A day out without my camera for a change but despite the lack of photos it was a very pleasant day out at a couple of sites on the Suffolk coast.
First was the Stour Estuary at Stutton Ness which was a new site for me. After a lengthy walk down from the village and a few scans of the water I soon picked up the juvenile Surf Scoter cutting a distinctive profile even at some distance in the main channel between Stutton Ness and Mill with a single Velvet Scoter for company. Other items of interest were c20 Red-breasted Mergansers, c10 Goldeneye, 4 Grey Plover, c30 Golden Plover, 3 Little Egrets plus loads of Great Crested Grebes, Shelduck and Brent Geese. On the walk a solitary Fieldfare, Song Thrush and Bullfinch plus a flock of Chaffinches amongst which I could hear Brambling but just couldn't locate one.
Second was Boyton Marshes where I was extremely fortunate to get a couple of flight views of the Dusky Warbler as it flew one way and then the other across the entrance track c100 yards down from the carpark. Not ideal but better than I'd feared! Also there were 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Shoveler amongst loads of Wigeon and Teal plus 3 Little Egrets, 9 Fieldfares and a Common Buzzard.
Desert Wheatears at the double, 8 November 2014
And so, with the lure of seeing 2 Desert Wheatears in a day (a UK first for me!) it was off to the coast today with Lowestoft being first on the agenda. The 1w male Desert Wheatear was showing amazingly closely to a small group of admirers on the sea wall by the Links Road carpark and 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls loafing about on the carpark were a nice bonus before we moved on...
...to Desert Wheatear number 2, this time a female on the promenade at Gorleston. If it was possible this one showed even better despite it being far more active than the Lowestoft bird.
After a greasy spoon cafe lunch Belinda was keen to see the Grey Seals at Horsey so a yomp along the Nelson's Head track was in order and predictably there were loads of seals! None close enough to bother photographing but 4 pups were noted including a strange ginger-coloured one. 2 Sanderling, 4 Stonechats and a male Marsh Harrier were the only other things of note.
Last stop of the day was at Winterton where c30 Snow Buntings were located on north beach followed by scooping free sausage rolls in the beach cafe!
...to Desert Wheatear number 2, this time a female on the promenade at Gorleston. If it was possible this one showed even better despite it being far more active than the Lowestoft bird.
After a greasy spoon cafe lunch Belinda was keen to see the Grey Seals at Horsey so a yomp along the Nelson's Head track was in order and predictably there were loads of seals! None close enough to bother photographing but 4 pups were noted including a strange ginger-coloured one. 2 Sanderling, 4 Stonechats and a male Marsh Harrier were the only other things of note.
Last stop of the day was at Winterton where c30 Snow Buntings were located on north beach followed by scooping free sausage rolls in the beach cafe!
Desert Wheatear, male
Desert Wheatear, male
Desert Wheatear, female
Desert Wheatear, female
Desert Wheatear, female
Mediterranean Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Snow Bunting
Lowestoft, 19 October 2014
With us both needing a walk and some sea air today we made our way to Lowestoft and parked at Ness Point. Walking north I'd soon caught up with the long-staying juv Red-backed Shrike which showed very nicely indeed in scrub close to the Birds Eye factory fence. A walk around North Denes/Denes Oval produced very little but a fly over Woodlark was a nice addition. Back at Ness Point a look at the turbine yard proved very worthwile with a late Northern Wheatear and 2 Black Redstarts chasing each other about.
Red-backed Shrike
Red-backed Shrike
Northern Wheatear
Black Redstart
Cley and Walsey Hills, 18 October 2014
With me needing to escape the house I decided on a Saturday afternoon at Cley.
First up was the 1w Grey Phalarope of the last few days on Eye Pool. It duly obliged but with the fencing now set further back than in the good old days I couldn't get as close as I'm sure it would have allowed. A Common Buzzard flew hight west and the Eye Field was full of Brent Geese and Golden Plover while a Rock Pipit popped in briefly
With not a huge amount of interest further along the coast I then spent a fruitful couple of hours mooching around Walsey Hills with 2 Yellow-browed Warblers and then I jammed in on a Pallas's Warbler found late on in sycamores at the rear of Snipes Marsh. All afternoon Redwings were passing over as well as smaller numbers of Chaffinches.
First up was the 1w Grey Phalarope of the last few days on Eye Pool. It duly obliged but with the fencing now set further back than in the good old days I couldn't get as close as I'm sure it would have allowed. A Common Buzzard flew hight west and the Eye Field was full of Brent Geese and Golden Plover while a Rock Pipit popped in briefly
With not a huge amount of interest further along the coast I then spent a fruitful couple of hours mooching around Walsey Hills with 2 Yellow-browed Warblers and then I jammed in on a Pallas's Warbler found late on in sycamores at the rear of Snipes Marsh. All afternoon Redwings were passing over as well as smaller numbers of Chaffinches.
Grey Phalarope
Yellow-browed Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Steppe Grey Shrike, Burnham Norton, 14 October 2014
After 10 days in Belgium and then a day of atrocious weather yesterday I finally managed to catch up with the Steppe Grey Shrike on the marshes at Burnham Norton this morning. With the sun out and a showy bird it was a shame I had to dash back to north Suffolk for work much sooner than I wanted to! Another county tick though - yay!
Bearded Tit, Reed Buntings, Stonechat, Brent Geese and Pink-footed Geese completed the brief picture.
The dodgy photo below was phone-scoped.
