Window to Wildlife

 We decided to break our journey home with another stop at Welney, having failed to find any Bean Geese elsewhere in Norfolk and knowing a group of nine birds had been consistently reported there throughout our stay.  From the main observatory these were quickly located resting on one of the islands. Although they spent much time roosting with their heads tucked under their wings, one bird remained standing showing clearly the diagnostic orange legs, contrasting with the Greylag Goose at the water’s edge nearby. Occasionally a bird would lift its head for a spot of preening and then the orange and brown bill pattern was easily seen. Tundra Bean Goose There were many Pochard swimming just below the hide window. The males conker-brown heads and red eyes looked magnificent at such close range, but I also took the opportunity to try to get to grips with the more subtle plumage features of the female, noting that the structure and patterning mirrored that of the male, although the ...

 Our last full day in Norfolk, and we decided to drive east in the hope of an Iceland Gull near Cley, which has been present for some weeks, reliably reported most mornings feeding on a seal carcass on the shingle ridge behind Arnold’s Marsh. We arrived around 10.15 and a quick route march along the track to the beach quickly got us onto the bird doing exactly that. The smaller of the white gull species, this juvenile was a stunning bird and we were able to study its features for a sustained time through the scope. Iceland Gull In the afternoon we decided to visit  Holkham Park, a new location for us. We regularly visit the beach and marshland area but had never visited the grounds before, with paths through the deer park leading to a huge lake. The parkland was surprisingly bereft of birds, although a couple of Mistle Thrushes were our first of the trip. The lake was more productive with good numbers of Tufted Duck, Shoveler and Pochard. Our target bird was a female Scaup, ...

 A big change in the weather today, with glorious sunshine making a huge difference to both the temperature and visibility. We started our day back at Titchwell RSPB, hoping to locate some smaller birds in the wooded area around the visitor centre. Unfortunately we were unable to locate any Siskins, but our first Greenfinches of the trip were feeding at the top of the alders, their rich green framing a gold flash of wingbar  in the early morning sunlight. The treetops were alive with Chaffinches and Goldfinches dancing amongst the topmast branches, bright colours glowing against a crisp blue sky. But the highlight here was a tiny Goldcrest foraging amongst the leaves of a pathside shrub.  We set off along the footpath overlooking a series of lagoons. Having visited here yesterday, we did not plan to spend long scanning these pools, but a Pochard was new for the trip and in the saltmarsh we found a Spotted Redshank with diagnostic supercilium highlighted by the bright ligh...

 I began the day with a wonderful breakfast at the Premier Inn in Kings Lynn before driving up to Thornham to meet Jenny, Tim and Sue before we all set off in Sue's car to Holkham. Just before the entrance to Holkham we noticed a few birders in a layby looking through scopes into a field. We pulled into the layby and realised that they were looking at a large number of white fronted geese and with closer inspection there were also a couple of pink footed geese in amongst them.                                                                     White fronted geese                                                                     Pink footed goose ...

 Jenny and Tim arranged their annual trip to Norfolk with their friend Sue and this year I decided to join them for the first two days of their five day stay.  I met Jenny and Tim at my mum's house where they had stayed for the weekend and we drove up together in separate cars to meet Sue at Welney. Just before we arrived at Welney we spotted a number of swans in a field and we turned into a side road to get a closer view.  These turned out to be whooper swans and I managed to get photos from a distance and also a closer photo as a few more flew over our heads.                                                                      Whooper swans We moved on to Welney car park where Sue had already arrived and was viewing some tree sparrows in the bramble bushes there.  Despite the poor light I took...

 Sue and Keith decided they could do with an early boost to their annual list so came across for a few days. Living close to Poole Harbour, with its extensive birding opportunities, we tried to target habitats and species they are less likely to encounter locally, and found we had considerable success. Monday: Lancing We started at Southwick Harbour, looking for the regularly sighted Long-tailed Duck, but were disappointed not to find it in the usual spot. Even more galling was to later see it reported again! A boat had sailed up the harbour as we arrived, so it’s possible that had displaced the bird, but it’s always disappointing for us tour guides when we fail to deliver on an expected tick! Undeterred, we headed to Widewater, where there was little to be seen on the lagoon or the sea. However, a stroll along the beach was more successful, as we managed to find the flock of roosting waders, with around 120 Dunlin tucking their heads under their wing, and 15 Ringed Plover blending...

 With Jenny and Tim visiting Essex we decided to try to obtain a few more year ticks based on recent reported local sightings.  We began the day at Lea Valley arriving at about 8.45 with main target bird of smew as both drake and redhead had been seen there lately.  The other possibility was bittern which visits there in winter but it is always a lottery as to whether it can be found.  It did not take long before Tim spotted a redhead smew on the far side of one of the lakes and we walked round to the other side to get closer views. We then walked further attempting to find the drake but after a while we gave up as we were having no luck and went to the bittern hide which only opens at 10 o'clock.  The hide had been renovated since my last visit and was quite impressive but unfortunately it was not the right time or place to see the bittern today and so we decided to move on to our second location which was Marsh Farm in South Woodham Ferrers. The target bird he...