Thursday 15 November 2012

A day’s birding at Rutland Water, Rutland - November 14, 2012


I was out with Roger today and we went straight to Normanton where there had been a Great Northern Diver found late yesterday.  We began walking towards the church and I saw what I thought was the diver just off shore but it dived.  After a short wait it surfaced and we were able to identify it as a first-winter.  We watched it for some time and I managed to get a few photos in very poor light before it went to other side of the church and we decided to leave.  There was also a Kingfisher, which flew low over the water and beyond the church.


First-winter Great Northern Diver off Normanton

We drove to the Old Hall where there had been a Long-tailed Duck yesterday but after a good hours search we were unable to find it.  We did find the female Red-breasted Merganser and female Common Scoter but the only other birds of note were three Little Egrets.

A Long-tailed Duck had been faithful to the north arm last winter so we thought we would have a look for it there.  Again there was no sign but we did see the Black-necked Grebe and seven Barnacle Geese.  There was also eight Little Egrets feeding around the edges of the water and a first-winter Little Gull was observed briefly.


Teal and Tufted Duck over the north arm


First-winter Great Black-backed Gull over the north arm


First-winter Great Black-backed Gull over the north arm

After lunch we walked to shoveler hide on lagoon three where there was a Ruff, three Green Sandpipers and fourteen Redshanks and also two male and two female Red-crested Pochard.  There was also another three Little Egrets but little else of note.


Green Sandpiper on lagoon three


Green Sandpiper on lagoon three


A brief visit to lapwing hide but there was very little and no sign of the Long-tailed Duck.  Three Curlew were observed flying to the south and were probably in the area of the wet meadow.


Great Crested Grebe from lapwing hide


Robin from footpath to lapwing hide

Tim Appleton, the Reserve Manager, wanted to see me about the location of a hide I had agreed to sponsor.  Roger and I took a look at where he thought would be a good position, which overlooked the reed-bed on lagoon three.  It would be raised higher to give a good views of the reed-bed and some of lagoon three and would also have wheelchair access.  The project will start in the new year and hopefully be finished prior to the breeding season.

Our final port of call was lagoon four for the pre-roost gulls.  When we got in the hide the gulls were not in their normal position, which may have been due to a small hide erected on the west bank in an attempt for John Wright to read some ring numbers.

Whilst the gulls were perhaps a little further away the light was better and so, still allowed a good view of them.  I soon picked up an adult Caspian Gull and an adult Glaucous Gull dropped in whilst the light was still good and a second adult Caspian was found.  The gulls were clearly more restless and many departed early for the main water and as the light began to fade we decided to call it a day.

An unusual sight during November was a female Migrant Hawker close to plover hide.

Sunday 11 November 2012

A day’s birding in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 10, 2012


I was out with Roger today and we called at Eye Brook Reservoir first.  As we approached the reservoir we stopped to look for Little Owl, which popped out of the nest hole as I put my bins on the tree.  This was my first sighting at this site since July despite looking every time I have visited Eye Brook Reservoir.

We the stopped at the inlet bridge where we had a few Fieldfare and Redwing and three Siskin and four Lesser Redpoll.  There appeared to be more birds than my last visit but despite the now reasonable area of mud we could find nothing of note amongst the Lapwings, Teal and Black-headed Gulls.  Four Tree Sparrow were worthy of note and fifteen Skylark and seven Meadow Pipit flew over.  Two Shelduck were the first I had seen at the site since June.

We eventually moved off to the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water and decided to walk to Lax Hill.  We initially made our way to snipe hide and found a few Redwing in the bushes as we approached the hide.  We continued to see several flocks of these and eventually had seen about sixty, whilst we only saw a single Fieldfare.

There was very little from snipe hide or fieldfare hide so we moved on to goldeneye hide.  I picked up a Black-necked Grebe close to the Lyndon Centre and there was a Redshank and a Little Egret close by with three more Little Egrets on the far shore.  Roger then found a female Common Scoter near the Old Hall and the female Red-breasted Merganser feeding amongst some Tufted Duck close to where the island normally appears.  We moved to robin hide on Lax Hill where we had a Marsh Tit and two Nuthatches visiting the feeders.


