A day’s birding in Norfolk. - March 29, 2014

Dave and I left home just after six and after picking up Malcolm in Market Harborough before heading for Corby to collect Ken.  Ken had unfortunately headed off for Uppingham where we normally pick him up but after a phone returned home and we headed off to Weeting Heath for Stone Curlew.

We arrived on site at about 08:45 and headed off to one of the hides where we saw three Stone Curlew displaying.  A Chiffchaff was heard in the plantation but with little else we headed off to an area close by where we had seen Woodlark in the past.

Stone Curlews at Weeting

As I suspected on arrival the area was now totally unsuitable for Woodlark as the planted conifers were now several feet tall.  We did hear and find a Blackcap just over the road but otherwise there was very little and we headed off to Lynford Arboretum.   As we travelled towards Munford we stopped at an area we thought might be suitable for Woodlark and sure enough we heard one singing almost immediately.  We walked down the track to just beyond a small plantation and after quite some time Dave picked up the singing bird right above our heads.  He though he had seen it come out of the ground cover and rise quickly and continuing to sing directly above us.  We also had a Sparrowhawk and a least one Buzzard at this site.

On arrival at Lynford Arboretum there were quite a few birders present but the only sighting of a Two-barred Crossbill was rather dubious, as a number of birders thought it was an aberrant Common Crossbill.  On reaching the second group of birders we did have some nice views of a single female Hawfinch feeding on the ground as surprisingly also a Treecreeper on the ground.

Female Hawfinch

Dave and I walked back towards the car park to view an area of larches but all we saw was several Siskin and a Lesser Redpoll.  A single Common Crossbill flew over calling but that was the only crossbill I saw during the visit.  A Firecrest that had been singing close to the car park also failed to perform and so we departed for a site near Swaffham where Goshawks had been seen recently.

Treecreeper at Lynford Arboretum

On arrival it appeared very quiet except for a singing Woodlark but two Goshawks had apparently been seen earlier.  Eventually a few Buzzards were observed above the wood and then a Sparrowhawk and eventually we had a male and female Goshawk.  The female eventually flew to our right and then across the road before coming back and passing almost right over us before flying off back towards the wood and disappearing.  We had superb views of this bird and I was able to get a few photos but didn’t have sufficient time to adjust the settings and whilst they were sharp they were a little underexposed.

Female Goshawk

Having seen the Goshawks we continued north towards the coast and Titchwell.

It was rather a quiet journey north although we did see a couple of Grey Partridge.  We called at Choseley Barns on route where we had two more Grey Partridge and three Buzzards but there was very little else and Corn Buntings are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

On arrival at Titchwell we had lunch before setting off down the west footpath to the sea.  There were plenty of waders on both the fresh marsh and the Volunteer Marsh, which included Oystercatchers, Avocets, a single Ringed Plover, Grey Plovers, Knot, Dunlin, Ruff, a Snipe, Bar-tailed Godwits, Black-tailed Godwits, Curlews, Redshanks and Turnstones.  A pair of Marsh Harrier was observed towards Thornham and another male was observed over the Titchwell reed-bed and the final saltwater area held more waders and a couple of Little Egrets.  On reaching the beach the tide was quite high and there were few Sanderling and Oystercatcher but no other waders.  There were seven Common Scoter close in and a large raft of scoter further out that were difficult to see in the misty conditions over the sea.  We decided to walk towards Thornham Point in the hope of finding a couple of Snow Bunting that had been reported earlier.  We hadn’t gone too far when they flew right by us and back towards the end of the footpath and appeared to drop right in front of it.  We moved back and found them feeding close to the end of the path.  Quite a crowd eventually gathered and the two birds allowed excellent views appearing totally unperturbed by the on lookers.  Needles to say I got some rather nice shots of them as I assume did many others.  We saw nothing new on the walk back, although a Cetti’s Warbler was heard quite close to the path but needless to say it failed to materialise.

Drake Teal on the Volunteer Marsh

Avocet on the Volunteer Marsh

Avocet on the Volunteer Marsh

Grey Plover on the Volunteer Marsh

Black-tailed Godwit on the Volunteer Marsh

Redshank on the Volunteer Marsh

Ruff on the Volunteer Marsh

Ruff on the Volunteer Marsh

Female Snow Bunting on the beach

It had been a good days birding with ninety-one species recorded that included three year-ticks, Stone Curlew, Woodlark and Snow Bunting and some superb views of a Goshawk.

