I've been too busy to do much birding over the last couple weeks, so I took the opportunity to go for a lifer this bank holiday weekend.
I got to Lakenheath, Suffolk just before 8am. I walked out to the river path and on the way heard grasshopper warbler, garden warbler, bittern and bearded reedlings. The Marsh Warbler was singing on arrival and eventually I saw a acro hop up onto the reeds. I quickly got my scope on it, and though it took a while to get everyone on it, we all had great views! Interesting to hear it mimicking both chiffchaff song and call.
Marsh Warbler - Lakenheath Fen
Interesting to see how it mimicked a chiffchaff.
Time was getting on at this point, so I decided to skip the savi's warbler (which I saw last year) and try for grasshopper warbler, a long-overdue bogey bird for me. Unfortunetly, I didn't get sight or sound of any other than the one I heard distantly early morning, though the search did produce Short-Eared Owl, 2 Cuckoos, Hobby and a Kingfisher.
As I headed back south then along the M25, I had at least 2 Red Kites and an unexpected flyover Black-Tailed Godwit.
Stopped off at Martin Down, Hampshire on the way back. A short walk produced a couple Corn Buntings, plenty of Yellowhammers, Linnets and Skylarks and heard a lesser whitethroat. Eventually, a scan of some vegetation just happened to turn up a single Turtle Dove.
All-in-all a good day. A couple of good acros did turn up in Norfolk/Suffolk that day, but to my knowledge, neither were twitchable.
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