Window to Wildlife

 We had booked an extra night’s accommodation in the Norfolk Broads, with a primary goal of seeking out the Black-winged Kite, a rare UK species, although one we have seen overseas. However, we made several stops en route, to try to maximise our Norfolk tally. We took the road towards Fakenham, stopping by a field of geese, reported to contain some Bean Geese. However, the light was atrocious, the angle was difficult due to another car already parked, and our scopes were in the boot, so scanning would be difficult and we did not want top flush the entire flock! With some distance to travel, and having already seen Bean Geese at Abberton on Monday, w decided to press on. It really had been a wild goose chase! With news of a flock of Twite at Blakeney headed towards Cley, we decided to divert to the beach road at Cley, where we could scan the marsh from the sea wall. We had seen birds here on a previous year, and with no sightings on this visit, we wanted to give it a try. Other bird...

 This morning proved to be bitterly cold, with an easterly element to the wind, but at least it was drier than forecast. We started our day at Titchwell, but this was rather disappointing in comparison to previous years. The Tawny Owl roosting in its regular tree showed reasonably well, and was a useful annual tick for us all. Elsewhere on the reserve were many of the regular duck species and a decent showing of Pintail at last, but nothing unusual, and unfortunately no sign of the Greater Scaup being regularly reported. The bunds were also bereft of birds, with a couple of Dunlin, Redshank and Curlew all we could find here. The lack of any Greenshank struck as unusual. At the beach, in freezing wind, some other birders got us onto two Snow Buntings, our only ones of the trip, and in short supply around the area this year. A few waders were on the shoreline, but the tide was a long way out, and a quick scan of the sea proved fruitless. It was very frustrating. Returning to the visi...

 Today was cold and grey, but largely dry, save for a few spits which did not interfere with our birding. We started early, with a trip to Titchwell at 6.30am in search of Woodcock dropping in to roost. Although there was some movement in the semi darkness, we were not able to clearly identify any shapes as a Woodcock. An early morning Blackbird and Robin serenaded us from close range, and a Song Thrush perched high on a tree branch, beak agape as it poured forth its magnificent song to greet the morning. After breakfast, we set off for a long drive to Sheringham, in search of an Eastern Black Redstart, a subspecies, with notably differing plumage. A kind non-birder saw us looking and pointed out the bird sat on a nearby roof, where Sue and Tim both took some photos. Then it flew over to the ornamental gardens, where it paused on a bench, before foraging in and around the bushes nearby, giving excellent and sustained views. Eastern Black Redstart Feeling uplifted by this beautiful ...

 We woke to clear skies and sunshine, and with a Redwing from our room and a Barn Owl over breakfast, we were set fair for a good day’s birding. Barn Owl We started by the golf course at Holme, walking across to the saltmarsh where we soon found Stonechat, Rock Pipit and Skylark flitting about the vegetation. Walking towards the beach to scan for Snow Bunting without success, we scoped Sanderling, Dunlin and Oystercatcher on the shoreline. Heading towards Hunstanton, we followed the track by the marsh. In the channel we found plenty of Redshank, a few Wigeon, a single Curlew and a Kingfisher, perched on a stone wall, before it sped off round the corner. A Little egret was new here too, then a Black-tailed Godwit landed just feet away from us and a flock of Goldfinch circled round before settling on the saltmarsh nearby.  Black-tailed Godwit We crossed the channel and scanned the beach, noting a large troop of Oystercatchers, but no new species. We decided to return along the d...

 Our traditional January trip to Norfolk did not get off to the best of starts, with pouring rain and strong winds hampering visibility at Welney, where we met Sue. It was impossible even to view the feeders, just feet from the centre, as the windows were covered in water, and you couldn’t hold your binoculars steady outside. A scamper across the viewing platform next to the cafe to shelter undercover, hugging the wall for protection whilst standing on tiptoe, enabled me to get a brief glimpse of a Tree Sparrow, a prime target at this site. Crossing the footbridge to the main viewing hide gave completely different viewing conditions,with many birds close to the building, and the wind direction ensuring dry windows and excellent visibility. However the water levels were extremely high, with none of the usual islands exposed, although a few traces of reeds and a gate and fence tops still offered a few perching posts. As a result there was a distinct lack of waders. On the water were ...

 We had another enjoyable day out birding with my brothers in Essex today, visiting some of our favourite winter birding destinations. We spent the morning at Abberton Reservoir, starting at Layer de la Haye causeway, quickly finding a good number of great species. John was first onto a group of three drake and two female Goosanders, always good to see. Several Goldeneye were spotted around the reservoir, and a Black-necked Grebe at fairly close range was another great find. There were plenty of regular ducks here too, including good numbers of Wigeon, Teal and Tufted Ducks. Black-necked Grebe At the edges of the water we found a few Redshank, plenty of Lapwings and a Pied Wagtail. A Grey Heron flew in as we watched. Next up was a stunning drake Smew, a spectacular bird with pristine white and black plumage and a tufted crest.  Smew We drove on to Layer Breton causeway, where the ducks were predominantly Shoveler, Gadwall and Pochard. However, scanning amongst them I was delig...

