100th patch bird of the year...

30th December 2009

I was still in bed when I got a text from Adam, telling me there was a Black-necked Grebe at Whitlingham. After a half-asleep "are you sure?" message, it was established that the bird was indeed a Black-necked Grebe, and I had to see it. I left without any breakfast and walked down to Whitlingham in the drizzle. I spotted a Kingfisher and a redhead Goosander close in to the shore as I walked along, stopping level with the island. At first I couldn't see any grebes other than GC, but a second look revealed the Black-necked Grebe, which promptly dived. I watched it for a while, periodically wiping my telescope and glasses. A local birder came over and we watched the bird for a bit longer, before continuing round the broad. There was no sign of the GN Diver, although it had been seen ealier in the morning. Through the flooded north-east corner, and along the back path we saw little, until a Bullfinch flew out of some brambles.

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When I got home I had a tot up and found that the grebe was my 100th Whitlingham bird of the year. I had been aiming for 100, so to finish on 101 (Bullfinch was also new) was particularly pleasing. I had missed a fair few birds; Garganey, Mandarin, LRP, Wood Sand, Brent Goose, all the terns, plus fly through Crossbill and Whooper Swan, but all in all a good year. My best self-found bird was probably an Avocet on Thorpe Broad. Here's to 110 next year!

Goose watching

28th December 2009

Gary & I had originally agreed to go to Wayland Wood to see if there are still any Golden Pheasants there, but on the day we decided to head for the coast to fill in a few gaps in my year list. We arrived at Docking and scanned through thousands of Pink-footed Geese in the hope of finding the Snow Goose, but no luck. On to Holme, and we suceeded in seeing Long-tailed Duck, Gary picking up three just offshore. We cut inland towards Wighton to look for more geese, and duly found another flock. We scanned this one for a while too with no luck. I later found out the Snow Goose was at Holkhma, but hey, you can't win them all.

Giving up on geese, we called in at Cley, where a flock of Twite have been recently. Suffice to say they weren't there whilst we were, but we did see a Kigfisher and a Jack Snipe, whilst a Kestrel proved an obliging subject for a while. The last target of the day was Merlin, so we headed to Stubb Mill. We were doing well, Gary called 4 Cranes and I spotted a ringtail Hen Harrier, but banks of mist/fog rolled in and put an end to the fun.

Fudge & Diver

...the new detective series starting on ITV3. Not really, they only show repeats.
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27th December 2009
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With Cath & her mum having joined the NWT over Christmas, they wanted to go to a reserve. I suggested Barton Broad, certainly not just so I could have a look at the Fudge Duck. After braving the boardwalk, slippery with water and ice, we reached the viewing platform where four birders were looking fairly close in. I soon found the male Ferruginous Duck with a small group of Pochard near the tern platforms. As the bird was giving good views, I took the chance to use one of my Christmas gifts, a hardbacked sketch book. This is useful because a) my digiscoping is crap, and b) I realised this year I don't take enough notes, and if I want to get birds through rarity committees I need to start taking more! Below is todays masterpiece (yep, I took pencil crayons too!). All in all a success, but I don't think many birds are going to make as obliging subjects. There were 20+ Goldeneye on show too, and lots of Fieldfares.

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My Fudge notes. The blue line on the left is a scanner artefact.

We took a slow drive along the coast as far as Walcott, but didn't see the Cranes. Lots of Lapwings around Brograve farm though. Back in Norwich we stopped at Whitlingham, and after a short walked along the south shore my scope was full of diver. Presumably the Strumpshaw bird, I had hoped it would drift along to Whitlingham before Christmas, but better late than never. It was diving a lot, and will hopefully make its home there for a while so I can get better views later in the week. The broad was full of Coot and Gadwall, and a Grey Heron looked uneasy on a post, as if it was minding the space for a Cormorant and hoping it wouldn't be long. I might put a photo of the diver up, but its hardly worth it, it was so low in the water you can only see a third of its body!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog, those who have left comments or that I have met in the field this year.

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

James

Whitlingham snowy extravaganza

19th & 21st December 2009

Saturday was still snowy, so I ditched any ideas of heading to the coast and instead went to Whitlingham. A flock of around 30 Siskin and Goldfinch were in the alders, and Cath noticed a Water Rail skulking near the path. At the end of the Little Broad a Grey Heron and a redhead Goosander (a long overdue patch tick) were standing on the bank.

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The Great Broad held a vast number (400+) Gadwall, and probably a similar number of Coot. Cath spotted a Weasel near the path to the bird screen, whilst a Cetti's Warbler flew up out of the reeds. The north-east corner of the broad had flooded the path, so we hurried around the final part of the lap to go home and dry off!

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On Monday I decided to spend a whole day at Whitlingham, hoping to catch some winter migration. The Little Broad had frozen almost completely, but along the back 11 Shoveler represented an increase on previous numbers. I started counting the Gadwall, when I heard some children chanting ho-ho-ho. Never a good sign. The ducks started moving as Santa arrived on a boat. I bet people who patch-bird at Cley never have these problems. A few Teal and Wigeon were on the Great Broad, but no sign of anything better until I stopped to talk to a fellow birder who picked up a redhead Goosander flying past us.

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Small numbers of Lapwing flew west all day, the biggest group around 55. There had clearly been an arrival of Snipe recently, I saw 15, several in flight but most flushed. More impressively was my first patch Woodcock, making a nice change from Snipe! A group of 13 Skylark also flew west, a notable record. Other decent birds included 3 Kingfishers (Trowse Meadows, Little Broad and Great Broad), a Marsh Tit, several Song Thrushes and some Redwing. The snow may be over, but hopefully there is still time for a rare grebe or diver to find a temporary home.

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A white-bearded dude goes duck spotting

Winter Blackcap

13th December 2009
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A shopping trip in between the showers took me & Cathy past Grove Road, where we found a male Blackcap in the trees opposite the mini-roundabout. It takked a bit and then flew off into the gardens behind. My first overwintering one, although many do now apparently.

Sleeping Ducks in West Norfolk

6th December 2009

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Having decided to have a pre-Christmas birdwatch with Gary at the weekend, I was pleased to see that a female Ferruginous Duck had been found on Friday. To add to this, an American Wigeon was found on Saturday, so we set off in the rain for a wildfowl extravaganza. On the way we stopped at Denver Sluice to look for Goosander, but with no luck. I did spot a Barn Owl flying across the channel, which was some consolation. The approach road to Welney held large flocks of Whooper Swans, with some Bewick's mixed in too. We arrived, I coughed up the £6.30 entrance fee (they get you to pay before telling you the whole reserve is flooded too ;-o) and we proceeded to the observation hide, where the guide/hostess/volunteer cheerily told us she had seen the American Wigeon earlier but had no idea where it was now.

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After a few false starts, Gary "eyes of a hawk (or hwak, which I originally typed)" White, spotted the American Wigeon about 6 miles across the lagoon, sleeping on the bank. We spent about 30 minutes staring at the side of a sleeping duck, until it indulged us for 30 seconds with it's head up, showing the pale face and green facial stripe. Gary managed to record this feat, and leaving a number of birders to stare at the yank wigeon until it woke up again, we left, rubbing our eyes.

