Rainham Marshes 2nd Jan

Well I have decided that I must put the clock radio alarm on on Sunday or I will not drag myself out of bed early.
Meant to be there (RM) at early opening....nope so didn't worry!

Left just before 10 and arrived at 11 - knew Penduline Tits had showed this am
- serin 1 had been seen early -

well short story I dipped again! The birds PT had been seen, then they flew away but had not been enough time for most to take pics and certainly not the fantastic ones from the 1st!

Then there was no sign again...we looked and we searched and searched I met up with Paul Jnr and Paul (Dad)...we birded together in companiable silence and occasionally conversation...but often - Snipe son...where? or did you say a Pintail? where? (me)
Theres a raptor up there(Dad) - I got on it with my scope - a Peregrine!
They had light weight travel scope...so my scope was jolly useful and birders all around were sneaking a peek!
Got my pintail.(thanks to Dad relocating it!)
..wonder if Paul jrn ever saw the snipe...they kept flying but where he wasn't looking!

saw all sorts of little reedy birds....including this delightful Chiffchaff!

no PT....

so when a dip is on what do you do go look at gulls and Rainham has planty!

Soon Common Gull added and Yellow-legged gulls as well....seeking a Caspian well if there was one it was amidst 1000's !


Very cold now and light falling.....its about 1...or so...cuppa tea? good idea...
well we got separated as you do and I found some siskins merrily singing or calling away!

Then hallo we met up again and shared coffee/tea and cakes!

Some Essex birders chatted away all very friendly.

They decided to go back for another hour (but no more reports of PT were on the pagers!) I changed my mind and headed home!Saw PT reported at 11.20 - couldn't have been then as we were looking then!

Great driving conditions today...home just over the hour...

I think total today was 21 new birds.

Thats about 60 in two days....not the 200 some wag text me today! got your 200 yet?

haha obviously quality birding over speedy birding!

Bird of the Day on the first - Rough-legged Buzzard
the second - Peregrine

A new year means I look again at usual birds that I see often. The first Reed Bunting, a female but you look again. Lesson for this year if seeking my own rares look once twice and thrice at each bird!

This is going to be a busy year - politically this year and next! So I shall have to ration the birding selectively.
Bob is back from Espana by end of next week so we will have to think where we go birding over the next few weekends.....Sussex,Kent,The Home Counties and longer trips to Norfolk,The Forest of Dean and I think Dorset and West Wales....
perhaps even Cornwall? Who knows .....depends on time and what birds are about as well as finding our own!
Local patches need to be watched as well as the BOU tetrads......oh and that garden needs to have some more wildlife friendly shrubs added.