WEST NORFOLK: Third time lucky - Pallid Harrier

13th February 2016

I called in briefly at Whitlingham around midday, mainly to check out the gulls. This was largely scuppered as the model yachters were using the slipway again, so the gulls were on the water. I scanned through as many as I could find in the hope that the Mediterranean Gull present on Monday would be amongst them, but I couldn't see it. I headed along the south shore as far as the island, scanning the bay and the reed edges, 6+ Shoveler and c30 being the pick of the birds. On my way back the gulls were beginning to return, but no rings were visible.

After returning home for lunch I then headed to Roydon Common, hoping to see a Pallid Harrier. Twice in December I had looked for this overwintering bird at Flitcham. On the first occasion it wasn't seen all day, and the second time the area was closed for a royal shooting party. I had decided I wouldn't try a third time, but in recent weeks the same bird had been seen coming into the harrier roost at Roydon daily, and this seemed a better bet.

Doing my research I noticed that the Pallid Harrier arrived at Roydon at varying times, anywhere between 15:00-17:00. To be on the safe side, and also because it was an overcast day, I aimed to arrive about three. With no sign of any raptors, I passed ten minutes checking the pony dung for Nail fungi. I didn't find any (again), but I did find some Dung Roundheads. A lichen-covered tree also turned up some bright pink splodges of Illosporiopsis christiansenii, which is probably common everywhere but rather under-recorded.

I decided to head along to a viewpoint overlooking the area that the harriers roost and wait until dusk. It was only about 15:20 when we looked up at a Kestrel flying over. Suddenly another bird of prey appeared below it - a ringtail, and more specifically the Pallid Harrier! It had appeared over the ridge from the south, which we weren't expecting, and soared around close to us, giving exceptional side, underpart and upperpart views as it glided round. It flew into the distance and landed on the ground, barely visible. A bit later on the Pallid Harrier gave prolonged flight views before perching on a post. It really was a beautiful bird, and I was glad that I had made the effort to look for it again. I also saw a ringtail Hen Harrier and a Barn Owl before heading back to Norwich. My photo attempts were rubbish, so I've attached a drawing instead.

WEST NORFOLK: Flitcham & Roydon

21st December 2015

Having finished work for Christmas, I decided to head to west Norfolk for a bird & fungus twitch. My first target was the long-staying Pallid Harrier. I hadn't gone whilst it was at Snettisham, so I headed to Flitcham Abbey Farm in the knowledge that its appearances there were rather erratic. There were two birders already in the hide, having diverted on their way to a football match (presumably Manchester City v Arsenal). 

The birders had yet to see any harriers during their vigil, and another hour went by until a ringtail Harrier sp. flew quickly over the scrub to the left of the hide. It was too fast to get the telescope on, so we ran out and onto the road to try and pick it up again. As luck would have it the bird had landed in the field opposite, but saw us before we saw it and flew back over the road. Cautiously optimistic we returned to the hide, joined by another birder, and the Harrier once again flew up, this time soaring and showing side on. It was a Hen Harrier. It was nice to get good views of a bird I usually see at distance, but still a bit of a disappointment given what I was hoping to see. I gave it a bit longer, but with no other harriers and rain starting to fall, I left for the second half of my day.

My second target was a rare fungus called Poronia punctata. It is one of two small 'nail fungi' that grow on the very specific substrate of herbivore dung. I had failed to see the other one Poronia erici, which grows on Rabbit droppings, at Holme last year. This one grows on pony dung, and had recently been seen at Roydon Common/Grimston Warren. I had kindly been told about it by Rob, and it has since been the subject of an NWT blog post.

I arrived at Roydon and the rain and wind had strengthened. I had never been to the Grimston part of the reserve, but the map assured me that there was one long path that would take me to Sandy Lane, the boundary between the two areas. Accordingly I followed the path along the western edge of Roydon, which became a wide track. I followed it all the way up to the end, where it finished at a pig farm. By now I was a bit wet and grumpy, so rather than wander across the open areas in the hope I would end up in the right area I decided it was best to head back to Roydon, where I had seen some ponies. It turns out that instead of following the path, I should have turned off through a gate and across a sort of field area towards a folly. The map on the information board, a term I'm using loosely, didn't make that clear!

I walked a couple of paths fairly near the ponies to look for piles of dung, before my basic knowledge of animal behaviour rose to the fore and I went to check out some Hawthorns that I thought they may use as scratching posts. This was correct, and I found quite a few piles of dung of different ages. Despite looking closely at them, I didn't find any nail fungi. There was some other fungi about, including some small orangey spindles (possibly Apricot Club), and Earthtongue sp. and Blushing Bracket. The latter is very common but usually grows on willow, whilst here it was on birch.