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Next stop was Snettisham RSPB and the long walk to the pools. We slipped along the path (Adam's balance being particularly suspect) until we got to Rotary Hide, noting Goldeneye and Little Grebes on the way. A first scan of the bank turned up nothing, but a second scan turned up the female Ferruginous Duck, asleep. Lazy things, ducks. It woke up a few times, stretching its wings and going for a quick swim and walk, enough to note all of the fudgy features (chestnut colour, white vent, white belly patch, white underwing, sloping forehead, longish grey bill and dark eye). A large flock of Greylags held two hybrids (presumable with Canada), both looking like Greylag but with white on the face, unlike the commoner "brown necked Canada" type.

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On the way back we cut through via Docking in the hope of catching up with the/a Snow Goose. We did find a pre-roost flock of thousands of Pink-footed Geese, but no rarer stragglers. These were flushed by something behind the field and flew over us, a spectacular sight. We arrived at the Dun Cow as the sun was setting in the hope of getting an owl for our pub list. No such luck, but we did manage Little Grebe, Shoveler, Brent Goose, Lapwing and Pink-footed Goose amongst others, before we left in the dark.

Wet weekend wildfowl

28th & 29th November 2009

On Saturday me & Cathy took the train to Hoveton and walked to Wroxham Broad. I was surprised that no other birders were there when we arrived. To the left (west) of the car park a group of Pochard were partly visible, and I found the Ring-necked Duck with them, although it had it's head down so i couldn't make out the beak. It drifted out of sight towards the yacht club jetty, so we settled down to wait for its re-emergence. A local birder joined us for a while, but decided to leave looking through the fence to us. Standing in the scrub at the edge of the car park and 'scoping through the metal fence I watched the Pochard flock around the jetty, and was eventually rewarded with a better view of the R-N Duck as it swam through my field of view. Not as good views as Whitlingham last year, but at least we saw it. Back in Hoveton a Black Swan was on the river near the Tourist Information Office.

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On Sunday me & Adam went down to Whitlingham. As we arrived it started to piss it down with rain, a feature of the trip. Conclusions are that my new coat is waterproof, but this makes my trousers very wet. A Kingfisher flew across the Little Broad, and a Grey Heron stood close in to the path. We saw little other than the usual geese and Coot along the southern edge, and almost turned back as the rain strengthened and it became apparent that the path was flooded near the east end. We carried on (my new walking boots are waterproof too, thankfully) and were rewarded with a large number of birds in the conservation area:

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Lots of Coot, Mallard, Tufted Duck & Gadwall

Pochard - 57 (33m, 24f)

Teal - 12 (7m, 5f)

Little Grebe - 7

Wigeon - 4 (2m, 2f)

Shoveler - 3 (2m, 1f)

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Adam picked out a Snipe preening on the edge of one of the islands, and Cormorants had displaced all the gulls except one LBBG from the posts. Another Grey Heron was on the main island, and a couple of Common Gulls were loafing with the Black-headed Gulls. A walk up the tree avenue failed to produce any signs of mythical Tawny or Little Owls, but did turn up Green Woodpecker and Jay. Two pairs of Egyptian Geese argued over the road, one pair having the field as a territory, the others settling for the Little Broad carpark. The field pair won, so the carparkers don't even have access at the moment! Still no sign of any Brambling or Waxwings, but Northerlies forecast this week.

Sculthorpe Moor

22nd November 2009

As part of Cathy's birding education, we went to Sculthorpe to get a better look at Water Rails, Marsh Tits and possibly Brambling. As it turned out there were no Brambling yet (much to Cath's annoyance, if anyone sees any around Norwich in the near future please let me know. UEA bird feeders is usually a good site). We did see all the usual woodland fare minus the Golden Pheasant, which had obviously migrated to the Himalayas. No sign of any Willow Tits either, but the rain put us off from looking too hard. In terms of non bird life, we saw a Bank Vole, 2 Muntjac Deer and some Wood Blewitt fungus. Gary & Claire joined us in the scrape hide, but by then the rain had set in and everything had gone to ground.

Marsh Tit from the fen hide

A Water Rail strikes a characteristic pose

Red crested Pochard, but should I feel bad about counting it?

21st November 2009

I nearly missed out on another patch tick today. Following the reappearance of the broads Ring-necked Duck, I planned to get up early and hit Whitlingham at dawn to look for scarce Aythya species before the whole county descended on the country park. My alarm went off at 6, then went off full stop. I slept in until 10 and thought bugger it. Settling down in the afternoon, a text from Gary alerted me to a Red-crested Pochard that had been seen the previous day (presumably this news was from RBA, there was no news on BirdGuides). The light was poor, but I figured I could get there with 45 minutes of light left, so I power walked down, arriving at 3.15. No sign in the conservation area or on Thorpe Broad, and I was on the verge of giving up when I found the drake RCP, attacking a Gadwall. I watched it as the light faded, unfortunately too dark for a record shot. I then walked home in the dark for a celebratory beer.

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The first question should be whether the Red-crested Pochard comes from a sustainable population or is an escape. Unfortunately I can't think of a good way of finding this out. November has seen a large increase in wildfowl numbers at Whitlingham, and if a "wild" bird was to turn up, now would be the time. I'm happy either way really, but should I be? To explain this, with ironic timing fellow UEA alumni the Punkbirders have written an article for Birdwatch about whether it's ok to tick category C species. To be honest I don't really understand it. The suggestion appears to be that as many introduced species negatively impact on native species, ticking them is unethical. I don't really see the link between the impact of a species and its "tickability" personally. Maybe I've missed the point, but in answer to the sub-headline "Is it really ok to tick those Category C birds?" I can't see past the obvious answer. Yes.

No birds, but a Bird's Nest

15th November 2009

The "no birds" bit isn't strictly true, although no interesting birds probably is. A walk around Whitlingham after the strong winds was notable only for a female Goldeneye, the first I've seen there this autumn. The best part of the day was finding a number of Bird's Nest fungi (Crucibulum laeve) on twigs near my house. (Well worth looking up on google). These tiny fungi are apparently not uncommon, but due to their size are just rarely recorded. There are 39 records from Norfolk up until 2007, from only 7 observers and none since 2002, although I think specimens have been found at one other site this year and are yet to be added to the database. Later I participated in a fungus foray at Whitlingham. I committed a schoolboy error in forgetting to take a pen, and listed everything we found using Cath's eyeliner pencil, which worked surprisingly well.

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Common Birds Nest (Crucibulum laeve)

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Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) in Whitlingham Woods

Return To Pegwell Bay

Yes I am aware the title sounds like an Enid Blyton book.
7th November 2009
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Following our previous disappointment at missing out on the Zitting Cisticola, its subsequent re-appearance tempted Gary to drive back to Kent this weekend. Me, Adam & Claire all went along, on what may ultimately be a waste of time if they colonise the UK in the next few years. As before we arrived at Pegwell around 8. There was no dog show, so we walked straight to the edge of the saltmarsh, where Gary recognised the sound of the Zitter. We got a brief flight view, but over the next 15 minutes got super views as it climbed up thistles and grass stems.

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We did a mini-lap of the sight to look for perched Parakeets (a flock of eight had flown through already), and had another quick look at the Zitting Cisticola, still showing well. I had a cup of tea and a bacon roll from the friendly owner of the Dog Walkers Cafe, who joked he would be releasing a Siberian Thrush in a fortnight to keep up trade. This will of course provide a dilemma if one were to turn up, but luckily I think thats unlikely.

