A day in Northamptonshire & Leicestershire & Rutland - March 24, 2018

David and I were out today and had planned to go to Lings Wood in Northampton to hopefully connect with a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.  When I picked David up it was overcast with some light rain, which was intermittent and a little heavier at times.  When we reached Lings Wood the rain was a little more persistent and we weren't too optimistic.  We sat in the car with the windows slightly open and after a sort while we heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drumming.  We got out and after putting on our gear walked the short distance to where we thought the bird was.  However, it stopped briefly and then started again close by but stopped again before we had located it.  We hung around in the area where we thought it was but there was no more drumming or movement until David saw a bird fly into one of the trees near where we were standing.  We got onto the bird and were pleased to see it was the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which started to drum again before moving to another tree.  It drummed briefly again and then flew what appeared to be some distance and with the rain still falling we returned to the car.  The day had begun well as the woodpecker was a year-tick for both of us.

Our next planned visit was to Ecton Sewage farm, where David was hoping for a Green Sandpiper, which I had seen last month.  When we arrived, the rain had eased, and we walked through the caravan camp, over the meadow and onto the sewage treatment outlet stream.  Just after passing over the small bridge we heard a Common Chiffchaff but were unable to locate, but it was a second year-tick for David, and we then heard a Cetti's Warbler as we approached the stream.  When we reached the outlet channel there were quite a few ducks at the far end that included Gadwall, Mallard and Eurasian Teal but most flew off as we looked up the stream.  We did find a couple of Green Sandpipers on the edge of the channel and the Cetti's Warbler called again but not surprisingly we couldn’t find it.  With little else we went back to the track and walked north to view the fields but didn’t find anything of note and a second visit to the outlet produced nothing new and we started to head back to the car.  There were a couple of Grey Herons and a Little Egret on the stream and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew over.

It was still raining as we left for Rutland Water and was still doing so when we reached the Lyndon Reserve almost an hour later.  After signing in at the visitor’s centre we spent a few minutes observing the feeders seeing a good selection of common species, including a couple of Eurasian Tree Sparrows. As we started to walk down to Teal Hide David spotted one of the Great Northern Divers just off shore and so I returned to the car to get my camera.  When I got into the hide the diver was still reasonably close and I managed to get a few shots.

Great Northern Diver

Great Norther Dive

There were eight Egyptian Geese at the base of Lax Hill along with two Eurasian Oystercatchers and I also found a single Eurasian Curlew.  As we scanned the South Arm looking for the Red-necked Grebe we found eight Greater Scaup but there was no sign of the grebe.  I moved to look down towards Manton Bay where David had seen his fourth year-tick of the day, Western Osprey.  The two Western Osprey were still perched on the T-perch and I the found a second Great Northern Diver almost in Manton Bay.  After letting David and Mike Snow, who had joined us, view the diver I continued scanning and found a drake Common Scoter.

We eventually moved onto Dickinson’s Bay where there had been four Greater White-fronted Geese amongst the Greylags but all we found were the Greylags and two Egyptian Geese.  Two more Egyptian Geese flew over and there were three Little Grebes in the bay but there was no sign of the Black-necked Grebe.

A stop overlooking Tim’s feeders produced a single Coal Tit but nothing else and so we drove to the end of the unnamed road and as we pulled up I noticed a group of swans and immediately suspected that they were Whooper Swans.  I alerted David as I confirmed their identity and after getting out of the car made Mike aware before going through the gate to try and photograph them.

Whooper Swans

Two of the swans had slightly duller bills and a greyish cast to their plumage indicating that they were first-winter birds.  There was a single Little Egret on the north shore and I found a female-type Greater Scaup feeding amongst some Tufted Ducks but there was no sign of the Black-necked Grebe.  I walked further down the spit to view the south shore where I found two Eurasian Oystercatchers and two Common Redshanks and Mike located the two Barnacle Geese on the north shore.  As we walked back to the car David found a Snipe on the north shore of the fishponds and a Eurasian Nuthatch was heard calling.

We went to the Egleton Reserve and after some lunch, seeing a Great Spotted Woodpecker, before we went to visitor's centre to view Lagoon One.  A brief stop at the feeding station produced a Lesser Redpoll and a good selection of commoner species.  The water level on the lagoon is now very high and consequently few areas are suitable for waders, but we did find five Common Shelduck, several Northern Shoveler and a Common Pochard on the water and four more Common Shelduck could be seen on the Wet Meadow.

After a while we decided we would go to the northern lagoons and met Ricky and Graham coming back, who hadn’t seen very much, except for a couple of red-headed Smew.  Whilst we were talking I had a What’s-app message from Chris Hubbard indicating that he had found a Slavonian Grebe from Deep Water Hide at Lyndon and so we decided to go.  As we walked back David heard a Common Chiffchaff singing and we eventually located in some bushes to the east of the path

When we got back to Lyndon we went straight to Deep Water Hide and found Chris still there as was the winter pluamged Slavonian Grebe, which was the first in the counties this year.  The Common Scoter was also showing well, although surprisingly we didn’t see it feeding, which the Slavonian Grebe was doing constantly.  I found one of the Great Northern Divers again and David saw six Eurasian Curlew fly in and land on the edge of the water on Lax Hill and Chris picked up a Western Barn Owl that flew over the water from Lax Hill to the Lyndon Reserve.  We had a good look through the Eurasian Curlew to make sure that the overwintering Whimbrel wasn’t with them, which it wasn’t.  The Slavonian Grebe suddenly started to make rapid progress towards the visitor’s centre and we lost it.  Chris had already gone back when he three of us made our way back to the centre but when we reached the centre Chris was going back to try and photograph the Common Scoter and hopefully find the Slavonian Grebe.  David then noticed that both Great Northern Divers were together just offshore, and we were able to make a number of the visitors aware but just before we departed we could only find one.

