GND, BNG, LRP but Dick's Pipit RIP

Sat 21st March 2015
Met up with Paul F at Maple Lodge. Song Thrush singing as I left my house and another at Maple Lodge car park. First stop was Staines Reservoirs. A couple of flyover Ring-necked Parakeets on route. At the res's lots of Shelduck and my first Little-ringed Plover of the year. We stayed for a while had a bit of a chat with some local birders. Quite a sociable lot  the "Staines Massive!". Most noteworthy sighting at Staines were; Black-necked Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Little Ringed Plover, Wheatear, Rock Pipit, Water Pipit, Redshank, Grey Wagtail. From Staines we headed off to Newhaven, East Sussex and the Ouse Estuary Project. Our target bird here was Richard's Pipit. We joined a handful of other birders and it was not too long before someone called the Richard's Pipit sitting on a wire fence. We had some decent scope views before it flew and was lost to view. Then another brief sighting of the bird on the ground before being lost to view once more. We stayed for a while chatting about our next move and luckily for us the Richard's Pipit flew past in front of where we were standing and landed on the bank about 30 yards away. We managed to put some newly arrived birders on the bird before heading off to nearby Newhaven Beach. No real reason for heading to Newhaven Beach but we were pleasantly surprised at the amount of Fulmar there. From Newhaven we headed back towards home. We stopped at West Hyde near Maple Cross to look for Corn Bunting but no luck there. From Maple Lodge Paul headed home for some beer and rugby but I decided to have a look for Green Sandpiper at Scotsbridge Mill. No luck, Little Egret and a pair of  Grey Wagtail the best I could do. On our journey back from East Sussex, Paul Lewis had kindly phoned to say he had found a Little-ringed Plover at Stockers Farm. My last birding of the day was at Stockers Farm where I enjoyed some nice scope views of Paul Lewis's Little-ringed Plover. Some sad news about the Richard's Pipit as Birdguides reported the following; "Richard's Pipit sadly picked off by a Sparrowhawk while in an altercation with a Reed Bunting at Ouse Estuary Project" It would appear this happened about half an hour after we left. Eyewitness account http://naturalworldnotes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/richards-pipit-raptors-repast.html