August 22nd-28th: Wryneck and Porpoise

With a Wryneck found at Rainham on Sunday it was a no-brainer to try for it at the beginning of the week. I aimed to get there just before opening time and two of my friends had the same idea as they boarded my train at West Ham. It was almost high tide so there were very few waders in Aveley Bay but I noticed something in the river which quickly submerged. It came up again briefly in the same spot and I could see a small triangular fin – a Harbour Porpoise! We watched it for several minutes feeding close in the bay before heading back to the centre. This was my third cetacean in the Thames after the Northern Bottlenosed Whale at Battersea and the Beluga at Gravesend.

We entered the reserve just after opening time and made our way up to the Numbers. As we were first there it was up to us to find the bird and once we’d located the Blackthorn bush it was using yesterday we stopped.

Almost immediately a bird flew across the path and landed in the bush – it was the Wryneck! A minute of chaos ensued as tripods went up and messages were sent before we could properly enjoy it. Interestingly, it was being pestered by a few warblers who seemed upset by its presence so the Wryneck dropped down into the bush for a bit before it was safe to come back up. By then we were joined by a few more birders and we’d unintentionally split into two groups. The Wryneck flew down onto the path between us allowing us all great views and photos.

Wryneck

It remained on the path for about ten minutes during which time you could really appreciate what a striking bird it is. Its plumage almost defies description because there’s so much of it: the blue-grey stripe that runs from its crown, down the back and onto the tail, the black-edged golden spots on its scapulars and wing coverts and a myriad of brown stripes. They’re quite a rare passage migrant in London but it was one I was hoping to see this year and it was definitely the most obliging one I’ve seen in the capital. It was also my fourth woodpecker of the year in London and, barring a miracle, my last one.

We left the Wryneck to the togs and twitchers and carried on going around the reserve. The scrape in front of Butts hide was virtually empty but there were a lot of birds at Aveley Pools. After a bit of scanning around I came across a wader lurking in the far corner which revealed itself to be a juvenile Spotted Redshank – not a plumage I see them in very often. A couple of Hobbies were hunting dragonflies and the Spoonbill was still snoozing at the back.

Back at Brent Reservoir for the next few days, the Wood Sand was becoming a permanent fixture along with its Common and Green cousins. The first Water Rails of autumn arrived during the week with two birds heard calling around the reservoir.

On Thursday I led a bat walk at Brent for a group of local residents along with a few fellow birders who helped out with their own bat detectors. It took a little time to get going but from then on we had bats calling more or less continuously for the rest of the evening with five species recorded: Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, Noctule, Leisler’s and finishing off with Daubenton’s. We also had a moth trap going but failed to trap anything other than a few grass moths.

I had another day out on Saturday with a visit to Wanstead Flats to look for migrants. Being over in East London, it’s not a place I often go to, with just a couple of previous visits for Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Rustic Bunting. It was a fairly quiet morning but we did manage to see a couple of Whinchats in the Skylark area and a Yellow Wagtail flew over. Also of note was a Clouded Yellow butterfly.