Goldfinch near Lax Hill


Dunnock from robin hide


Marsh Tit from robin hide


Female Chaffinch from robin hide


Nuthatch from robin hide


Male Greenfinch from robin hide

It was now 12:15 and so we decided to walk back to the Egleton car park for lunch.  We called at snipe hide on the way back with much the same result as earlier.


Female Reed Bunting close to Lax Hill

After lunch we walked in the opposite direction to shoveler hide on lagoon three.  The Ruff present on Thursday was still there as were the two Green Sandpipers but there were now fifteen Redshanks but I could only find three snipe.  We soon found the two male and two female Red-crested Pochards and four Pintail on the lagoon.

Another birder in the hide asked Roger what was on the edge of the reeds on the far side of the lagoon.  Roger quickly announced that a Bittern was a view and we had some reasonable views for about a quarter of an hour as it attempted, unsuccessfully, to catch prey on the edge of the reeds.  It eventually disappeared into the reeds but was apparently seen again later in the afternoon.  A Water Rail was also observed preening on the edge of a near reed-bed.


Egyptian Goose over lagoon three


Drake Teal on lagoon three


Drake Shoveler on lagoon three

We moved off to dunlin hide on lagoon four in the hope of seeing the Glaucous Gull which was present again last night.

We soon found two adult Caspian Gulls but nothing else was picked up amongst the pre-roost gathering.  There must have been something like a thousand Golden Plover on the lagoon and the lone Shelduck was still present.


Golden Plover and Lapwing in the early evening sunlight on lagoon four

As we walked back to the car park in failing light a Barn Owl flew across the meadows appearing to pass through the trees on to lagoon two.

We had recorded seventy-eight species today, which was not too bad considering the poor conditions early in the day.






Friday 9 November 2012

A day’s birding in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 8, 2012


I was out with Dave today and we visited Eye Brook Reservoir first today.  We had three Red Kites and a Buzzard on route and we had another Red Kite and three Buzzards at the reservoir.  There were signs that the water was beginning to drop but other than nine Snipe there was little else of note, although there was a large number of Teal at the inlet.

From Eye Brook Reservoir we went to the north arm at Rutland Water where there had been three Common Scoters and a Red-breasted Merganser yesterday.  We soon found the Black-necked Grebe and there was also thirteen Dunlin but there was no sign of either the scoter or the merganser.  Dave then thought he had seen a scoter towards the tower but after we had both looked all we could see were a few Goldeneye.  However after a few minutes he said he had some scoter in the same area and a quick scan with the scope produced six female Common Scoters.  It was surprising that we had not seen them when we scanned before but they were all diving together and stayed under quite a while.  There were also seven Barnacle Geese feeding on the north shore and three Little Egrets were scattered around the shore. 

A Sparrowhawk was observed over Burley Wood but there was no sign of any other raptors.  There was also a second-winter Caspian Gull resting on the north shore.  As we were scanning the fishponds for a Scaup Dave thought he heard a Brambling calling and after a while searching I picked up a male feeding in the trees next to the road.  Dave was having trouble finding it but I managed to get it my scope long enough for him to get on it.  We also saw six Siskin close to the Reserve Manager’s cottage.

We eventually moved off to the Bird Watching Centre and then walked to snipe hide on the wet meadow where Dave picked up a male Stonechat.  We went to fieldfare hide but other than a Little Egret and several Goldeneye there was little else of note.  We then walked back to tern hide, seeing c.150 Golden Plover flying over, but there were just two Mute Swans present on lagoon six.  As we continued round towards the 360° hide Dave picked up a Curlew flying towards the wet meadow.  There were more birds on lagoon five but the only bird of note was a Sparrowhawk that landed on one of the islands briefly before heading off towards Egleton.

