Posting again!

It's almost two years since my last post and I'm not quite sure I can place all the blame on my 16 month old daughter, but now she's old enough to join me hopefully I'll get out more. So let's start blogging again ready for the spring migration.

February has been quiet with a trip to Felbrigg with James my only trip out. All the normal species seen but nice too get out birding with an old friend. Over the last week I have tried to do a bit of pre work birding. Finally seeing my first barn owl of the year at Coltishall along with a little egret. Along the Wensum in the city centre I saw 3 Kingfisher and 2 Grey Wagtail on Friday. Yesterday I caught up with the Waxwing on Union Street and this morning detoured via the cathedral see the Peregrine on the spire.

February Update

With the days starting to lengthen I can once again look out for birds while travelling to work. On the 3^rd while walking along the River Wensum, I saw my first Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail of the year, and I have seen the wagtails several mornings since.
 By the 6^th Feb Gary and I had waited long enough and gave in to the callings of the Harlequin Duck in Aberdeen. Leaving North Walsham at Midnight we arrived at Seaton Park in Aberdeen around 9.15am after a short breakfast stop near Glasgow. Following the river Don upstream we were soon watching Goosander and some displaying Goldeneye. And after negotiating around a building site found the Harlequin Duck preening further upstream. We watched the bird at times diving at quite close quarters for around an hour before heading off through the Caingorms in search of some specialist Scottish wildlife. Looking at the map Glen Muick looks a good place to try as we have little knowledge of sites in the southern Cairngorms. We soon saw Raven, Red Grouse, Dipper, Hooded Crow, Mountain Hare and Red Deer. Not only were the views stunning but we also stumbled upon a Black Grouse lek to round it off. Driving back via Glen Shee ski centre we soon found a group of Ptarmigan and 40 + Red Grouse close to the road, despite the large numbers of people taking advantage of the snowy conditions. We then started the long drive home.

On the 8^th Laura and I had a stroll around Felbrigg NT before a welcome hot soup in the cafe. Not a lot to report from the lake and meadows, the usual tits and finches, a group of c10 Skylark, 4 Mistle Thrush and a Snipe by the inlet stream.

Driving to work on the 18^th a Woodcock flew through the lights outside the house as we waited, and on the 19^th a Barn Owl was quartering the meadows just over the Coltishall Bridge. We are also now returning home in the semi-dusk and on 24^th a total of 5 Woodcock were seen on the route home.

On the 27^th after pottering at home I decided to walk a little bit of the patch but it was 11.00 before I headed off towards Pigney’s Wood. The Paston way along the railway line was rather quiet bar a few Blue and Great Tit. Behind the ‘Bluebell Wood’ quite a few Blackbird were about along with 3 Song Thrush. There’s been quite a bit of work at Pigney’s since my last visit with an area of Heathland creation, lots of work around the scrapes and the river has been dug out again. Because of this everywhere seemed muddy and few birds were about. The highlight of the walk was a flock of thrushes in a horse paddock off Little London with 10+ Redwing, 4 Mistle Thrush, 2 Song Thrush and numerous Blackbird.

Driving back from Cromer on 28^th along a short stretch of road we saw a Kestrel, 2 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and a Peregrine, quite a raptor fest. I also spotted my first Grey Partridge of the year in the same area.

January Update

January proved to be almost as quiet as December, the only upside was that everything was new for 2015. As always Gary and I started the year with a days listing on January the first providing 103 species, and I also went for a couple of walks locally but very ventured far. 

January 1^st proved to be a rather testing day, arriving at Titchwell for our normal start time we had to wait over 30 minutes for the light to improve to start seeing birds rather than trying to ID silhouettes. Having already spotted a Robin and Blackbird in the dark at North Walsham, we managed an additional 67 species at Titchwell despite the gloom. A Peregrine low along the beach spotted by Paul and a male Hen Harrier spotted by me where probably the highlights, although i did see Spotted Redshank a bird i managed to miss all of 2014. Choseley in recent times has been quiet and a Red-legged Partridge was all we added here. Thornham also proved to be a one bird stop, but it was the hoped for Twite. Calling in at home we added Snow Bunting and Stonechat in the dunes, before finding some thrushes and garden birds near the toilet block to take the total up to 80.

Snettisham was quite a long walk, with the target, Black-necked Grebe and Glaucous Gull near the far end, but an additional 8 species where added while there. At Roydon we added three species but not the hoped for Great Grey Shrike (turns out we went to the wrong end of the common). Flitcham was alive with a massive mixed flock around the farm and hedgerows, from which we picked Brambling, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Marsh Tit, Jay and GSWood to take the tally to 97.

The light had been poor all day so we decided to ditch the usual route back towards East Norfolk and to finish at Stubb Mill, opting to stay in North Norfolk. A Tundra Bean Goose to Brancaster edged to total towards 100. But it was Barn Owl at Gun Hill and White-fronted Goose at Holkham that got us to the ton barrier. We finished off by watching the roost from Stiffkey Campsite, adding Short-eared Owl and Sparrowhawk. Desperatelytrying to increase the list we looked for an Egyptian or Canada Goose by car headlight at Salhouse but unsurprisingly failed! So the total was 102, well not quite as driving back through Northrepps a Tawny Owl was perched above the road.

