Norfolk! Steppe Grey Shrike! (3-5/10/14)

It was with great kindness that I was offered a weekend away in Norfolk by a local birding family and recent birding partners in the start of October, and it was eagerly anticipated!

 

Following the long drive across over to mid Norfolk, we first stopped at Sculthorpe Moor NR, where a Purple Heron had been residing. However, it was clear very quickly that the bird had not been seen, with gloomy faces all around, and unfortunately, there was very little to make anyone too exited.

 

A Golden Plover flew over, as did a Fieldfare, but after what felt like a painfully long time on the reserve we decided to leave, knowing our luck would be better tried elsewhere.

 

So we moved quickly onto Cley Marshes, which improved the day somewhat very quickly. Even from just our first glances at the sea, it was clear that there was significant amounts of Geese moving, with hundreds of Brent Geese flying offshore, flock after flock!

Similarly, Wigeon, Teal and Common Scoter were all moving, proving very easily that winter was on its way. 2 drake Eider flew past offshore. which was a long awaited year tick after missing them on every coastal visit this year!

Small numbers of Red-throated Diver had started to appear, with some feeding relatively close in as the tide rose. Also on the upcoming tide, 2 Guillemot drifted past.

 

 

Good numbers of ducks and waders kept us entertained as they flew around the marshes, constantly harassed by 4 hunting Marsh Harriers.

 

One of the spectacles of North Norfolk I had always wanted to experience though was that of the Pink-footed Goose roost. With a few small to medium sized flocks seen flying over during the day, we fancied our luck at Burnham Ovary Marshes, and we were not disappointed.

 

We arrived with plenty of time to spare, and we quickly located the Black-necked Grebe on the pool next to the seawall, as well as good numbers of waders, which were commuting between the pool and the estuary behind us. A few Snipe probed the reeded edges of the pool, and a Water Rail sauntered across the gap as the sun began to set, and the real show began!

 

With the light fading, we very quickly noticed large numbers of Little Egret, Grey Heron and particularly Cormorant flying towards Holkham. Eventually, we spotted another of our targets for the weekend, 3 very distant Spoonbill as they dropped into roost with the other birds in the trees. While these birds were flying east, the Marsh Harriers were going the opposite way, and 8 flew west as we stood vigil on this high point.

 

The Starlings started to murmerate in front of us, and then it began.

 

Geese!

 

And more Geese...

And more..

 

By nightfall, and estimated 15,000 Pink-footed Geese had dropped in to roost at Holkham, a simply breathtaking spectacle!

Add to this the superb flight views of two Barn Owls, this is why we love Norfolk right?

 

 

We were up bright and early the next morning, and our first destination of the day was the superb site of Holme Dunes NNR. The tide was out, but on the turn, so the attention turned to scanning the beach and the sea. Again, large numbers of Brent Geese were moving, as were Wigeon and Teal, but we were treated to a nice range of other species, 3 Eider powered past, as did a female Red-breasted Merganser. It was also a pleasure to see 3 each of Arctic and Sandwich Tern, both moving east along the shoreline, but unfortunately the real targets eluded us. On the water, Red-throated Divers, Great crested Grebes and a good count of 7 Guillemot were bobbing about like corks.

 

The lack of our targets however was more than made up for by the huge numbers of birds on the beach. Hundreds upon hundreds of waders. Huge spiralling flocks of Knot, with smaller numbers of all the regular seashore species. More than enough to keep us midlanders happy!

We did have a Spotted Redshank and a Whimbrel fly over calling though, and 2 Greenshanks were feeding on the pools. Among the extensive Gull flocks feeding on the wet sand, a single adult Mediterranean Gull added some variety.

 

Moving away from the sea, our attention turned to migrants, and it was obvious (as we had predicted), with the winds in the wrong direction, and clear conditions, we were not going to be in for a 'migrant fest' this weekend. However a rather dapper Whinchat did its best to keep us entertained, with little bit ands bobs vismigging over.