After lunch we went to shoveler hide on lagoon three where the water levels had fallen further.  There was a Dunlin, a Ruff, two Green Sandpipers and thirteen Redshank feeding in the now shallow water in front and to the left of the hide.  There were two pairs of Red-crested Pochard feeding at the far end of the lagoon.  We moved off to lapwing hide.  I noticed a small party of birds way out on the water and set up my scope only to find they were flying towards the hide and that they were six female Common Scoter and almost certainly those seen earlier in the north arm.  As they approached they turned and gained height just as a C-130 Hercules flew low over the water and the last I saw of them was as they headed off west gaining height.  The Hercules caused quite a lot of disturbance and Dave announced he thought he had a Red-breasted Merganser in flight.  It landed and we were able to scope and confirm that is initial identification as a female/first-winter Red-breasted Merganser.  It then flew closer to the hide and I was able to get some photos in what was very pool light.


Female/first-winter Red-breasted Merganser

We returned to shoveler hide where there were now six Snipe and fourteen Redshanks as well as the Ruff and two Green Sandpiper but most were now much closer to the hide.  There was also a Little Egret feeding just outside the hide.


Ruff & Redshank on lagoon three


Redshank on lagoon three


Green Sandpiper on lagoon three


Green Sandpiper on lagoon three


Ruff on lagoon three

We finally went to dunlin hide on lagoon four for the gull roost.  There was a Shelduck on lagoon four and Golden Plover were flying in an eventually reached c.150 and possibly the same birds we had seen earlier.  Four Dunlin were also observed as the evening progressed.

There were plenty of gulls coming and going, mainly Black-headed Gull and Common Gull but there were also good numbers of Lesser Black-backed, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.  However there was no sign of the third-winter Glaucous Gull that had come in the previous two nights.  We only saw one adult Caspian Gull and a single adult Yellow-legged Gull.


A day’s birding at Rutland Water, Rutland - November 3, 2012


I returned to the Lyndon Reserve with Roger in the hope of further views of yesterday’s Ring-necked Duck.  As we walked towards Tufted Duck hide t was clear that there were far fewer birds than yesterday and there was no sign of the duck, although we did see a single female Scaup.  We went into Tufted Duck hide as it began raining and it was some time before it stopped and we were able to walk back to the centre.  When we got back there were clearly more birds but we still couldn’t find the Ring-necked amongst the numerous Tufted Duck.  We did find a male and female Red-crested Pochard and a Black-necked Grebe and two Kingfishers flew by as we tried to shelter out of the rain.

We eventually decided to go the Egleton Reserve and after a short while in the centre, seeing several Pintail and circa twenty Snipe, whilst it was raining we walked to snipe hide on the wet meadow.  There was little on the wet meadow and there was no sign of yesterday’s male Stonechat.  The 360°hide on lagoon five failed to produce anything of note and we went to the car park for lunch.

When we arrived in dunlin hide, John Wright was already in position and we spent a very enjoyable hour or so getting a master class from John on Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls.  We saw three adult, three second-winter and a third-winter Caspian Gulls and at least twelve different Yellow-legged Gulls of various ages and John provided some valuable information on key identification points for all of them.  I only hope I remember at least some of the detail he provided but only time will tell.

We had to leave just after 16:00 only to find out later that the Azorean Yellow-legged Gull.


Great Crested Grebe from lapwing hide


Little Egret on lagoon three



Little Egret on lagoon three


Little Egret on lagoon three


Drake Teal on lagoon three


Redshank on lagoon three


Green Sandpiper on lagoon three


Green Sandpiper on lagoon three


Adult winter Black-headed Gull on lagoon three

A day’s birding in Leicestershire & Rutland - November 2, 2012


I was out on my own today and called at Eye Brook Reservoir first seeing a Red Kite close to Blaston.  The water here is still very high and with the exception of two parties of Fieldfare passing over there was else of note.

I moved off to Rutland Water and walked to Lax Hill calling at snipe, harrier and fieldfare hides on route.

As I approached snipe hide on the wet meadow there were quite a few birds feeding in the hedgerow and I found a single Redwing and three Lesser Redpolls.  The pool on the wet meadow was pretty full and with the exception of Wigeon and Teal there was little else and no sign of the reported male Stonechat, although it was seen later.  I continued to harrier and there was virtually nothing in front of the hide but I did see seventeen Golden Plover flying over the lagoon.

There were quite a few birds in the hedges leading to fieldfare hide but most went unidentified but I did see a single Chiffchaff and another Lesser Redpoll.



