Siberian Chiffchaff at Rainham Marshes RSPB

Paulboy Hawkins found this stunning Siberian Chiffchaff at Rainham Marshes this afternoon 50m east of the Serin mound. It showed really well for a few minutes before the rain started which was on and off all day. Paul located it by call and having seen 3 over the years myself,  its the first time I've heard one call, very distinctive. Well done Paul....

It's buff face, breast-sides and flanks makes this bird really stand out on a dull afternoon.

Handheld ISO 800 5.6 1/320

Handheld ISO 800 5.6f 1/500

New Years day

Kicked off the New Year at the Ingrebourne Valley this morning which was pretty much standard but for the pair of Stonechat near the visitors centre as last year I didn't get to see one here. It was only a quick visit but ended up with a low 48.

Then on to Rainham Marshes and added Green Sandpiper, YLG, Marsh Harrier, Gypo Goose which is a good record for here. A couple of Short-eared Owls were out hunting and the day list was put on  hold till next time.

This backlit  SEO below flew across the car down Ferry lane

The next set of images show the Shorties boxing and note that they don't take their eyes of each other

Not a great image but it shows how long those legs are, nearly its full body length

And the new security system is in place this year

Local birding

Rainham Marshes and the Dagenham Chase provided some good local birding again on Monday with the Chase giving up 2 Firecrest, 2 Chiffchaff, male Blackcap, 2 Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail, all showed well but I failed to nail the Firecrest with the lens-shame but cracking birds through the bins.

Rainham Marshes was all about the Short-eared Owls with good views down to about 20m but it was dark and again images were poor at ISO 3200 1/50 so hit the delete button on the back of the camera.

 3 Marsh Harriers were out over Wennington marsh as was this Adult Female below.

Grey Wagtail

Amongst the leaf litter and broken branches that had fallen into the river Rom that flows through the Dagenham Chase NR, this Female Grey Wagtail showed well.

Short-eared Owls again at Rainham Marshes

Spent the last hour of light on Saturday and the same on Sunday afternoon watching the Shorties at Rainham, which is turning into a bit of a obsession with me at the moment. I can't get enough of them........

Local birding comes good

Started at the Dagenham Chase on Sunday morning in the light rain and very overcast conditions not ideal for photography but the male Firecrest was moving along the river Rom  with two Goldcrest so the camera had to come out of its bag. They're stunning little birds.

 A bit grainy due to ISO 1600 but cracking views  along with Kingfisher, Grey wagtail and a wintering Chiffchaff in with the tit flock.

Then it was off to Rainham Marshes and I wasn't even out of the car when I added a Short-eared Owl to the day list as one stood on a traffic cone out on Wennington Marsh. With the car window down and some record shots of the SEO on the memory card, out of nowhere a calling Dartford Warbler was on top of a bush just left of the Owl. A very welcome site year tick!

Male Dartford Warbler

 A male Marsh Harrier and three Short-eared Owls kept interested the whole afternoon.

Another good day out locally........

Short-eared Owls Rainham Marshes RSPB

Over the last few weeks the views of the shorties on the reserve have been really good probably due to the fact that around seven birds are hunting around the site. On posts, on the deck and I've even seen them box each other when another bird comes in to its hunting territory, its been really good. But trying to photograph them in the dark or rain or they are just to far for the camera lens, has been frustrating, and the fact most of the images have been put into the recycle bin doesn't help. However, you get one bird that makes it all worthwhile.

Handheld ISO 1000 F 6.3 1/200