 

Following a drive around Choesley, where at least 5 Grey Partridge, 2 Golden Plover and 2 Yellowhammer were found we headed to the mecca that is Titchwell RSPB.

 

We covered both the pools and the sea, with good numbers of wildfowl being present. The reeds adjacent to the benches was 'alive' with 'Pings', and it didn't take long for its source to appear, and we were treated to some good flight views of at least 5 Bearded Tits. A single Common Tern flew past offshore, as well as the now expected Red-throated Divers. With a rather daunting weather system developing though, we hot footed it back to the car.

 

 

As planned, after dumping a lot of rain on Norfolk, and as we had lunch back at the Hostel in Burnham Norton, the clouds broke, and it was a beautiful day once more!

 

Being just down the road, we moved back to Titchwell RSPB for the high tide and Harrier roost.

As you come to expect with Titchwell, a number of the birds are very habituated to humans.

 

A Little Egret shown well..

 

As did a rather smart Bar-tailed Godwit.

Scanning the muddy shorelines led us onto the two Little Stints which we had missed earlier in the day, but as expected, much was repeated from earlier in the day. 3 Common Scoter were seen from the beach, as was 2 Guillemot, but Skuas were still managing to avoid us.

 

We moved back to the reedbeds, where Bearded Tits were pinging, Cetti's Warblers singing, with both Marsh Harriers and Starlings pursuing in aerial acrobatics as they jostled for roosting spots.

 

It was a rather stunning sunset also!

With a slight change in wind direction forecast for our final day, we planned our attack strategy, and were again out by dawn....

 

Sunrise over Burnham Ovary was rather spectacular, with thousands of Geese, Wildfowl and wading birds flying out of their roosts. Pink-feet were calling as we got out the car in still near darkness and a single Barn Owl took its last flight of the night as we walked down the track.

Over 100 Little Egrets flew past us as we stood scanning from the raised viewpoint. 70 Egyptian Geese flew off the pool, where the Black-necked Grebe was still present. The same great variety of waders was present as our last visit as we slowly made our way along the embankment.

 

A few birds flicked up onto the fencelines as we walked, Meadow Pipits and Stonechats, and eventually we found our first 'migrants' of the day, 2 Wheatear.

 

 

A large covey of Grey Partridge were flushed from behind a ridge, which then flew out into the fields opposite where they dropped in and became invisible once more.

We moved out into the dunes to check Gun Hill and the sea. A quick scan along the shoreline revealed the expected waders, and the sea was again rather quiet, other than a passing flock of Sandwich Tern.

Unfortunately, our migrant search came a blank, and the scrub held very little. Moving back towards the car, a party of Bearded Tits was pinging in the still conditions.

 

Wanting to be that little closer to home, we decided to move onto Titchwell RSPB, where we had heard there had been a bit of movement on the sea with some Whooper Swans and Little Gulls. Moving up the track, we managed to log all the species we did the previous day, including the 2 Little Stint again as we moved up towards the beach. Perched distantly atop the Sueada on Thornham marsh, a Whinchat and a Stonechat perched side by side.

 

With a large crowd overlooking the sea, I jokingly made a comment about them no doubt having seen multiple Skua's fly past this morning as we walked past, to which a lady replied to her friend "Did you see the Skua's (insert the friends name)".

 

As you would expect, I took this as somewhat of a joke, but the look on the old couples faces proved otherwise.

They had had a passage of Skuas that morning!!

Doh!

 

Having recounted my woeful story about dipping them all weekend, I quickly got a reply saying that someone was watching one on the water now!

Panic!

 

Scope set up, and then it flew....

 

Directly into my scope view! A juvenile Arctic Skua! Ok, not a Pom or a Great as I had hoped, or even a Long tailed as I have dreamt, but it was a Skua!

