The Juvenile Birder

The Only Way Was Essex Image by Kristian Wade We set off at 2.00am and took Carl and Kristian with us. We arrived at Heybridge at around 7:00am. We walked towards a silhouette of birders all crowded round the sluice. I managed to squeeze through the crowd and get a front row seat. I waited patiently with the others in absolute silence. Suddenly, the bird came into view. At first, I couldn't spot it, but thankfully a kind man helped me get onto the Northern Waterthrush . I was delighted with my   point blank views of. Unfortunately my camera wasn't choosing to work at this golden moment. I also didn't have my scope on me, so I was unable to get any images of the bird. Nevertheless, I managed to get amazing views of the bird at close range. Satisfied with our views, we then headed off to Abberton Reservoir. We arrived at Abberton at around 9.00aam. We scanned both sides of Layer Breton Causeway first, seeing a few Egyptian Geese , Shoveler & Goldeneye , but not much else....

Small Bird, Mighty Twitch We arrived at Linford Lakes NR early morning at around 7:00am in hopes of seeing a Little Crake. We had to queue at the reserve gates, as the hides to view the Little Crake were full. After a few minutes, we were guided towards a bank, which provided more distant views of the section of reedbed where the Little Crake had favoured. Since we didn't have our tripod on us, the kind warden let me use his. Soon after, he received a call saying that the Warbler Hide had two spaces available. Since we didn't have a tripod, the warden let us have the space, so we made our way to the hide. Once at the hide, we took a seat and waited in the freezing cold. After around two hours, I was frozen solid. Even with a coat, my hands and feet were numb. On the lake  there were three Great Crested Grebes  fishing, as well as two Egyptian Geese  and a few Great White Egrets . One by one, the birders left the hide, defeated. After most of the people in the hide had lef...

The Last of My 2022 Birding Shenanigans! We arrived at Elmley NNR (5hrs away) at 10:30am in hopes of seeing Penduline Tits. When we arrived, we walked down a path that lead to where the Penduline Tits were last reported. We saw lots of Golden Plovers , Lapwings , and Curlew along the way to the Penduline Tits. Halfway along the path, we then got a call from Rob (@RobsBirding) who said the Penduline Tit was showing well further up. I then ran dangerously towards where the Penduline Tits were seen and met up with Evan (a young warden there) and Rob who let me look through his scope directed at the Penduline Tit ! I enjoyed watching it as it flit from one branch to another.  After getting good views and a digiscoped image of it, we went to the old ruins to try to see a Dartford Warbler, which Evan had found a week ago, that was still showing. We did a quick scan but to no avail. We then said goodbye to Evan and we went to Oare Marshes KWT in hopes of seeing our next target. We ar...

 Spotted Redshank and Egyptian Geese! We arrived at 5:30pm in hopes of seeing Spotted Redshanks and Ruddy Shelducks. We first walked round the back of the mere but didn't see much other than a Water Vole crossing the path briefly. We then stopped at Reedbed Screen where we saw two Reed Warblers as they defended their territory. We then arrived at Marsh Covert Hide. I asked someone who let me look through their scope to see a distant, yet stunning Spotted Redshank in summer plumage as it waded and foraged along a strip of green weeds. Also present was a stonking Ruff in breeding plumage, showing brown and blue colouration. On our way back, I saw a bird as it flapped its wings on the back of the mere. At first I thought it was a Ruddy Shelduck but upon closer examination I identified it as an Egyptian Goose, a first for me. A brilliant way to end then day.