Rod's Birding: October 2016

Sunday 30 October 2016

A day in West Norfolk - October 29, 2016

David, Malcolm, Roger and I set off for Cley in Norfolk hoping that a Desert Wheatear present since Tuesday the 25^th would still be there. Malcolm had seen it yesterday as it was a lifer for him but he still wanted to come for a day out.

We had a bit of a diversion at King’s Lynn as the ring road was closed at the roundabout near The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and we had to turn right. I set the Sat Nav for Cley, which then directed through Gayton and Great Messingham and we joined the A148 at Harpley. It might have taken a few minutes longer but there was very little difference in the distance. As we were approaching the coast we were surprised to see the cloud clear and the sun appear and it was a lovely morning when we pulled up at Walsey Hills. Two birders were coming out of the entrance to the hills saying that a Dusky Warbler had been calling and showing occasionally and with no news on the wheatear we decided to go and have a look. Another birder at the end of the track indicated that he had heard it several times and had seen it briefly but it had now gone quiet. We did see a Chiffchaff and whilst watching it the Dusky called and appeared to be almost in front of us but it didn’t show and went quite again. News then came though that the Desert Wheatear had been seen and so we decided to leave as this was our prime target. Five high flying Bearded Tits flew over as we made our way back to the road.

On reaching the road we had some debate as whether we should go to Salthouse and walk west along the bank or go down the East Bank and then walk east. We could see the birders in the distance and they looked about midway but Malcolm assured us that the walk was easier from the end of the East Bank and so we decided that we would walk from Walsey Hills.

As we crossed the road the two birders who had told us about the Dusky Warbler told us that there were several Bearded Tits feeding to the west of the bank. As soon as we went on to the bank we could hear them calling and had several brief views as they flicked about in the reeds but unfortunately they decided to move on before I managed to get and photos, which was a pity as there were several smart males.

We walked along the bank fairly quickly and the only birds of note were a couple of Little Egrets and a female-type Marsh Harrier. On reaching the shingle bank we walked east along the area between the bank and Arnold’s Marsh, which wasn’t too bad as there was a covering of grass on most of it. However when we reached the end of Arnold’s Marsh it was just shingle and going got rather tough but we eventually reached the area where the wheatear was. We saw it immediately but it was rather distant but it wasn’t long before it had come much closer and we able to get some excellent views and photos of a splendid male Desert Wheatear.

Male Desert Wheatear

Roger picked up a Woodcock in fight, which had presumably come in off the sea, whilst we were watching the wheatear. After watching and photographing the wheatear we turned our attention to the sea but it was very quiet with just a single Red-throated Diver and several Gannets and so we started the walk back.

As we walked back we paid a little more attention to the pools with several Shelduck and a single Pintail on the first and more Shelduck and several Dunlin and Redshank and a Curlew on Arnold’s Marsh.

When we got back to Walsey Hills we checked out the pool and found a Water Rail and a roosting Jack Snipe, which was year-tick for Malcolm.

With nothing else being reported in the area we started to move back west, which helps reduce the journey time later. We turned towards Burnham Overy at Burnham Deepdale and then took a minor road west from Burnham Overy with the intention of checking out several fields where a flock of Pink-footed Geese had included three White-fronted Geese and two Bean Geese yesterday. However there was no sign and we turned into Chalk Pit Lane and headed towards Titchwell. One of the fields along Chalk Pit Lane contained numerous birds that included C.100 Golden Plover and c.100 Fieldfare, along with small numbers of Lapwing and Skylark and eleven Red-legged Partridges and we also may have had a Corn Bunting but we were unable to relocate the bird to confirm its identity. Several skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew over and must a numbered more than five hundred in total but they were flying high and didn’t come down in the vicinity.

We eventually arrived at Titchwell and after parking we had lunch before making our way along the path to the sea. Another long staying Dusky Warbler had been seen a few times during the morning but not for over an hour. We stopped briefly in the area, seeing a Brambling but there was no sign of the Dusky.