The journey home produced no surprises although there was some good news that Leicester had beaten Burnley two nil, giving them a six point lead at the top.

A half-day’s birding in Leicestershire & Rutland - March 28, 2014

I went out today with the intention of staying out all day but I returned home early as my daughter wanted some help.

I had seen a couple of Buzzards, one near Stanton Wyville and the other near Cranoe and a Red Kite and Marsh Tit near Blaston on route to Eyebrook Reservoir.  Eyebrook Reservoir was relatively quiet with just five Shelduck being of interest.

After visiting the dam at Rutland Water, with nothing to show I went to the north arm where I found a single summer plumage Black-necked Grebe but there was no sign of any of the Long-tailed Ducks or Slavonian Grebe.  There were six Shelduck and a single Redshank around the shore line also two Red Kites and four Buzzards over Burley Wood.  On reaching the reserve I went straight to lagoon three where I found an adult Little Gull amongst the numerous Black-headed Gulls feeding over the water.  It was still in winter plumage although the head was showing signs of the hood developing.  I called Steve who was also at Rutland Water to inform him of the Little Gull as it was the first within the counties this year.  He had seen a few Sand Martins and a single Swallow in Dickinson’s Bay and heard single Blackcaps near the Tim’s cottage and at Barnsdale.  Just after speaking to Steve I had a Sparrowhawk over the Hambleton Peninsular.

I moved onto plover hide on lagoon four where I found four Oystercatchers, two Avocets, four Ringed Plovers, nine Dunlin, a Black-tailed Godwit and five Redshanks and there was also thirteen Shelduck on the lagoon.

Mute Swan on lagoon four

Shelduck over lagoon four

Redshank on lagoon four

There was a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders at the Egleton Centre and I heard another drumming as I walked back from lagoon four.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Robin at the Egleton feeding station

Male Greenfinchat the Egleton feeding station

Female Greenfinchat the Egleton feeding station

After a bite to eat I went back to the north arm in the hope of finding the Blackcap.  I heard it sing on few occasions but it was well in the wood and so I went to the end of the road to view the north arm.  There was a lady there who was watching a grebe but was unsure of its identity.  It was in fact the Slavonian Grebe, which was moulting into summer plumage and looked rather messy, although it was showing quite a bit of red on the neck.  We also looked for the Black-necked Grebe and found it out towards the water tower.  After informing Steve that both grebes were still present I departed for home.

An afternoon’s birding at Rutland Water, Rutland - March 24, 2014

I went to Rutland Water this afternoon with Dave as I will be unable to go tomorrow as I am changing my car.

We went straight to the Egleton Reserve and initially viewed lagoon one from the centre.  The Black-tailed Godwit was still present on the lagoon island and there was also a single Oystercatcher and Curlew.  There was little else of note except for four Shelduck.

We the visited buzzard hide on lagoon three as we would be out of the wind in this hide.  Another two Shelduck, a Little Grebe and an Oystercatcher were the highlights but there was also a selection of commoner wildfowl, including a couple of Goldeneye and several Pochard.  We could see a few Sand Martins over the north arm and also saw a couple of Red Kites and Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk and a single Osprey.  Four more Oystercatchers were observed in flight over lagoon four.

Song Thrush on the Egleton Meadows

Song Thrush on the Egleton Meadows

Great Crested Grebe on lagoon three

Drake Shelduck on lagoon three

Drake Tufted Duck on lagoon three

From sandpiper hide on lagoon four we had a total of eight Red Kites over Burley Wood, five to the west of the house and three more well to the east.  There was also a couple of Buzzard near the filter beds just beyond the lagoon.  There were sixteen Shelduck on the lagoon and we did find five Ringed Plovers, four Dunlin and seven Redshanks and two Avocets flew in just before we departed and a Green Woodpecker was observed in flight over one of the bunds.

First-winter Herring Gull over lagoon four

As we started to walk back to the centre we had some nice views of a Green Woodpecker as it perched in a tree and then what was probably the same bird on a post in the first meadow.  As we approached lagoon one, we could see the Barn Owl in the entrance to the nest box on Brown’s Island and two Great Spotted Woodpecker were disturbed from a tree close to the centre.

Nothing new this afternoon but we did have a good selection of birds for an afternoon session.

A day’s birding in Leicestershire & Rutland - March 22, 2014

Dave and I were out without Roger today as he was off to Trinidad and Tobago for a Naturetreck holiday with his wife.

