A few from Kent and Sussex

A couple of weeks ago my son asked if we could go to the Isle of Sheppey to do some birdwatching. We had hoped for bearded tits at Capel fleet but sadly none were present. We got news of a couple of rare birds at Reculver nearby so headed there but on the way from Capel fleet saw a very obliging Barn owl in a tree near the road.

Not a new species for my challenge but nice to see and certainly a better photo than my first attempt.

At Reculver the desert wheatear that had been reported was still there and was showing stupidly well!

163. Desert Wheatear

A Shore Lark at the same location was another bird I had never seen before:

164: Shore Lark

We then returned to Capel Fleet and waited in the hope of Short Eared Owls. We were rewarded just as the sun was about to go down. Again not a new bird for this year but very nice to see.

We had planned to go back to the Isle of Sheppey again this weekend but a poor weather forecast meant we gave it a miss. I did however take the opportunity of popping along to see the Rough Legged Buzzard in Jevington, Sussex. Before it showed I managed a shot of a Corn Bunting:

165: Corn Bunting

The light was terrible but I did manage a shot or 2 of the Rough Legged Buzzard when it hunted across the field in front of us.

166. Rough Legged Buzzard

A few days in East Anglia

New job has meant that I haven't been out as much as I would have liked recently. Over half term however we had a short family holiday to East Anglia. Had a lovely time and it was very relaxing. I managed to get three new birds including two lifetime firsts for me. Definitely some locations I will be visiting again sometime.
First new bird was a rather distant snipe:
160: Snipe

On the second day we found out about a rather showy Red-Backed Shrike that had been seen near where we were staying so we headed off and I managed a few shots.

161. Red Backed Shrike

I would have liked to have stayed and got some more shots of the shrike but while we were there we were told that a Hoopoe had been seen 5 miles down the road. We shot off and when we arrived were told it had flown off 5 minutes ago! We hunted for 30 mins but no sign so we decided to head back to the car. Part way back it flew across in front of us and then conveniently landed nearby enabling us to get some shots :)

162: Hoopoe

Saw loads of other birds including a lovely kingfisher but sadly no other new birds. Before this year I had only seen 174 birds in total so am now aiming for that by the end of the year,