David and I decided we would go to Eyebrook Reservoir to end the day but on arrival there appeared to be very little.  We drove up to the fishing lodge gate before turning around and heading back down the Leicestershire side of the reservoir.  There were quite a few fishing boats on the water and consequently no gulls.  As we approached Holyoaks Farm we saw a Western Barn Owl hunting alongside the road before it flipped over the hedge towards the reservoir.  To our surprise a second bird then appeared slightly nearer and over the hedge on the opposite side of the road before flipping back over the hedge from where it had come.  As we drove further along the road the first bird was near the fencing and so we went to the northern corral hoping we might be able to photograph it.  However, when we got into the corral we found it hunting towards the inlet bridge but hoped it might return.  It disappeared in the far corner of the field but reappeared on several occasions but seemed to be keeping to the same area.  When it disappeared again David went to change his shoes and a few minutes later it suddenly appeared quite close having approached by flying along the hedgerow and out of sight.  I shouted David and started to fire off a few shots but the first few were out of focus, although the camera did eventually lock-on and I got a few decent shots, although the light was poor and consequently the ISO high, but it was an excellent close to the day.  We checked the old oak as we departed but there was no sign of a Little Owl and we saw nothing else of note on route home.

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

A day in the Brecks, Norfolk - March 22, 2018

David, Malcolm, Roger and I were off to the Brecks today and Roger picked me up at around 06:00 and we saw a Western Barn Owl just before turning to Newton Harcourt.  We transferred our gear into David’s car who was the nominated driver today and then headed to Market Harborough to pick up Malcolm and were on our way back 06:30. When we reached Huntington the A14 to Cambridge was congested and so we decided to take another route, although we weren’t sure that it saved us any time, although we did keep moving for most of the journey.  There was a single Common Buzzard near the first roundabout on the Huntington bypass and another as we approached Mildenhall.

Santon Downham was to be our first port of call where we were hoping to connect with Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which had been reported several times recently.  After parking in the Forestry Commission car park, we walked the short distance to the footpath to Brandon, where we found notices that it was closed.  The temporary barrier looked as though it was being ignored and we debated whether to go through and on to where we had seen the woodpeckers last year.  However, doubt then arose as to where the they had been seen and even more so when Malcolm said his pager was reporting them and Santon Warren.  We weren’t sure were that was and so Malcolm and I went back to the Forestry Commissions office to try and establish where Santon Warren was.  The lady on reception indicated that it was over the other side of the level crossing and so we went and parked there and found the warren signed on the opposite side of the road.

As we went through the gate we saw a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard soaring almost above us, but other than another Common Buzzard we hadn’t seen anything else as we approached the next gate.  We also felt that the habitat wasn’t suitable for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and began to feel we were in the wrong area.  As we started to walk back we heard a Woodlark sing briefly but it didn’t sing again, and we were unable to locate it.  We did see a couple of Eurasian Jay and a Common Kestrel but on reaching the car and talking to another birder we decided to head for our second target of the day, Northern Goshawk.

We arrived at the site near Cockley Cley and were surprised we were the only birders there.  We got our scopes out and started to scan the wood seeing quite a few Common Buzzard and a single Red Kite and it wasn’t too long before we had our first Northern Goshawk, but it was quite distant.  We then had several sightings up to about 11:00 after which we only had brief and very distant views.  In the past at this site we have had some good views but today they were quite distant and weren’t on view for very long, although I did watch one for well over a minute but couldn’t get the others onto it.

With no further sighting after 11:30 we moved off just before 12:15 to another site just the other side of the village where we had seen Woodlark last year.  As we walked down the path to the area where we had seen the Woodlark we had a Eurasian Treecreeper and heard a Eurasian Nuthatch and a little further along the track circa twenty Eurasian Siskin flew over.  When we reached the fenced off area, we spent about thirty minutes scanning but there was no sign of any Woodlark and we had to be content with a single Eurasian Jay and a Yellowhammer.

After a brief discussion we decided that our best option would be to visit Lynford Arboretum, which wasn’t too far and on our way home.  We stopped briefly a couple of times on the road back to the A1065 seeing a good number of Fieldfare and a Redwing at the first stop and a selection of water birds at the second that included a Common Shelduck and two Eurasian Oystercatcher.

After parking at Lynford we walked down the path seeing four Eurasian Siskin before observing the feeding station, where there was a selection of common species that included Coal Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Blackbird and Common Chaffinch.  We continued along the track towards the meadow seeing a Mistle Thrush before reaching the meadow.  David walked off to the right to view the lake where he had heard a Little Grebe and as I started to follow him when Roger said he had a Hawfinch in one of the trees in the meadow.  We alerted both David and Malcolm and as we watched the Hawfinch, several flocks of Redwing flew into the trees.  Roger then saw the Hawfinch drop to the right and Malcolm then said he had one in the tree to the left.  David got his scope on this identified it as a male and I walked along the path to see if I could locate the first bird.  I didn’t find it but did hear both a Little Grebe and Eurasian Nuthatch.

When I got back to the bridge the others had gone further along the path and had been watching two Hawfinches, but they had flown further along and so I walked further along the path to few the end bushes and trees.  We didn’t find the Hawfinch, but we did have a Goldcrest, two Eurasian Bullfinch, four Lesser Redpoll and two Eurasian Siskin.

As we walked back towards the bridge there were quite a few birds coming down to feed on seed that had been placed on top of some posts supporting the bridge.  We stopped to observe these and had a Coal Tit, a Marsh Tit, several Blue and Great Tits, a Eurasian Nuthatch and a Common Blackbird.  Two other birders then approached the bridge and they asked what we had seen and during the discussion we found out they had seen the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker where we had seen them last year and both Parrot Crossbill and Red Crossbill.  The Parrot Crossbill had been seen near the level crossing and the Red Crossbill from the road as they were leaving Santon Downham.  We established where they had seen them and decided we should go back and see if we could find either of the crossbills.