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Despite having seen it on the way to the Scillies, Gary sportingly agreed to go and have another look at the Brown Shrike at Staines. We slipped and slided in the mud on the way down, churned up by thousands of birders and a week of rain. The shrike showed well in the hedgerow to the right of the bridge, showing off the huge black and white facial mask. Excellent.

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Following two megas, we then stopped off in Southend to hunt for the Ring-billed Gull. Once again we spectacularly failed, along with another few birders also present. We patrolled the seafront, I threw half my roll at the gulls, but the best we got was 4+ Med Gulls. Incredibly annoyingly we were asked "what are you looking at?", "what are you photographing?" (we had no cameras out) and "what's going on?" by every other pedestrian walking past, which really got on everyones tits. But there we go.

So many geese

31st October & 1st November 2009

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Saturday started with rain, and I was considering not bothering to leave the house until Gary called to say he was already at Sheringham. Sportingly he came and picked me up from the city, and we headed to Burnham Market to search for the Snow Goose that has been in the area for the past few weeks. To cut a long story short, we searched between 6000-7000 Pink-footed Geese, in three large flocks and a number of small ones, over the course of a day. The possibilities are extensive, Snow, Barnacle, Tundra Bean, Whitefront, Ross' etc. We saw one Pale-bellied Brent Goose. Bugger. But at least we were out looking. We did detour to Holme briefly in the hope of picking up the Rose-coloured Starling seen heading West from Titchwell, and managed to see two Shorelark for our troubles. On the way back Gary relocated the GW Teal at Cley, along with a Water Pipit.

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On Sunday the weather was even worse, but me & Cath joined Gary & Claire for a trip to Minsmere. We got soaked in Island Hide (the window seals have gone, leaving a large gap for water to spray in), but consolation was the long-staying Great White Egret standing at the back of the pool. Other decent birds included Bewick's and Whooper Swans, leucistic Mallard and Moorhen, Water Pipit and a 3rd year Caspian Gull. The GW Egret was my 2nd, the first being a trip to Cley with my dad 15 years ago!

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Great White Egret in the rain.

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Well done to all of the birders involved in settling the Greenish Warbler dispute. I think we've had enough Phylloscs for one year now (except maybe a Hume's at Holkham, fingers crossed).

More half-term birding

I've lumped wed-fri together so people don't get sick of the constant updates.

Wednesday saw me & Adam brave the crowds for another patch visit to Whitlingham. The birds were all crammed into the conservation area, and amongst the Coot I saw a Wigeon with what looked like a green Teal-like stripe on its head. I was thinking Teal x Wigeon, although American Wigeon x Wigeon would look similar. Either way, I moved to get a better view and couldn't pick it up again. The bright sun on the water could well have created an artefact, so although exciting at the time I won't be dwelling on it. The only other sighting of note was three flocks of Redwing over going determinedly west (10, 21, 22).

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On Thursday Cathy & I got a lift to Snettisham via Flitcham. Unfortunately the Little Owl wasn't showing, but we did see a Bullfinch, a number of Red-legged Partridges running (always an amusing sight) and a Common Buzzard. At Snettisham we both noticed a Water Rail simultaneously in the reeds, and picked out eight wader species whilst waiting for the Knot to flock. We left before the last remaining birds had taken to the air, but were still pleased with the views of Knot and Golden Plover flocks twisting and turning above us. We diverted via Brancaster in case the Snow Goose was still around, but were just in time to see the remnents of the Pink-feet fly North.

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By Friday I was ready for a more local trip, and took the bus south to the village of Shotesham. I waited on the edge of the common with a small group of birders (seeing Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher by the ford), until one of them located the Siberian Chiffchaff in a hedge. I saw it flitting about in a willow before it emerged from the top and flew across the road into someones garden. The call seemed to be straightforward tristis, although I don't think I've heard abietinus calls to compare it with. The residents very sportingly gave us permission to go down their drive, but as it hadn't called in a while I had a quick scout of the nearby trees and then got the bus back home. The bird has been heard to sing and has been recorded, so it should get clinched either way. I had planned to have a drink in the local pub, but it was shut when I got to it. Later in the day a possible Parrot Crossbill was reported from Wells Woods, which sounds like a tempting trip for Saturday!

Cley & Salthouse

27th October 2009

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After a complaint from Cathy that I wasn't finding her enough birds, we went to Cley to look for Snow Buntings. A compromise look through the waders failed to turn up the White-rumped Sandpiper, but there was a nice looking white-headed Ruff. We sat in Dauke's Hide scanning the Teal and Wigeon, and eventually found the Green-winged Teal sleeping on an island. A slightly surreal moment happened earlier when a woman who followed us into the hide asked us straight away where it was, and when I replied "I don't know, I've only just got here" muttered "you mustn't be able to see it from here, there's not enough people" and walked out. Notwithstanding the old way of doing things (i.e. looking for yourself), it seemed an odd principle that a bird is only present if a crowd is watching it. Very odd actually.

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Great. Now where's my Blue-winged Teal?

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A few Bearded Tits flew over, and flocks of 30-50 Redwing and Fieldfare were flying over regularly. We heard a Water Rail, but didn't see it, much to Cathy's dismay, and unsurprisingly the Snow Buntings had gone. A seawatch was poor, however in addition to a lone adult Gannet going east, a Great Northern Diver sat offshore. We walked along to Salthouse, then back to the village. A flock of around 200 Greylags was on Arnold's Marsh, and a (tame) Snow Goose and at least 4 Canada x Greylag Geese joined a Canada Goose flock. A Barn Owl hunting over the marshes was a nice end to the day.

Whitlingham & Mousehold

24th & 25th October 2009
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A patch visit to Whitlingham saw the usual crowds of walkers and dogs. The Egyptian Geese had mostly buggered off to Thorpe Broad (51 on the spit), whilst everything else had made for the conservation area. Large amounts of Coot, too mobile to count, and the first Wigeon of winter, 4 males and 6 females. No sign of Adam's female Mandarin. Whitlingham Lane was covered in ladybirds, mostly 7-spot, but a reasonable number of Harlequins as well.

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Following that unsuccessful visit it was back to Trowse Woods to get a sample of the bracket I found last week. It is still on to be Ganoderma resinaceum, which would be about the 5th Norfolk record. Other notable fungi included Polyporus durus, Mycena arcangeliana and Mycena adscendens.

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Bearded Tooth Fungus at Trowse Woods

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The following day a wander around Mousehold saw the customary number of birds (it varies between 5 and 6), and a surprising lack of fungi. We failed to see Fly Agaric, my main reason for going. The fenceposts were covered in ladybirds, but in contrast to Whitlingham, most were Harlequin.

Eastern Crowned Warbler

24th October 2009

I had planned to go on a local fungus foray today, but the offer of a lift to see the latest addition to the British List provided to strong a temptation. Me and Adam met Gary & Phil at six o'clock, and we headed off to Lincolnshire. Here we stopped for breakfast at a Little Chef whilst awaiting news from the quarry. First news negative, but by the time we had finished our tea the ECW had been seen again, and the journey was on.

