Rod's Birding: February 2018

Tuesday 27 February 2018

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - February 24, 2018

Roger and I went to Shawell again today in the hope that the Glaucous and/or Iceland Gull would be present. It was just before 08:00 when we arrived and there were quite a few gulls in the sand pit but there was no sign of any white-winged gulls. We remained on site until 09:45 when the cold was getting the better of us but there hadn’t been any sign of the white-winged gulls and there were far fewer gulls than yesterday. We did see a couple of Red-legged Partridge, three Common Buzzard, five Fieldfare and a Redwing and all the five commoner gulls were present.

We headed off towards Eyebrook Reservoir seeing a Jay before we reached the A4304 to Market Harborough and then a Red Kite just south of Medbourne, near the River Welland.

We turned into the northern approach road to Eyebrook Reservoir but there was no sign of any Little Owls and with the water being high we didn’t stay too long but did see three drake and three red-headed Smew.

The American Wigeon had been reported yesterday on Lagoon Two and a tweet had indicated that it was still present today and so we headed for the Egleton Reserve, seeing a Red Kite as we turned on the road to Egleton. After a quick check of the feeding station, where there was plenty of activity but nothing unusual we headed for Grebe Hide on Lagoon Two.

Song Thrush in the Egleton Meadows

The hide was empty when we entered, but the light wasn’t good due to the bright sunshine, but I did find the American Wigeon almost directly out from the hide. There were also two Eurasian Curlew in front of the hide and a couple of Common Pochard on the lagoon.

Carrion Crow in the Egleton Meadows

As we walked toward Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four we saw a party of birders go up the ramp to the hide and so we decided to go to Dunlin to view the lagoon. There was just one birder in the hide and so there was plenty of room. We started scanning the water and found a Barnacle Goose, two Common Shelduck, two drake and two red-headed Smew, a pair of Goosander and five Eurasian Oystercatcher. I then saw seven Eurasian Curlew in flight and though one looked a little smaller and darker and suspected it was the long-staying Whimbrel. They flew away and out of sight and so I went out of the hide but couldn’t find them. I suggested to Roger that we go to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three as they may have come down there. As we were leaving the hide I heard a Eurasian Curlew calling and they then flew over us flying west. We went back into the hide and the other birder said they had come down on the west bank and as I looked they flew again but eventually landed on the nearest island and there were eight birds. I started to scan from the left-hand end and realised that the left-hand bird was the Whimbrel. I alerted the others and we then had good views of bother Whimbrel and the seven Eurasian Curlew.

Seven Curlew and the Whimbrel

Seven Curlew

The flock of birds then flew onto the west bank to feed and were now further away and more difficult to see in the longer grass and so we went to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.

There wasn’t a great deal on Lagoon Three the best being six Common Shelduck and five Northern Pintail and we were soon on our way back to the car park for lunch.

After lunch we went to the centre and up to the viewing area to view Lagoon One. There wasn’t a lot on the lagoon with just four Common Shelduck being seen initially. Anne and Richard joined us, and we had a Common Buzzard over the lagoon and Anne noticed a Stoat, which we all managed to see briefly. I then found a group of Eurasian Curlew on the south meadow and shortly afterwards Graham and Ricky returned from the northern lagoons. Anne then found a Red Fox whilst looking for the Eurasian Curlew and shortly afterwards we had a Muntjac and a Brown Hare in the same area. A party of six Dunlin then flew in from the north but after looking as though they might come down they continued flying to the south. Another birder then asked if he had a Common Ringed Plover in his scope, which I was able to confirm, and it was my first in the Counties this year. I then received a WhatsApp message from Andy Mackay indicating that there was an adult Iceland Gull at Eyebrook Reservoir and so Roger and I were soon on our way.

When we arrived at the island coral I went straight in to see if it was still there and found just three unoccupied scopes. Andy soon appeared, I think concerned about the scopes, as he wasn’t sure who had gone into the coral. He indicated where the Iceland Gull had been, and Colin and Chris joined us, when Andy said I got an adult Glaucous Gull and I alerted Roger as he needed for a year-tick. We watched the Glaucous Gull for a few minutes but could find the Iceland Gull and so went to the style to see if it had moved further down the reservoir. There were plenty of large gulls but unfortunately the Iceland Gull wasn’t amongst them and we called it a day.

