The Juvenile Birder

Scoring Close to Home! Day 1 I managed to find a new patch which had a more diverse habitat and more accessibility than my last one. We arrived at our new and improved patch (Carr House Green Common) at 6:00am. Looking at the Fylde Bird Club website, we saw recent sightings of Grasshopper Warbler, along with Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat. As soon as we arrived, I spotted a Whitethroat singing in a tree right next to the layby which we had parked at. We then continued along one of the footpaths, spotting a singing  Sedge Warbler  and a flyover Shelduck . Suddenly, I heard a loud, reeling sound. It was the distinctive call of a Grasshopper Warbler. We searched for it and within a few seconds, I spotted a small, brown bird with a yellowy chest perched up on a bush. It was indeed a Grasshopper Warbler . The bird was incredibly showy and was only a few metres away. We enjoyed watching it for ages, and it was relentlessly singing. Satisfied with our views, we moved on. We walked jus...

 Rare Warblers and Rare Starlings! (record shot by birder next to us) We first went to RSPB Langford Lowfields (see post named Hobbies Hawking and Bitterns Booming and.., FLYING! for location pin) at 6:00pm in hopes of catching a glimpse of the rare Great Reed Warbler. We met someone called Andy on the way there and when we arrived at the Beach Hut, we could see a group of people by Phase 1 to the right of the hut. When we arrived, there were a frenzy of birders. The bird was singing loudly in the patch of reeds in front of us. At one point, we even heard it directly beneath us. We thought we got a glimpse of it as it flew towards an island and back though it could've easily been a common Eurasian Reed Warbler. We waited for about an hour until the someone finally spotted the bird. We rushed down and saw amazingly close views of it as it sung away in the reeds. Besides it were two Eurasian Reed Warblers trying to chase it away from its nest that was nearby. The bird was huge compar...

 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.