#100

My One hundred species for the year arrived yesterday evening in the shape of not one but two 1st summer Mediterranean Gulls feeding mid-river at high tide. below is a poor digiscope shot of one!

Hot Hot Hot....

But the birding's not.....

Saturday and today has been awesome weather wise, so it was very bizzare to find a dark-bellied Brent looking rather out of place in Barking Bay yesterday, also added both Hobby and finally Sand Martin for the year but little else over the weekend with wall to wall sunshine and high temperatures.

Other news is there could be a second Bonaparte's Gull in Bay/Crossness area as RB's bird at the incinerator outfall on Saturday seemed to be sporting some head gear, and today's bird seen by several observers lacking this and looks like last weekend's bird!! hopefuly some pics will sort this out.

Cream Coloured Courser

An after work twitch of which will surely be the biggest bird of the spring for Myself the Monkey (well driven monkey) and Mr Croft across the the country to Herefordshire to Bradnor Hill golf course, where the CREAM-COLOURED COURSER showed very well after the three hour and twenty minute journey!!


Unfortunately only had bins so will leave the pics to the expert's but did manage a couple of Phone-scoped efforts thru Monkey's scope, as the bird fed on the edge of two fairways in some bracken, it was a real treat to watch it running around covering quite some ground.

What a superb bird and certainly bird of the year for me and a welcome tick, having not bothered for the Scilly bird back in 2005 or the Essex bird back in the mid-eighties!!

On way home we found a cracking little Dipper site in the village of Pembridge where a pair showed very well by the bridge.

dipper pics by the Monkey

Not Another Ouzel !!!

Got to the patch at 6am, no sign of the bony at a quick scan so headed for the scrub, freezing north-easterly good job i had my long johns on and gloves !! wouldn't believe were in mid may, nothing doing headed back to the river where a few birder's had assembled, had a chat then walked off towards the car when in came the Bonaparte's Gull (at 08:24) with a single black-head shouted back and we all enjoyed good but brief view's including hanningfields ackers.

Belly rumbling headed off home for some breakfast, back for mid afternoon for a another go at the scrub, nothing doing till i started walking back to the car and stumbled on yet another RING OUZEL on what has been an amazing spring for these on the patch and was probably the 4th of the year.

Bonaparte's Gull on the Patch!!!!

A call from Rich Bonser on the over side of the river saying probable Bonaparte's Gull coming your way had me scanning crossness outfall, as he was at the Incinerator, i picked up the bird on the foreshore on the south side just as John Archer had arrived and before long the three of us were watching this London Mega, only for me a tad distant!! ggggrrrrrrr.

 

After vanishing west after twenty minutes, the bird was later picked up in Barking Bay by eagle eyed bonser as i was checking Barking Outfall, and it was time for the north side of the river to enjoy this dainty little gull from across the pond, the bird a times seemed to display to nearbye black-heads and was even heard calling.

As the tide came in the bird moved of east and was seen flycatching by the small crowd.

What a Cracking bird and well found Mr Bonser and i think only the second record for London?? hopefuly it will stick around for all to enjoy, now of to get very drunk and hopefuly watch West Ham get back in the Premership.

London Melody

Well done to Stewart Fisher for discovering today's London Mega and saving our spring, what a great find in such an urban setting, what are the chances of even finding one on the south coast let alone the streets of Leyton/east london.





bird showed in the large holly at close range tho elusive

The 8th Melodious Warbler for London and the first for twelve years, showed for all that could make the journey.

Big shout out to Kev for keeping dog on them filthy traffic wardens.

All quiet.......

Smashed the Ingrebourne Valley early this morning with little reward, even the nooks and crannies, by mid morning it was obvious that there was nothing new doing so headed home.

Several Garden warbler and Lesser Whitethroat were the highlights as were two Hobby and three Common Buzzard over the North end, nice to catch up with local birder Lee Brown, new to birding and doing the right thing by working the patch. Good luck you will learn alot this way.

Fly thru Turtle

Managed an hour on the patch this morning before work and was rewarded with a fly-thru TURTLE DOVE, not a common bird in London these day's.

Turtle dove   (honest)

Other notables were a big increase in Swifts, still at least half a dozen Wheatears on site, a couple of Yellow Wags over and six each of both Ringed Plover and Dunlin in the bay.

Brick Red Bar-Wits

Still good number of Bar-tailed godwits around in Barking Bay this morning with seventeen birds seen with some cracking summer males, always nice to see to brighten a dull, cold may day!

Further along two Whimbrel and the pair of Whinchat still knocking around, and added both Sedge Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat for the year, but star bird of the day goes to the spanking male COMMON REDSTART, found in the scrub around the mound, unfortunately didn't want to play ball with the camera so look like I will have to give it another go tomorrow!!

Greenshank in the Bay

An hour on the patch was quite productive adding a single Greenshank on the mud, also 3 Common Sandpiper's, 4 Dunlin and singles of both Whimbrel and Ringed Plover.

A fine pair of Whinchat were amongst the Wheatear flock, and 5 Yellow Wagtail flew in from south of the river to join in.