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A largely traffic-free journey to South Shields and we eventually found Trow Quarry. We walked down to the crowd and had brief views in the scrub before the Eastern Crowned Warbler flew to the next stand of trees. A Yellow-browed Warbler called and showed well, but it took the next flight of the ECW before it showed well. I was able to watch it feeding, during which it performed a nice roll around a branch, demonstrating the key features; pale underparts, yellow vent, crown stripe, long bright supercillium and thin wingbar. Happy and not too wet, we decided to wind our way home via Bempton.

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We drove across the corner of the Yorkshire Moors, in the hope of seeing Red Grouse (probably the most common British species I'm yet to see - I don't leave Norfolk much!). Unfortunately the rain was pouring down, and we soon gave up. We also didn't see any Dippers at a favourable looking stream, and had a nice bacon roll in a cafe in the middle of nowhere. We arrived at Bempton Cliffs RSPB in the mist, and walked around the corner towards the feeding station. Here we crouched down and watched a Red-flanked Bluetail foraging in the undergrowth close in. A small child was particularly excited, chanting "there it is" long after the bird had gone (a stringer of the future?) before wandering into my telescope.

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We decided to attempt one last bird, a Dusky Warbler at Flamborough Head. We walked down a muddy track alongside the Viking Pub (unfortunately it wasn't visible from the pub) and stood in the rain for what seemed like an age, without success. Eventually the rain stopped, and a birder found what looked like the Dusky in a stand of scrub behind us. We spent a while getting brief flight views before the bird called. I managed to get a 30 second view, enough to pick out the facial markings and colouration to go with its "Tek" call, and decided it was unlikely I would get any better views. Before leaving I scanned a large flock of Starlings (no RCSs) and saw a Yellowhammer on the wires. Off home, and back by 9:30. A long and successful day!

West Runton (2)

17th October 2009

With no further sightings of the Pied Wheatear, my attention was caught by a report of a possible Veery. I'm still not entirely sure of the order of events, specifically if there was also a Swainson's Thrush or a re-identification, and also whether it/they were seen later on but not reported, as one BirdForum poster says he saw both birds in the evening. Either way I decided to head for West Runton and hope that any Catharus thrush reports would reach me by word of mouth.

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I walked up to the field west of the derelict buildings, where around eight birders were looking in different places, suggesting no-one was on the bird. Having seen about 30 Skylarks, a birder approached me and asked if I'd seen the Short-toed Lark yet. Saying I hadn't, he pointed out an area of the field where he had seen it last, and sure enough as we neared the area it flew up and did a loop of the field. I managed to keep it in my binoculars until it landed, by which point more people had come over and managed flight views the next time it took off. To confuse matters some people got on a Skylark sitting on the fence and thought that was the S-T Lark (it would have been ironic getting that good views, everyone I spoke to had only seen it in flight). I stayed a while, hoping to get a view of it in a furrow, but unlike the Skylarks it seemed determined to remain in the stubble.

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I then walked west along the coastal path, past some handgliders towards Beeston Bump. A number of Cormorants were in the shallow foreshore pools, and a Lapland Bunting stopped briefly on the cliff edge before flying off eastwards. A Kestrel and two Meadow Pipits were the only other birds I saw inland, whilst the low tide meant seawatching would have been pointless.

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Back in Norwich I went to Trowse Woods to have a look at a fungus known as "Bearded Tooth Fungus." I eventually found it on the end of a Beech log. As far as I know this is the only site in Norfolk, and it wasn't seen last year (it could be that the dry conditions this year have been beneficial for a change!). There were a number of other species , mostly brackets, but also large quantities of Honey Fungus and Sulphur Tuft.

West Runton (1)

16th October 2009

Earlier in the week a Pied Wheatear had been found at Horsey. The east coast is difficult to get to by public transport, but I had managed to organise a lift on Friday night after work. Of course, the wheatear buggered off Thursday night. Typical. Instead of calling the trip off, me & Neil went to West Runton to look for the Short-toed Lark. A few other birders were looking, but seeing only Skylarks and getting drenched in a sudden downpour, we returned home via the King's Head in Hoveton.

Two patch ticks and a Buzzard

12th October 2009

Upon getting home from the cinema on Sunday, I saw just how much had been seen on the North Norfolk Coast, including a Rose-coloured Starling. However, being seen on a Sunday afternoon, I couldn't have got there anyway. Possibly more annoying, was a Common Scoter on Thorpe Broad, which I could have seen (mind you, "Up" is a very good film, I recommend it). Anyway, after getting home from work on Monday, I saw on BirdGuides that the scoter was still there a few hours ago, so I powerwalked down to Whitlingham.

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Upon arriving, I was alerted to a Common Buzzard over the woods by a flock of circling Jackdaws, taking turns mobbing it. The Buzzard kept on soaring, completely nonplussed. I watched it for five minutes (Buzzards still aren't very numerous in the area) before carrying on along the broad. Another stop, as a V of Pink-footed Geese flew NW, a belated patch tick for me. Eventually I did make it to the end of the broad, and looked across the river to Thorpe Broad. After a couple of minutes, a drake Common Scoter swam into view. I watched it until the light started to fade, then walked back, directing another birder who had been looking on the main broad on both evenings rather than Thorpe Broad. I counted 82 Mute Swans as I hurried back home. On the way back from the Waterfront later that night, he odd Redwing call could be heard above. A productive evenings walking!

More local wandering

10th October 2009

With an uncharacteristic October lull (I was dipping a Wilson's Phalarope this time last year) I decided to head back to Whitlingham. Following a mini-influx of Yellow-browed Warblers, I scrutenised all of the Long-tailed Tit flocks I could find, but no luck. The best part was whilst watching some on Trowse Common, a Kingfisher dived through my binocular view into the river! A large amount of canoeists were on the main broad, and further up I saw a group of old people power-walking sideways along the path. Puzzled, I walked up to them (it took a while, they were surprisingly nimble) and found that they were having a model yacht race, but were worried about the yachts going out of range, and were keeping parallel with their boat. So anyone that thinks birding is a bit odd, there are odder hobbies out there.

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In the conservation area a large amount of Coot, about 50 Tufted Duck and some Gadwall were joined by three pairs of Pochard. About a third of the Great Crested Grebes are now in winter plumage. I walked up the tree-lined avenue looking for roosting Tawny Owls (I heard two calling last month, but couldn't pinpoint them), but saw nothing other than a few Jays. Lets hope we get a few rares next weekend, to make up for not being able to go to the Scillies with Adam, Gary & Phil.

Whitlingham

4th October 2009

In a fairly foolish move I agreed to social engagements for the first weekend of October, and feared the worst with regards to rarities turning up. Luckily the weekend was fairly quiet, the westerly winds not bringing in much. Saturday I watched Norwich destroy Bristol Rovers 5-1, and Sunday I went to Whitlingham for Cathy's mum's birthday meal. A quick walk around yielded two interesting birds, a returned Black Swan and the second-generation Chinese Goose x Greylag, which unlike its parents has a black beak. The conservation area was packed with Coot, but a lack of binoculars prevented me from scanning the banks.

Pegwell Dog Show

27th September 2009

With a shortage of lifers for Gary this year, he decided to drive to Kent to look for the Fan-tailed Warbler. Me, Adam & Phil all came along for the craic, and we arrived at Pegwell Country Park around 8. The sign at the entrance told us of the "fun dog show" on that day, and we joked we should go. After 30 mins of inaction, a mini-stampede set off, presuming that someone had located the warbler. They hadn't, a dog walker had whistled to his dog, which set everyone off. That was as close as we got to a cisticola. It wasn't seen all day, except by the guy that saw a Wren in a different way to the 100+ crowd.

