Three visits to Burnham Overy over the bank holiday weekend or thereabouts produced a few birds worth seeing but generally lacked the "wow factor". On Saturday 29th the star bird was a singing Grasshopper Warbler. It was so close it sounded a little odd but it never really had any of the characteristics that would make it a different Locustella species. In the end I managed a good view of its head which put to bed any lingering doubts that it might be something more unusual. There were still at least 15 Ring Ouzels in the dunes, with a Fieldfare among them, and I kept hearing (and eventually seeing) a Tree Pipit in the east dunes - perhaps the same bird that I saw on 24th? Other migrants present included at least 6 Wheatears, a Whimbrel and 2 Common Sandpipers. At least 10 Little Terns were in and a Cuckoo was cuckooing.
Ring Ouzel, Burnham Overy, 29th April
Willow Warbler, Burnham Overy, 29th April
There was a bit of overhead passage (vis mig) too - though this didn't get underway until about 7.30 am. I've not quite mastered how best to record vis mig at Burnham Overy but it seems things filter through on a narrower front at the west end around Gun Hill. I'd stood there first thing for a couple of hours (a little bit of wandering round the immediate area during that time) and recorded practically no passage but as soon as I started wandering through the east dunes, where things seem to pass over on a broader front so are harder to pick up, things started moving. Consequently my counts will be very low compared to the actual passage - 29 Yellow Wagtails and 32 Swallows, the odd Redpoll but not a lot else.
Stragglers from winter included 22 Pink-footed Geese. A Long-tailed Duck flew west along the beach turning up the channel between Gun Hill and Scolt Head where it looked like it went down. A pair of Pintail were perhaps leftovers, spring migrants or maybe they are breeding somewhere up here? I haven't seen them since. Other birds of note included Great White Egret, 1-2 Spoonbills, 5 Red Kites, Peregrine, 2 Bearded Tits and 5 Stonechats (4 males).
Red Kite, Burnham Overy, 29th April
These balloons were heading straight out to sea - yet more marine pollution...
balloons, Burnham Overy, 29th April
A nice surprise at another site I visited that day was a singing Firecrest holding territory. I don't think many birders visit this site so I shall have to return and keep an eye on what happens.
Firecrest, 29th April
The best day of the weekend around the county was probably Sunday 30th, but typically this was the one day I didn't have much available time. I did manage to do a cruise of a few local gravel pits in the afternoon with a view to picking up on some of the day's tern passage (extraordinary numbers of Arctic Terns and lots of Black Terns moving through the county). I drew a blank everywhere until I reached Sparham Pools where it was nice to see 8 Black Terns bouncing around.
Back up to Burnham Overy early on Monday 1st and it was noticeably quieter despite rain which I had hoped would ground some migrants. There were still 5-6 Ring Ouzels in the dunes and 8 Wheatear. The Grasshopper Warbler wasn't singing at Gun Hill but as I headed back towards the car at lunch time I heard a brief snatch of Grasshopper Warbler reeling from brambles in the freshmarsh. There were 3 Common Sandpipers and 6 Whimbrel and now at least 20 Little Terns. The Cuckoo was still calling but visible migration was almost non-existent - just 1 Yellow Wagtail west. Great White Egret, Spoonbill, Red Kite, Barn Owl and 5 Stonechats were seen but the highlight of the morning was a Woodlark singing in the dunes. Another 2 Spoonbills were watched from Joe Jordan hide at Holkham and another Cuckoo and a Mediterranean Gull or two heard calling.
Woodlark, Burnham Overy, 1st May
Wheatear, Burnham Overy, 1st May
Great White Egret, Burnham Overy, 1st May
Bar-tailed Godwits, Burnham Overy, 1st May
Next day (Tuesday 2nd) was even quieter - quite disappointing in fact. There was Greenshank and Whimbrel in the channel, along with 10 Bar-tailed Godwits (mostly in summer plumage) and 14 Knot (none in summer plumage). The sea was quiet and there wasn't much left in the dunes - probably only 3 Ring Ouzels (possibly 5) and 6 Wheatear (and still 5 Stonechats).
Sedge Warbler, Burnham Overy, 2nd May
On a recent visit I'd seen an interesting Brent Goose among the Dark-bellied Brents on the saltmarsh. It had really conspicuous white flanks but not like your typical Black Brant hybrid. The bird was no darker than the accompanying Dark-belllied Brents - paler and browner if anything - and the neck collar was small. I wondered if it might be a Pale-bellied x Dark-bellied Brent Goose hybrid, but when I looked at my photos (very poor) that evening I started having doubts - it looked like a pure Pale-bellied Brent Goose! I was all but sure it hadn't been one - the lower part of the belly which wasn't clear in the photos had been too dark, but I decided to try and see it again before putting it down as anything. I'd failed to find it on the last couple of visits but it was back again on Tuesday, and I confirmed my original impressions, and presume it was indeed a Pale-bellied Brent Goose x Dark-bellied Brent Goose hybrid. Given the number of single Pale-bellied Brent Geese that turn up among Dark-bellied Brent Geese we might expect these hybrids to be more frequent but unlike Black Brant hybrids they seem to be quite unusual. There was a mixed pair that were accompanied by hybrid young at Cley in at least two consecutive winters recently, and perhaps this bird was one of those offspring?
apparent Pale-bellied x Dark-bellied Brent Goose hybrid, Burnham Overy, 2nd May
Interestingly this hybrid seemed to be paired with a colour-ringed Dark-bellied Brent Goose. The left leg had a blue ring with white Ys and the right leg had a blue ring with two white horizontal bands. It turns out that "BYB=" was ringed in Taimyr in July 2008 and has been reported in Norfolk (Burnham Norton or Burnham Overy) in at least 4 winters subsequently (though interestingly never earlier than 21st February). There have been various reports of it from Netherlands in October/November over the years and one from France (Aquitaine) in November 2015 (it was at Burnham Overy the following spring). It also spent a while in Germany one spring.
Hihglights of local birding have included up to 2 pairs of Avocets, a Greenshank, the continued (intermittent) presence of a White Wagtail at Ryburgh, occasional visits from up to 2 Grey Wagtails and a one-off visit by a Yellow Wagtail. There have been a couple of days with good numbers of hirundines but nothing red-rumped among them just yet. I've seen up to 10 Barnacle Geese at Ryburgh and 2 at Bittering but the straggling White-fronted Goose has perhaps finally departed, along with the Pink-footed Geese. A flock of 10+ Yellowhammers one day was a surprise - I didn't manage to find many flocks that big throughout the whole of the winter when I was looking for them with the hope of finding an overwintering Pine Bunting.
Avocets, 26th April
White Wagtail, Ryburgh, 28th April
White Wagtail, Ryburgh, 3rd May
Pied Wagtail, Ryburgh, 27th April
Finally this pair of Bullfinches graced my garden yesterday afternoon - not the first time I've seen them here but the first time I've seen them feeding actually in my garden.
Bullfinches, North Elmham, 4th May
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