A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - December 13, 2018

There had been four European Shags and two Snow Bunting yesterday from the dam at Rutland Water and so David and I were meeting Malcolm in the Egleton Car park and then driving to the dam hoping they would all still be there.

There had been a good overnight frost and David and it felt quite cold when we left David’s for Rutland Water.  We had a Red Kite just before reaching Billesdon and another just beyond Tugby and there was a Common Kestrel perched at the top of Wardley Hill.

Malcolm was already in the car park when we arrived and after transferring his gear we set off for the dam seeing a Red Kite at the end of Church Lane.  When we arrived at Sykes Lane car park it was closed and so we drove to the south side of the dam to see if we could see the European Shags, but we couldn’t find them.  We drove back to the car park and found it open and after parking we walked out onto the dam, where there was a single Great Cormorant perched on a post and another feeding off-shore, but there was no sign of the European Shags or the Snow Buntings.  Malcolm then went back to the car as he realised, he hadn’t got his bins and he was going to bring my camera back with him.  David had gone a little further and as I approached him two birds flew off the dam wall, which turned out to be the two Snow Buntings.  When Malcolm arrived back from the car, I was able to get some reasonable shots as they fed on the path side of the dam.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

As we walked across the dam, we met Phil Jackman who was watching a couple of the European Shags, which were quite close.  David informed him that we had seen the Snow Buntings at the north end of the dam and he set off to try and locate them.  We continued watching the two shags for a while and I then picked up three swans flying over the south shore.  Tim had sent out a WhatsApp message indicating that three Whooper Swans might have come down in the North Arm and so I alerted David and took a closer look and wasn’t surprised to find that they were three adult Whooper Swans and probably those seen by Tim.  They continued heading east, but also came closer and I fired of a few shots before they headed off to the east.

Whooper Swans

Whooper Swans

Whooper Swans

Whooper Swans

As we walked back along the dam there was a Common Kestrel hunting over the slope, three European Shags were observed, and the two Snow Buntings flew over us heading towards the south side and there were two Red Kites near the gate.

Common Kestrel

European Shag

European Shag

After getting back to the car we headed for the fisherman’s car park in the North Arm and on arrival found a large raft of wildfowl feeding just off-shore.  After climbing over the gate, we walked down the old road to be able to view the whole of the North Arm.  Are targets here were Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes, but as we scanned through the large raft of birds, which were mainly Eurasian Wigeon and Tufted Duck we were only finding Little and Great Crested Grebes, but I then found the Slavonian Grebe, which then disappeared.  David found one of the Black-necked Grebes further out and then the second with the Slavonian Grebe.  Malcolm found a drake Greater Scaup and a juvenile Western Marsh Harrier was observed over the water.

From the fisherman’s car park, we drove the short distance to the unnamed road to view the fishponds and the North Arm from the point.  We were surprised to find that the fishponds were almost devoid of birds but there were three Great Egret and three Little Egrets on the bund.  As I scanned the north shore there was a party of Dunlin feeding amongst some Black-headed Gulls, but they weren’t easy to count as some at least kept going out of view, but there were thirty-five at least.  I went out to the point to view the southern section and found a Northern Pintail and a single Common Redshank but the now biting wind made it quite unpleasant and I returned to view the northern section.  Other than a Common Buzzard feeding on something on the far shore we didn’t see a great deal else and went back to the car.

After lunch we went into the visitor’s centre and observed Lagoon One where we found five Smew, fourteen Goosander, three Great Egret, seven Little Egret and a Green Sandpiper and the female Western Marsh Harrier was observed over Lagoon Two and then perched near the swift tower.

We eventually made our way to the northern lagoons and from Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four found two Northern Pintail and a Peregrine Falcon.  As I was about to leave the hide something disturbed a party of Northern Lapwing and two Dunlin were then observed in flight.

A visit into Bittern and then Shoveler Hides produced another Great Egret and a Black-tailed Godwit and from Crake Hide we had a Common Redshank before returning to the centre.

When we got back there were clearly more Northern Pintail on the lagoon and I counted sixty-eight and there were four Common Shelduck, which we hadn’t seen earlier.  We had seen just one of the adult Bewick’s Swans earlier and we suspected that the others were out of sight behind the long island.  Initially there was no sign but then they all swam into view and on reaching the open area one of the Mute Swans showed aggression, which we had observed before.  The adults tended to lead the Mute Swan away, but it did make one attempt to get to the young, but they just flew a short distance.  Eventually the whole party took to the wing and flew north, hopefully coming down on the northern lagoons and not actually departing.  There were four Dunlin on the long island and I then noticed five Eurasian Curlew on the near shore and a single Common Snipe in flight was to be our final bird before we returned to the cars.

