Norfolk trip (Day 1) - Titchwell & Warham Greens

Titchwell sea watching

Sanderling

Teal in the rain

Warham Greens

Warham Greens location

Male Hen Harrier

Sunset in Norfolk

Digiscoped Barn Owl in the darkness

End of a great day

Never needing an excuse to return to Norfolk for a couple of days I was delighted when Paul (fellow pit watcher) asked if I fancied heading east to show him the main sites on the coast. With our bed and breakfast booked up well in advance we set off early  Friday morning at 5.30am ahead of the morning rush hour. Sadly the winds were southerly throughout the weekend so the aim would be about trying to see quality birds rather than rarities.

Given the forecast was for rain up to midday we opted to head to Titchwell so at least we could retreat to the hides if the rain got really bad. We went straight down to beach where we were joined by one other birder for some sea watching. Sanderlings, Grey Plover, Oystercatcher and Knot were spread out along the shore line. The Sanderlings got really close a number of times allowing us terrific views.  On the sea we found a nice variation of birds included a Black-throated Diver (unusual for Titchwell), Slavonian Grebe, 46 Common Scoter, Brent Geese, Great Crested Grebes, 5 Red-breasted Merganser and a female Eider. We also walked west where we found a dead Razorbill on the beach and we also came across many Ringed Plovers.  Paul then pulled a beauty out of the bag when he spotted a Great White Egret flying east straight in front of us to end a cracking session of sea watching.

The fresh marsh contained the normal array of goodies including Brent Geese, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Shelduck, Dunlin, Snipe whilst a Marsh Harrier battled with wind on the east bank. As we looked south from the Parinder hide we could see a couple of thousand Pink-footed Geese feeding the fields before being moved on by the farms air guns.  A quick pit stop for the normal Titchwell Cornish Pasty was needed to warm the soul before were headed east.

We had a quick session in at Lady Annes Drive, Holkham were we recorded Egyptian Goose for the day list before we moved towards our final stop at Warham Greens where we hoped to see a Hen Harrier. Having never been to this site before and no signage we did have to back our judgement. As we headed down a very uneven drive, Paul saw a Rough-legged Buzzard feeding on a rabbit on a hay bale. Sadly the bird flushed as we were going for scopes but it was another good bird recorded. As the drive worsened we decided to park up and walk the rest of the way which was in hindsight a great decision as really it was only suitable for Land Rovers.

Initially we though we may have been a little early but just after 2.30pm I picked up a male Hen Harrier quartering the marsh. We were buzzing as the bird hunted looking for a late meal before roosting. The action didn’t stop there as we ended up seeing a total of 5 Harriers, 3 Ring-tails and two fantastic males. They were joined by three Marsh Harriers and finally a Barn Owl hunted about 500 metres to our left. A superb day on the Norfolk coast ending with a brilliant sunset.

Closing days of Autumn

 Hybrid Canada Goose x Barnacle Goose

 South reed lagoon

 

Roe Deer 

My weekend of birding at Salford Priors started on Friday evening when Paul and I did a comprehensive search of the east bunds following Chris Lane having flushed a Short-eared Owl on Thursday afternoon. Sadly we couldn't repeat Chris's luck. Our small Starling flock has increased to around 200 birds, not quite to Ham Wall standards.

I visited the site on Saturday morning & Sunday afternoon but sightings were in truth very average. My best find was a male Peregrine that was playing havoc with 11 Snipe around the site. After a couple of quiet weeks the Coot numbers are edging upwards again. 

The only other bird of note was a hybrid Canada x Barnacle Goose that was on the main pit on Sunday. 

American Golden Plover - Eyebrook Reservoir

American Golden Plover

American Golden Plover

Eyebrook Reservoir

Happy twitchers

No less than ten American Golden Plovers reported last week around the UK and with one landing at Eyebrook Reservoir in Leicestershire made it a definite target over the weekend. Eyebrook is about 1 hr 15 mins from home and sits right on the border between Leicestershire & Rutland.

I was all set to go on Saturday morning however there was no early news reported until the afternoon giving hope that it would be worth going on Sunday. With the weather looking much better on Sunday I decided I'd arrive at the same time the Plover did on the Saturday. With the clocks going back that morning it wasn't as early.