Lesser Redpoll

There was little from fieldfare except a few Goldeneye.

I continued to Goldeneye hide on Lax Hill where there were quite a few wildfowl including two Egyptian Goose and two Goldeneye.  There was a good area of mud as the water was now dropping and a single Redshank was found.

I checked out the feeding station from robin hide on Lax Hill and was rewarded with two Nuthatches and a Marsh Tit coming to feed at regular intervals.


Nuthatch on Lax Hill

I continued around the top of Lax Hill and as I came out of the gate at the top of the hill I suddenly found myself sitting on my backside.  I had stood on a cow pat on a slope and it was just like trying to stand on ice.  The worst was that I had also sat in it.  After cleaning myself off as best as I could I started to walk back to the 360° hide when the phone went with a message that there was a male Ring-necked Duck close to tufted duck hide on the Lyndon Reserve.

I walked straight back to the car park and drove around to the Lyndon Centre where Tim, the Reserve Manager, gave me a lift along the top track.  We arrived to find Steve Lister watching the bird and we were soon able to get reasonable views as it drifted about in a clearing in the hedgerow.  It was a sleep for most of the time but it did raise its head on a number of occasions showing its distinctive bill pattern.

I returned with Tim to the car park and then drove to the north arm where I had some lunch and found a female Scaup and the Black-necked Grebe.

I returned to the centre and after a quick look on lagoon one where I saw a single Goosander I walked to shoveler hide on lagoon three.  As I walked towards redshank hide there we quite a few birds feeding in the trees and hedgerow close to the large meadow and I found another Lesser Redpoll and three Siskin.
As I entered shoveler hide other birders informed me that a Jack Snipe was showing and it performed rather well over the next hour or so.  There had also been a Little Gull briefly close to the hide.  I started to scan the distant wildfowl and picked up the first-winter Little Gull feeding at the back of the lagoon and also found the female Red-crested Pochard.  There were at least four Snipe and two Green Sandpipers and three Redshanks close to the hide.  Steve and Dave had come into the hide and whilst Steve saw the Jack Snipe straight away Dave had to wait quite a while before it showed rather well again.  A Water Rail also showed rather well.

Dave and I eventually joined Steve in dunlin hide on lagoon four for the gulls but after about thirty minutes we had only been able to find two Yellow-legged Gulls.  Matthew then came into the hide and picked up a second-winter Caspian and first-winter Mediterranean Gull immediately.  We eventually found three second-winter, a third –winter and two adult Caspian Gulls.

As I walked back to the car park Dave picked up a Barn Owl, which was a fitting end to a superb day’s birding with eight-two species recorded.




A morning at Shustoke Reservoir, Warwickshire - October 31, 2012


Dave and I went to Shustoke Reservoir to hopefully see a Slavonian Grebe.  It was my first visit to this particular site and we walked to the eastern end of the reservoir where we had superb views of the bird.  There was also circa thirty Siskin flying around some pines at the same end but there was little else of note.





Slavonian Grebe

A afternoon’s birding at Rutland Water, Rutland - October 29, 2012


Dave and I had decided to visit Rutland Water as the Azorean Yellow-legged Gull had been present again last night and Dave has not seen it.  There had also been a tweet regarding a Waxwing, Brambling and Crossbill near Fieldfare hide but the news was rather sketchy so we decided to go to lagoon three first.
However before we set off to lagoon three, we had a quick scan of lagoon one first and found a female Pintail and two female-type Goosanders.  Five more Pintail flew in whilst we were there but we could nothing else of note.

The water level is at long last dropping and there are a few areas of mud appearing.  This seems to be particularly attractive to Teal and there were another five Pintail present.  There was at least nine Snipe, a Green Sandpiper and two Redshank also and with reeds close to shoveler hide pruned it is beginning to look more like the old lagoon three.  A Kingfisher also flew in front of shoveler hide and perched on one of the fence post in the left hand corner of the lagoon.  It made a couple of unsuccessful plunges into the water before flying off.