Drake Goosander alighting on Lagoon One

David took a slightly different route home, taking us off the A47 and heading for King’s Norton and we were rewarded by seeing two Eurasian Woodcock as they flew over the road as we approached King’s Norton, which was an excellent close to the day.

It had been a good day with, surprisingly, three County year-ticks, the European Shag, Eurasian Woodcock and the Snow Bunting.

A day in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire & Rutland - November 10, 2018

David, Malcolm, Roger and I were off to Frampton Marsh today and after I picked David up, we headed for Egleton to meet Malcolm and Roger in the car park at the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water.  We transferred our gear to Malcom’s car and he then drove to Frampton, seeing a Common Kestrel just after turning onto the A606 at Rutland Water.  We hadn’t seen anything else of note as we turned off the A16 at Kirton and into Frampton village.  There was a road closer and so we had to take a couple of diversions to get to the RSPB reserve at Frampton Marsh, seeing a Eurasian Jay before we eventually reached the reserve.

On arrival we headed straight for the car park at the seawall, where we were hoping to find a Hen Harrier and the Long-billed Dowitcher.  As we were getting our gear on, we heard a Cetti’s Warbler calling quite close but as usual it remained out of sight.  There was a lot of activity with large numbers of Northern Lapwing in flight and smaller numbers of European Golden Plover and eight Dunlin and a large flock of c.300 Black-tailed Godwit rose off the marsh in front of the 360 Hide.  We couldn’t find the cause of all the disturbance and went up onto one of the mounds to view the marsh where there were plenty of birds, which were mainly wildfowl but only few waders, with just Northern Lapwing, several Eurasian Curlew and Common Redshank and a Spotted Redshank being found.

We then focussed on the marsh to the south and Roger found a bird of prey on a fence near a gate, which turned out to be a female Merlin.  David then found a Barnacle Goose amongst a flock of Canada Geese and then a larger flock closer to the centre, where there was also a small number of Pink-footed Geese.

With no sign of the dowitcher we went up onto the seawall to get an elevated view of the marsh.  There was a considerable number of Brent Geese on both the fresh and salt marshes and we saw the single Spotted Redshank on several occasions but there was still no sign of the dowitcher.  We could now see that the distant flock of Barnacle Geese contained thirty-seven birds and that there was another three amongst the closer flock of Canada Geese.  There were three Little Egrets scattered around the fresh marsh and two Little Grebes on a nearby flash.  I had a Common Snipe fly over and David found a distant Western Marsh Harrier, which I managed to miss.  He then announced that he had another harrier, which he thought was a ring-tailed.  He gave directions and I got on it straight away and followed it as it flew towards the seawall before disappearing behind it and I was happy it was a ring-tailed Hen Harrier.  Malcolm had gone on it just before is disappeared but Roger had failed to see it and so we decided to walk to the raptor watchpoint hoping we might get a second view.

Brent Goose

Brent Geese

As we walked out to the watchpoint we saw very little and on reaching the watchpoint Malcolm sat on the bench, whilst David, Roger and I stayed on the top of the seawall.  There were four Little Egrets on the saltmarsh to the south and at one point the sky was full of European Golden Plover, with 1000 plus birds being involved.  There was a Common Buzzard soaring to the south and four Common Shelduck in flight was the only sighting during the visit.

One of the three Barnacle Geese

David and Roger then joined Malcolm on the bench after which I saw a couple of Western Marsh Harriers, more Eurasian Curlew and Common Redshank and three distant Egyptian Geese.  David and Malcolm had another brief view of the Hen Harrier but again Roger failed to connect but generally it was very quiet.  David then joined me on the seawall and pointed out a Grey Plover on one of the nearer pools before we made our way back to the car.

As we walked back, there were more Pink-footed Geese dropping onto the marsh and when we got back to the steps leading from the seawall David went down and Malcolm, Roger and I stayed having another look over the marsh.  Other than six distant Northern Pintail and another Western Marsh Harrier we didn’t see anything else and eventually we went down to join David who was looking over the marsh, with two other birders.  It was clear as we got closer to them that they were all looking at something, which turned out to be the Long-billed Dowitcher.  One of the other birders was a female member of staff at Titchwell and she had seen the dowitcher fly in and alerted David and the other birder.  We had a brief, but a good view, of the bird before it turned when we had a back-on view as it roosted.

After some lunch we had some discussion as to whether or not to go for an eclipse drake Ring-necked Duck at an old airfield near Woodhall Spa, but after finding out it was a locked Lincolnshire reserve and a combination was needed, we headed back to Rutland Water.

There was a Western Marsh Harrier over the fields just after leaving Frampton Marsh, a Common Kestrel as we approached Spalding and a Red Kite just after getting back into Rutland.

