I often see badgers in the garden but it usually too dark to get a good photo of them. I noticed one tonight when it was still quite light and managed a few photo’s.
8/6/2013. Went to Kent for the day. First place visited was the Oare Marshes Reserve for the Bonaparte’s Gull that has been seen there on and off for the last few weeks. Although it was not seen when I first arrived it was not too long before it put in an appearance over high tide. We then went to Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Sandwich Bay and Pegwell Bay.
1/6/2013. Another weekend another trip to Lakenheath RSPB, this time for a Savi’s Warbler which was found last weekend when I was there but I did not see it then. It showed well several times between 6-7pm when it came up to sing near the tops of the reeds.
Some video footage here :- http://youtu.be/-NqM3I1AEbk
An early morning trip to Broxhead Common in Hampshire to see a Roller today. Left the house at 5.15am and had seen the bird by 6.30am. Back home by 9am for breakfast. I have added a few pictures of the Roller but they don’t do such a colourful bird justice as it was quite distant. There were also 3-4 Woodlark in the same area.
18/5/2013 ** I left home at 6am to go to Lakenheath RSPB. About half an hour into the journey I noticed I had a message on my pager. It was a bit early for a message so I stopped and read it. Mega!! – Dusky Thrush – Margate Cemetery. As I was near Stevenage I changed route and went south on the A1 and arrived in Margate about 8am. Ten minutes later I had seen the bird. Afterwards I went to Reculver and saw a female Montagus Harrier .
For video click on link below :-
I took a day off work to go birding. I started at Lakenheath RSPB where a Red Footed Falcon had been seen the previous day. Unfortunately I did not see this bird in the three hours I was there in the morning but I did see Crane, Bittern, Barn Owl, Cettis Warbler and Turtle Dove amongst others. I then went to Weeting Heath where I saw 2 Stone Curlew. The best birds of the day however were the 8 Bee-Eaters I found in a roadside tree and wires near the village of Briningham in Norfolk on my way to Salthouse to see a Spoonbill. A road was closed near Fakenham and I had to take a diversion, it was whilst travelling on this road that I had not been on before that I noticed a couple of interesting birds land in a roadside tree. I immediately stopped in a farm access road and got out of my car, at this point I noticed a bee-eater on the wire near the ivy clad tree, the other birds had landed in. This bird then flew to the tree where I could now see that the other 2 birds were also bee-eaters. I got my scope out from the back of my car, set it up and focussed on one of the birds. I then got my camera attached it to my scope and was just about to take a picture when it flew from its perch and was then joined in flight by the other two and a further 5 Bee-Eaters. They spent a couple of minutes flying around over the Oilseed Rape field the tree was in and then gradually drifted away over the field. I was attempting to find the Rarebird Alert phone number on my phone when I realised I did not have any idea where I was, so I decided to birdtrack the birds which should have saved the location I was at. I then tweeted the news. This seemed to work as a message was put on the pager service. Unfortunately they were not seen again today but hopefully they will be refound again in the next few days. I also saw 4 Temmincks Stints and a Curlew Sandpiper at Cley.