 This afternoon an alert came through from Richard Allan advising that a Little Gull was on the river, foraging over the salt marsh close to the railway bridge. This is an uncommon bird on the Adur, although some are occasionally seen offshore, so we dashed round, and within minutes were enjoying good views of an adult bird, readily identifiable by the dark underwings. Although on the wrong side of the river, at times it strayed closer, at one point landing on the water not far from us, before taking off and returning to its favoured location by the salt marsh. Little Gull Little Gull (Richard Allan) Little Gull (Richard Allan) As we watched, we were soon joined by Jerry who drew attention to a couple of adult Yellow-legged Gulls, with clean, white heads, darker backs than on adjacent Herring Gulls, and showing limited white on the primaries. Although by no means common, this species is becoming increasingly frequent on the river at this time of year, but doesn’t always show as wel...

 We had a day out with Bernie and Steve today, visiting various sites in West Sussex. We started at Dell Quay, with the tide fairly high, and the water very calm. There were plenty of regular water birds here, including many Teal and Wigeon, and a large group of around twenty Shelduck. More interesting was a group of three Goldeneye, two drakes and a single female, the males very striking with their bold black and white plumage, and constantly diving. Goldeneye, m A distant, diving water bird on the far side of the water, spotted by Tim, gradually drifted nearer and eventually we were able to identify this as a Slavonian Grebe, black and white, with a peak at the back of the head and sloping forehead. This was a new year tick, and a bird we don't always get to see very well. Redshanks, Oystercatchers and Lapwings were plentiful, and a single Greenshank strode elegantly across the muddy margins of the water. Greenshank On the far bank of the creek, a tree held around a dozen Fieldfa...

After an excellent breakfast at our lodge in Winchelsea, we were less enthusiastic to rush out today as the weather forecast was awful! Steve and Bernie, in their own car, decided to bail, but the rest of us donned the waterproofs and set off to Rye Harbour, where we managed another highly successful, if very soggy, day. We started at Gooders Hide, overlooking the Flat Beach area of pools, shingle banks and islands, with some saltmarsh and mud in front of the hide. A Spoonbill rested on one of these islands but declined to show his bill. We were prepared to be patient, but somehow this large, conspicuous white bird managed to take flight and move on without any of us noticing! Maybe we were distracted by the flock of Golden Plover bunched on the islands, which occasionally took to the air, descending slowly earthwards in a great golden cloud. We searched in vain for raptors as a possible cause of these movements.This is a great area for waders, and it did not disappoint, with Grey Plov...

Tim and I were leading a two day SDOS (Shoreham District Ornithological,Society) minibus tour, to Rye and Dungeness. We arrived at our first stop at Rock-a-nore cliff in Hastings around 8.30AM, where we were quickly onto our target bird the Fulmar, noting the distinctive slim, stiff-winged flight, and enjoying close binocular views of a pair canoodling on the cliff. Meanwhile, on the sea behind us, an extensive line of geese, presumably Brents, streamed low across the water, then around twenty Red-throated Divers, followed several minutes later by a large cluster of Cormorants that landed offshore. Fulmar (photo by Mark Davis) Our next stop was at Pett Level, where we had such a fantastic collection of species that we stayed rather longer than planned. There were plenty of Curlews and Lapwings feeding on the marshy grass, and a few Snipe were disturbed around the wet ditches. We took a walk along the road and found a lovely group of Bearded Tits feeding in the reeds, giving fantastic s...

 This morning we were leading a walk at Widewater Lagoon for WOW, the conservation group who help manage this local nature reserve. There was a great turnout, with over thirty people attending. The day got off to a great start, with lots of activity on the sea as everyone was arriving, causing a real flurry or excitement. A shoal of fish offshore attracted good numbers of cormorants, snake-like heads held aloft as they drifted together. Amongst the throng were smaller numbers of auks, predominantly Razorbill as far as we could tell. But the star birds were diving gannets, causing many gasps of delight and ‘Wow!’ as they plunged headfirst into the water.  Gannets (Amanda Glinsman) On the beach,  a group of Turnstones blended into the shingle , but we got the scopes on them and everyone enjoyed good views, with the orange legs really standing out on a bright, sunny day. Turning our attention to the lagoon, we were able to point out both Herring and Black-headed Gulls, a use...

 We had more family visits this week, as we headed to Bicester for a couple of days. I managed to convince Tim to stop on the way up at Staines Reservoir in search of a Lesser Scaup. Fortunately there were other birders present, who helpfully described where the bird was, and we managed to locate it pretty quickly in the scope. The bird was resting with its head tucked sideways, so the views were not ideal, and the bright sun didn’t help either. However, we could clearly see the diagnostic peaked head, so felt happy to tick it.  Staines is a great site for Black-necked Grebes, and several of these were swimming in the same area, showing black and white plumage and very fluffy tails. Flocks of Tufted Ducks and Pochard were here too, and together with a Great-crested Grebe, it proved a worthwhile stopover, despite the brevity. Black-necked Grebe

 New Year, new list! As always, we started our annual birding with a visit to Pulborough Brooks, meeting Sue at 8am, sunrise time!  My first bird of the year was Herring Gull, with three circling over the house as we left home around first light. The regular ‘roundabout’ Buzzard was also noted as we drove past. Birding started quickly once we arrived at the reserve, in absolutely freezing conditions, with a flurry of regular tits, Robin, Blackbird etc. as we chatted in the car park. More noteworthy though was the appearance of a showy Firecrest foraging in the open branches of the same deciduous tree attracting the other species. An excellent tick so early in the day! Firecrest  A few more common birds were noted as we walked through the zigzags and Fattengates, including  Greenfinches, which appear to gradually be  increasing in numbers following the devastation from trichonomsis. We continued on to Westmead hide, where the water levels were high, attracting go...