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In between burgers, tea, and pointing at freaky dogs ("that doesn't count, it's a rat!", "it's got a vest, why has it got a ****ing vest?" etc etc) we did a few laps of the site and a lot of staring at saltmarsh. Some of the more interesting moments were digiscoping opportunities for Ring-necked Parakeets and Whinchats, a number of Roesel's Bush Crickets, and a Clouded Yellow spotted by Gary. A large number of Blackcaps were gorging themselves on elder berries. At 2:30, all the other birders had left, it was just us and the dog owners. They started the fancy dress competition and we left. Everyone has limits.

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On the way back we spent two hours in Southend looking for the Ring-billed Gull. It's always there apparently. A local gave us some useful gen, it likes the area near the ice cream parlour apparently. No s**t it does. But not today. Gary picked up the same Med Gull about 5 times as we worked backwards and forwards along Westcliff seafront, and I found a Mistle Thrush, but couldn't string a White's Thrush out of it. My first twitch out of Norfolk & Suffolk, and not a successful one, but hey-ho, better luck next time.

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Miscellaneous observations from North Norfolk

My last full week on holiday before going back to work, and an attempt to get a bit of variety in. A trip back to my home town of North Walsham on Wednesday, from where I walked to Edingthorpe, round via Knapton and back along the Paston Way. Bugger all about bird-wise, but if you like churches then I heartily recommend Knapton, it has one of the best examples of ornate roof carvings in the county.

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Whilst watching the weakest link, my faith in human nature reached new depths when a science student, when asked "which mammal beginning with P is similar to a dolphin" answered "umm, Pelican?" Idiot.

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A trip on Thursday to West Runton involved a drive through Cromer, where someone had painstakingly covered over the "Twinned with Crest" to read "Twinned with Royston Vasey". Vandalism isn't big or clever, but it does seem that bit less offensive if it makes a valid point. Rock-pooling was good fun, but we didn't catch anything that was more than an inch long.

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Seawatching on Saturday produced a moderate Manx Shearwater, Gannet and Fulmar passage east, with one Red-necked Grebe west. Kelling Meadows held a Wood Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper, Gramborough Head had one young Willow Warbler, and the hillock west of Salthouse had 7+ Wheatears. I have genned up on American Black Terns in case these westerlies carry on for the next month.

Whitlingham

24th August 2009

As Black Terns are on the move (large numbers at Grafham and Rutland), I decided against a trip to the coast in the hope of finally adding Black Tern to my Whitlingham list. No joy, partly because of how busy it was I would suspect. I'm going to the pub to watch Norwich v Sunderland tonight rather than check out Bawburgh Lakes, Norwich's premier Black Tern site, but if any are seen there this evening, I predicted it. Two families of Great Crested Grebes had young, presumably second broods, and I need to check pictures I took of a duck to decide whether its just an eclipse domestic male Mallard, or a "Brewer's Duck." Thats how exciting it was. Still a few Swifts about, and a Sparrowhawk over Thorpe.

Hickling NNR

20-08-09

A leisurely stroll around the NWT reserve, initially in the rain. We managed to find a lone Swallowtail caterpillar, but the wind was too strong to see any adults. The habitat on view from Secker's Hide looked much better than when I was last there (admittedly this was ages ago), and there was 6+ Snipe, 4 Greenshank and a party of Bearded Tits. Not much seen around the rest of the reserve, other than 2 Little Egrets and a Grey Heron from the Cadbury Hide. Back in the meadow near the visitor centre, a Peacock was strutting around. I can't quite work out why, unless its a recuperated and then escaped bird from the nearby animal sanctuary.

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Cuckoo at last

03-08-09

Present and visible for a 5th day (2 originally, 3 this spell), I had somehow managed to be busy for the first four, and was desperate to see the Great Spotted Cuckoo now, rather than wait 10 years for another one. It seemed like I was doomed to fail, a lorry hitting a bridge outside North Walsham meant a 45 minute delay on my train, which then terminated at Cromer. A quick walk around Cromer (or "Ladybird Plague Town") failed to find a bus going to Sheringham, so I had to wait another 30 mins for the next train. The Coasthopper was full, but luckily I managed to stand near the front. I arrived at Kelling an hour and a half late, but the steady stream of birders coming from the beach looked content, which was a good sign. I needn't have worried, the cuckoo was showing well, and even when it disappeared from view, the constant mobbing from Linnet and Meadow Pipits helped relocate it.

I watched for a while, however the Ladybirds were now nipping with increased ferocity. You may laugh if you haven't experienced it, but it is a decent nip for an insect! And bizarrely they almost all went for the back of my neck. Little buggers. A seawatch on the still sea was almost birdless, a few Sandwich Terns and 8 Cormorant west was it. I walked west, past Gramborough Head and back to Salthouse, seeing 12 species of butterfly (Small Heath was first of the year) and watching some young Swallows flocking on an elder. On the way back to Salthouse village I picked out a distant Ruddy Shelduck, my first of the year, although its not BOU admissable yet.

Year list 210 species.

Buckenham

01-08-09

A tale of what might have been (but ultimately wasn't). Following the recent influx of waders, a trip to Buckenham was in order. The stretch of road between Strumpshaw and Buckenham was alive with butterflies and dragonflies, and I lingered to take a few photos. At Buckenham a family of Goldfinches sat on top of a bush, and Swallows swooped low over the railway. At the Fisherman's carpark we stopped and scanned the pools, finding two Green Sandpiper, an Avocet and a few families of Shelduck. Further round the path we were stopped by an unfamiliar song and the back of an Acro warbler disappearing into the reeds. Me & Adam both thought of Marsh Warbler, but the song didn't fit. Probably mimicry of another species, but on that song we had to urr on the side of Reed.

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The other side of the mill a number of waders were feeding on the pools. A decent amount of Ruff and Black-tailed Godwit, along with 7 or 8 Green Sandpiper and 3 Snipe. We debated long and hard over a leggy wader with a dark back and white underside, clearly bigger than Green Sand. Since arriving back we hav agreed on juvenile Greenshank, although it still isn't a textbook example. We walked back to strumpshaw, Adam pointing out a pair of Spotted Flycatchers, before going through the woods to the visitor's centre. A few 2nd brood Brimstone butterflies and some Small Red-eyed Damselflies made good subjects for the camera.

Upon arriving home I see that the Great-spotted Cuckoo has been relocated - hopefully it will stick around this time!

Mousehold Heath

28-07-09

A stroll across the city and around the misnamed Mousehold Woods for butterflies. Birds were scarce, as is always the case here (bar that one time when there was a flock of Arctic Redpoll), with a Whitethroat the only thing I stopped to look at. I went as far as the prison on one side and the playing fields on the other, scanning brambles for White Admiral butterflies, but none. I did manage 2 Purple Hairstreaks flying around oaks near Vinegar Pond, but they never came within photographic range. I took a picture of a damselfly that I can't ID, it was a very deep blue and has too much black to be a standard male Common Blue, Azure or Variable. Suggestions welcome.

The damselfly has been identified as a blue-form female Common Blue Damsefly. This was an education, as none of my insect books show any colour forms other than the standard one. Thanks to Simon for the ID.

