A bit more local birding

With my time so in demand of late I'm selecting my trips so that I can get back nice and early to keep everybody happy. That said since new years day I've managed to get out for an hour or two most days although the weather since new year has been awful. Thursday I managed a walk for an hour along the sea wall at Rainham and found a Water Pipit, Fieldfare and Redwing before finding a group of thirty or so Avocet on the marsh viewing from Serin mound. A pair of Stonechat showed well on the road into the top car park for a welcome year tick. 

Stonechat at Rainham

Yesterday I took the Jims to the Watercress LNR in St Albans where we ticked Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll and Siskin. A walk around in the rain failed to deliver the expected Water Rail but this really is a little gem of a reserve which I'll try to take Suzanne to at some point when the weathers better. From here we stopped at Lemford Springs which is another little gem. We counted seven Green Sandpipers and enjoyed views of Little Egrets, Goldcrest, Wren and Redwing but again sadly no Water Rail.

Green Sandpiper

Wren

Today we had a free morning so headed up the A12 to Abberton finally ticking Rook before arriving at Leyer Breton causeway. A Red head Smew gave us all a year tick and we scanned the Tufties but couldn't find anything of note amongst them. Goosander and Great White Egret were the other highlights from here.

At LDLH causeway we found several Scaup and a Black-necked Grebe. Another GWE was seen and the waders seen were Ruff, Lapwing Blackwit and Dunlin. More Goosanders were spotted before we headed up to Wigborough bay. The rain was now quite heavy but we found a couple of Bewick's Swans, lots of Pochard, Teal and Wigeon with the odd Pintail. Again the wader count was made up of mostly Lapwing with eight Blackwits and three Ruff. Buzzard, Red Kite and Marsh Harrier were all seen too.

On the reserve we visited Island Hide where Jim found the Long-tailed Duck in the distance and I eventually found a Caspian Gull amongst the large Gull roost. 

Year list now 116