As we approached the reservoir we ran into some heavy rain and on arriving in the Egleton car park spent almost an hour just sitting in the car, waiting for the rain to abate.  When it finally stopped, we went down to the centre, where we found Ricky, who had been to the northern lagoons and hadn’t see much of note.  We therefore decided to stay in the centre, particularly as the weather still looked rather unpredictable.  There were five Great Egret and a Little Egret on the lagoon and I counted twenty Northern Shoveler and there were also two Northern Pintail and a single Common Goldeneye.  There were three Common Goldeneye and a Little Grebe visible on Lagoon Two, but the highlight turned out to be a nice male Eurasian Sparrowhawk.  It was perched on a post towards Harrier Hide and initially we were unsure of its identity as it was facing us, revealing mainly its pale pinkish-orange breast and whiter lower belly.  In fact, when David and I first found it we thought it might be a Western Barn Owl as it looked so pale but on a closer inspection we dispensed of that idea as we realised it was a raptor and identified it as a Eurasian Sparrowhawk.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - October 23, 2018

I left home this morning in rather windy conditions and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir, seeing sixteen Red-legged Partridge as I entered Blaston and a Common Buzzard as I climbed Blaston Hill.

I went into the corral and began scanning the exposed mud and found a single Black-tailed Godwit near the mouth of the stream.  There were fifteen European Golden Plover amongst the flock of Northern Lapwing and I then found three Ruff and two Dunlin.  There was another Red Kite over the reservoir and a Little Egret flew in from the south and dropped into the stream.  A distant flock of Tufted Duck contained four Common Pochard and there were good numbers of Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon and Eurasian Teal and a few Northern Shoveler.

I moved on but a stop at the bridge produced nothing of note and a stop along the Rutland bank produced three Northern Pintail and a Common Goldeneye in flight and I also saw another two Red Kites and a Common Buzzard.

I left Eyebrook Reservoir and headed for the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water, seeing a Common Kestrel in Stoke Dry and a Red Kite just as I reached the turning to the reserve.

After parking in the Lyndon car park, I walked the short distance to Teal Hide hoping to find the Red-necked Grebe in the South Arm.  There was a Yellow-legged Gull on the Manton Bay bund, along with nine Little Egrets and there were another four Little Egret on the bund across Heron Bay.  As I scanned into South Arm Three I found three Great Egret between Gadwall Hide and the far point of Brown’s island and another Little Egret.  I then picked up a small party of waders that landed on the island, when I was able to see at least two Common Ringed Plovers and several Dunlin.  There was a Red Kite to the south as I went back to the car and a Common Kestrel was hunting over the field as I drove up the road from the car park.

I drove around to the unnamed road to view the North Arm and after parking near the gate scanned the fishponds where I found two more Great Egret and a Northern Pintail.  I then walked through the gate and found thirteen Little Egrets on the bund along with yet another Great Egret.  I scanned the north shore where there was another two Great Egrets and five Northern Pintail.  There were twenty-three Egyptian Geese on the end of the spit and another two Great Egret along with twelve Northern Pintail towards the fisherman’s car park and also two Little Egrets.

I made a brief visit to the Old Hall for another attempt for the Red-necked Grebe but like earlier there was no sign, although it was quite difficult looking due to the now strong westerly wind.  I did see three Common Ringed Plover and six Dunlin on the exposed shoreline, which were presumably the same birds that I had seen earlier on the island.

From the Old Hall I drove around to the Egleton Reserve and went into the centre to view Lagoon One where there was a Great Egret and Little Egret towards the Wet Meadow and I could see yet two more Great Egrets on Lagoon Two.  A female Western Marsh Harrier was seen briefly between the swift tower and Brown’s Island and there were four Little Grebes on the lagoon.  I then noticed the Western Marsh Harrier over South Arm Three and it dropped onto the water with its wings outstretched and slightly raised.  When it tried to get up off the water it had clearly caught something, which I suspected was a Eurasian Coot but after several attempts it dropped it into the water as it was clearly too heavy for it to lift.  It was then mobbed by several gulls and eventually gave up and disappeared behind Brown’s Island.  Whilst watching the area where the harrier had disappeared there was some disturbance as quite a few Eurasian Teal flew from the area and I suspect it was the harrier causing the problem, but I then picked up a Peregrine Falcon that also appeared to disappear behind Brown’s Island.  Gerry then joined me and found the Peregrine Falcon sat on a rocky island on the lagoon and I could see that it was a large juvenile and presumably the bird I had seen on Lagoon Four on Saturday.

After lunch I made my way to Crake Hide as there had been plenty of birds there on Saturday but on arrival there were far fewer with just five Little Egrets and a Common Buzzard observed before I moved onto Lapwing Hide.