While missing Pied Wagtail on the 1^st Jan i wasn’t quite expecting one to turn up at work. Well on my desk to be more precise, it had someone got into the shop and spend around 30 minutes perched on and around the beds and wardrobes near my desk, before leaving via the windows I had opened.

On the 5^th/6^th I spent time helping dad clear firewood from a private wood near North Walsham, skeins of geese came over both days and we flushed a couple of Woodcock, but the woods were surprisingly quite.

On 21^st walked part of the patch for the first time in 2015, wandering to Antingham Pond and back. The fields behind the industrial estate have been planted with mustard and walking the footpath, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Redwing all flew out along with a couple of Yellowhammer. From Lyngate to Antingham Pond it was rather quiet, with a few tits and finches; however I did add Bullfinch and Siskin to the year list with the latter in the Alder by the pond. Back near the mustard field nearly home I then counted 16 Yellowhammer perch on the wires, a pleasant end to the walk.

The 27^th I was again clearing firewood but the woods were much livelier, again some geese passed over and also a Red Kite. 2/3 Great Spotted Woodpecker were calling but the bird was the day was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, an all too rare occurrence now. In amongst the mixed tit and finch flock I also saw 2 Goldcrest and my first Treecreeper of the year.

Winter Update

As I haven’t posted for a couple of months, I thought I should post a winter update before the New Year arrives.

As my lack of posts suggests there hasn’t really been an awful amount to report, poor weather, overtime at work and Christmas all getting in the way of any meaningful birding. In fact most of the highlights of the last few months have been chance encounters while travelling to work.

 

Most mornings I walk a short section of the River Wensum between Barn Road and Duke Street, and most days I spot either a Kingfisher or Grey Wagtail. In early November I started to regularly see a dog Otter in the area fishing just upstream of the sluice gates and on the 10th November 3 Otter were feeding/playing together.

 

 

On a couple of occasions (when it’s been drier) I have walked a longer route from Milecross Road to Duke Street taking in the opposite bank to Wensum Park and the ‘Railway Woods’ by Halfords. On 23rd October I was surprised to see a Mallard with 6 newly hatched ducklings in tow, 2 of which I saw again a few weeks later. As the weather finally got colder in late November I saw Fieldfare and Redwing on this extended route and on the 8th December a Firecrest was in the ‘Railway Wood’. Upto 4 Little Grebe have also started to become regular on the river. On very wet mornings I have walked a more direct route along Magdelen Street, but have still got to see the Peregrine around the Cathedral and Grey Wagtail from the bridge.

 

Erratic Christmas working hours have also seen me some days taking the bus to work rather than a lift, and from the upper deck of the bus I have been able to scrutinise the roadside fields. A flock of Golden Plover near Sco Ruston held a very unusual addition, an Oystercatcher that was obviously very confused. On the 13th December I also saw 4 Common Crane flying over Westwick from the bus. We have also seen a Barn Owl on a couple of occasions not far from Coltishall while driving home. The commute has also featured a few mammals as well in recent months, a Stoat at Croswright, a couple of Weasel, a handful of foxes and numerous deer. Just outside North Walsham Red Deer some weeks have been a daily occurrence, but also Munjac, Roe Deer and Chinese Water Deer have been seen, mainly from the bus while driving the winding back lanes between the villages.

Apart from a cluster of early Autumn migrants the second half of the year has been rather quite for me, a few good birds have been missed, and my normal urge to get out birding seems to waned or at least been more easily distracted. That said I have still managed to add 6 species to my Norfolk List, the highlights being the Great Knot a Breydon, Black-headed Bunting at West Runton and Spectacled Warbler at Burnham Overy , which due to its crippling views has to be my favourite. I also finally caught up with a Red-rumped Swallow. Further afield I have added 7 species to my British List, the 4 fore mentioned, American Coot, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Short-toed Eagle.

 

Twite A Day

With the heavy winds over night I felt that although most birds here already would depart there was a good chance something exciting might turn up, so I caught the train to Sheringham at 7.45 with a plan to then bus onto Cley.

With the Coasthopper now running a winter service I had about an hour to sea watch, the shelter was pretty full, and I was told I had missed a few Pomarine Skua, Bonxie and 3 Short-eared Owl. Gannet were still streaming through and I didn't have to wait long for a couple of distant Bonxie and then a Pomarine Skua a little closer. A couple of Little Gull drifted for a while offshore and just before I had to leave for the bus a Grey Phalarope was called flying east. A few bonus birds considering hadn't realised the change in bus timetables.

After jamming onto the Grey Phalarope I really though the rest of my day was going to be disappointing as cresting the ridge near Kelling, from the bus I could see that most of Salthouse and Cley Marshes were flooded, due to last nights high tides! From the main cluster of hides ducks were the order of the day, in fact the only waders were a flock of Godwit and 2 lonely Avocet. Large numbers of Wigeon and Teal are no doubt new arrivals, these were joined by good numbers of Pintail, Shoveler and a handful of Pochard. On Billy's Wash a Peregrine was repeatedly sending the Wigeon and a flock of Golden Plover into the air. Brent Geese are already back in reasonable numbers but I didn't see any Pinkies all day. Walking back from the hides a Cetti's was calling and two Chinese Water Deer emerged from the reeds onto the boardwalk only feet away, they soon scarpered. A couple of Stonechat were near the entrance to Beach Road, and a lonely Ringed Plover was in a flooded meadow. The Golden plover had settled in the Eye Field as large numbers of Meadow Pipit seemed to be filtering through west, during the day a had numerous groups of c10 and a couple of 50+. North Scrape was the quietest I have seen it with only a few Wigeon present. Between here and East Bank I followed a small flock of birds, which once they settled turned out to be 14 Twite, defiantly find of the day. Apologies for the poor digi-scoped effort, it was still very blustery.

