28/01/2020 Out and about locally

Monday 27/01/2020
Newhaven

• I saw my first fulmars of the year, by the cliffs on the west side.

Tuesday 28/01/2020

• After several attempts, I finally got to see the mandarins on Weir Wood Reservoir. 
• In the afternoon I ventured down to Shoreham Harbour to catch up with 2 purple sandpipers.  It was just an hour after high tide and they were showing quite well on the wooden structure at the end of the pier - despite the awful weather that came in suddenly!

25/01/20 Firecrests at Arundel

Saturday 20 January 2020
Birding with Mark and Elizabeth Y

Alan P and myself were invited out for the day by Elizabeth and Mark Y.  Unfortunately, Alan was ill so did not travel. 

We spent the morning at Arundel WWT and Swanbourne Lake before moving on to Burpham and The Burgh. 

It was a mild cloudy day with little or no wind.

 

Arundel WWT and Swanbourne Lake

The last few days have provided a bonanza for photographers at Arundel WWT with firecrests showing well at close quarters.  That is how it was for us with at least 3 and probably 5 appearing regularly throughout our stay.

courtesy of wildlife_uk and twitter



• Nearly all our time was taken up with the firecrests but we did get round the reserve to see most of the usual suspects and the captive wildfowl from around the world.
• We looked for mandarins on Swanbourne Lake but had no luck.  There were far too many visitors for them methinks!

Burpham and The Burgh

• We had lunch at Burpham before viewing the 3 bewick swans in the valley below.
• On the Burgh, try as we may, we were unable to find any short-eared owls or hen harriers.
• We did however see red kite, kestrels, a merlin, a marsh harrier, several ravens, buzzards and a barn owl.
• Mark had a cracking view of a grey partridge in his scope and this was probably the stand out view of the afternoon.

An excellent day out!

 

 



24/01/2020 Scaup - finally!

Friday 24 January 2020
Combe Haven, Hastings, East Sussex

Scaup is one of those species that tend to get under my radar so I hadn't seen one for a year or two.  Thankfully a drake and 3 females had been seen in the nearby Hastings area and it was a no brainer for me to go down and have a good look.

• I tried yesterday afternoon but failed miserably - I couldn't even find the pools where the birds were!  Coombe Haven Country Park was a new venue for me and I took it for granted that all I had to do was turn up and walk to the pools.  Not so - this is quite a difficult site to get round and by the time I got on the correct path it was getting late so I abandoned ship and went home, disgusted with myself for being so casual.
• Thanks to an excellent reference on Facebook from Jake Gearty I was able to plan my route for today. I was there bright and early but the birds weren't!  Try as I may I could not find the scaup nor any tufted ducks that they would normally associate with.  There were lots of lovely pintails, coots, wigeon, teal etc but no scaup. 

• Around mid-day I checked on RBA and they had moved to a pool north of the A2690.  On Twitter I learnt that it had been posted by Matt Eade so I texted him for the grid reference.

• 20 minutes later and I was finally watching the beauties, exactly where Matt had said.  They were idling away in the middle of the water completely oblivious to all that was going on around them.

courtesy of Matt Eade and Twitter



My toughest twitch so far this year but well worth the effort!

20/01/2020 Hawfinch but no Goshawk

Monday 20 January 2020


Shaun, Bob J, Martin and myself went in search of goshawks in the Crawley area this afternoon. 

• We had 1 probable sighting but it all happened so quickly we were unable to confirm it.
• We did however find a hawfinch in the canopy of some high trees 200 metres away.
• Winter thrushes were much in evidence with scores of fieldfare and redwing.

A lovely afternoon birding session in glorious winter weather with clear skies, sunshine and no wind.

17/01/2020 Long-eared Owl at Elmley NNR, Kent

Friday 17 January 2020
Kent

Martin, Alan, Shaun and myself spent the afternoon at Elmley NNR on the Isle of Sheppey looking for owls.  The overnight rain had passed through and by the time we arrived it was dry and sunny but very windy.

• Thankfully the long-eared owl was showing in the usual place and Martin was the first one to find it.  Occasionally the long "ears" showed.

courtesy of Martin Jeffree



• We had no luck with short-eared owls both here and at the nearby site of Funton Creek.

