The Juvenile Birder

Another Showy Shrike! We arrived at RSPB Bempton Cliffs at around 8:30am in hopes of seeing yet another mega shrike. We were accompanied by Carl and Kristian, who had given us a lift. We joined the crowd and waited only a few minutes when a large, sandy bird came into view midway up the bush. It was our target bird, the Daurian Shrike ! The bird then decided to reveal itself in all its glory and sat up on top of the bush, giving spectacular views.  Since this bird was a 1st winter, it had been ruled as an Isabelline Shrike sp, meaning it could either be Daurian (which would be a lifer) or a Turkestan (which I had seen two years ago, also at Bempton) Shrike. However, based off of its extremely sandy plumage, it is very likely that it is a Daurian Shrike. Satisfied with our glorious views, we made our way down to Flamborough Head to try and find a bogey bird of mine.  As soon as we arrived at Flamborough Head, we made our way over to Motorway Hedge, where 3 Firecrests (a bi...

 Magic at the Marsh! A bad record shot of a Peregrine We arrived at RSPB Marshside at around 2:30pm, and immediately set off to the sandplant in hopes of seeing some interesting raptors. Once we had arrived at the sandplant, we met two friendly local birders. After a few minutes of searching, I spotted a small, dark raptor with a distinctive white rump. A ringtail Hen Harrier  flew distantly above the marsh, spooking a flock of Lapwing before it dropped down near the estuary. A few minutes later, it was up again. This time, it continued further and further away from us, until it was out of sight. Then, one birder spotted a Peregrine distantly on a log. It was in the exact same place I saw my first Peregrine on my first visit here back in 2021! I managed to get a horrible record shot of it, before it flew off. I then noticed a small raptor close in on a post. A stunning male Sparrowhawk was perched on a fence, allowing for some nice digiscoped record shots.  Another birde...

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....

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...

Fast & Furious Ticks! We started the day at Easington at 7:00am (no light yet!) in hopes of seeing a Red-flanked Bluetail and an Olive-backed Pipit. We met up with Phil and searched behind The White Horse for the Olive-backed Pipit (OBP) that roosted yesterday. There, we also met Dave, who said the RFB along Vicars Lane was easier to see than the one at the Playing Fields. So we walked down there with Phil and waited. A few minutes later, we got a brief glimpse of it hovering before it dashed out of view.  The Red-flanked Bluetail showed again, but this time it was out in the open on a patch of seeds. Satisfied with getting good views, and a record shot, of the RFB on the driveway, we turned our attention back to the OBP, as Phil's friend rang up saying that the OBP had been seen. We walked back to The White Horse, but when we showed up, no birders were there. I was a bit confused until an RBA message popped up, saying something about the OBP being on a rooftop, south of the ...