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Pacific Golden Plover

27-07-09

Yesterday afternoon, the American Golden Plover at Breydon started being reported as a Pacific GP. By now used to this sort of to-ing and fro-ing neither me or Adam took much notice. However as the first decent pictures emerged, it appeared that this bird was indeed Pacific, and for once there didn't seem much of an arguement against. This was more than compensated for with debate about where this bird fits in with the Cley AGP and possibly a Dutch PGP, but to be honest I don't give two hoots where it came from. The simple explanation is that a number of Lesser Golden Plover spp. have travelled here under similar weather conditions.

I got up at 6, to find the rain hammering on my window. Bugger. Still, a summer plumage PGP is a big draw, so I walked through the rain to the station, paying extra for the privilege of travelling before 8.30. An hour later I was standing, completely soaked, scanning waders in the rain, with visibility that I would kindly describe as "poor". Having looked through more Dunlin than I care to remember, I walked back towards the tern platforms, where two birders had just relocated the plover. We got good views (I even managed to digiscope a few record shots) before it flew around into the next bay. A few more minutes of it in the open, before decent flight views. Enough to convince all observers that it was indeed a Pacific Golden Plover, and justifying being out in the rain. First good bird of the summer holidays sorted!

Year list 209 species.

Whitlingham at night

w/c 20th July 2009

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Don't mention cuckoos. I was attending a wedding reception Friday night, and did consider whether to go to Salthouse in my suit, amongst other things, but it just wasn't happening. Anyway, at this rate I'll get another dodgy Lesser Golden Plover at Breydon and everything will be fine. Sob.

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Having mooched around the house for a couple of days since returning from Latitude, I went down to Whitlingham on Tuesday evening with Adam. Whilst there was very little there in terms of numbers, I did add an overdue Water Rail to my site list, and there was a return for Januarys Barnacle Goose (unringed and with a valid UK passport containing Arctic Circle border stamps, just out of shot). Following a tip off from a man on a train (so slightly more reliable than a man down the pub), we waited until dusk in the hope of Little Owls, but no joy. Maybe one for the winter when there are less leaves on the oaks.

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Second generation hybrid goose, something like (Chinese x Greylag Goose) x Domestic Goose. Probably a new low in plastic wildfowl.
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Thursday evening it was back to Whitlingham, this time for some moth trapping. A humid evening was punctuated by the sound of chavs screeching their cars around the Little Broad carpark, in some sort of mechanical lek, trying to impress some random girls they met at Tesco Metro. Probably. We managed about 40 species, including some new to me like Small Rivulet and Scarce Footman, before calling it a day around midnight.

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A giant Common Footman brings terror to the fields of Norfolk

Birding in August - suggestions please!

Shortly I depart for the Latitude Festival, and after that I am in the unfamiliar position of having August off! However, as birding goes, August wouldn't be my pick of the months. I intend to go seawatching towards the latter end, but I would appreciate any suggestions of places to go in Norfolk to get the most out of the summer break. Failing that, pubs that I can birdwatch from (e.g. the Dun Cow) would also be welcome!

Carey's Meadow & Thorpe Marshes

5th July 2009

In stickily hot conditions, me & Adam walked down to Carey's Meadow to look for orchids and butterflies. I managed to get a few shots of Pyramidal Orchids, but the butterflies were too flitty, with Ringlet and Small Skipper the only ones to settle. My first Cinnabar Moth caterpillars of the year were of note. At Station Marsh there was no sign of any Garganey (for the millionth time), but 4 herons were of note (1 ad and 3 juv)

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Cley

28-06-09

Me & Cath went to Cley, partly to enable her to see her first Spoonbill, and partly to try and catch some good returning waders (Lesser Yellowlegs was there the same time last year, plus Wood Sands starting to spread across the county). As it was we didn't see too much, but a couple of Bearded Tits, a Ruff, 4 Spoonbills and a Little Ringed Plover were a decent return for the morning. After lunch we spent a bit of time seawatching (pretty much just Sandwich Terns) and had just settled into North Hide when thick mist started billowing across the marshes, halving visibility. After 20 mins or so we gave up, completed our loop and got the bus back. A number of butterflies and moths about, including these...

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Leucistic Blackbird

20th June 2009

I know, everyone liked the Swallowtail picture, but it's just not a bird is it? I don't really talk about beer that much either (I have AA meetings for that). Luckily on my way to a music fair in the city I bumped into this partially-leucistic blackbird. I had been told by another local birder that there was one in Chapelfield Park, but I hadn't seen it on my daily walks through. The bird was initially feeding near Vauxhall Road until pedestrians flushed it, and further investigation showed it was feeding a fairly well-grown juvenile near Pedros restaurant. The juvenile bird showed normal plumage as I would expect (presumable leucism is a recessive trait), but that got me thinking whether juvenile plumages show albinism/leucism or not? Opinions welcome.

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Carey's Meadow

12th June 2009

An after work jaunt down to Carey's Meadow to look for orchids.

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All around Norwich

9th-15th May 2009

A great week for birding at the coast (Kentish Plover, Collared Pratincole, Citrine Wagtail etc etc) but not such a great week around everybody's favourite fine city. A series of afternoon and evening walks around UEA, Mulbarton, Whitlingham, Whitlingham Thorpe Marsh, Mousehold Heath and Earlham Marshes was not enough to catch any of the clouds of Black Terns filling the place. Highlights (trades descriptions act warning) were Kingfisher, Muscovy (!), Greenshank, Common Sandpiper (a confiding bird on the slipway at Whitlingham) and loads of Whitethroats and Blackcaps.

Whitlingham (15)

4th May 2009

I managed to catch up with Garden Warbler following a recent mini-influx, one singing in the hedge between gardens and the little broad. Other warblers around were Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Cetti's and Sedge. Breeding is now in full swing, with broods of Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, Coot, Great Crested Grebe x 2, Mallard and Egyptian Geese x 4. The cloudy weather helped bring the hirundines closer, and around 10 Swifts were catching insects over the great broad. A pair of Pochard lingered in the conservation area.

Incidentally, it appears that the finder of the Weybourne Cowbird has previous experience of the species, and with the recent find in Shetland, good luck to anyone searching for it!

Carey's Meadow and Thorpe Marshes

30th April 2009

An after work jaunt to see if any more migrants had trickled Norwich way. Carey's Meadow was relatively quiet, although it took me about 5 minutes to recognise a Whitethroat call, which doesn't bode well. I was quicker with the second one! Walking further along to Thorpe Marshes, I walked around the path, doing my best to stop, scan and scowl at the guy that decided that it was a great idea to ditch jump and wander along the waters edge. I almost forgave him when he flushed a Greenshank, giving good flight views and distinctive "chew chew chew" call, but not quite. It's not like he gained anything, it was quite clear that he didn't see it, he was too busy staring at the back of Tufted Ducks (56 still around) as they swam rapidly away from him. I despair sometimes. Two Cuckoos were calling distantly, although no hope of seeing either, and still no sign of any Swifts.

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Year total 182 species.

Whitlingham (14)

23rd April 2009

Having been at work all week I took advantage of a warm evening to get down to Whitlingham. The brood of 4 Egyptian Geese are all still alive and well, but the Mallard ducklings were down to 3! Walking round there were another two broods of Egyptian Geese (3 & 9), a brood of 4 Coot and a Moorhen nesting 6 feet up in a tree! The pair of Grey Wagtails were also around the Little Broad beach.

