Just a Bit of Fun Quiz week 10 Answer plus New " Mystery Bird "

Woodlark

Last weeks "Mystery Bird " was in fact a Woodlark seen in  in 2011 , a very big well done to all correct entries and there were : Ephraim P , Chidders , Ellis  , Ben M and Miguel Rodriguez Esteban.

Unlucky those with wrong answer and many thanks for having a go . 

Here is this weeks new " Mystery Bird ".

" Mystery Bird " ??????

If you fancy a go just leave your answer in the comments and i will reveal the correct answer and entries next Saturday , thanks for having a go and remember its just a bit of fun.

Spotted Crake at Grove Ferry

A short visit to Grove Ferry Bank holiday Monday produced distant views of a juv. Spotted Crake on the back of the main pool , it was quite elusive most of the time but did show now and again , it was spooked by a juv. Water Rail at one point and the size difference was very notable.

Also present was a fantastic Wryneck feeding along the path just past the Feast hide , it spent most of its time feeding on the ground giving great views through the scope , this was a great find by Martyn Wilson and Chiddy. Sorry for the lack of photos in this post .

There is still time to take part in this weeks quiz if you fancy it , just leave your answer in the comments .

Mystery bird ?????

I will reveal correct answers tomorrow ( Saturday ).

Norfolk Stars Again........Lifer plus Year Tick

4 Curlew Sandpipers at Cley in  2011.

Taking advantage of the bank holiday weekend i  headed to Norfolk on Sunday 25th August with several target birds on offer , i called into Cley by the Teal hide in the hope of connecting with Icterine Warbler, there was already a small gathering of birders at this site , the Icky was being very elusive , i was fairly certain i saw it fly to a small bush south of the willows , however i did not get enough of it to be sure , after a while i headed into the hides and had some great views of 16 + Curlew Sandpipers , these are really smart little waders .

Black Tailed Godwit.

The above Black Tailed Godwit showed well close to the hide .   

Wryneck at Salthouse.

I decided to head to Salthouse and hopefully see the Wryneck that had been there all morning and after about half an hour i connected with this super bird , it was perched on a fence post for a short while before landing on the ground feeding on ants .

Another pic of the Wryneck .

I added several migrants from here including 2 Whinchats , Spotted Flycatcher and a single Pied Flycatcher. .After some lunch i decided to head to Burnham Overy Staith as there had been a Greenish Warbler reported there , well after a 2 mile walk i was on site and within minutes i was having fantastic views of this amazing Greenish Warbler , now i had very very poor views of one in 2011 and have been battling with my conscience ever since if i should add it to my life list and although i did it has never sat that comfortable with me , well now after these full scope views i can now put my hand on my heart and add this smart warbler to my list with a clear conscience .

Note the long supercillium.

small wing bar.

yellowish bill plus long supercillium .

 The Greenish Warbler was constantly calling and was a real joy to watch , i probably watched this bird for a good 45 minutes , other birds of note here were Common Redstart , Whinchat , Lesser Whitethroat and another Pied Flycatcher. 

With time against me i decided to have one more look at Cley in the hope of better views of the Icterine Warbler but without luck , i did see Reed Warbler , Willow Warbler and my third Pied Flycatcher of the day , i also saw a delightful adult Yellow Legged Gull , i never tire of seeing these birds .

There was also a large Caterpillar and i think it is a Poplar Hawk Moth ?? There was also a Wall Brown which was the first i have seen this year. 

Possible Poplar Hawk Moth.

Wall Brown.

A very wet Dungeness

Male Common Redstart.

On Saturday 24th August i made a trip to Dungeness and more or less rained all day , i called into an area by the Lydd rifle ranges in the hope of seeing some migrants and was informed there were Pied Flycatcher and Whinchat in the area however as hard as i tried i could not locate either , i did see a really smart male Common Redstart which was really great to see , i also added several Stonechat and 2 Wheatear  here.

Hobby on entrance track to reserve

I decided to head to the rspb reserve and as i was driving along the entrance track just before the car park i saw a Crow chasing a small falcon which then landed on some posts and turned out to be a Hobby , i then proceeded to inform the reserve staff who didn't seem to understand a word i was saying , this is not the first time i have had this problem here , 2 years ago i found a Barred Warbler here and i informed the same member of staff who didn't believe a word i said and just for the record the Barred Warbler was seen for the rest of that afternoon and several days after by numerous birders . rant over ..lol

Fox by the bird feeders at the rspb reserve.

I also saw a Sparrowhawk whilst looking at the Hobby , after i left the visitor centre i saw this lovely Fox by the feeders , i then proceeded to head to the first hide , sorry i can never remember the names of the hides , anyhow i had great luck in here as i saw 2 Little Gulls close in by the hide .

Little Gull.

Doing a bit of wing stretching.

I also added 2 Egyptain Geese from here plus 2 Common Sandpipers , all the regular wildfowl were present and 2 Little Egrets and a single Grey Heron flew past the hide . I then decided i would head down to the sea and although it was fairly quite i did add a dark phase Arctic Skua , several Gannets a single Fulmar and approx: 40 Common Scoter to my day list .

1 of 2 Pied Flycatchers.

This second bird was in the gorse bushes.

I had a walk around the area by the Old Lighthouse and saw 2 Pied Flycatchers which showed very well at times , there were also several Willow Warblers in the area , i had a really pleasant days birding here despite getting soaked and headed off with a couple of years ticks and some great birds in the memory.

Just a Bit of Fun Quiz week 9 Answer plus new " Mystery Bird "

1st Winter Red Breasted Flycatcher .

Last weeks Mystery Bird was indeed a 1st winter Red Breasted Flycatcher , very well done to Chidders , Martyn Wilson ,  Ben M and Ellis L for all getting the correct answer .

Here  is this weeks " Mystery Bird " .

Week 10 Mystery Bird ?????

Once again sorry about late post of last weeks answer , i have another busy weekend birding ( posts to follow ) .

If you fancy a go at the mystery bird just leave your answer in the comments and i will reveal correct answer along with correct entries next Saturday ( hopefully ).

Some more Pics of the Pec from Reculver

Pectoral Sandpiper with Dunlin

Here is another selection of pics of the Pec Sandpiper i saw at Reculver yesterday with one or two pics of other waders .

Greenshank .

Redshank.

And for good measure .

Greenshank and Redshank together .