2 target birds and a 4 bonus birds

Left the house at 7am this morning with 2 target birds to get Spotted crake and Pectoral sandpiper? as soon as i opened the door i had the first of my bonus birds Chiffchaff singing in the garden along with willow warbler and male blackcap still on the fatballs. first stop was druridge pools nr where i waited for 2 hours before getting a few seconds on the Spotted crake :) other birds of interest were a Grasshopper warbler, 3 calling water rails. Next i stopped at cresswell where i had 5 avocet and 10 yellow wags and 2 white wags, the pager reported the Pectoral sandpiper was at backworth pond which i got straight away, whilst i was at backworth an Iberian chiffchaff came on the pager at boldon flats, not the best bird but a lifer all the same :0 i got the bird straight away which was showing on and off in the hawthorn hedge, very hard to get a photo but managed a few record shots, The last bonus bird off the day was a Lesser whitethroat calling at the end of the lane next to the reserve. a cracking day out with 5 new year ticks :)

I had to photoshop a branch out of this shot which was across the Iberian Chiffchaff, lol

2 distant shots of the Iberian Chiffchaff