30/12/2016 Blue Rock Thrush in the Cotswolds

Friday 30 December 2016
Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire

Another early start saw us off to Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds to twitch the Blue Rock Thrush.  Gareth, Paul and myself were about to have a long, hard and eventful day.

Driving conditions were very challenging all day, with fog and mist adding to the already icy conditions.

• We arrived at our destination just on 08.30 only to find that our target bird had not been seen at all! We joined the large gathering of birders searching for our prize.  
• After a fruitless 90 minutes or so we decided to head to the Cotswold Country Park some 25+ miles away to look for the Red-crested Pochard that Paul needed for his year list and await further news about the thrush.  We duly found over 50+ of the Red-crested Pochards on the water, albeit barely visible in the mist.  With no further news from Stow-on-the-Wold we decided to cut our losses and head home.
• As we were passing Reading on the M4, Gareth picked up an alert from Bird Guides - the Blue Rock Thrush had been sighted!  We persuaded a reluctant Paul that we should go back and try again.
• Some 90 minutes later we arrived back at our original destination only to be told the bird had flown off after showing well!! 
• However it didn't take long for the bird to be found again and we finally enjoyed excellent views of the bird on the gable end of a nearby roof.

Blue Rock Thrush
courtesy of Bob the Birder

Blue Rock Thrush - the twitchers

The journey home was long and slow with many hold ups due to the poor visibility.  Just as I was getting into Uckfield my son, Peter, called from the Amex to say the Brighton game v Cardiff had just been called off because of the fog and I could relax and enjoy my fish and chips with Sue at home.

• Only seven times in history has one of these southern European mountain birds been spotted in the United Kingdom.
• As soon as news of the bird’s arrival in Stow-on-the-Wold began to circulate late on Tuesday, a small army of keen twitchers were making plans to travel to Gloucestershire to see the species with its striking indigo plumage.
• An autumn that has seen an unprecedented host of rare birds arriving from the far reaches of Siberia as well as North America now appears to be producing sightings from southern climes.
• By rights, the blue rock thrush should be wintering among the rocky crags and lower slopes of mountain ranges skirting the Mediterranean and North Africa.
• The bird is believed to have arrived in Fisher Close two weeks ago and seems well at home, feeding alongside the neighbourhood blackbirds and robins.
• To a casual observer, a male blue rock thrush  appears smaller but more upright than a blackbird, with a relatively longer bill and dark blue colouring across its head and body.

courtesy of Daily Express



Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Blue Rock Thrush   (264)

Addition to BUBO UK Life List:
Blue Rock Thrush   (326)

29/12/2016 Siberian Stonechat at Dungeness

Thursday 29 December 2016
Kerton Road, Dungeness

A grey stonechat has been in residence at Kerton Road, Dungeness since November.  I have resisted attempts to go and see it until more information was forthcoming.  DNA tests on it's pooh have now shown it to be a Snejneder's Stonechat - a member of the Siberian Stonechat family.  With this in mind, I finally made the trip early this morning.

• Thankfully the bird was showing well as I got there, with terrific views of it on the fence, on top of the low bushes and on the ground.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:

Siberian Stonechat   (263)



I had no luck at Newhaven Tidemills on the way home, in an hour long search for the Serin.

21/12/2016 Twitching Pipit's - a Winter Solstice Treat

Wednesday 21/12/2016  
Twitching with Gareth and Paul

Another early start, this time at 05.00. I picked Gareth and Paul up at 05.45.  We then headed off to Blagdon Lakes in Somerset arriving just after 09.30.  On the way home we dropped in at Blashford Lakes in Hampshire arriving at 12.30.

Blagdon Lakes

A Blyth's Pipit has been present at Blagdon Lakes for over a week but only reported a few days ago. We were hoping to get a good sighting before the forecasted poor weather arrived in the afternoon.  

• We joined a small group of birders who were already viewing the bird by the lake edge.  For the next 90 minutes or so we enjoyed good views, from about 30 metres, as the pipit moved restlessly about it's business, flying occasionally.  Fortunately, there were several Meadow Pipit's in close proximity so it was easy to make the comparison.

Blyth's Pipit to the left of a Meadow Pipit
Courtesy of Brian Thompson Bristol Birding

• We also saw other interesting birds including 5 Great White Egrets, a Little Stint and 3 Bewick Swans.

• The Blyth's pipit (Anthus godlewskii) is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds in Mongolia and neighbouring areas. 
• It is a long distance  migrant moving to open lowlands in southern Asia. 
• It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
• This is a large pipit, but is an undistinguished looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and pale below.
• It is very similar to Richard's pipit, but is slightly smaller, shorter legs and a shorter dark bill. 
• Its flight is strong and direct, and it gives a characteristic "pshee" call, higher pitched than Richard's

Blashford Lakes

Having succeeded with our main target we had time to call in at Blashford Lakes to twitch the Water Pipit.  This was a "lifer" for Gareth.  

• Thankfully it didn't take long to spot it from the Lapwing Hide.  It was heading left along the edge of the lake and we were able to get good scope views from about 30 metres.
• There were other birds of interest on view including 16 Goosander.

