WHITLINGHAM: New Year's Day

1st January 2010

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A new year, but the same cold and cloudy weather greeted me as I stuck my head out of the window. A leisurely morning, with ten species seen in Cathy's garden whilst I chain-drank tea, the first of which lest you care was a Blackbird. It was then time for our new years jaunt around Whitlingham.

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Along the lane the flock of Greylag Geese was present, although smaller than the previous visit (c100 birds). Investigating the feeders near the car park we found that almost all of them were empty, which didn't help the tally. The best bird here was a Coal Tit, making a mockery of my 10-month Coal Tit drought last year. Heading down onto the slipway we saw that most of the Great Broad was still frozen, with two main open areas. Scanning the first bit of water we saw the normal wildfowl (Pochards, Tufties etc) along with a pair of Wigeon and a Canada Goose. On the ice a number of Black-headed and Common Gulls were loafing, as was a 1st-winter Herring Gull.

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Walking further around the broad a couple of Skylarks flew over, calling. Another decent patch bird followed in the form of a female Goldeneye, which flew west from the second patch of open water. Scanning the area around the island we added Shoveler, Teal, Little Grebe and 29 Cormorants. The walk around the north shore was relatively quiet birdwise, probably directly linked to being rather noisy peoplewise. The Redpoll that had been in the alders along the Little Broad in midweek were absent, but a reasonable flock of Siskins had replaced them. Last bird of the visit was a Magpie, the 36th species. This total is well short of last year, but thinking positively that increases the fun of finding the missing birds.

Whitlingham - last visit of the year

28th December 2010

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who took part in the Lesser White-fronted Goose poll. The poll attracted 22 votes (one of them mine). Views were polarised, with ten people believing the goose to have arrived from a foreign population and ten believing it to be an escape. Of the remaining two, one was mine (I'm reserving judgement to see whether it leaves with the Bean Geese or moves to a feral flock) and the other was content to wait for the BBRC to judge the occurrence.

So, back to actual birding. With Gary crocked, Adam & I decided to spend the day sliding around Whitlingham. The first birds of note were Greylags, a flock of 145 on the meadows alongside Whitlingham Lane. They were accompanied by the usual little hybrid goose. At least two of the birds had a domestic goose white "belly-band". This could allow them to be tracked later in the year, which will amuse me as I look at geese in the Yare Valley. The flock was the largest I can remember at Whitlingham, although it appears there was a flock of 260+ there last winter.

Walking along the edge of the Little Broad my second patch Coal Tit of the year was in the alders, as were a small number of Lesser Redpoll. With most of the Little Broad frozen, we moved on to the Great Broad, which also was mostly iced over. Scanning through the gulls Adam spotted a bright red leg, which turned out to be a ringed juvenile Herring Gull. The ring was on the left leg and had YZC in white lettering. The right leg had a more subtle metal ring. Preliminary research suggests that it was ringed at Landguard, so I have emailed them for confirmation. The first of two large holes in the ice was jam-packed with birds. I click counted 375 Coot and 125 Gadwall, whilst Adam saw a female Goldeneye which we failed to relocate.

[Edit] I have heard back regarding the ringed gull pictured above. It was ringed as a pullus at Havergate Island, and has been reported twice in the autumn from Southwold. So now you know!

Following up on a report of a Nuthatch in the bit of woods near the carpark, we kept watch on the bird feeders. Around ten Long-tailed Tits surrounded a fat ball, and then hurrah, a Nuthatch! My target of 110 Whitlingham birds for the year was achieved, and a patch tick to boot. In the second ice hole a lone drake Teal and loads more Coot and Gadwall, taking the overall counts to 560 and 303 respectively. Further along on the ice were two Shovelers, and a Fox ran across the frozen east end of the broad. The woods held little of interest, although a few Redwing flew over.

A good year all round, how to top it in 2011? A few targets:

Whitlingham - List target 112. Realistic patch ticks include Garganey, Bewick's or Whooper Swan as a flyover, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Slavonian Grebe.

Birds to try and find myself - Marsh Warbler, Icterine Warbler

Birds that realistically I'm not going to find, but would like to see: Blue-winged Teal, Bee-eater, White-winged Black Tern, Red-footed Falcon.

As well as following my progress with these, there will be more pub birding, more moaning about canoeists, some lifers for Cathy as she begins her third year of birding and probably some pictures of bees when she gets annoyed with her third year of birding and switches interest to insects. Heres to a productive 2011!

Merry Christmas!

A big thank you to everyone who reads and/or contributes to my blog! I'd probably do it anyway, but it is nice to think that somebody out there reads it. Even bigger thanks to those I've spent time with in the field or have given me lifts etc, it is all much appreciated.

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Merry Christmas, and a Happy New year to all!

