February 2015

Long time no see yet again!

Slipping further and further behind as ever, but I still do intend to catch up with myself

The month started with the usual work party and Upton Warren on the 1st, where the standout highlight was 13 Jack Snipe and 18 Commons. A fairly low total for Common Snipe but a half decent count for the Jacks.

A mess of local birding followed, without seeing very much, including regular failed attempts at gulling around the Stubbers area, which returned no reward. So it was gratefully received on 7th when a day out was offered in south Wales, with a whole host of scarcities to keep up occupied. First of was the stunning Little Bunting at Forest farm country park, which showed superbly throughout the visit. Perhaps too well!

Due to the awkward position for digiscoping I often had to go to the furthest point away in the hide, which meant I was looking through a fence for most of the time, but the bird performed admirably!

 After our fill, and wanting to avoid the increasing crowds, we moved out from the country right into the center of Cardiff for the regularly returning drake Lesser Scaup, which was located without too much fuss swimming about with a large group of Tufted Duck. Having chosen to reside at the furthest point away from the viewpoint, and with strong and cold winds, we didnt stay around long, moving onto Newport RSPB.

The RSPB site itself was very quiet, a good number of waders on the estuary being the saving grace, featuring Grey Plover, Bar and Black tailed Godwit. A quick tea break led us to see Peregrine and Kestrel from the Cafe, which signalled the start of a bit of a raptorfest!.

Moving around to the Goldcliff Pools, we quickly located the wintering Spotted Redshank, a few Pintail etc. All was quiet untill from over the top of the hide can a raptor. Dropping low over the water in front of us a white rump gleamed. Ringtail Hen Harrier!!

She gave a good show for a couple of minutes, hunting around the pools, before drifting off over the seawall back towards the RSPB center.

While following it in the scope it dropped down, and while trying to pick it up again, another raptor appeared, another Harrier! But this was 4th raptor species in only 15 minutes, a juvenile Marsh Harrier! But no, it wasn't to end there, a male Sparrowhawk bombed past the hide only seconds after. With 5 species of Raptor on show in a matter of 30 seconds (Marsh, Hen, Buzzard, Sprawk and Kestrel) it was pretty good going. With most of the birds having gone into hiding, we left the hide, and while talking to a local birder about the enduring raptorfest, our 7th raptor species in 30 minutes appeared, as a female Merlin zoomed past us!! What a way to spend half an hour!

To finish the raptor extravaganza, we decided to take in some Owls, and an hour or so later, we were watching 4 Short-Eared Owls hunting over a weedy field, often at point blank range! But it didn't end there, a quick scope job of 3 distant raptors proved them to be Red Kites, Raptor species number of for the day, a superb days winter birding!

The very next morning, and I was out again, this time heading north into Cheshire, looking for my 2nd yank in 2 days. Heavy fog shrouded us as we arrived at New Brighton, and visibility was very restricted. We perserveered however, and after an hour or so, decided to try our luck with the Snow Buntings down the road, to return back to the marina later.

The Snow Buntings didn't prove too hard to find, as a pair shuffled about on the Wallsey end of the beach. Not wanting them to bother them too much in the cold weather we moved off, and then we heard that the Laughing Gull had just been refound. Perfect.

 A minute drive back down the road, a trudge across the beach out to the lighthouse, and there in the still thick fog was the 1st winter Laughing Gull, standing out like a sore thumb. Good views were had as it ran about on the beach with the Redshanks and Turnstones, but the fog did prove very annoying.

However it was great to watch it flying around etc, showing off extremely well just how dark its plumage was! 

A bonus 6 Purple Sandpiper out on the breakwater was a nice addition, but with limited time, and as the previous day, the freezing wind, it was hard to stay out too long.

We retreated to Burton Mere RSPB, almost entirely to see the roosting Long-Eared Owl, which was showing superbly on the track to the IMF hide.

A Spotted Redshank overflew the site when we checked the scrape, but it was otherwhys fairly quiet, particularly when compared to my last visit here!

Checking West Park revealed that Med Gull PNU9 was still present, with its hood becoming increasinfgly prominent on the 9th, with it last been seen on the 17th.