We turned off the A134 towards Santon Downham and stopped at the bend in the road where they had seen the Red Crossbill but there was no sign, but we did have another Marsh Tit.  We continued along the road and parked near the level crossing before walking down the road towards the river.  I had assumed that they had been seen in the conifers but there weren’t many and certainly no crossbills, but David then found several perched in a deciduous tree and we could see several females and a single male and were able to confirm that they were Parrot Crossbills.  There were more in a smaller tree and after seeing one drop to the ground, I walked further down the road to see if I could see them any better.  David and Roger joined me but as we started to focus on them they flew and headed north but we were able to see that there were twelve birds, including at least two males.

It had been a bit of a mixed day, disappointed with missing the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and only hearing Woodlark, although the late sighting of the Parrot Crossbills helped save the day.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - March 21, 2018

I had arranged a day out with Jem today, who I hadn’t seen January 2012, when we last visited Rutland Water.

We set off just after 07:00 and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir but we didn’t see a great deal before we turned onto the north approach road.  The old oak was checked but there was no sign of the Little Owl and other than a Common Kestrel there wasn’t much else and so we headed for the Lyndon Reserve at Rutland Water.

We had a Red Kite over the road just after leaving Manton and after dropping down to the reserve we went to view the feeding station.  Initially the feeders were quite quiet, but we did manage to locate a couple of Eurasian Tree Sparrow in the hedgerow and I found a Great Northern Diver just off shore before we continued to Teal Hide to view the South Arm.

There were nine Greater Scaup between the hide and Brown’s Island and a single Eurasian Oystercatcher and five Eurasian Curlew at the base of Lax Hill.  As I scanned towards Manton Bay there was a single Little Egret close to Heron Bay and one of the Western Osprey was on the nest and I found the Great Northern Diver again, which was now close to Manton Bay.

We went into the centre and whilst talking to Lloyd there was at least seven Eurasian Tree Sparrow visiting the feeders and a nice male Yellowhammer also paid a visit.  After Jem had bought his permit for the day we left and headed for the dam but not before seeing a Raven as it flew over the car park.

It was very quiet at the dam the best being a couple of Eurasian Oystercatcher near the man-made beach and a single Red Kite towards Empingham and so we moved onto Dickinson’s Bay.  We were hoping that the four Greater White-fronted Geese would still be present but when we got into the bay there were two fishing boats and the geese had moved to the other side of the trees.  We scanned what we could see but they were all Greylags although we could see more behind the trees we couldn’t identify and so we decided to go the unnamed road and view from there.  Before we left we went and viewed the North Arm from a different position but couldn’t locate the Black-necked Grebe but did have a Red Kite and a Common Buzzard circling above us and saw another Common Buzzard as we were heading for the main road.

We stopped and viewed Tim’s feeders seeing a single Coal Tit and there was a drake Goosander in the fishponds.  There were three other birders viewing from the end of the spit, but they hadn’t seen the Greater White-fronted Geese but had located a Great Northern Diver, which we soon found.  We scanned the geese several times during our stay but only saw Greylags, although some were asleep and consequently at the range were not easy to identify.  The three other birds then departed after which we found two Eurasian Oystercatcher and a single Common Redshank on the north shore and two more Eurasian Oystercatcher and four Common Redshank on the south shore, where there was also another Little Egret.

We turned our attention back onto the water and Jem found the Black-necked Grebe, which was now pretty much in full summer plumage and quite striking.  A Common Chiffchaff was then heard, and we located in the bushes just behind where we were standing.  A further check on Tim’s feeders before we went to the Egleton Reserve produced a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Nuthatch.

After some lunch we went to the centre to view Lagoon One but stopped to view the feeders where there was a good selection of commoner species but nothing unusual and so we continued onto the centre.  We found two Common Shelduck and three Common Pochard on the lagoon and Jem saw a Common Snipe fly over the path and when we looked in the vegetation we found two.

It was quiet as we walked alongside the meadows, but we did see a single Common Buzzard before going into Grebe Hide.  There were a couple of Eurasian Oystercatchers to the left of the hide and a single Common Pochard on the water but not a great deal else.

Our next stop was Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four and although the water was beginning to fall the only waders were five Eurasian Oystercatcher but hopefully it will become more attractive when the wader passage gets underway.  We found a single drake and four red-headed Smew and there was also a pair of Goosander.  There were fifteen Common Shelduck on the lagoon and further scanning produced two drakes and a single female Northern Pintail.  We had found a Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst the more numerous Black-headed and Common Gulls and there was also a single Herring Gull type, which was sitting down but when it stood up briefly we were able to confirm our suspicions that it was a Yellow-legged Gull.

Great Crested Grebe

Eurasian Coot

Red-headed Smew

Red-headed Smew

Red-headed Smew

We moved onto Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three where we found a single Common Shelduck, amongst the more common wildfowl, and two Eurasian Oystercatcher.  A party of Common Pochard flew in and I counted twenty-two and shortly afterwards I picked up a male Smew and there were also two Common Buzzard over the wood.  I then found a single Dunlin that was feeding along the edge of one of the islands.

Shelduck

Eurasian Teal

Drake Northern Shoveler

Drake & female Northern Shoveler

Drake & female Northern Shoveler

After a brief discussion we decide to head for Snipe Hide on the Wet meadow but saw very little on route and found just two Common Shelduck and two drakes and a single female Northern Pintail on the flash and a single Dunlin was on the long island on Lagoon One.  We continued onto Harrier Hide hoping that the Western Barn Owl would appear, but it didn’t oblige.  Four Eurasian Curlew did drop in on the Wet Meadow and there was two more Common Shelduck, a drake Northern Pintail and a Common Pochard on the second flash.

Two drake Northern Pintail

With little else we headed back to the car park and after a chat with Tim and a final check on Lagoon One we called it a day and headed off home.  We had recorded seventy-six species during the day of which several were year-ticks for Jem.