Little Egret with a Perch

Little Egret

There were few birds reasonably close and the main concentration was near Fieldfare Hide and beyond and so I didn’t stay too long but I did see two Peregrine Falcons over Brown’s Wood, which were presumably a male and the juvenile female.  The female Western Marsh Harrier was also patrolling the shore near Brown’s Island, which is probably why there were few birds near the hide.

As I walked back I met Brian and Rosie and we nipped into Smew Hide and found one of the Great Egret quite close, but some closer Eurasian Teal flew, and the egret went with them to the far side of the lagoon and so we went to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.

There was a good number of Tufted Duck on Lagoon Three but other than a single Common Redshank there was very little else and we moved onto Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four.

The water level on Lagoon Four is rising and therefore there was a nice concentration of Northern Pintail feeding amongst the emergent vegetation.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail

There were seventeen Northern Pintail in total and a European Stonechat was observed briefly in front of the hide but moved off towards Dunlin Hide.  There were two Common Buzzards just to the right of the Volunteer Training Centre and a immature male Common Kestrel provided some nice views.

Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel

Common Kestrel

I saw very little as I made my way back to the centre but then found another European Stonechat towards Mallard Hide before I called it a day.

I saw two more Common Kestrel as I made my way home with one just outside Gaulby and the other between there and Great Glen.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland and Lincolnshire = October 20, 2018

There had been a Temminck’s Stint at Baston and Langtoft Pits in Lincolnshire for about a week and we decided we would go today.  I picked David up at around 07:30 and we headed for Eyebrook Reservoir, seeing a Common Buzzard just after passing through Kibworth and another on Blaston Hill.

When we reached Eyebrook Reservoir we drove to the northern corral where we were hoping to find Malcolm but Mike Snow informed us that he had gone around to the Rutland side and so we turned around and found him parked overlooking the inlet.  We parked up and joined him and the first bird I found was a Green Sandpiper, which was close to the vegetation and soon walked out of sight.  As I scanned further there were two Ruff and two Dunlin in amongst a party of Northern Lapwing.  David then found a European Golden Plover amongst the Northern Lapwing and we eventually had four and as I scanned through the wildfowl I found five Northern Pintail.  Malcolm then noticed a Common Greenshank on the edge of the stream and we were able to point it out to Mike when he joined us.

Roger was meeting us at Rutland Water and when we phoned him he had just turned into the road to the Lyndon Reserve and so we went to join him in Teal Hide.  As we drove down the road to the centre a single Redwing flew over.  Roger had gone there to hopefully connect with the Red-necked Grebe, but he hadn’t found it when we arrived.  I looked towards Manton Bay and found four Common Goldeneye, a Great Egret, two Little Egrets and a Yellow-legged Gull.  There was also fourteen Common Pochard and a Common Redshank to the right of the hide and two Northern Pintail near Goldeneye Hide but there was no sign of the Red-necked Grebe.  We decided we should make tracks for Baston and Langtofts Pits and found eight Fieldfare in the car park before we all drove to the Egleton Reserve, where Malcolm and Roger transferred their gear into my car and we set off, seeing a Red Kite on the Stanford Road.

When we arrived at the pits at around 10:00 we found that the Temminck’s Stint had been flushed by a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and hadn’t been seen since.  We stood on top of a bund overlooking the appropriate pit where there were several hundred Greylag Geese and as I scanned the pit I found a single Pink-footed Goose amongst them.  On the far side of the pit I found a couple of Common Snipe but there was still no sign of the stint.  A small party of European Golden Plover circled and dropped briefly onto a small island.  Malcolm then found four Red-crested Pochard on the pit on the other side of the road where there was also six Common Pochard.  As we focussed back on the main pit several hundred European Golden Plover appeared and circled over the pit for quite some time but were reluctant to land and eventually flew off.  On the other side of the road there were now thirty-eight Red-crested Pochard in two small groups.  Brian and Roger then arrived, and it wasn’t long afterwards that both Brian and David said I got a small wader, which turned out to be the Temminck’s Stint.  It showed reasonably well for a while, although a little distant, but as another birder arrived it disappeared behind a small rock.  We then suspected that it might well have been there all the time but out of sight.  Fortunately for the other birder it came into view on the other side of the rock, but we then called it a day and headed back to Rutland Water.

We saw a Common Kestrel just after leaving but hadn’t seen anything else of note before arriving in the unnamed road to Tim’s cottage.  After parking near the metal gate, we found a Little Egret in the fishponds and Great Egret then flew out from the fishponds into the North Arm and there was a Yellow-legged Gull on the bund within the fishponds.