Another memorable trip on a day when it would have been easy to succumb to the poor weather forecast and stay in the comfort of your own home. 

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:

Blyth's Pipit   (262)

Addition to BUBO UK Life List:

Blyth's Pipit   (325)

11/12/2016 Into Dorset and Hampshire

Sunday 11 December 2016

I teamed up with Andrew and Paul for a twitch into Dorset and Hampshire.  It meant an early 07.30 start from Lancing in quite misty and damp conditions but with the promise of some sunny weather later on.

Lytchett Fields RSPB in Dorset

• Our target bird was the Lesser Yellowlegs, seen regularly on this reserve since September.  Just as we arrived it flew away but Paul and Andrew managed to see it in flight.  We then spent a long time searching for it, a non-too-easy task in the misty conditions.

• After the mist began to clear, Andrew, Paul and a local birder found the bird, this time on French's Pool.  The view was distant and into the sun however. I was searching for it on the original, adjacent pool so didn't get back in time to see it.  We didn't hang around for me to catch up with it.  It had disappeared again and as I had already seen one in Essex earlier in the year I was happy to move on.

Blashford Lakes in Hampshire

Our target bird here was the Ring-billed Gull that has been roosting here for some time now.  

• We arrived early so had time to visit the Woodland Hide, looking at birds on the feeders. Most of the usual suspects were present, the pick of them being Nuthatch, Siskin and Great Spotted Woodpecker,
• From Ivy North Hide we saw a Great White Egret flying over the lake but could not see any Bittern or Water Rail.
• We took our place early in the Tern Hide to ensure a good position later on.  In the meantime we enjoyed seeing 15+ Goosander, a Kingfisher, a Green Sandpiper, 5 Goldeneye, a Green Woodpecker, a White-fronted Goose and 10+ Egyptian Geese.
• The Ring-billed Gull did not show until 30 minutes before dusk, by which time we were getting a little anxious.  However the views were good and with Common Gulls and at least one Yellow-legged Gull in close proximity we were able to appreciate the list of key ID differences that Paul gave us 

A great day out! 

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Ring-billed Gull   (261)

10/12/2016 Rye Harbour NR with the East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

Saturday 10 December 2016

Our annual visit to Rye Harbour NR turned out to be a success with over 50 species seen.  Thankfully the weather was mild and dry, if overcast, for the 11 members who made the trip.

There were several highlights:-

• 4 species of raptor were seen.  A stunning Merlin was perched on a post in the area to the left of the path leading to Denny Hide.  Also seen was a Peregrine which spooked the water birds and put them to flight.  A Sparrowhawk was seen early on and a Marsh Harrier showed up mid morning.
• A huge group of Golden Plover caused a lot of excitement, on the ground and in flight.
• Over 10 Pintail ducks, including several males, provided a regal touch to the water birds on show,
• We were unable to find any Scaup or the Black-necked Grebe but we did find a smashing Red-breasted Merganser.

After lunch 5 of us made the short trip to RSPB Dungeness where we saw the Ring-necked Duck but missed out on the Long-eared Owl and the Smew.  We only stayed for a short time.

A very pleasant trip which everyone seemed to enjoy.

07/12/2016 Dusky Thrush in Debyshire

Wednesday 7 December
Beeley nr Matlock in Derbyshire

I went with Paul and Gareth to Derbyshire to twitch the rare dusky thrush.  A very early start (2 a.m.) saw me pick them up at 4 a.m. before we made the 400 mile round trip to the lovely village of Beeley near Matlock.  After a 40 minute delay on the M1 we arrived on site just after 8 a.m. Sadly there was a huge gathering of similar minded twitchers  and they were occupying the prime viewing positions.

• As we arrived at the orchard, the dusky thrush took flight so our view was good but only fleeting. In the next hour or so it was seen near the church, then in the playground area but again the best we could get were flight views.

• Finally we got to see the bird on the ground, in the orchard close to where we parked our car.  The views were now prolonged and excellent so we could pick up the key ID features.  Quite soon after we got further, even better, views in the main orchard by the activity centre.

dusky thrush
courtesy of Daily Telegraph

By this time the sheer number of birders was getting to us as it was quite chaotic at times.  Heaven help the locals if this bird is still there at the weekend!  We decided to head off home - and it was still only 10.30 a.m.

Too many twitchers in a confined space
courtesy of The Telegraph

This rare vagrant breeds in Siberia and winters in south east Asia and should be somewhere near Japan at the moment!





Addition to BUBO UK 2016 Year List
dusky thrush   (260)


Addition to BUBO UK Life List
dusky thrush   (324)

5/12/2016 and 6/12/2016 Local News

Monday 5 December 2016
Ashdown Forest

• Spent an hour at dusk with Alastair looking for signs of any hen harriers going down to roost.   Although there had been a sighting during the daytime recently, no harriers came in to roost. It looks as if we will have a second successive failure after many years of continuous success.
• The usual suspects were there - winter thrushes, mippits, corvids and a sparrowhawk.

