Birding and other distractions

Glorious weather today, calm with unbroken sunshine. Starting off at Grain, where at 9 a.m. it was high tide and waders were roosting near the outflow from the power station.  Present amongst a group of 35 Turnstones the overwintering Purple Sandpiper was soon found. The bird was asleep most of the time, nevertheless a long time since I've seen Purple Sandpiper in Kent. A loose group of finches on the adjacent marsh/scrub held around four Greenfinch, one of which was briefly in song. Along West Lane in Grain a somewhat distant Great White Egret was on North Levels, with a couple of Little Egret also present. A female-type Marsh Harrier flew over the marsh. Moving on to Allhallows we walked out from the Pilot towards the seawall. On a calm river 12 Red-throated Divers drifted east in several groups. There were a fair number of Curlew on the marsh and eventually the long staying Glossy Ibis showed at quite close range. The ibis is apparently often seen together with a Little Egret, a...

A day in East Kent starting at Worth, near Sandwich. Weather was fairly bright, but with a cold northerly wind. The adult White Stork near Worth was not difficult to find, and gave close views from the car. The bird is unringed. Moving on, a flock of 13 Tree Sparrow was seen near Dickson's Corner. A Mistle Thrush near the Observatory, was my first of the year, while a Buzzard sat on a nearby fence post. At Fordwich in the afternoon, and being away from the coast it was certainly milder. The Dusky Warbler was found in the same area as on the previous visit, west of the permissive path sign, and was calling quite often. However, a nearby Cetti's Warbler caused much confusion, the call being extremely similar to that of the Dusky. White Stork White Stork Tree Sparrows Tree Sparrows Dusky Warbler Dusky Warbler

Another beautiful day after a frosty start. Having seen a single Shorelark at Leysdown last November the ongoing reports of seven being present made another visit hard to resist. On arrival the central beach was very busy with walkers, hardly surprising  given the good weather, and the Shorelarks could not be found there. However, the habitat looked promising towards Warden Bay and on heading in that direction the flock was seen in flight before settling on the edge of the beach. Regrettably, only a few minutes to watch them was possible before the birds were flushed by walkers and disappeared. On the tideline several flocks of Sanderling were present, about 65 birds in total. Moving on, the track from Leysdown to Shellness had a huge flock of finches which mainly comprised Chaffinch and Linnet but also good numbers of Brambling, including some nice looking males. The Brambling proved less photogenic than Chaffinch unfortunately. 1000+ Brent Geese on the winter wheat flew to the sh...

A frosty start gave way to a lovely sunny day. We began with a return to Albany Park, the previous visit in December having been late in the day with light fading. The wintering Little Bunting was found in the southeast corner of the meadow, feeding on seeds along a pathway. As before the bird was confiding, and was watched for around 30 minutes. Other birds were rather few though there was a fly-over Sparrowhawk and a singing Treecreeper in the nearby trees. From there we headed to Grovelands Park in North London, my first visit to this site. The reported Hooded Merganser could not be found and a local birder said that it isn't there every day. However, there were approx. eight Mandarin Ducks, the males looking stunning in the sunshine. Also present was a Grey Wagtail, a number of Stock Doves, and needless to say Ring-necked Parakeets. Little Bunting Little Bunting Grovelands Park Mandarin Duck (male) Mandarin Duck (female) Stock Dove Grey Wagtail

A calm, sunny day and a visit to Fordwich was in order, hopefully to catch up with the wintering Dusky Warbler. The path alongside the river was very muddy, so I was glad of my Wellingtons. A flock of Siskin was soon found, feeding in nearby Alders, and in the same spot a Treecreeper was present, typically creeping up the trunk of a tree. An unusual high pitched call from within nearby woodland had me nonplussed, though another birder who had heard it earlier came up with the suggestion of Long-eared Owl. At the reported area for the Dusky Warbler near the permissive path sign there was no sign of the bird, so after a while I continued on the path towards Westbere. The nearby lake held small numbers of wildfowl, though these did include a female Goosander, if fairly distant. On the walk back I found out via WhatsApp message that the Dusky had been seen in pathside brambles west of the permissive path, and on reaching the particular spot heard the bird calling. It showed fleetingly in t...