Tales From An Essex Birder

After a night which featured very little sleep (as is typical of a Saturday night at uni) I had arranged to go to Marshside with Marc in order to try and connect with the Lesser Yellowlegs that had been gracing the reserve for the last week or so. However, news that the Hoopoe - which had been photographed the day before - was still present at Ince Blundell was just too tempting to resist. Despite having never seen one, the Hoopoe was a truly special bird to me and one of my favourite species without doubt. I can still remember receiving an eye spy book that featured this funky mediterranean bird amongst many other species. The beauty and punk nature of the species had me hooked instantly. I have previously dipped the species in Coverack, Cornwall over two years ago on my 18th birthday so my desire to see the species only intensified. Anyway, fast forward to the 30th October... me and Marc hopped on the train to high town and then embarked on the half hour walk to the site with virtual...

After what feels like weeks of westerly winds, the duck finally broke giving way to two days of easterlies on the 19th and 20th. Even better still, a trip to London to see Bob Dylan meant that a trip to Norfolk during this spell of easterlies was possible. For one reason or another I have never been able to get to Norfolk in autumn so to say I was excited is an understatement. The original plan was to go on the Thursday whilst the winds were still blowing to the east, however a very dodgy ankle prevented me from driving to Norfolk that day. This dodgy ankle proved to cost me a Blue Rock Thrush... that typically turned up at Winterton Dunes on the day that I was planning to go! But this wasn't the only goody to be had, as I watched with envy on Birdguides the number of migrants that began to pour into the country - in Norfolk Pallas' Warblers began to turn up in numbers whilst more Yellow-browed Warblers arrived...  Roll on the morning of Friday 21st, I'd manage to gain clea...