04/11/2017 Dusky Warbler at Sandwich Bay

Saturday 4 November 2017
Sandwich Bay


On a miserable, wet day I journeyed to Sandwich Bay to see the Dusky Warbler.  

• When I arrived there were 8 other birders, including Lee Evans, on a mound overlooking a clump of trees.  The warbler had been seen on and off all morning, following a familiar loop around the bushes just ahead of us.  After a while, it appeared but quickly flew to an adjacent bush, then into an area of scrub, then into a huge gorse bush.  Lee moved around the bush trying to lure the bird out using sound mimicking techniques.  It then flew some 20-30 metres, allowing us good views, before disappearing.

Well done Lee Evans!

02/11/2017 Lesser Scaup at Blashford Lakes

Thursday 2nd November 2017
Blashford Lakes, Hampshire

Another fine day so I carried on twitching - this time down into Hampshire to Blashford Lakes. 

• The Lesser Scaup was in the NE corner of Spinnaker Lake as per Bird Guides and was showing well.

courtesy of Mark Leitch, Hampshire Birding Group

Well worth the effort!
Making up for lost time!

01/11/2017 Rock Thrush Twitch

Wednesday 1st November 2017
Blorenge, Gwent, South Wales

This was my first opportunity to go birding since the Yorkshire trip, so I decided to treat myself.  The Rock Thrush seemed to be lingering in Wales ready for my visit so how could I resist.  On a bright sunny day I left home mid morning and arrived in Wales just after 2 pm.  

Thankfully there had been several sightings earlier in the day so confidence was high.  The site was Gilwern Hill, some 1300ft up in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National park near Blaenavon in Gwent.  As I made my way to the quarry I met a couple who had just seen the bird and they advised me to stay on top of the quarry where the bird was showing from 50 metres or so.  

• They were right - although the bird was not showing as I arrived.  Within minutes it appeared on the rocks ahead of me and I was able to get superb scope views.  It had a really mottled appearance with white fringed uppermost feathers and a rich orange, yet mottled, underparts.

Rock Thrush
courtesy of  South Wales Argus

The Rock Thrush was a first for Gwent and only the third in Wales - the last one being in the 1980's.  

• The common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis), formerly rufous-tailed rock thrush or rock thrush, is a chat belonging to the family Muscicapidae. It was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. The scientific name is from Latin. Monticola is from mons, montis "mountain", and colere, "to dwell", and saxatilis means "rock-frequenting", from saxum, "stone".

• It breeds in southern Europe across central Asia to northern China. This species is strongly migratory, all populations wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. It is an uncommon visitor to northern Europe. Its range has contracted somewhat at the periphery in recent decades due to habitat destruction.

Back on track with a "lifer"

12/10/17 to 16/10/17 North Yorkshire Tour with the East Grinstead RSPB Local Group

Thursday 12th October to Monday 16th October 2017
North Yorkshire, near Scarborough

The run of bad luck with the weather conditions continued - this time in Yorkshire!   With mainly westerly winds, there was very little chance of picking up new migrants as they moved south.  Nevertheless, our guide, this time Chris Bradshaw, dug deep and laid on a first-class birding trip with a species count of over 120.


Our group of 6 assembled at 8 am at East Grinstead railway station before heading for Kings Cross station to catch the train to York. A quick change saw us join the train to Seamer where we were picked up by Chris just after 1.30pm.  Within minutes we were off birding!

• First port of call was Filey.  We had no luck with passerines as we made our way from the car park to the beach - probably due to the windy conditions.  Our seawatching was much more productive with a Velvet Scoter the pick of the sightings.  It was showing well in the distance along with a Red-breasted Merganser and 4 Common Scoter.  A Red-throated Diver also put in an appearance.

We eventually arrived at our B&B in Hunmanby around 5.30 pm. The Southgate - a 7 roomed facility is ideal for bird groups like ours with comfortable rooms, great breakfasts and situated next door to a lovely delicatessen.  It was pleasing to find out that Sue and Mick, our hosts, had continued to prosper since our last visit in 2016 and were reaping the rewards for providing a first class service.

• Day 2 saw us head for Spurn where we were hopeful of seeing some of the lingering rarities.  The Rose-coloured Starling showed well - eventually, on the housing estate at Easington.  The Red-backed Shrike, however, had left overnight but we did spot our first Yellow-browed Warbler there and Chris managed a new "Yorkshire tick" when a couple of Ring-necked Parakeets flew overhead.  On to Kilnsea where we twitched the Artic Warbler - my second one this year, in the bushes at the car park of the Crown and Anchor pub.  The Kilnsea Wetlands provided us with a glut of waders in the afternoon as well as a first sighting of 2 newly arrived Whooper Swans.

• Flamborough Head was the venue for our early start on Saturday.  I have never seen so many Tree Sparrows in one place - stunning. We were really seeking much better views of Yellow-browed Warbler than the ones we had at Easington and Kilnsea.  We found the ideal place in the Old Fall Plantation area where we were able to have grandstand seats over the sheltered glade below.  The Yellow-browed Warbler put on regular shows and we were all able to pick out the main ID features and listen to its distinctive call.

• Patrick was keen to see Goshawks so Chris took us off to the Wykeham Forest raptor viewing point where we saw at least 3.  The views were quite stunning in the afternoon light.

• Sunday was quite misty at the start.  After looking at a small group of Mediterranean Gulls on the beach on the outskirts of Scarborough we went to Long Nab in search of Lapland Buntings.  This is where Chris normally does his seawatching and his bird ringing. After a thorough search, where we all spread out across the stubble field, Chris heard, then saw, one flying.  We followed the bird getting a reasonable views and even we managed to flush a Jack Snipe as a bonus.  Not being content with this, Chris repeated the process on the return leg, this time with more success and better views of our target bird.  The stubble was just too long however to allow us to get the ground views we wanted.