With the Water Pipits having returned to Doxey Marshes, it would have been rude not to visit, hence on a dreary 11th, i was stood scanning Pipits and Wagtails. Once reaching the right location, it didn't take too long to locate a Water Pipit, and by the time I left a few hours later, I was confident that there were at least 2 on show, with probably more.

The 'resident' 2 Barnacle Goose were often flying around and a good variety of wetland birds was present, including 10 Goosanders, 4 Little Egret and at least 6 Water Rail. A number of Stonechats were flicking around near the Water Pipit site, and some great views of Cetti's Warbler were had.

A patch visit on 15th revealed 2 hard to find patch birds, with both Little Grebe and Water Rail being present, both of which went on to stay around for a few weeks. A good flock of 119 Lapwing were also in the quarry.

The 21st saw my annual trip over to Draycote Water. Despite having a good number of good birds, we managed to dip the drake Smew, but a couple of hours getting wet, cold, and hailed upon proved worthwhile with a Black-Necked Grebe, a flock of 25 Tree Sparrows and the Greylag Goose flock containing a pair of White-Fronted Goose and a Pink-Footed Goose.

The last birding trip of the year took me to North Wales, where an early morning drive around the mountains saw us seeing a lekking flock of 22 Black Grouse! Very good, but distant views were hard in the breezy conditions, but it was great to watch them strutting their stuff on the grassy slopes.

2 Red Grouse, and a flyover flock of 3 Crossbill were the only other notable birds present in this very hostile, cold place!

A seawatch from Old Colwyn included the expected masses of Common Scoter, including a partially leucistic bird, but we failed to find any Surfs. We did however find 3 Velvet Scoter, with a nice cast of 7 Red-Throated Diver and 10 Red-Breasted Merganser. A flock of 5 Whooper Swan flew west far our at sea, which proved for a rather awesome, if random sight!

With a showy Iceland Gull being up the road it wasn't a hard decision to go take a look, and from the car as we pulled in you could see the bird, down on the sand, being thrown copious amounts of bread by a couple of photographers. I wasn't going to complain, as within a minute I was getting views like this. Absolutely stunning!

A drake Red-Breasted Merganser was showing well on the same tidal pool, until it and the Iceland Gull was flushed by a rampant Dog, much to everyones annoyance.

 A check of the Scoter flock proved difficult, with distance and increasingly strong wind proving a problem. Needless to say, no luck here either.

With a few hours still remaining of daylight, and on the way home, we dropped into Venus Pool, where a Ringtail Hen Harrier had been hanging around. We had seen it briefly just north of the site on the drive down, but it proved elusive once we reached the site, and having given it a really good time, we only saw it once briefly for a matter of 20 seconds. We were however entertained by a large flock of winter Finches/ Buntings, which included around 100 Yellowhammers, 15 Reed Buntings and a flock of 17 Corn Bunting. The latter a very good record for the site!

MB

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

Out birding in Cambridgeshire with the Worcester crew

5/04/14

 

Road trip!

 

It was another day out with the Worcester crew, and with Mike, Jarad and Neil, it was going to be a good trip!

 

Having seen last years 'proven' wild Baikal Teal I wasn't in much of a fuss to see the bird that had chosen to appear at Fen Drayton RSPB in Cambridge, but when I was offered a lift, and with a rather mouth-watering array of 'rares', I just couldn't say no!

 

So, our first destination was Fen Drayton, and sadly, the day soon reached its low. The Teal had gone, and hardly any ducks remained whatsoever! We were joined by another foreigner to this 'distant land' when Hughie appeared along the path.

Infact, it was a struggle to be too exited by anything that was present, a single female Marsh Harrier made a brief fly through visit and decent numbers of Goldeneye were present on the many pools. Infact, it was the hybrids that were the best birds of the trip. A Tufted x Pochard was present on one of the pools, but the most interesting bird came in the form of a rather odd looking Wigeon, which showed characteristics of both Eurasian and American Wigeon. However, the crew had practically fallen asleep at the lack of birds by this point, and we chose to head on.

 

We moved to Pymoor, where a drake American Wigeon was being reported, but in our searching of the masses of ducks we failed to locate it. Later in the day it also became obvious we had also not picked up another duck......

 

Stunning females of both Marsh Harrier and Peregrine flew through, flushing everything in the process.

