Rainham had a nice variety on Sat 11 Oct 2014. A walk from the Stone Barges area produced Ringed Plover (15) and Redshank (50) on the mud to the west of the Barges, and Coldharbour Point held a single Ruff amongst the rocks. A minimum of 9 Stonechat on the walk were noteworthy (inc. 4 at Rainham West). The marshes saw us connect with 2 Peregrines and 4 Marsh Harriers (3 cream crowns) and roosting Greenshank. Migrant Hawkers continued and 7 Harbour Seals rested on the Kent side of the Thames.
I was tempted by twitching the Norfolk Steppe Grey Shrike despite the timetable for Thameslink and Coasthopper doing their best to thwart me on Sun 12 Oct 2014. It came on as negative then back on as being seen at around 08:30. I took the plunge, well the train from London's King's Cross (10:04) to King's Lynn, then waited ca.1 hour for the Coasthopper arriving after a walk from Burnham Market at 14:15. I had one hour with the Shrike, a stunner in the picturesque backdrop of the north Norfolk coastal marshes. Pink-footed and Brent Geese were in the air and Cetti's Warbler sounded off by the coast road. Made it back in time for the new series of Homeland! Back of the net!
Photos of the Shrike uploaded at 'Latest UK Bird Photos' and video now on Surfbirds 'UK Birding Videos (Surfbirds)'. Enjoy.