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Ps. One more day left of the goose poll and it's a close-run thing, if you haven't cast your vote yet stop dithering and go for it ;-)

Cantley to Strumpshaw

22nd December 2010

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Adam had the day off work so we agreed to get the train to Cantley and have a look at the Lesser White-front. I may on occasion moan about the trains, so it is only fair to say that this one was running on time and was not affected by the temperature or snow. Taking the path down from Burnt House Lane we located the Bean Geese, but due to the lay of the land we couldn't see them all. Moving further round we got a better view, and eventually found the Lesser White-fronted Goose with a group of 90+ Bean Geese. There was also one White-fronted Goose with a smaller group of Bean, providing a pitfall for the unwary.

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As well as admiring the snowy landscape, we continued scanning as we walked along the riverbank to Buckenham. We saw a ringtail Hen Harrier, two Peregrines and a Buzzard at the Cantley end, whilst a Barn Owl ghosted across the path nearer Buckenham. Large numbers of Wigeon were on the river, as was a Black Swan. At least four Chinese Water Deer were wandering in the snow. We checked out the new hide at Buckenham (it looks nice, but is there really a need for one here?), and saw two Dunlin flying over. In the woods at Strumpshaw we saw a couple of flocks of Redpoll fly over and had a chat with Ben, before walking on to Brundall where we got the train back to Norwich.

Frozen Station Marshes

21st December 2010

With the Wensum frozen over (for the first time since 1987 according to the EDP), I didn't hold out much hope for a productive day. I decided to have a look at Thorpe Station Marshes in the hope that a displaced Bittern may be lurking. Thorpe Broad was completely frozen, with 52 Lapwing, 24 Moorhen and a number of Black-headed and Common Gulls standing on it in discust. A mixed flock of Goldfinch and Siskins were in the alders along the railway line, whilst the bird of the day was Meadow Pipit, at least six trying to feed near the path across the grazing marshes. In a hole in the ice on the river a Little Grebe, 2 Tufted Ducks,6 Malland and 6 Mute Swans were keeping the cold at bay.

Local stuff and a Goose poll

18th December 2010

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With more snow overnight I contented myself with a walk around the Golden Triangle, finding three Waxwings, a Fieldfare and three flyover Cormorants.

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Looking on Birdguides as I listen to the Norwich match on the radio I see that the Lesser White-fronted Goose has been seen again today, but a caveat has been put on that there has been an escaped one at Buckenham since August. From what I understand, this is not the case. The bird that has been there since the summer was a hybrid, and not the bird that is with the Taigas. That certainly doesn't prove that the LWFG is wild, but it seems that people are going over the top in dismissing it. If I am wrong and there has been a feral pure Lesser White-front seen regularly at Buckenham this year then feel free to correct me. I would be interested in peoples views in general, so have set up a poll (on the right hand side). You have until Christmas Day, please vote for something or I'll be sad looking at a load of zeros at Christmas.

Lots of Gadwall

11th December 2010

I sniffed and sneezed my way around Whitlingham on Saturday, still trying to see two more species to get me up to my years target of 110. There was a large number of Gadwall, a count of 800 according to the Broads Authority board. This was slightly surprising, as the board usually just has a generic "it's spring, look out for Swallows and spring flowers" type message on it. Maybe closing the Ranworth office means we'll get some proper conservation efforts. They may wish to start with building up the path to the bird screen, which is once again flooded. Other than the Gadwall, a drake Wigeon swam the length of the broad, a Water Rail squealed and one of the Red-crested Pochards was in the conservation area. I had a chat with another local birder who said that a couple of redhead Goosander have been on the river west of Norwich recently, might be worth a look if you patch around Sweetbriar. On the way back to Cathy's a small flock of Waxwings were near Lakenham Way before flying off towards Sainsbury's.

More snowy bird fun

4th December 2010

With snow still on the ground I had initially planned to stay in the city over the weekend, but a Hume's Warbler at Wells seemed to be worth a morning out. Having got the early train back to North Walsham, Gary drove us to Wells. There were only a couple of cars in the carpark when we arrived, so we set about searching the area around the toilet block. This proved more hazardous than you might expect, with large lumps of snow falling like missiles from the branches of the trees overhanging the path. We notched up flythrough Woodcock, Sparrowhawk and Barn Owl, but no sign of the Hume's. A thorough search of the undergrowth revealed a large number of Wrens, plus Goldcrests, Treecreepers etc. With more people now searching we went to check the redpoll flock, but only succeeded in seeing Mealys, whilst not too far away the trumpet of a Northern Bullfinch sounded. In the end the conclusion was that the Hume's Warbler had probably snuffed it, although what excuse the Arctic Redpoll had for leaving I don't know. As we went to leave a man with a voice as loud as Brian Blessed was returning from the beach with a shovel announcing that when he died he'd like to be buried in Wells Woods. "It's lovely here, isn't it?" his wife said. "YES. SUPERSONIC!". He replied. Strange times.

