So the father in law needed to see a doctor again which means I have to get to the surgery before they open at 8am and wait outside, once in I can book an appointment for today which I did although I find the system crazy in the year of 2024. You can phone at 8am but they don't answer until they've dealt with the people in line so by the time they answer all todays appointments have gone. Any way I digress, I booked the appointment for 10.40am went and did his weekly shop popped over to see him, made him breakfast took him to the doctors drove him to the pharmacy and the bank and took him home, all in a mornings work for me these days.
Now my Dad lives in the next street to my father in law so I popped in there for a catch up only for Jim to tell me a Nightjar had been found at Wanstead so we set off via my house to collect my camera and bins. Dad chose not to come preferring to watch England get battered in the cricket.
On arrival we paid for a couple of hours parking (£2.50) and walked out to long wood to find a crowd of ten or so birders gathered around the tree where the Nightjar was roosting. I couldn't see it but a couple of guys called me closer and pointed to the bird. I took two shots (one in focus and one miles out) and backed away to the main crowd where I could now see the bird having the advantage of knowing where it was. After about ten to fifteen minutes the bird was bothered by a Squirrel which woke it and after a quick wing stretch the bird lifted from its roost perch and flew up and over the trees and out of view. It probably fell back into long wood somewhere but we got distracted by news that the Wryneck had now been seen. An hour later and with the car park running out we left with nothing more than a possible short flight view.
The Nightjar is a full fat Essex (met area) tick for me and takes the Essex list to 280. We don't get many Nightjars in Essex having not bred since the late seventies as far as I know. The last Wanstead Nightjar was 1893 so this was a patch tick for anybody lucky enough to connect with it on the day. The only chance we have now to see these birds in Essex is of passage birds like this one and the two caught and ringed in Hornchurch yesterday by Paul H.
And I got home to find a Coal Tit on my garden feeder. A rare garden bird which usually only shows up on the coldest of the cold winter days.
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| Coal Tit |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Heavy crop of the Nightjar |
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| Nightjar Wanstead |
We also have Chiffchaff and Jay visiting the garden again both of which are often seen at this time of year.
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