Following the Twite behind Arnold's (very flooded) Marsh, I decided to walk onto Salthouse. The Iron Road was flooded so I walked further on, but the next track was flooded, Beach Road also looked like it was flooded halfway down so I continued East towards Kelling Water Meadows. This was not entirely fruitless as a late Whinchat was at Salthouse Little Eye. A brief stop at Grambrough Hill turned up 2 Goldcrest and a Wren. A Rock Pipit was on the ridge just before KWM, but the Water Meadows themselves held nothing of note with little mud exposed. Stomping on past Kelling Hard and onto Weybourne I only added a Robin and Reed Bunting to the days tally. With aching feet and 6.5 km of shingle behind me I jumped on the bus, followed by the train and went home.

Saturday Patch Migrants

After missing a text from Gary asking if i wanted to go to North Norfolk on Saturday morning, come the afternoon I had to go look for some birds. After doing various jobs it was getting quite late so Laura and I headed over to Paston Cliffs for a little look. I was surprised by the amount of birds we could hear, but as the wind had picked up locating them in the scrub wasn't easy. There seemed to have been a fall of Robin as they accounted for most of the ticking we heard, c20 Robin, 5+ Goldcrest and a few Wren where in the bushes. A few thrushes came up from the cliff/off the sea with 5 Redwing and 2 Fieldfare seen. Quite a few Meadow Pipit seemed to be heading South, along with c10 Pied Wagtail and with them 2 Lapland Bunting flew through, I found them again on the deck further along the cliffs. Looking out to sea despite the land wind a few Gannet drifted through distantly and a Shearwater sp. probably Sooty Shearwater wasn't too far out.

Finally Birding

Since mid-September a raft of Westerly winds have seen migration in Norfolk slow to a trickle, but just in time for my annual 2 week mid-October holiday the wind shifted. Work meant that I missed trips for the Marked Shrike and Little Crake, but on 8th Oct I did get up to Burnham Norton, in some horrible weather to see the Steppe Grey Shrike, but rather distant.

After work on Sunday Laura and I headed up to North Norfolk to stay with friends but torrential rain on Monday meant there was no chance of a coastal walk. The day got worse as I returned home to find a puddle in our utility room, the roof was leaking! Tuesday was then taken up removing most of the tiles from our extension, repairing and re-tiling the roof. While up on the scaffold c40 Redwing few over and a flock of 22 Long-tailed Tit were in the garden. Wednesday was then spent pulling up the lino and soaked under floor insulation (the only upside was I found a tiled floor underneath). Thursday I managed to finally tidy up and it was only this afternoon that I found time to get out birding.

Being 1pm it was a bit late to head to the coast although a small fall of Pallas Warbler made it was tempting. I plumped for my normal circuit out towards Antingham Pond and back. In the fields I found my first migrants of the day, a flock of 50+ Meadow Pipit, further along another group of 9 flew over. I've only ever seen 2 Meadow Pipit on the walk in the past. Numbers of Blackbird and Song Thrush seem to have increased and a couple of Redwing were seen. Near Antingham Pond while doubling back along the road for a closer look at a group of 3 Buzzard drifting east (one looked very pale) I heard a Yellow-browed Warbler call. Despite waiting around, the tit flock I assume the YBW was associating with moved off without seeing or hearing the bird again. Nearer home a few Jay seemed to be passing over, but not the numbers of a few weeks ago. A few less common migrants have been found along the coast so who knows what the weekend and the rest of my holiday will hold.

A (Half) Marathon Migrant Hunt

I had planned on catching an early train and sea watching at Sheringham and exploring the local area, but waking up to rain I stayed in bed awhile and caught a later train to Cromer. The sea mist was only just burning off so an earlier start would probably have been a waste of time. Although it's not Sheringham I still thought I give sea watching a bash, and did between 8.15am and 9.15am. Gannet made up most of the count with Cormorant going backward and forwards. Here's the full count;

Gannet e79 w16, Manx Shearwater e3, Cormorant e37 w31, Dunlin w2, Great Skua e1, Shoveler e1, Fulmer w2, Sandwich Tern e12, Common Scoter e16 w7, Arctic Skua w1, Teal w4, Kittiwake w2, Wigeon w12.

From the promenade I walked east towards the doctor's steps, seeing 2 Wheatear and a Yellow-legged Gull on the beach. I then had a look around Warren Woods and the area near the lighthouse. Another Wheatear and a few Chiffchaff were all I could muster before walking across the golf course towards Overstrand. The clifftop bushes and cliff slumps look idea for migrants but 2 Whitethroat, 2 Chiffchaff, and a Garden Warbler seemed like a small haul. On the golf cause itself another 5 Wheatear and 1 Whinchat flitted about.

In Overstrand my first hindrines passed over in the form of 2 House Martin and 1 Swallow. A Wheatear was near the car park and another two were on the promenade. Also along the promenade a gentleman rebuilding the beach huts made me aware of a Purple Sandpiper.

