December 30, 2004
SOGgy birding
Since arriving back in the UK on Christmas Eve, the sun hasn't stopped shining! On Christmas Day, Mum chivvied Dad and I out of the house and we decided to take a walk along Southend seafront - needless to say the bins, scope and camera came along too! I was amazed by the number of (Ruddy) Turnstones along Westcliff seafront - they were swarming all over the beach, the pavement and even the road. Dad finally got a glimpse of the regular wintering Ring-billed Gull, as well as this Mediterranean Gull.
There was a nice flock of wintering waders at Shoebury Coastguards, including this Lapwing - I'd forgotten how pretty they were.
Yesterday I met up with Neil, a guy I've been birding with since we were 11 years old! We visited several of our old birding haunts in the Southend Ornithological Group (SOG) recording area. First stop was Hockley Woods in search of Hawfinch (the UK equivalent of Evening Grosbeak) - we didn't find any, but I caught up with some old favourites including Jay, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers. Next was Shoebury Coastguards to see 4 Snow Buntings - a much-needed SOG tick for both of us. The birds showed wonderfully well as they preened on the roof of a beach hut.
Armed with bread we went in search of the Ring-billed Gull, seen here in the company of a gull many California birders would like to see!
Essex Boy meets American Gull!
We visited a traditional roost site for Long-eared Owls (I could tell you where but I'd have to kill you), and were rewarded with close, if obscured, views of one individual.
Finally, we drove back to Southend to see a camera-shy Purple Sandpiper in a high tide roost (to the right of the Black-headed Gull) - in 25 minutes of watching it didn't wake up!
I spent the rest of the afternoon in the pub with Vicky, another old schoolfriend. Here she is in front of Southend Pier (the world's longest pleasure pier, whatever that means).
We watched the sunset from Rossi's (makers of the finest soft-whip ice cream in the world) - maybe Southend isn't such a bad place to live after all!
