There is an 'f' in fog... Oare Marshes: 28 November 2020

Having enjoyed some fun wader photography at Oare Marshes KWT a week or so ago, I was eager to head back this weekend to indulge myself just that little bit further...

An early (ish) start would get me to Oare Marshes two hours before the incoming tide would cover the Point, overlooked by the coastal hide. Michael Fish said the weather would be cloudy with sunny spells and a 7mph breeze - perfect! Three green traffic lights in a row and I knew the ornithological gods were on my side - I was in for a treat!

REALITY ALERT: Why the f*** I bothered this morning I don't know! Michael Fish, or at least his 2020 counterpart, had got it very wrong... Far from being cloudy with sunny spells, we had f***** fog so f****** thick I couldn't see the f****** road, let along find f****** colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwits or something more interesting...

Having published a few images recently in black and white, I must be honest - THE FOLLOWING PICTURES ARE ALL IN THEIR GLORIOUS ORIGINAL TECHNICOLOR - Enjoy!  (Note: I didn't!)

Waders in the effin fog!

Marsh Harrier in the fog...

Common Snipe - lost in the fog...

Red-breasted Mergansers (pair) - navigating in the fog...

Great Crested Grebe - trying to search for food in the fog...

Reed Bunting - Cheesed-off with the fog...

Reed Bunting - different from the one above, but light naff coz of the fog

Stonechat - almost looking colourful in the fog...

Miserable Robin

Gloomy Stonechat

Stunning Cetti's Warbler (in the fog)

Cetti's Warbler - crippling, but foggy, views...

Starlings by fog-light...

Drake Teal - honest...

Avocets - beautiful eh?

I bet John Clements is f****** glad he didn't 'exercise (birding IS exercise!) with me in the f****** fog today!

Note to self: the point at Oare Marshes KWT get covered exactly two hours before high-tide... Therefore, must arrive three hours before high tide in f****** future...!!!

Crag Martin at Kingsdown: 24 Nov 2020

Managed an early lunch break to pop and see the Crag Martin that is entertaining birders at Kingsdown. My second UK record - a cool 21 years since the Swithland Reservoir bird ... 

This time, armed with my camera, I was able to take a few holiday snaps...

Glossy Ibis and a few friends at Dungeness; 21 Nov 2020

 Almost thirty years ago (23/12/90) my father drove down from Cambs to visit me for a Sunday's birding trip in Kent - neither of us had seen a Glossy Ibis before, so we headed to Stodmarsh in the hope of catching up with the incredibly long stayer that was regularly viewed from the Lampen Wall. 

I can still vividly recall seeing the Ibis fly in and land on a small island - I borrowed another birder's scope (I have no idea why) and put it on the Ibis which was clambering up a small willow on the island. Eager to get Dad on the bird, I ask the scope owner if he minded if Dad could see it next. "Of course!" was the reply and Dad duly moved round and got excellent views of this southern wanderer. Having had his fill, Dad moved away for the scope owner to then enjoy the same view - which he did, minus the Ibis which had walked or flown off and was never seen again...!

Glossy Ibis - Dungeness RSPB entrance track

I tend not to run around for 'seconds', but have made a few half-arsed attempts at seeing more UK Glossy Ibis, especially in Kent - and, somewhat embarrassingly, I have missed every single one! 

Glossy Ibis - Dungeness RSPB entrance track

Today, the Ibis gods aligned and one of the first birds I clapped eyes on when I arrived at Dunge was this long-staying bird - phew! Only on show for thirty seconds, the bird then took off and flew to a nearby ditch before landing out of sight. Still, at least I'd had my luck and a few record shots to boot.

A few other bits of the day included lots of super-fast Golden Plover, some very smart Wigeon and a late Common Darter.

Glossy Ibis - Dungeness RSPB

Common Darter - Dungeness (Trapping area)

Wigeon - Rye Harbour Nature Researve

Little Egret - Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Golden Plover: Dungeness RSPB

Herring Gull - Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

In Oare of Avocets - and a few other bits... 19/11/20

 Passing Oare Marshes KWT today...I popped in for a few cheeky snaps while the tide was rising.

