Dungeness day out

We set out this morning to arrive at Dungeness for first light and started a sea watch straight away. The sea was alive with Cormorants, thousands of them and a real spectacle as they moved on mass up and down the coast line in search of fish. Gannets were very evident along with Guillemots and Razorbills with the latter being the dominant auk. Red-throated Divers moved up and down and the patch was heaving with gulls with a first winter Little Gull the pick of the bunch.

A pair of Black Redstarts were feeding in the power station viewable from the shingle ridge and a Raven was spotted on the power station. We'd spotted a Cattle Egret on the drive in and saw two on the way out after stopping at ARC pit to search in vain for the reported Smew although I did year tick Green Woodpecker and Bearded Tick here. At Scotney we ticked the feral Barnacle Geese and then went in search of Swans finding first a herd of 34 Bewick's and then a large mixed herd of Mutes that contained two more Bewick's and five Whoopers. A quick stop at the visitor centre gave good views of Greenfinch at the feeding station but the once reliable Tree Sparrows seem to have moved away from the area.

Bockhill farm woods

The Bockhill farm monument

On the way home we diverted to see if we could find the Bockhill farm Hume's warbler and after parking at the monument and walking down the muddy track to the woods by the farm we quickly heard the Hume's but it took a while to see the bird which was always on the move and I didn't even attempt to lift the camera for it. Ten miles down the road and we were looking into an empty field that an hour earlier had held the White Stork at Worth marsh. We put in a ninety minute shift but failed to see the Stork. The locals suggested it had flown to the far corner of the field and would eventually fly back but with the Dartford crossing to endure we decided it was time to head back up the A2. White Stork has become a strange tick these days with escapees, reintroductions from here and abroad and the true vagrants that are obscured but the others. This Kent bird has been around almost two months and is un-ringed but what's it doing in Kent in Dec/Jan? I would still have liked to have seen it and no doubt it would have appeared on my year list had I seen it.

Year list up to 128.

Ticking over at Wallasea Island

We headed down to Wallasea Island this morning in search of a few year ticks and with some hope that yesterdays Red-breasted Goose would show again. We don't need RBG for Essex having seen the Mersea Island bird but its a smart bird and would be good to see it without the 10k walk most have been doing from Burnham. I picked up a Woodcock in flight on the way down the A127 and on arrival quickly picked out Corn Buntings for another year tick. We walked out onto the marsh and spotted a ringtail Hen Harrier before finding three Spoonbill and a Green Sandpiper to keep the list moving. 

The reserve is alive at the moment with thousands of waders and ducks and is a real spectacle especially  when the Harriers spook the flocks. Whilst searching one such flock I spotted a Peregrine and was able to get the Jims onto it when it settled on a post. I took a long walk around the reserve and managed to get close enough to grab an image of the Peregrine. Jim found some Pintail asleep on one of the pools and managed to get me on them after my long walk and as we were scanning the hundreds of Brents for the RBG we spotted a couple of  Stonechats to add yet another first for the year.

We drove through Southend on the way home picking out a single Med Gull for our trouble.

Year list now 114

Peregrine 

Various levels of crop applied

Little Bunting at Bexley in London

Todays outing took us down the A2 to Bexley where a Little Bunting has been wintering for the last couple of weeks. On arrival Gary H. pointed us in the right direction and further down the track Geoff K. reinforced the route and we had a nice catch up. The bird was exactly where they'd said and we enjoyed fabulous views as the bird picked grass seeds from the muddy footpath without any concern for the people around it. I added Siskin to my year list as a small flock flew over before I left.

The Little Bunting is a right little poser but had chosen a dark little corner to feed in today so photography was challenging. 

Year list now 105

Little Bunting

Little Bunting

Little Bunting

Little Bunting

Little Bunting

Little Bunting

Ton up for 2022

Jim offered to visit KGV reservoir today with me so I couldn't turn down the opportunity. We arrived to find just two other birders present and they were on the way out so we had the place to ourselves. First good bird was the juvenile Great-northern Diver which for a change was at the south end of the south basin. We scanned for the Red-necked Grebe with no joy finding just the usual range of ducks along with a couple of Great-crested and a couple of Little Grebes. Walking on towards the causeway we found another seven Little Grebes and another Great-crested Grebe before Jimmy managed to pick out the Red-necked Grebe at the far side of the reservoir. Three Goosander gave me another year tick before we picked out a drake Scaup for another tick. Whilst watching a mixed Thrush flock on the far bank a Grey Wagtail was heard which we later saw on the walk back for my fourth tick of the morning. North Basin also had a strange hybrid duck amongst the many Tufted and Pochard. I would think the bird is a hybrid of these two species.

