randombirder

Pretty dire today, but the sun was out and it felt pleasant out of the breeze.  Just two Siskin and a Goldcrest were the highlights.  Two singing Cetti's Warbler and at least ten Chiffchaff were the best of the rest. A few Migrant Hawker and Common Darter were still zipping about the reserve.

Got myself organised and prized myself out of the flat in the wee small hours to observe the Lunar Eclipse. Not great photos but a joy to watch.

A couple of hours at Reculver most of which was spent dining in the beer garden at the King Ethelbert that had created a sun trap feeling most agreeable out of the breeze. Attempted a short walk but the day didn't pan out as I had hoped.  Another time hopefully. Four Dark-Bellied Brent Goose flew past as did a single Oystercatcher .  A Turnstone was sat on the foreshore and a Northern Wheatear was present along the path past the Towers.

So I understand that the Coal Tit is a rare bird on the patch, and therefore I understand the pressure of reporting one.  I also recall the phrase about buses, something like you wait for one and then... anyway... I saw another Coal Tit today.  This time, the delightful @suzehu was with me.  We stood predictably against the wooden fenceline waxing lyrical about the imminent deluge of autumn vagrants in the south and east.  I binned a bird that emerged from the thickets by the hides. It wasn't a Great Tit, neither was it a Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Marsh Tit, Willow Tit, Sombre Tit, Azure Tit..... it looked like a Coal Tit.  Then it landed and it called, twice, and it sounded like a Coal Tit, an unflourished uncomplicated ' pees-pees ' it said, which I thought was rather rude.  Maybe the same bird frequenting our local environs, but I hope it gets seen again. Such a lovely day and in good company, the sun shone brightly, and out of the breeze it was discernibly balmy.

Slim pickings today having arrived shortly after the rain had stopped.  Spent almost three hours on-site best of which were two Spotted Flycatcher that were making their way through the reserve.  A Common Whitethroat put in a brief appearance while the supporting cast included four Siskin , eight Meadow Pipit , two Willow Warbler , two Goldcrest , Kingfisher , Sparrowhawk , and a Cetti's Warbler . Local LV staff were carrying out a bat survey and rather helpfully flushed all the Teal which numbered at least 21 and a single Shoveler . Both Common Darter and Migrant Hawker were on the wing.

A stark contrast to the persistent rain of yesterday, the morning was bathed in warm autumnal sunshine tempered slightly by a cool moderate breeze, but it was a most agreeable day to be out. So another late morning arrival down at the Waterworks and another couple of hours spent staring up at the sky hoping for a flyover something, something that might ignite a bit of something into a September that has been a little ordinary. In recent days the first bird I have noted has been Siskin , usually alerted by it's mournful call.  Today there were a total of six flyovers, and three Meadow Pipit  heading north. Standing in my usual spot, propped up against the wooden fenceline along the main path, I heard a familiar call.  Familiar in general terms but definitely not a familiar call for the Waterworks.  I scanned the top of a Poplar to see a Coal Tit that had settled there briefly before flying over my head and into the woodland on the southside, I am aware that this is somethin

Was getting a bit cheesed off sitting at home, watching birds and birders enjoying the vagaries of autumn.  It is a magical season for wildlife, for birders too chasing down the perpectual supply of Neartic and Siberian avian wanderers.  It's a season not to be missed, but alas, health woes continue and getting out and about is proving to be a challenge.  Yet the will is there, not helped by my contemporaries picking off these autumn gems - and don't talk to me about the Empidonax . So I drove to Vange Marsh RSPB, and in the rain, the Wilson's Phalarope was showing well albeit distantly in the rain.  It was feeding furiously at the back end of the scrape where there were a number of birds present including a Little Stint .  This was my second WP having seen the one at Hillesden, Bucks in 2006, but nice to connect with one under an hour from home, and without any major dramas. one for the record books

Quiet on the passerine front but still a bit of interest with two Siskin , one of which sat in the tree that has been loyal to chats and flycatchers in recent days. A Peregrine flew onto one of the pylons, and a single Meadow Pipit flew north.  A female Shoveler swam across Bay 13.  One of Cetti's Warbler called from the reeds, and a flock of seven Mistle Thrush were feeding against the fenceline.  A small cloud of Sand and House Martin flew over as the gloom set in, with at least 70 in total. This worn Red Underwing sat on the wooden shelf by the hides.

Conspicuous today was the large movement of hirundines piling through in large numbers avoiding the heavy showers and making haste toward the continent. By the time I made my way out the majority had made their way through.  A dozen Swallow lingered over the Waterworks and around 30 Sand Martin flew through. The undoubted highlight were four Spotted Flycatcher that were present for around an hour before moving on.  They were typically flighty and a joy to watch. There were also at least five Willow Warbler in the same area, and a Lesser Whitethroat making its way through with half a dozen Blackcap .  A juvenile Peregrine flew onto one of the pylons. A quick look on the Beds held three Gadwall , seven Teal , and 26 Mallard , and three very young Moorhen - must have only been a few days old so a very late brood. A Cetti's Warbler called close in from Bed 13 and a Goldcrest was seen calling from the scrub.

A window of opportunity both in weather and health and a self-prescribed visit to the Waterworks that provides potential of something interesting without the need for physical exertion - which currently - I am unable to extract from this ailing body.  Yet there is hope, and today the sun was out, a light cool breeze, and life once again felt real. There was evidence of visible migration with at least 25 Swallow powering over, moving through in small pulses with around 30 House Martin and roughly the same number of Sand Martin . I had bumped into Graham, and we wandered through the reserve.  Evidence of grounded migrants weren't obvious, but a single Common Whitethroat was welcome as we attached ourselves to the wooden fence staring expectantly into the sky.  First up, a chat flew across the treeline and settled on top of one of the Poplars - a Whinchat joined then by a second what looked like an adult and a juvenile. A Cetti's Warbler called from somewhere deep withi