Moving onto Sidestrand I found a Yellow-browed Warbler in some sycamores on Tower Road, my best find of the day. Behind the school I found my second Whinchat of the day, before coming across a group of 77 Cormorant resting on the beach. Before reaching Trimingham and the 'clifftop wood' a Tree Pipit flew over, 5 Grey Partridge strangely flew over the cliffs and 2 more Wheatear were in the fields.

Trimming ws my last coastal area before turning inland towards home. The clifftop wood only held a single Chiffchaff and a few tits, near the Pilgrim Shelter I encountered 2 Goldcrest and 5 House Martin flew through. By the sand pit 6 Swallow few around and I saw my 13th Wheatear of the day.

Skirting the edge of Gimingham I saw 2 Buzzard and my final Wheatear of the day. Walking the footpaths via Trunch, Bradfield and Lyngate 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler and a small group of Skylark where probably summer residents rather than migrants. And that concluded my sea watch and migrant hunt, 7.5 hours, 60 species and 22km (half a marathon) later.

Migrant Hunting Once Again

I started a week off work with an early morning walk on Thursday. Waving Laura off, I set off to walk a regular loop out towards Antingham Pond and back again. It was rather overcast with low cloud and everything seemed subdued, although I did hear a singing Chiffchaff nearby as I left. A Kingfisher whizzing down Lyngate Road as if it were a river, was probably the highlight, but it was just nice to do this walk again as I haven't for a few months. The rest of the day was devoted to jobs around the house.

Friday dad and I headed for the coast in the hope of some migrants. We plumped for Kelling, it seemed as good a place as any and I was hoping the Western Bonelli's may have still been there. Parking by the school we spent a short while looking for the Bonelli's but it was soon evident it had moved on. Walking down the track to the water meadows there were good numbers of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, giving us hope for the day ahead. The track also held a good-size flock of Chaffinch and mixed Tits. A single Bullfinch also flew over before I found a skulking warbler, luckily we didn't have to wait to long to see the bird, a Lesser Whitethroat. According to a 'local' the pools have been almost dry and only recently started to fill again, there was enough water though to attract 2 Dunlin, c20 Teal and a similar number of Pied Wagtail. At the beach I decided on a little impromptu sea watch as with binoculars I could see a few Gannet passing through. In 20 minutes we has 30+ Gannet, a handful of Sandwich Tern, 2 Guillemot and a Razorbill. The short turf by the Radar station had a single Wheatear hopping about and on the fence a female Whitchat frustrated me, moving along a post at a time as soon as I focused my camera! A recently ploughed field held good sized flocks of both Skylark and Meadow Pipit, possibly passing through? We soon found ourselves back at the car with few genuine migrants encountered, but nibbling on a few snacks before heading off a Honey Buzzard flew through quite low going east.

A quick walk around Kelling Heath in the vein hope a few of its Heathland specialities remain, proved fruitless with a group of 8 Buzzard the only thing worth reporting, unless your keen on Wren and Woodpigeon. We thought about stopping off at near Sheringham or West Runton, but with little being reported headed home. Checking the days sightings in the evening I learnt of a Wryneck at Beeston!

Before my 8pm physio app the evening still held enough light for a brisk stroll around the Spa Common area. Bird wise unsurprisingly it was rather quiet, but along the roadside I did see quite a bit of fungi and an area of digging that looks quite good for badgers.

Saturday Laura and I spent the day out and about doing various things, which included a brief visit to the cliffs at Paston. A lone Whinchat on the wires by the paddocks and 2 Wigeon on the sea were the total sum of migrants seen. But a ticking bird deep in thick brambles and unwilling to move was obviously something very rare.

Autumn Clifftop Migrants

With migrants now really starting to flow I decided to give Paston Cliffs a bash this morning with dad. The scrub by the car park held a couple of Whitethroat and a mixed tit flock buzzed about. It seemed quiet, except for the 75+ House Martin and Swallow hawking around. Scanning the bushes on the cliff face I spotted a rather aggravated Robin, it wasn't happy with something, and I soon managed to spot a lovely looking male Black Redstart at the base of the cliff. In the bracken area the usual Dunnock family flitted about, but diving over the cliff edge another bird caught my eye. Peeking over the edge a top a gorse bush was a female/juv Whinchat. Two new patch birds and I had a third shortly after as I spotted a Pied Flycatcher when if briefly left a scrubby area halfway down the cliff. A few more Whitethroat and a mixed Linnet/Goldfinch flock as I wandered towards the paddocks completed this very pleasant if brief walk.

We did then drive onto Trimingham, but had only reached the clifftop wood when it started to rain quite hard. The rain eventually eased enough for us to make an escape back to the car, but the days birding was over.

Migrant Butterflies

With a few days off work but not much going on bird wise, I've spent the last few days generally pottering about. But without trying I have stumbled across a few nice discoveries.

On Friday I went with Dad to his allotment on the edge of town, while feeding the ducks on the 'pond' that is nearby I flushed 3 Green Sandpiper and found a Spotted Flycatcher. This is just within the patch so the latter was also a patch tick. Crossing the road from here to collect some Blackberries the meadow was alive with butterflies, including Small Skipper, Gatekeeper, Peacock, Large White and Small White. But butterfly of the day (well butterflies as there was 2) was Clouded Yellow a species (although a relatively frequent migrant) I have never seen in Norfolk, only on the south coast.

