of sight.
I take a few shots but it is very dim light but I gave it a go.

Just some of the Ring-necks

Great morning at Wallasea gets 10 ticks.

Brian didn't want to go to far this morning so it's a short trip to Wallasea in the hope that we see the male Hen Harrier & a short-Eared Owl.
On the way just before the entrance to the reserve a nice sighting of a Barn Owl starts the day well.
After parking the car we walk along the new path that takes us across the reserve & we get a great view of a Short-Eared Owl as it flies about in front of us, then a male Merlin is spotted over the back of the long grass.
As we walk back along side the stream a Green Sandpiper flies down but never landed & flies along the water & then heads away.
Back past the car a walk along the path gets us the Mealy Redpoll that has been seen here for a couple of days,along the same path the Corn Buntings have woken up & Skylark are buzzing about for a good couple of ticks.
Now the fun starts when the male Hen Harrier gives us a fantastic display as it flies off the sea wall &
flies towards us before turning away but stays around for a good time & then the Female shows this is turning out to be a great decision to come here, the weather is a bit dull so no photos but a very pleasant morning with no wind, the Harriers not needed for a tick but what a show.
A few fellows that we were walking about with get told that a Shag & an Eider Duck had been reported just up the road in the Wallasea boat Marina.
A quick drive up there we take the car into the Marina car park & just have a very short walk to look out over the water, the Eider is seen without to much fuss but the Shag plays hard to get.
It's a good 20 minutes before we find the Shag as it flies up water & lands right by the Eider.
While looking a Kingfisher drops by for another year tick & I also pick up a few Linnets to make it tick nine for a really nice trip close to home.
Being so close to Southend we had to go & get a Med Gull & we pick out 4 up by the Rossi's ice cream bar without to much trouble, so off home now well pleased with the morning's birding.
A good start to the new year with 127 ticks so far.

23 Waxwings in Harold Hill London.

Only being 10 miles from home Jimmy & I head off to find the flock of Waxwings in Harold Hill near Romford.
We drive down Ashton Road looking for any berry bushes, on finding a small tree that was full of berries we park up & sit & wait hoping we are in the right place,we wait over an hour & think we might have missed them when 3 birds drop onto the large tree by the berry tree, we confirm that they are the Waxwings & then another 20 land on the same tree.
So well worth the short trip to watch these lovely birds as they drop onto the berries to feed.
After we have had our fill of the Waxwings we head nearer to home & pop into Connaught Waters as a Pintail Duck has been seen there.
It's an easy tick as we pick out the duck as soon as we arrive, most of the water is frozen over so everything on the water is in small groups where ever the ice has been broken, that made it easy to pick out the target bird, the water was frozen but it was a very pleasant day with a fair bit of sunshine.

Nine ticks Roding Valley & Epping Forest

Over my local fields in the Roding Valley looking for the Little Owl that has been around here for the last four years but Jimmy & I draw a blank,we will keep trying over the next few weeks in the hope that it is still around.My neighbour will be looking as he walks his dog & will give us the nod if he see's the Owl.
We do see a Great Spotted Woodpecker & Jimmy picks up a Green Woodpecker that I missed but we got a Mistle Thrush.
After lunch we take a short ride to Strawberry Pond in High Beech Epping Forest.
The Mandarin Ducks are an easy tick with plenty of them on the pond.
Now we scan the area & pick out a few Nuthatch & Treecreeper, Coal Tits also spotted along with at least 3 Jays & many Goldcrest & then a real bonus when Jimmy hears a Firecrest & we set about finding it & after 10 minutes bingo when we get some great views of a single Firecrest & it hangs about for some time.
Before going home we pop back over to look for the Owl as the sun is shining & maybe it's sitting out, but when we leave the car the sun has gone & it is getting cold so no show again but we pick up a Song thrush for another year tick.
So 9 year ticks & only a couple of miles from home.115 ticks so far.