• Shaun was desperate to see Willow Tits but try as he may, over the space of Saturday, Sunday and Monday Chris was unable to find one at any of his usual sites.

• Monday provided us with our final birding opportunity before leaving for home on the 01.55 pm train.  After looking for Willow Tits we headed off to the North Yorkshire Moors, and Langdale Forest in particular, where we saw Crossbills.  To the delight of everyone present and Jonathon in particular,  we saw a Merlin flying by, completing some unfinished business from our last visit in 2016.

• Lesley, who was staying with Chris and his wife, was the only member of the group to see Barn Owls.  She (and Chris) had sightings on 3 occasions, on the way home after dropping us off at our B&B.  Chris made several detours each evening to look for them but each time we drew a blank.

• A great trip with lots of birds but no new migrants, unfortunately, due to the westerly winds.  
• Chris was excellent, working so hard on our behalf with little or no help from the weather.  
• We dined in 4 different restaurants in the evenings so the food side was superb.  
• A bespoke lunch was provided each morning from the delicatessen next door. 
• Our hosts at the Southgate, Mick and Sue, did everything to make our stay there as comfortable as possible. 

Well done Lesley!

07/10/17 to 08/10/2017 In Norfolk with Marcus Nash

Saturday 7th October and Sunday 8th October 2017
Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk

Just back from a cracking tour of the north Norfolk coast with Marcus Nash.  The prevailing winds and weather conditions meant that our chances of seeing much migration in action were slim.  Nevertheless, we did have a memorable birding experience and saw as much as was possible, including a Yellow-browed Warbler -  a year tick for me and everyone else.

The main highlights are shown below:

• A Red-necked Phalarope at Kelling Water Meadow was our first "big" sighting.  We got our initial views from the Meadow Lane track before moving slightly east, at the far end of the pond, to view from 15-25 metres.

Red-necked Phalarope
courtesy of Marcus Nash

• The Grey Phalarope, at Cley, was not quite so cooperative. We first looked for it on the East Bank just south of Arnold's Marsh but it flew into the reserve just as we arrived.  We followed but, just as we were looking for it at the nearest hide, word came through that it had returned to its original place.  Back on the East Track we finally enjoyed our views.

Grey Phalarope
courtesy of Marcus Nash

• A Cattle Egret on Stiffkey Fen was very nice to see.

  

  Cattle Egret
  courtesy of Marcus Nash

• At Kelling, we also had fabulous views of a male Common Crossbill perched at the top of a tall tree near the houses by the A149.

Common Crossbill
courtesy of Marcus Nash

• A Red Kite was an unexpected bonus...

Red Kite
courtesy of Marcus Nash

• ..... as was a Little Owl

Little Owl
courtesy of Marcus Nash

........ and a Bittern.

Bittern
courtesy of Marcus Nash

• Also seen briefly was a female Ring Ouzel as it flew past us.
• On the wader front there were rich pickings.  I have never seen so many Little Stints, Ruff or Spotted Redshanks before.  Also present were several Curlew Sandpipers.
• On Sunday, with very little wind, the Bearded Tits came out to play at Titchwell with 50+ seen at one stage.  We managed to see small groups of 6-12 at a time with some fabulous close-up views.

  

  Bearded Tits
  courtesy of Marcus Nash

• It was good to be in Norfolk as the Pink-footed Geese were arriving for the winter.  We saw thousands of them!

Pink-footed Geese
courtesy of Marcus Nash

• We also saw our first Redwings of the autumn - perhaps 25+.  A single Fieldfare was seen.
• Our biggest challenge was finding the Yellow-browed Warbler.  We spent a couple of hours looking at Titchwell and then at Holkham Woods before finding one with the tit flocks at the latter venue.  Getting a half decent photograph proved impossible -  even for Marcus!

A memorable trip with 105+ species seen!

03/10/2017 Another "Lifer" Wilson's Phalarope at Oare Marshes

Tuesday 3rd October 2017
Oare Marshes, Kent

• Some smart time management allowed Shaun and I to twitch the rare Wilson's Phalarope at Oare Marshes this afternoon.  Also seen were 10 Little Stints and 4 Bearded Tits.  We had no luck with the Lapland Bunting at Herne Bay afterwards.

• After a morning at Weir Wood Reservoir burning the final branches of the recent tree felling project Shaun and I had a quick lunch then headed to Oare Marshes on the north Kent coast where we found the target bird as soon as we arrived.  It was showing in the distance on the East Flood but quickly came closer, allowing us to get superb views.  Initially spending time on the mud it then moved into the shallow waters and began its characteristic spinning action.  This was a lifer for most observers, myself included.

courtesy of Nicole Khan and Facebook

• We moved on to Bishopstone Glen, just east of Herne Bay but dipped on the Lapland Bunting that had been seen earlier.

Seeing my first Wilson's Phalarope made this trip worthwhile!

02/10/2017 Red-breasted Flycatcher at Holland Haven Country Park in Essex

Monday 2nd October 2017
Holland Haven Country Park, Essex


My first chance to go twitching for 11 days.  I headed up into Essex to see the Red-breasted Flycatcher at Holland Haven Country Park on the outskirts of Clacton-on-Sea.  

• Thankfully, the bird was present as I arrived around 4 p.m. and shortly afterwards I got a couple of really good views in my bins.

Courtesy of David Ellis

Well worth the effort!

Nice to see 2 teenage birders - both very keen and able!