• There were at least 2 ravens around to add to the one Shaun and I saw on the Ashdown Forest yesterday while looking for goshawks.

• Earlier in the week I heard, then saw, my first greenfinch of 2020 while I was walking the dogs.  At Weir Wood on Tuesday I also added nuthatch.

11/01/2020 Marcus Nash Norfolk Trip Day 3/3

Sunday 12 January 2010

The heavy rain cleared overnight and it was dry again all day. After a cloudy start, the sun started to break through  and we enjoyed a lovely bright afternoon, even if it was rather breezy again.

 

Part of the plan for this weekend was to look for some owls. Having seen short-eared owls and barn owls on Friday, we headed out to add to our owl list.  Things worked out perfectly!

• At a site near the village of Blakeney we saw a truly magnificent tawny owl, enjoying the daytime roost in a hole in one of the trees along the edge of the wood.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• Not far away, near the old RAF Langham airfield, we completed our owl tally for the trip when a little owl was seen in a spot  tucked under the lip of a roof.  It was sheltering from the wind, looking out towards the morning sun.



 courtesy of Marcus Nash

 

At Holkham the target species were shore lark and snow bunting and though we found both species in the end, the chase was quite energy sapping, especially in the gale force winds that we encountered there. 

• Several birders were looking for the larks but no one had seen any.  Initially, we were unsuccessful but just when we were about to give up and head off to the visitor centre for lunch our luck changed when we joined a young man and woman who were looking at a small flock of 6-8 that had just flown in to the cordoned off area we had searched previously.  They didn't stay long before they were flew off again but we were able to get a good view of them beforehand.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



•   The snow buntings were somewhat more straightforward.  After a fruitless search at the start, a large flock of about 90 flew in as we were sea-watching.  After that, we had regular sightings as they moved around the cordon or took flight from it.



,

courtesy of Marcus Nash

• A short sea watch, in quite unpleasant conditions with lots of sand blowing around in the strong wind, provided us with impressive sightings of common scoter, gannet, red-throated diver, sanderling, long-tailed duck and red-breasted merganser.

 

•  The other target species was a black-necked grebe that had been recorded regularly on the lake at Holkham Park. We duly found it after a long walk from the car park.  By now the weather was at its best and the lighting conditions were ideal.  Needless to say the views were terrific

courtesy of Marcus Nash



.

•  The final highlights were played out at Stiffkey where the stunning evening conditions made it ideal for watching the harrier roost.  We had at least one male hen harrier, a couple of ringtails, several barn owls and at least one merlin. 

 

• My year list was boosted by the following species seen at various points during the day:

                           skylark,  goldcrest, jay, long-tailed tit and mistle thrush.

What a trip, truly memorable, with a guide who, as always, was at the top of his game and delivered a first class itinerary.





11/01/2020 Marcus Nash Norfolk Trip Day 2/3

Saturday 11 January 2020
Norfolk Broads

Today we were off to the Norfolk Broads in search of cranes, swans and geese.  The weather conditions were still good; it was dry and overcast but the winds had picked up quite a bit.

• First port of call was in the area around Ludham Airfield where we came across a mixed flock of just over 50 bewick and whooper swans with twice as many of the former. 

courtesy of Marcus Nash

• At Acle we were treated to a grand show of at least 16 cranes in the field, including some great flight views.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• A quick visit to Halvergate produced superb views of a cattle egret in amongst the cows. 

  
  

  courtesy of Marcus Nash

                         A lesser black-backed gull was also nearby.
• At Buckenham Marshes we had some success with barnacle geese, ruff and white-fronted geese but sadly there were no bean geese there, probably due to the presence of workers on the nearby railway track.
• The Ranworth ferruginous duck was very accommodating today, swimming around off the staithe at Malthouse Broad around the boats.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• Our final port of call was, of course, Stubb Mill where the highlights included a male hen harrier, more cranes and a great white egret.

Another excellent birding experience!

10/01/2020 Marcus Nash Norfolk Trip Day 1/3

 

Friday 10 January 2020
Norfolk

Tom and I joined up with Marcus and 6 other birders for the first Norfolk tour of the year, focusing on owls and cranes.  Once again we were based in Wells-next-the Sea.

The heavy overnight rain had stopped, the skies gradually cleared and we had exceptional weather for most of the day.  The emphasis today was on owls and with this in mind we headed west to The Wash.