2 Day total 106 at Dungeness &Norfolk.

1st day of the year & off we go again,first we head to Kent as the weather is going to be better than in Norfolk which was our preferred place to go as we always pick up a bigger total to start the year off there.
The first bird of the year was a Crow just as it started to get light, nothing else seen until we look out to sea on Dungeness beach, Red-throated Diver,Common Scoter, loads of Cormorant,all the common Gulls seen by the fishing boats plus a few Turnstones running about on the beach.
As we start to head off a fellow birder pulls up along side us & asks if we had seen the Glaucous Gull just off shore & takes us up the beach to show us it,we pick it out with ease & also see 2 Great Skua & a Great Northern Diver, really good of the fellow to take the trouble to drive up & tell us about the Glauc.
Round to the fish hut where we soon pick out both the Caspian Gulls an adult & a first winter.
A drive down to the visitor centre gets us Tree Sparrow by the house, then a stop off to tick the Ring-Necked Duck  & in the hides it's a Little Grebe then a Smew & a Water Rail. A look for the Stonechat is a waste of time & a wet one as well but at Lade we get the Slav Grebe to soften the blow. The Long-eared Owl is still in the bushes by dipping pond so I take a silly photo in the rain I think I was the only one that even attempted that.
At Horsebones Farm the flock of Bewick Swans are seen. Only a sad 62 ticks on the first day but it was a good effort in horrible conditions.
Up bright & early on the 2nd & it's off to Norfolk to boost the total ticks.
In dim light a nice Barn Owl is the first bird spotted, then we pop into Thornham & pick up Twite & Grey Plover plus Redshank, Brent Goose plus a few others.
Off to Titchwell & head up to the beach where we soon pick out a few Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Duck,Red-breasted Merganser,Eider,close in Gannets,many flocks of C Scoter,Great Crested Grebe everywhere.
Then a bonus when a Peregrine tries to take a Pigeon out on the sea but fails to keep it's catch.
On the walk back we see loads of Little Grebe & a single Water Pipit spotted for another tick.
On the feeders a couple of Brambling, Greenfinch, Goldfinch,Chaffinch,Long-tailed Tits,Siskin ends a good visit in much better weather than yesterday but very cold.
We go looking for all the Geese but had no luck with the Red-breasted but White-fronted & Pink foot seen.My first Marsh Harrier seen here. Down to Salthouse for the Snow Buntings only problem is that the boys see them as they fly over head but I was feeling cold & I  went back to the car for a cuppa from the flask & missed them.
Before we leave a nice Glaucous Gull drops into a near by pool for some great views of it, so two in 2 days is not bad & makes the visit worthwhile.


A quick look for Waxwings proves a bad decision as we just waste what little daylight is left,but we do manage to pick up a couple of Ring tail Hen Harriers at Stiffkey as they come into roost.
On the way home a Woodcock pops up & over the car for a late bonus tick.
This morning in my garden Jimmy & I get a couple of ticks with a few Redwing feed on next doors holly tree & Ring-necked Parakeet  feed on my feeders nice to see but go through the seed a bit to quick for my liking. A much better day yesterday & I push my year ticks up to 106. Not a couple of days for the camera but still we had a great time.

Redwing

One of the Parakeets

Next doors Garden

Blackbird in Garden

The Parakeets in my garden

In the gloom the Long-eared Owl at Dungeness

Black-Throated Diver at Scotney GPs

Brian has a day off & we get a call to meet in 15 minutes to head off to Kent,no particular reason just to see what we can find but Hen Harrier would be nice & looking for Barn Owl at Capel Fleet is always a nice way to spend a few hours.
Looking out from the mound we spot at least 15 Marsh Harrier flying or sitting in the field but no Hen Harrier seen.
The place is alive with hundreds of Starlings feeding on the ground & all along the wires & the bushes looked like Starling trees, flocks of Corn Bunting fly about as well.
We head off to Scotney GPs in the hope that the Black-Throated Diver was still about, it only took about 5 minutes to answer that when Jimmy picks it out & it dives & comes up not to far away from us. A year tick for both Jimmy & I so pleased about that.
Of course we pop into Dunge & get another look at the Ring-Necked Duck we had seen last week.
Looking for the Tree Sparrows by the entrance it seemed that none were about, then we spot them round the left side of the house where another feeder had been put up & it was shielded from the wind so a lot of the Sparrow were sitting in the bushes round that side.
A drive down to the visitor centre to buy an easy clean bird feeder & we have to have a quick look at the Long-eared Owl just outside the centre.
Now it's off up to the beach to get blown about for no real return as it is very quite bird wise.
Before we head home it's back to Capel Fleet to watch the Harriers come into roost.
Once again we see loads of Marsh Harrier & get lucky when a Hen Harrier flies into roost but still no Barn Owl, we drive up & down the track & get to see our only Barn Owl of the day, we sit & watch it fly about until the light starts to fade.

Black-Throated Diver