A morning in northwest Leicestershire - March 20, 218

I was just out for the morning today as I was attending my youngest granddaughter’s first production at school in the afternoon.  I decided to go to Watermead Country Park and arrived around 08:20 but found that the small nature reserve didn’t open until 09:00 and so walked south along the eastern shore of King Lear's Lake.  There wasn’t a great deal on the lake just a few Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe.  I heard a Green Woodpecker calling on several occasions and a Goldcrest but very little else.  When I reached the southern end of the lake I walked west and went over the bridge to reach the Birstall end of the park.  As I approached the bridge a single drake Gadwall flew over and on the next lake I found a single Common Pochard.  I continued along the footpaths and eventually heard my first Cetti's Warbler of the year but with just a few commoner species in evidence I made my way back along the western edge of King Lear’s Lake, seeing a single Little Egret.  When I reached the northern edge, I heard a second Cetti's Warbler call on a couple of occasions but wasn’t able to locate it.

The nature reserve was now open and so I went to Plover Hide to view the scrape, but it was fairly quiet with just two Common Shelduck and a few Eurasian Wigeon and Eurasian Teal.  I remained in the hide for a while and on hearing a Eurasian Oystercatcher, two dropped onto the scrape but I eventually went to a small hide overlooking a small pod on the edge of the reedbed but saw nothing.  I walked back to the path and then north through the nature reserve.  The Green Woodpecker was still calling occasionally, and I saw a Eurasian Sparrowhawk being mobbed by a Carrion Crow high over King Lear’s lake.  I had chat with a warden I had seen briefly in Plover Hide and whilst talking to him Andy Smith joined us, who was here to do some volunteer work.  As we stood talking five Fieldfare and a Redwing flew over and I saw a Long-tailed Tit.  I continued onto the hide where I found several Blue and Great Tits visiting the feeders, which then joined by four Long-tailed Tits and two male Common Reed Buntings.

As I walked back to the car another couple of birders thought they had seen a Common Chiffchaff feeding amongst a pile of cleared vegetation.  When I got there, there was no sign of the Common Chiffchaff, but I did pick up and Green Woodpecker in flight and then had some rather nice views of it after it landed in a tree.  A pair of Eurasian Bullfinch were observed as I approached the gate to get back to the car.

With still some time before I needed to head for my daughters to join my wife I decided to go to Swithland Reservoir as there had been a Black-necked Grebe present yesterday.

I drove down to the dam and found Norman scanning the water, but I drove to the end of the dam, seeing another Green Woodpecker, before turning and then joining Norman.  He hadn’t seen the Black-necked Grebe and said Steve had been earlier and hadn’t seen it.  I made several scans of the water during my hour long stay but could only find Tufted Ducks, Common Goldeneyes and several Coots, although the Black-necked Grebe was reported just after a reached my daughter’s.  Whilst looking for the grebe a Raven provided some nice views, a single Mistle Thrush was observed and a pair of Mandarin Duck flew over but there wasn’t a great deal else.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland March 13, 2018

It was overcast and a little miserable as I left home, although the forecast for later was for a nice spring-like day.  There were a couple of Little Egrets on Wistow Pool and a Common Buzzard was perched at the side of the road between Kibworth and Tur Langton, but I hadn’t seen a great deal else as I turned onto the northern approach road at Eyebrook Reservoir.

There was no sign of the Little Owl in the old oak and so I continued onto the bridge, seeing a Western Barn Owl quartering the ground as I approached the bridge.  The owl had disappeared after I had parked and on checking the feeders, which were almost empty, there was a single Eurasian Tree Sparrow extracting the last remaining food.  The water in the stream was very muddy and like the last visit the stream was wide and the reservoir full.

With little else I moved around to view the inlet where I found a single Little Egret, but other than a few Teal there wasn’t anything else.  I scanned further up the reservoir and found a pair of Pintail, but I soon moved along the Rutland bank where there was a party of seven Common Pochard and ten Common Goldeneye scattered along the Leicestershire side of the reservoir.

I went across country, which didn’t produce anything of note, to the Lyndon Reserve and I arrived just after 08:00.  The centre had opened at the weekend and the first Western Osprey, the Lyndon female, had returned yesterday and I was hoping to see her and the Red-necked Grebe that had been seen from the centre recently.  It is worth mentioning that this is the earliest date a Western Osprey has returned by quite a few days and I suspect that it might be a while before her mate arrives.

I wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the centre, but Paul had arrived early and after a chat and then viewing the feeding station, where there were at least five Eurasian Tree Sparrows I went to Teal Hide to look for the grebe.

I had seen images of the Western Osprey on the PC and when I scanned Manton bay found her still on the nest.  There were nine Greater Scaup towards Brown’s Island and I thought at one point I had the Red-necked Grebe, but it dived before I had made certain and then I couldn’t find it again.  I spent quite some time in the hide searching for the grebe without success and a single Eurasian Oystercatcher on Lax Hill was my only reward.

I the received a What’s app message indicating that Steve and Terry had found four Greater White-fronted Geese in Dickinson’s Bay, which were presumably the birds that were seen here last month and subsequently at Fort Henry Ponds.  After another brief chat with Paul, I set off for Dickinson’s Bay.

As I turned into Lyndon Road to drop down to Dickinson’s Bay, Steve and Terry were just leaving, and indicated that the geese were with Greylag Geese under the trees.  I parked at the bottom of the hill and walked the short distance around the cycle track to view the bay and soon found one of the Greater White-fronted Geese standing in the water.  I then noticed the other three were roosting on the shore with their heads tucked away and thankfully all four were not roosting as they would have been easily overlooked.  There were a couple of Egyptian Geese also on the shore and twelve Little Grebes scattered around the bay.  I scanned the north arm and found the Black-necked Grebe, now in almost full summer plumage, and another five Little Grebe close to Barnsdale Creek.