On the way over I passed a small roost of six Red Kites which took off as I passed. The reservoir was picturesque and around 30-40 birders were all stood waiting for the Plover to arrive. With the scope set up we didn't have to wait long until Golden Plovers started to land on the mud at the end of the reservoir. Watching the flocks closely I then picked up the American Golden Plover coming into land. After landing for a few seconds the flock took off before most birders saw the bird but thankfully the full flock landed again to allow everyone some great views. 

The bird couldn't be missed and was very distinguishable standing out well from it's cousins the European Golden Plovers. The birds plumage looked to be adult moutling.

Other sightings included a Goldeneye, Greylag, Wigeon, Shoveler, Red-legged Partridge, Canada Geese, 2 Dunlin, Lapwing and Great Crested Grebes. 

Midland Patchwork Challenge League Table

Salford Priors missed opportunities

 Me on Sunday looking for Bearded Tit

The former old works reed bed

Starting with the good news ! Chris Lane found a Corn Bunting on Friday & Jon then found a Bearded Tit on Sunday. The bad news is I didn't see either. Myself and Paul searched for the Corn Bunting on Saturday with out luck. On Sunday I finished earlier than usual as I needed to do a cricket taxi to Malvern. You can only imagine my horror when I read the below email from Jon.

I had fantastic views of a male Bearded Tit at the big reed lagoon after you had gone! I was standing along the side hedge by the reed bed after I had heard a couple of quiet “twangs”. Nothing showed so I started to wander on thinking I had just imagined it, when a bird flew into the reeds just next to me and started to climb up the reed! I immediately saw that it was an immaculate male Bearded Tit and to cap it all it start pinging when it got to the top. It then towered up high into the sky pinging before dropping down into the reeds at the back of the pool. On two more occasions I saw it towering up pinging – the last time it flew off high towards the west – but could not see whether it circled back around and dropped down again. At this time you must have been back at the car or just left. I thought I heard a couple of quiet twangs later so it could just be still there, though it looked as though it had just arrived and may have moved quickly on. Still an excellent sighting, and much better view than of my first bird here.

I duly put the news out and four of us searched in vain as the light faded. Gutted is an understatement. Another great find from Jon.

Other sightings included :- 2 Pintail, Kingfisher, 4 Wigeon,  9 Gadwell, 32 Snipe (mostly on the bund), 1 Green Sandpiper, 75 Fieldfare, 120 Redwing, 1 Chiffchaff (Pophills) and good numbers of gulls in on the main pit – including 70 LBB, 5 Herring, 2 Yellow-legged and 1 Common Gull.

Sadly the area where we recorded our large Jack Snipes counts is practically all but destroyed following the installation of more drainage work. 

Final stop Titchwell - Norfolk October Day Trip (Part 5)

Parrinder Hide

Grey Plover

Golden Plover

Wigeon

Dunlin

Brent Geese

Brent Geese

YouTube video clip of Titchwell

I opted to bypass the Red-flanked Bluetail and head for a couple of hours at Titchwell before heading home. The site was pretty quiet probably due to everyone else looking for rarities. 

The light had improved so I did manage to take a few digiscoped images which was a nice way to round off the day before heading home. Sightings included Brent Geese, Spotted Redshank, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Avocet plus many more.

Blyth's Reed Warbler - Norfolk October Day Trip (Part 4)

Goldcrest data from BTO

Blythe’s Reed Warbler Video - Oriolebirding

I opted to then head to Wells Wood where I’d never been to before despite many visits to Norfolk previously. A large pay and display car park (£3) was the only option to park which was busy with dog walkers, holiday makes and birders. 

First stop was a Blythe’s Reed Warbler. These birds winter in India but visit Finland in summer months. The bird hadn’t been seen for over an hour however within 20 minutes of my arrival a photographer thought he had captured it on some brambles near the main patch. We duly relocated some 100 yards further east and after a brief poor view the bird worked it’s way up the twigs to show very well to please the gathered audience. It appeared there had been a huge fall of Goldcrests over night, there were thousands everywhere.

I then headed east through the wood to locate a Humes Yellow-browed Warbler. At the time I thought it was my first of this species until I remembered I had seen one before in Warwickshire a couple of years ago. Throughout the woodland  there were hundreds of Goldcrests. I'd never seen so many in my life. These tiny birds that are the size of a 50p and weight around just 6 grammes have arrived from Scandinavia and the Continent.