• First stop, however, was at Sedgeford, near Ringstead, to twitch the blue-headed eastern yellow wagtail.  When we arrived there was quite an assembly of birders, including Lee Evans, but none had seen the bird.  After 30 unproductive minutes, we were about to move on when someone sighted the bird.  We retraced our steps to find the wagtail just 20 metres away in the field, totally oblivious to the crowd.  The views were superb and the all important calls were heard loud and clear, clinching the ID for any "doubting Thomas."

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• Comparatively recently a taxonomic decision involving the controversies and complexities of the many sub species of Yellow Wagtail has resulted in the Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava being split into two distinct species, namely Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis and Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava, a sub species of which M. flava. flavissima is the one we mostly see here in Britain.
• Eastern Yellow Wagtails breed in temperate Asia but there is said to be a considerable overlap where the two species range meets.To date there are only five accepted records of Eastern Yellow Wagtail in Britain and one in Ireland although this will surely alter as more birders take notice and become more au fait with the diagnostic characters of an Eastern Yellow Wagtail, chief of which is the different call - a raspy buzzing note rather than the pure upwards inflected call of a Western Yellow Wagtail.

 What a cracking start to our day - a "lifer", my second this year already!

That was not the highlight of the day for me however.  That award, fittingly, went to the short-eared owls. 

• We saw a couple in the morning at Snettisham, roosting in the bushes below the sea hide. 

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• Then we saw a third at Wells-next-the-Sea at the end of the day.  Initially feeding on the ground but soon hunting over the fields it gave us spectacular views.  Best of all was seeing it dive bomb a buzzard that had nabbed its ground position.  The buzzard soon took flight and was summarily chased off by the owl.
• Barn owls were also seen regularly during our stay in Wells, leaving only little owl to find later on in the trip (there being no reports of any seeable long-eared owls in Norfolk).

• A rough-legged buzzard was another major highlight, again at Wells-next-the-Sea and only a few metres from the owl event described above.

courtesy of Marcus Nash



 It spent most of the time perched on the roof of a wooden structure but we did see it fly to the roost area.

• At Snettisham we were surprised to see a Little Stint on the sands directly ahead of us and some 50 metres away.

 

courtesy of Marcus Nash



• equally surprising was a roosting woodcock seen by the visitor centre at Titchwell as we headed back east in the early afternoon



  

courtesy of Marcus Nash

• We saw twite at Thornham Harbour but sadly the numbers are well down on last year. There were only 8 to be seen and Marcus told us there has only been 14 recorded this year, less than half of last years total and a fraction of the maximum numbers recorded in the last 15 years or so.  

  

  courtesy of Marcus Nash

• other birds sighted for the first time in 2020 included bar-tailed godwit, red-legged and grey partridge, spotted redshank, turnstone, yellowhammer, fieldfare, brent goose, rock pipit, knot, dunlin, bullfinch, common gull, water rail, curlew, linnet, pink-footed geese and sparrowhawk.

The twilight session at Wells was very dramatic with the owls and the rough - legged buzzard against a stunning background of a wolf moon - the first full moon of the year.

courtesy of Marcus Nash

 

 

We got off to a cracking start! 





09/01/20 Welney WWT

Thursday 9 January 2020
Welney WWT

On the way up to our first Norfolk tour of 2020 Tom H-J and I called in at Welney WWT centre.

• We just missed out on tree sparrows on the feeders in the visitor centre - there were no birds at all, presumably they were scared off by a raptor.
• On the nearest island there was a snipe, my first of the year.
• A kestrel flew overhead, the first of several seen today.
• When play resumed at the feeders the only new bird seen was a female reed bunting.

We signed up for a hare walk, starting at 2 pm.  This was most enjoyable with at least 8 hares seen.

We then returned to the centre to take in the swan feeding session.

• On the way to the hide there was a superb barn owl following a path parallel  the stream flowing east away from the centre.
• There were 50+ whooper swans at the feeding session but no bewicks.



A very gentle afternoon session to get us warmed up for the 3 day event to follow with Marcus.

07/01/2020 Pett Level and Weir Wood Reservoir

Monday 6 January

Pett Level, East Sussex

Reports of a glossy ibis at Pannel Valley saw me travel down to Pett Level yesterday afternoon. 