From Barnsdale I went to the unnamed road in the North Arm and after a brief view of Tim’s feeders where there was a steady stream of Blue and Great Tits and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Marsh Tit and Coal Tit, I continued to the end of the road and went through the gate to view the North Arm.  Gerry was just coming back indicating that he hadn’t be able to find the Greater White-fronted Geese and so I explained where they were and advised him to go to Dickinson's Bay.  I found a pair of Eurasian Oystercatcher and a Common Redshank in the fishponds and the two Barnacle Geese were on the north shore and I also relocated the Black-necked Grebe.  Scanning over Burley Wood produced a single Eurasian Sparrowhawk being mobbed by some corvids and as I walked back to the car I heard a Eurasian Nuthatch and found it in a tree alongside the path.

I drove to the Egleton car park and after a brief stop at the feeding station went into the centre.  Whilst I was chatting to Stephen I had another What’s app message from Steve, indicating that there was a Black-legged Kittiwake at the dam.  It is quite a rare passage visitor to the counties and so I decided to go, half expecting it to have gone.  After passing through Whitwell, Steve called to say not to rush up to the dam as it looked as though they had gone.  Terry had found a second, but they were now unable to find them but as I was now quite close I decided to continue.

I could see Steve and Terry about halfway across the dam and when I got close they said hurry up they are still here.  After getting directions I looked through the scope and found them straight away and was pleased I had continued.  They had just had a Sand Martin, which they had also seen from Whitwell but there was no sign now.  Scanning away from the dam I saw at least four Red Kites and four Common Buzzard.

When I got back to Egleton it was time for lunch and whilst having this Gerry arrived indicating that he had been watching five Eurasian Curlew in the Egleton Meadows and I asked if the Whimbrel was with them.  He hadn’t payed too much attention and went back for a second look and shortly afterwards another message from Steve arrived, indicated that the Red-necked Grebe was in South Arm Three between Teal Hide and Brown’s island.

Gerry then returned saying that the five curlew-type birds were all Eurasian Curlew and he then rushed off to try and catch-up with the Red-necked Grebe.  I took a more leisurely approach to Fieldfare Hide but couldn’t find the grebe, although I did find a second Great Northern Diver.

I continued to Gadwall Hide and found Gerry was still there and that he had seen the Red-necked Grebe with a lot of help from Steve via the phone.  He explained that it had moved quite some distance, but he told me where he had last seen it and we picked it up moving steadily down the South Arm towards the dam.  He hadn’t seen the diver and so we set about looking for it and I eventually found it in the bay to the east of the Old Hall.

We then started to walk back calling at Harrier Hide, where we found five Eurasian Curlew on the Wet Meadow before continuing onto Snipe Hide.  There were two Eurasian Oystercatchers quite close and a Great Cormorant was initially feeding in the drainage dyke close to the hide but then went and sat on the sluice before flying off.  The five Eurasian Curlew were still visible but had moved closer to Harrier Hide and there was a single Northern Shoveler on the near flash, which was the first of the day.  Three other birders then joined us in the hide and shortly afterwards Gerry went for his lunch.  One of the three birders then indicated that there was a bird of prey on a post, which he thought might be a Peregrine Falcon.  I looked and couldn’t see anything and realized it was on a post I couldn’t see due to the vegetation.  I moved slightly to get a better view and identified it as a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and then went back to my original spot.  Just as I sat down another bird of prey flashed in front of the hide, causing mayhem, and as it twisted near Mallard Hide we could see that it was a Peregrine Falcon and it then made several attempts at taking a Eurasian Wigeon but failed and flew off and settled in a tree.  It was visible in the tree but was partially obscured but then a Carrion Crow started to mob it and it took to flight and headed off to the north, climbing higher and circling as it continued to drift north.

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Great Cormorant

As there was now very little on the Wet Meadow I made my way back to the centre and went up to the viewing area to view Lagoon One.  There wasn’t a great deal on the lagoon with six Common Pochard being the best.

Grey Heron

Gerry had joined me in the centre and we decided to go to the northern lagoons.  We stopped around the feeding station near Badger Hide but other than a few tits and Common Reed Buntings we didn’t see a great deal else.  As we scanned the next meadow I added Long-tailed Tit and Eurasian Bullfinch for the day.

A visit into Grebe Hide on Lagoon Two produced a few Northern Shoveler but nothing else and we continued onto Sandpiper Hide.

Six Common Shelduck on Lagoon Four were my first of the day and we also found four Northern Pintail and two drake and three red-headed Smew.  There was also a Little Egret, and five Eurasian Curlew flew in before we moved onto Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.

When we entered the hide, Steve was already there but other than another five Common Shelduck and seven Common Pochard there wasn’t a great deal.  Steve then picked up four Sand Martin high up beyond the lagoon towards Hambleton and I managed to find them briefly then lost them but Steve who had them in his scope eventually found six.

Gerry then called it a day and I went to Dunlin Hide with Steve for another look on Lagoon Four, seeing my first county Linnets, which Steve had heard calling and then found in a tree near the hide.  The five Eurasian Curlew were still on one of the islands but flew off shortly after we entered the hide.  As we scanned around we found three drake and nine red-headed Smew, with one of the red-heads being a first-winter male.  Steve then found a couple of Dunlin and I noticed a pair of Goosander on the nearest islands and another female then flew in.  One of the Eurasian Curlew returned before I called it a day and headed off back to the car park.

Two drake & three red-headed Smew

Female Goosander

It had been a good day with seventy-nine species recorded that included three year-ticks and two additional Leicestershire & Rutland year-ticks, taking my totals onto 158 and 117 respectively.

A day in West Norfolk & Cambridgeshire - March 10, 2018

David, Malcolm, Roger and I had planned to go the Brecks today, but with a Snowy Owl in Norfolk yesterday, which was a lifer for Malcolm, we changed the plan slightly.  Roger picked David and I up and drove to Malcolm’s, who then drove for the day.