Tuesday 6 December 2016
Weir Wood Reservoir

Spent the morning burning debris and clearing paths on the north side of the reservoir and the afternoon helping Bob J put up a second sign in the water at the boundary of the nature reserve to remind the boating fraternity to keep out.

A rather distasteful experience presented itself to us in the north end car park at the start of the day.  We found 4 deer heads and a stomach smack in the middle of the parking area where the deer had obviously been butchered and the unwanted bits strewn around.  


On a more pleasant note we saw a good selection of birds.

• A couple of kingfishers flew up and down the stream on Willets.  
• On the feeder we had marsh tit, coal tit, great-spotted woodpecker and nuthatch of note.
• The usual buzzard sounds drew our attention at times.
• There were an unusual number of gadwall (25+) for Weir Wood.
• The start of the gull roost at the end of the day gave us 7 or 8 common gulls and a lesser black-backed gull among the black-headed gulls.

01/12/2016 East Head, Snowhill and Medmerry

Thursday 1 December 2016
West Sussex Coast

On a glorious sunny day 10 of us joined Paul for a visit to the south coast near Chichester. Temperatures were well below freezing early on but, with no wind and clear skies, it felt much warmer.

• Brent geese were present in huge numbers all day and provided the perfect backdrop to our visit..

East Head a.m.

There were so many things to enjoy early on as we took advantage of the low tide to walk along the sands, away from the numerous dog walkers.

• At least 9 sanderling immediately caught our eye at the water's edge.
• Eiders are not common on the south coast so we were delighted to find a juvenile drake showing well close in.
• The birds just kept coming; soon we saw a slavonian grebe, a couple of great northern divers, a black-throated diver, a couple of common scoters, up to 10 red-breasted mergansers and a superb kingfisher feeding in the bay as we rounded the corner.
• Highlight of the day however had to be the snow bunting we encountered near the sand dunes.  It was so obliging, even when disturbed by the dog walkers, and we spent a good 30 minutes or so enjoying close views.
• We even had a close mediterranean gull join us right at the end of our lunch.  It was on a post just a few metres from us before it decided to give us a display of it's flying skills.

Snowhill p.m.

After a lovely lunch, seated by the bay so as  to take full advantage of the outstanding sea views, we headed off the short distance to Snowhill Marshes where there were lots of birds to be seen.

• Pick of the bunch was a couple of knot, showing well on one of the distant pools
• A striking greenshank made it's way around the pool.
• There were quite a few snipe showing with at least 2 on the exposed grassy area adjacent to the footpath.

Medmerry p.m.

A long walk to the sea at Medmerry in the late afternoon sunshine was very enjoyable.

• We saw our first raptors here - a kestrel and a marsh harrier.
• On a personal level, I was delighted and surprised when we saw a scaup on one of the distant pools to the east.

Over 60 species seen today and some superb scenery.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:

Scaup   (259)

It doesn't get much better than this in December!

30/11/2016 Desert Wheatear Normans Bay, nr Bexhill, East Sussex

Wednesday 30 November 2016
Normans Bay, East Sussex


I responded to a message on my pager and headed down to the south coast to twitch the desert wheatear.  This vagrant, first spotted here on Cooden Beach on Monday, gave a superb display in the bright morning light - much to the delight of the assembled photographers!

Desert Wheatear
Courtesy of Alastair Gray

• The desert wheatear occurs across North Africa, through the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula, and into Asia, as far east as China. 

• It is also sometimes recorded outside of its normal range, in parts of Europe. 

• This species is migratory, with populations generally moving southwards in winter.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
desert wheatear   (258) 

             A most enjoyable twitch!

28/11/2016 Rose-coloured Starling in Crawley.

Monday 28 November 2016

Crawley, West Sussex

• I twitched the juvenile rose-coloured starling in Crawley in the early afternoon.  The bird was sitting in a bare tree in a garden on a housing estate in Beachy Road.  It was an oh-so easy twitch - a stationary bird, showing well from less than 10 metres away.

This represents a "lifer" for me - my 15th of the year.

Rose-coloured Starling
courtesy of Alastair Gray

Rose-coloured Starling
courtesy of Alastair Gray

This rather bedraggled juvenile will eventually blossom into a lovely adult like the one's shown below.

• The breeding range of this bird is from easternmost Europe across temperate southern Asia. 

• It is a strong migrant, and winters in India and tropical Asia. In India in winter, it often appears to outnumber the local starlings and mynas. 

• In years when grasshoppers and other insects are abundant, it will erupt well beyond its core range, with significant numbers reaching France and the United Kingdom. 

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List

rose-coloured starling   (257)

Addition to BUBO UK Life List

rose-coloured starling   (323)

24/11/2016 Birding in West Sussex

Paul and group  (8)

Kingley Vale NR near West Stoke in West Sussex  a.m.

Famous for it's Yew trees this was a first visit for me to this site.  After climbing to the top of the hill we enjoyed spectacular views over Chichester Harbour.

• Bird species of the morning was yellowhammer with 10 seen soon after we left the car park.