An afternoon at Shawell, Leicestershire - February 23, 2018

There had been a juvenile Glaucous Gull and an adult Iceland Gull at the sandpit at Shawell in Leicestershire and both had been reported again this morning and so I went hoping to catch up with them. It is only a thirty minutes drive to Shawell and I was on site by 13:45. Dave Grey was already there and he had seen the Iceland Gull, a Caspian Gull and three Yellow-legged Gulls but they had all flown off presumably to the tip.

There were still plenty of gulls in the sandpit, mainly Black-headed, European Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls but also smaller numbers of Common Gulls and a few Great Black-backed Gulls. I was on site until 16:15, during which time Chris Hubbard and another birder from Northamptonshire joined us but there was no further sign of either of the white-winged gulls or the Yellow-legged Gulls but I did see the Caspian Gull. There were two Red Kites and a Common Buzzard over the area and another Common Buzzard to the south and a large falcon with jessies caused major disturbance both on the pit and the tip but unfortunately didn’t induce the white-winged gulls to put in an appearance. I succumbed to the cold eventually and left for home with still many gulls present, although some did appear to be departing and presumably heading for the roost at Draycote Water.

A day in Lincolnshire - February 22, 2018

David, Malcolm, Roger and I were planning to go to Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire, but I had to take my car for an MOT retest first and the plan was for me to meet the others at Rutland Water afterwards.

I left home at around 09:45 and headed off to meet the others in the Egleton car park. I had a Peregrine Falcon as I entered Wistow Park and then two Common Buzzards and three Common Kestrels before turning off the A6003 to Egleton. As I entered the drive to the car park a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into a tree over the path and when I entered the car park David and Roger were looking at something flying over. When I reached David, he encouraged me to get out of the car and doing so he said there was a Mediterranean Gull but that it had gone off to the north. I ran to the area where I could see better and picked it up as it was flying off to the east. It was a superb adult and a year-tick providing and excellent start to the day.

Malcolm arrived shortly afterwards after a successful search for the Red-necked Grebe and after they loaded their gear into my car we set off for Frampton. There was a Red Kite over the meadows alongside Church Road and we saw two more and a Common Kestrel before reaching Stamford. We hadn’t seen anything else of note as we pulled into the car park at Frampton at around 11:45.

We decided to have an early lunch and whilst doing so found a Eurasian Curlew and a Black-tailed Godwit on the marsh and five Eurasian Tree Sparrow in the bushes alongside the road. After lunch we popped into the visitor’s centre from where we saw a Pintail but there wasn’t much on the information board for the day and so we set off for the 360 Hide. As we walked along the path I picked up a bird sitting on a post and suspected that it was a Merlin. We walked further along the path and set up our scopes on the bird and was able to confirm that it was a Merlin. Shortly afterwards Malcolm indicated that it had flown and a few seconds later birds flew from the corner of the marsh where we were standing and then the Merlin flashed just a few feet away from us. I continued heading north and then perched on a fence post alongside the path to the 360 Hide and after viewing it through the scopes we decided we would go along the path towards the hide to see if we could get closer. It remained on the post for quite some time and we were able to get reasonably close without disturbing it and get a few photos, although it was mainly facing away from us. Another birder then came along the path from the hide and was clearly aware of the Merlin but got too close and it flew off towards the hide before heading north.

Female Merlin

This was one of our target birds today and my second year-tick of the day and with the Merlin gone we continued onto the 360 Hide.

There wasn’t a great deal from the 360 Hide, a Common Ringed Plover, a few Dunlin and a couple of Black-tailed Godwits. We did spend quite some time in the hide looking for a Little Stint that had been present earlier this week but eventually gave up and I went a got the car, whilst the others walked towards the sea wall.

We couldn’t see too much from the path and so went up onto the sea wall to get and elevated view of the marsh and the salt marsh. As we walked towards the wall David heard a Bearded Tit call and we then walked back when I heard one and it was clearly in flight but none of us saw it. A warden had also heard them and said that it had flown into the reedbed below the sea-wall and so we walked back towards Malcolm who had found a male by the time we reached him. As I started to look through the scope a second bird, a female, also appeared and we had some nice views as they fed at the top of the Phragmites of yet another year-tick.

