randombirder

Today was a mega day!  A day full of Waders. The Baird's Sandpiper at Coldharbour Lagoon gratefully remained into the weekend.  A 25 minute walk from the Reculver Towers car park along the Viking Trail to a modest stretch of pools located between the path and the river wall.  En route, a surprise Great Skua flew west close into the shoreline momentarily dropping onto the calm waters before lethargically heading off west. The Lagoons held a small selection of waders including six Ringed Plover , Redshank , Greenshank , Little Stint , two Dunlin , and of course our American friend.  The bird showed brilliantly despite the disturbance of passing cyclists and vocal birders that included myself and Adam Hudson whom I was thrilled to meet. We both headed back seeing Yellow Wagtail , a single Northern Wheatear , and a Turnstone  posing on the exposed rocks. After a late lunch and cake in Margate with Kat and her friend, we headed over to Oar...

A lovely but hasty walk round the reserve on a warm and humid morning yielded a couple of juvenile Sandwich Tern on the river which was a well overdue first for London. The old landfill held three Northern Wheatear where two Yellow Wagtail flew over.  A Hobby then shot through low towards Aveley Bay.  A couple of Common Sandpiper called as they flicked low over the Thames. There were plenty of waders.  At least 25 Black-tailed Godwit , three Ruff , a Wood Sandpiper , Green Sandpiper , four Greenshank , Redshank , and several Snipe .  A lone Curlew sat on the receding tide on Aveley Bay and there were at least two Yellow-legged Gull there. A male and female Marsh Harrier were quartering the fields over Wennington, but I inexplicably missed a flyover Osprey.

So some words about this trip.  The Isles of Scilly are magical and it was a joy to be back.  Someone did actually comment that I was there two months early.  Well my friend, I was bang on time because the place looked pristine in the radiant summer sun unadulterated by urban smog and the distemper of city life.  The highlight was a sun-soaked walk all the way round St Mary's with a convenient stop at Pelistry Bay to lie out on the golden sands and to remind myself that this was indeed the UK. This time we opted to sail to the Isles as this time of year there are possibilities for rare seabirds and marine life.  The crossing was appreciably calm, and despite the overcast conditions, the sun was never totally hidden behind the thin veils of grey cloud.  It was a pleasant passage across, livened up with a pod of around 15 Common Dolphin flirting recklessly with the wake churned up from the boat.  A couple of Harbour Porpoise surfaced somewhere in ...

At long last.  It's only taken 24 years to see my first UK Honey Buzzard .  We returned back to Walberswick to the Westwood Lodge viewpoint, but today I felt positive that the bird would show. Almost on cue at around 3.20pm, the HB was seen flying reasonably distantly being mobbed by a Hobby before flying left along the tree-line.  I appreciate that there is generally a degree of ID confusion between this and it's more ubiquitous cousin, but when you see it, it really is a different beast altogether. Having lost it to view, the bird then reappeared much closer soaring with a Marsh Harrier before drifting off again. Also on site was a Woodlark and a Red Kite . Then it was onto Minsmere for a gentle stroll round the reserve where to the chagrin of many visiting birders, the Swamphen had disappeared overnight.  Typical of rare birds to do a bunk on a Friday night and I feel the pain of all the visiting birders hoping to connect with it. From the North Wall...