• fieldfare and redwing were there - but not in great numbers.

• Raptors seen included buzzard and sparrowhawk but, surprisingly there were no red kites.

• I saw my first green woodpecker for some time.

• Over 250 stock doves were seen in one stubble field at the end of our visit

A pleasant walk. 

West Dean Woods   p.m.

• What a difference a few miles makes.  Just 15 minutes away by car and we immediately had 3-4 red kite sightings over West Dean Woods.

• After a patient wait we finally got to see our target bird, the hawfinch.  We enjoyed cracking views of 1 of the 2 on show at the top of the bare tree.

• There was no sign of the little owl as we visited it's usual haunt.

Some skilled birding by Paul ensured we all saw the beautiful hawfinches.

23/11/2016 Rye Harbour NR

Wednesday 23 November 2016
Rye Harbour NR, East Sussex

Missed out on the scaup today at Rye Harbour NR.   I was sure that I was looking at one in the scope, only to discover it was a female tufted duck with a large amount of white at the base of the bill.  I need to get smarter and nail this ID next time.

• No problem with the stunning drake pintail with an accompanying female, seen from Denny Hide.

• Or the black-necked grebe seen from the Ternery Pool.

• I don't think I have ever seen so many little grebes in one place.

• Grey plovers, golden plovers, dunlin and a snipe were the pick of the rest.

Missed the target bird but still had a smashing time in superb weather conditions.  33 species seen!

Miscellaneous

West Rise Marshes   Monday 14/11/2016
No sign of the long-tailed duck this afternoon but plenty of other ducks; wigeon, tufted duck, shoveler and gadwall.  

Weir Wood Reservoir  Tuesday 15/11/2016
A couple of kingfishers, 9 snipe and a couple of drake mandarin ducks were the highlights of our breaks from working today - bonfire and snake survey recce for 2017.

West Rise Marsh  Thursday 17/11/2016
Missed the long-tailed duck again but saw a lovely slavonian grebe.


Paul contacted me on Friday to say the long-tailed duck was still there but I couldn't get to see it because of family arriving for the wedding in the evening.

West Rise Marsh   Monday 21/11/2016
After everyone had departed after the wedding weekend I got my chance to follow up Paul's guidance and was rewarded with some excellent views of the long-tailed duck.  The slavonian grebe was also still there and looked majestic, despite the rain and wind.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List
Long-tailed duck   (256)

Third time lucky - thanks Paul!

13/11/2016 Glorious Sheppey

Sunday 13 November 2016
Isle of Sheppey

5 of us from the East Grinstead RSPB Local Group travelled to the Isle of Sheppey.  The scheduled trip from yesterday was cancelled because of the poor weather conditions.  No such worries today with bright, clear skies.  We were rewarded with a lovely day's birding.

Shellness

• As we walked from the sea wall car park down to Shellness we saw our only hen harrier of the day, a ringtail flying low over the fields towards Leysdown.  We watched, in admiration, as the bird foraged on it's way.  This was my first hen harrier sighting of the autumn.  Other, more fortunate birders had also seen a male bird flying over the marshes at Shellness but it had gone to ground before we got there.

• As it was high tide just after we arrived, we decided to go past the concrete shelter to look for waders.  We got spectacular views of thousands of knot and oystercatchers huddled together on the shingle spit.  Of course the usual suspects were there in good numbers.  We had no luck with snow buntings or shore lark - hardly surprising with the large number of birders present today.

• A peregrine disrupted the calm these waders were enjoying and they were all up and away in a spectacular display before settling down again in the same place.

Capel Fleet 

• There were many marsh harriers here, many more than we had seen at Shellness.
• We searched in vain for the common crane that earlier birders had seen.  However our luck changed when we were advised to view from the hillside looking over the channel to the north.  Bingo - the crane was to the left of a derelict hut and, when the sun went behind the clouds, afforded some good but distant views.  We even saw it flying as it went to roost.
• Not long afterwards we got our first, of many, views of the short-eared owl in the hamlet to the north east of us.
• As we were driving away from Capel Fleet we were alerted to a close barn owl sitting on a post and looking immaculate in the evening light.  

A cracking trip with some exceptional birds, a species count well over 50 and some very good company. 

12/11/2016 Twitching Ducks

12 November 2016
With rain forecast for most of the day it had to be a day with the ducks.  I was already contemplating going to see the ferruginous duck in Hertfordshire when news came through of a pair of juvenile velvet scoters  in nearby Buckinghamshire.  That clinched it - I was off on my travels, twitching ducks.

Buckinghamshire

• I decided to start by going as far north as I could where the weather was better.  At Willen Lake, near Milton Keynes, the 2 velvet scoters were present with one close by and the other distant.  This had to be the nearest I have ever been to this species - normally I would see them off the coast.

• Also present was a superb drake goldeneye, looking majestic in the water.

• A drake red-crested pochard and an accompanying female were a welcome surprise and added colour to a dull day.

I arrived at 12.30 and was done by 13.15 - a really good start.

Now it was off to Tring in Hertfordshire, a short drive south west, of just over 20 miles, to look for the drake ferruginous duck. This bird has been around for some time now.