Sunday Laura and I went for a drive, and on our return stopped at garden center near Roughton. In one of their poly-tunnels I was first drawn to a Banded Demoiselle, but that was short lived as I spotted a large butterfly bouncing along inside the roof. The light was poor and the butterfly was mostly silhouetted but something told me to persist. As the butterfly moved along the poly-tunnel I caught a glimpse of the distinctive white edges to the wings, and for a briefest of moments it settled so I could ID it as a Camberwell Beauty, a new butterfly for Britain and my second migrant butterfly in three days. We went onto Pigny's Wood to look for Purple Hairstreak without any luck, but quite a few Darters have emerged and a few Hawker Dragonfly joined them in the air. Lots of Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Whites where the only butterflies we saw.

Late Monday afternoon as I opened the gates to leave home a Tortoiseshell butterfly flew past and caught my attention as appearing to be slightly large. I briefly followed it around the garden before if flew over the hedge. It looked quite fresh and I'm really not sure if it was 'big' or I was just getting carried away with migrant butterflies, anyway today I'll be checking the garden and buddlia behind the house just in case it was a Scarce Tortoiseshell!

Today (5th) I again spent some time at the allotment, this time armed with my camera and binoculars! I managed an impressive butterfly species count of 15 including 5 Clouded Yellow, a Painted Lady and lots of common species. I spent an age chasing the Clouded yellow around but failed to get a single in focus shot, all the butterflies seemed extra energetic in the baking sun. Down by the 'pond' I found 4 species of dragonfly and 4 species of damselfly including Small Red-eyed Damselfly. The Green Sandpiper was again present, along with a family of Blackcap and Willow Warbler.

Rare bird or Knot...

....I'm not going to Yarmouth 3 days in a row. On Monday morning news broke that a Great Knot had been found at Breydon Water the night before. Although I was off work it was rather frustrating as I had been in Yarmouth on the Sunday and had already planned a walk around Breydon on Tuesday. The question was do I visit Yarmouth 3 days in a row, with a few jobs to do and the only feasible way to get there involving two trains, I decided to risk it and wait until Tuesday.
My risk paid off, dad dropped me near ASDA at 9.00am before taking mum onto the hospital. By 9.15am I had distant views of the Great Knot which gradually edged closer. By 10.15am the bird had flown in to a distance of c200m, joined the roosting Godwit as the rising tide forced the birds off the mud. By 10.45am I had had my fill of Great Knot and was chomping on a bacon butty in ASDA. The light was poor for photos so I only managed a grainy record shot of the bird among the Godwit, honestly its in there somewhere, a Curlew Sandpiper was also on show.

Gary called me after work on Saturday to ask if i wanted to join him on an evening trip to Winterton with a report that the Northumberland Bridled Tern had the previous night roosted with the Little Tern. A third 'Mega' in Norfolk in less than a week seemed too good to be true (a Black-winged Pratincole was in North Norfolk) and so it turned out. Meeting a group of birders on the beach at Winterton as the sun began to set the stories of the previous day/night unraveled slightly and the now 'probable' Bridled Tern had not roosted but been seen distantly offshore, the presence of a juv. Black Tern in the area also complicated matters. Still on what was a very warm evening (still 22C at 9.45pm) we did get to see a lovely sunset before the thunder and lightning storm we got on our return home.

Late Post, Late Twitch, Late Home

On Sunday 22nd June Gary and I finally got time to go and twitch the Short-toed Eagle, in East Sussex, apologies for the late write up. Gary collected me a little after 2.30am, with a plan to be back in Norfolk for lunch.

We arrived around 6am, already a small cluster of birdwatchers present, allowing us to locate the correct car park at Ashdown Forest. The ST Eagle was yet to rise, but no one was quite sure where in the valley it had roosted, so we spent the next hour or so scanning.

Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Wren and Pied Wagtail were all around the 'Gills Lap' car park, and scanning the valley we soon had seen Whitethroat, Goldfinch, Stonechat, Blackbird, Great Tit, Mistle Thrush and Swift. There was at least one family of Stonechat and probably a second as we scanned further along the valley. There was no sign of the Eagle, but Woodlark and Tree Pipit proved a pleasant distraction. 

Just after 8.00am news came out that the Short-toed Eagle was perched 2.5km NW of the car park, we thought we should be able to see the bird from where we were so started scanning. Gary picked up a raptor in flight which started off quite a stir, it turned out to be a Honey Buzzard, but a game of Chinese whispers saw people calling it as the eagle! After a second pager message everyone ran off down the hill to try and locate the ST Eagle. We decided to walk in a slightly different direction, after noting a small group of birders across the valley, focused of something. A pleasant chap from Blackpool joined us and soon had some direction from a friend on his phone. We soon located the Short-toed Eagle perch high in a pine, although distant, our position at least gave good light. We moved slightly further up the hill to give us better views if the bird took off, which eventually it did. We couldn't really have left without seeing he Eagle in flight, so although a little latter than planned we left satisfied at 10am.

The traffic around M25 was quite so we cruised home, a quick stop at Stanstead for a drink as it was getting warm and all was well. That was until on the A14 we started to lose power, pulling into services it was clear we had over heated and had little water. After letting the car cool we filled up the water, and it promptly ran straight out of the bottom of the radiator. After a 2.5 hour delay and a visit from the AA we were back on the road, with the hole in the radiator temporarily repaired!

I've been to Specsavers...

