Yesterday the wife and I went to Rainham Marshes. We (she) had other commitments in the afternoon so it was to be only a flying visit. I proposed the Marshes because it's A/ local and B/ a Grasshopper Warbler had been spotted on Friday pm!!
I didn't hold my breath, but on arriving promptly at 9:30 for opening. In the wonderful sightings book, there it was : Grasshopper Warbler - 12/4/14 - Bus Stop. I enquired to the delightful Howard Vaughn as to where I could find the skulker, and he gave surprisingly specific instructions. 5 or so birders were already present, and told us that they had heard the bird "reeling"! We waited for any sign for half an hour, spotting a Yellow Wagtail and Grey Heron being mobbed by a Lapwing. I tracked a Blue Tit into a bush and saw another bird flapping about in the shrubbery, lo and behold.... GRASSHOPPER WARBLER!!! A life tick for me!! It flew down behind a dip and reeled on and off for a couple of minutes, but with time an issue (and re-finding the bird proving tricky) we wandered into the Cordite store for what was, hands down, the greatest view of a Cetti's Warbler EVER! It perched, three feet away, and blew apart my eardrums with it's insanely loud song! Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs aplenty rounded the trip off nicely, and I ended the morning on 143 birds for the year!
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