Hertfordshire

• At Wilstone Reservoir I had a huge area to search and after half an hour I was getting nowhere,  Thankfully a local birder turned up but was looking at an area a long way from me.  I made my way over to him and after a while he found the aforesaid duck.  It was about 50 metres away with some gulls and a few wigeon.  The lighting was poor so the views were not brilliant.

Very pleasing outcome - thanks mainly to my local birder.

Additions to BUBO UK 2016 Year List:

Velvet scoter   (254)

Ferruginous duck   (255)

Good birding today despite the awful weather.

10/11/2016 Ring-necked Duck and Snow Buntings in Kent

Thursday 10 November 2016
Kent

• I spent the early afternoon at Dungeness watching the ring-necked duck in the pond by Boulderwell Farm.  This North American "vagrant" was showing really well with the coots.  In really good lighting, the views were absolutely superb.
• I bumped into Plodding Birder who advised against going onto the reserve and guided me to looking for the snow buntings at St Michael's beach - some 7-8 miles further east.  This was a new site for me and the search area was massive.  However, after reading the RBA text carefully I and a couple of other birders managed to locate and enjoy watching the 5 birds seen by others earlier in the day.  In good lighting and at short distance the views were spectacular.  After some time they flew a few metres further west before landing again. 

A good couple of hours birding and 2 excellent sightings.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Ring-necked duck   (253)

08/11/2016 Weir Wood Day

Tuesday 8 November 2016
Weir Wood Reservoir

Another day doing conservation work at the reservoir, this time cutting back the hedges to improve the views people see from the 2 lay-by's between the car park and Willet's Bridge.  Water levels are dropping nicely, increasing the chances of attracting waders to the muddy surrounds.

• Before starting work we saw a marauding sparrowhawk.  
• On the water we saw a couple of drake mandarins, a couple of snipe and a lovely kingfisher along with the usual suspects.
• During our lunch break we saw a couple of treecreepers in the trees next to the feeders. On the feeders a nuthatch kept coming and going and a great-spotted woodpecker appeared after a while.
• Shaun and Richard, making a new owl box in the car park, heard a coal tit and a bullfinch.

A lovely crisp day with lots achieved and at least 27 bird species seen.

06/11/2016 Last day in Norfolk - in search of Twite

Sunday 6 November

The weather forecast for today was even worse so, after yesterday's drenching on the long exposed walk to and from the sand dunes at Burnham Overy, we decided to stay close to the van.  

Thornham and then Holme                     a.m.

• It wasn't long before we got our target species - twite.  There was a roaming flock of about 20 at Thornham.  They eventually went to ground enabling us to get good scope views.  What an attractive little bird this is when seen close up - well worth the effort needed to go out and find them.  Thankfully the adverse weather hadn't reached us yet and the lighting was remarkably good.
• We saw our only kingfisher, on the stream by the car park, just after we arrived.
• Bar-tailed and black-tailed godwits were also seen - side by side enabling us to appreciate the ID differences

We then drove round to Holme to visit the observatory and do some seawatching.

• Waxwing numbers were well down,with only 3-4 seen today on the approach to the car park.
• We managed 30-40 minutes seawatching from the dunes before the bad weather closed in on us.  Lots of common scoter and gannets were seen as well as a couple of "bonxies" and a red-throated diver.  Alas no little auks were seen - even though they had been spotted earlier by other birders.  Surprisingly there was an arctic tern still around.

Titchwell            p.m.

With the poor weather well and truly with us we headed off to the safe confines of Titchell for some hot food and then the luxury of the Parrinder Hide.

• At least 6 ruff were showing well but the star bird for me was the water rail which showed well as it appeared from the reeds into the newly cultivated area in front of the hide.   

By 3.30 p.m. we headed back to Hunstanton and after making my goodbyes to Charlie, Karen, Paul, Don, Vivien and, of course, our leader Chris, I left for home on 4 p.m. arriving just after 7.30 p.m.




I can't finish without mentioning the superb accommodation at The Bays guesthouse in Hunstanton where the breakfasts were awesome, the room immaculate and the hosts Anna and Jane so friendly.  Without question I will go back there again.




 A cracking trip with several truly memorable birding experiences.  

• The term "visible migration" springs to mind when reflecting on the winter thrush encounter at Snettisham.
• Hopefully the waxwing influx will turn into a full-scale "irruption" this winter.
• The 68 record total for shore larks was beaten next day when over 90 were seen at the same place, a remarkable event.
• As always, it's nice to see snow buntings but 6 was rather special.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK List:
Twite   (252)

05/11/2016 Shorelarks and Isabelline Wheatear

Saturday 5 November 2016
Norfolk

Our second day was, unfortunately, curtailed by the awful weather.  It was wet, windy and cold for much of the day.  Nevertheless we still managed to enjoy some super birding.

Holkham a.m.

• If you remember we drew a blank yesterday at Holme in our search for shorelarks.  Today we hit the jackpot at Holkham where we counted at least 68 of the beauties.  They were foraging in the vegetation near to the paths.  The views were outstanding.  We even had time to watch them in flight.  This is the largest total recorded in Norfolk for over 40 years - amazing.
• Only 10 waxwings today - on the A149 outside of Thornham as we drove to Holkham!

What a great way to spend a couple of hours on a dull morning!

Burnham Overy  p.m.

• After lunch we braced ourselves for the long walk out to the sand dunes, in deteriorating weather, to look for the long-staying Isabelline Wheatear.  Returning birders told us the bird was showing well but just as we arrived it flew off towards the sea.  After some smart birding involving up to 20 of us we found it again and finally got some excellent views, between the heavy downpours.  It was at some cost in terms of comfort and patience but it was well worth it.  
• We managed to finish the day at Titchwell where we watched 20+ marsh harriers come to roost.

 Another "lifer"

Addition to BUBO UK 2016 Bird List:
Isabelline wheatear   (251)

Addition to BUBO Life List:
Isabelline wheatear   (322)

04/11/2016 Winter Thrushes at Snettisham. Waxwings and Snow Buntings at Holme

Friday 4 November 2016

Joined up with leader Chris Mills and 5 other birders for a 3 day tour of north Norfolk.

Snettisham a.m.

An early start took us the short distance  from Hunstanton to Snettisham.  We were targeting winter thrush movement.

• .Boy did we meet our target.  Fieldfare and redwing were moving in their thousands along the coast.  This spectacle reminded me of the movement of hirundines on the Sussex Coast at migration time - there were birds everywhere you looked.  Bird heaven!

• We had good views of a couple of waxwings in the bushes nearby and several distant views of flocks of them on the move with the largest flock reaching 40+ birds

• On the sea, as well as the usual suspects, there were huge numbers the signature birds knot and bar-tailed godwits.

• On the pits we soon found the 2 black-necked grebes that we had targeted.  A male and female goldeneye were very welcome surprises.  Our luck was still in when we came across 2 drake goosanders.

A wonderful morning in a rich birding habitat.

Holme p.m.

Shorelark was our target bird when we moved to Holme for the afternoon session.

• The plan was interrupted by waxwings!  Just like at Titchwell yesterday we were about to arrive at our destination when we had to stop to take in another huge influx of these lovely birds. We ventured into the caravan park initially to look at 6-8 of them but soon after they were joined by loads of others and finally we counted 64 waxwings.  Incredibly this was just over half of the total present at this time.  The views were exceptional - just like yesterday.  We even had lunch on the village green with waxwings flying around us  Strangely they were not seeking out the berry laden trees, preferring to behave flycatcher like and fly just a few feet to catch flies before returning to their staring point.  Click on the link to Chris Mills' video to get some idea of our experience.

https://www.facebook.com/norfolk.birding/videos/10154628774141684/

• On the beach our search for shorelarks proved fruitless .......... ...... but it was not in vain as we came across 6 super snow buntings walking slowly east.  We followed them for a good while before they eventually flew away.

• As the light began to fade we saw several birds from Gore Point - most notably a barn owl foraging across the fields in the distance.

Another successful experience and my 250th bird of the year - target reached and nearly 2 months still to go!

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Snow Bunting   (250)

03/11/2016 36 Waxwings in a One Tree!

Thursday 3 November 2016
Titchwell, Norfolk

• I really got my year list back on track with a bang today at Titchwell.  As I turned off the A149 into the reserve, around 1.30 pm, I had to stop the car and join 10-15 birders who were blocking the road.  The interest was in the huge flock of 70+ waxwings that had just arrived.  When I got my bins out I saw 36 of the beauties in a single tree - shades of Lewes a couple of years ago.  I was so close - the views were awesome.  Unlike Lewes the birds did not hang around for long and when I returned after finally parking my car they had moved around the site.  What an unbelievable stroke of good luck

•   The rest of the afternoon was a bit of an anticlimax but it ended, as it started, with a really good sighting - this time a lovely barn owl flying over the fields to the west of the visitors centre.

• the strangest sighting of the day was of a purple sandpiper, seen from Parrinder Hide, feeding on the fresh marsh   Not a rock or boulder to be seen - far from the habitat I have always seen them in before.

purple sandpiper
courtesy of RSPB Titchwell

• Teal and black-tailed godwits dominated the fresh marsh area where the numbers were in the hundreds. There was a small number of avocets, lots of dunlin and redshank and a good showing of black-headed gulls, lesser black-backed gulls and herring gulls.

• On the sea common scoters were abundant.  Red-breasted mergansers (x6) were also present.

BUBO UK 2016 Year List:
Waxwing   (249)

Over 40 species seen in a couple of hours on a cold, dry autumnal afternoon - not a bad start to my belated trip up to Norfolk.  The waxwings have already guaranteed that it will be a memorable occasion!

31/10/2016 Great Grey Shrike at Ashdown Forest

Monday 31 October 2016
Ashdown Forest, Old Airstrip

I spent a very brief time twitching the great grey shrike at the Old Airstrip on the Ashdown Forest this afternoon.  This bird has been around for several days now so I was well overdue a visit.