Curlew

Shelduck

Dunlin

Avocet

Bar-tailed Godwit

Pied Wagtail

Dunlin

Turnstone

Avocet

Black-tailed Godwits

Avocet

Dark-bellied Brent Geese (adult on left, with two youngsters)

Snipe

Curlew at Oare Marshes KWT: 19 Nov 2020

A couple of Curlew at Oare Marshes did the right thing and gave themselves up during my visit...

Sleek and elegant ...

Or a big lump!

Brent Geese at Oare Marshes KWT: 19 Nov 2020

A brief visit to Oare Marshes at lunchtime enabled just a little bit of bird photography... A fly-by group of Dark-bellied Brent Geese followed later by a family group of an adult (left) and two youngsters (the other two), made the visit a little treat.

Sparrowhawk at East Malling

A very smart immature male Sparrowhawk in the orchards at work this morning - an unexpectedly pleasant way to start the last day before lockdown number two!

That Red-backed Shrike at St Mary's Bay!

Spent a splent wee while visting the long-staying Red-backed Shrike at St Mary's Bay today. A confiding beast that does its best to show off to the region's enthusistic photographers. Out of 'many' snaps taken, the following are my favourite...

Black Redstart, East Malling Research Station - 23 October 2020

An amusing WhatsApp message from Mike Puxley alerted me to the presence of a male Black Redstart on a building in East Malling. I say 'amusing', as the building in question is my office building - initially, I couldn't quite work out where the picture had been taken, so ventured out from the offce to search for likely candidate buildings... After ten minutes of wandering around site, I realised that it was, indeed, the EMB Building at EMRS that was in Mike's picture. Not only was that 'my' office block, but the bird was only twenty feet from my office window... Thanks for the info Mike!

Rufous Bush-chat in Norfolk: A myth no more

Rufous Bush-chat: to a non-birder, it’s nothing more than a little brown job (LBJ) that would warrant no particular attention. To birders in southern Europe, it is nice to see – but nothing very special. To northern European birders, a Rufous Bush-chat is an ultra-rare bird to see. For British birders, a Rufous Bush-chat is something more than very special… The last, and only, twitchable Rufous Bush-chat in the UK was a trapped adult male, was seen in the grounds of Butlin’s at Skegness from 2-9 September 1963 – and that’s over 57 years ago!!! But, for me, its rise to near-mythical levels has been, in no small part, to an article in an early issue of Birding World. Written by Ron Johns, the story takes the avid reader through those early twitching days – hearing about the bird after a lengthy delay, arranging to get from North Norfolk to Skegness, searching for the bird, eventually giving up and then hearing that the bird was actually still present days later. To add further insult to injury, the bird was trapped and ringed, with a fantastic image (by Barrie Wilkinson) of the bird in the hand, there for ever-lasting proof. There has been sniffs of near-mythical UK records of Rufous Bush-chat, but none had ever given themselves up to the masses of would-be observers. At 7.26am today, the pager (yes, they do still exist, much to the amusement of my so-called friends…) brough news of a Rufous Bush-chat in North Norfolk!! Really? Really, really? A real proper Rufous Bush-chat on a Saturday morning in the UK? Yesterday’s attire reattired and the kids’ breakfast delivered, I was on the M20 less than 20 minutes after the bird was found. The drive to Stiffkey on the north Norfolk coast was…positive: shortly after 10am I was trying to find a parking space and a few minutes after that I was greeting Mike Sidwell before heading out on to the salt marsh. A few slips and slides later I was greeting Justin Lansdell and his fellow Canary-loving crew - a few minutes after that, the Rufous Bush-chat was on show. Bins and scope views (thanks to Matthew Shore for the latter) enjoyed – Rufous Bush-chat had finally fallen! As an aside: After seeing the target bird, I popped round the corner to Holme in the hope of mopping-up a Red-flanked Bluetail (I failed in a brief stop, but was pleased to meet up with Carl and Tania Chapman – not having seen Carl in the field for a decade or two or three). In 1993 I had visited north Norfolk to see an Olive-backed Pipit, before the incredible news of the UK mainland twitchable Red-flanked Bluetail at Winspit, Dorset. Strange that 27 years later, the bluetail is now the mop-up bird with up to four available at Holme this weekend.

photo credits: Matthew Shore (As I saw it!); Barrie Wilkinson (Skegness bird from 1963); @Probableroller1 for the final stunning image - thanks folks!