A brief stop at Thornham Pool produced nothing and the water level had risen on the Freshwater Marsh and consequently there were less variety waders, with just four Avocets, 100+ Golden Plover, fourteen Dunlin, fifty-two Ruff and fourteen Black-tailed Godwits being seen. There were plenty of Wigeon and Teal with smaller numbers of Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard and Shoveler.

We didn’t spend too long looking at Volunteer Marsh or the Tidal Marsh as there was little of interest and we wanted to get to the sea.

When we reached the beach the tide was out about as far out as I have seen it and so we walked out to get closer to the shoreline. There was a good selection of waders on the shore that included Oystercatchers, Grey Plover, Knot, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank and Turnstone. As we scanned the sea, Malcolm picked up three scoters, which then flew and we were able to confirm that they were three Velvet Scoters, which then joined five Common Scoter. They pitched into the sea again close to a party of ten Red-breasted Merganser and there were also three Great Crested Grebes. A party of Cormorants were feeding a good way of shore and were accompanied by a few Gannets with their numbers growing to at least thirty and obviously there was some good feeding.

Grey Plover

Knot

Sanderling

Adult winter Common Gull over the sea

David and Roger had gone back ahead of Malcolm and me and when we reached the Tidal Marsh there was a Kingfisher perched on vegetation at the edge of the marsh.

Kingfisher

I left Malcolm with the Kingfisher and continued along the bank to the Volunteer Marsh, where Roger and David had seen a couple of Ringed Plovers, which appear to be quite scarce at this time of the year here. I couldn’t find them but did hear one call and got some rather nice shots of a Dunlin and a Curlew.

Dunlin

Curlew

I continued along the bank and stopped briefly to view the Freshwater Marsh again, where the Golden Plovers were a little closer and I was able to get a couple of shots. There were a couple of Chiffchaffs in a bush in the reedbed and I found Roger at the Dusky Warbler site but it hadn’t been seen or heard all afternoon.

Golden Plover

Brent Goose

The field to the west of the entrance road hadn’t been touched since the harvest was collected but all we could find were seventeen Red-legged Partridges, several Woodpigeon and a single Stock Dove.

Once we were all back at the car we set off for home and called at Choseley where we had more Red-legged Partridge but there was no sign of the hoped for Grey Partridges. David also found a pale Buzzard perched in hedge that initially suggested that it might be a Rough-legged Buzzard. I suggested that we make one further stop and Abbey Farm in the hope we could find some Grey Partridge and perhaps even Barn or Little Owl.

At Abbey Farm we parked at the far end of the road but the field where I had seen Grey Partridge in the past contained cabbage and didn’t look at all suitable. I then scanned east towards a barn and found several partridges, which turned out to be just Red-legged but I then noticed some more in the field where the barn was. David and Roger both looked as they were using their scopes but found only Red-legged again. I had a look through Roger’s scope and was pretty sure that the four most distant birds were actually Grey Partridge. Roger and David then looked again and eventually agreed on my identification but there was no sign of either of the owls.

An afternoon at Swithland Reservoir, Leicestershire - October 28, 2016

I went with Roger to Swithland Reservoir this afternoon as there had been a report of a Hooded Crow. We arrived to find that it had just disappeared and after standing for a good hour around the wall with no further sign we went to check out the fields to the south of Kinchley Lane. Whist we were checking the fields and the landscaped area of the quarry with no sign Andy Howes arrived and after a brief chat he continued along Kinchley Lane. Andy hadn’t been gone many minutes when he called to say that the crow was flying around over the reservoir. Roger and I got in the car and returned to find it was perched in a conifer on the far bank but after watching it for a couple of minutes it flew off and disappeared again. We spent at least another fifteen minutes on site but eventually we left as I was hoping to beat the traffic as I crossed Leicester.

Although it wasn’t a County-tick for me the last one I saw in the Counties was at the same site in February 1976, over forty years ago.

A day at Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire - October 27, 2016

David and I set off for the Egleton car park at Rutland Water where we met Roger before continuing on to Frampton.