 

Despite the lack of yanks, I was amazed by  the huge numbers of ducks still present, Pintail, Wigeon and Teal all being represented by very large numbers, and a flock of 40 Whooper Swan remained, which I thought was quite late, and indeed proved that this trip would work out to be worthwhile.

 

It was while scanning we received news of a female RING NECKED DUCK just up the road, so a quick car journey and we were soon pulling up, and within a few moments an obvious female 'Ring Neck' could be seen distantly from the river banks. It really was very distant, but very good light meant that it was perfectly identifiable. Even on shape alone it stood out a mile!

 

From this viewpoint, it was also clear of the huge volumes of ducks that remained on the Ouse Washes! Literally thousands!

With the weather feeling so 'springish', it was also great to see, and hear a Yellow Wagtail as it bounced over our heads! Always a great bird to have so early in the year!

 

With limited time remaining before having to head back, news of a Spoonbill at Ouse washes RSPB had us making a detour, and soon upon arrival at the hides, we were greeted by stunning views of a rather beautiful looking summer plumaged SPOONBILL!

 

What was even more outstanding though, was the fact that the bird was awake THROUGHOUT our visit, and was constantly feeding, which made a rather refreshing change to most Spoonbill records!

 

Again, it was somewhat of a "Midlander meetup" as again Hughie was present, and we all enjoyed this rather scarce visitor to our home counties.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps more  impressive though, were the sheer numbers of waders that were present, mostly consisting of two species. Hundreds upon hundreds of 'islandica' Black-Tailed Godwit were roosting on a couple of the spits, creating carpets of red, and many Ruff were strutting around in fine summer garb! What could be better! We had 60+ of these rather gaudy waders as they waded their way through the shallow waters outside the hides

 

 

Our time here was as I said, limited, and therefore we had to leave, but my first taste of the Ouse washes certainly 'whet my appetite', and I can see a return visit coming on soon!

 

MB

#The Midlanders are coming! (Yet again!)

25/01/14

The opening month of the year is always an exiting one for me! And it was with great excitement when 3 of the 'crew' from our last #TheMidlandersAreComing expedition exchanged plans to thrash the North Norfolk coastline. Any birders dream!

 

So, around 4am, the journey started from deepest Worcestershire, and having met the other 2 of our crew, Gert, Neil, Mike and me started burning up some rubber eastwards!

 

Our first destination was one of Royal stature, as we pulled into the small, country roads of the Sandringham Estate. Needless to say, the shady atmosphere was on heightened by a number of cars being parked at awkward angles on the verges and the regular slow drive pasts of a number of similarly shady looking vehicles, with many occupants gazing anxiously down the roads.

Our reasoning for being there on those country roads, surrounded on all sides by large rhododendrons was perhaps no less shady. We were in search of a glimpse of the gaudy Golden Pheasants which inhabit the area.

Having sat in the car for 30 minuites, the sun now up high in the sky, and with no sign of anything 'Golden' we decided to leave, as, if i am honest, the sight of lines of non-native hedgerow were boring us.

So we drove up to the coastal 'resort' town of Hunstanton, where there was significantly more in the way of wildlife!

Our arrival was greeted by thick fog, but from the car we spied 2 Dark-bellied Brent Goose on the beach, as well as Redshank and Bar-Tailed Godwit.Having found a suitable parking spot however, we walked the promenade north, where we were greeted by the presence of a stunning flock of around 150 Dark-belled Brent Goose, with their evocative call piercing through the fog!

 

 

 

From the far north end of the Promenade, we quickly found at least 5 Fulmar on and around the cliffs, but we quickly became distracted when the fog started to lift by the sea. Around 30 Bar-tailed Godwit were feeding at various points along the tideline, as were numerous Sanderling, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Turnstone. A single Ringed Plover flew past, and Dunlins were also moving through.

 

With the fog having now, we were able to scan the sea, and soon our list of ' desirble' birds was increasing. 20 RED-BREASTED MERGANSER were feeding offshore, as were a few Great-crested grebes. Good numbers of Teal and Wigeon were flying past distantly, and these included 4 Shoveler, a single Goosander and oddly, 2 Mute Swans! Certainly the latter i was not expecting on a seawatch!

