Back to peculiar weather with rain and then drizzle during the morning followed by a few spots and distant downpours in the afternoon. Never seemed to warm up till about 4pm! Anyway, quite a bit of early morning wader activity with Lapwings, two Snipe and two Green Sandpipers on the Purfleet Scrape but no sign of the two Turnstones seen yesterday morning. One however was seen a little later in Aveley Bay in the company of 15 Dunlin, three Ringed plovers, three Avocets and nine Oystercatchers.
Turnstone & Dunlin (Andy Tweed)
Ten Whimbrel were also seen and amazingly seven of then had been seen by me over Barking heading in the direction of the reserve at 0650. They arrived in front of Andy about fifteen minutes later! Both female and juvenile Marsh Harriers were seen again and a Sparrowhawk spent the day picking off Starlings out on the marsh. Two Grey Seals were seen in the river and a few Swifts and Martins passed through. Two young Cuckoos were seen yesterday around the woodland but not today.
31-7-12
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer