WHITLINGHAM: More ducks, more fungi

24th November 2012

With rain forecast later I headed down to Whitlingham in the morning. There was still a lot of fog around, so I wasn't confident of seeing much, but it cleared as the day went on. There are a few benefits of fog, namely that although you can't see very far, neither can the birds. As I walked along the little broad I looked into the alders across the other side of a ditch, and saw a Kingfisher looking back. It soon flew off, but I was very chuffed to get what may be my closest views of my favourite bird. Further along I found a couple of Lesser Redpolls, and was surprised to see a Black-headed Gull with an almost brown hood still.

Leaving the broad I went up into the woods to look for fungi, including a couple of specimens that Neil M had told me about. One of these, Red-banded Bracket (Fomitopsis pinicola) being particularly rare. Whilst wandering around I found a mixed flock of Tits and Goldcrests, which I checked through looking for Firecrests, without success.

Fomitopsis pinicola

Ascocoryne sarcoides

Back at the broad I went round to the conservation area, where there had been an increase in duck numbers since my last visit. Around 30 Teal were now milling around, whilst Tufted Duck and Gadwall were both more numerous. Three Little Grebes and a drake Pochard completed the winter wildfowl. A Marsh Tit called from some alders, and a Wren hopped around in a pile of cut trees. No new birds, but a very satisfying visit nonetheless.

NORTH NORFOLK: Surf Scoter & R-c Starling

17th November 2012

Whilst at home today I got a phone call from Gary mid-morning to tell me that a juvenile Surf Scoter had been found off the cliffs between Sheringham and Weybourne. Ducks are probably my favourite group of birds, and Surf Scoter was one of the three species on the Norfolk list that I hadn't seen (Canvasback and Blue-winged Teal are the others), so I decided to get the next train to Sheringham to go and have a look. After a long walk along the cliffs (failing to see a Richard's Pipit that was seen sporadically throughout the day) I reached the right place, where a couple of birders were watching the Surf Scoter with a small group of Common Scoter. The flock were actively feeding, but when seen in profile the head and beak of the Surf Scoter really stuck out. A little while later Neil and Gary arrived, and after watching the scoter for a bit longer we headed back.

On my way to the scoter I had been told that a Rose-coloured Starling had been found in Northrepps, so we headed that way. A birder at the village hall car park gave us directions to the garden that the bird was frequenting, and we found a small group of birders watching the juvenile Rose-coloured Starling in a small tree, where it showed well. Interestingly the bird had at least one dark adult covert, and the end of the beak had turned pink. We also clocked up a Cormorant and a Lapwing over the house, and saw a flock of Pink-footed Geese fly over near Southrepps on our way back to North Walsham to round off an excellent days birding.

Many thanks to Dave Appleton for finding the Surf Scoter, and to the owner of the garden that the Rose-coloured Starling was in.

NORWICH: Obligatory Waxwing photos

11th November 2012

A quick trip to Rupert Street was enough to catch up with a flock of nine Waxwings that have been frequenting the area off Unthank Road recently. Many thanks to Connor for letting me know they were showing well.

WHITLINGHAM: Goldeneye & Coral Tooth Fungus

10th November 2012

Despite the rain I headed down to Whitlingham, walking past the railway station to check for Waxwings on the way. As I walked near the Little Broad I heard a Lesser Redpoll call as it flew over. Part way along the Great Broad I was surprised to see a group of 8 or so birders (probably the sum total I'd seen in the past six months here). I eagerly looked to see what the attraction was, but it must have either been Gadwall or Tufted Duck, so I presumed they were on a guided walk and carried on. When I got to the island I checked the Cormorants in case any of the coastal Shag influx had made their way inland, without success.

I then detoured up into the woods to look for a particularly rare fungus. Readers of this blog with particularly good memories may remember in 2009 I posted a picture of the Bearded Tooth fungus (Hericium erinaceus)  in Trowse Woods, the first Norfolk record (see it here). There are two other members of this genus in the UK, H. cirrhata has only been found once before (also near Norwich) and  then in 2010, Coral Tooth fungus (Hericium corraloides) was found at Whitlingham Woods, another Norfolk first*. Why the area is so good for these species is unknown. Anyway, I heard that the Coral Tooth Fungus was fruiting again this year, so I went and had a look, and very nice it was too. It was growing 10-12 feet up, so this isn't a great picture, but check it out on google - it really does look like a bit of coral growing out of a tree.

I headed back down to the Broad, where I met the birders from earlier. I guess they must have really been grilling those Tufties. I carried on around the broad, clocking up flyover Redwings and Siskins. The bird screen was flooded, but scanning round I noticed a Goldeneye, which was a bit unusual. Further along the riverbank a couple of Goldcrests were in a hawthorn bush, and it sounded like a large flock of Siskin had flown into trees near the Little broad.