Eyebrook Reservoir was our first port of call but it was rather quiet and felt quite cold in the brisk southwest wind.  The two Little Owls were in the old oak along the entrance road and the only other birds of note were four Shelduck and a Curlew.  The good news is that the water level has dropped and there was a nice area of mud but only the Curlew was on it.

We had met Malcolm at Eyebrook Reservoir and he went towards the dam at Rutland Water, whilst Dave and I headed for the north arm.  It was slightly warmer in the north arm as we were able to escape the cool wind.  Having walked to the spit of the western end Dave immediately found the female Red-breasted Merganser amongst a party of Coot but initially there was no sign any of the Long-tailed Ducks or the Slavonian Grebe.  Dave then found the Slavonian Grebe, which was now beginning to moult into summer plumage and as I was scanning the west side there was suddenly circa fifty Sand Martin feeding over the water and shortly afterwards I found the two immature Long-tailed Ducks but we couldn’t find the female although it was seen later by other birders.  There were still two Barnacle Geese on the north shore and we also saw five Oystercatchers, four Curlew and three Redshanks.  There were three Red Kites and a couple of Buzzards over Burley Wood and a Kestrel was also seen briefly.  My phone then rang and it was Malcolm informing us that he had a Wheatear on the dam.  We headed off to the dam but as we were approaching Barnsdale Malcolm called again to say it had been flushed and had flown over the road into one of the fields.  He then called back to say he had found it in the field and would wait for us and try and keep it in view.  We then ran into a traffic jam at Whitwell and so I informed Malcolm who had lost the Wheatear and was going to head off to the north arm.

We diverted towards Exton and then cut back to Empingham seeing fifteen Fallow Deer in a roadside field on route.  Happily on reaching Empingham there was no traffic and we were soon at the dam.  The field into which the Wheatear had flown didn’t look very suitable and so went to the dam.  As we scanned the dam I thought I saw it land at the bottom of the slope but couldn’t see anything from where we were.  We walked down the grass bank towards the area where the bird had landed and found the male Wheatear ahead of us.  We then had some nice brief views before it flew further towards Sykes Lane and so we returned to the car.

Sykes Lane car park was solid with vehicles and many were queuing to get in and there was obviously some event taking place.  We therefore decided to go along the southern side to reach the Egleton Reserve.

Having checked the log book in the centre we set off to snipe hide on the wet meadow.  We saw very little on route, just hearing at least three Chiffchaffs and forth just as we approached the hide.  There was a single Redshank on the flash to the left of the hide and a couple of Shelduck but nothing else.  I found the Black-tailed Godwit and two more Shelduck on lagoon one and two Red Kites passed over the centre with one eventually coming quite close to the hide and a Little Egret also arrived and started feeding.

Red Kite from snipe hide

Lapwing from snipe hide

As we left the hide to return to the car park we had brief views of the Chiffchaff and a Long-tailed Tit posed nicely allowing me to photograph it.

Long-tailed Tit

Whilst Dave and I were having lunch Ken arrived and we all then went off towards lagoon three on the northern edge of the reserve.  The water level on lagoon three was very high and consequently there were not too many birds but we did stick it out for a while and had two Shelduck and two Oystercatcher fly over, whilst a third Oystercatcher was on one of the islands.  It had been bright and sunny whilst we were in the hide but some rather nasty looking weather approached from the west and finally decided to move to sandpiper hide on lagoon four.

Great Crested Grebe on lagoon three

Cormorant over lagoon three

Greylag Goose alighting lagoon three

Drake Gadwall on lagoon three

Female Gadwall on lagoon three

Moorhen on lagoon three

The wind had really freshened and it wasn’t too long before it started raining and it felt cold and miserable until the shower moved away.

There was a single Avocet on lagoon four and a small party of waders contained three Ringed Plover and nine Dunlin and there was also at least four Redshank scattered around the lagoon.  There were twenty Shelduck also on the lagoon and a single Little Egret but very little else.  After the shower had passed we had a least five Red Kites and four Buzzard over Burley and I picked up a single Raven to the left of the house.  We finally decided to go back to the centre but other than the Black-tailed Godwit and a Little Egret there was little on the lagoon.  There were three Buzzards over Hambleton, two more over Brown’s Island and another passed over the lagoon but eventually they also went quiet and we called it a day.

Grey Heron on lagoon one

Grey Heron over lagoon one

Carrion Crow from the centre

Perhaps not a great day but the first Wheatear of the year and the Red-breasted Merganser being a good county year tick were pleasing and it was also nice to see so many Sand Martins.