We saw a couple of Red Kites and circa fifty Golden Plover before we arrived at the RSPB reserve. We drove to car park close to the sea wall as we intending looking out from the raptor watch-point on the sea wall. As we started to walk towards the sea wall David indicated that he might have a Spotted Redshank on a pool to the south, which we were able to confirm once we got the scopes on it. We had only gone a few steps when some Bearded Tits dropped into the reeds but immediately disappeared. After a few minutes with no further sightings we continued along the track and heard them calling again. Eight then flew out of the reeds and started climbing quickly and were then followed by two more. The ten birds continued to climb and initially appeared to be moving off to the south but they turned and passed over us but we could now only see eight birds. A few seconds later four suddenly appeared and just disappeared into the reeds again and we suspected that we had seen at least twelve.

When we finally made it to the bank David cried Glossy Ibis as it came in off the salt marsh and landed on the fresh marsh behind the sea wall, where we able to get reasonable, if distant, views. We continued along the bank and on hearing a Spotted Redshank calling I found three in a small dyke and our original bird was still on the same pool, making four in total and a single Grey Plover then flew past and off over the salt marsh.

We had, had a rather smashing start to the day and as we were talking to another birder returning from the watch-point the Glossy Ibis flew back out to the salt marsh.

Glossy Ibis

The other birder then informed us that he had seen a few Marsh Harriers and a Merlin from the watch-point and that there were six Whooper Swans in the field. Roger picked up a Marsh Harrier before we reached the point but we then continued on to look for the Whooper Swans in the fields but were unable to find them. We spent quite some time scanning the marsh from the watch-point and saw at least four Marsh Harriers but other than four Little Egrets we saw little else and walked back towards the car.

We had noticed that there was a group of birders observing the fresh marsh from the sea wall for some considerable time but they had melted away and when we got back there were just two birders remaining. Fortunately one of these had just picked up a superb male Hen Harrier, which performed for several minutes, although rather distantly. We did see it again before we went back to the car but this time it was a little further away but still on view for a while.

When we got back to the car we returned to the main car park and David went into the centre whilst Roger and I started our lunch. When he returned he said that the Long-billed Dowitcher hadn’t been seen and there didn’t appear to be a great deal else, other than two male Hen Harriers had been seen.

After lunch we headed for the 360° Hide but stopped to view the meadows and another birder informed us that there was a Peregrine feeding on a Wigeon in the field. We soon located it as it fed on its catch, which was attracting the attention of a Magpie, although it kept a safe distance. I then noticed six juvenile Black-tailed Godwits feeding on the other side of the path and they came quite close allowing me to get some rather nice shots.

Juvenile Black-tailed Godwit

Juvenile Black-tailed Godwits

We continued onto the 360° Hide but there was very little in evidence just a few more Black-tailed Godwits and Avocets. I decided to go the Reedbed Hide and David and Roger soon followed. We spent a while in the hide hoping that a Merlin would use the same tree as yesterday but a pair of Kestrel was using it today.

Moulting juvenile Shelduck

Male Kestrel on the Sand Martin bank

As we scanned the area we found eleven Dunlin and a Snipe and a Ruff made a brief visit. A Water Rail that came out to the edge of one the islands and then surprisingly flew behind the next island and out of sight; it was my first at this site.

There was a large concentration of finches feeding on sunflower heads alongside the path to the East Hide and we decided to go and check them out as it wasn’t easy from a distant. When we got there we were able to see that most were Greenfinches with a few Linnets amongst them. I haven’t seen this many Greenfinches for a number of years and there must have been close to hundred on the reserve.

When we made it back to the centre David checked the board and noticed that the Long-billed Dowitcher had been seen in the meadow with Wigeon and so we retraced our steps back towards the path to the 360° hide. There were a couple of birders viewing the Wigeon and one had located the dowitcher and we were able to get some reasonable views before the flock flew and we lost it. Another birder then relocated it and again we had some nice views.

Long-billed Dowitcher with Wigeon

We finally called it a day and headed off back to Rutland Water to drop Roger off and the David and I headed for home.

A day in northwest Leicestershire - October 26, 2016

I was on grandparent duty today and after dropping the grandchildren off at school I was required to pick them up again at 15:15. As I was at my daughter’s I decided I would visit Kelham Bridge to hopefully catch up with Willow Tit, which I have only seen once this year.