 

With a Black Redstart having been reported out at Thornham point, we bode farewell to the large crowd (no doubt missing a bucketload of Skuas going by our luck) and headed out there. Unfortunately I didn't see anything of it, however a couple of the group did. I rejoined the group, but before we went looking for it again, Liz shouted out some rather unexpected news. A possible Steppe Grey Shrike had just been reported near where we had been this morning!

 

Mega eek!

 

Decisions were made. At worst it would be a Great Grey, so we went for it, wading through mud, across dunes, jumping down a 15ft cliff where the dunes had been washed away and the long 2km trek back to the car! Some real paramilitary action!

 

Nobody knew about the Shrike as we walked back to the car, so we mentioned it as we walked briskly past. It was rather fun watching people spinning on their heals and changing course for the car park!

 

A drive later, and another brisk walk and there it was!

Perched distantly on a hawthorn in the middle of a field, a STEPPE GREY SHRIKE!!

 

Even from this distance, it was rather obvious. The colour hues to its plumage were off in every respect. It was almost a peachy/ sandy colour! It obviously had more white in the wings, but I just couldn't see the lores due to the distance.

 

But that didn't matter, as after being ousted from its perch by a Kestrel, the bird repeatedly moved closer to the ever increasing crowd. Until eventually, you were getting simply stunning views!

 

No denying those pale lores!! 

 

What a perfect way to end the weekend!

 

Again, a huge thanks to Rob, Liz and Luke for a great weekend! Some great birding was had! I'm sure one day I'll get to pay you back.

 

Same time next year?

 

MB

Pembrokeshire- Autumn 2013

I have never been to Pembrokeshire in the Autumn before! So as you could expect, a week away was highly anticipated! We were staying in the freshwater east area and i spent much of the week searching the surrounding area.

Soon after arrival out our beach-side temporary home i was already picking up birds, with 4 Sanderling scurrying along the shoreline close to some fishermen. All of them being juvenile's and these were the first of many over the week. 5 GBBG were also on the sand with a Shag out in the bay.

The next morning i was itching to get out, so i was out at 6:30am, and was soon ammassing a healthy list of species, a 1st winter MEDITERRANEAN GULL spent some time on the Beach before flying off, as did a winter plumaged BAR-TAILED GODWIT and a single juvenile Sanderling.

As time progressed, and having had little luck on the cliffs (No seabirds moving other than Gannets) i moved back down onto the Beach, where a juvenile Sanderling was showing, which as the tide increased became more and more confiding. After a patient wait, this superb arctic wader approached within 15ft of where i was sat, giving superb and intimate views!

Nice view isnt it.

The Sanderling remained all day on the Beach, moving out on the tide then moving back in again. Another wader highlight was soon given when a WHIMBREL fly over calling, as did an Oystercatcher and eventually 2 CHOUGH were seen over the hillside.

The next morning i awoke with optimism again, and i was out searching the area from early on in the morning and i was rewarded with a superb range of species. By far the standout species was that of a superb SABINE'S GULL which hung around offshore for around 15 minuites with a large flock of Gannets, Kittiwakes and Gulls, with 11 SANDWICH TERN'S, 20 Fulmar, 5 MANX SHEARWATER and the same 1st winter MED GULL as yesterday! Hows about that for a bit of seawatching! There was a massive movement of Hirudines and easily 2000 Swallow, House and Sand Martin flew over, all going south and straight out to sea! Watching them skimming only a flew feet over the top of the headland before dropping down to sea level was breathtaking! A TREE PIPIT put on a similar preformance heading straight south calling. Actually on the headland it was quieter, with a single Stonechat, 2 Whitethroat and i flushed a GREY PARTRIDGE while walking through waist high foliage.

Here was the view from my self designated 'Seawatching spot'.

A brief watch later in the day around 12:30 revealed a dark morph ARCTIC SKUA was followed the coast heading SE.

