Chats and Sprites

Lade - cool, sunny, dry, e 5 - Another very windy day, but with plenty to see from the off. Goldcrests and at least one Firecrest moved through the garden fir trees throughout the day with more crests and tits around the willow swamp. The desert scrub yielded a nice little fall of 8 Wheatears, 4 Stonechats and a Whinchat, although overhead passage was virtually non-existent, apart from a few Mipits and Goldfinches.

                                Wheatear and Stonechat, Lade

Dungeness - Spent a very pleasant couple of hours this afternoon nattering away to local birders and watching Continental Coal Tits, Goldcrests and Firecrests around the lighthouse garden and West Beach scrub. Restless passerines moving through cover are a tall order for the bridge camera, so I was pleased to get at least a record shot of a Firecrest.
The Yellow-browed Warbler was present in the garden until at least mid-afternoon, while the Grey Phalarope was seen again at the Patch.

                                Coal Tit and Firecrest, Dungeness