• I arrived just after 2 pm and had to wait 20 minutes or so for the shrike to fly in to it's usual place by the pond.  It perched right at the top of the largest bush around so showed very prominently and it looked so well in the glorious sunshine.

• However, after just 5 minutes or so it flew off in hot pursuit of a linnet.  After tracking this altercation for a couple of minutes the birds disappeared below a line of high trees in the distance.   Last I saw, the linnet seemed to have a better than even chance of losing it's assailant.  This was the first time I had seen a shrike in this kind of activity so it was quite informative.

Short but very sweet!

28/10/2016 Oare Marshes

Friday 28 October 2016
Oare Marshes, Kent

After being out of action for several weeks I got back on the road again  and spent a cracking day on the north Kent coast.  Friends Alan and Maureen from our East Grinstead RSPB Group invited me to join them on their planned visit to Oare Marshes.  I was only too pleased to accept.  We extended this to include a visit to Capel Fleet in the afternoon.

                                  OARE MARSHES

• Surprise of the day was the reappearance of the long-billed dowitcher after "apparently" leaving a couple of days ago.  We had terrific views of it on the East Flood as we completed our circuit just after midday.  

• The star attraction was the spoonbill and it didn't disappoint as it went foraging in the middle of the water, affording us splendid views.

• 3 bearded tits provided the glamour today as they flitted around the reeds near the hide on the Swale estuary.

• Several ruff were seen along with 4 pintail ducks, 6+ snipe, a little stint and 6+ ringed plovers.

• The scene was dominated by the usual lapwings, black-tailed godwits, teal, dunlin, redshanks and starlings which all numbered in their scores.

• Also seen were several dragonflies, a couple of clouded yellow butterflies and a huge frog on the path - presumably a marsh frog.

CAPEL FLEET

Early afternoon we relocated to Capel Fleet on the Isle of Sheppey where we spent an enjoyable 90 minutes in the glorious autumn sunshine.

• The scene here was dominated by hundreds of starlings and herring gulls but we did see good numbers of marsh harrier, kestrels and buzzard.

• As we left the viewing area we saw a lone corn bunting and several red-legged partridges from the car.

Around 50 species seen today with one or two very special ones. 

25/10/2016 Weir Wood Reservoir Various Sightings

Tuesday 25 October 2016
Weir Wood Reservoir

• Whilst having lunch in the hide at Weir Wood Reservoir I couldn't help but notice 4 drake mandarin ducks and one female enjoying the bright sunlight.

• The great white egret was still there and showing well.

• Up to 11 snipe were seen.

• Everyone got excited about a possible osprey sighting on Pintail Bank but it turned out to be a very pale buzzard.

• No owls were seen today but we did enjoy seeing teal, wigeon, gadwall, a kingfisher, a green sandpiper as well as the usual suspects.

Not a bad lunch! 

18/10/2016 Weir Wood Reservoir

Tuesday 18 October 2016
Weir Wood Reservoir

During my normal Tuesday conservation work at Weir Wood I was lucky enough to see a great white egret, 2 barn owls, 2 kingfishers and a flock of 20+ lapwings as well as the usual suspects.

Alastair texted me to say there was a great grey shrike at the Old Airstrip - if I can find time it would be nice to follow this up as well.

13/10/2016 Legoland

Thursday 13 October 2016
Legoland near Windsor

Out for the day at Legoland with my Aussie grandson Elliot (10), his older English cousin Laura and my son Garry.  

• Garry, struggling with one of the rides and looking to the skies for help, notices a couple of large birds but doesn't know what they are.  They turn out to be Red Kites. A little while later I see another flying overhead.

Needless to say, neither Elliot or his cousin Laura were impressed and both carried on regardless.

I live in hope still!

10/10/2016 Long-billed Dowitcher at Oare Marshes

Monday 10 October 2016
Oare Marshes, Kent

This afternoon I got my first chance for weeks to go birding.  So off I went to Oare Marshes to twitch the long-billed dowitcher.

• Thankfully, as I arrived, the bird had just relocated from among a huge group of godwits to a much nearer and exposed position on the extreme right of the largest island which was eminently visible from the road.  So for a good 20 minutes or more I  enjoyed splendid views of this rare American wader.

• It then flew 30 metres to the left to join a second large group - this time predominantly lapwings.  Although it was nearer, the views were not so good because of the poor lighting.  Nevertheless it continued to show until I left just before  a second bout of heavy showers started. 

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Long-billed dowitcher   (248)

2 to go! 

23/09/2016 Ashdown Forest

Friday  23 September 2016   
Ashdown Forest

An early 08.00 start saw 5 of us go off in search of the dartford warbler.  I had done a recce earlier in the week and so was quite optimistic about finding at least one today.

• After a while, particularly when the sun came out, we spotted one as it took flight and flew away from us.  A brief but quality view of this rare bird.

• stonechats were much in evidence and we must have seen at least 6.

• A couple of whinchats were very welcome sights.

• Shaun and Julie spotted the only male redstart to be seen.