* There is an old record from about 1830, but I think that this hasn't been properly authenticated so I presumed the 2010 record would be considered the proper county first. This view was supported by the 2011 Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service newsletter, which states that the species has not been found in Norfolk before. However I have found a reference to a specimen being found in King's Lynn in 2006, so the Whitlingham record may be the 2nd for the county rather than the first.

EAST NORFOLK: Witton Woods fungus foray

3rd November 2012

When the Norfolk Fungus Study Group announced their programme, two forays stood out. The first was Mousehold Heath, just down the road, and the second was Bacton (aka Witton) Wood, my local woods from when I lived in North Walsham. Dad & I went along despite it being a bit late in the fungi season to see what we could turn up. In a couple of hours we recorded around 30 species, the most notable for me being Postia caesia (Conifer Bluing Bracket), which I found on the way back. There were lots of Amethyst Deceivers and quite a few Beech Sickeners along the eastern path, worth having a look at if you are that way.

Amethyst Deceiver

Beech Sickeners (poisonous!)

Fly Agaric (poisonous!)

THORPE MARSH: Checking for owls

2nd November 2012

Remembering that it was late October/early November that a Short-eared Owl appeared at Thorpe Marshes last year, I decided to go and check for one. I arrived at around 15:30 and having waded through a flooded area of the path, I settled down to wait until dusk. Whilst waiting for the light to fade I kept my eyes upwards, hoping to catch up with flyover Waxwing or a skein of Pink-feet. I did manage several unseen Siskin calling as they flew from Whitlingham, and a Sparrowhawk hunted over the marsh briefly. It began to get dark, and it became evident that no Short-eared Owls were coming out tonight. It's still worth a check if anyone fancies it, last year the bird was best seen between 16:00-16:40-ish.

NORTH NORFOLK: Cley White-front & White-rumped stuff

1st November 2011

At Cley we went and had a look at the wildlife art exhibition in the old visitors' centre, before heading out to the central hides. On the way we stopped to scan through a flock of Brent Geese, and I noticed a White-fronted Goose of unknown origin close by with the Greylags.

Further along a male Bearded Tit showed beautifully until I reached for my camera, at which point it flew a small distance into the reeds and pinged with laughter (maybe). Scanning Pat's Pool we saw one of the White-rumped Sandpipers, which was initially distant, but came closer after all of the small waders were put up by an unseen raptor. It later flew back after a similar disturbance. We also saw a Barn Owl hunting from the hide, and another one just east of Kelling on the way home.

BEER NEWS: Norwich Beer Festival 2012

30th October 2012

A reminder to everyone that this week is the Norwich Beer Festival! This year there aren't many bird-related beers (Silly Bustard is the only one I can remember from looking at the programme), but there is still a wide range to choose from. You can check out the full list before you go on the Norwich CAMRA website.

This year's logo 

Also with Halloween upon us, if you fancy a seasonal brew you have the standard choice of Hobgoblin, several Pumpkin-based ales (fine if you like the taste of Pumpkin - I don't) or try this special - Shepherd Neame's Spooky Ale.

EAST NORFOLK: Winterton Dunes

29th October 2012

Cathy & I went to Winterton in the afternoon for a walk around the south dunes, hoping to catch up with any migrant stragglers. We walked around in the drizzle barely seeing a bird, although we did find three Fox Moth caterpillars. I set up on the edge of the dunes for a bit of a sea-watch, seeing one Little Auk south and a Shag and Red-throated Diver on the sea, but after 15 minutes gave up as the rain started to come down harder.

NORTH NORFOLK: The Waxwings have arrived

28th October 2012

A third (and final!) visit to St Andrew's car park in the city once again failed to produce any Ring Ouzels, and the cathedral Black Redstart was also notable only by it's absence. In the afternoon we went for a drive along the North Norfolk coast, calling in at Burnham Overy. Here by the side of the car park were two Waxwings and a large flock of Starlings and Fieldfares. We watched the Waxwings for a while until a Sparrowhawk put up the thrushes. The Waxwings trilled to each other, then three more piped in from deep within the hawthorns, and all five flew off towards some nearby houses. We continued on to Titchwell for a drink, before heading back via Choseley and Docking.

NORWICH: Ouzel dip & cathedral Black Redstart

26th & 27th October 2012

This week has been rather frustrating for the most part. There were amazing influxes of birds on Monday and Tuesday at the coast, with the winds changing mid-week. Excited birders told of unforgettable scenes and best days in the field. Back in Norwich, a few more Redwings than normal flew over.