As we walked out to the spit to view the North Arm we found that there were eighteen Little Egrets on the bund but with several fishing boats in the area there were fewer birds than normal.  There were ten Egyptian Geese on the spit and I picked up a Little Grebe, a Great Egret, a Little Egret and five Common Redshank in the southern bay and there were nine Northern Pintail towards the fisherman’s car park.  There were two more Egyptian Geese and two Great Egrets on the north shore and five more Little Grebes near the bund.  There were good numbers of Eurasian Wigeon in the first part of the fishponds but there was no sign of the drake American Wigeon, which had been there recently.  Malcolm, Roger and I then went into the field to view the western end of the fishponds, where we found a Green Sandpiper and a Common Redshank but again there was no sign of the American Wigeon, but two Eurasian Jays flew over.

Mike Snow had joined us again and informed us that he had seen the Red-necked Grebe in the South Arm both from Teal Hide and the Old Hall and so we headed for the Old Hall.  After parking we walked over the cattle grid and began scanning the arm but with several fishing boats and poor light we weren't too optimistic.  Malcolm then said is this a Red-breasted Merganser and after providing directions we found it wasn’t too far out in the near bay and confirmed his identification.  It was swimming out of the bay towards the Old Hall and so I walked out onto the spit to get a better view.  As I approached the promontory a fishing boat was following almost in the same line as the merganser had gone and when I reached the promontory there wasn’t any sign.  The light was better from here but there was still no sign of the Red-necked Grebe, although I did find three Common Ringed Plover and twelve Dunlin on the island.  As I scanned South Arm Three I found five Great Egrets in the far bay and two more on the Lagoon Three bund.  After we reassembled near the cattle grid we went back to the car and drove to the Egleton Reserve.

After transferring their gear back into their cars, we went down to the visitor’s centre to view Lagoon One.  There were five more Great Egrets or were they those I had seen in South Arm Three, three Little Egrets, eight Northern Pintail and a Eurasian Curlew on the lagoon and a female Western Marsh Harrier was seen near the swift tower.

As we were setting off to the northern lagoons, Chris, Graham and Ricky were returning but hadn’t seen a great deal but did mention there was a Peregrine Falcon on Lagoon Four and so we headed there first.  David and I arrived first, and David found the rather large juvenile Peregrine Falcon on island one almost immediately.  As we scanned the lagoon I counted twenty-five Northern Pintail and five Common Pochard.  A second Peregrine Falcon then flushed the juvenile, but I failed to connect but I did see a Eurasian Sparrowhawk mobbing the juvenile over Burley Wood, where there were also three Red Kites.

We moved onto Shoveler Hide where there were plenty of Tufted Duck and as we scanned through them I found two Common Goldeneye and a juvenile male Greater Scaup.  There was also sixteen Common Pochard, another three Great Egrets and three Common Snipe.

When we reached Crake Hide we found five Great Egret and thirteen Little Egrets, although viewing wasn’t easy as there were two photographers in the hide that were occupying four seats, one by a bag, but didn’t offer to move and so we went to Lapwing Hide, were we didn’t see anything of note.

Great Egret

Two Great Egret, four Little Egrets and a Grey Heron

Our walk back to the car park produced nothing and after a coffee we set off for home.  After dropping David off I had a Eurasian Sparrowhawk fly over the road in the village.

A day in West Norfolk - October 18, 2018

Malcolm, Roger and I had decided to go to Norfolk today hoping that the probable Two-barred Warbler might perform, although its identity is still uncertain.  Roger picked me up at 06:00 and then drove to Malcolm’s who then drove for the day.

We left Market Harbour around 06:30 and headed for Corby and then onto the A47 towards Peterborough.  We had a Common Kestrel as we passed along the Peterborough bypass and a Common Buzzard near Eye and we had two more Common Kestrel before reaching the Guyhirn roundabout.  There was another Common Buzzard as we approached Hillington and a skein of c.100 Pink-footed Geese flew over as we approached Great Bircham.  We headed for Burnham Market after passing through Great Bircham, where we were to pick David up, who was in Norfolk for the week.  Whilst we were in the village a Red Kite and then two Pink-footed Geese flew over.

We arrived at Lady Anne’s Drive at around 09:00 and after parking walked to the pines and then west along the footpath towards the crossroads, which is where David had brief views of the Two-barred Warbler yesterday.  There was a Common Kestrel perched on a bush as we drove along the drive and several Pink-footed Geese were in the field to the east.  When we reached the pool there were at least four Little Grebes and numerous Mallard on the pool and a Eurasian Jay and three Eurasian Siskin flew over, whilst a Cetti’s Warbler was heard.

We had another Eurasian Jay before reaching the house, a singing Cetti’s Warbler appeared quite close but remained elusive and two Western Marsh Harriers performed over the marsh.  As we walked by the house it was clear that there were a few birds in the trees and we stopped for a while to observe them.  Most were Goldcrest, but we also had a Coal Tit and a Eurasian Treecreeper.