When we reached the sea-wall something caused quite some disturbance and there must have been at least 2000 European Golden Plover in flight, along with plenty of Northern Lapwings. We scanned the marsh looking for a Spotted Redshank, which had been reported earlier and a Ruff that David and I had seen when first viewing the Merlin. David found a Spotted Redshank and shortly afterwards I found a second bird but there was no sign of the Ruff.

We turned our attention onto the salt marsh where we had distant views of a female Western Marsh Harrier and shortly afterwards David said he thought he had a male Hen Harrier. We all eventually got on the bird as it flew over the ground at some speed until it approached the bank towards The Haven and then turned and dropped onto the ground. Roger then noticed six Whooper Swans on the freshwater marsh but there was still no sign of any Ruff. David then said he had the Hen Harrier again and that it was flying low and fast back towards us. It was quite some time before I manged to pick it up but then we had some nice views as it past distantly in front of us before dropping down again. I then picked up a Merlin flying off the freshwater marsh and it passed almost over our heads before flying out onto the saltmarsh and perching on a post. Initially we thought it would be a second bird as it looked very ragged particularly the flight feathers but on reflection after seeing my photos I thought it was probably the same bird.

The Hen Harrier was another target bird for me and my forth year-tick of the day and I suggested that we went to Deeping Lakes where they had seen a Long-eared Owl whilst I was away. There had been no recent reports, but I thought it would be worth a shot.

It took about forty minutes to get to Deeping and after a quick scan of the lake alongside the car park we walked to the hide where we could see the island where the owls normally roost. When we reached the hide I was surprised how much the vegetation had changed, with far less cover, and presumably due to the nesting Great Cormorants. We spent awhile scanning the area they are normally seen but they are never easy but eventually gave up assuming they weren’t there. There were four male and a female Goosander on the lake and ten Whooper Swans flew over heading northeast.

As we approached the car park we had some nice views of a Green Woodpecker and when we got back to the car park we spent longer viewing the lake and found a single Northern Pintail, fifteen Northern Shoveler, a Great Egret and two Eurasian Oystercatcher before we called it a day and headed back to Rutland Water.

We had another three Common Kestrels between Empingham and Egleton but a brief search for a Barn Owl on Lagoon One before going home was unsuccessful.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - February 20, 2018

It was overcast with some intermittent rain when I left home and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir and was still raining a little as I turned along the northern approach road. I had seen a Red Kite and a Common Buzzard from Blaston on route but otherwise it was quiet.

There was no sign of the Little Owl in the old oak and there was a Stock Dove sitting almost on the edge of hole, which made me wonder if the owls are still in residence. There was very little around the feeding station at the bridge and the water level is now quite high, which meant that other than a few Northern Lapwing and gulls there was also nothing unusual at the inlet. The best was a single Common Buzzard over the Leicestershire fields and with very little else and I was soon on my way to the North Arm at Rutland Water.

I stopped to view the geese in the field from Church Lane and found the forty-four Barnacle Geese and eight Egyptian Geese, but no Greater White-fronted Geese and they have now almost certainly moved on. I stopped briefly to view Tim’s feeders where the best was a Coal Tit before parking at the far end of the unnamed road.

There was a single Barnacle Goose and a Common Redshank along the north shore and I found the Black-necked Grebe towards Dickinson’s Bay. On the southern shore there were two more Egyptian Geese, a Common Shelduck and another Common Redshank.

From the North Arm I went to the Visitor's Centre at Egleton and after a brief chat with Stephen set off for Snipe Hide on the Wet Meadow. Two more Egyptian Geese flew over as I approached the hide but there were fewer birds than on Sunday with just eight Common Shelduck, eight Northern Shoveler and five Common Pochard of interest and there was a Red Kite to the north and a Common Buzzard sitting on the old kestrel nest box and I could see a couple of Eurasian Oystercatcher on Lagoon One.