As the afternoon progressed we moved of to dunlin hide on lagoon four to few the gulls.  Dave and I scanned the gulls but could find nothing unusual but Dave did find a Peregrine perched on one of the islands.  Matthew joined us in the hide and after a short while announced that there was a first-winter Mediterranean Gull towards the right hand end of the gulls.  Quick scan and I was able to have good views of this first year bird.

As we continued looking through the gulls I found what I thought was a second-winter Caspian Gull and Matthew then said he had found a second-winter Caspian, which was the same bird.  We eventually found another second-winter and an adult.

I also found a couple of adult Yellow-legged Gulls but by 17:00 in rapidly fading light there was still no sign of the Azorean Yellow-legged Gull so we departed.
On the walk back to car park we saw a pipistrelle bat.

A day’s birding in Leicestershire & Rutland - October 27, 2012


I was out with Roger and Dave today and we initially went to Eye Brook Reservoir where the water level appeared to have risen again.

We stopped by the road bridge at the northern end where we found six Siskin and five Lesser Redpoll and there was also a few Fieldfare and Redwing.  There was little else of note except for eleven Goldeneye and two Red Kite and Buzzard over the fields on the Leicestershire side. 

Having had enough of Eye Brook Reservoir, we went to Rutland Water and went straight to lagoon three where we spent some time in shoveler hide.  There were eight Pintail, including five males, a female Red-crested Pochard and a eclipse male Ruddy Duck.  The Ruddy Duck was our first of the year as the recent cull as almost eliminated them.  A single Little Egret and a Redshank were observed in the shallow water to the right and numerous Teal were also present but we couldn’t locate the drake Scaup amongst the large flock of Tufted Duck.  I also had very brief views of a Sparrowhawk and a Kingfisher was observed on a post.  It was very cold in the wind and Dave succumbed and returned to the centre and Roger and I followed shortly afterwards. 

When we got back to the centre Dave had found a Goosander and he thought a second bird was a Red-breasted Merganser.  It clearly was a Red-breasted Merganser and we finally decided that it was an eclipse male.  There were another five Pintail and six Little Egrets feeding on the lagoon.

Lunch was taken in the car park after which we went to dunlin hide on lagoon four were it was very cold dud to wind blowing directly into the hide.  Thirty Golden Plover flew over and we found another Redshank but there were few gulls present and decided to go to shoveler hide.  Just after he had left Dave found a single Whooper Swan feeding amongst the several Mute Swan.  Ken then called to say that there was a Green Sandpiper on lagoon three, so we decided to go and take a look.

As we walked to shoveler eight Whooper Swan flew over and appeared to come down on lagoon three and before we had gone much further another, presumable the on of lagoon four, flew over calling and also seemed to drop on lagoon three.  When we entered the hide we found that the nine Whooper Swans were together and they performed well until they left mid-afternoon.  The Green Sandpiper was seen and we also re-found the Ruddy Duck.

Dave, Roger and Ken decided to return to the centre whilst I went back to lagoon four where I found an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a probable forth-year Caspian Gull.  There was also a single Shelduck and Dunlin but there was no sign of any Mediterranean Gulls.

When I got back to the centre I had just missed a Barn Owl but with nothing else on show we decided to return home.


Nine Whooper Swan on lagoon three


Drake Teal on lagoon three


Drake Teal on lagoon three


Little Egret on lagoon three


Moorhen on lagoon three


Salthouse, Norfolk - October 26, 2012


I carried out a sea-watch today before returning home.  It was not as good as I was hoping but Gannets and Kittiwakes were moving in small numbers and I also had four Common Scoter, three Velvet Scoter, three Great Skua and five Little Gulls.  There were also small numbers of auks moving but those identified were all Guillemots.

Titchwell, Norfolk - October 25, 2012


After dropping the family of in Hunstanton I went to Titchwell for a few hours.  I walked to the beach along the west footpath where i was fortunate to catch a brief view of a Cetti’s Warbler.  Disappointingly the fresh marsh held too much water and was unsuitable for waders, although there were four Avocets roosting.  Volunteer Marsh did hold a number of waders and I found a couple of Knot, three Spotted Redshanks and a rather late Wood Sandpiper.