Our plan was to head for Wisbech, and then decide what to do depending on the news on the owl.  We left Market Harbour at around 06:30 and headed for the A47 but took a slight diversion to Blatherwycke Lake where we were hoping to connect with Mandarin Duck.  As we parked up it was raining quite hard, but David volunteered to get out of the car to use his scope and found a Male Mandarin Duck, which we all then saw but there was little else of note.

As we continued onto the A47 we saw a couple of Red Kites and another from the A47 near Castor.  As we approached Wisbech there was a message indicating that the owl hadn’t been seen and so we took the A1101 towards Downham Market with a plan to then head towards Cockley Clay for Goshawk and Woodlark.  As we were passing through Outwell, I received another message indicating that the owl had been relocated on Thornham Point and so we turned and headed back to the A47.  I checked Bird Guides app as we were going along the King’s Lynn bypass and found that the owl could be viewed from Thornham Harbour, although distantly.

We decided to head for Titchwell, as if the owl remained where it was, we would get good views from the point.  Malcolm was also concerned that parking would be a problem as the news had now been out for over an hour.  When we arrived parking wasn’t an issue and we were soon heading out along the west bank towards the beach.  However, when we scanned the bushes on the point we could see that the owl was no longer perched in the dead tree.  We decided to slow down and stopped to look on Thornham Pool but there was nothing, but a male and two Western Marsh Harriers were observed over the reedbed.  When we reached the Freshwater Marsh, we could see that birders were gathering further along the track and when we joined them, we found out that the owl had been relocated and was on the ground and could be seen from the path although it was distant.  I was a little surprised that there were no birders visible at the point and most seemed to be watching from where we were and from the end of the path near the beach.

Lee Evans was talking to a couple of the wardens when he suddenly saw about five birders quite close to where the bird had been and shortly after we reached the beach he decided that it would be ok to go out to the point to try and see it better.  David, Malcolm and a few other birders followed him, whilst Roger and I had a quick look on the sea before setting off, finding fourteen Long-tailed Ducks.

As I approached a group of about thirty birders it was clear that they had found the owl and when I joined them it was perched on a post on the beach but was quite distant.  Lee then suggested that we should try and get a couple of hundred yards closer and to his credit informed everyone what the plan was and that we should move together and not get above the skyline.  The whole group moved without anyone digressing and we got closer without disturbing the bird and we were able to get good views through a scope.  I took a few photos, but it was still quite distant and having to use a high ISO resulted in considerable noise, which made the photos of poor quality but the bird was identifiable.

Snowy owl

Snowy owl

We watched the bird for quite some time and it did fly briefly on one occasion before settling on what looked like a branch off a conifer, where it remained until we started to walk back.

When we left, the crowd had increased significantly and many more birders were hurrying along the beach to see this megger Norfolk rarity.  We scanned the sea on several occasions seeing three Greater Scaup, a Common Eider, four Common Scoter, eight Red-breasted Merganser and a Guillemot.  We had also seen numerous Eurasian Oystercatchers, two Common Ringed Plovers, circa twenty Knot and a few Bar-tailed Godwits and Ruddy Turnstones and an obliging female Snow Bunting that we were able to photograph.  After a brief watch from the beach and not seeing much we went back along the track.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

There were three Northern Pintail on the Tidal Lagoon but with just a few of the commoner species of wader on view we moved on.  When we reached Volunteer Marsh we looked along the channel on the northern edge and David found a Greenshank and Malcolm then found a Spotted Redshank.  There was another party of Red Knot on the marsh and a good number of Common Redshank along with a Black-tailed Godwit and several Grey Plover.

We stopped at the Fresh Marsh where there were twenty Pied Avocets along with a couple of Eurasian Oystercatchers and several Black-tailed Godwits.  We could see several Mediterranean Gulls on one of the island and decided to go to Parrinder Hide to get a better view.

There were at least twenty-eight Mediterranean Gulls, most of which were on the islands and I managed to get a few photos, although they were quite distant.

Adult Mediterranean Gulls

As we walked back we found several Mediterranean Gulls resting on another exposed area of mud, but they didn’t stay too long and I fired off a few shots of one as it flew off.

Adult Mediterranean Gull

Adult Mediterranean Gull

We hadn’t seen a great deal else as we reached the visitor’s centre but then spent a few minutes observing the feeders.  There were plenty of Common Chaffinches with a few European Greenfinch and European Goldfinch visiting and I then found a nice male Brambling perched in one of the trees behind the feeders.  It did drop onto the feeders very briefly but flew off and out of sight almost straight away.

Walking back to the car for lunch we found several birders looking for a Woodcock and one birder then said I’ve got it.  He provided directions and I found it but could only see its rear end.  I tried seeing it from different positions without any success, but the finder then got it in his scope and we all had excellent views as it roosted.

Whilst having lunch we discussed what to do next and agreed to go to Thornham again for Twite, then onto Hunstanton clifftop for Fulmar before trying the jet-ski slope for Purple Sandpiper and then head for Eldernell to finish the day there.

When we arrived at Thornham there were quite a few birders viewing the Snowy Owl, although it wasn’t possible to pick it up in the bins.  The news regarding the Twite wasn’t good as they hadn’t been seen, but as we got to the first bend on the seawall another group of birders said they had seen them close to the next bend, and so we continued along the bank.  As we got close to the next bend we picked up a flock of birds in flight that turned out to be twenty Twite and they eventually dropped down in front of us to provide some nice views.

After getting back to the car we drove the short distance to Hunstanton and soon had a couple of Northern Fulmar but a scan out to sea produced just ten Red-breasted Mergansers and a few Great Crested Grebes and we were soon on our way to the ski-ramp.  Unfortunately, the tide hadn’t come in far enough and there wasn’t any sign of a Purple Sandpiper or any other waders and so we left for Eldernell.

It took close to ninety minutes to reach the Nene Washes and seeing a party of swans in a field we pulled into a convenient layby.  As I got out of the car a Peregrine Falcon flew over, which I called, but only Malcolm saw it.  It was clear that most of the swan were Whooper’s but despite us all thinking we had a couple of Bewick’s we eventually decided that they all were Whooper’s and moved onto March Farmers.