With little else I walked to Harrier Hide where I found another couple of Common Shelduck and more Northern Shoveler but a scan off Lagoon One produced nothing new and I moved onto Pintail Hide on Lagoon Six.

There were two male and three female Goosander on Lagoon Six as well as two more Eurasian Oystercatcher but two and then the other three Goosanders flew off.

Male and female Goosander

Male and two female Goosanders

Female Goosander flying off

A scan of Lagoon Eight produced nothing and from the 360 Hide on Lagoon Five I found yet another pair of Eurasian Oystercatcher, a Common Redshank and two Common Pochard. I went down to Shelduck Hide to get a different view of the lagoon but found nothing new on either Lagoon Six or Seven.

Drake Gadwall on Lagoon Five

Eurasian Wigeon on Lagoon Five

European Robin

A further visit to Snipe Hide produced four Eurasian Bullfinch as I approached the hide but nothing else.

A visit to Mallard Hide on Lagoon One produced a Eurasian Curlew feeding in the grass at the edge of the lagoon but with little else I moved back to the centre.

A brief stop at the feeding station produced a Marsh Tit, two Lesser Redpoll and a Reed Bunting along with good numbers of Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch and European Goldfinch.

Lesser Redpoll

I went into the centre and joined Steve and Terry in the viewing area and saw a drake Northern Pintail and another Eurasian Curlew on Lagoon Two and Terry found a European Stonechat near Mallard Hide. A Eurasian Sparrowhawk flew over just after Gerry joined us and after a quick look at the feeders we went back to the cars for lunch.

Several small parties of Redwing flew over whilst we were having our lunch and when I had finished I set off for the northern lagoons. I headed for Grebe Hide first but hadn't seen anything of note as I entered the hide. There were eight Common Pochard and yet another Eurasian Oystercatcher but there was still no sign of the American Wigeon and it looks as though it might have departed.

When I arrived at sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four there was a small group of birders there, but I settled down to the right and began scanning the lagoon. There was a male and two female Goosander and I suspected that they were possibly the same birds I had seen earlier on Lagoon Six, particularly when I found another male and female. A red-headed Smew then swan in front of the hide and I found five Eurasian Oystercatcher scattered around the lagoon. One of the birders then began talking about a possible rare grebe but when I scanned the far side of the lagoon I found two male and six red-headed Smew and he then indicated that he had been watching a red-head. Two more red-heads appeared and began swimming towards the distant group of Smew and I suspect that I had seen two males and nine red-heads. Another of the group indicated that there were some waders on one of the islands that turned out to be ten Dunlin, but they then flew low over the lagoon and I lost them and couldn’t find them again. A Little Egret feeding along the western bank was my only sighting of the day and there are clearly far fewer on site now with no sightings of any Great White Egrets today.

Feeling I had exhausted Lagoon Four I moved to Shoveler Hide where I found Mike, Steve and Terry, who hadn’t seen too much but did point out a couple of Northern Pintail and I then found a third. There was also five Common Shelduck and nine Common Pochard, but the number of dabbling duck was far fewer than of late and possibly due to the high water levels. Mike and Terry called it a day and Steve went to Plover Hide on Lagoon Four, whilst I went to look at the new Lapwing Hide.

The hide isn’t quite finished yet but is open and is quite like the older one but perhaps a little smaller. There were quite a few Common Goldeneye on the main water and I found a single immature/female Greater Scaup before I went back to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four, where I didn’t find anything new.

I decided that I wold go to the Lyndon Reserve in the hope of finding a Great Northern Diver seen by Steve and Terry earlier. After parking in the car park, I went a viewed the feeders where there was quite a bit of activity, which was mainly Eurasian Blue Tits but also included Great Tit, European Robin, Dunnock, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch and Reed Bunting and also a couple of Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

When I got down to Teal Hide the floor in the left-hand corner was soaked, which was being caused by the waves hitting the side of the hide and the water then splashing up and coming through the flaps. I looked towards Manton Bay initially and saw very little before looking out towards Lax Hill. There were a few Great Cormorant along the shore and a party of gulls resting near Goldeneye Hide and as I scanned further along the shore I found the Great Northern Diver slightly to the left of the hide and about mid-water. I then found it again a few minutes later when it had moved further east and was almost invisible at times with just the head showing above the waves.