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With a bit of time left until we had to be in Norwich, we stopped at the Dun Cow for a quick drink (only coffee, the ambient temperature was too cold for ale). We got a welcome pub tick as a Woodcock was flushed by a walker along the iron road, and a saw Snipe for the second time in a row here. Back in North Walsham, two Brambling were on Gary's feeders, and finally a small flock of Waxwing were in a tree near Anglia Square carpark.

The Dun Cow garden had seen busier days...

The view from the Dun Cow

Northern Birds & Pubs

Apologies if you have been diverted here looking for the Yorkshire page of the Lonely Planet guide.

27th November 2010

Having spent the week humming and harring about trying to see the Northen Harrier, the fact that it was being seen regularly in the Thornham area was enough to make up my mind to give it a go. Titchwell takes about the same time to get to as London via public transport (seriously, both are c2.5 hours from Norwich), so it was fortunate that Gary "I laugh in the face of driving in snow. Ha ha ha. Just like that" White agreed to go and give me & Adam a lift. After an uneventful journey (Buzzard near Worstead, an exclusion zone of no snow around Sheringham the two points of interest) we arrived at Thornham Harbour and set up our 'scopes near Connor. We had to wait a little while as the harrier was sensibly sheltering from the cold wind and occasional snow flurries, and were entertained by a covey of Grey Partridges that flew overhead. Eventually the Northern Harrier flew up and gave a nice flypast, the dark upperparts particularly standing out. We tracked it around the marshes and across Holme before losing it in the distance.

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After waiting a while there was no sign of the harrier returning, so we went to Titchwell for a hot drink. As the cafe had only just opened, I even managed to get a sausage roll, a real rarity. Our vigil by the bird feeders was productive, with a Brambling in the leaf litter and a Lesser Redpoll on the feeders to add to an unseasonal Chiffchaff in the woods between the carpark and seats. We decided to work our way back along the coast, next stop Wells.

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Arriving at the carpark in Wells we scanned Abraham's Bosom (ooh matron) and found some Goldeneye and Little Grebes. The word on the street (woodland path) was that there was a male Northern Bullfinch doing its trumpety thing, plus a possible Siberian Chiffchaff and Northern Treecreeper. On our first walk down the left hand track we heard a number of "normal" Bullfinches, but no Northerns. We walked back down the track and finally heard it, a Bullfinch with a toy trumpet. We located the bird, which flew across the path and into the trees. Perched up it was big and bright, everything you could want in a Bullfinch. We managed to locate the Bullfinch flock, but heard no more trumpeting. A few of the females may have been Northerns too, but at distance there was no easy way of telling. We also saw some Redpoll sp. before setting off to have a look for the Chiffchaff, which we had been told was in scrub near the toilet block. There was no sign after a brief search, and deciding that it probably wasn't a good idea to keep loitering around the toilets, we moved on.

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With some good birds under our belt, we hoped to continue the good work from the pub garden at the Dun Cow. For some reason we had the garden to ourselves, and soon clocked up some common stuff. Adam picked out a Snipe, a pub tick for both of us (Gary had one here previously), and soon they were everywhere, including three which flew over the pub. That was to be our only new pub bird, although I picked out a flock of Snow Buntings on the shingle ridge west of the Little Eye, and a Barn Owl made a welcome appearance. Arriving in North Walsham with 45 minutes to kill before our train we went to the Bluebell for another drink. The garden was snowbound and we saw very little, House Sparrow the dubious highlight.

Cley AGP

21st November 2010

After a trip to Cley Spy and lunch at the Three Swallows (Highly recommended. Has anyone tried the Wild Boar, Turkey, Hare & Pigeon pie?!), Dad & I headed to Cley for a quick look round. We were greeted in the carpark by an enthusiastic Northerner imparting the directions "third bird from the right" to a couple nearby. A quick glance revealed that the 3rd bird to the right was the long-staying American Golden Plover. After getting our permits and some Christmas cards we went to Bishop's Hide, where I digiscoped this effort. The AGP had moved a few birds in, but bearing in mind there were 1000+ Golden Plover, it was still behaving very well. A Water Rail on Carter's Scrape and a Little Grebe in the roadside dyke were the other birds of note. We stopped off at Salthouse beach carpark for a coffee (the only coffee sold from the back of a van endorsed by Birds and Beer) and watched a lone Turnstone patrol round the outside of the car.

Earlham Cemetery

20th November 2010

Waking up to a drearie and foggy day I decided to spend a bit of time in the cemetery rather than go further afield. In the past few days a Tawny Owl has been audible from my house, so I hoped to pin it down to a roost tree. This proved easier said than done, and despite checking some likely looking trees and investigating any "mobbing" calls, we didn't find any owls. Cathy did spot a couple of Treecreepers that would have been visible from my garden had I been there, and a couple of Nuthatches were nice to see. We came across one Long-tailed Tit flock, with no birds of interest attached to it.

