gobirding.eu Birding Diary: Turquoise and orange brilliance

After several days without seeing any birds of note I headed up to the coast on Tuesday 22nd August to look for migrants. There was something going on at Burnham Overy and the place was heaving with children early in the morning so I left them to it and moved along the coast to find somewhere quieter. Wells Wood was a poor choice as it proved not to be quieter with noisy dog-walkers a-plenty and I struggled to find any migrants at all. A few waders included Golden Plovers, Greenshanks, Green Sandpipers but there was next to nothing in the wood. A flock of 131 Barnacle Geese flew in to Quarles Marsh and among them was this Ross's Goose x Barnacle Goose hybrid.

Ross's Goose x Barnacle Goose hybrid with Barnacle Goose, Wells, 22nd August

Next day Golden Plover, 2 Green Sandpipers and Snipe were the wader highlights on the local patch.

At Ryburgh on 25th this Reed Warbler was a new species for the site for me.

Reed Warbler, Ryburgh, 25th August

A Hobby was hawking insects with gulls high above the valley. A Green Sandpiper called, a Snipe was seen and this Kingfisher put in an appearance. It showed for a bit longer than usual, but in flight and at the back of the scrape.

Kingfisher, Ryburgh, 25th August

2 Green Sandpipers and a Greenshank were the highlights on the patch next day, along with a count of 52 Egytpian Geese. There were 3 Green Sandpipers there a few days later.

I heard a Nuthatch at home on Tuesday 31st August and later on heard another at Ryburgh - a good record there. There were also 2 Hobbies, 1-2 Green Sandpipers, Barn Owl and Great Spotted Woodpecker. I also got my best opportunity yet to photograph a Kingfisher, first here...