• At least 25 "pre-school" linnets accompanied us throughout our walk.

• Surprisingly there were well over 100 hirundines around, the majority of which were house martins with some swallows interspersed.

A lovely couple of hours to start the day well.

18/09/2016 Dungeness

Sunday 18 September 2016
Dungeness
Paul and Group

Six of us made the journey down to Dungeness in conditions that were very good for us (but not for rare birds) with temperatures around 17C and no wind.

• A merlin flew past us by the old lighthouse.  Then we saw a couple of arctic skuas doing battle with the terns out at sea
• We then moved inland onto the reserve, calling in at the ARC pit first where there was very little of note to be seen initially, apart from a cattle egret, 4 ringed plovers, 6 dunlin and then a little stint.  There was then a steady build up of birds, coinciding with the rising tide, and by midday there were several interesting arrivals including 3 curlew sandpipers, a couple of pintails, 4 grey plovers, 6 avocets, a black-necked grebe, a marsh harrier, over 20 golden plover, over 20 knot and over 20 bar-tailed godwits. 

• I left the others on the reserve at lunchtime as the lack of sleep, after a long return journey home from North Wales yesterday, was catching up with me, but not before I saw the great white egret on the banks of Burrowes Pit, presumably the same one I had seen flying earlier.

• A good morning's viewing with over 50 species seen, including some stunners.  

• The group went round the reserve and on to Scotney Gravel Pits in the afternoon where they boosted the species count to 68 including little owl, spoonbill, wheatear, corn bunting, yellow wagtail and tree sparrow.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Cattle Egret    247

13/09/2016 In North Wales Pectoral Sandpiper and Wryneck

Tuesday 13 September 2016
North Wales 

Whilst on holiday in North Wales I arranged to join up with local birders Alan  and Ruth and Maya

• First port of call was to RSPB Conwyn to see the pectoral sandpiper that had been reported there earlier.  It took a little time and several moves between the first two hides to find the bird but, once found, the views were top notch. 

• Next we were off to Cemlyn Bay on Anglesey to look for a wryneck that had  been first seen yesterday on the island.  This bird was much more obliging than last weeks bird at Shooters Bottom.  It showed well from just after we arrived and continued to move around in the open for some time; this despite the deteriorating weather.

• After a delightful lunch in the cafe at Holyhead Harbour we spotted one of the resident black guillemots at the entrance to the harbour.  

• At Malltraeth Marsh we saw an enormous number of common snipe - I counted at least 20 - and at least 2 ruff

• Our final port of call was the Great Orme where we were fortunate to see 3 migrating black redstarts at the site of the old copper mines and a few lingering razorbills and a common guillemot on the sea.
• Other birds seen included several wheatears, small numbers of black-tail godwits and a couple of bar-tailed godwits, a small flock of golden plovers and a lovely Mediterranean gull.

Addition to BUBO 2016 UK Bird List:
Black Guillemot   (246)




A really productive day with over 80 birds seen, despite the very wet and misty conditions   By way of contrast back home in Sussex they were experiencing an "Indian Summer" with soaring temperatures.

08/09/2016 Press Ridge Warren

Thursday 8 September 2016
Patch Report

I had time to spend a couple of hours on my patch at Churlwood this afternoon.  The raptor viewing point at Press Ridge Warren provided me with some interesting sightings.  Weather conditions were very good; it was dry and sunny with a light breeze.

• A hobby flew high above us (I met Bob J as I was leaving) and we enjoyed good views.
• The lone whinchat, seen in the tree to the left of the downhill path, was perhaps my bird of the day.
• 25+ linnets zoomed in and out of the area all afternoon.
• A couple of stonechats spent all afternoon on and around the fence either side of the downhill path.
• 3 ravens passed overhead, "cronking" loudly.
• At least 3 buzzards were seen from my lofty viewing point.
• A handful of swallows and house martins displayed throughout.

A very rewarding visit.

07/09/2016 Falconry Experience.

Wednesday 7 September 2016

Sue and I have just spent a very pleasant 4 hours at the Countryside Falconry at the Old Barn in Cudham, Kent with Randal Carey the Head Falconer as our host.  

• Within minutes we were hands on with the birds.

harris's hawk

• Next stop was to take the harris's hawks into the fields to see them flying around and returning to pick up food from our gloved hands.

harris's hawk landing on Sue's glove

Then it was back to the centre where we repeated the process - this time with the owls.

barn owl

• Finally we got to handle as many of the owls as we could in the remaining time.  Look at the pics below for a taster of our experience.

tawny owl

eagle owl

scop's owl

who are you looking at?

A couple of falconry terms that have fed into normal English language usage. 

• "under the thumb"

• "twisted around my little finger" 

Two for the price of one! A falcon has a leash (called a “jess”) to stop it from flying away. When the bird is on the falconer’s arm, he’ll put part of the jess “under his thumb” or “wrap it around his little finger” to keep control of the bird.

This was a 70th birthday present from Adam and Jean and it has taken us nearly 10 months to get round to organising it, but ..........  .....................................................................................................  

                                           what a treat!