Summer Holidays

It isn't the best time of year for birds, but there is usually some stuff around during the summer holidays. As well as the trip to Norfolk at the end of July, I have tried to fit as much birding in as possible at other places, though I am usually confined to London.

I visited the Thames at Hammersmith at the end of July to look for Gulls. I am still far from an expert at identifying gulls, and a lot of the them were distant. However, one gull close to me turned out to be a Juvenile Yellow-Legged Gull, probably my first real sighting, not including all the ones I counted when I was younger which were probably Herring Gulls.

Yellow-Legged Gull

A couple of visits to my patch at Stocker's Lake didn't produce much except Hobby, Kingfisher, Oystercatcher, Linnet and a patch first Yellow Wagtail.

At the beginning of August I travelled to the Oare Marshes for a day, where I immediately saw the Red-Necked Phalarope that had been present. A few people kindly let me look through their scopes at it, and as I was scanning along I noticed an adult Curlew Sandpiper.

Walking, around the reserve, I heard many bubbling calls which alerted me to a flock of Whimbrel flying over. I was amazed to see that there were over 50 in the flock; more than I had ever seen in my life. 

Without a scope, I struggled to pick out the Bonaparte's Gull so I headed on to an area where Turtle Dove is often seen.

Whimbrels

I did end up seeing a Turtle Dove, but the views were terrible and very brief, so nothing compared to the views I had the previous week. There was also a Small Heath butterfly, a Migrant Hawker and a Blue-Tailed Damselfy.

Blue-Tailed Damselfly 

Small Heath

A Marsh Harrier flew over the reeds and a couple of Yellow Wagtails flew over, including one that dropped down on the mud.

I tried searching for the Bonaparte's Gull again and managed to find it, as it had come closer and was easily identifiable with binoculars.

Bonaparte's Gull

Also on the East Flood were Golden and Little Ringed Plovers, Black-Tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Redshank and Snipe.

In mid August I met up with other young London birders - Samuel, Arjun, Calum, Kabir and another young birder I didn't know called Ben.

We saw many good birds including Bearded Tits, a green -tagged Marsh Harrier from Norfolk, Greenshank, Whimbrels and Yellow-Legged Gulls as well  other wildlife such as Willow Emerald Damselfly, Marsh Frog, Ruddy and Common Darter and Blood-Vein moth.

Ruddy Darter

Willow Emerald

Then it was Birdfair 2018, where I travelled up by train for the day. There were many interesting stands where I picked up all the holiday brochures I could. I also bought pin badges and DVDs, and met lots of people, some who I had met before and some who I hadn't.

Some of the stands featured moths caught the previous night, and it was interesting to look at species I had never seen before including Spectacle, Brimstone Moth, Gold Spot, Swallow Prominent, and Poplar Hawkmoth.

Brimstone Moth

Poplar Hawkmoth

Gold Spot

Swallow Prominent

Spectacle

At the end of the day, many of the young birders, including myself, met for what was apparently an annual photo. I met many people I had never met before, although I didn't talk much.

Next week I am heading to Spurn Bird Observatory, before travelling back for the Migfest the week after, so there is still a chance of more good birds soon.