American Golden plover, Old hall Marshes

It's been a very rewarding past week, with limited time for birding, mainly due to Brian's ongoing family commitments, we have managed to spend an afternoon in Suffolk, adding my second lifer of the year with the Tawny Pipit at Landguard. A thirty-minute drive and a very brief visit to Hunsdon in Hertfordshire to see the Hoopoe. A couple of hours at Rainham to relocate the Ring Ouzel, ending with another short trip to bag a county tick, when the Ross's Gull was reported in Thurrock.

On the same day the Ross's Gull was reported, an American Golden Plover was also reported, and again it's in my home county of Essex.

There was no time available yesterday, and Brian only had the morning free today. The AGP was at Old Hall Marshes, but the reserve gates aren't open until 9am, unless you want to walk in from Salcott village. We decided to start the morning at Abberton, where we enjoyed views of Spoonbills, Grey Herons, Great Egrets, Little Egrets, and Cattle Egrets, which were a year tick. 

Cattle Egret

We left Abberton and headed to Old Hall Marshes, only five miles away. We arrived at 8.45am to find the gates unlocked. It's about a mile walk to where the AGP had been seen, but the hedgerows along the way were full of Whitethroats, Sedge and Reed Warblers. We climbed the wooden steps onto the seawall. where we were told by the only other birder present that he had seen the AGP earlier, but not for a while. I scoped the area known as the breach and found the target bird almost immediately. It was distant, but really stood out among the Lapwings. Other birds of note were Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers, and Avocets in the channel, along with a single Spotted Redshank, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Ruff, Snipe, and twenty-plus Common Terns.

Old Hall Marshes were bought by the RSPB in 1984 from the estate of Brigadier R Colvin for £780,000, the RSPB's most expensive purchase at the time. You can read a brief history of the site Here

 

Salcott Channel

American Golden Plover

A cropped hand-held phone to scope image.

It's my 4th record of American Golden Plover, but my first since 2019.

Ross's Gull: Golden Gates Lake, Thurrock

I checked the news services shortly after 9am this morning, and the only birds reported locally were two Black-winged Stilts at Rainham, which I had seen on a previous visit. So I decided it was a day to relax at home, that was until the phone rang. It's Brian. 

"Have you checked the news?

"Yeah, just the two Black-winged Stilts locally." 

"Ross's Gull at Thurrock!"

Brian had a pre-arranged visit to see his granddaughter, and decided to try for the gull before the visit. That left Dad and I to decide whether to go or not. It would be a lifer for dad. However, I had seen the  Dorset bird at Radipole Lake in 2018. But it would still be a year and a county tick for me.

Dad wasn't sure he wanted to drive, so we were still debating it when Brian phoned to say he had seen the bird. and offered to take us tomorrow if the bird was still present. When the news services reported the bird was still present, we decided to make the trip. The thirty-mile journey took forty-five minutes before we parked alongside the Thameside Nature Discovery car park. It was almost a mile walk from the car park to Golden Gates Lake. Upon arrival, we were told the bird was still present but had swam along the near bank and was currently out of view. We didn't have to wait long before it reappeared, and we managed to get some nice views. For the next 15-20 minutes, it hugged the bank, and we followed it along the footpath, catching brief glimpses of it through the trees. It then decided to take flight, but it only flew back a short distance, which allowed me to get excellent scope views.

We made our way back towards the car park, picking out a singing Nightingale for a bonus year tick on the way.

We were safely back home when the Ross's Gull was reported to have "flown off north-east and lost to view."  That was the last time it was seen today. 

Thankfully, we had made the right choice, not to wait until the following day.

Signage just outside the car park

View of Golden Gates Lake

Ross's Gull

Waders at KGV Reservoir

Brian and I made another early visit to KGV Reservoir this morning, arriving at 6am. I was hoping to add Arctic Tern to my year list, and after a couple of scans of the south basin, we did just that. Three flew past us at close range, but carried on heading north. Another Scan of the south basin revealed seven Common Terns resting on the buoys. Scanning the eastern bank as we walked towards the causeway added a new site tick for me when we found two Whimbrel. A single Oystercatcher flew across the basin heading south, and a single Common Sandpiper was also seen.

As we approached the north-east corner of the north basin, we could see some waders resting on the bank. Looking through the scope, we could see several Common Sandpipers and two Greenshanks. We counted sixteen Common Sandpipers before a Thames Water vehicle came along the top path and flushed them all. Other birds seen during the four-mile walk were Peregrine, Cuckoo, Yellow, and Grey Wagtails, Redshank, and Wheatear.

