Yesterday as I was wasting my time watching a blue plastic dustbin in Lidlington, a Bluethroat was found at Amwell. I did consider leaving the Lady A site and going to Amwell but my feet had taken root and my negative frame of mind convinced me that the Lady A would appear shortly after I had left and the Bluethroat would decamp shortly before I arrived at Amwell. As it turned out I was wrong on both counts. However, I did make the journey to Amwell early this morning in company of Samuel and Ephraim P. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours at Amwell despite there being no sign of the Bluethroat. Cetti's calling frequently, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Snipe, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Sedge Warbler (my first of 2015) and best of all 2 great looking Black-necked Grebe.
We were all hungry for some more birding so we held a team meeting. Ephraim suggested trying for Black-winged Stilt at Higham Marshes/bight in Kent. No objections from me or big bruv. We tried to get site location from the web on our phones. It seemed that the birds location was very near to Cliffe Pools so we decided to head there then ask for directions to the Alpha Pool. A decent run over to Cliffe Pools and on arrival we asked a couple of birders if they knew where the Alpha Pool was. We followed what turned out to be the wrong directions but this worked in our favour as we encountered some decent birds on our walk; Nightingale (6+ singing), Whitethroat (my first of 2015), Blackcap, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Cetti's Warbler, Wheatear, Ruff. After following some more dodgy directions and encountering several more singing Nightingale and a Corn Bunting, Ephraim decided he knew how to get to the Stilt's location. As we had been given two sets of dodgy directions then one more wouldn't matter would it? After a bit of a hike and through a working gravel pit we eventually reached the raised bank to view some pools. We didn't connect immediately but after some searching 4 Black-winged Stilt were located. We were determined to find the fifth reported bird and after some good team work the fifth and then a sixth bird were located. Fairly worn out by our hiking around Cliffe Pools we decided to head for home.
A great days birding! List of the birds (76) and butterflies (6) we encountered below.
1 : Robin
2 : Wren
3 : Gadwall
4 : Dunnock
5 : Reed Bunting
6 : Sedge Warbler
7 : Mallard
8 : Mute Swan
9 : Willow Warbler
10 : Blackcap
11 : Snipe
12 : Redshank
13 : Oystercatcher
14 : Lapwing
15 : Stock Dove
16 : Wood pigeon
17 : Coot
18 : Moorhen
19 : Canada Goose
20 : Greylag Goose
21 : Grey Heron
22 : Cormorant
23 : Kingfisher
24 : Swallow
25 : Little Egret
26 : Tufted Duck
27 : Black-necked Grebe
28 : Shoveler
29 : Teal
30 : Nuthatch
31 : Great=spotted Woodpecker
32 : Jay
33 : Black-headed Gull
34 : Lesser black-backed Gull
35 : Common Tern
36 : Pheasant
37 : Blackbird
38 : Magpie
39 : Carrion Crow
40 : Blue Tit
41 : Great Tit
42 : Chiffchaff
43 : Cetti's warbler
44 : Green Woodpecker
45 : Collared Dove
46 : Sparrowhawk
47 : Kestrel
48 : Buzzard
49 : Starling
50 : Goldfinch
51 : Jackdaw
52 : Pied Wagtail
53 : House Sparrow
54 : Wigeon
55 : Greenfinch
56 : Avocet
57 : Black-tailed Godwit
58 : Nightingale
59 : Wheatear
60 : Common Sandpiper
61 : Dunlin
62 : Skylark
63 : Ruff
64 : Greenshank
65 : Ringed Plover
66 : Meadow Pipit
67 : Black-winged Stilt
68 : Whitethroat
69 : Corn Bunting
70 : Linnet
71 : Herring Gull
72 : Shelduck
73 : Little Grebe
74 : Water Rail
75 : Great Crested Grebe
76 : Long-tailed Tit
1 : Brimstone
2 : Peacock
3 : Small Tortoiseshell
4 : Speckled Wood
5 : Small White
6 : Orange Tip
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