Bearded Tit, Reed Buntings, Stonechat, Brent Geese and Pink-footed Geese completed the brief picture.
The dodgy photo below was phone-scoped.
Belgium non-birding trip
Strictly a non-birding trip around Belgium but a few (not very exciting) things seen.
A walk in the woods and hills around La Roche-en-Ardennes yielded 2 bigs flocks of Crossbills (40+ and 20+), Crested Tit, Willow Tits, Short-toed Treecreeper, 2 Grey Wagtails and several Black Redstarts in the town itself.
Another pair of Black Redstarts were at an abandoned coal mine near Liege.
On the way back to Calais a quick stop at Oye Plage added 6 Spoonbills, 3 Little Egrets, 2 Cetti's Warblers, Curlew, Stonechat, Linnets and a singing Chiffchaff.
That was it!
A walk in the woods and hills around La Roche-en-Ardennes yielded 2 bigs flocks of Crossbills (40+ and 20+), Crested Tit, Willow Tits, Short-toed Treecreeper, 2 Grey Wagtails and several Black Redstarts in the town itself.
Another pair of Black Redstarts were at an abandoned coal mine near Liege.
On the way back to Calais a quick stop at Oye Plage added 6 Spoonbills, 3 Little Egrets, 2 Cetti's Warblers, Curlew, Stonechat, Linnets and a singing Chiffchaff.
That was it!
Olive-backed Pipit and Barred Warbler, 21 Sept 2014
I admit to have been very slack with birding in the last month, mainly because I've been so busy with work and other commitments. This afternoon I had a little time to spare after some urban exploring with Belinda and as we were in Fakenham it would have been very shoddy not to have had a little time on the coast. Before really birding I'd almost had a Barn Owl take my head off while exploring some old farm buildings and a Red Kite flew over the B1105 just south of Wells.
My main target was the Olive-backed Pipit in Wells Dell, a species I'd not seen for some years. It didn't disappoint, showing nicely on and off on the south side of the Dell under the trees to a small assembled crowd.
Then it was a streak along the coast to Salthouse to fill my boots with some great views of Barred Warbler in brambles on Gramborough Hill. Unusually I jammed in within 2 minutes of arrival having expected to need some patience!
My main target was the Olive-backed Pipit in Wells Dell, a species I'd not seen for some years. It didn't disappoint, showing nicely on and off on the south side of the Dell under the trees to a small assembled crowd.
Then it was a streak along the coast to Salthouse to fill my boots with some great views of Barred Warbler in brambles on Gramborough Hill. Unusually I jammed in within 2 minutes of arrival having expected to need some patience!
Peak District, 21 - 23 August 2014
A walking trip to our beloved Peak District that turned into a limping trip. But that's a whole new story!
Not a great deal of nature worthiness compared to our spring trips but the Bleaklow Head area revealed 4 Ravens, at least 12 Red Grouse and Mountain Hare while the River Bamford held a confiding Dipper, 4 Grey Wagtails and an overhead Hobby mobbed by the local hirundines. Around the grounds of Eyam Youth Hostel were Tawny Owl, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Common Buzzard plus plenty of Red Grouse, Stonechats and Linnets on Eyam Moor but there was little else to trouble the scorers!
These 2 pics were taken with Belinda's bridge camera as I'd not taken my big lens.
Not a great deal of nature worthiness compared to our spring trips but the Bleaklow Head area revealed 4 Ravens, at least 12 Red Grouse and Mountain Hare while the River Bamford held a confiding Dipper, 4 Grey Wagtails and an overhead Hobby mobbed by the local hirundines. Around the grounds of Eyam Youth Hostel were Tawny Owl, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Common Buzzard plus plenty of Red Grouse, Stonechats and Linnets on Eyam Moor but there was little else to trouble the scorers!
These 2 pics were taken with Belinda's bridge camera as I'd not taken my big lens.
Dipper, River Bamford
Red Grouse, Bleaklow Head
Franklins Gull dip, Cley, 17 August 2014
Franklins Gull is fast becoming my Norfolk bogey bird - having missed a bird at Breydon by minutes some years ago I proceeded to miss this years Breydon bird by 30 minutes about 2 weeks ago and again last night at Cley it failed to show despite having come in on 3 of the previous 4 nights.
3 hours of scanning and re-scanning gulls on Pats Pool and Simmonds until it got too dark to see resulted in 1 juv Mediterranean Gull, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 4 Spoonbills, 1 Little Egret and eventually a Little Stint picked out in the failing light but nothing was much consolation for missing the star attraction. Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Dunlin, Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit brought up the rest of the waders.
The Painted Lady below was photographed at Happisburgh the previous day.
3 hours of scanning and re-scanning gulls on Pats Pool and Simmonds until it got too dark to see resulted in 1 juv Mediterranean Gull, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 4 Spoonbills, 1 Little Egret and eventually a Little Stint picked out in the failing light but nothing was much consolation for missing the star attraction. Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Dunlin, Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit brought up the rest of the waders.
The Painted Lady below was photographed at Happisburgh the previous day.
Spotted Flycatchers breed locally - again!
Having had just one brief view of an adult Spotted Flycatcher in the garden back in May I've not seen anything of them all summer. This morning I opened the bedroom curtains to see this fledged juvenile preening just a few feet from the window! They've bred somewhere nearby which makes 3 consecutive years. We've only been here 3 years so I've no idea if the breeding run goes back further. A single lingering Swift was also still hanging on in. In the afternoon a Hobby was over Goodies Farm Shop harrassed by the local Swallows.
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