Wanstead Flats

With a spare hour this morning between family commitments I chose to spend it walking around the roped off Skylark area of Wanstead Flats and my reward was two cracking Whinchat, a Little Owl, lots of Common Whitethroat, Two Lesser Whitethroat, a Willow Warbler and a Green Woodpecker along with the obvious Skyarks of and a little chat with Marco which happens annually on my spring and autumn visit to the flats in search of migrants.

I also spotted a couple of Green Hairstreak butterflies which I don't see very often but I failed to find the reported Redstart despite directions from Marco.

year list now 201

Green Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

Little Owl

Whinchat

Whinchat

Whinchat

Minsmere RSPB

With another unexpected free day I arranged to take Dad and Jim to Minsmere today. We arrived at 7am and walked down towards the sea hearing a couple of Nightingale on the way. Bearded Tits flew across the reeds but dropped in quick on the back of a cold wind. At the Boardwalk we heard a Grasshopper Warbler reeling and Jim got us focused on a distant Cuckoo too for our first year tick. At East hide we picked out our first Sandwich Terns of the year along with a drake Garganey, 2 Greenshank, 3 Ringed Plover and a couple of Turnstone. Med Gulls were present along with Blackwits, Dunlin, Knot and Oystercatchers.

Barnacle Geese

Black-tailed Godwit

Surf Scoter (last bird on the right)

From the public hide we found a couple of Pintail and more Sandwich Tern and Med Gulls. The towers at sea held good numbers of Kittiwake and we found a few Whitethroat and Stonechat at the sluice bushes. A Yellow Wagtail in the pony field before a flyover Bittern and several Marsh Harriers. Buzzards and Sparrowhawks were next  along with Kingfisher to wrap up our visit.

On Dunwich Heath we found three Dartford Warblers and a large group of Sand Martins with the odd Swallow and we then drove the six miles round to Walberswick and walked out along the beach to find the Scoter flock which contained a single Surf Scoter to give me not just a year tick but a Suffolk life tick too moving the Suffolk list to 278 and the year list to 200.

Our day total was 94 which for April is a decent haul.

RAINHAM RSPB

We headed over to Rainham yesterday to news that a Wood Warbler had been seen and heard near the dipping pond so we made that our first point of call. On the way down the track I heard my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year and got a glimpse as it flew across the path too. We then heard the Wood Warbler which is a first for me in the London recording area. I had a brief sighting of it as it flew from a low Willow to another tree but it was very elusive despite singing well. On the walk back we picked out a couple of Reed Warblers for our third year tick of the day. At the Serin mound we saw a single Common Tern going up river but couldn't hear or see the reported Grasshopper Warblers.

Jim and I returned this morning feeling like an early visit might give us a better chance with the Groppers and this paid off as we picked up the reeling as we got out of the car and after a short walk towards Serin mound we spotted our first Gropper for a couple of years and then a second bird starting reeling too. A Short eared Owl got up twice but was put back down by the Crows. Whitethroat and Sedge Warblers are back in numbers and Cetti's are numerous and very vocal.

On the foreshore I found a couple of Wheatears and a Weasel made a dash across the path towards the

river bank.

Blue Tit

Cetti's Warbler

Cetti's Warbler

Gropper

Gropper

Short eared Owl

Weasel

year list now 195

London recording list now 236

Frampton RSPB

With a rare whole day to myself I arranged to meet the Jims and head up to Frampton this morning. We arrived at 8am to find the car park half full but nobody in the actual car park scoping the floods so we set about scanning and quickly found the resident Lesser Yellowlegs to give Dad his first year tick of the day. The Black-winged Stilt dropped in at the far end of the flood and a Short-eared Owl flew over chased by angry Avocets and Blackwits. We also had three Yellow Wagtails, a White Wagtail, Great Egret, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank to name a few of the many birds present.

We moved on and a quick scan of the gulls on the main flood gave good views of two Little Gulls, an adult and first winter bird. From 360 hide we had good views of hundreds of waders mostly Dunlin and Knot and from the mound by Reedbed hide we found the Black Tern doing circuits between resting among the Dunlin flock. Then as the Black-headed Gulls drifted past the mound the guy next to me asks me to check an odd looking gull which turned out to be the Bonaparte's Gull. 