It perhaps hadn’t been one of my best days, but I had recorded seventy-six species in what were quite windy conditions towards the end of the day.

A morning at Rutland Water, Rutland - April 18, 2018

I left home this morning early as I was hoping to see four Greater White-fronted Geese that had been present yesterday at Rutland Water. It was still quite gloomy as I reached Slawston and as I slowed down to check the tree where we were told in August that a Tawny Owl was using but to date we hadn’t seen it despite stopping many times. To my surprise there was the bird clearly visible in the gloom, it looked at me and then down into the tree and I expected it to drop out of sight, but it turned again and glared at me and I drove off leaving it in peace.

When I arrived at Rutland Water the forty-four Barnacle Geese and nine Egyptian Geese were there but there was no sign of the Greater White-fronted Geese. I had a quick look in the North Arm but saw very little before going to the Volunteer’s Training Centre to join the other WeBS counters.

It was still quite foggy and there was little point in trying to count and so we stood chatting before I decided that we could probably count Lagoon One and I set off there with Clare to begin the count.

After parking we walked down to the centre but as it was still closed we went to Mallard Hide to begin the count. There wasn’t a great deal on the lagoon with just most of the commoner wildfowl being in evidence and the best being two Eurasian Oystercatcher and a single Eurasian Curlew. We had a quick check from the centre, but it wasn’t long before we were back in the car heading for the Old Hall to count South Arm Three.

Like Lagoon One there were very few birds, but a small flock of Tufted Duck contained a single juvenile/female Scaup and I found a second a little further out. Despite scanning the area between the Old Hall and the island several times there was no sign of the Red-necked Grebe in its favourite area. We walked along the track and went to point to view the rest of the arm but other than a few more Tufted Duck and a reasonable number of Common Goldeneye there wasn’t much else and just two Great Crested Grebe, which was a surprise. As we walked back we scanned the area near the Old Hall again and both Clare and I found the Red-necked Grebe, almost at the same time.

We then went back to the centre and after submitted our figures and talking to Joe it became apparent that the Wet Meadow hadn’t been counted and so Clare and I walked around to Snipe Hide to complete it.

As we approached the hide we flushed a party of Eurasian Wigeon and when we went into the hide found them on the flash and I counted exactly one hundred. There was also a good number Canada Geese to the left of the hide and with ten Common Shelduck, six Northern Shoveler, a pair of Northern Pintail and five Common Pochard and four Eurasian Curlew along with a few Gadwall and Eurasian Teal and it had certainly been worth effort with the icing on the cake being a superb male Eurasian Sparrowhawk that Clare found.

It hadn’t been a great count in terms of numbers but there was still a good variety.

A day in Northamptonshire - February 17, 2018

I planned to go into Northamptonshire today to try and see four year-ticks and my first site was to be Cottesbrooke, where I was hoping to see Hawfinch. After passing through Thornby on the A5199 the car started to make a rather strange clicking noise, which I thought might be the fan and so I switched it off and on, which appeared to stop the noise but as I turned off the main towards Cottesbrooke it felt quite cold and so I tuned the heater up, which didn’t make a lot of difference. The road to Cottesbrooke is gated and as I stopped to open the gate I had a warning message come up indicating that the engine coolant was low. I pulled off the road and lifted the bonnet and found that the coolant reservoir cap was missing. The car had been into Sytner yesterday for a repair and obviously the technician had removed and not replaced the cap.

I realised that I shouldn’t continue and started to head for home but stopped in a layby to ring Sytner and managed to get through just after 08:00. I had lifted the bonnet again and found the reservoir cap resting near the radiator and refitted it.

I parked along the lane near the dam and walked to the dam to view the reservoir and look for the Slavonian Grebe. The sun was now breaking through and it was a rather spring-like morning and rather pleasant. The Slavonian Grebe had been reported between the yacht club and Pintail bay but all I could find were a few Little and Great Crested Grebes. A Grey Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail were observed on the dam and there were a few Great Cormorant on the water but after about forty minutes I decided I would go to Ecton Sewage Works and try for the Slavonian Grebe again later.

