On Friday we visited East Tilbury, hoping the three Stone Curlews would still be present. One had been present since the 31st of July and was joined by two more on the 4th of August. Since then they have been commuting between Tilbury and across the Thames at Cliffe Pools in Kent. However, since the end of August, they seem to have settled down at Tilbury.
The walk from the car park at Coalhouse Fort to the scrape is about a mile, it's a concrete footpath along the seawall that overlooks the Thames.
Reaching the scrape we found Green Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, and Ringed Plover, but we were struggling to find the Stone Curlews until local birder Paul Wood arrived and pointed us in the right direction. They were tucked down among the taller vegetation right at the back of the scrape. Once pinpointed we managed to find all three close together.
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| The scrape at Tilbury |
25th September
This morning we had a couple of hours free and decided to visit Wanstead Flats hoping to find any lingering migrants before they depart. Meadow Pipits and Stonechats were seemingly everywhere we looked and a single Whinchat was found among them. We reached an area known locally as "The Enclosure" and the bushes and trees were alive with birds. A roving tit flock was flitting about from tree to tree and Linnets, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were also present. A family party of Greenfinch was also seen, sadly no longer a common sight locally these days. We were hoping to find a Spotted Flycatcher and two eventually appeared among the tree branches. As we were watching the Flycatchers a Redstart flew in and sat out on a branch long enough for a photo. A short trip but a rewarding one, with all three targets seen. On the walk back to the car another Redstart was seen feeding on the path with numerous Meadow Pipits.
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Redstart |
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