 

Next up, it was further north east along the famous coast road. Holme Dunes.

 

On the pool immediately opposite the car park a Greenshank was feeding, a species i have never previously caught up with in January! The pool also hosted healthy numbers of Little Egrets, Redshank and a couple if Bar-tailed Godwits, with more on the tideline. A wisp of 4 Snipe flew over us and our first Grey Plovers of the day were feeding from the wet sand.

 

 

Hundreds of ducks and geese were feeding in the fields behind the beach, mostly comprising of Wigeon and Teal. The Greylag flock held a single Pink-footed goose, but my main highlight was getting decent views of at least 3 MARSH HARRIER, including one pristine, stunning male! In my opinion, Marsh Harrier are one of the best breeding birds we have in Britain, and i still always get that moment of excitement when i pan onto one!

Bring on the day they're breeding in the midlands!

A single Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and a fly through Peregrine completed the bird of prey list for the site!

Next it was onto the site of our first twitch. Burnham Ovary, where a certain Buzzard was currently in residence. It felt somewhat blasphemous driving past Titchwell RSPB without stopping, but our plan was to take shape!

Our scanning for Buzzards was fruitless, with only 4 Commons seen, but it was more than made up for by 2 stunning RED KITE which drifted in and hunted over 'Gun hill'. In common with the aforemented Harrier, Red Kite must go down as one of the most graceful birds to watch, gracefully swaying its tail from side to side to adjust its trajectory as it sweeps low over open fields, and this time having a backdrop of the North Sea!

 

 A single Barnacle Goose was feeding in the fields, as was a large flock of Brent goose,but with time wearing away, and with their being no sign of our main target, we took a unanimous decision to head inland.

Why?

A long staying party of PARROT CROSSBILLS have taken up residence in a wood just on the edge of Holt country park. However, before we had gotten to far from Burnham we drove past Holkham, where we managed to 'tick' Egyptian Goose for the day without even slowing the car!

 

 With some excellent map reading skills from Mike, we arrived at the location of Edgefield woods without any problem!

 

A short walk later and a small crowd appeared staring into the tops of pine tree's. It took a matter of a few seconds to realise where the birds were, and soon after, we were all getting decent, if often obstructed views of 4 PARROT CROSSBILL as they fed in the tops of the tree's

 

 They really were quite a pain to get a decent view of! Looking almost vertically to see a bird jump from one branch to another! Occasionally however, the birds would appear in the open, showing off their massive bulk, which, even though there were non for direct comparison obviously dwarfed Common Crossbill (2 flew over calling)

 

Having all been satisfied with this life tick, and having got decent views, it was time to head off again. We had to pay homage to the Norfolk birding gods.

Titchwell here we come!

We rushed straight to the beach, which was sadly looking very different to the last time i was here! The recent tidal surge had all but destroyed the dunes, so much so that it is not an exaggeration to say there were non! The power of the sea!

Luckilly however, the surge did not damage the main reserve, unlike the fate of many other reserves along the coast.

 

The sea was practically dead. Around 100 Common Scoter could be seen offshore, and 30 Goldeneye in nice and close, but otherwhys it was painfully hard going.

 

We started walking back towards the Parrinder hide, birding as we went, and the birding soon picked up! A good selection of waders were present, including Oystercatcher, Avocet, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Sanderling, Turnstone, Dunlin, Redshank, Black and Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlews and a very good sized flock of Ruff (28!). A single Knot joined the Lapwings on the freshmarsh briefly, but nothing could prepare us for the next 10 minutes.

 

We were guided onto a female SCAUP, and soon after one of our group picked out a nice 1st winter MEDITERRANEAN GULL on the islands.

 

 

Marsh Harriers were circling over the reedbed looking back towards the south, when all of a sudden, the hide was lashed by horizontal rain!

 

 

 

In the distance, a huge flock of around 6000 Pink-footed Goose battled past as the storm grew ever worse, and it was only a few seconds before the first lightening bolt struck the floor, illuminating 9 roosting Marsh Harriers as they were spooked from the reedbed.

 

It was surreal to be watching these gorgeous Raptors battling against the wind and rain, and to often share the same field of view as a lightening bolt striking the floor, a memory that I'm sure will stay with me for a long time! Absolutely amazing!

