Local Garganey and White Stork

A visit to Ryburgh on 21st March revealed that 2 drake Pintail had been seen on and off recently (and possibly also 2 females).  That would be a good bird for the site and it wasn't long before one drake Pintail appeared from behind one of the islands.  But as it upended at the back of the scrape I was sure I could see something amiss - one of its legs was bearing a white plastic ring.  There were no metal rings so this hadn't been rung in the wild - it was surely an escaped bird.

escaped Pintail, Ryburgh, 21st March

There were at least 31 Teal on the scrape too including a copulating pair.

Teal, Ryburgh, 21st March

Other wildfowl included at least 52 Wigeon but they were mainly out of view.  Also a single Snipe on the scrape.

There were more Wigeon at Bintree Mill (at least 112), and another Snipe, but almost the first bird I saw when I first put my bins up here was a lovely drake Garganey!

Garganey, Bintree Mill, 21st March

My first singing Chiffchaff of the year was at Bylaugh on 23rd and a Coot flew over the house calling on the night of 24th.  I took the scenic route home from Norwich on 25th March pausing to look over Sparham Pools from the Lyng Easthaugh road.  The Great White Egret was present and a Siskin was calling.  A Nuthatch was calling at Bylaugh.  I also saw my first butterflies of the year on this drive - what was probably a Small Tortoiseshell and 2 Brimstones.

Later on that afternoon I headed over to the patch where the first highlight was a Dunlin in with 75 Lapwings (and Starlings).  A wander through the boggy parts produced a total of at least 40 Snipe, my highest count to date at this site.

Dunlin flying off with Lapwings and Starling, Bittering, 25th March

leucistic Egyptian Goose, Bittering, 25th March

Nearby there were still 69 Wigeon and an interesting Peregrine.  I'm not overly familiar with the various plumages (ages, sexes, races) of Peregrine but the broad reddish barring on the rear belly and flanks seemed odd.  Unfortunately my views of it in flight were too brief to see the detail and then when it was on the ground this bit of the bird was largely obscured.  I moved round to get a better view but as I did so it must have flown without me seeing as I never found it again.  I grabbed some photos when it was on the deck and they seem to confirm my impression of the markings, but the detail is not clear enough for me to really see what's going on.  Are these markings normal for any age/sex/race of Peregrine?  I think it's probably just an adult Peregrine of the local race but I would like a closer look at it.

Peregrine, Bittering, 25th March

The next site had Green Sandpiper and then the final site had perhaps the rarest bird in patch-terms, a Redshank.  While I was watching that I received news from Matthew Shore of an escaped stork on Bintree Mill.  I decided to head up there next and could see before I'd even turned into the road that the White Stork was still up there.  It remained up there until dusk when it flew around and then down to feed on frogs in the flood on the other side from the main pool.

White Stork, Bintree Mill, 25th March

The drake Garganey I'd found a few days earlier was still there along with Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail.

I had to head over to east Norfolk on 28th.  I wasn't birding but did see another Peregrine perched up on a dead tree next to the A1151 at Beeston St Lawrence.

I saw 2 Barn Owls on the way up to Burnham Overy on 31st and then another 2 Barn Owls when I got there.

Barn Owl, Burnham Overy, 31st March

A number of Snipe were getting flushed off the saltmarsh as I walked down - the tide was very high and still coming in.  One bird caught my attention and proved to be a Jack Snipe.  Other waders included a flock of 444 Golden Plovers, many of them starting to look quite stunning.

There was just enough going on in the dunes to keep me interested.  There were quite a few Blackbirds scattered around, a couple of Song Thrushes and my first 2 Wheatears of the year (one at Gun Hill, one in the east dunes). 

Wheatear, Burnham Overy, 31st March

I could hear a Firecrest at the east dunes but it took a while to get views of it.  Eventually I got a nice view of it, and later either the same or another bird in a different place, this time accompanied by 2 Goldcrests.  A Siskin flew around here and earlier a Redpoll sp. had flown over.  Looking over to Holkham I saw a Spoonbill and a Great White Egret briefly.