The sea was quite rough and all I saw were about ninety Common Scoters in flight and a single Great Crested Grebe.  The tide was also high but I did see most of the expected waders on the shore.

When I got back to the car park I did see two Ring Ouzels on the edge of the field next to the car park.

Cley & Salthouse, Norfolk - October 25, 2012


The fog had gone this morning and so had most of the birds with only thirteen thrushes and four Robins being in evidence, although I did find two Stonechats and two Razorbill were observed on the sea.

During the evening I made a brief visit to Cley as there had been a White-rumped Sandpiper and Curlew Sandpiper reported earlier but all I could find from the centre were two Avocet; two Dunlin and four Black-tailed Godwits.  I then drove to Salthouse a carried out a sea watch for about thirty minutes where I counted fifty-three Brent Goose, forty-five Gannet, forty-nine Kittiwake and a Little Gull.

Cley & Salthouse, Norfolk - October 24, 2012


I went to the old coast guard station car park this morning first as the fog wasn’t too bad and I was hoping for some movement on the sea.  However it was relatively quiet although I did see six Eider, seven Red-breasted Mergansers and two Little Gulls.  There were still plenty of thrushes in evidence and I saw more only Golden Plovers of the week on the eye field.

After a coffee back at the cottage I walked up Cross Street in Salthouse where a Hawfinch had been reported.  There was no sign of the Hawfinch but I did find two Black Redstarts and there were plenty of thrushes, particularly Blackbirds.

During the afternoon visit I went to Gramborough Hill first and saw a male Snow Bunting on the first pool from the car park.  As I walked back with another birder over the top of the hill I saw a bird drop in that I thought was a Woodcock.  We walked to where it had landed and flushed it from the grass, not seeing it until it flew.  We continued walking towards the Little Eye and had some excellent views of a Shore Lark, although there was no sign of two Lapland Buntings seen a few minutes before we arrived.


During the afternoon I had gone on a seal trip to Blakeney Point with Clia and Paul.

The boat trip lasted about an hour and we saw plenty of Grey Seals and a couple of Common Seals during the trip.  There was also at least a 1000 Brent Geese, six Eider and four Red-breasted Mergansers and also several Gannets.


Common Seal pup


Male Grey Seals

Stiffkey, Norfolk - October 23, 2012


After a visit to Sheringham with the family I went to Stiffkey where a Red-flanked Bluetail had been found yesterday and was still present today.  After parking I walked through the wood near the campsite and soon found other birders and had the bluetail within seconds of arriving.  It performed exceptionally well during my stay coming within four meters on one occasions.  A magical bird and my fourth for the UK.

Salthouse, Norfolk - October 23, 2012


There were fewer thrushes today but Robins were still very much in evidence.  I walked to Little Eye first and whilst there were plenty of Robins and Redwings I failed to find anything of interest but during the afternoon visit I did locate three Ring Ouzels and five Brambling.  Walking in the opposite direction produced more of the same and a single Stonechat but there was no sign of the reported Black Redstart.  As I turned to go along the beach road the Black Redstart flew out of the ditch and perched on a fence giving good views, which was a good end to the visit.

Salthouse, Norfolk - October 22, 2012


My walk to the beach today was rather later due to the thick fog but as I entered the beach road there were clearly plenty of thrushes and I saw both Redwing ad Fieldfare within a few yards of the main road.  As I continued down the road the number of thrushes increased and there were clearly hundreds present but only a fraction were visible and Redwings were clearly outnumbering Fieldfares.  When I reached the beach I decided to walk west towards Little Eye and continued to see numerous thrushes and found three Ring Ouzels and two Stonechats at the far end of Little Eye.

I found another Ring Ouzel at the eastern end of Little Eye and I continued walking to Granborough Hill to the east were I saw another Ring Ouzel and three Brambling before returning to the cottage.

My oldest granddaughter, Clia and Paul were going out for a walk and I suggested that we walked down a footpath that led to Kelling Quags.  The walk along the track was quite wet and muddy but there were plenty of thrushes , particularly Redwing and I did find another two Brambling and a Stonechat.  We walked along the beach back to Salthouse and birds appeared to be everywhere with more thrushes and Brambling.