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Moorhen in a tree. According to the guy I was talking to, the Moorhens have to climb up the branches rather than fly in to the nest!

The Great Broad was fairly quiet, 13 Sand Martins and a singing Lesser Whitethroat were the highlights. Scanning the old workings produced one Shelduck and around 30 Tufted Ducks. Again my timing was off (next day Sandwich and Little Terns seen), but the walk was pleasant and had a good chat with one of the locals.

Whitlingham (13)

17th April 2009

Dragging myself out of bed, I made my way down to Whitlingham about half-pace. Along the Little Broad a Lesser Redpoll was singing in the alders and giving good views. A singing Reed Warbler was only seen briefly, and took a call recording for me to be confident it wasn't sedge! I must find some way of learning bird calls properly. The Egyptian Goose fledgelings have all survived so far, and a brood of 8 Mallard chicks had joined them. Both broads were devoid of ducks (6 Tufted, 9 Gadwall), but thats not too surprising considering the amount of dogs running around off leads. I imagined the following conversation, although it probably happens regularly. "Shirley, does that Conservation Area, Dogs On Leads sign apply to us?" "Don't be daft Bobby, we own a goat" "Oh yeah hur hur, silly me"

I counted five singing Cetti's Warblers, and four Sedge Warblers (seeing my first of the year). Hearing dogs barking loudly, I looked across the river where police were talking to the owners of the houseboat with the out of control dogs on it. I wonder if people have complained about them? A scan of the new workings turned up the missing 100-odd Tufted Duck, along with four Shelduck. Still no sign of any LRP though.

Continuing round, a flock of 15ish House Martins, 2 Swallows and a Kestrel flew over, a Grey Wagtail flew along the shore and the pair of Black Swans were on the slipway. A Gadwall looked like it may have a few farmyard mallard genes in it. A Blackcap was eating insects out of Blackthorn flowers, and a couple stared at me for taking pictures of a Treecreeper that they obviously couldn't see. I came home and had one of my Scottish beers, Harviestoun's Black Engine Oil. Described as viscous, chocolatey and bitter. Oh yeah.

Species list 173 species.

Whitlingham (12)

7th April 2009

Seeing how busy Whitlingham had been the day before, I planned an evening visit to avoid the crowds. Walking across Trowse Common a Kingfisher flew in a wide arc around the river. Some of the Tufted Ducks were already putting their heads into their wings, so I probably got there a bit late! There was a good range of ducks (no Garganey though); Pochard 6, Teal 2, Shoveler 4, Gadwall 12 and 140+ Tufted Ducks, along with a group of 5 Little Grebes. 5 Cetti's Warblers were singing, one of which we got a glimpse of. A lone Swallow flew over the east end of the broad. By the time we got to the far end, the sun was beginning to set. As we walked past the little Broad, four small bats (probably Pipistrelle) were hunting insects over our heads.

Whitlingham (11)

6th April 2009

Seeing that the country was being flooded by Little Gulls, I went down to Whitlingham in hope rather than expectation. As I'd suspected, the country park was full of families and dog-walkers, suffice to say no sign of any Little Gulls. As it was, 14 were reported from Colney GPs, so I wasn't far off. The day wasn't a complete failure, the first brood of Egyptian Geese chicks were on the Little Broad, and the 2 Black Swans were doing a brief courtship of head raising and bobbing. Further round I found a hybrid goose that me & Adam first saw last year. We think it's parentage is likely to be Lesser Whitefronted Goose x Barnacle Goose.

Around the back of the broad the Willow Warbler that started singing a week ago was still in the same group of trees, and back in Trowse a Kingfisher flew out of a buddleia and downriver. The next day I found to my despair that after I had left, a pair of Garganey were located that evening at Whitlingham by one of the punks. Darn it!

Thorpe Area

4th April 2009

A number of local sights visited, starting with Rosary Cemetery, where we saw two Nuthatches. Lion's Wood gave up another Nuthatch and a few Chiffchaffs. Carey's Meadow was quiet, give it another couple of weeks and it should be heaving with warblers. Finally we ended up at Thorpe Marshes, where I failed again to see any LRPs. Ample compensation was an Avocet, sitting on the shingle spit and occasionally being chased by gulls. This was the first one I've seen around Norwich, and a notable Whitlingham area tick.

This duck was smiling, isn't that nice?

Mousehold Heath

Feeling guilty for staying at home doing nothing, me & Cathy went to Mousehold Heath. Nothing out of the ordinary about, GS Woodpecker, Chiffchaff etc. Whilst I was there I got a call and offered a job! Hoorah. Two and a half months is quite enough unemployment for me! Three flyover Fieldfares were probably heading back north. We went to the Playhouse on the way home for a celebratory pint (Oak Grain).

In the evening I headed out again with Adam, walking the local stretch of the Wensum. Little about, three Chiffchaffs holding territories, and three Great Spotted Woodpeckers, including one in the middle of a park. I located them all by call, at this rate I'll be able to find everything like this in 60 years! We called in at the Fat Cat on the way back, which was absolutely packed. I had a pint of Wild Cat, then we wandered home.

Thorpe Station Marsh

31st March 2009

I braved the dogs to check out Thorpe Marshes again, hoping to see the Little Ringed Plover. Again I was unsuccessful, despite scanning every bit of mud and gravel I could see! If anyone knows exactly where to look, do share ;-) I did manage decent views of a Green Sandpiper, 2 Oystercatchers and 2 Kingfishers before the long walk back.

Whitlingham (10)

30th March 2009

The latest in my Whitlingham extravaganza. Not surprisingly, there was a similar range of species to the 27th, although I dipped a reported Goosander, continuing my poor luck at finding this species at Whitlingham. The Siskin flock was down to 2 birds, the Black Swan had moved to the Little Broad, and five Shoveler had re-appeared. The first birds of note were two Sand Martins that flew over high, and I had a run of Kingfisher, Cetti's Warbler and Chiffchaff around the conservation area. The bird of the day was a singing Willow Warbler, which I think is my earliest record.

Year list 156 species.

Whitlingham (9)

27th March 2009

Ignoring the weather forecast I went down to Whitlingham again, determined to find a migrant! Along the Little Broad a Mealy Redpoll was with the Siskin flock, showing a deep pink on the breast. Unfortunately the light was too poor for decent photos. At the edge of the Little Broad two Grey Wagtails flew along the bank, the third consecutive trip I've seen GW in the past few days, maybe new arrivals?

The conservation area was quiet, a Kingfisher along the river and three Little Grebes of note. Around the front the drizzle set in, but a nice bonus was a Black Swan gliding along. Having brought my camera, I was looking to get pictures of the geese, and had a look at a domestic-type goose, only to notice the two geese with it had Swan Goose-coloured necks. The beaks recall birds I saw last year, which I put down as Swan Geese. As they had knobs on the beak, internet research suggests it may be more accurate to say they were Chinese Goose (a domesticated form of Swan Goose) and the birds pictured are likely to be Chinese Goose x Greylag Goose. Interesting birds, and whilst looking at them, a hybrid Canada x Greylag swam into view as well.