Fast forward to Friday, and it seemed that many of the birds that had arrived earlier in the week were beginning to filter inland. On my way to work hundreds of Redwings were flying over in small groups, whilst a couple of flocks of Fieldfares were also mixed in. I wondered to myself whether any Ring Ouzels or Black Redstarts would be found close by. At lunchtime I noticed that two Ring Ouzels had been found in the city centre, of all places, so I went for a look after work. Despite a large number of Blackbirds (15+) still feeding near St Andrew's car park, there was no sign of the Ouzels.

On Saturday I had planned to go to the North Norfolk coast, but the regular waves of rain and hail against the windows made me think this was a bad idea. Instead I waited for a brief gap in the rain and went for a walk around Norwich looking for migrants. A Kingfisher on a post near Bishop's Bridge was nice to see, but I didn't see anything else of note between here and St Andrew's, although I thought I heard a Black Redstart calling unseen from near the cathedral cloisters. Spending a bit more time near the car park it was evident that the Ring Ouzels had gone, so I went home via various berry bushes.

Later on I noticed that a Black Redstart had been seen this morning at the cathedral! Darn it. As I live close by I headed back to check out the area where I thought I had heard one earlier. As luck would have it, the Black Redstart flew in front of me, perching on a small wooden post, before flying to the ground to feed in the leaf litter. I watched it for around 20 minutes, sometimes down to a few feet, as it fed and flicked it's tail. On my home the Kingfisher had returned to the same post that I saw it on earlier. It looked up at me on the bridge then flew downriver. An excellent end to British summer time (put your clocks back tonight!).

WHITLINGHAM: Winter birds returning

21st October 2012

It actually felt like finding a decent bird was a possibility today, with some autumnal weather and the calls of Skylarks and Redwings passing overhead. On the Little Broad a female Wigeon was close in, having presumably only just woken up. I head three Water Rails making their weird squealing noise (two near the Little Broad and one on the north shore of the Great Broad). Five Cetti's Warblers were giving a mixture of song and sub-song. Numbers of Tufted Duck and Gadwall were similar to the previous week, but the number of wild-type Mallard was up, presumably migrants. A couple of Little Grebes were also seen for the first time since the spring. Whilst scanning from the bird screen, I found a Siskin in an Alder with the tit flock, and heard several others nearby. On the walk back a Green Woodpecker flew up off the meadows and into an oak tree.

SUFFOLK: Slav Grebe & hybrid duck

20th October 2012

We hopped over the border into Suffolk to Oulton Broad, where a Slavonian Grebe was showing very well. Despite its close proximity, a combination of overcast weather and my photographic skill managed to make the grebe look like it was swimming through tar, so enjoy these cracking photos.

Before leaving Oulton Broad I had a quick look around Nicholas Everitt Park for other birds to take awful pictures of. Amongst some Mallards of varying domesticity (as this wasn't underlined in red I'm presuming it is an actual word), I spotted this interesting looking duck. If memory serves, this is a Mallard x Red-crested Pochard, although I would welcome comments if you agree or disagree with this ID. I seem to remember one was seen at Cantley BF a while back. Incidentally the last time I was here (2009!) there was a different bird that resembled a female Red-crested Pochard, but was being muted as a Mallard x RCP, on the same pond.

Back in Norfolk we meandered through the broads on the way back to Norwich, the only birds of note being a small flock of Golden Plover that flew over near Acle.

WHITLINGHAM: Looking for geese

13th October 2012

This week has seen the arrival of a number of flocks of Pink-footed Geese, so today's target was to catch up with one of these flocks over Whitlingham. I was also keeping an ear out for Bearded Tits, as there seem to be large numbers at Strumpshaw, which may mean there is an irruption at some point in the autumn. This was rather over-optimistic, but if any Bearded Tits are reading this, just look at that lovely reedmace!

As I worked my way round a few Redwings were flying over, as well as some frustratingly unidentified finch sp. Near the path to the bird screen a Water Rail squealed, to the equal surprise of myself and a nearby Mute Swan. A lone Teal was in the conservation area along with 17 Gadwall and around 30 Tufted Ducks. With no other birds of note on the broad I headed into the woods, finding some aptly named Verdigris Agarics*.

* Verdigris, for those who haven't come across it, is the bluey-green colour that occurs when copper tarnishes.

NORWICH AREA: Mousehold Redwings

6th October 2012

With a bit of free time in the morning I decided to go up to Mousehold Heath and look for any migrating birds. In hindsight I should probably have gone to Whitlingham, where someone found a 1st-winter Caspian Gull, but Whitlingham on a sunny Saturday usually has more people than birds. Anyway, 10 Redwings flew over southwards, and that was it. There has also been no sign of the Egyptian Geese since I first saw them, maybe they have headed off downriver to raise their chicks somewhere quieter.