14/01/2019 Hume's Warbler at Newhaven, Sussex - a 'Lifer'

Monday 14/01/2019
Riverside Park, Newhaven, Sussex

Lucky me!  The Hume's Warbler hadn't moved on so I went down to Riverside Park just before lunch to twitch it. 

• The bird was calling and flying around continuously, making it very difficult to get a good view in the bins. 

There were about 10 other birders present so we were able to track the bird as it moved around.




courtesy of Matt Eade and Twitter

After about 45 minutes everyone got their reward when the bird showed well on the left hand side of a low bush just 20 metres or so away.

This was a 'lifer' for me - the first of many in 2019 hopefully!

 

 

Hume's Leaf Warbler - BirdGuides

• A southern montane counterpart of Yellow-browed Warbler, Hume's breeds in Central Asia and winters in the Indian subcontinent. Previously regarded as a subspecies of Yellow-browed, its distinct morphology and vocalisations are now better understood.
• This is by far the rarest of the regular tiny leaf warblers in Britain, with 139 records to the end of 2015, but as with the other species, there is an upward trend.
• This is a bird of late autumn, occurring in late October and November (at the same time as Pallas's Warbler). The east coast has amassed the lion's share of records. A few individuals have overwintered.
• In size and structure, this species is essentially identical to Yellow-browed Warbler. However, its plumage is duller, more grey-green and less bright above, and 'dirtier' or more 'sullied looking' below. Its face pattern is blander and may be suffused with buff, while its wing-bars and tertial edges are less boldly defined and contrasting. Its median covert wing-bar may be almost absent. The bill and legs are predominantly dark.
• It has two call types: a cheery, rising che-wee, slightly reminiscent of Greenish Warbler, and a down-slurred swee-oo with a harsh, almost House Sparrow-like, quality.



 

13/01/2019 Day 3/3 Snettisham to Titchwell

Sunday 13 January 2019

Snettisham

On our way to Snettisham, we called in to the area around Choseley drying barns, looking for farmland birds. 

• A couple of Yellowhammers was the best we could do here.
• The highlight of our visit to Snettisham was undoubtedly the 'redhead' Smew on the pit north of the causeway.  It looked glorious as it swam around in the water.

courtesy of Marcus Nash

• Also showing well was a small group of Goldeneye, nearly all of which were drakes.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• We had a walk round to where the Short-eared Owl had been roosting but there was no sign of it.  Perhaps the noise from the  building work on the foundations for the new hide had disturbed the owl and it had moved on.

 

Thornham Harbour

We headed for Thornham Harbour next.

• It didn't take long to locate the 14 or so Twite in the dead vegetation close to the car park.  They flew off and around the harbour several times but always returned to the same spot.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



 

Titchwell

• At lunch at the tables, in the visitor's centre at Titchwell, we had great views of a Brambling at the feeders.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• As we moved on to the reserve we saw 2 Water Rails in the ditches, one on each side of the path.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• From the Parrinder hide, Marcus spotted the Water Pipit on one of the islands and we enjoyed good views of it as it moved around in the cut vegetation.
• Out on the beach we found 3 female Eiders on the edge of the water.  As well as the usual shorebirds there were 3 distant Little Gulls

We finished the day, and our visit, with a spectacular roost watch from the Parrinder Hide.  The harriers were taking advantage of the windy conditions and flying all over the place. 

• At times there were over 40 Marsh Harriers in the air at the same time with a couple of 'ringtail' Hen Harriers in the area as well.

 

Another full day with some spectacular birding!

This trip was right up there with the very best - thanks Marcus!

 

 

 

 

 

Other species added to 2019 Year List: 

Greenshank

Black-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Little Grebe

Yellowhammer

Pintail



 



12/01/2019 In and around Wells-next-the-Sea Day 2/3

Saturday 12 January 2019
Norfolk Day 2/3

There were only 5 of us, plus Marcus, for today's birding in the Wells area.  Conditions were dry and mild again but by now the wind was significant and would hinder us at times during the day.  Nevertheless we had another superb day with some excellent birding.

Holkham was our first port of call.

• We were lucky enough to get there before the Pink-footed Geese left for the cropped sugar beet fields.
  

Soon we were on the beach and walking east.

• An area of beach had been cordoned off to protect the Shorelarks but the birds had other ideas and moved to the nearby vegetated area which had not been cordoned off.  Alas the vegetation was quite tall, so it was difficult to see the Shorelarks.  With a little patience we eventually got great views as they moved around.  

courtesy of Marcus Nash

 

• A little further along the beach we saw the Snow Buntings, some 22 in all, moving along the edge of the water.  No problems with tall vegetation this time as we enjoyed brilliant views.

courtesy of Marcus Nash
 



• On the sea, we saw a Common Scoter and a Red-breasted Merganser and a couple of Red-throated Divers flew by.

• On the way back to the car, the highlight was a covey of Grey Partridge feeding on the edge of the nearest field - less than 20 metres away!

  

  courtesy of Marcus Nash

We tried to see some Little Owls in the Holt area but we were unsuccessful - almost certainly due to the windy conditions.
  


Next stop was Cley, starting at the beach car park.

• This time there were hundreds of Common Scoter flying to and fro, with several Velvet Scoters among them. 
• There was also at least 2 Red-throated Divers on the sea and a Guillemot.