I approached the sewage works from Cogenhoe and after walking through the caravan park and over two bridges I wasn’t too sure as to where to go and called Malcolm, who was familiar with the site. I found he was in Norfolk with his brother and that they had just seen an Iceland Gull at Titchwell. He explained where to go, which was just a few minutes from where I was, and I was soon on the bridge over the stream where the treated water flows into the river. I had soon seen at least three Common Chiffchaff but wasn’t too optimistic about seeing any Green Sandpiper due to the height of the water. As I continued to watch the Common Chiffchaff I also had several Long-tailed Tits, a Eurasian Wren, a European Robin and a Dunnock and a Grey Wagtail also made a brief appearance. I saw three Red Kite briefly and I then caught sight of a Green Sandpiper in flight, which landed on the edge of the stream. I looked at the sandpiper I found a second a little further down the stream and I had seen both hoped for species.

European Robin

Common Chiffchaff

Long-tailed Tit

I decided that I would go for a walk along another path where I had further views of the three Red Kites and found a Grey Heron and Little Egret. I returned to the stream again and whilst watching a Common Chiffchaff saw some movement on the edge of the stream, which turned out to be a Water Rail. I had 100% success here and it was time to see if I could get the Slavonian Grebe at Pitsford Reservoir.

Red Kite

When I got back to Pitsford Reservoir I parked in the country park car park and then walked north along the shoreline. I walked far enough so that I could see into the final bay and initially still couldn’t find the Slavonian Grebe but as I scanned with the bins I noticed what I thought might be it near the far corner and confirmed it when I got it the scope.

An excellent day with 100% success on the target birds taking my year-list onto 142.

A day in Cambridgeshire & West Norfolk Februay 15, 2018

Roger picked me a little before 06:30 and after driving to David’s who was the designated driver today we sent off to Rutland Water to collect Malcolm. We made a short detour at Rutland Water to view the flock of forty-four Barnacle Geese that have been present for a while, but David hadn’t seen.

Having watched the geese briefly we were soon on our way to Blackbush Drove in Cambridgeshire where we were hoping to catch up with a Rough-legged Buzzard. They had all seen it whilst I was away cruising and were optimistic they would see it again. However, when we got there it was still quite cold, particularly in the fresh westerly wind. We were there almost an hour but there was no sign of any buzzards and all we were seeing was a constant stream of European Herring Gulls moving south. Whilst we were on site we did see a Little Egret, a Common Kestrel and circa thirty Fieldfare but we eventually called it a day and continued to Norfolk.

Our next target was a Tundra Bean Goose that been reported several times earlier this week feeding with Pink-footed Geese between Ringstead and Thornham and the good news was that it was there today. After seeing a Grey Partridge at the side of the road, we arrived in the area but there were no geese feeding in the fields, although we did have a few small flocks of Pink-footed Geese in flight.

With dip number two under our belts David decided we were going to Thornham for Twite, which we had all seen this year, although Malcolm, Roger and I dipped on our first visit. There were a few other birders looking for the birds, but they hadn’t been seen. So, after parking near the old coal shed we walked to the footpath to Holme but we didn’t go too far along the path as it felt quite raw and there was no sign of the Twite and we eventually decided to go for our next target a Hooded Crow. The highlight of the visit was a Little Egret and two Grey Plover.

The Hooded Crow had been east of Chalk Pit Lane and Choseley most of the week and had been seen yesterday at the pig farm. We approached the pig farm from Brancaster along Mill Lane and then went along Ringstead Road to Chalk Pit Lane where we spent some time observing the area. It was no surprise, considering the way the day was going, that there was no sign of the crow and we had to be content with five Common Buzzard, a Common Kestrel and c.100 European Golden Plover.

It was just after 11:30 when we arrived at Titchwell and after an early lunch, when I saw a male Brambling we set off for the west bank. When Roger and I reached the visitor's centre Malcolm informed us that he and David had seen two Brambling and after short wait Roger and I saw a female. David then re-joined us indicating that some good birds had been seen this morning, specifying Red-crested Pochard, Common Greenshank, Mediterranean Gull and Water Pipit.

