I teamed up with Adrian S early morning then we were accompanied by attendees of the CFBW's Spring Migration Tour for a mooch around the patch. Few migrants were around but we managed a
Wheatear, a
Mistle Thrush and a
Pied Wagtail of note at the farm, along with fly-overs of six
Cormorants and five
Mallards. Eight
Whitethroats and three
Treecreepers were counted. Two
Bullfinches showed nicely at Heathside and four
Yellowhammers performed well. In Banstead Woods, we found a pair of
Nuthatches lining teir nest and heard another
Treecreeper. A
Whitethroat in the Harholt Plantation is notable these days, and two
Bullfinches were there.
I took my old schoolfriend Panos to Rainham Marshes in the afternoon to introduce him to some birding. It was a rewarding outing and he loved it. The pick of our sightings included a
Greenshank, seven
Whimbrel, three
Ruffs, two
Common Sandpipers, two
Marsh Harriers, two
Bearded Reedlings, two
Common Terns, my first
Swift of the year and several
Reed,
Sedge and
Cetti's Warblers.
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| Greenshank at Rainham Marshes |
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| Whimbrel (centre) with Redshank and Greenshank (right) at Rainham Marshes |