 

However, just as quick as it arrived, the storm had moved east, and we were again treated to gorgeous clear weather, and a stunning sunset.

 

 

Stunning isn't it,

 Look at those stripes on that hat!

 

If you would prefer a version without the addition of a 'Suited birder', see the additional option below.

 

But no!

 

It didn't end there, we moved down the track slightly, to where the reedbed joins the path, and we stopped and scanned. And its a good job we did, as soon after, our model from the above photo was calling out the presence of a stunning ringtail HEN HARRIER! In the fading light, its pale rump patch stood out like a beacon, and as we watching this gorgeous, rare, and sadly persecuted bird of prey, a BARN OWL flew across and started hunting in the same field of view!

 

This is what Norfolk is about folks!

 

What a way to end the day!

 

With the sun now set, a cheeky Suffolk cider in a nearby Thornham pub finished the day off nicely. 98 species, great company, and great location. That's what birding is about!

MB

PACIFIC SWIFT!

15/06/13

The group from the last excursion out East had again planned to visit Lakenheath RSPB in search of Golden Orioles, however, some bad fortune had 2 of our group dropping out, leaving just the two of us to head east and scour the Marshes.

Again, a 5am start had us arriving at Lakenheath before 8 am, and we were soon standing adjacent to the Black Poplars in the hope of catching a ear-full of melodious Golden Oriole song. With the strong gusts, it made listening very hard, with the rustle of the leaves constantly drowning out the birdsong. Our optimism wasn't particularly high, the birds had been very elusive for much of the spring and there had been no sign for days! Never a good sign when on the search for Orioles. After slowly walking past all 3 of the Poplar Wood's, and having drawn a blank, we walked towards the Joist Fen viewpoint.

Similarly to the last visit, MARSH HARRIER did seem to be hunting over every section of reeds possible, and at one point, 7 birds were up at once, a stunning sight!

In my mind, Marsh Harrier must surely rate as one of the best Raptors, such graceful flyers, and actually very good looking also. 

We were setting into a regular routine of scanning the reeds once we had reached the viewpoint, dodging the rain by moving to the other side of the wall. In one of these avoiding rain sessions, a female CUCKOO landed on a bush in the middle of the reeds.

Once another rainstorm had passed, i quickly walked to the other side, and had a scan, as i panned two birds 'got up' out of the reeds briefly, small, long tailed, and very quick. Within a second, they were back down. A short wait ensured, and one of the birds flew up again, long tailed, orange bodied and blue headed.

BEARDED TIT!

Quickly we both were onto the birds, and we had sporadic views for the next 30 minuites or so, before strong winds pushed them down into the reedbed.

2 BITTERN got up out of the reeds, one only very briefly, but the other up for a good 15 seconds or so as it flew a fairly long distance across the reedbed. Similarly, a Egyptian Goose also did the same, before dropping into the reedbed.

My companions phone bleeped with a bird news update, and upon opening found it to contain that dreamed for first word.

MEGA!

The thing that really got us going though was the next word, SUFFOLK!

"10:50, MEGA, SUFFOLK, PACIFIC SWIFT HAWKING OVER TRIMLEY MARSHES"

The inevitable look followed, part shock, part fear, and probably part desire, and it was clear what was going through both our minds, and the expected question soon spilled out "We gonna try?"

"Hell yes!"

There is simply no excuse not to try, but the odd's were well and truly stacked against us, been the furthest point from the car park (almost 3 miles), and then we had to find the location in the SatNav, and then drive to the site, the chances didn't look amazing, furthermore, the fact it was a Swift we were twitching seemed almost idiotic, knowing that literally any second the bird could fly, never to be refound.

But off we set, with a fairly brisk walk back to the car, in which time i managed to ask for updates on the bird. Misreading the reply i took in the walk from the carpark to the marshes at Trimley to be 1.5 miles each way, as the text said 3 miles total...

How wrong i was...

With the SatNav set, and reading 1 hour to the carpark on Cordys Lane we went...

The scene upon arrival was fairly manic, with the small carpark and almost half the length of Cordys lane covered in parked cars. Twitchers running past, legs whirring, swearing and sweating.