We set off down the west bank and stopped at Thornham Pool where the Water Pipit had been earlier but there was no sign and on reaching the Freshwater Marsh, which was well flooded all we could find were twenty-one Avocet amongst a party of Black-headed Gulls. There was a female-type Western Marsh Harrier over the reedbed but other than a good number of Pochard and Tufted Duck there was little else on the Freshwater Marsh.

When we reached Volunteer Marsh the tide was out and there was party of twenty-eight Knot feeding but other than two Grey Plover and thirty-plus Common Redshank there wasn’t a great deal else.

There was a Black-tailed Godwit on the Tidal Marsh and at least three Pintail but like everywhere else fewer birds than normal.

When we eventually reached the beach, the tide was out and there were fewer birds both along the shore and on the sea. Most of the waders expected were present but in small numbers and on the sea, there was circa twenty Common Scoter and a single female Red-breasted Merganser. I did pick up a Fulmar flying west and there were good numbers of Great Crested Grebe on the sea, but otherwise it was particularly quiet.

As we made our way back we found a Little Grebe and a second Black-tailed Godwit on the Tidal Marsh and when we caught David up at the Freshwater Marsh he had found two male and a female Red-crested Pochard. The wind had increased gradually during the day and was now quite fresh and gusting making it rather unpleasant.

There had been a report of two Little Gulls, three Caspian Gulls and a juvenile Iceland Gull at Fisher Fleet in King’s Lynn. We weren’t very optimistic but felt we should give them a go as they were on the way back and David suggested we should go via Ringstead to see if the geese had returned.

As we approached the area where the geese had been seen there were a few Pink-footed Geese in flight again and they appeared to be dropping down. Malcolm then said there quite a few geese in the next field, and we could see a small number through the hedge. We managed to get a position where there was a gap in the hedge but didn’t want to get out of the car as they would almost certainly flush. It was difficult for Roger and I as we were having to look through David and Malcolm but I could see quite a few and as I was scanning David announced that he had it. He gave directions and leaned forward so I could get a better view and I soon found the bird on the front edge of the flock. Malcolm also picked it up, but Roger was struggling, and it was several minutes before we managed to get him on to it as he was tending to look to far to the left and once we had all seen it we continued on to King’s Lynn.

There were no other birders present when we arrived at King’s Lynne and although there were good numbers of gulls, all we saw were Black-headed and European Herring Gulls. Some other birders then arrived and informed us that the birds had departed earlier this morning as the tide turned and only the finder had seen them.

We had agreed to finish at Eldernell and were surprised when we arrived to find the car park almost full and a good number of birders present. There were two Common Cranes stood on top of the distant bank and I found three more to the right of the old duck decoy. We also saw six Whooper Swans and there was a 1000+ European Golden Plover seen in flight quite frequently. There was a nice party of c.100 Fieldfare and we also had two Western Marsh Harriers, a Common Buzzard and a Common Kestrel. Malcolm had a Western Barn Owl and two Short-eared Owl performed quite well as the wind dropped late afternoon.

Short-eared Owl

Not one our best days out with many of the target birds missed but I still recorded eighty-four species, four of which, were year-ticks.

A day in Northwest Leicestershire - February 13, 2018

With news of a Black-throated Diver still being present at Albert Village Lake, David and I decided to go and see it. We didn’t see a great deal on route with a Common Buzzard as we approached Albert Village being the best.

After parking in the car park on Occupational Road we walked across the road and down to the lake. There was a small crowd gathered along the western shore and when we joined them we found Roger, Brian, Roger Brett, Rosie and Andy who were watching the bird in the centre of the lake. The views through a scope were quite good but the bird remained in the centre of the lake the whole time we were on site. There were a few gulls on the lake mainly Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls but there were also a few European Herring Gulls and a single Great Black-backed Gull and the only other birds of note was a Eurasian Oystercatcher and four Northern Raven.

