Off to a Flyer

The first visit of 2013. I have been an infrequent visitor to the area in the last few months, mainly because of work, but I am hoping to visit on a regular basis this year.  With the weather being so mild I did not expect too much this morning. On arriving I met up with fellow birder Paul Hyland who is even a rarer vistor to the site than I am. After checking the Wildfowl on the basin (12 Shelduck was a good count) we headed for Bow Creek and the Ecology Park. A few Redshank were on the creek and a single Common Sandpiper with a number of Common Gulls. Then the Gulls all went up and we had a good view of a Peregrine as it flew across the River Lea towards the Gasworks.  The scrub in the Eco Park revealed a Chiffchaff, its always good to get this species early in the year. Paul thought he saw a Goldcrest, an unusual species here, but could'nt clinch it. We managed to get most of the common species including the two wagtails and on the way out from the Eco  Park checked the scrub again where a decent flock mixed species were feeding. The Chiffchaff was still there but this time the Goldcrest was clinched. A really good species for the year list. Another turn around EIDB yielded a Dunnock to the list. So a nice start to the year.