Rather than choosing the rather steriotypical twitcher type, we took the decision to have a fairly brisk walk to the pools, but not to break out into a sprint, and a good thing too, because that supposed 1.5 mile walk turned out to only the one track, and it was a full 3 miles to the bird! Agghhhh

Even just 'brisk walking' a sweat started to develop on the brow, the humid conditions obviously not helping. The paths just seemed to go on, and on, but the end never seemed to get any nearer. Only once i had reached the gigantic cranes on our left hand side did i finally start to crack, we must be getting closer now? Cant be much further?, maybe just up the tempo a little?.

My upping the tempo pushed my 'brisk walk' to nearly the pace of a slow jog, and finally i started seeing the Marshes, "Up onto the Sea-wall" was uttered to me as i passed the first hide, "Not much further!" and finally, as i rounded the final bend, the typical 'scrum' had developed, but it was still a further few hundred meters, aghhhh!

Soon i found myself clambering up a fairly slippery grass sea-wall before being hammered by a series of directions, "Going left, Now right, low down, Climbing, back against the sky, over the Shelducks, Low down".

Just training my bins on as many Swifts as possible, i briefly glimpsed a white rump.

"PACIFIC SWIFT!"

In my rush, i had left my partner behind a good way, and having had a decent view of the bird signaled him to scrambled here quick!

Ecstatic, elation, relief!

Not long after, we were both enjoying great views of this superb Asiatic Mega as it hawked low across the open water of the small estuary-side marsh. Having looked at Pacific Swift ID following the Spurn Bird i tried to recount plumage feature. White rump, easy, check, larger white throat patch, check, better defined throat patch, check, longer and more forked tail, check. That was all i could remember, but i was soon picking the bird up head on, and i kept doing it. Why?

The reason became apparent after some scrutiny, as it became clear that the bird had a slightly broader head and longer wings that Common Swift, creating a 'thinner' bodied look, while in fact it was just an illusion due to the birds head size and longer tail. 

Wanting a photo of my first true 'MEGA', i grabbed for my scope, to which a few 'You'll be lucky to get one" and "Good luck" comments were made, but i started snapping away. Soon, the birds habits became obvious, and with some help from the birders around me, they often called out when the bird was feeding low over its favored area of open water, allowing me to 'spray and pray' that the bird would be in one of the pictures.

An hour or so later, mixing periods of photo taking and studying, and simply watching, i managed to get a few shots.

Having been watching the bird for about 1 1/2 hours, the bird suddenly shot off at 3pm, seemingly flying towards the docks and disappeared, soon after, an almightly rainstorm hit, drenching everybody, my raincoat suddenly came in handy after moaning about carrying it all that way in boiling heat on the way down. Soon through, it was leaking, and my jacket and jeans became soaked. With the bird having been gone for nearly 30 minuites, we decided to part from the site to escape the rain.

Getting back to the car, soaked to the bone, cold and shivering, could i care less?

Not at all, 

A 7th for Britain, and a practically untwitchable bird in the past, with the last gettable bird been decades ago. This was made even better when just as we approached the car park, a friend who was in the crowd (who arrived after the birds had gone) text to say that the bird was again showing.

Brief scans around the Marshes also revealed a male Marsh Harrier, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 16 Avocet and a fly over Little Egret!

But No! It didn't end there. Stopping in a layby not far away to have some food, i heard a few familiar notes ring out from the scrub beside us. That sounded like a Nightingale....

And then it belted out its distinctive song from right beside the car, a male NIGHTINGALE!

After a little bit, we had brief views of the male, and also a presumed female bird in the verge hawthorns, what a way to end the days birding!

MB

#TheMidlandersAreComing

11/05/13

At the unearthly hour of 5am, a group of 4 dreary eyed Midlanders met on a quiet residential road in the center of Redditch, the objective?

To absolutely thrash the North Norfolk coast in a day of hardcore birding.

In reality, 'Hardcore' is really not the word to describe it, but more of a relaxed 'mop up' of  a variety of superb birds that us as Midlanders are deprived of in our home county of Worcestershire. We reached the county of Suffolk by 7 to be greeted with superb sunshine! At Lakenheath just after 7:30, and walking the path to the New Fen viewpoint soon after. A Cuckoo could be heard calling from near the visitor center, and proved to be one of MANY around the site. At least, i would guess that 5 birds were on site, and we had many views of the birds, including some stunning views!

