I did it. I actually saw a Cetti's warbler | Lev Parikian

Walthamstow Wetlands, London: They're professional skulkers, loud but highly elusive. And yet there one is, out of the reeds, to be remembered for everIt's weather you'd emigrate to avoid. Gloomy and cold - Tupperware sky and drizzle in the air. But tranquil, at least. Small mercies. Walthamstow Wetlands - a 211-hectare nature reserve centred on 10 reservoirs in north-east London. Jewel in the Lee Valley's crown, and as good a place for waterbirds as any in the capital.Six tufted ducks drift across - a posse of monochrome floaters on a mission to nowhere. A little grebe - floating powder puff - does its trademark jump-and-dive, surfacing 30 seconds later, 25 yards to the left of where I expected. Extreme peace descends on me. Birdfulness, the best way to be. Continue reading...