Greenshank & Common Sandpiper

Whimbrel

Grey Wagtail

The same afternoon, while sitting at home, a Hoopoe was reported at Hunsdon in Hertfordshire. Only 14 miles from home, I phoned Brian to ask if he fancied going. As soon as he agreed, we met up and headed towards Hunsdon. We found the parking area without any trouble, but finding the footpath proved more challenging. Luckily, a birder returning to his car gave us directions, and we were soon looking across a large lawn running alongside a stream. The Hoopoe was seen immediately, but remained distant throughout our visit. It spent the entire time we were there feeding along the bottom of the tall hedge in the middle of the photo. The homeowner was happy for us to stand at the bottom of the garden, but didn't want people walking across his lawn, so we stayed an hour or so before heading home.

The garden

Tawny Pipit, Landguard NR

I awoke this morning with no intention of going birding, but that all changed when I checked the news services and saw a Tawny Pipit reported at Landguard in Suffolk. The first report was vague to say the least. It just said "Tawny Pipit, Languard, one". Not knowing if this was just a flyover, I decided to wait for a second report. Once a second report came through, it was time to phone Brian. I  knew he had been on the school run with his grandchildren, and when I rang him, he was at Rainham Marshes. "Tawny Pipit at Landguard, are we going?"  Of course, the answer was yes. 

We arranged to meet Brian in Brentwood, and Brian drove the remaining seventy-five miles to Languard. After parking the car, we headed out onto the common towards the roped-off area. There was a small group of birders already present. We were told the bird hadn't been seen for 10-15 minutes, but was probably below the bank. Thirty minutes passed, and suddenly the bird appeared. We enjoyed watching it for several minutes, until a Ringed Plover flushed it. 

The bird was found again on the common, where it stayed for a few minutes before heading back into the roped-off area. The bird became more elusive and wasn't seen again before the car park ticket ran out.

Brian had dipped this species twice before, and I was with him when we made the trip to Cogden in Dorset the day it decided to leave, having been present for five days previously!

Tawnt Pipit

Can you see it?

Rainham Marshes & Red-rumped Swallow at KGV

Recently, it's been all local birding, Roding Valley, KGV Reservoir, or Rainham Marshes. This morning, Brian and I spent the morning at Rainham. Yesterday, he'd seen a Spotted Redshank on Wennington Marsh, and I was hoping it had stayed overnight. Walking to Serin Mound, we found the Spotted Redshank still feeding in what was now a very small patch of water. From here, we crossed the road and headed up the slope, and quickly added another year tick when we spotted a Corn Bunting perched on a scaffold pole. A Wheatear was also seen as we descended the slope back towards the reserve.

We walked the sea wall, noting Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew, and Ringed Plover out in the bay. The bushes and scrub areas were alive with Cetti's Warblers, Blackcaps, Wrens, Sedge Warblers, and Common Whitethroats. We stopped by the turnstile and added Garden and Willow Warbler to the year list. Then I heard the reeling of a Grasshopper Warbler, which I believe is the first record for Rainham this year. A couple of Common Terns were flying around the sailing club, and a Great Egret flew overhead. The threatening dark grey skies had now turned to rain, so we headed for the car. 

News came through of a Red-rumped Swallow at KGV, so we decided to head that way and hope for a second report. That report duly came, so off we went. The bird had been reported at the north-east end of the north basin, as far from the entrance gate as possible. As we reached the causeway, we stopped to chat with the finder Ian L, who told us the bird was still present. We'd scanned through every hirundine we saw on the way up in case it had flown our way. We reached the north-east corner, expecting to find several birders, but there wasn't a single birder present. There were large numbers of hirundines flying along the channel and along the reservoir bank, but we couldn't find the red-rumped among them. Then, suddenly, the swallows gained height and headed east!

We were joined by three other birders, and another three were scanning from within Stewardstone Marsh. We spent another hour looking through all the hirundines still present without any luck. Then we got a call to say the Red-rumped had been seen at the causeway. But as we reached the causeway, we were told the bird had flown off south! We were about to give up when it was spotted heading straight towards us. It flew around our heads, giving fantastic views before heading back north. 

