With the wonders of the wet weekend long past we have settled back into some wonderful sunny, warm weather that is great for all you visitors but slows down the migration action somewhat!
Yellow Wagtails have been a feature of this week with many birds moving through, often invisible at some height as they fly over calling. It is worth checking the cattle as some birds have been down and trepidatiously running among those great big hooves!
Hobbies and Marsh Harriers have been a daily feature with up to eight of the former hawking for hawkers over the marsh. Great stuff and well worth getting out of bed for!
Wader wise we have had a difficult week with the the tides againgst us so early morning has been best before the birds move on. This morning there were four Black-tailed Godwits, nine Greenshank and a couple of Redshank and Snipe on Purfleet Scrape and a Spotted Redshank briefly on Aveley Pools. There waas no sign of the Curlew Sandpiper that had been seen on Purfleet from Monday to Thursday (infact there were five on Monday!)
Juv Curlew Sandpiper (Brenda Clayton)
There have been several Wheatears and Whinchats around and both Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroats have been in the Cordite Woodland as well as our first Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn today.
Spot Fly (Jim Willett)
30-8-13
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