Two more Eurasian Siskin flew over before we approached the crossroads, where several birders had gathered.  It soon became clear that they were watching something and as we scanned the bushes we had a brief view of a Yellow-browed Warbler.  When we moved closer there were a couple of Common Chiffchaff and we eventually had further views of the Yellow-browed Warbler before it went up into one of the larger trees and disappeared.  We moved into the area where David had seen the warbler yesterday and had two more Common Chiffchaff, several Goldcrest and a Coal Tit.

David and Malcolm then went further down the track to try and find a Red-flanked Bluetail that had been seen twice during the last three days, whilst Roger and I remained hoping the warbler would show.  We just continued to seeing more of the same but when it went quiet we returned to the crossroads, where we had another Common Chiffchaff.

We eventually went a little further down the path before stopping as some other birders had seen another Yellow-browed Warbler.  A party of Long-tailed Tits passed through but there was nothing unusual with them but shortly afterwards I picked up a Yellow-browed Warbler, which then performed for at least thirty minutes in an oak but was out of view for most of the time.  I tried unsuccessfully to get photos as it was seldom still and moved around the oak.  David and Malcolm then returned and watched the bird for a while before it flew out of the oak and disappeared.  Whilst we were watching the warbler another Cetti’s Warbler was heard and a juvenile Eurasian Hobby flew over several times.

Juvenile Eurasian Hobby

With still no sign of the target bird we headed back to the car for lunch only to find the juvenile Eurasian Hobby perched at the top of a tall conifer and we were able to get some nice photos before it flew off.

Juvenile Eurasian Hobby

Juvenile Eurasian Hobby

Juvenile Eurasian Hobby

Juvenile Eurasian Hobby

Juvenile Eurasian Hobby

Juvenile Eurasian Hobby

When David and I reached the hide, Malcolm and Roger were some way behind and I called Malcolm to let him know that we would go along the boardwalk to view the sea.  He then informed me that a Great Grey Shrike had been seen from the hide earlier and so David and I went into the hide to see if it was still there but there was no sign, but I did find a European Stonechat.

When Malcolm and Roger arrived, we found out that the shrike was now in scrub 200 meters beyond the end of the pines and so we decided we should go back before having lunch.  Just after passing the crossroads another birder coming back indicated that there was no sign of the shrike as it had flown further west and so we finally went back to the car for lunch.

David and I went into the new centre and as we were coming out Malcolm and Roger were arriving, and Malcolm said that there were some Grey Partridge in the field.  We scanned the field and found eight birds not too far away, but they were tending to keep low in the grass, but I did manage to get a few photos before finally going to the car for lunch.

Grey Partridge

Grey Partridge

Pink-footed Geese at Holkham

We had learnt that the Great Grey Shrike was visible from the boardwalk at the end of the path from Burnham Overy Staithe and so drove the short distance and parked overlooking the marsh.  There was no further news and no sign of any birders potentially looking for the shrike and so after some discussion we decided to drop David back in Burnham Market and then go to Titchwell to finish the day.  Whilst we were at Burnham Overy Staithe we saw c.1000 Pink-footed Geese, five more grey Partridge and a Western Marsh Harrier.

When we arrived at Titchwell we walked to the west bank and then as far as Island Hide.  As I approached the path to the hide I had a brief view of a Water Rail and other birders were watching a Jack Snipe, which we were able to see and get some photos of, although it was feeding amongst vegetation.

Jack Snipe

Jack Snipe

After watching the Jack Snipe for a while, we moved a little further along the path to view the Freshwater Marsh and found around six Pied Avocet, 260 European Golden Plover, sixteen Black-tailed Godwit and fourteen Ruff and there was also twenty-one Common Shelduck amongst the more numerous Eurasian Wigeon and Eurasian Teal.  I then heard a Bearded Tit and two performed briefly in front of us, one being a male and Malcolm and I then heard a Whimbrel calling but we were unable to locate it.  We all then heard a Common Greenshank and suspected there was more than one and we then picked up seven in flight.  They landed on the end of one of the spits but didn’t stay long and were soon off again.  Finally, six Brent Geese dropped in and we found a single Northern Pintail.

Pink-footed Geese over Titchwell

Golden Plover  over Titchwell

As we walked back along the path there was a single Western Marsh Harrier over the reedbed and c.150 Pink-footed Geese flew over, but we had seen nothing else of note before reaching the car.

We saw a Common Kestrel as we approached Choseley Barns, five Egyptian Geese near Docking and another three between there and Great Bircham and finally another Common Kestrel was seen near Kings Lynn.