• The long walk to the nature reserve proved unproductive - there was no sign of the ibis.
• I did add grey heron and buzzard to my year list.

Tuesday 7 January 2020

Weir Wood Reservoir

• I had a funeral to go to this afternoon so my volunteer work at Weir Wood lasted less than 1 hour today but I did manage to see my first kingfisher, marsh tit, great spotted woodpecker and Canada goose of 2020.

I will dedicate these 4 birds to you Val .  RIP

05/01/20 Rye Harbour for the Black-necked Grebe

Sunday 5 January 2020
Rye Harbour

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours at Rye Harbour NNR this afternoon where I targeted the black-necked grebe that has been around for weeks.

• I made the trek to the west end of Long Pit and did not have to wait long to get excellent views of the grebe as it moved around, diving frequently.  With excellent lighting it showed well in the distance - well over 100 metres away.

• Smew is a particular favourite of mine so I could not resist another look from Denny's hide - my third in less than a month!  The bird was showing well at the far end of the water.  After a good look, I moved round to the main path by the new Visitor Centre to get a closer view but the bird had disappeared by the time I got there!

At Dungeness I had no luck with the drake smew at Tanners Pool or with bittern, hen harrier or short-eared owl from Denge Marsh hide at the end of the day.

Another enjoyable afternoon birding in the area.

04/01/20 Only 2 species added today

Saturday 4 January 2020
Dog Walking in Uckfield

With the Albion kicking off at 15.01 I had no chance of an afternoon birding session.

• Whilst walking the dogs in the morning, I added chaffinch and coal tit to my 2020 list taking me comfortably past 50.

03/01/20 Redhead Smew and Long-tailed Duck

Friday 3 January 2020

Another enjoyable afternoon slot twitching in East Sussex and Kent!

• First stop was Rye Harbour where I met up with the same redhead smew that I saw with the East Grinstead RSPB Group a few weeks ago.  This time it was somewhat further out.

• With no time to waste, I moved on to Scotney Gravel Pits where I saw 2 of the 3 long-tailed ducks at the Sussex (west) end directly opposite me on the far side of the water. 



credit mikelink and twitter

 



• Next stop was Tanners Pool at Dungeness RSPB reserve where I had my first setback of the day when the drake smew did not show.  By way of compensation I saw my first great white egret and my first marsh harrier of 2020.

• On ARC from the Screen Hide and then from the Hanson Hide I could see no sign of any bitterns even though it was roost time.  Again by way of compensation I did pick up on my first goldeneye sightings of the year including a superb drake. 

A really good afternoon's birding - if somewhat rushed!  Not a huge 2020 bird list but one that oozes quality already.

02/01/2020 Whipsnade Zoo for the Black-throated Thrush

Thursday 2 January 2020
Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire

After walking the dogs this morning I had a chance to do some birding so I decided to twitch the black-throated thrush that has been at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire since 11 December 2019.

• When I arrived at lunchtime I was amazed to find only 3 other birders there.  With a new year list just starting this rare bird should have attracted back all those who saw it in the past 3 weeks for a second look.

• The bird was only 5-10 metres away in a tree laden with berries.  It kept popping out on to the outside to feed before disappearing into the central area again.

Credit: Anthony McGill

• breeds in Siberian taiga, westward to the western slopes of the Urals
• occasionally strays to western Europe, especially in late autumn and winter

• There was also a redwing in the same tree.
• On my way home I saw my first red kite of 2020, on the M40/M25 intersection.

Another quiet day but the thrush was a lifer for me and the other 2 birds weren't bad either!

01/01/2020 A quiet start to the new birding year

Wednesday 1 January 2020
Uckfield

With a lunchtime KO for the Brighton v Chelsea fixture, the only chance to get some birding in was when I walked the dogs in the morning before I left for the game.

It was lovely to hear birdsong on such a drab, overcast day.  The song thrushes dominated the scene, dunnocks were also in fine voice and the green woodpecker "yaffled" loudly.


As I walked the dogs in the evening, I heard the sound of a distant tawny owl, which was rather nice.

Here's my day 1 list:
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Great Tit
Green Woodpecker
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Magpie
Mallard
Pied Wagtail
Robin
Song Thrush
Starling
Tawny Owl
Woodpigeon
Wren

A nice quiet start!