...well Gun Hill actually. The Spectacled Warbler turned up last Monday just as a started the stretch of rota that sees me with only Wednesday off, a day I already had plans. So for a week I have read the blogs of friends and wanted to headed to Burnham Overy dunes, but surely the bird wouldn't stay to give me the chance. We luckily for me it did, so today dad and I headed up the coast. We arrived about 10am and didn't have to wait long for the Spectacled Warbler to show. Although it spent much of the time scrabbling through the sueada, on two occasions it perched up singing, before resuming what looked like nest building activities. The bird was always quite close and there was no need to my scope, the below photo was taken on my hand held compact camera.

The warbler had a supporting cast of Little Tern, Spoonbill and a slightly unseasonal Ring Ouzel, alongside the commoner species, before we headed further inland. The birds were harder to come by, with the exception of Common Whitethroat that seemed to be in every hedge. But we saw Tree Sparrow and Montagu's Harrier our target species.

Travelling back toward Kelling we saw a Little Owl sunning itself near Stiffkey, sadly he got camera shy. Two Yellow Wagtail were seen near Warham and a Barn Owl was hunting over the meadows in Cley. Kelling Heath was, with the exception of Linnet rather quite,  and the hoped for Woodlark and Dartford Warbler could not be found. A fly over Turtle Dove excited dad as he hadn't seen one or 3 years, and a family of Stonechat was nice to see.

Since my last blog posting I have on my travels to and from work seen a Red Kite and one of the juvenile Peregrine. Closer to home a Song Thrush has taken up residence in our garden, he has taken to singing from the guttering right out side our bedroom window at 5am and leaves snail shells all over the path.

Wet Black-headed Bunting & RB Shrike

Yesterday (Wed 27th) Gary called about 7pm offering a lift to look for a female Black-headed Bunting near West Runton. The kitchen was in pieces, as I had removed or the cupboards to decorate but I still went. We arrived in heavy drizzle to hear the bird had been flush and not seen for a while, after waiting for 30min or so the light was very poor, we decided the bird had probably gone to roost so headed home, only to get new that it had reappeared later.

Gary collected me at 4.30am today and we headed to West Runton. I don't think the drizzle had stopped all night, but after an hour of fruitless searching it eased off. And Gary then promptly found the bunting emerging from the garden it probably roosted in. We got good views as it perched on the house roof, and in a briefly in a roadside bush, before it headed off towards the bushes behind the old pig farm. We got reasonable scope views the the light was too poor for me to manage a good photo.

A brief stop at Beeston Bump allowed us to view the always stunning male Red-backed Shrike that is present before returning home by 7am. Writing this I've now dried out and warmed up. The light wasn't much better at Beeston, but I did manage a picture.

A possible 'Mega' Norfolk day

We booked the week off and then realised its school half term, so we have decided to stay close to home and try to tidy the house up a bit more. Yesterday in the search of DIY supplies we headed out to Wroxham, going via Tunstead in a bid to avoid a convoy of caravan. It was about 11.30 and close to Wroxham a raptor caught my eye. Circling high it looked strange and I could not pin its ID down, with its wings showing large finger like protrusions and the size of a Buzzard I ended up plumping for a 'strange looking buzzard'. Frustratingly I now learn that a reported Booted Eagle was floating about Norfolk at the time, in hindsight maybe we should have stopped and checked, it may still have been 'strange Buzzard'.

Gary also called to let me know of the Slenderbilled Gull at Titchwell, we had planned to send part of this week in the Holme/Titchwell area before realising that it was school holidays. Another if but and maybe for the day.

Typing this I have just read news of a Black-headed Bunting in Cromer yesterday, with access to be arranged today, if the bird remains. After the night of wind and rain, I can only hope it is drenched and could fly off. Yesterday could have been a Mega Norfolk Day.

On a brighter note our Blue Tit family are about to fledge, and we have at least 6 young Robin and 4 young Blackbird also in the garden.

Star Wars 'May Bird Race' Day

Leaving North Walsham at 3.30am and collecting James on route, we headed off down the A11, with the Star Wars theme playing loud and Jedi cloaks wrapped around us. It was May ‘four’ce and bird race day! ^th May and we were on the A11).

(Some of those ‘facts’ might not be true, but it was 4

Our first bird of the day was a female Pheasant (1), on the pavement before we left North Walsham. We had arrived at Santon Downham, before we added a heard only Cuckoo (2). It was -1C and much quieter than normal, so we had to wait a while for things to warm up and the birds to start to call. Walking down to a favoured site for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, we added Mallard, Water Rail, Blackbird, Kestrel, Wren, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Treecreeper, Blue Tit and Little Grebe (12).

Waiting for any sign of the LSW we heard our first Turtle Dove of the day. Great Tit, Green Woodpecker (H), Mandarin Duck, Nuthatch, Cormorant, Stock Dove, Jackdaw and Lesser Black-backed Gull (20) were added as the morning started to emerge from the frost and misty haze. We then found the best bird for this section of the site a calling Willow Warbler (21), just before deciding to walk back and try St Helen’s Picnic area. On the way we encountered Great Spotted Woodpecker (H), Grey Wagtail, Crossbill, Magpie, Pied Wagtail and Reed Bunting (27)  all before the bridge, and then Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Moorhen, Robin and Siskin (34). From the road we spotted a group of Crossbill perched up, and closer inspection reviled the flock to be a mix of Crossbill and Lesser Redpoll (35). A quick look by the railway line gave us Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, Coal Tit (H), Garden Wabler (H) and Blackcap (41). Gary then saw the Garden Warbler but neither James nor I did, amazingly despite trying hard we never saw a Coal Tit all day either. Parking at the  St Helen’s side of Santon Downham, we soon heard and eventually saw Tree Pipt (42).  A walk by the river and wooded area by the church, added Song Thrush, Goldcrest (last year’s boggy bird) and Whitethroat (45). With that we headed off to Lynford a new stop on May’s Bird Race Day.

