There were plenty of Ring-Necked Parakeets around Walthamstow Wetlands, though they rarely provided good photo opportunities. The feeding station was being visited by quite a few Reed Buntings, but eventually the Little Bunting flew down and fed just a few metres away from the crowd (though not giving quite as good views as the Cardiff bird I had a few years ago). A Peregrine and a few Egyptian Geese were all else of note.
Little Bunting - Walthamstow Wetlands
Ring-Necked Parakeet - Walthamstow Wetlands
The next stop on the agenda was Dungeness for the adult male white-spotted bluethroat (my only previous bird was a 1st winter). As it hadn't been reported all morning, we went in search of the three Smew, a species I haven't seen for over 5 years now. Two females were showing on arrival along with a Great White Egret. A female Sparrowhawk afforded great views with freshly-caught prey.
Sparrowhawk - Dungeness
Great White Egret - Dungeness
A check through the gulls at 'The Patch' failed to produced just 2 Sandwich Terns, however a flyby Red-Necked Grebe was a nice bonus. Heading back to the car, a few Firecrests gave incredible views, feeding on the ground just metres away from us.
Firecrests - Dungeness
Last stop of the day was Eastbourne, where a check of the harbour failed to produce the Black Guillemot. So I dipped the two birds I originally came for, but with plenty of compensation I can hardly call it an unsuccessful day.
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