The area at March Farmers was flooded but there were fewer birds than expected and I suspect that the ‘Beast from the East’ had moved quite a bit out and little had returned.  There were good numbers of both Gadwall and Eurasian Wigeon with smaller numbers of Eurasian Teal and Mallard and I counted twenty-seven Northern Pintail and six Northern Shoveler and David picked up a distant Western Marsh Harrier.

We moved onto the Eldernell car park and found a group of photographers photographing a Western Barn Owl, but it had moved off by the time I got out of the car.  There were nine Common Crane to the east of the duck decoy and David also picked up a second Western Barn Owl.  One of the Western Barn Owl then came reasonably close and this time I was able to get a few shots before it drifted off again.

Western Barn Owl

Western Barn Owl

Western Barn Owl

Western Barn Owl

There were three female-type Western Marsh Harrier and a male to the west and another female-type to the east and another birder picked up a Short-eared Owl sitting on the ground.  Another birder then indicated that it had moved to the other side of a small stream but then we realised that there were two on view.  They both eventually started to hunt but flew off quite quickly to the west.  Whilst standing on the bridge there were c.500 European Golden Plover observed to the west and another 1000+ to the east.

Short-eared owl

It had been an excellent day’s birding with ninety-seven species recorded between us of which I had seen or heard ninety, four of which, Woodcock, Greenshank, Snowy Owl and Rock Pipit, were all year-ticks, moving my year list onto 154.

An afternoon at Shawell, Leicestershire - March 08, 2018

There had been rain overnight that persisted during the morning and with a fresh and gusting wind I had decided not to go out until after lunch.  David suggested that we go to Shawell as adult Iceland Gull had been seen regularly in the Draycote Water roost and it was possibly spending the day at Shawell tip.

We set off around 14:00 seeing a Kestrel near the turn to Kilby and arrived at Shawell around 14:35.  After passing through the village David stopped to view a field where he had seen gulls in the past and the good news was that there were several hundred present.  We could see that the fast majority were Lesser Black-backed Gulls but as we scoped the flock we found a good number of both Black-headed and European Herring Gulls.  David then indicated that he had a white-winged gull but on moving he was unable to find it and went back to his original position.  He soon located it again and provided some directions and I there was a rather nice first-winter Iceland Gull, which wasn’t what we expected but was the target species.

The Iceland Gull performed quite well for quite some time, but we were unable to locate anything else of note and eventually moved further down the road to view the sandpit area.  There were even more gulls here again mainly Lesser Black-backed Gulls but also good numbers of Black-headed and European Herring Gulls.  As we scanned through the gulls we found smaller numbers of both Common and Great Black-backed Gulls and David then picked up the Iceland Gull again and just afterwards he thought he had a first-winter Caspian Gull, but the gulls took to flight before I found it and many flew off to the south.  We continued scanning the gulls that had remained and I found an adult Yellow-legged Gull, but we eventually called it a day and headed off.

As we were leaving I saw a bird perched on one of the building I thought it might be a Peregrine Falcon and so we turned and went back for a better view.  There was a Common Buzzard in a hedge as we went back to look at the bird on the building.  As we approached the building the bird was still there, and we were able to confirm my suspicions that it was a Peregrine Falcon.

We had another Common Buzzard near the Kilby turn as we approached Wigston but saw little else on the journey home.

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - March 6, 2018

David and I were out for a day’s local birding today and headed for Eyebrook Reservoir where we were hoping to meet Malcolm.  When we got beyond Kibworth we were surprised to see how much snow was still lying and in some places the drifts at the edge of the roads were still significant.  We hadn’t seen anything of note when we reached the turning to Stockerston Lane but with a significant drift on one side of the road and only a single track obvious we decided to continue to the northern approach road.  This turned out to be a good move as Malcolm tried to come along the road and had to turn around and go back as it was impassable.

After turning onto the northern approach road, we stopped to view the old oak and found a Stock Dove, which then dropped into the hole, confirming that the Little Owls were no longer in residence.  I have records of Little Owls at this site since the 1970’s and let’s hope that they might return and become established again.

We continued onto the bridge where we stopped and found the water level to be very high and the stream wider than I have seen it for some time.  There was very little around the small feeding station and we only saw Blue and Great Tits visiting it, although we did have two Eurasian Tree Sparrows on the opposite side of the road and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew in and perched briefly.  David noted a Little Egret in flight and a female Goosander, which is an irregular visitor to the reservoir these days.

As we drove around to view the inlet there was a Common Kestrel perched on the fence and two Yellowhammers on top of the hedge.  We checked out the inlet but with no suitable habitat for wading birds there was very little except for a few Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal and Black-headed Gulls.  We stopped further along the reservoir where we saw a distant perched Common Buzzard but little else.  Malcolm then arrived and after a brief chat we all headed off to the Old Hall at Rutland Water.

There were two Egyptian Geese in the field west of the Volunteer’s Training Centre, but we hadn’t seen anything else as we parked at the bottom of Lyndon Road in Hambleton before walking over the cattle grid to view the South Arm.

We were hoping for Greater Scaup, Great Northern Diver and Red-necked Grebe, all of which had been seen yesterday.  Steve and Terry joined us just after David had found two drake Greater Scaup towards Brown’s Island and he then found a Great Northern Diver in South Arm Three and was clearly on a role.  Terry then located another party of Greater Scaup, that contained four more males and three female-types.  Three Red Kite were then observed towards Hambleton, but the Red-necked Grebe was proving more difficult, which is not that unusual. After we were joined by Gerry, David walked along the cycle track to view South Arm Three, whilst Malcolm and I went the other side of the Old Hall to view South Arm One.

