Sunday 19th Jan. Had a very enjoyable afternoon at Rainham marshes the area, as you can imagine, is flooded in places and parts are currently sealed off.
The reserve was busier than I had seen it for a long time with visitors more than actual birds. In the wooded part I saw barn owl, blue tit, robin, song thrush, tree sparrow, chaffinch and at the end of the day with the help of a guide heard the cettis warbler and very soon after it emerged to sit on a rose tree – that was my first cettis sighting.
In one of the hides I was talking to a local couple who had a scope and within a few minutes had discovered the elusive snipe and were more than pleased to let me look through their scope.
Also saw about 200 lapwing in flight that had been frightened off their patch. Witnessed around 30 ringed parakeets on their flight back to Kent just before dusk.
All in all very enjoyable afternoon.
Sharon Norman (with my good friend Mandy in tow).