A small flock of Gannets entered the bay, and i tried to take some digi-scoped flight shots,

Again, a nice early start had me out scouring the clifftops. The Hirudine passage was still going incredibly strong with 1000+ Swallows and about even numbers of House and Sand Martin at around 100 birds. 'Alba' Wagtails were also on the move, and 50 flew over, as did a measly 20 Meadow Pipit. In contrast to yesterday, there was very little seabird activity and an after an hour I gave up and scoured the gorse. I had closer views of the CHOUGH pair, but could not locate their feeding area. It was while doing this I heard the 'raspy' call of a Dunlin as one wizzed past over my head. Passerines were still a little hard to come by, but 2 Whitethroat and 2 Stonechat were found. Late in the day, 3 Sanderling came up on the tide, but didn't hang around for long!

 

11/09/13

A visit into Tenby town always produces Rock Pipits and I wasn't disappointed when I found 3 birds on the south beach.

 

12/09/13

Do you know those days where you really couldn't ask for much better? That one day where the slightest bit of dampness in the air and a little fog and every bush seems to have some sort of life in it. These next two days certainly lived up to that expectation, not because of the rarity of what was seen, but just for that feeling of interaction you get when you come face to face with a variety of migrants, that you know in just a few weeks would be flying across oceans, plains, deserts and countries to reach their wintering ground. That brief moment when you can almost feel that slight feeling of anxiety, that desperation to move onto pastures new.

Quickly I found 3 SPOTTED FLYCATCHER doing exactly as their name implies, flycatching off a wire fence along a hawthorn hedge only 50ft from the sea, obviously waiting for that moment to launch themselves off towards Cornwall of beyond. In the fields adjacent to this hedge, 5 WHEATEAR and at least 40 WHITE WAGTAIL were scurrying around, relentlessly searching for sustenance for its upcoming journey. Multiple Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Goldcrests, Constant streams of Linnet, Goldfinch, 'Alba' Wagtails and Meadow Pipits overhead.

A late evening jaunter on the beach was rewarded by a flythrough flock of 15 Dunlin.

 

13/09/13

If the previous day had been good, today was brilliant! 'Our' SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS were still hanging on, but had been joined by a 4th bird overnight, and the hedge was absolutely teeming. 5 Willow Warblers, 5 Chiffchaff, a Whitethroat and multiple Goldcrests were also flitting from the hedge to the wire fence, obviously a prime feeding spot. The adjacent horse paddock was similarly teeming, but with Wagtails, Pipits and Goldfinch. 30 White Wagtail remained, with small flocks of Meadow Pipits in the weeds (Although 150+ flew over) and 50 Goldfinch were feeding on Thistles.

A very good start and I quickly had itchy feet to search the rest of the coastline. A LESSER WHITETHROAT was feeding on Trewent Point, and I was briefly exited as I saw a black 'mask',blue head and a peach breast perched on the top of a hawthorn. Shrike flashed through my mind but a change of viewpoint revealed the head on bird to be a male WHEATEAR, 3 others (totalling 4) were present in more typical habitat.

 

 

6 Stonechats were found, but my personal highlight was when a bright orange autumn male REDSTART perched on a wire fence, only feet from the cliff face. Within a minute, the bird had flicked of and down the cliff face not to be seen again. Migration in Action!

 

And finally, after nearly 5 days, I finally located the CHOUGH feeding area, and I was treated to stunning views of the pair as they fed in a paddock!

 

 

On returning back to Freshwater East, 9 SANDWICH TERN were feeding in the bay and spent about 30 minutes doing so before flying off again. Small numbers of Gannets were also following a similar routine. Just to add to the total of 'Sarnies', much later in the day 2 more flew in and perched distantly on a Boyd.

The final day of the holiday was a brief stop at Saundersfoot, where another 3 SANDWICH TERNS were feeding, with 40 Gannet, 2 Rock Pipit and a Grey Wagtail!

MB

"The best days birding I've had in Pembrokeshire.... Ever"

That above statement proves so true! I have never found a decent bird on holiday in Pembrokeshire, so to find two superb birds in a couple of hours was amazing!

