dip monkey returns - but a rosy finish to the day.

Yes the Dip-Monkey is back, Blowmonkey and Dirty Dick pick me up at six and we head to Burnham Overy in search of yesterdays Arctic Warbler, on arriving just after 8am we head down the track and small skeins of Pinkfeet are already inn and on the move the sound of beardies pinging in near bye reed beds and some flyover Yellow Wagtails are about all we can muster.

No sign of the warbler we head to Titchwell where we saw nothing bar a few waders a distant Arctic Skua harassing terns and a single Long-tailed duck.

On the way back to the car we find a small crowd watching a Convolvulus Hawkmoth on a fence post which is only my second ever and was a tick for the Monkey.

Nothing else doing we head home and just as we reach the M25 a call from John Archer having found a couple of Roseate Terns on the river Thames at crossness outfall was a welcome Barking patch tick, a superb adult bird with just a slight white forehead but full tail streamers and accompanied with a 1st winter bird, what a great find, well done John.

WRYNECK on the patch (in your face shetland!)

Got to the patch at 9am this morning and straight away was rewarded with a singing Cetti's Warbler in the cemex ditch, a year and patch tick after ringing Dave Mo who was also on site we meet on the river path and scanning the shoreline i picked up a distant wader which looked very much like a Knot.

Closer examination reveal it is a Knot and another patch tick added we watched the bird feeding before the tide moved it on.

Walking back east me and mo split as i head off towards the scrub and i turn to dave to say I'm off in search of a wryneck! dave chuckles and heads along the river path, literally 5 minutes later i am watching some Starlings chomping on blackberry's when another bird catches my eye buffy brown job moving through the brambles i move a little closer watching the excact spot, and i say to myself wryneck surely not, not on them views then again a birds pops out on the side of the brambles and before raising my bins was thinking oh a wheatear, SHIT ITS A FUCKING WRYNECK.....A FUCKING WRYNECK.... i grab the camera and fire of twenty shots before what looked like it dropped down , heart racing i ring the Mo who instantly comes over but for fruitless search we are unable to locate it again! lets hope it gives itself up in the next day or so.

Walking back to the car other birds around are 2 Whinchat, 2 Wheatear and 2 showy Hobby's.

No THYANKS

OK probably made the worst decision of the year so far by not going Cornwall for the weekend and day twitching the scillies!!! never mind there only birds i keep telling myself, before crying....

Anyway Saturday me, monkey, shaunboy and dirty dick twitched the short trip to the other side of Essex for only my second PALLID HARRIER which showed nicely through the scope with the help of a local birder/farmer and the aid of a 4x4.

Sunday still crying, i visit the patch aka Barking Bay and find Dave Mo already in position and added two patch year ticks, Common Buzzard that flew low north and a Little Egret that flew east along the Thames plus good local birds included both Arctic and Black Terns, Bar-tailed godwit, Hobby and three Whinchat, not a bad haul for 90mins birding.

Common Buzzard

Vegetarian sparrowhawk

Sabine's Gull on KGV

A London Sabines Gull is alway's special and this stonking adult no exception my first since half a dozen brought in by the Hurricane in october 1987.

A Day in Cornwall

Me Shaunboy and the Monkey travel overnight to Porthgwarra for hopefuly a good seawatch, with a strong south-westerly forcast we arrive at gwennap head at first light and shortly after arriving are treated to good views of both Sooty and Balearic Shearwater's along side the regular Manx passage and just before mid-day connect with a Great Shearwater well inside the runnel stone.

shaun and monkey are choughed with there pics!



After lunch the weather clears and we move on having added both Arctic and Bonxie in double figures and smaller numbers of both storm petrel and Puffin, as we head towards drift reservoir where 4 pec sands have been showing, news on the pager that the Black Kite has been showing in the pollgiga area we turn around and ater a wild goose chase find the bird hawking over a tractor which is ploughing! superb views through bins and scope but just alittle bit distant for the camera.

black kite

Finaly we arrive at drift where we catch sight of two pec's in flight, but are treated to stonking views of a single bird along side a single Dunlin.

please note no birds were injured or flushed during fieldcraft.


















Before heading home we try the Hayle Estury for the buff breast but unfortunately it had moved but what a great place to see waders at high tide.