An early morning at Titchwell, Norfolk - October 17, 2018

We were heading back home today but I made my usual early morning visit to Titchwell before breakfast.  It was just getting light as I started to walk along the west bank and I heard a Water Rail near Thornham Pool and a Cetti’s Warbler from the reedbed.  There were four Western Marsh Harrier to the east over the reedbed and when I looked back towards the road I saw the Western Barn Owl quartering the far field.  When I looked over towards the trees beyond the reedbed initially there wasn’t any Little Egrets in the trees but a few minutes later there were twenty-one.  I continued along the path towards the beach but saw just two Eurasian Curlew on Thornham Marsh, a Grey Plover over Volunteer Marsh and three Little Grebes on the Tidal Marsh before I arrived at the beach.

I scanned the sea but all I found were three Great Crested Grebes but there were plenty of waders on the beach that included over 500 Eurasian Oystercatcher, two Grey Plover, twenty-nine Eurasian Curlew, forty-five Bar-tailed Godwit, twelve Turnstone, 150 Red Knot, a Sanderling and thirty-nine Common Redshank.  There was also twenty-five Brent Geese and a Little Egret.  Several skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew over and as I made a final scan of the sea there were three female-type Red-breasted Mergansers just off shore, but they quickly flew further west and I then picked up a single Common Scoter in flight.

I scanned the Tidal Marsh as I started to walk back and found two Common Shelduck, ten Grey Plover and a single Dunlin and four Brent Geese, two Eurasian Curlew and four Common Redshank flew over Thornham Marsh.  There was a Little Egret, two more Eurasian Curlew, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Ruff and seven Common Redshank in the channel on Volunteer Marsh.

As I reached the Freshwater Marsh another Water Rail called and there were three Egyptian Geese squabbling near the centre of the marsh.  As I scanned the marsh I counted sixty-seven Common Shelduck and there were twelve Pied Avocet this morning.  Eighty-six Black-tailed Godwits were roosting, which is more than I have seen all week and I counted thirty-six Ruff and found a single Dunlin before I continued towards Island Hide.  A brief stop to look for the Jack Snipe produced just a single Common Snipe.

Another birder then said that there were two European Stonechats near Thornham Pool and so I moved further along the track.  I didn’t see the stonechats but whilst looking for them I had a Western Marsh Harrier, a Common Kestrel and two Bearded Tits.

There had been a report of a Two-barred Warbler at Holkham Pines yesterday and although my wife was happy for me to go after breakfast, I felt it would be unfair as it was only seen three times yesterday and I could have been there all day and possibly not see it and so we headed off home.

Another party of Pink-footed Geese flew over as we passed Choseley Barns, there were four Egyptian Geese near Docking and two Grey Partridge flew across the road near the Anmer cross roads.  There were two Common Buzzards as we approached the Guyhirn roundabout and a Common Kestrel just beyond, but the only other sightings of note were two Red Kites, one near Uppingham and the other over Tugby.

A day’s birding in West Norfolk - October 16, 2018

I did my early morning visit to Titchwell Marsh prior to breakfast and after parking David arrived, but I sat off down the west bank first as he said he would catch me up.  It was still quite dark when I reached the bank but as I reached the open reedbed a Eurasian Sparrowhawk flew over.  I scanned to the east and saw five Western Marsh Harriers quartering over the reedbed and there were twenty-five Little Egrets in the trees beyond Patsy’s Pool.  As I walked a little further three Eurasian Curlew flew over the reedbed and I heard a Whimbrel calling but couldn’t locate it.

David then caught me up and we made our way to the beach where there were plenty of waders that included 200+ Eurasian Oystercatcher, a Grey Plover, fourteen Eurasian Curlew, thirty-nine Bar-tailed Godwit, seven Ruddy Turnstone, seven Sanderling and twenty-five Common Redshank.  The sea was very quiet with just a couple of Great Crested Grebes feeding off shore, but I did pick up a distant Northern Gannet and David picked up a Red-throated Diver as it flew east.

With little else we began to make or way back down the path and found six Common Shelduck, six Grey Plover, c.300 Red Knot, three Ruddy Turnstone and three Dunlin.  I then noticed a party of eight Black-tailed Godwits as they appeared to drop on Volunteer Marsh and when we reached the marsh we found them in the channel along with five more Dunlin and a Little Egret.

I stopped near the path to Parrinder Hide to scope the Freshwater Marsh, but David went on to Island Hide to look for the Jack Snipe.  There were four Egyptian Geese on the marsh and three Common Shelduck flew over and I then counted another thirty-two on the marsh.  There was a single Dunlin towards Island Hide and I counted seven Pied Avocet, forty-six European Golden Plover, twenty Ruff and found a single Black-tailed Godwit.

As I walked further down the bank there were two Little Egrets on Thornham Marsh and when I reached the hide David was still searching for the Jack Snipe.  He had seen a Common Snipe, which was still present, and a Water Rail appeared briefly as he was pointing out a couple of Bearded Tits.  He then found the Jack Snipe, which was well hidden, and only gave itself away when it started bobbing.  We did eventually manage to piece the whole bird together but it was never fully in view.  As we made our way back to the cars we had a Common Pochard and a two Little Grebes on the Reedbed Pool and heard at least two Bearded Tits and a Cetti’s Warbler before reaching the woodland.