But first, here are the few days running up to that final days birding.

27/05/13

While returning from a trip into Tenby, we returned to our staying location to find a superb RED KITE hunting over the meadows adjacent in a howling rainstorm. There is just something special about seeing a 'true' Welsh Kite hunting over a Welsh meadow, a real conservation success story!

28/05/13

A walk on the cliffs behind our accommodation revealed a Whimbrel and 4 Gannet offshore, as well as the expected Meadow Pipits.

29/05/13

A trip to the Beach with The Girlfriend revealed a flock of 5 Chough, as well as 2 Wheatear. A small flock of Gannets were hunting offshore and an Oystercatcher was on the offshore rock stack.

In the surrounding woodland i found singles of Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, and a male Redstart.

30/05/13

So it bring us to the day, the big one!

The keener eyed of you may have noticed that was last visit to Marloes Mere was painfully quiet, and i had a date with an old friend.

With the tide just being on the turn we dropped into The Gann first in the hope of Waders and did it produce!! Near the outflow of the river stood a flock of 40c Waders, a mixed flock of Dunlin and Sanderling!

With the wind being exceptionally strong, with resulting sand blasts of rocky stones and sand i decided to hunker down and get some photos or some summer plumaged Sanderlings.

A couple of birds joined the flock, so i had another scan of the flock. Bloody hell, LITTLE STINT! How on earth did i miss that he first scan because the two that just flew in were a Dunlin and Sanderling. While just grabbing the camera the entire flock, including the minute Stint took flight, the reason? A Peregrine flew through, causing mayhem, and in the confusion the Stint was lost to view, and we presumed that the bird had followed the larger flock of Waders (30c) and flew northish.

With these flocks now gone, we checked the lagoons in case the bird had dropped onto them, but all we could find was 6 Dunlin.

Moving out into the wider estuary, out list of waders for the day kept increasing, Whimbrel after Whimbrel until at least 20 were located feeding on a muddy shore. These birds were fairly distant, however a couple were close in on the newly exposed rocks as the tide dropped.

The Bar-tailed Godwit from the last visit was again showing, intermixing with the large flock of Whimbrel and Oystercatcher.

So it was onto Marloes Mere to meet an old friend.

Grabbing my Beach chair, scope and Bins, we positioned ourselves near the Barbed Wire gate, and waited, and waited, and you guessed it, waited. The old friend was proving late. With the time now approaching 4:20, and only 3 Shoveler, a pair of Ravern and a flyby of small waders hope was dwindling, so i decided to stand up and have a stretch, tilting my head back to stretch my neck.

"That looks a little dark and rakish"

Bins up

ARCTIC SKUA!!

ARCTIC BLOODY SKUA!!

A dark morph adult, showing a extended central tail feather (or two??) and white comma's on the outer wing accelerated low and fast over out heads. It turns out that very same wind that i had been cursing all afternoon     helped me find one of my highlights for the day as it pushed the Skua overland due to the high winds.

Having got my dad onto the bird, i tried to signal the two birders walking away from us towards the hide, not getting their attention, i ran to the hide to tell them the news, and then made my way back to my scope, picked it up and sped it along the path overlooking the bay adjacent to Marloes Beach, where the bird had flown to. After about 20 minuites scanning, it became obvious the bird had flown straight through. Small numbers of Kittiwake and Gannet were feeding in the bay.

That certainly picked things up a little bit, a rare occurrence for a Midlander to find an Arctic Skua, despite it being the commonest.

A short spell in the hide revealed a short flight view of a Black-Tailed Godwit.

So now it was to wait for our old friend. We walked the path, where we found 1 Chough, and had a chat with a woman from 'up north' who said she was looking for an LRP as they were hard to come by up by her! Its hard to put that into context when your used to seeing them every week. We turned around and started walking back to our viewpoint and in doing so spotted my old friend flying in over the Reeds.

GLOSSY IBIS!

