Quest for no 3,000!

We had the joy of taking Laura and George from Indiana on a part-day tour to Kent. When we set off, Laura's life list was on 2,999 — we had the task of getting her a landmark bird! Having birded in Europe before, she had some specific targets.

One of them was Goldcrest, a lifer! But the big 3,000th bird was Dunnock.

Great Crested Grebe

A pair of Little Ringed Plovers put on a good show from the Tyler Hide. However, it was Treecreeper that offered Laura another tick!

Mission accomplished, we headed on to Oare Marshes for some bonus birds.

It was pretty windy by this point in the day and Oare was quieter than it usually is, but a standout moment came when this ringtail Hen Harrier passed extremely close outside the East Hide window!

As always, there were plenty of waders on offer, including Avocets

In the end, Laura went home with a good half-a-dozen lifers — not bad for a veteran world lister!