Within minutes of arriving at Lynford we had clocked a large crossbill flock and as some of them drank in a puddle, we saw the male Two-barred Crossbill (46), joined also by the ‘iffy’ male TBC. We then set of for a lap of the paddock hoping for the reported Wood Warbler and maybe a Hawfinch. We saw neither but added Canada Goose, Greylag, Tufted Duck, Mistle Thrush, Marsh Tit, Yellowhammer, Mute Swan and Swallow (54) to the days total. By the folly a Firecrest (55) was a new  ‘bird race’ bird. Over by the gravel pits Egyptian Goose, Black-headed Gull, Shelduck, Gadwall, Willow Warbler and finally Great Crested Grebe (61), before escaping the wasps in the hide (I counted 6 small and 1 large nest).

We drove on towards Lakenheath, adding Collared Dove and House Sparrow (63) in Weeting village before a brief stop at Weeting Heath NWT. On the reserve we soon saw Skylark,  Stone Curlew, Rook and Lapwing (67).  We watched the Stone Curlew steal a dead mole from a Jackdaw and try to eat it, 6 Mistle Thrush close to the hides were also worth note.

Before arriving at Lakenheath i spotted a Greenfinch (68) the other too missed. Our normal quick dash from Lakenheath RSPB car park, (a dash as not to see birds in Suffolk) up to view the Hockwold washes (Norfolk) from the view point, was detoured via the visitor centre as they have moved the paths. At this point we saw an uncountable Green Woodpecker and cursed. We added Common Tern, Coot, Teal, Shoveler, Grey Heron, House Martin and Hobby (75), the latter bird the highlight if a little distant.

Welney WWT was the next stop on out tour of Norfolk, Red-legged Partridge and Marsh Harrier (77) ticked while on route. In the car park Sedge Warber were singing and a Red Kite (79) drifted over our heads. Scanning Lady Fen Little Egret, Redshank and Avocet (82) found their way onto out lists. We opted to rough it in the non heated hide to the left of the observatory, Whooper Swan, Little Ringed Plover, Wigeon, Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Yellow Wagtail and a distant Sparrowhawk (89) were all noted down. Gary then noted that Great White Egret was in the observations book, the observer was nearby and told us where it had been, and the warden advised to save the walk we may be able to see it from the main observatory. We could so left the hide to walk the walk, no sooner had we left the warden appeared ‘It’s just flow the other way!’. It had landed out of sight but we headed to the Reedbed hide to have a scan. After awhile I located the bird through the reeds, rubbish views but still a tick, Great White Egret (90). Walking back we added Reed Warbler and Linnet (91), before back at the main hide a second Great White Egret was on show. Walking back over the bridge James spotted 3 Swift (93) my first of the year.

In recent years Pentney has turned up some good and often surprising ‘bird race day’ birds, but not today. On route near Downham Market we added Common Buzzard and Feral Pigeon (95). Pentney disappointingly on added Great Black-backed Gull (96) to the lists. Last year Roydon Common ate up a lot of our time as we hunted for Woodlark, again we failed to see Woodlark, but were more conscious of time. Stonechat, Curlew and Wheatear (99) were seen along with a Hairy Hawker Dragonfly. Flitcham continued a little run of disappointing locations, the Little Owl was hiding the no Tree Sparrow could be found, the only bonus was a sleeping Yellow-legged Gull in front of the hide (100).

Stopping in at Choseley it was nice to see the 2 Dotterel (101) that have stuck around for a week and a Grey Partridge was by the barns. The main Titchwell Reserve was our last chance to rack up big numbers of birds before visiting a few sites for more specialist stuff. The pools either side of the main path gave up Red-crested Pochard, ‘Common’ Pochard, Cetti’s Warbler (H) and a Bearded Tit (106). Gary spotted a lone Brent Goose over Thornham Marsh before we viewed a pair of Gargany on the Fresh Marsh. Other new birds on the Fresh Marsh were Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Herring Gull, Grey Plover, Ruff, Arctic Tern and Turnstone (115). James found a Greenshank (116) on the Brackish Marsh, but the previously reported Spotted Redshank, so we headed to the beach. The tide was a long way out but we still saw Little Tern, Sandwich Tern and Bar-tailed Godwit (119), before Gary found our only sea duck, a flock of c20 Common Scoter (120). Walking back to the car Meadow Pipit and Sand Martin (122) were seen. A quick stop at Choseley gave up a Corn Bunting (123), before we headed east along the coast.

Gary spotted a Great Spotted Woodpecker fly over the Coast Road but James and I both missed it. Near Burnham Market a quick stop netted us a Short-eared Owl (124) spotted low over the fields by Gary, who also heard a Lesser Whitethroat. Parking up at Gun Hill we scanned Burnham Overy Dunes and Holkham, Gary picked up 4 Pink-footed Geese and I found 3 Whimbrel and a Spoonbill (127) in the area.