We still couldn’t find the Red-necked Grebe and it wasn’t long before David joined us having had the same result in South Arm Three.  As he walked towards us a Eurasian Sparrowhawk was observed displaying over the wood and we heard a European Golden Plover calling but couldn’t locate it.  We then had another look for the grebe from our original position but there was still no sign and we headed off to the North Arm.

As we drove along the unnamed road we stopped to view Tim’s feeders where there were plenty of Blue and Great Tits and single Marsh and Coal Tits.  We moved further down the road and parked before walking through the gate to reach the spit.  There was a pair of Common Shelduck and Eurasian Oystercatcher on the north shore and then David, obviously still on a role, found the Black-necked Grebe.  There were two more Eurasian Oystercatcher and a Common Redshank on the south shore and I then saw two Dunlin drop on the northern spit.  Gerry then joined us and after giving him directions for the Black-necked Grebe we found it had moved a considerable distance and was coming closer to us.  We could see that it was beginning to moult into summer plumage, appearing less black and white than it had been recently.  David then picked up an egret flying towards us from the east and as it got closer we could see that it was a Great Egret and shortly afterwards a Northern Raven flew over calling.  I then found two more Dunlin on the shore quite close to us and shortly afterwards we had all four in flight.  We mentioned to Gerry that we hadn’t seen the two Barnacle Geese and he said they were in the field on the other side of Tim’s cottage.

We went back up the road an initially couldn't see the Barnacle Geese but then found them further away with a group of Canada Geese.  A Eurasian Nuthatch was then heard, and we saw it in one of the trees before two flew towards Tim’s feeders.  We were also hoping for a Eurasian Treecreeper but had almost given up when David spotted one in the same tree we had seen the Eurasian Nuthatch in.

We were having a pretty good day and headed to the Egleton car park before walking down to the centre to view Lagoon One.  After checking the book and entering a few records we went up to the viewing area and found a large portion of the lagoon was still frozen.  There were three male and three female Goosander towards the far side of the lagoon and a single Eurasian Oystercatcher on an area of the exposed long island.  We eventually decided with nothing new being found that we would walk just beyond the badger hide to look for thrushes in the meadows and other passerines in the hedges before we had lunch.  There were just a few Common Blackbird and Song Thrushes but there was no sign of any winter thrushes and we found ourselves looking into the ringing feeding area from the Rutland gate.  There were plenty of birds coming and going, despite the feeders looking empty and we saw Blue and Great Tits, along with Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch and European Goldfinch.  Malcolm then found a pair of Eurasian Bullfinch and David kept saying he could hear redpolls, which Malcolm and I couldn’t hear, but shortly afterwards two flew in and we eventually had four Lesser Redpoll before returning for lunch.  Malcolm who stayed a little longer than David and I then came back with a rather nice photo of a superb male Lesser Redpoll.

Whilst we were having lunch Steve and Terry arrived after their circuit of the reservoir but had little to report and so after lunch we set off to the northern lagoons.  Volunteers were working close to Grebe Hide and it was no surprise that yesterday’s reported Siskin were nowhere to be seen.  A quick check for the hide for the American Wigeon produce a few Northern Shoveler and a single drake Northern Pintail but nothing else and we continued onto Lapwing Hide.

There were few birds close to the hide, but we did find all nine of the Greater Scaup, which were now together, along with a small party of Tufted Duck but they then all flew further away, and we went to Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three.

There were plenty of birds on the lagoon, including five Common Shelduck, several Northern Shoveler and three Northern Pintail and two Eurasian Oystercatcher flew over.  A Water Rail came out from the reeds to the left of the hide and walked across the ice to the island before running back into the reeds.  Scanning above the reedbed there were four Common Buzzard and a Red Kite soaring over Burley Wood, but we eventually moved on to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon Four.

There were Common Shelduck on the lagoon, but our main target was Smew and we eventually found five males and eight red-heads.  David then said he might have a Yellow-legged Gull but before Malcolm and I could get on it flew and landed in the water making it less easy to identify.  It was clearly darker mantled than a nearby European Herring Gull and eventually it came out of the water onto the western bank, revealing its yellow legs.  Malcolm then picked up a Green Woodpecker in flight, which we had heard calling on several occasions, and I watched it as it landed in one of the dead trees near Dunlin Hide but it then flew again before I could get David onto it.  With the Yellow-legged Gull still showing well we decided to go to Dunlin Hide to try and get a better view.  David and Malcolm took some photos before it flew off with a party of gulls towards the South Arm.  Steve then joined us in the hide and he found a female Northern Pintail amongst the Eurasian Wigeon on the western bund but with little else we decided to head back to the centre.

As we left the hide David noticed a Fieldfare in the meadow along with another thrush that turned out to be a Song Thrush, but he then found a Redwing just to the right of the two birds.

We didn’t see a great deal else before we got back to the centre and went up to the viewing area hoping that a Barn Owl would perform.  Whilst we were waiting for the hoped-for Barn Owl I picked up a Eurasian Curlew in flight over the Wet Meadow, which dropped into the grass and out of sight before either David or Malcolm got on it.  They then focussed on the area and found the bird but we then realised that there were several and so I also focussed on the area and we eventually found five birds but sadly the Whimbrel wasn’t amongst them.  Whilst discussing that Malcolm had already seen a Barn Owl at Great Eastern earlier today, David and I cried out almost together there is one flying at the back of the lagoon, which then performed well for several minutes before going back to the owl box and perching near the entrance.  Malcolm then said he thought he had a Stonechat near the tree where we had been observing the Curlew and a quick look through the scope confirmed his suspicions and that it was a female.  David then picked up a Barn Owl on the Green Bank, which was some considerable distance from the Lagoon One bird and we assumed that it was probably a different bird.  It wasn’t long afterwards that we called it a day and headed off back to the car park and set off for home.

The only sighting on the way home was of a Common Kestrel as we turned towards Billesdon.  It had been an excellent day’s birding in which I recorded eighty-eight species, one of which, the Yellow-legged Gull was a year-tick, taking my total onto 150.