American Horned Lark ( Staines Res )Sunday

Jimmy & I picked up a year tick at a very cold Rainham Marshes when we finally caught up with some Yellow-legged Gulls in mid week but I missed out on finding a needed Rock Pipit for a year tick when we decided to it was just to windy & cold so only a short time spent here, why is it always so windy & cold whenever we make it to Rainham.
On Saturday after checking with Brian that he couldn't get off work to come with us we headed off to Oare Marsh in search of the Green-wing Teal.
We arrive just after first light & spend over four hours scoping the scrape, at first with the scrape being a bit frozen there is not a lot going on with very few birds about, but as the morning warmed up a bit, many more Tern arrived & we kept scanning every thing that looked like a Tern but it never showed & there was nobody else finding it & it never got reported all day.
A couple of Common Sandpipers a pair of Goosander many many Dunlin & Redshank the odd Curlew but no sign this time of the Dowitcher.
The plan was to go to Sandwich if the Pallas's Warbler came on the pager but that never happened so being chilled to the bone it's a very disappointed sort of day.
Sunday See's Brian pick us up in his new car & we are off to Staines Reservoir in Surrey.
We found a space to park just off the road & headed up the slope to find about a hundred birders already in place & we are told where the Horned Lark is feeding, it is a long way over on the middle slope of the reservoir but with the scope we get grand views of this American visitor.
When the twitch is fairly local it is always so nice to catch up some local birders such as Harry & Stuart plus Graham J who we have had the pleasure to meet up with on the last 3 bird trips.

The Horned Lark.