Big day in Barking Bay

April 29th

Met Paul at 5.30am after looking at the weather forecast the night before, overcast with a North Easterly wind, usually good conditions for some up stream movement along the Thames and so it proved with good numbers of Bar Tailed Godwit seen.( Naff photo's, click too enlarge)

Distant Bar Tailed Godwit

A flock of 10 defecting to Kent

We initially had 10 birds on arrival on the edge of the mud, but after a while these moved over to John at Crossness and they remained there until the tide pushed them off. Further to this a group of 8 dropped in at 7.00am on the Essex side with another 2 dropping in at 7.20am.A minimum of 20 birds were present but there could have been more owing to all the coming and going of birds, hard to keep an accurate count.

1st winter/summer Mediterranean Gull

Oystercatchers

Mediterranean Gull

Partial albino Black Headed Gull

A 1st winter Mediterranean Gull was found by Paul, a welcome addition to the year list, and we located the singing Corn Bunting, presumably the same bird as last weekend.

Bar Tailed Godwits

Also seen was a single Whimbrel and a Greenshank, the Greenshank feeding on the mud on the Thames, quite an unusual sight.

Other species

Ringed Plover – 2 on the mud

Oystercatcher – a minmum of 4

Wheatear – 3 scrub

Swallow – 3 over

Sand Martin – 5 over

Dunlin – 1

Common Sandpiper – 1

Hawkins sp - note lack of feathering to crown

A very good morning, I understand that there has been a large movement of Black Tailed Godwits along the Thames, hopefully it will spill over on Saturday to the Valley.