I went out again in the afternoon and had further views of two Ring Ouzels and a Lapland Bunting flew over and there was now a noticeable increase in Song Thrush and particularly Robins.

Whilst there was nothing too rare found at Salthouse it was exciting birding and apparently an exceptional fall.

Cley & Salthouse, Norfolk - October 21, 2012


This morning I walked along the east bank at Cley and called in the centre at Cley before walking down the beach at Salthouse late in the afternoon.

There were a few waders on Arnold’s Marsh that included four Oystercatcher, five Grey Plover, twenty-four Dunlin, eighty-five Black-tailed Godwit, circa fifty Redshank and a single Turnstone.  Two Marsh Harriers were observed between the east bank and Salthouse and a Cetti’s Warbler was heard from the bank with a second below Walsey Hills.  There was a clear movement of Starlings heading west and I must have seen close to 2000.

At Cley in the afternoon the highlights were four Avocets and a Yellow-legged Gull on Pat’s Pool.
The walk to the beach at Salthouse produced further excellent views of two Red-throated Divers and the seventeen Turnstone were still in the car park area.

Salthouse, Norfolk - October 20, 2012


This was a family holiday in Norfolk and we were staying in a cottage at Salthouse, which gave me the opportunity to get out early in the morning.

This morning I walked along the beach road to the beach, although it was quite quiet there was a reasonable selection of birds.

There were several skeins of Pink-footed Geese went over, probably totalling about 1000 and six Pintail were observed over the sea.  At least four Red-throated Divers were observed with two coming very close in shore and there were several Gannets and a single Guillemot off shore and a single Kittiwake flew east.  There were at least five Little Egrets feeding in the dykes and seventeen Turnstone were in the car park.  A Cetti’s Warbler called on several occasions as I was almost back at the cottage but I was unable to locate it.
During the evening visit there was another 200 Pink-footed Geese went over and two Egyptian Geese were on the pool to the left of the beach road.  I also had three Marsh Harriers and a single Sparrowhawk.

An afternoon at Rutland Water - October 15, 2012


The Azorean Yellow-legged Gull had been seen yesterday afternoon and so I decided to go again this afternoon in the hope of seeing it.

When I arrived at lagoon four all of the gulls were in the northwest corner of the lagoon and not one was in the area they usually gather in.  There was no sign of the Azorean and so I decided to go to lapwing hide.  I called at crake hide first where I heard and then briefly saw a Kingfisher.  Seven Goldeneye were the best off lapwing and so I walked back to shoveler hide on lagoon three.

There were numerous Tufted Duck on the lagoon three but there was no sign of the drake Scaup but I did locate a male and female Red-crested Pochard.  There was also at least twelve Pintail feeding to the left of the hide.

When I returned to dunlin hide on lagoon four the gulls were gathering in the normal area and Colin told me the Azorean Yellow-legged Gull as present.  I soon located the bird and it was showing well but sat down and started to roost and shortly afterwards several Common Gulls blocked it from view.  At one point all the gulls flew around and the Azorean was one of the first back on the ground when it showed well again but was eventually obscured by other gulls.  Matthew then picked out an adult Caspian Gull, which also showed well.

Whilst watching the Azorean Yellow-legged Gull the light was fairly constant and so the variations in plumage described by John Wright were not observed.  The hood was always distinctive and the mantle appeared slightly darker than nearby Yellow-legged Gulls.  The hood extended from the rear crown, below the eye to the throat with the streaking heaviest on the crown.  The bill had a shallow gonys angle and was yellowish with a dull orange tip to the lower mandible.  The bill was also parallel sided recalling Caspian Gull.  It appeared a rather chunky bird on the ground and there were three small white tips to the visible primaries, which were in fact primaries six, seven and eight as John had noted that primaries nine and ten were not fully grown.

The Caspian Gull showed well for several minutes when some of the characteristic structural points were noted.  It appeared fairly lanky alongside the other gulls with the tibia looking particularly long and thin.  The bill was also obviously parallel-sided and there was little evidence of any gonys angle.  It appeared rather attenuated at the rear and the belly hung noticeably lower after the legs.