Next stop was Kelling Heath, again no Woodlark, but two Turtle Dove (128) raised our spirits. Cutting back to Cley Marshes NWT we parked at the coastguards and walked towards North Scrape (minus its hide). The Eye field had at least 3 Yellow Wagtail and 6+ Wheatear, but it was scanning to Symonds Scrape that we added Ringed Plover and Common Gull (130) to the tally. The light was fading fast now so we headed up to Salthouse Heath, a single singing Nightingale (131) wasn’t hard to locate, but seeing it was much harder, eventually it gave fleeting views as it flew across the road. Heading home a Tawny Owl (132)  flew across the road near Holt, upgrading our previous heard only bird from Salthouse.

 So we finished the day on 132 species? Well not quite, somewhere in the mix we also saw a Ruddy Duck (133), but in case the environment agency is spying on me I shall not say where. We also found a Stone Curlew deep in the wilds of North Norfolk. 133 was an good total, but we honestly feel 150 is achievable and that was out target. Missing birds like Jay, Barn Owl, Kingfisher, Tree Sparrow, Eider, Knot, Pintail, Little Owl and Woodlark all birds normally encounter we were always going to struggle. I could put it down to the cold start to the day, the heat haze of the afternoon, poor research or just bad luck, but I think I will blame the Sith Lord, coming a day early.

Putting in the Miles

Tuesday morning I spent helping dad with a few jobs, this did include a trip to Sandy Hills, a small area of the patch to the SE of town. Here I found a Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and 2 pairs of Shelduck, as well as common tits/finches and Whitethroat which seemed to be everywhere.

After Lunch dad dropped me off near Knapton, I planned to walk to Paston Cliffs and circle back home via Pigny’s Wood. Walking across the fields from Paston at one point 13 Skylark where floating about, and reaching the cliff top I heard the call of a Tree Pipit, it flew west along the cliff top and appeared to land but I never relocated it, but another year and patch tick for ‘the cliffs’. 3 Golden Plover were in the potato field and 4 Turnstone on the beach are worth note. Past the Camp and in the Horse Paddocks I found 2 Wheatear, a Pied Wagtail, 16 Linnet and 5 Skylark all feeding in and around a group of c20 Starling. As the footpath has fallen away I then clambered down the cliff, as I did this 2 Swallow flew through east, has summer been and gone, I know it was a bit chilly but still!

For some reason I then changed my plans thinking a look on the golf course would be good, well it wasn’t a single Wheatear the only bird of note. I then headed off across the fields via the Old Hospital towards Trunch. A skulking Willow Warbler held my attention for a while as heavy drizzle started to fall. The back road hedge held lots of Chaffinch, Tits and Whitethroat, but again nothing to excite. Although I did find a lot of what I believe are Early Purple Orchids (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong). I then continued my walk via Bradfield and Lyngate to avoid walking the main roads. The weather improved slightly and a few Swallow and House Martin were about the villages. Joining back up with my patch at Lyngate I found what I think was my favourite birds of the day, a pair of Tree Sparrow. I’ve walked this area ever couple of weeks since moving and on two occasions have thought I heard them, but it was nice to finally see them, the 4 Bullfinch that accompanied them in the same hedge were a bonus. It was a nice way to end what turned out to be a 16km walk, but should have been much shorter.

After having to stop putting our fence up, because Blue Tit have moved into one of the old bird boxes I thought I’d have a proper nose about the garden to see what other birds might be nesting. The results for my relatively small garden were surprising, 3 Blackbird, 2 Dunnock, 1 Robin, 1 Great Tit and 1 Blue Tit nests.

Driving home from work last night (Wednesday),  I nearly made Laura crash the car, shouting out ‘Cuckoo’ as we passed through Crostwright, as my first Cuckoo of the year was perched atop of a roadside tree.

Birding Along Changing Lines

It’s been 6 months since I moved back to North Walsham, so I thought I’d review my North Walsham patch. The area I decided on as my new patch always felt a bit big, but it contained most of the areas I regularly frequented 10 or so years ago, plus a few new ones.

However now I live on the other side of North Walsham, I have found the areas to the south/east of town (the areas I used to visit most) I have hardly visited at all. Only visiting these areas infrequently I feel I can’t class them as part of my ‘Patch’ and I feel I am better off focusing what free time I have more intensely on the areas closer to our new home.

I have therefore cut down my patch area, removing the Honing area and also the Southrepps/Trunch area which is just that too far to walk from the home. However the ‘lost patch’ areas will still be visited, and I have marked these (in blue) along with a few other sites that a visit but were excluded from my initial patch.

More Clifftop Migrants

Leaving a Birthday gathering in Mundesley at 6.30pm on Saturday it seemed worth a quick stop off at the Holiday Camp as we were only a couple of minutes away. We initially looked around the horse paddocks to the west, but they failed to give up the hoped for Wagtail or Wheatear, but walking back my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year was in the clifftop brambles. There seemed to be quite a lot of House Martin heading through west with the odd Swallow. Looking over the cliff a group of Linnet flitted about and a couple of Common Whitethroat were defending territories. Back at the car 3 Whimbel flew over, appearing to have flown up from the fields and headed west. Walking the cliffs to the east of the camp a few more Common Whitethroat were about and a single Yellow Wagtail flew over. Driving home not far Pigny's Wood two Wheatear were a surprise, flying along the road in front of the car before perching in the hedge.