Black-throated Diver

I suggested to David that we went to Kelham Bridge to try again for a Willow Tit, which we did. The weather was much better today but the path had thawed and was very muddy. When we reached the hide, there were plenty of bird visiting the feeders, despite them in needed of replenishment. Blue and Great Tits were constant and two Long-tailed Tits were also frequent visitors and three European Robin and two Dunnock were feeding under the feeders. Two Great Spotted Woodpecker were observed with one being present most of the time but there was no sign of the target bird.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

European Robin

Long-tailed Tit

Great Tit

Blue Tit

We walked to the second hide seeing three Northern Shoveler, six Common Buzzard and a Common Kestrel as we did so. From the second hide there were two more distant Common Buzzard and there were several Gadwall, Mallard and Eurasian Coot on the water.

Common Buzzard

We made a further visit to the first hide but as there were far fewer birds visiting the feeders we were soon on our way back to the car.

Our final port of call was to be Thornton as David hadn’t seen the Western Cattle Egret. We parked in Sharp’s Close and walked to field gate but there were just a few Black-headed Gulls with no sign of the egret and so we went to the footpath at The Orchards. The path was no quite muddy and slippery, and I manged to slip as as we went down the slope to the style. David went down the field, but I went and looked from the style to the right and found the Western Cattle Egret in the field with the horses. I retraced my steps and followed David who had gone too far down the field and so I called him back and we then had good views of the egret from a gap in the hedge.

Western Cattle Egret

We hadn’t seen a lot of species today but with the Black-throated Diver and Raven being year-ticks it had been productive. We had also a Eurasian Sparrowhawk near Bagworth and thirteen Common Buzzards during our time in the field and in some pleasant winter weather.

My year-list now stands at 135 and my Leicestershire and Rutland list is at 105, which is not bad considering I was away on a cruise for two weeks

A morning in northwest Leicestershire - February 10, 2018

With rain forecast from around 10:00 today Roger and I were not hopeful in getting much birding in but went to Thornton where I was hoping to catch up with a Cattle Egret that has been present since the end of January.

We arrived on site just after 07:30 and after parking walked the short distance to view the field the egret had been frequenting. There was a light breeze and it was feeling quite cool after an overnight frost but on reaching the gate there was no sign of the egret. With still no sign we went back into the village to access a footpath where we could see into the field a little better but there was still no sign of the egret but we did see a single Fieldfare and thirty-five plus Redwing and heard both a Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker. We moved along the footpath several times and I was beginning to think that I was going to be unlucky when we picked up the Cattle Egret flying in from the northwest. I continued flying across the field and disappeared behind some houses. We decided to go and see if we could see into the field from near the houses it had disappeared behind. As we walked back Mike Snow arrived and he then came with us but as we walked down St. Peter’s Drive I saw it flying again and so we went back to our original vantage point. There was no sign so we went to the footpath again and another birder who was coming away informed us that it was in a field with a horse. The horse field was to the right and we could see it from the style but decided we would be better to go down the field to see if we could see it through the hedge. Has it happened it was close to a gap in the hedge and I managed to get a few shots off before it flew again and landed further along the hedge. Although we could see it through the hedge it wasn’t possible to get any better shots and Roger and I decided we would go Kelham Bridge for a Willow Tit. There had been a few showers during our stay and it was raining quite a bit when we set off for Kelham Bridge.

Cattle Egret

When we arrived at Kelham Bridge the rain was rather persistent, but it isn’t too far to the hide and we were soon in the hide observing the feeders. There was a constant coming and going of Blue & Great Tits and six Long-tailed Tits also made frequent visits. There were three Robin and three Dunnock feeding under the feeders and a Great Spotted Woodpecker also made several visits. A single Marsh/Willow Tit made a brief visit, which we assumed would be a Willow Tit. However, when it made a second visit there was no sign of any pale panel in the wing and on subsequent visits I paid attention to the bill and saw a pale spot near the base of the upper mandible, indicating that it was a Marsh Tit. It eventually disappeared and when it hadn’t returned after some twenty minutes we called it a day.

Our next target was Mandarin Duck at Blackbrook Reservoir and when we parked the rain had eased slightly but as we walked along the track to the bridge it started to rain heavy again. When we reached the bridge, I scoped the shore and found two males and two female Mandarin Ducks and a Little Egret. We didn’t hang about too long as it was still raining rather heavily and we were getting rather wet and getting back to the car we decided to call it a day and headed off home.

Tuesday 27 February 2018

About Me