Not Twitching 1

Now, it's important to understand this isn't twitching. I just happened to stop somewhere that was on the way back from a work trip. More or less on the way back from a work trip. No more than about 10 miles out of my way. Tops. Since this post is being written so long after it happened it's impossible for the zero people reading this to guess which bird I mean, but there it was clearly time to write about since there's currently a Scarlet Rosefinch / Brown Grotfinch only a few hundred yards away. So no prizes for guessing Dusky Warbler at Walthamstow Reservoirs. Acted quite differently from the 4+ Chiffies also on site, whereas they were mainly playing around on top of the brambles the Dusky spent most of its time creeping along the base of the understory - which basically meant the top of the stone wall. It did occasionally fly up but quickly jumped back down.

Wandle Delta

Walk with the kids. 4 Grey Wags on one of the buidlings near the delta. Still 3-4 Gadwall, 1m Teal. Also c10 Tufties, 2 GC Grebes plus other usuals.

Owl Service

Quick wander round Barnes LWC and Richmond Park. Barnes a bit dull but Richmond produced Tawny Owl (near White Lodge) and 3 calling Little Owls around the golf course.

Rainham raid

A few productive hours at Rainham picking up the two Tundra Bean Geese (London tick having dipped the ones here a couple of years ago cos some eejit had parked outside my garage and blocked me in). Fairly long billed for Tundra but bill pattern spot on. Also on the scrape 500+ Wigeon, 14 Pintail, ~6 Pochard, 4 Ruff, some dodgy hybrid duck.
Had a wander round for the Slav/ Serin and found a Little Grebe where the Slav wasn’t, but a Barn Owl on the way back made up for it.

Sheppey Spoonbill

Started at Leysdown for the high tide wader roost (including Sanderling) then drove down the potholed access track as far as it was possible to go (ie just before the bit that was flooded to several feet). Scanning the sea picked up a Black throated Diver and a flock of about 250 Wigeon. On the fields a flock of 1500+ Brent included two Pale bellied birds (an adult and 1st winter) and a probable Black Brant. Probable in this case because it was facing directly towards me - I could see the complete neck ring and even the white flank patches but couldn't rule out a hybrid on the views I had. But a shed load of other people have seen the bird so I’m sure there’s no doubt about the ID just bad views – unfortunately that makes it untickable for me.

Also decent numbers of Shelduck, Teal and Gadwall (regularly put up by a Marsh Harrier). Beyond the Brent were a flock of c30 White fronts (part of a larger flock reported in the area). Later found out that there’d also been a flock of Barnacles in the same area but no luck.

Drove down to Harty Ferry to check the Swale for Mergansers, then a massive blizzard hit the site – the other birder there headed off and I had to retreat to the car for a bit. Just as the blizzard stopped looked out of the car to see a big white, neck outstretched bird flying across the saltmarsh: Spoonbill. Landed in the saltmarsh and (despite disappearing every now and then) showed until I left 45 mins or so later. Nice surprise. Looking around the Ferry also picked up an ad male, then a juv Hen Harrier working the fields and saltmarsh.

Swan Stringing

Had a brief burst of hope and exitement as three big swans flew downriver today. With the local reports of Whoopers I had high hopes of a patch mega for the fraction of a second it took to realise they were Mutes.

Also around: 1 GC Grebe on the Thames, 2 male Teal (why is always males here this year?), 14 Gadwall, 3 Grey Herons, 4 gull spp, including good numbers of Common Gull (at least 30), a couple of Grey Wags. Thought I heard a Mipit go over at one point but it was so faint it could have been any one of a number of squeaky things: kid's bike, rubber duck, reality show pop hopeful. But probably an unticked Mipit.

Poc Harder

No sign of yesterday's Pochard. 7 Stock Dove (on the north bit of the Common where they're not that regular), about 10 Tufties and a few Shoveler still left though.