When reports of a Long-billed Dowitcher being found at Rainham Marshes yesterday, Brian was well placed as he was visiting family only 10 minutes away.  The reserve is only open from 9.30am - 4pm but you can view some areas from the sea wall. I waited to see if the bird had stayed overnight and with positive news that the bird was still present, we met up with Brian and arrived in the car park shortly after 10am.  The dowitcher had been reported on Purfleet Scrape, only a short walk down the metal walkway from the reserve centre. We joined a small group of birders and saw the dowitch ..read more

I received an unexpected phone call from Brian this morning, "There's an Asian Desert Warbler in Norfolk, I'll pick you up". Brian arrived shortly after 8am and we were on our way. The journey up the M11, A11, and A47 was trouble-free and we arrived at Winterton-on-sea beach car park around 10.15. After paying for two hours of parking we headed off into the dunes. We passed several returning birders who pointed us in the right direction toward the bird's location. As we approached the growing throng of birders the bird flew up and headed into a nearby tree. At first, I struggled to see the bir ..read more

On the 25th of September, an Arctic Warbler was reported in a copse behind the visitor centre at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire. Three hours later it was reported as a "probable" Eastern Crowned Kingbird. The following day it wasn't seen and I thought that was the end of it. Then it's reported again Friday evening as a probable Pale-legged Leaf Warbler! after being sound-recorded. A bird that normally breeds in the Russian Far East, and North Korea, and winters in South-East Asia is present in East Yorkshire.  There have only been two previous records in Britain. One was found dead on S ..read more

A 5am text from Brian this morning saw us heading up the A12 to The Naze Nature Reserve. The reserve is on the Naze peninsula, north of Walton-on-the-Naze, and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. We had two main targets, a Red-backed Shrike and a Wryneck. However with clear skies overnight we would not have been surprised if both birds had moved on.  We arrived shortly before 7am, parked in the reserve car park close to Sunny Point, and headed down the steps to walk the central path. Hawthorn, Gorse, and Brambles bordered the path on both sides. We hadn't walked far when Brian spotted th ..read more

Brian and I spent the morning at Wells Wood, hoping to connect with a few migrants before they depart for warmer climes. We walked along the western path and scanned an area set back from the path. The tallest trees held a massive mixed flock of birds. We had only paid for two hours of parking and most of that was taken up by going through the vast amount of birds within these trees. Spotted Flycatchers were seemingly everywhere, Garden Warblers, Chiffchaffs, and Willow Warblers were all present in large numbers. Pied Flycatchers were also present but in much smaller numbers and a single Redst ..read more

An unexpected message from Brian this morning had us heading for Dungeness. We headed for the beach for a casual seawatch with no real targets in mind. The sea was tranquil as was expected, and the only birds seen in any numbers were Gannets and Sandwich Terns. Brian managed to pick out an Arctic Skua a long way out and I picked it out as it passed in front of one of the ships on the horizon. With the sea so quiet we turned our attention to the power station compound. Movement on the compound wall alerted us to two Wheatear and a Whinchat. A Raven was found resting on the top of one of the bui ..read more

Hudsonian Godwits occur very rarely in Britain and the only birds since I began travelling further afield in 2010 have been one in Somerset in 2015 and another individual in Fife in 2020. Fife was never an option and although the Somerset bird remained for ten days we somehow contrived to miss it. Something we have regretted ever since.  Nine years later one is reported at Burton Mere Wetlands in Cheshire on the 13th, although it showed well during the morning, it went missing early afternoon and wasn't seen again. After four days of no sightings, it reappeared again on the 18th. It showe ..read more

I managed to see the Canvasback in November last year, however, the bird remained distant throughout my visit and the viewing location could have been better. It was with a large raft of Common Pochard and we had to try to pick it out as it swam between trees and bushes near the water's edge.  On the 11th of August, a possible drake Canvasback was reported again at Abberton, the next day it was reported again as a "possible" and then later confirmed that evening. Brian was away entertaining the Grandchildren until Friday 16th, so our first opportunity was on his return on Saturday.  ..read more

Brian offered to take me to Blue House Farm this afternoon, and I was happy to accept. We arrived at the small car park off Fambridge Road to find it full, luckily a birder was just returning allowing us to grab his space. I have only visited Blue House Farm Reserve once, probably twenty years ago. Although I did walk to the River Crouch from the car park last year for a Montagu's Harrier. To reach the first hide it's a walk of 1km. The hide is quite small and there was limited space inside when we entered. The main reason for the visit was the hope that the Temminck's stint was still present ..read more

A Franklin's Gull was reported at Crossness early this afternoon. Brian was keen to go but decided to wait for a second sighting as the first gave little detail about the bird's continued presence. When the bird was reported again one hour later, we headed along the A12 towards the Blackwall Tunnel.  The traffic was much heavier than expected approaching the tunnel, and the last eight miles took nearly an hour instead of the usual twenty-five minutes. We decided to park in Lytham Close and walk east along the Thames Path past the sewage works to the outfall, where we were told the bird ha ..read more