I had a quick scan of Birdguides yesterday at 3.30 and saw that a Spotted Redshank had been seen an hour earlier at the London Wetland Centre - potential patch tick! Dashed over and was watching the bird before 4pm. A really smart juvenile that mainly fed in the vegetation around the islands and so was sometimes not that easy to see. It often fed alongside the juvenile Ruff that's been present for a few days. Seeing the two together, the Ruff is very obviously a male since it's around the same size as the Spotshank.
I also took a few videos which I'll sort through and post anything half decent here. A quick scan of the grazing marsh and the rest of the scrape turned up this Whinchat on the purple loosestrife.
This was a bit more distant and taken with the 400mm and the 2x converter.
Just looked at Birdguides again. Whiskered Tern on the Main Lake at the Wetland Centre for 5 mins. Oh well, I've missed a few good birds at Barnes (eg the PGP) and I'm sure this won't be the last.
Great blog and awesome photos. I'm just becoming a regular there since recently moving to London. Great to see what I have been missing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt. Barnes turns up some good birds and decent volume (usually over 150 spp a year) but it can be a bit frustrating to work - not being able to get in until half nine in the morning being one of the problems. Look forward to seeing you there at some point!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Matt