Despite being seen the evening before and a start around first light, the four Black necked grebes at Fairlop had departed. There were quite a few swallow feeding over the main lake with a couple of sand martins and a pair of linnet in the car park, the female watched collecting dried out mashed paper from the tarmac and taking it back to construct a nest in a nearby hedge.
So after the disappointment of not connecting with the grebes, my dad and i travelled to waltham abbey to see if we could find any nightingales before heading home. At sewardstone, around Knights pit we heard one calling but it was too well hidden as usual and so we moved onto Fishers green where a couple had been seen a few days previous. After a wait we heard at least two birds and saw one which although elusive did show for a few seconds.