Abberton Reservoir and KGV Reservoir

 4th March

Brain and I visited KGV Reservoir, where we walked the eastern side of both basins. The south basin was very quiet, but scanning both sides of the causeway produced two new additions to the site list. On the south side, we found a Redshank, and on the north side, Brian found a Golden Plover resting on the bank. The weather conditions were poor, with a thick mist covering much of the reservoir. I tried to get a shot through the scope, but could only manage the one below.

Golden Plover

The walk along the eastern side of the north basin was more productive. The male Scaup was soon found among a raft of Tufted Ducks, then a drake Smew was seen close to the eastern bank, and finally a Slavonian Grebe was found nearby.

Smew

Slavonian Grebe

Scaup

9th March

On the 9th, Brian drove Dad and I to Abberton Reservoir, hoping to see the returning Canvasback. We parked at Billets Farm car park and walked to the viewing screen. The reservoir was covered in a thick blanket of fog, making anything at range impossible to see. We waited, hoping the fog would clear, and at times it did, allowing us brief windows to scope the Pochard raft that was now visible. Eventually, the perseverance paid off, and the Canvasback was spotted. Once found, it was surprisingly easy to relocate each time it dived and reappeared.

A Ring-necked Duck had been reported the previous day, but we failed to locate it, even after lengthy scans from Billets, Wigborough Bay, Abberton Church, and both causeways.

17th March

Another visit to the KGV Reservoir this morning, trying to connect with the two Common Sandpipers reported the previous day. We walked a complete circuit of both basins without finding the sandpipers, but Brian did find our first Wheatear of the year along the path at the northern end. The male Smew was found in the River Lea channel behind the paddock, and two Ravens were seen. The Slavonian Grebe and Scaup, however, were not found on this visit.

Hume's Warbler: Lowestoft, Suffolk

Since the start of the year, I have only managed two full days of birding and one twitch for the Killdeer in Hampshire. The rest of my birding so far this year has been short local trips. The weather has also played a part, with seemingly day after day of rain.

The weather forecast for today was the best it's been for many days, so Brian made arrangements for a day of birding in Suffolk and Norfolk.

We drew up a list of targets we wanted to try to see; this would depend on whether certain birds showed or how long we wanted to spend searching for them if they didn't.

We arrived at our first site in Lowestoft and joined a small group of birders searching for the Hume's Warbler that had been in the area since early February. With no sign of the bird, we split up and searched the areas south and west of the tennis courts. It was thirty minutes later that the warbler was heard calling and then seen in the treetops. It disappeared, but soon reappeared shortly afterwards, this time lower down in the bushes on the west side. It was elusive, but with patience, it would give good views. We also enjoyed good views of a Firecrest, which was flitting about in the same bushes. Another addition to my year list came when a single Barnacle Goose flew overhead calling.

Hume's Warbler

Firecrest

Ness Point was only a few minutes away, so we decided to look for Purple Sandpipers. Unfortunately, it was high tide, and we failed to find any, so we moved along the coast to Kessingland to look for Shore Larks. We knew that four birds had been wintering in the area, but that they could be difficult to track down among the shingle and marram grass. We took the clifftop steps down to the beach and walked north. Eventually, we found the four birds, but not before carefully navigating the flooded areas that were between the Shore larks and us.

Shore Lark

After climbing the steep and uneven steps back up to the clifftops, we headed back to Ness Point and another search for the Purple Sandpipers. This time, we walked further north and searched the area in front of the caravan park. Brian had walked on ahead and spotted a single bird on a concrete wall feeding with two Turnstones. 

Ness Point

Purple Sandpiper

Turnstone

Dad and I hadn't managed to see any winter swans so far this year, and we also wanted to try to see the Iceland Gull at Sea Palling. We had a short discussion and decided to look for the Iceland Gull first. We arrived at the car park and walked up the ramp onto the beach. We scanned the rocks in front of the Lifeboat Station without any luck, so we headed along the beach to scan the mass of gulls gathered on the foreshore. As I was setting the scope up, Brian picked out the juvenile Iceland Gull among the masses of Herring and Black-headed Gulls. There were also a couple of Caspian Gulls found.

Iceland Gull

The last trip was a ten-mile detour to Ludham Bridge, where we found a mixed herd of 50+ Whooper and Bewick's Swans. At the end of the day, I managed to add eight-year ticks to my year list, while Brian added four to his, and Dad added seven to his as the walk to the Shore Larks was too much for him.