Took Dad for a lifer

My Dad loves a lifer, a new tick, a reason to update his list but he was away in Bruge with two of my (six) brothers on Monday so couldn't make it, Tuesday I was tied up with family stuff so I asked if he'd like to tick a new bird on Wednesday. He said he'd rather wait for news before we go so I started my day at the George where I added Great-black backed Gull to my July site list and ticked a total of 56 species before he called to say the Godwit had been seen and I shot off to pick him up for the trip.

A Great black backed Gull

We arrived and found the bird with relative ease and Dad enjoyed adding it to his life list. The bird was in Suffolk where as it was in Essex when we saw it Monday so it's now found its way on two of my county lists. We headed for home via Abberton but failed to find the Ring-necked Duck and missed a Caspian Tern that flew in about an hour after we'd left. I'd had a stone fly up and crack my windscreen on the way home so turning round for the Caspian Tern was an option even with it being a full fat Essex tick for me.

This morning another walk of the George delivered 59 species with the highlights being Teal and Common Gull both my first returning summer birds. I also saw Peregrine and recounted the Tufted Ducks (750) Coots (320) and Crested Grebes (69). I find it fascinating watching the numbers grow but this year I've watched it in more detail than before. It's also noteworthy that when the spring migrants arrive you work mostly with your ears but now we've reached summer and breeding is well under way or even finished that I now find myself less reliant on my hearing and more reliant on my eyes as the birds are much quieter now. I wanted to see 80 species for July and today I pulled that off with the Teal and the Common Gull. (Others have seen LRP and Ringed Plover this month but these are the only two species reported that I haven't personally seen.)

Common Gull

Teal with Tufted Ducks and Coots