Trip to Dunwich Heath on Saturday looking for a Shrike that had been seen on the Friday...no joy for me and the other thirty odd birders that turned up looking for it at 7am. But i did get to see the Speckled Crimson moth that was trapped the night before..very smart looking thing....a short walk al...

Back to Elmley early doors and no sign of the Buff Breasted sandpiper but the place was alive with small whites, red admirals and a couple of small coppers. Moved up to East Tilbury as the tide went out and managed to find the Semi Palmated sandpiper with a little help from the guy that find it yest...

trip to Rochester this morning. Found a lovely spot to walk the dog which looked perfect for butterflies (chalk hill full of wild flowers and berry bushes) but not a single butterfly about between 10 and 10.30am. Moved on to Elmley for a quick Buff Breasted Sandpiper....be rude not to while i was so...

Took the wife and dog to Frinton today...The Red Backed Shrike showed well and allowed a record shot. The wife now thinks birding is easy, you just turn up take a short walk in the sun and the the bird sits in the open twenty feet away for you to see it. (She hasn't ecperienced the 6mile walk to Bla...

Another trip this morning down to Dungeness. Few hours sea watch presented a balearic shearwater and a black throated diver along with a good few arctic skuas and a black turn. A walk round the observatory provided good views of 3 black redstart and we found a robin trapped in a net which was duly r...

Boxhill, Burgess Hill and Brighton run on Friday, Peacock, Lot's of Whites, 2 Small Coppers, 2 meadow browns and my first Wall. Today a quick trip to Colne Point to pick up a lifer....Pallid Harrier! and a bonus Short eared owl too!....weather Friday was great..today couldn't have been wetter...got ...

Trip to Dungeness today. Missed the long tailed skua but did find a Greater Flamingo (i'll let the experts decide if it flew over on the recent high winds(if Cranes and Spoonbills can then i suppose it'll not be long before Flamingos do too) or has escaped from some collection somewhere) Lot's of bi...

Thanks for that.....saw loads of the same Dragon flies whilst at Titchwell on Sunday. Caught up with a rarity too as the LITTLE Bittern stayed and waited for me. (Count of 103 birds for the day, always nice to break the ton) Really windy up there so the only butterfly seen was a large white....treat...

Short Essex trip today to see if I could catch a local Wryneck, which i did. picked up a little pic of it (a record shot and a first for the year) and on the walk back found a sleeping dragonfly. (ID welcome?) Early start tomorrow up to Titchwell. (Planned the trip for a while but now it's this clos...

another day on the refurbishment Friday, pulling down the old ceiling and it has to be the dirtiest job imaginable!....50 years of dust all coming down on me!......i must be mad giving up my holiday to do this for my son when i could be walking the coast and all the fresh air that brings. Whilst pul...

Wurzel, forgive the note on your page but i saw your comments on the Glaucous Gull at Dungerness. Just thought i'd let you know that this bird is almost guaranteed on a trip to the fishing boat area. (near the observatory) It's been there for months and shows no sign of moving on (i think it has tro...

Knee deep in bricks and associated dust....Flash floods whilst we're patching up the roof following a chimney coming down......And yes i'd rather be walking with my camera! I have to say this site is such an education.....i'm learning daily about things i'd not heard off....."pale clouded yello...

Thanks for that, i can see these are going to bring similar challenges as some of the bird groups........bring it on!
TWO WEEKS OFF NOW
Refurb work to do on my sons house but i'm going to find some time for myself to get out with the camera. Watch this space!

Yep, wishful thinking i guess.....i think i saw clouded yellow a couple of years back whilst birding along the sea wall at Brightlinsea but at that point i had no idea/appreciation for what i was looking at.....so if I stumbled across them once I'm sure i can again....here's hoping I have the camera...

I was going to say Daddy Long Legs but thought somebody would come on with a latin name and put me right.....glad to say i do know a daddy long legs when i see one

Short trip to Cliffe Pooles in Kent today with Curlew Sandpiper on the agenda..found 13 of the little fellas early doors. Butterflies were hard to come by today..a few whites, red admiral and a single small heath but very dissapointing....did see one in flight across the pools at Tilbury which was v...

No Chris, I only took the one pic of the caterpillar..think it was a single line down the back tho....i've checked a few sites but had no joy seeing anything like it..i'll look up your call tho...and yes the walks do take longer...but i suppose as winter draws in i'll be getting quicker again. This ...

I can see that Gibster having worked around that area and had the pleasure of the constant noise they make. Still nice to get another garden tick tho...It got me thinking of a garden list on the butterfly front which doesn't read so well...Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Gatekeeper, Small White, Large ...

Brief stop at Fen Drayton today while in the area....first vist here but i'll go back. Hundreds of dragon fly /darters etc on the wing today. As for butterflies only Comma, Whites, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and a single small heath. Watched as a pair of Bull finch took a bath in a puddle close by t...

thanks, i'll give it a go...need to work out how to PM but i reckon I can crack it