Penduline Tits

Got 'em at last !

As this cold weather persists (showing -3 on my car temp gauge) a cold, misty visit to Rainham early Saturday morning beckoned. There had been a dusting of snow as well, which added to the winter scene.

As I arrived in the car park, my friend Tony Coombes was waiting and reports of the Penduline showing well had filtered through from the Wardens. They let us into the reserve early, and after a 20 minute walk, this is what we found -

A New Year and 2 new species so far - SEO's and Penduline.

Bearded Tits and Stonechat

I spent the first weekend of 2009 at RSPB Rainham Marshes looking for a rare winter visitor, the Penduline Tit.

They have been seen at Rainham for several years, and this year I set out determined to get some images.

Unfortunately, I failed as the Penduline did not show on either day however, on Saturday my friend, Tony Coombes, and I were consoled by some wonderful views of Bearded Tit.
















On Sunday, the birds that never fail to pose for a picture - the Stonechat, showed up and didn't fail to perform.

New Years Day

Happy New Year everyone.

Right - first New Years Resolution is that I will keep this blog up to date. We will see if I manage to do it.

First trip out of the year was on a freezing first day of January over to meet my friend Martin Dyer at Slimbridge. As it was very cold, most of Slimbridge was iced up, and so after a relatively fruitless morning, we moved to a site that Martin was familiar with to look for Short Eared Owls.

The light was grey and flat, but everything was covered in a thick frost which provided to the most wonderful backdrop to the farmland.

We spent 3 hours watching these wonderful birds who were joined by a Kestrel, Peregrine and a Barn Owl.