Whitlingham wildfowl

14th November 2010

A drizzly walk around Whitlingham on Sunday. For the first time in many weekend visits there was no boating, and as a result the birds had spread out across the Great Broad. Highlights included the hybrid goose mentioned in the post below, Kingfisher, c35 Cormorants and a Grey Heron. On the Little Broad there was an increase in Shoveler numbers, the Black Swan was still with its adopted Mute family and the two Red-crested Pochard drakes are still present and have almost finished moulting. Whilst the Waveney valley remains the most likely origin of these birds, late autumn is the best time to see migrant RCPs, with groups gathering in Germany and Holland to moult. There has been a notable increase in records recently, which I may have a look at if I get round to it. Whatever their origin, they represent a welcome addition to the regular stuff, and if they move away from the far end of the Little Broad I may even get a photo!

Hybrid Geese revisited

Trawling through some old posts I noticed an interesting comment from this month about the small hybrid goose that periodically turns up at Whitlingham. The comment relates to the bird depicted in the top three photographs, which has been seen on-and-off since at least January 2008.

"Hi,

The little hybrid goose cannot be a cross between an Anser and a Branta species, as these generally have a mainly dark tail (and also often darker bills or bills with black blotches). This means with that brightly coloured bill and legs and a typical Anser geese tail it has to be a cross between two anser species. It shows a clear indication of Ross or Snow goose parentage with the white-rimmed tertials and secondaries. As the bill is very small, I´d favour Ross goose as one parent. The other then should also be a small-billed species, probably with a pink bill also. Lesser whitefront seems to fit here best, so the most likely explanation would be Ross goose x Lesser whitefronted goose."

If the person who added this comment reads this post, I would be grateful for your opinion of the hybrids shown in the other two photos, both from Whitlingham. Bird 4 looks similar to a bird seen at Swanton Morley by Dave Appleton (possible Lesser White-fronted x Barnacle) whilst the bird in photo 5 has a similar wing pattern to the first hybrid but a larger bill and overall size, perhaps Ross' Goose x Greylag? Any comments most welcome.

Pied-billed Grebe

13th November 2010

Ever since I first went birding as a seven year old I have had a mental list of birds ("in my head" rather than "crazy") that I would like to see. One of these is Pied-billed Grebe. It could well have been because it was so close to the start of my bird book, but was undoubtedly also because of the charismatic look of the bird. I therefore jumped at the chance to go and see the Pied-billed Grebe that has taken up temporary residence at Hollingworth Lake in Manchester. When we arrived it was showing well, diving and shooting backwards and forwards along the bay. This was obviously tiring work, as it then swam to the back of the bay and snoozed against the reeds. Over a prolonged period we watched as the grebe preened, scratched, yawned, collected weed and swam along with a Moorhen-esque clockwork movement. A cracking bird and I for one will be keeping a close eye out for another Norfolk record.

Pied Billed Grebe at Hollingworth Lake

Back in Norfolk with a few hours of daylight left, Gary & I headed to Titchwell to have a look at the new path and search for the Pallas' Warbler seen in the week. A Treecreeper was the only bird of note in the trees near the visitors centre, and as suspected there was no sign of the Pallas' Warbler around the meadow trail. The new hide looks interesting, and just past it three Twite flew onto the saltmarsh, feeding near some Skylarks and oddly two Chaffinches. Incidentally Gary picked up the Twite by call, which he described as a "broken Linnet". We also saw a Cetti's Warbler before more searching of the bushes around the carpark. With the light fading we called it a day.

Twite. Note: "Titchwell Twite" is often used to refer to Linnets.

Cley

7th November 2010

Birding during the week is now down to about 15 minutes of light in the morning, enough to confirm that Waxwings are everywhere and all the Long-tailed Tits flying through the garden are rosaceus. Once the rain had stopped on Sunday I wanted to get out to the coast, and Cathy's mum offered to give us a lift to Cley. It was very busy, but after getting our permits and having a chat with John Furse we headed to Bishop's Hide. I got some half-decent photos of a Common Snipe close to the front of the hide and we admired the Teal and Wigeon. After a while a head bobbed up in the reeds, and Cathy had seen her first Jack Snipe. It took a while before I could get the 'scope on it, but we got there eventually. No sign of the leucistic Brent Geese in the flocks I scanned, and the sea was similarly quiet. The amount of people on the shingle probably accounted for the lack of a bunting flock, but there was one more lifer for Cathy, one of the Grey Phalaropes was still spinning on Billy's Wash.

Snipe at Cley