Wanstead Birder

Tendaba Bush Camp is on the south side of the river Gambia, but the more interesting mangrove habitat is on the north side. The highlight of the day, indeed possibly of the trip, was a three ...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/10/the-gambia-january-2024-day-2-tendaba.html

Black Kites were everywhere We awoke early, keen as mustard. The hotel is right on the beach at the mouth of Kotu Creek, and before it was light Mick and I were outside the front entrance eag...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/10/the-gambia-january-2024-day-1-kotu.html

   LOGISTICS A seven day trip in the fist week of January to The Gambia with a day in Senegal for a country tick and to try and find EGYPTIAN PLOVER which at this time of year are much fur...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/10/the-gambia-january-2024-logistics-and.html

I just remembered that I took a camera to The Gambia earlier this year and so had a trawl through my photos. None are amazing, I seem to have been far better at taking photos of birds 10 years ag...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/10/sudden-enthusiasm.html

Well that's my 2023 write-ups done, only nine months out of date. I can't quite summon the enthusiasm to start on 2024 yet, so instead I am plotting 2025. This obviously requires a spreadsheet, t...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/missing-latvia.html

Here's the trip list, for more precise locations you can use eBird which show locations, dates, and individual site lists. 150 specise seen over seven days, with 24 world lifers. This was not th...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/buenos-aires-trip-list.html

It was our final day, one last chance to have a look around. We didn't have long and so decided to make a pilgrimage to the Boca Junior's stadium, the Bombonera on behalf of number one child. App...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/buenos-aires-day-7-la-boca.html

In order to get me to shut up about Costanera Sur Mrs L actually came with me to the reserve this morning. We had a lengthy breakfast and then caught the bus together before walking the entire st...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/buenos-aires-day-6-more-walking-more.html

This morning was a repeat of the previous morning. A leisurely breakfast with Mrs L in San Telmo before catching the bus to the southern end of Costanera Sur and birding the reserve for the b...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/buenos-aires-day-5-walking-to-tango.html

Almost the first bird that greeted me on Wanstead Flats this morning was a COMMON SNIPE. I've not seen a SNIPE in Wanstead since December 2022, so this was both very welcome and a nice surprise...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/winter.html

With my birding appetite well and truly whetted I negotiated with Mrs L to spend a few hours birding ostanera Sur in the morning. She would spend the morning browsing The price was that I had to ...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/buenos-aires-day-4-costanera-and-culture.html

It felt much much fresher than of late, and with temperatures dropping to single digits I did my usual running around to try and protect more sensitive plants. So my medium and small tropical...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/autumn-has-arrived.html

It is approaching the anniversary of the magnificent and munificent fall of American songbirds on the west coast in 2023. On September 23rd I got in the car and drove to Wales for a MAGNOLIA WAR...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/wot-no-ticks.html

Look what just arrived! New bins! Well, they might as well be new, look at them! Ooof. Amazing what they can do. I only wish that I'd remembered to take a photo of what they looked like in late J...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/shiny-shiny.html

Whenever we go on a trip a deux, Mrs L concedes to one morning or a full day of birding. It is a tax of sorts. As Buenos Aires was primarily a city break and we didn't have a car, I decided to hi...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/buenos-aires-day-3-birding-excursion.html

I am sure I must have mentioned this before but I am obsessed with eBird. Or at least, obsessed with the data that is able to spit out at every conceivable level. I've previously used it to manag...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/plotting-with-ebird.html

Inevitably the WRYNECK I missed during the week ended up staying until the weekend. I say inevitably because on Friday evening I left London and came up to Scotland again to enjoy some autumn bir...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/another-weekend-in-fife.html

This is the 2013 bird It had to happen some day, and Tuesday was that day. A WRYNECK was found on the patch and I didn't see it. My record up until this sad event was unimpeachable, I'd manag...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/the-wryneck-streak-ends.html

I've got quite a few trips to Fife planned this autumn, a bit of family, a lot of birding, or at least that is the plan. This has been very deliberate, I wanted to try and experience a bit of...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/the-fifewanstead-dilemma.html

I am quite restrained in so far as I have only two pairs of binoculars. I think I peaked at four or five, but reason prevailed and I ditched two or three of them to leave myself with just two...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/house-bins-show-their-class.html

I had establised via eBird that a good number of ticks were available at a park back out towards the airport, Reservio Lago Soldati. I got up early and took an Uber out there for a couple of hour...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/09/buenos-aires-day-2-birding-before.html

It's a long flight down to Buenos Aires, and there was no stop in Brazil which sometimes happens. Just under 13 hours, but modern planes are a lot more comfortable in terms of cabin pressure ...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/08/buenos-aires-day-1-arrival.html

A long time ago, in April 2020, Mrs L and I were booked on flights to Japan. We had been to Tokyo once before on an extended layover, just enough time to realise we liked it and that we needed a...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/08/buenos-aires-covid-pre-amble.html

I knew it would get better, and it has. In the last few days Nick had a WHINCHAT, Tony had a REDSTART, Marco had a SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. I didn't see any of those, and indeed Saturday morning w...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/08/the-only-way-is-up.html

It had to happen sooner or later, I visited the patch. I've been avoiding it since about June, I just haven't found the inspiration or inclination to give it a go. I normally avoid it in June any...

http://www.wansteadbirder.com/2024/08/wait-for-itthe-patch.html