We next headed east to Sherringham looking for the elusive Glaucous Gull.

• There was no sign of the gull but we did spot a Purple Sandpiper on the rocks by the tide line.

courtesy of Marcus Nash

Finally we headed inland to look for Barn Owls and Tawny Owls. 

• We waited by the Owl box until a Barn Owl appeared.  It stayed on the platform for several minutes before starting hunting.  We had excellent views as it foraged in the meadow.



courtesy of Marcus Nash

courtesy of Marcus Nash

 

• In an ivy - covered tree in the car park, a Tawny Owl was known to roost and while we were watching the Barn Owl it was heard "hooting".  When we got back to the car park the hooting had stopped but shortly afterwards the bird was seen briefly as it flew out of the tree to a nearby tree before disappearing.

By now it was getting very dark so we made the short journey back to our B&B, fully satisfied with our day 2 adventure.

Roll on tomorrow!

Other species added to 2019 Year List:
Guillemot
Avocet

11/01/2019 Day 1/3 A Fabulous Start!

Friday 11 January 2019
Norfolk Day 1/3

We got off to a fabulous start to our trip. 6 of us spent the day with Marcus in the Norfolk Broads where we saw some amazing birds.  The weather was cold and overcast but there was only a light breeze. 

First stop was Lodham.

• On the outskirts of the village we came across a large, mixed flock of Bewick and Whooper Swans with about equal proportions of each species. The views were superb and for ID purposes it was ideal with both types of swan showing side by side.



courtesy of Marcus Nash

• At a different outskirts location we had our first Crane sightings of the day with 8 showing really well in the scope as they moved around in the field in front of some scrub.

courtesy of Marcus Nash

• From our roadside viewing position we were entertained by flocks of Linnet and flocks of Greenfinch dropping into the edges of the field.  This was the first time I had seen Greenfinches moving around in such a large group like this.

• At Cantley we came across a few Taiga Bean Geese …….

Taiga Bean Geese

courtesy of Marcus Nash

 

 

 

…… and later on at Thrigby we came across the Tundra Bean Geese.

 

Tundra Bean Geese
courtesy of Marcus Nash



• We ended the day at Stubb Mill where we were immediately directed to a Merlin perched on top of a post away in the distance.  There were, of course numerous Marsh Harriers around but we did not see any Hen Harriers.  We added 7 more Cranes to our total for the day when they flew in to roost, looking superb as they silhouetted against what little light was left of the day.



courtesy of Marcus Nash



 

• When a Woodcock whizzed by, a few feet in front of us, we knew it was time to go.  On the long return journey to our B&B in Wells-next-the-Sea we saw a Barn Owl flying.

Roll on tomorrow and more terrific birding!

Other species added to 2019 Year List:

Canada Goose

Rook

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Marsh Tit

Treecreeper

Teal

 Pied Wagtail

Stock Dove

Common Gull

Long-tailed Tit

Fieldfare

Egyptian Goose

Red Kite

Pink-footed Goose

Lesser Redpoll

Ruff



10/01/2019 Stiffkey at Dusk

Thursday 10 January 2019
Stiffkey, Norfolk

I travelled up to Norfolk today, ready to join Marcus tomorrow for our first tour of the year.  I just about had enough time to observe the roost at Stiffkey before going to the B&B.

• A Peregrine was sitting on top of a distant post for the duration of my stay.
• The highlight of the visit was watching a Barn Owl fly by us going from W to E, hogging the Coastal Path and giving us stunning views.

I was just too late to see any of the Harriers that were around.

A nice prelude of things to come - I hope!

09/01/2019 Back to Pevensey Levels for Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owls.

Wednesday 9 January 2019
Horse Eye Level
East Sussex

I went back to the Pevensey Levels with Shaun, Bob and Sara.  I wanted to show them some of the wonderful birds I had seen last week. 

Unfortunately the area was the focus for a hunt using dogs.  Nevertheless the bids did show eventually, if somewhat further away than normal and not flying as much as before.

• The ringtail Hen Harrier showed first and gave us some excellent views over a substantial amount of time.
• At least 2 and probably 3 Short-eared Owls appeared after the hunting party left and we enjoyed good, if distant, views of them in flight and when they were perched on posts/mounds.

 

Pleased to share my birding joy with family and friends!

08/01/2019 Ring-necked Duck at West Rise Marsh

Tuesday 8 January 2019

• I arrived early for work at Weir Wood Reservoir  (Tuesday is voluntary conservation work day)  so that I could get some birdwatching in before the 09.30 start time.  I had a target list of 6 birds for the 2019 year list but incredibly I managed to see none of them.!

• As I was driving home I received a text from Alastair and another from Matt about a Ring-necked Duck at West Rise Marsh.  After a rushed lunch I headed down to the outskirts of Eastbourne to the site in question.  I walked to the far side of the lake to view the ducks with the sun behind me.  After a while I spotted the likely suspect.  Soon Gareth and Bridget arrived and confirmed my sighting.

 

courtesy of Gareth James



courtesy of Gareth James





• As well as the Ring-necked Duck I added Canada Goose to my year list today.

• Not a bad day - finally!
• Thanks to Alastair, Matt and Gareth -  I'm so lucky to have 3 of the finest young birders in Sussex looking after my interests.