We finished the day with a coffee and scone in the cafe before heading home after a great days birding which resulted in a day count of 84 species. 

Avocet

Black Tern

Black Tern

Black-winged Stilt

Bonparte's Gull

Dunlin

Lesser Yellowlegs

Little Gull (adult)

Little Gull (First winter)

Little ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

Ruff

Year list now 191

Abberton and KGV

Yesterday saw me head up the A12 with Jim and Dad to Abberton where we found the Old Road alive with bird song, at Least six Nightingale were heard but we only had a very brief view of one bird. Blackcaps, Chiffchaff and Wren seemed to be calling from every bush and a couple of Treecreepers were prospecting for suitable nest sites. On the causeway we had our first Arctic Tern which was chased by a larger Common Tern. Another Nightingale was singing in the bushes at the end of the LB causeway but again didn't give itself up for views.

On the flood opposite Billets Jim eventually found two Little-ringed Plover to give us another early year tick before we found three Yellow Wagtails by the farm for another nice first for 2024. Three Lesser Scaup were reported but we didn't give that search much time from the screen before we headed off to the other causeway. On the drive round I found four Med Gulls in the field behind Garr House Farm and at the causeway we had our only hirundine of the morning with a single Swallow. Spoonbill are nesting again and a single bird was seen at the nest.

Mallard ducklings

Yellow Wagtail

Four year ticks before we headed home for me to keep to a caring obligation.

This morning saw Jim and I at KGV again at 7am where we walked the whole site adding just the single year tick with Sedge Warbler. Black Redstart, Common Sandpiper and Greater Scaup the only birds of note save an active pair of Raven and a couple of Willow Warblers. Sand Martin numbers are picking up but Swallows were in single figures and we've yet to see House Martin although others are reporting them daily.  Species count of the day was 63. 

year list now 186

KGV first

Popped over the reservoir with Jim this morning with Dad opting out due to a bit of man flu.

As we got up the slope at 7.30am Ian L tells us we've just missed a Common Tern which would have been a year tick. A Cormorant posed for a picture on the jetty and a pair of Osyercatchers were our own prizes on south basin. At the causeway we picked out a couple of White Wagtails and then Jim found a Curlew on the causeway which I think is a first for me at the KGV and a first in the patch I call Lee Valley (the reservoir to Holyfield lake) I certainly can't remember seeing one before and my lists back that up so it becomes bird 163 for the patch.

Common Sandpipers

Cormorant

Slav Grebe

A quick chat with Neville before we headed on down North Basin where we found the Slav Grebe now in almost full summer plumage then a couple of Swallows with the Sand Martins before spotting a couple of Common Sandipers on the bank. A drake Scaup remains as do a few Goldeneye and we also saw Red Kites, Buzzard and nesting Raven to add to the day and Jim had a Wheatear on the farm fields too which I missed along with a single Sandwich Tern that Neville had on south basin whilst we were a mile or so away on the north basin.

year list now 178

 PS. Also had a couple of Wheatear at Rainham in the week 

Wheatear at Rainham

Blackcap

Garganey at Lakenheath

After a heavy cold endured over the weekend it was nice to get out this morning. We stopped first at Cavenham where we scoped five Stone Curlew and five Wheatear. A Woodlark sang behind us but stopped every time I tried to get Dad onto it. A single Lesser Redpoll was seen with Linnets and the heath held many Stonechat and Skylarks along with Red-legged Partridge and Lapwing. Red Kite, Buzzard and Kestrel flew over and the lake held Shoveler, Shelduck and Greylags.

Following the success at Cavenham we headed up the road to Lakenheath where whilst scanning for Water Pipit we picked out at least six Garganey which we think could be our highest single site count. Four Great Egrets were seen but little else of note.

Three Garganey (two drakes and a duck)

Three Garganey and a Greylag

Three Garganey to illustrate how difficult it can be to see them

Two Garganey

Great White

Stonechat

year list now 176