Thorpe Station Marsh

25th March 2009

Following an interview in the morning, I decided to have a look round Station Marsh, on the offchance that some migrants actually fancy coming near me this spring. Omens were good, a Grey Wagtail flew from boat to boat on the river opposite the station as I walked through the city, my 2nd in successive days. Unfortunately the marsh didn't live up to my optimism, 4 gull spp, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Coot, Tufted Duck, Egyptian Goose and Mute Swan being the only species visible. Careful scanning of every available bit of gravel viewable from the path failed to give up Little Ringed Plover or Rock Pipit, both regular species when it was still a working gravel pit. Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler called, and brief compensation was a Common Buzzard (only my 5th record for the Whitlingham/Thorpe area), which flew over then quickly soared upwards into the clouds.

Norwich (Wensum walk)

24th March 2009

An afternoon walk along the river as far as Sweetbriar. My first Little Egret around Norwich was a nice surprise, seen in flight being mobbed by crows. We also saw a Grey Wagtail just past the inner ring road, and heard several Chiffchaffs. Whilst having a pint of Wherry, I saw 16 species from the Gibralter Gardens pub garden!

Wherryman's Way

19th March 2009

Fancying a walk, and still trying to find my own Garganey (it's fine, I've given up now, I'll wait until August and twitch one at Cley ;-0) I roped Adam into getting the bus to Rockland and walking back to Norwich. The day started well, 3 Chiffchaffs singing in the car park, creating a slightly disorientating atmosphere. I managed to home in on one singing from a conifer. A Kingisher called as it flew across the staithe. Not much about on the broad, although we obviously missed a treat as the sightings board had "a shark chasing another shark, wow awesome" as a recent entry.

A walk around Wheatfen was pleasant, we had a chat with David Nobbs the warden, who directed us to some good examples of Scarlet Elf Cup fungus. I finally got my Cetti's Warbler, with one shooting across the path. A walk around Surlingham Church Marsh was fairly birdless, 20-odd Teal and 2 Shelduck the only wildfowl. Through Bramerton and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker called and then flew out of the top of a tree, a surprising find. At the top of the hill, the resident Lapwing were calling occasionally. Whitlingham was disappointing, a Little Grebe was probably the highlight.

Scarlet Elf Cup

Year list 151 species.

In the evening I managed to drag my aching limbs to the Horse & Dray, where we won the pub quiz, with the aid of intelligence-giving Adnams Explorer.

Whitlingham (7)

13th March 2009

A trip to Whitlingham to look for spring migrants. No Garganey or Sand Martins, but I did clock up a long overdue Lesser Redpoll. In the conservation area a Kingfisher shot past, and I was taunted by at least three Cetti's Warblers (still haven't seen one this year). Of note were three sinensis-Cormorants and five pseudo-scaup female Tufted Ducks. Part of the broad was being dredged, so I couldn't get all the way round. A number of Chiffchaffs were reported today, so a first sighting shouldn't be far away!

Year list now 142 species.

Siberian Thrush

No, I didn't see it. Balls. And whats more annoying is that starling with the strange long claws that I had started painting eyebrows on with my Poundland white paint has gone missing too.

Read all sorts of conspiratory nonsense here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=135553&highlight=Norfolk+Birding

3rd March 2009

Cathy's birding education continued with a visit to Titchwell. The hides produced the usual stuff, 200+ Avocet, decent numbers of Pintail and some grotty Herring Gulls that I couldn't turn into Caspian. Scrutiny of the saline marsh yielded 2 Ringed Plover, 1 Grey Plover and 2 Black-tailed Godwit. A prolonged seawatch was ultimately disappointing, a diver I squinted at for 15 minutes turned out to be Red-throated, and there was a distinct lack of Eider or Long-tails. A few Goldeneye & Red-breasted Mergansers later I called it quits. On the way back to the visitors centre the brent flock settled on a large pool, and I managed to find the Black Brant. On the way back I was able to see a Slavonian Grebe & 2 Little Grebes in Wells Harbour.

Year list 139 species.

23rd February 2009

Another unemployment-fuelled trip to Strumpshaw, but still no Penduline Tit! No sign from the Fen Hide all day, although I did speak to a birder who saw it briefly alongside the path towards the river. He has also seen it at Wheatfen, maybe that should be my next trip. The day wasn't a complete washout however, with four good flight views of Bittern, including one close flypast. Once the drizzle settled in I decided that there was little point waiting, so I went for a walk in the woods. I finally caught up with the local Reeve's Pheasant, a non-BOU tick and a smart bird to see, with its 32-foot tail. I was scanning the alder carr when I came across a sphinx-like Chinese Water Deer, and further along the path a bird appeared to fall out of a tree, before recovering and swooping upwards. A slightly-lame drumming noise confirmed my initial suspicions, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! I was a little disappointed with the display flight, but a good bird to get nonetheless. Four Treecreepers, five Snipe and a Sparrowhawk were also of note.

Blurry photos from the woods.

Year list 135 species

21st February 2009

The day started well, having got back to North Walsham on the train, dad pointed out an area where he had seen Black Redstart for the past few days. Sure enough, good views were obtained. This sighting wasn't put out as the site is private. Later Adam's brother took us out for some dirty twitching. This paid off with distant views of my second Cattle Egret, but we were out of luck with the ever elusive Dipper. At Letheringsett Water Mill a sign read "No twitchers!" Fine, we didn't want to see your crappy water mill anyway. To be fair, it must be annoying thinking you've finally got a vistitor, only to see them scan the river then leave. At Bayfield estate we saw a smart Grey Wagtail, before I saw a long-overdue Common Buzzard soaring overhead.

Elsewhere in Norfolk, Hooded Crow, Penduline Tit, Red Kite and a White Stork (great sighting or terrible misidentification?) were seen, but hey, where's the fun in just twitching everything?

Year list 133 species

20th February 2009

A day out on the train, looking for two birds I missed at their regular locations in January. Firstly I went to Sheringham, where after a quick walk along the length of the promenade I saw a Purple Sandpiper in a gap between boulders. Then back on the train and a rather muddy walk from Roughton Road to Felbrigg Hall. I was rewarded with good views of 5 male & 2 female Mandarin, one of my bogey birds from previous years. Little else of note, although having not seen a Skylark until the previous week, they were singing everywhere, all day!

Year list 130 species

19th February 2009

A trip to West Newton on the edge of the Sandringham estate with Cathy gave us time to walk around some of the local fields and woods. Signs of spring were topped off by the sight of a new born lamb that could barely stand up. A Barn Owl flew over the fields, and Cathy found a Treecreeper on an alder. We found a Willow Tit, initially by call and then confirmed with good views, and followed this up with my first Grey Partridge of the year, jointly ID'd by flushing it straight at Cath!

Year list 128 species

18th February 2009

An overcast day, and lots of people about for half-term, but I wanted to get out of the house so I went for a morning walk around Whitlingham. Resurfacing work around the northern edge had scattered the ducks across the wwhole Broad, although someone later picked up the Smew near the island. Bird of the day undoubtedly a Sparrowhawk that flew across my line of sight and onto the island. I heard my first Cetti's Warbler of the year, but no chance of finding it.

I also noticed a number of Greylag Geese that looked "different"- just on jizz really, possibly slightly larger, with more contrast between the brown and white on the wings. I took a photo of one out of water with orange legs (pink being normal). The other race only differs in beak colour, and there is no difference between "wild" and feral birds. Having had a look on the internet it appears that this is just an uncommon but well documented occurrence.