Back home and Dad had a job to do in Wanstead so we hopped in with him after arranging a short diversion to see if the Eagle pond Caspian Gull was showing and on arrival it was very easily picked out among the other gulls. We've been lucky enough to enjoy this bird each winter since first connecting with it back in 2017 and I should say a big thank you to the local guys that spot it each year and put the news out.

Year list now 103

Caspian Gull 

Eagle Pond Caspian Gull

Caspo

Caspo

Great-northern Diver

Scaup

Hybrid Pochard/Tufted Duck

Local day at Lee Valley and Epping forest

The Jims called and asked if I'd like to bird locally with them  and of course I did so we made our way to Lee Valley where a walk down to the farm eventually delivered three year ticks when we found five Brambling in the large Chaffinch flock feeding on the set aside. A small mixed flock of Fieldfare and Redwing gave the next year ticks and the Jims picked up another with five Red-legged Partridge.

A walk around Seventy Acre lake gave just the one tick with Water rail. We couldn't find the Smew but did connect with the very smart plastic Silver Wood duck. The new discovery centre was busy but there was no sign of Bittern. I've voiced this before but why would you spend all that money building a visitor centre that looks out directly into the sun all day long, it really frustrates me that this wasn't considered and I know it's not all about birders or photographers and that it's set up for children to learn but it's just in the wrong place.

We stopped on the way home to walk Epping Forest and added Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Song Thrush, Jay and Mandarin to the year list which now stands at 98 after this mornings local Stock Dove and Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Grey Heron

Mandarin

Silver Wood Duck

Wood duck

Wood duck

Wood Duck

Wood duck

Mandarin

Mandarin

2022 kick started with a trip to Norfolk

I had planned to kick start the 2022 year list in Norfolk on 1st January but a family hospital visit made me put that plan on hold so I picked up a few garden ticks on the 1st and made the trip to Norfolk on 2nd instead.

We picked out four Bewick Swans on the way up at Southerly and then the real birding started at Titchwell where the best birds included Great Egret, Great Northern Diver and Water Pipit along with the usual high wader count.

We moved on to Holkham stopping briefly to tick the Cattle Egret at Wells before giving the Holkham estate a few quid for parking. We walked out and found four Shorelarks in the roped off area and a flock of over fifty Snow Buntings. A quick sea watch gave views of Velvet and Common Scoter but we failed to find the reported Red-necked Grebe.

News broke of a Todds Canada goose at Brancaster Staithe so we headed off in that direction on our journey home. I saw the Todds twice for my second Norfolk tick of this sub species but failed to find the reported Tundra Geese amongst the hundreds of Pinks. There was an orange legged Pinky that was giving a few issues to some.

The year list sits at 87 with a Pied Wagtail picked up at the supermarket yesterday but needs a good push over the next few days for sure.

Pink-footed Geese at Holkham

Sanderling at Holkham

Sanderling

Sanderling

Snow Buntings

Turnstone at Titchwell

Wigeon at Holkham

Missed in 2021

 As mentioned in my review of 2021 time in the field has been limited meaning my year list is quite low at 241 (as at 27th December). But when I look back at the missing ticks on my year list it has some massive gaps as listed below.

              NB added Dipper after putting this list together whilst twitching the Pacific Diver

I mean what happened? No Whooper Swan! No Black Tern! No Manx Shearwater! No RCP! Very limited coastal trips and no Scotland again.

You get the idea ....it was a bad year!

In terms of rares I have listed what I think are all the reported Life ticks I need (strange word because I don't really need any of them but I'd like them) 

I already regret not going for the Red-necked Stint the Green Warbler and the Two-barred Warbler.

I dipped Tawny Pipit and Eastern sub-alpine Warbler but there wasn't much else I could have chased due to how fast it moved on or how far away it was.

Bufflehead, Sociable Plover and maybe the Kent Eyebrowed Thrush would be on my list if we weren't restricted by Covid lockdowns. I'm pretty sure I'd have had a go at all three anyway and the Varied Thrush got me as close as I've been to twitching off mainland but I managed to hold strong much to the relief of my wallet.

I struggle each year to chase down Cackling and Snow Goose and the Black Scoter is just a bit too far but I'd chase them all if I found myself in the general area for sure.

The above doesn't include the Belted Kingfisher that I still have an eye on....maybe I'll find the time and the motivation before the bird departs.