The View from the New Fen viewpoint was stunning!

And it wasn't long until a personal favorite of mine flew into view, an absolutely stonking male MARSH HARRIER. The bird quartered the reeds at very close range, giving stunning Bins views, before moving a little further away where i took a few photos as it flapped low along the Pythagamites. A female soon joined it, and both hunted the beds.

Eager to move on we moved to the path adjacent to the river, but while doing so heard the deep, quiet booming sound of a male Bittern! Again a species that we had a cumulative total of 5!

Standing on the raised track overlooking the reedbed and the river, a GRASSHOPPER WARBLER could be heard reeling, and managed to get brief views of this elusive Locustella warbler. Infact, one of very few actual 'sightings' I've had, as most are usually deep within a reedbed and refuse to show.

4 HOBBY were picked out perching on the edge of the woodland, one in particular giving great views, all waiting for the day to warm slightly so the insects take wing. There is something just 'not right' about seeing a Hobby perched up, don't get me wrong, it is a stunner of a Falcon, one of the best, but to see Hobbys doing 'what they do', that is, catch, eat and show the immense agility that is part of their trait all 'on the wing' is just magnificent!

Walking up the track further, one of the party picked up a stunning COMMON CRANE as it flew past us, quickly followed by a 2nd bird, and we had decent views as they circled over the reserve. Only on the return flypast did they give truly decent views.

Joist Fen was quieter, a couple of MARSH HARRIER quartering the reeds, and a further flypast of the CRANES, as well as insanely close Common Swift flypasts.

The male at this end of the reserve was even better than the New Fen bird, i mean just look at it!

Our main target however was still refusing to show and, as far as we knew, hadn't been seen. Being very conscious of the time, we decided to walk back to the visitor center, dropping in at New Fen again to ask one of the RSPB staff if anything had been seen. Literally a few minutes before, they had seen our main target for the reserve! We went over to check where it was seen flying to, but we had nothing, although the first flying Hobby of the day was nice to see. Sitting in the visitor center, we took a vote, to Norfolk, or stick around, with an absolute deadline of 1pm. We chose the 2nd, and it chose to be a superb decision. Back at New Fen, we joined the crowd, and after about 10 minutes a 'commotion' stirred at the other end of the crowd, a few muffled 'At the back' or 'behind the bush........ Now' remarks and i got onto the stunning male RED-FOOTED FALCON!!

Even from this distance, it brilliant silvery primary s stood out like a beacon from the many Hobby that it was hunting with, and with the sun, blue hues could be seen from its dark plumage, with occasional glimpses of its Red under tail. We knew the path we had walked along was much closer, and we hot footed it over there, and again, a superb decision, and we had stunning views of this beautiful Falcon as it sped low across the Reeds with at least 7 Hobby. At this range, you really could admire this stunning eastern European Falcons plumage. Almost entirely slate blue/grey body and upperwing, with incredibly pale primary s (at times, almost white), contrasting to an almost black underwing and tail as it jinked its way after one of the many St Marks Fly.

 With the incredible speed of the Falcon, it proved almost impossible to digi-scope, but a few 'lucky' aim and  burst fire shots came good with a couple including the Red-foot!

(RFF on right, Hobby on left)

The Falcon refused to land so i could get some 'proper' shots, but a few Hobbys did, only confirming them as a stunning species!

After a decent time savoring this beauty after out long 4 hours worth of effort, we bode farewell to Lakenheath to move to another Breckland location. Weeting Heath.

Without introduction, you know what our objective was here. Stone Curlew, and we were soon treated to clear, but somewhat distant views of these unusual wading birds as they slowly made their way out of a furrow. Only two could be found however, the late cold spring obviously having had the effect we feared before visiting, as many had been picked up dead around the Brecks. Despite this horrible fact, we enjoyed the views of this enigmatic bird, and one that is exceptionally rare in the Midlands!

We didn't want to hang around too long, already being behind schedule, so we quickly moved off, towards North Norfolk.....

To be Continued....

MB