Alan Hobson
Well-known member
Dartford Warblers, a Spoonbill, a Curlew Sandpiper, and a day total of 69 - just some of the enjoyable moments from an excellent weekend's birding.
The slight difference from normal being that my mother, who is nearly 70 and a keen (and good!) birder, was down for this particular birding weekend.
Within minutes of her arrival at my flat on Friday teatime, we were off [who needs food?] to my local patch, the scrubland/woods opposite me. Most of the rest of the country seemed to be in rain, from reports, but happily north-east London was in bright sunshine!
Some of you may remember a previous thread I did on the elusive Bullfinches near me, but we managed to pick up them, Blackcaps, Chiff-chaffs and Willow Warbler....
After a good night's sleep in my [hastily tidied!] flat, off we journeyed on Saturday for a remarkable day, mainly at Welney. I'm sure some of you get even more than a day total of 69 [would have been 70 if I had looked a bit harder for that Jay we heard!], but it's certainly my best ever.
Excellent views of the Spoonbill, with other highlights including the Curlew Sandpiper, Avocets, Yellow Wagtails, the last few Whooper Swans, Little Ringed Plovers [at point blank range], Tree Sparrows, Common Tern, Black-tailed Godwits [in near summer plumage] and Ruff.
Alas, the long resident Bewick's Swan, permanently resident there for nearly 20 years after being injured and unable to migrate, died during the winter. Hopefully its mention here serves as a tribute of sorts.
We also saw good views of the Stone-curlews and Woodlarks at Weeting Heath, and Grey Partridges at a reliable field for them in the wilds of west Norfolk.
The weather had remained sunny throughout the day, despite grim news elsewhere (my girlfriend told me it rained all day in Yorkshire). However, the next day brought the rain at last, and wind. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the Grasshopper Warblers weren't showing at Two Tree Island, Essex. However, we did pick up a Wheatear, Knot, Ringed Plovers, Avocets, Turnstones, Whitethroats and Black-tailed Godwits.
Despite heavy rain, we braved it on to Surrey [after a return to my flat for a pit-stop] and arrived at Thursley Common. With some trepidation, due to rain and Dartford Warblers not being an obvious mix (though the wind had gone, thankfully), we set off. And, within a few hundred yards, we had the remarkable experience of seeing first Stonechats [great views] then Dartford Warblers [ditto], then Redpoll, all in the same place. Especially amazing since normally I have to go much further there into the hinterland before catching the Dartfords. The bright yellow gorse looked stunning as well, as did the raindrops glistening on the branches....A great end to a day which had an unpromising start.
My mum has returned, very satisfied, to Yorkshire, and I'm back here at work. But with memories of a really enjoyable weekend, a new personal best for day total, and a year list of 165.
So despite the dodgy weather we've had for much of this year, its proving to be a bumper birding year so far for me - and for my mum!
The slight difference from normal being that my mother, who is nearly 70 and a keen (and good!) birder, was down for this particular birding weekend.
Within minutes of her arrival at my flat on Friday teatime, we were off [who needs food?] to my local patch, the scrubland/woods opposite me. Most of the rest of the country seemed to be in rain, from reports, but happily north-east London was in bright sunshine!
Some of you may remember a previous thread I did on the elusive Bullfinches near me, but we managed to pick up them, Blackcaps, Chiff-chaffs and Willow Warbler....
After a good night's sleep in my [hastily tidied!] flat, off we journeyed on Saturday for a remarkable day, mainly at Welney. I'm sure some of you get even more than a day total of 69 [would have been 70 if I had looked a bit harder for that Jay we heard!], but it's certainly my best ever.
Excellent views of the Spoonbill, with other highlights including the Curlew Sandpiper, Avocets, Yellow Wagtails, the last few Whooper Swans, Little Ringed Plovers [at point blank range], Tree Sparrows, Common Tern, Black-tailed Godwits [in near summer plumage] and Ruff.
Alas, the long resident Bewick's Swan, permanently resident there for nearly 20 years after being injured and unable to migrate, died during the winter. Hopefully its mention here serves as a tribute of sorts.
We also saw good views of the Stone-curlews and Woodlarks at Weeting Heath, and Grey Partridges at a reliable field for them in the wilds of west Norfolk.
The weather had remained sunny throughout the day, despite grim news elsewhere (my girlfriend told me it rained all day in Yorkshire). However, the next day brought the rain at last, and wind. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the Grasshopper Warblers weren't showing at Two Tree Island, Essex. However, we did pick up a Wheatear, Knot, Ringed Plovers, Avocets, Turnstones, Whitethroats and Black-tailed Godwits.
Despite heavy rain, we braved it on to Surrey [after a return to my flat for a pit-stop] and arrived at Thursley Common. With some trepidation, due to rain and Dartford Warblers not being an obvious mix (though the wind had gone, thankfully), we set off. And, within a few hundred yards, we had the remarkable experience of seeing first Stonechats [great views] then Dartford Warblers [ditto], then Redpoll, all in the same place. Especially amazing since normally I have to go much further there into the hinterland before catching the Dartfords. The bright yellow gorse looked stunning as well, as did the raindrops glistening on the branches....A great end to a day which had an unpromising start.
My mum has returned, very satisfied, to Yorkshire, and I'm back here at work. But with memories of a really enjoyable weekend, a new personal best for day total, and a year list of 165.
So despite the dodgy weather we've had for much of this year, its proving to be a bumper birding year so far for me - and for my mum!
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