I went back to The Ship for breakfast and afterwards went back out to Titchwell as My wife was off to Wells and  Burnham Market shopping.

I did a tour around Choseley before going to Titchwell hoping for Grey Partridge or a Corn Bunting.  There were quite a few passerines as I approached the barns, most of which were Common Starlings but there were also quite a few small birds, some of which perched on the overhead wires and I identified Meadow Pipit, Linnet and Yellowhammer, although many more dropped out of view unidentified.

The car park had filled up and I had to park in the overflow area where I joined one of the volunteers who was scanning the hedge on the edge of the car park.  There were quite a few Goldcrest in evidence and I also found a Common Chiffchaff, a pair of Blackcap and a couple of Song Thrushes.

I walked around the Fen Trail again looking for a Yellow-browed Warbler without success and I continued onto Patsy’s Reedbed, hearing a Cetti’s Warbler on route.  There were two Western Marsh Harriers visible over the reedbed screen and there were three Little Grebes and three Ruff on the scrape.

I walked back along the path and again stopped hoping for one of the Yellow-browed Warblers, which produced just a couple of Goldcrests.  When I reached the West Bank, I continued along the path and went into Island Hide where I counted twenty-nine Ruff.  One of the volunteers then announced that there was a male Hen Harrier over the east bund and I managed to pick it up towards Titchwell church.  It started gaining height and continued heading south but was in view for quite some time, although always distant.  I made my way back to the car seeing another Western Marsh Harrier, a Common Buzzard and I picked up a Brambling flying over with a group of migrating Common Chaffinch.

I drove the short distance to Holme and parked near the golf course before walking along the footpath to the beach.  Six Shore Lark had been reported on the beach for the last few days, and again today.  As I walked out there was a Common Kestrel perched and then seen hunting along the edge of the golf course.  Several returning birders indicated that the larks were still there and when I reached the beach I could see a small party of birders who I assumed were watching them.  As I walked towards them they started to come towards me and I thought that they were going back but in fact they hadn’t seen the larks as they had flown off towards Hunstanton.  I followed them along a ridge and we soon found two of the six feeding with a group of Common Linnets, but we were unable to locate the other four.  As I retraced my steps back towards the beach to view the sea, more Common Chaffinches were flying over and again I picked out a single Brambling.  As I approached the beach a Eurasian Curlew flew over and there was c.150 Eurasian Oystercatcher on the beach but I saw nothing else and went back to the car.

When I got back to the car I had a bite to eat and considered going to the Holme Reserve but with no news since early morning I decided to go back to Titchwell.  As I approached Thornham I thought it might be worthwhile checking out the harbour.  After parking I could see that there were plenty of birds on the sand towards the sea and went to the edge of the car park to view the area.  As I did so another birder asked if I would be interested in a Short-eared Owl as one was sitting on a fence post on the other side of the seawall.  Obviously, I was interested and went over the bridge and up onto the seawall.  Another birder already had the owl pinned down, which was sitting on one of the fence posts that went out into the field and there was a Common Kestrel on the same line of posts but closer.  As I stood talking to the other birder we heard a rather loud call, which I recognised as a Red Crossbill, but we didn’t manage to pick up and it soon disappeared, although another birder towards Thornham had seen it well.  I assumed that it was almost certainly between him and us and had proved difficult as we were looking into the sun, making it a frustrating experience.  There were 139 Eurasian Curlew on the salt marsh and 200+ Eurasian Oystercatcher on the exposed sand.  I counted sixty-four Brent Geese and twenty-three Common Shelduck along with five Little Egrets and twenty Pink-footed Geese flew over and there was a Western Marsh Harrier towards Holme.  I then noticed a Spotted Redshank roosting in the channel and as I was leaving it was feeding and so I went and got the camera hoping a could get a few shots.

Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank

I made my way back to Titchwell and again went to look for the Yellow-browed Warbler but again had no joy and continued along the path to view the marsh between the reserve and Brancaster but all I saw was a Common Kestrel over Patsy’s Pool.  As I walked back others were looking for the warblers, including David but again they weren’t seen or heard, and David and I went to the west bank.

There was another Common Kestrel over the field towards Thornham and a Grey Plover flew over.  The only thing we saw that I hadn’t seen earlier on the Freshwater Marsh was a female Northern Pintail, but David then picked up a Western Barn Owl towards Thornham, which I saw briefly before it disappeared.  As I approached the car I added Eurasian Jay to the day-list, which reached ninety, with two the Shore Lark and the Red Crossbill being year-ticks.