Pom Skua's East Tilbury 21/11/14

Today's Essex high tide survey site produced a good mix of wildfowl & waders.  Both Eider and Merganser were seen alongside Pintail and Brent in small numbers upriver, and an increase in Avocet and Dunlin with smaller numbers of Grey Plover and Bar-wits.

Several Little gulls passed through over high tide, as did two POMARINE SKUA which sheered upriver causing brief panic amongst the roosting waders before carrying on upriver.

The Corn Bunting flock now increasing to forty birds were the only noteworthy passerines.

Desert Wheatear Reculver towers 9/11/14

Amazingly this was my second bird at this site in exactly the same spot, the first being a male back in 1997 (i think), Today's bird performed just as that bird did back then, but today i am armed with a camera!

The bird was actively feeding along the seawall and with patience aloud close viewing with the bird approaching us rather than the other away around.

Black Redstart was also on show around the oyster farm, and a single SHORELARK accompanied several snow buntings down by coldharbour lagoon.

Raven Pics

With myself and several of us patch workers catching with Raven locally at Rainham Marshes RSPB reserve of late, i thought i would share some pics of birds i caught up with on Shetland last month.

Raven is still a fairly rare bird for the London recording area, but like Common Buzzard are becoming more frequent, this pair were seen at Quendale after seeing my 3rd Lanceolated warbler in the UK.