Not much doing at Dunge

With the weather changing and the wind at last coming from the south rather than the east I fancied some action at Dungeness today.

I collected my partners in crime and we arrived on site before 7.30am this morning.
From the beach we had ten Whimbrel (201) fly in although the Jim's somehow both managed to miss them fly in. Lot's of Scoter flew west as did seven Red Throated Diver and a Great Skua. Gannets dived and Porpoise breached close in. Sandwich and Common Tern flew to and from the patch and a Black Tern was reported but we didn't connect with it. We moved to the area around the observatory and found it alive with Firecrest. There must have been getting on for twenty birds in the area and at one point I had at least five within a few feet although the gloom and rain didn't help as far as the camera goes.

Firecrest

Gold Crest

Oystercatcher

A Redstart and probable Ouzel popped up from the moat area and the ringers were finding the nets obliging with repeated Firecrest presents. On the reserve we connected with five Yellow Wagtails (202) and a really clean White Wagtail too. I found a Sedge Warbler (203) singing by Denge Marsh hide but the Jims missed it trailing behind me on the path. I did locate a Willow Warbler that obliged in song to give them another tick for the year though.

A fox was seen taking advantage of the bird feeding area and stayed long enough for me to grab a few shots.

Fox

Fox

Fox

Not the action I thought we'd see but a decent day still had by all. Today was supposed to be the day when all those birds held up by the poor weather on the continent made a mass exit towards our shores but if they did I missed them and suspect because they're late and the wind was strong they carried on towards their breeding grounds with the exception of all the Firecrests of course.

Green-Winged Teal Crossness

I took a trip down to Crossness yesterday for the Green-winged Teal that had been found by Rich Bonser and found a Willow Warbler on the way (195) Arriving at the Thamesmead Golf Centre I parked up and walked to the outfall area and scanned for the bird which gave a brief show before being moved on as a military helicopter flew up the Thames. I got a good soaking but worth it for tick 196. A weasel showed well too but with the rain I had left the camera in the car. Along the foreshore were Black-tailed Godwits and reports have these highlighted as Icelandic birds. Redshank and Dunlin also moved along the mud as the tide came in.

Green-winged Teal

This morning the Jim's wanted to get the bird at Crossness too so I ran them down there and quickly found the bird on the foreshore and even managed to grab a distant shot of it. The male seemed attached to a particular female Teal and I left wondering if this could be a GWT too but I know it's very difficult to ID females, certainly difficult for me having never seen a female GWT before.
Also at Crossness was a nice singing Blackcap and Chiffchaff and on the foreshore was a single Bar Tailed Godwit.

With the Jim's satisfied with the tick we made off for the original plan which was to head up to Bedfordshire in search of migrants. We arrived at Blow's Downs at 9.15am and quickly found three smart Redstarts in the paddocks (197) Two Wheatear were found and a nice pair of Bullfinch. We walked a couple of miles up and down the Downs in search of Ring Ouzel without any joy. With the calf muscles telling me to take a break I sat on the top of the world and watched Yellowhammers, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits.
With the Lungs now filled with oxygen again we made the long walk back down the Downs.

Yellowhammer

A quick look for Ouzel at Wing failed to deliver the Jims a tick so we moved on to Startops End Reservoir where we found a nice pair of Red Crested Pochard along with lot's of Swallows (198) House Martins (199) and Common Terns (200)

Male Red Crested Pochard

Female Red Crested Pochard

So pleased to have bagged tick 200 by mid April and it's great to finally see the spring migrants arriving in some numbers. On the way home we made a stop at Bison Hill but the combination of the hill, the wind and the rain had us running back to the car without finding any Ouzels but we made the journey home satisfied with a good days birding.

Spoonbill Holland Haven

Picked up tick 194 today with the Spoonbill on the scrape at Holland Haven Essex.  The Spoonbill is one of those birds I remember seeing in books as a child and thinking I'd never see so it's always nice to see one.
A Hoopoe was also reported locally at Walton on the Naze but after a search with a couple of locals the bird was not found but the area looks perfect so I'm sure it's hanging around somewhere.

I picked up a couple of shots of Muntjac Deer on the way home.....love their smiley face.

Muntjac Deer

Muntjac

Birds of Sandy

Brambling

Brambling

Great Spotted Woodpecker (male)

Great Spotted Woodpecker (female)

Blackbird

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Baby Rabbits everywhere today.

In two hours today in the hide at Sandy (the RSPB head quarters in Bedfordshire) I managed the above shots. I'd hoped for Crossbill but they didn't show while I was there. I did see all the above along with Muntjac Deer, a small unidentified vole and a Weasel. The Nuthatch was collecting nesting material and worked non stop while I was there.

Fishers Green

I spent a couple of hours at Fishers Green in the Lea Valley this afternoon.
Still lot's of Fieldfare about but otherwise the usual birds and very little in the way of spring migrants so far.
I was lucky enough to spend some time watching a Grey Heron feeding on the local Newt population and a Green Woodpecker feasting on ants.

Grey Heron reflection

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Green Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

Little Owl

Also found a Little Owl on the drive back through Upshire which was nice although it was a little distant I managed to grab a record shot.

Ring Ouzel at Wing in Hertfordshire

I popped up to Blows Downs in Bedfordshire today in search of Ring Ouzel, a good annual patch for this spring migrant.

Ring Ouzel

Lee Evans was on site scanning the paddocks with a couple of Beds birders but the locals  had just been in the paddock removing an old shed so had disturbed any birds in the area either forcing them to cover or maybe even moving them on with their journey north. So no Ring Ouzel but the locals gave me directions to Wing where a male Ring Ouzel had been reported today. I made the ten mile journey across from Beds to Bucks and walked through the country park to view the tree line where the locals had said the bird was last seen. After a few minutes I could hear the Ouzel and then it popped up onto a fence post before dropping into the field to feed. Bird 193 for the year and a cracking male it was too, Black with silver in the wings and broad white chest markings.


As I walked back to the car I had good views of a Red Kite and Kestrel overhead.

Red Kite

Kestrel

Royal Reservoir delivers my first Sand Martin of 2013

I noticed that Dave Bradnum had found a Scaup on the King George V reservoir at Chingford yesterday so phoned Jim to see if he fancied a quick trip to see it this morning as I know he needed one for a year tick.

As he answered the phone he was already unlocking the gates at the reservoir having had the same thought process as me, so within ten minutes I was there to meet him. Walking up the bank I spotted a Sand Martin flying towards us and quickly got Jim on it bagging us both a year tick in the process. (192) Sand Martins are the first hirundines to return from their wintering grounds in March but I seem to struggle each year to get one in March. Anyway with this bagged it was time to find Jimmy a Scaup and after scanning a lot of Tufted Duck we found the target female in the distance to give Jim his second tick.

Female Scaup with male Tufted Duck

Moving on to North basin we scanned again and again in amongst the Tufties and Goldeneyes before we found the Long Tailed Duck which I think is a London first for us both. On the walk back I found two female Goosanders and a pair of Grey Wagtails. The weather was great too, warm no wind still waters and I can't remember the last time I could say that.

Grey Heron

Cormorant

A nice quick trip only 5 minutes from home and back in doors for breakfast.

Hirundine: Swallow type birds including Swallows, Martins and Swifts.