With the sun shining, its metallic plumage at times looked almost silver, before the bird dropped into the area where we had been waiting for the previous couple of hours. We hot footed over there to be greeted with ok views of the bird feeding at the back of the flash.

Having certainly gone through a change in maturity since i saw it almost a year to the day before, back when it was a brown and speckly 1st year bird, it looked almost pristine in colour, with stunning shades of green maroon and blue, not forgetting those orange thighs.

A small crowd had developed, and while watching a small flock of 5 Black-tailed Godwits dropped in beside the Ibis, and started feeding together! Awesome! Mission done, it was time to head for some well deserved supper.

But that wasn't the end of the birds!

Ok, there weren't any birding days from now on, but just a few highlights from being out and about.

31/05/13

The last full day in Wales, so i decided to spend the day with the Girlfriend. In Tenby i found a Rock Pipit and a Shag, the Pipit showing on the Beach weaving in and out of the sun bathers.

Moving onto Manorbier Beach, 2 Chough were the best, and both Gannet and Fulmar were offshore, with an Oystercatcher on the exposed rocks while Rockpooling.

1/06/13

The saddest day, because it was time to head back. However, one thing to look forward to was the Red Kites, and they didn't disappoint, with 52 seen, including a single flock of 25! 2 Yellow Wagtail were also seen in roadside fields once we had reentered the Midlands.

MB

ARCTIC SKUA, revisited

30/08/11

As aformented, i had planned to visit Chelmarsh again, and the following tuesday, there we were.

We didnt know if the bird was presant or not, as we only had 'it was there yesterda' news, so how relieved we were when after a couple of mins of scanning, i picked up the ARCTIC SKUA again, sitting on the water, quite close into the bank, we then walked back so we could walk up the public Bridleway on the west side of the Res', from here we were treated to much better views of the Skua, and plumage detail could be seen, A dark morph Juv Arctic Skua, what a bird, Many times today it took to the air and harassed the LBBG that flew in after they fed on nearby fields,

The Skua would chase the birds, occasionally even pecking at the birds tails to get the Gull to disgorge its meal, lets just say the tactic worked quite well, and the Skua got lots of Food, and unusually for seabirds, it looked in extremly good health, oftern taking short flights (but often returning to the same spot), I spent some time studying the bird, and taking a few notes (both mental and written) to aid future occurences with the species, or even the whole skua group, as i have only seen one skua species, and 1 bird!

This is how the Res' looked from the public Bridleway, showing lots of potential, however i notcied a sign saying that the water is kept at high levels so there is no wader shore, other than the dam.

Which was why this was Created!

A small, shallow marsh, which although small, has amazing potential, having had Ruff, Spotted Redshank and currently holding a Grey Phalarope, it looks like with more coverage, this place could do some great birds!

So my first few visits to the Res made a huge impression, hopefully this is only 2 of many future visits (and its not that far away!)

Also noted:

120 Greylag Goose (actual count)

1 Snow Goose

63+ Goosander!!!!

1 Yellow wagtail (again on dam)

1 Peregrine flew over

10c Teal on marsh

MB

A site Mega, to a regional MEGA!

26/08/11

When news emerged that a Juv Arctic Skua had been found at Chelmarsh Res i was imidiatly thinking it wouldnt stay long, how wrong i was.

On friday, when my dad picked me up i sneakilly asked to have a visit, and to my suprise, a few hours later, there we were, pulling into the sailing club at chelmarsh!

It didnt take long to locate the bird sitting distantly on the other side of the Res near the Dam, and it flew once for no reason, and flew a tiny little closer, still way too far for digiscoping, but you cant blame me for trying.

We were treated to 'satisfactory' views of the bird as it sat on the water, not really doing much.

I vowed to return to chelmarsh in the following week, skua or not, because it looked quite good.

There was also a large (80c) flock of Greylag goose and in amongst the flock was a single adult Snow Goose, which flew over our heads a few times.

There was 23 Goosander and a single Yellow Wagtail on the Dam.

MB