Red-backed Shrike at Walton on the Naze

Well I'm trying hard to reclaim so me time and it seems to be going ok. I'm still there running around for the kids and the grandkids when they need me. Still looking after Suzanne and still providing care almost daily for her Dad but in between all that I'm finding time to treat myself with some decent birding time.

Today I woke early (out early, home early strategy) and popped over to pick Jim up before we headed up the A12 to Walton on the Naze where a Red-backed Shrike and Wryneck had been seen for a few days. Last night the sky was clear and we accepted there was a chance the birds could have moved on but we had a lovely surprise when we quickly picked out the Red-backed Shrike. I enjoyed the Shrike for a while as Jim went off to search for the Wryneck but once I'd grabbed a few images of the Shrike I joined Jim in the search. Two Garden Warblers, two Lesser Whitethroat, a female Common Redstart, Common Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler and a few Chiffchaffs were encountered as we searched but we failed to find the Wryneck. A large flock of House Martins flew along the ridge above us and a few Turnstones moved along the tide line below us whilst in the car park we encountered a flock of Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipits on the grass before leaving and heading for Shelley in Suffolk where a juvenile Purple Heron had spent a few days. 

Walton on the Naze

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Lesser Whitethroat

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

We parked up and walked back along the road to view the lake from a gap in the hedge. There were four other birders here and they hadn't seen the Heron but had a fly over Osprey just before we got there. Two Hobbies were hunting constantly and both Buzzard and Red Kite flew over. Out on the water with the Swans, Geese and Ducks we counted a Green Sandpiper, Two Snipe, Two Ruff, Lapwings and a Black-tailed Godwit and then the Purple Heron stuck it's head up out of the reeds and we all managed to see it  as it gave great Scope views.

Gifford's Flash Shelley

Gifford's Flash

I even got home in time to sort a late lunch for my father in law and Suzanne to keep the team on board with my drive for more birding.

Year list now 235 (officially now and remarkably not my worst years total) oh and the Purple Heron was my 280th species in Suffolk.

Nightjar at Wanstead

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.

Coal Tit

Coal Tit

Heavy crop of the Nightjar

Nightjar Wanstead

We also have Chiffchaff and Jay visiting the garden again both of which are often seen at this time of year.

Morning searching for migrants with Jim

Having missed the best of last weekends migrant fall I decided I'd try again this weekend and with the big fall on Friday and me having family commitments Saturday I thought leaving it until today might cost me but I was pleasantly surprised as we arrived at Wells Woods to find it alive with migrants. A Wryneck was reported but we didn't find it but the Warbler/Tit/Flycatcher flock was enormous. 

Dominated by Spotted Flycatchers and supported by large numbers of Garden Warbler it took some work to search the entire flock but we tried. We found around six Pied Flycatcher, lot's of Willow warbler and Chiffchaff. Lesser Whitethroat were present in good numbers with the odd Common Whitethroat and a single female Common Redstart. After a while we had decent views of a Wood Warbler in the flock but failed to locate the reported Icterine Warbler.

On the way home we popped into Titchwell were we enjoyed Little Stint, Spoonbill, Hawfinch and a Grey Headed Wagtail along with more Spotted Flycatchers.

Just the one year tick for our trouble but a very memorable day with more Spotted Flycatchers in a day than we'd probably seen in our lives before. Difficult to count due to how mobile they were but they were every where.

year list now 233

Little Stint

Ruff

Ruff

Wood Warbler

Lesser Whitethroat

Spotted Flycatcher

Dotterel at Landguard

A juvenile Dotterel was found at Landguard yesterday and was reported again this morning so after checking the Jims didn't want to travel for it I set off alone and arrived at 12 o'clock setting a couple of hours in the car park I walked out to the point to find several birders searching for the Dotterel but they said the bird hadn't been seen since about 9.30am when the report went out. I set about searching and walked out to the point checking the roped off area as I went. Three Wheatear a Turnstone and a lovely Purple Sandpiper were my reward for the walk and I sat down to watch and photograph the Purp which soon came closer as I sat still by the pier. It had a dispute with the Turnstone which they settled and then tolerated each other well after that.

Aware I had only another 45minutes on the car park I walked back down the beach outside of the roped area of course. There was still six people standing between the roped areas scanning for the Dotterel but to my great surprise as I walked back scanning the area as I went I found the Dotterel when it hadn't been seen for four hours. It walked up and down in the dips of the desert area and I put news on to Birdguides and when it dropped below the ridge I tried to let the other birders know I'd found it but they seemed to be all looking elsewhere and didn't notice by raised arm. Within five minutes the bird had taken off flying low towards the other birders but it then caught the wind and flew high before using the wind to take it south and over the bay where I followed it all the way across to Harwich and beyond. I told the other guys that I'd found the bird but it had flown south on in my opinion was unlikely to return as it would have to fly directly into the wind to do that. I took ten images five minutes apart and put news out twice within six minutes to highlight how short my encounter with the bird was but I left very happy to have seen it. I guess it supports my theory that sometimes you have to walk away from the crowd if you're to find the bird.

The year list stands at 232 and leaves me needing just the one tick to avoid a new low.

NB: I've added the bird tentatively to my Essex list as I'm happy I had it in view as it made land on the Essex side of the harbour.

Walk around KGV with Jim

With Suzanne needing some bed rest today and the father in law sorted I headed over to KGV with Jim this morning where we walked the full circuit.

On south basin we found a juvenile Black Tern along with the usual gulls and ducks. Two Turnstone were picked up on the bank along with at least ten Common Sandpipers at various points along south basin one of which was a very washed out leucistic individual. 91 Cormorants flew in and dropped onto north basin and Tufted Duck numbers are building as are Shoveler. We added Teal, Gadwall, Pochard, Mallard and Shelduck to the days duck list plus Mute Swan, Canada and Egyptian Geese. Little and Great-crested Grebe were seen along with the expected large numbers of Coot. A Raven flew over mobbed by Crows and Jackdaws and a Kestrel was the only raptor seen today. As we walked back along west bank we spotted first two then three Wheatear and briefly a female type Common Redstart. 

More Common Sandpipers were seen on North Basin with an estimate of at least thirteen birds trying not to double count any. 

Common Redstart and two Wheatear (record shot!)

Wheatear

Wheatear

Egyptian Goose

Turnstone

The day count on the reservoir reached 58 before Jim mentioned the Spotted Crake at Dagenham chase which we then duly dipped. (We did spot a few local birders tho Paul H, Marco, Sam P, Gary W. Oh and added Snipe x 6 Green Sandpiper x2, Little ringed Plover, Lapwing, Water Rail and Buzzard to the days list which now totalled 64)

Popped in to check on the father in law then headed home to cook dinner for Suzanne. 

year list still 231