I arrived at Kelham Bridge at around 09:25 and made my way to the first hide, where there is a feeding station that Willow Tits usually visit. There was plenty of food in the three feeders but I was surprised to find no birds, as they are usually alive with birds. As sat and waited and eventually a Grey Squirrel made a brief visit, followed shortly afterwards by a Great Tit but neither stayed very long and I suspected that something had spooked them. Two Great Tits then made several brief visits and then I saw a Willow Tit but it was reluctant to visit the feeders at first but it did eventually. I had some nice views of a single bird but there were very few other birds visiting the feeders. The only bird of note on the pool was a single Snipe.

Willow Tit

As I moved along the track to the next hide a Sparrowhawk flew along the path in front of me and on entering the hide I had fortunately opened the front and side flaps as a Kingfisher then took a fish and flew to the to the right of the hide. As I glanced out of the side flap it was sitting on perch just a couple of meters away and remained whilst I fired off a few shots before it disappeared.

Kingfisher

I had heard a couple of Cetti’s Warbler call and on seeing a small bird fly across the water into the reeds where I had watched the Kingfisher I had a nice, if brief, view of a Cetti’s before it disappeared into the reeds. With just a couple of Little Grebes and a few Moorhen on the pool I made my way back along the track towards the car.

As I made way back along the track there appeared to be more birds and I had several Redwings and two Fieldfares fly over. There was a mixed party of Blue and Long-tailed Tits in the bushes and I could hear a Goldcrest and whilst trying to see these I noticed a single bird perched on top of a bush, which turned out to be a Lesser Redpoll.

With still some time to kill I decided I would go to Swithland Reservoir and parked on the road overlooking the southern end of the reservoir. I was surprised to find few wildfowl on the water as there had been a lot during my last visit. There were a few Mute Swans, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and Tufted Duck and two Shoveler. There was also two Little Egrets but little else and so I drove to the northern section.

I stopped briefly at the western end of the dam where I heard a Nuthatch before parking at the eastern end of the dam. The water level was quite low and this had attracted twenty Little Egrets and there was also seventy-six Cormorant, which is a good number for this site. I was hoping to Raven during the visit and one performed several times during my stay and a Sparrowhawk and Buzzard also obliged. Steve was also present and whilst taking we saw three Jays and a Grey Wagtail and thirty-two Fieldfare and a Lesser Redpoll flew over.

A day at Rutland Water, Rutland - October 25, 2016

I set off for Rutland Water today hoping to see a Bean Goose that had been present since 20^th. As I drove down the unnamed road Steve and Terry had just arrived and after getting my gear on I joined them in the North Arm. Unusually there wasn’t a goose in sight and presumably they were off feeding somewhere and we began scanning the area but it wasn’t easy as the mist was just enough to make viewing difficult. Steve did find the two Black-necked Grebes and a Yellow-legged Gull on the south shore but we had seen little else when he and Terry decided to leave and complete their circuit of the reservoir. It wasn’t too long after they departed that the geese arrived and landed on the water. I scanned through them a couple of time before they started to get out of the water onto the north shore but didn’t fine the Bean Goose. I did see one of the two Barnacle Geese but only on one scan and was still fairly optimistic that the Bean Goose was probably there. I was joined by another birder but after a good hour with no sign of the Bean Goose, I decided to leave and come back later as many of the geese were now sitting down and roosting making very difficult to locate the Bean Goose.

I drove to the Lyndon Reserve and with nothing on the feeders I went down to Teal Hide to scan South Arm Two and Three. David had seen the Red-necked Grebe out in front of Teal Hide yesterday but there was no sign but I did find a female Common Scoter and a Kingfisher. I eventually returned to view the feeders and had a couple of Marsh Tits and a single Tree Sparrow before Steve and Terry appeared. Having pointing out a male Kestrel in the nest box I went back to Teal Hide with them.

Little Grebe from Teal Hide

Great Crested Grebe from Teal Hide

Male Kestrel

We spent quite some time in the hide but with no sign of the Common Scoter or Red-necked Grebe, although we did see a Chiffchaff just outside the hide, I decided I would go and have another look for the Bean Goose. I had just reached the centre when Steve called to say he had found the Red-necked Grebe and so I returned to the hide. Steve gave me some directions and I soon found it in the middle of South Arm Two towards Manton Bay.

We all then went back to the North Arm and scanned the geese but couldn’t locate the Bean Goose. The long staying Whimbrel was on the north shore along with seven Curlews and there were also two Black-tailed Godwits and a Redshank. We decided to have some lunch and then give it one final try before going to the Egleton Reserve.

When we returned there was still no sign of the goose and we suspected that it might not be amongst the Greylag Geese. The Black-necked Grebes were still present and one of the Great White Egrets flew into the fishponds before then flying to the south shore.

Before going to Egleton I went to see if I could see a Mandarin in Dickinson’s Bay from the fisherman’s car park on the Hambleton Peninsula. I couldn’t see too much of the bay and so walked up the hill to view from the cycle path. I could see that most of the ducks were Wigeon but also I picked out several Shoveler and a Pintail as well as three Little Grebes. I felt that one of the ducks under a tree was possibly a female Mandarin but as I couldn’t be certain I felt that it was inappropriate to add to the patch list.

When I entered the centre Steve and Terry were in the viewing area and they informed me that there were two Stonechats just in front. However when we tried to find them they had obviously moved and then Terry picked one up to the right, which I had the briefest of views before it flew off and out of sight. There was one of the Great White Egrets at the back of the lagoon and I counted thirty Pintail. Steve and Terry the moved on to the northern lagoons and just afterwards I found a Buzzard resting on one of the islands.

With little else in evidence I also made my way to the northern lagoons seeing a few Redwings on route. Steve and Terry were in Shoveler Hide when I arrived and it was good to see that there had been significant work done on the islands which had all had the vegetation cut down and the reed island had also been taken down to ground level. This gave a much better view of the lagoon and there was a Black-tailed Godwit and a Redshank around the now visible island and there was a Great White Egret at the back of the lagoon. Another Great White Egret then flew in and Steve called the centre to see if the one was still on Lagoon One but if it was it wasn't visible. We then had two Black-tailed Godwits flying around, which were presumable those we had seen in the North Arm earlier and two Snipe were also observed in flight.

Black-tailed Godwits

Great White Egret

Steve and Terry then left and shortly afterwards John Wright came in. I had noticed that there were a lot of birds flying around south of the lagoon and then the birds on Lagoon Three started taking to flight. I mentioned it to John, who was getting something from his bag, it took one look and said “Only one thing would cause this amount of disturbance, a balloon”. We poked our heads out of the slats and sure enough there was a Virgin balloon passing right over. John immediately rushed outside with his camera, saying they had been warned before not to come over the reserve. The birds continued to fly around for quite some time and the two Great White Egrets, now together flew the length of the lagoon at least four times before coming back down at the far end. Most of the other birds failed to return and had obviously gone elsewhere. John then returned saying he had photographed the balloon with the birds flying around it showing the disturbance it had caused and was going to send the photos to English Nature. He left shortly afterwards as there were now very view birds present and certainly nothing close. Many birds were still flying around and were very reluctant to comeback but I then noticed a party of birds drop in close to the now visible island. There were five Curlews and the Whimbrel from the North Arm and there were now four Redshanks and a single Black-tailed Godwit.

Great White Egrets

I eventually moved onto Crake Hide were there were twelve Little Egrets on the bund but little else and from Lapwing Hide I could see another two Little Egrets.

I made my way back to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four were there were seventy-two Golden Plovers and four Dunlin but with little else I returned to the car park and headed to the North Arm for a final attempt for the Bean Goose. As I arrived Chris Park was just leaving and he informed me that the geese had all gone onto the water when the balloon went over and he was certain that the Bean Goose was not there. As I stood talking to him many of the Greylag Geese flew over and were presumably returning to a feeding area and so I called it a day.

A day in the Spurn area, East Yorkshire - October 22, 2016

Ironically we were heading for Spurn again today as there was an Isabelline Wheatear, which was a lifer for Malcolm, and Siberian Stonechat at Easington. We parked in the old bus depot as instructed and the walked through the village and along Seaside Road to reach the sea front and then south a few hundred yards to the area where the birds were being seen.

The Isabelline Wheatear had apparently been very close earlier but was now feeding in the centre of a rather large ploughed field. The views were ok through the scope but after a few minutes we decided to go and have a look for the Stonechat, which was less than 100 yards away. It was feeding in a scrubby area but wasn’t on view when we got in position but it wasn’t long before it popped up and not too far away and I was able to get a few shots off. It worked the area of scrub all the time we were there and was never out of view for too long, although it was often quite distant.

Siberian Stonechat

During the brief spells when the Stonechat wasn’t visible we looked out to sea but like Norfolk last week it was pretty quiet. We did see three Common Scoter, sixteen Gannet and I picked up three Great Skuas heading south.

Malcolm had gone back to have another look at the Wheatear and apparently it had been close again but when we returned in was back on the far side of the field. It did start to make its way back but as I was watching in the scope it flew again and we couldn’t find it afterwards and so we made our way back to the car.

Another birder asked me where Sammy’s Point was and when I asked why he said yesterday's Pallas’s Warbler had been showing again, although there hadn’t been a tweet.

With nothing else of note being reported we headed for Sammy’s Point and I hoped a Pallas’s Warbler. However on arrival we saw Richard who said that the warbler hadn’t been seen but that he had seen a couple of Ring Ouzels in the meadows. There was no sign of these now and so we walked out along the point still hoping that the Pallas’s would appear. The tide was high and consequently there were few waders the best being a close Turnstone and there was also a Wheatear along the shoreline. There were plenty of Goldcrests in the scrub and also good number of Redwings and Tree Sparrows but there was no sign of any other small migrants.

Turnstone

Curlew

Goldcrest

We eventually headed back towards the car and found a small group watching one of the Ring Ouzels, which was a nice male and close enough to photograph.

Male Ring Ouzel

It was now lunch time and so we drove to Kilnsea and had our lunch in the car on the beach car park. As there was still no news of anything of note and so David, Roger and I decided to walk along Beacon Lane, whilst Malcolm was going to the hide in the hope of finding a Jack Snipe.

As we approached the lane I received a tweet of a Snow Bunting at Sandy Beach Caravan Park. We weren’t too sure where it was but found we were standing right next to it and another birder then told us that it had been seen from the cliff top path. We walked north from the car park as Malcolm had seen a group of birders apparently looking at something on the ground. We saw a couple of birders wandering around the site but we went to the other side of a building and as I got to the edge several birders indicated the bird was on the ground in front of us. We stopped and initially couldn't see it but we then realised it was a lot closer than we thought and had some excellent views as it fed around the edge of a small pool.

Male Snow Bunting

We eventually left the Snow Bunting and went back to our original plan, which was to walk along Beacon Lane to the Kilnsea Wetlands. We didn’t see a great deal but there were a few Redwings in the first fields.

Redwing

Malcolm had not had any luck with the Jack Snipe and so we decided to return to Sammy’s Point as there had been a report of an eastern Lesser Whitethroat. When we got back the tide was receding and there were now plenty of waders on the Humber, mainly Dunlin and Redshank but there were also a few Oystercatcher, a Ringed Plover, a Grey Plover, two Bar-tailed Godwit and several Curlew. There was no news on the reported Lesser Whitethroat but we did see the Wheatear again. Another birder then told me that they had seen a Black Redstart at Kilnsea and so we returned hoping to find it.

When we arrived there was a bit of crowd clearly watching a bird on the shore and we were hoping it was the Black Redstart. As we walked along the footpath we saw the bird and David and Roger considered it to be a bird they had seen last week but were unsure of its identity. We eventually got some nice views of the bird and I thought it was just a juvenile Redstart, which some other birders then confirmed.

Juvenile Redstart

Time was now pressing as David and Roger needed to be home before 18:00 and so we walked back to the car and after a quick coffee set off home.