gobirding.eu Birding Diary: Review of 2019 and 2020 - Birds: Warblers, Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, Treecreepers and Starlings

BUSH WARBLERS (family CETTIIDAE)

Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti - One singing at Bintree Mill on 19th April 2019 was the closest I've found this species to the meadows, but it must be on the cards to occur here sometime. Several on the north coast and in Spain; also at Fairburn Ings (Yorkshire) and Minsmere (Suffolk) in 2019.

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LONG-TAILED TITS (family AEGITHALIDAE)

Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus - Common at the meadows and sometimes seen in the garden. Also a flock of 36 noted at Burnham Overy on 7th October 2019.

Long-tailed Tits, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 6th February 2019

Long-tailed Tit, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 16th September 2020

Long-tailed Tits, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 22nd September 2020

Long-tailed Tit, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th November 2020

Flcoks of the form taiti were seen at Llobregat Delta (Spain) on 21st and 22nd February 2020. Note that Shirihai and Svensson in the Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds don't accept this subspecies and include it within the Balkan macedonicus.

Long-tailed Tits, Llobregat Delta (Spain), 21st February 2020

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LEAF WARBLERS (family PHYLLOSCOPIDAE)

Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix - One singing just west of the carpark at Tiroran on Mull on 10th June 2019.

Wood Warbler, Tioran (Mull), 10th June 2019

Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus - A very vocal individual by the sewage works at Kenidjack (Cornwall) on 6th October 2020 and another heard calling at Kelynack on 9th October.

Pallas's Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus - One with Goldcrests at the south end of the wood beside Stiffkey Flood on 16th October, the first of this species that I've 'found' for quite a few years. In over an hour of looking through the crest flock I caught just two brief (but good, close) looks at it - it didn't call and I didn't come anywhere close to getting a photo of it.

Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus - Not a common bird at the meadows though one bird sometimes seen or head down by the railway in the spring 2019 was probably breeding nearby but not inside the recording area. At least one record of a spring migrant moving through too. Singing birds heard in spring 2020 too but were a bit more distant.

Willow Warbler, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 2nd May 2019

Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita - Common at the meadows where first heard on 11th March in both 2019 and 2020. Also heard from home in early spring both years, probably involving migrant birds passing through. Elsewhere records included an over-wintering bird at Bylaugh on 17th February 2019, one at Titchwell on 7th December 2019 and good numbers (20+) at Llobregat Delta (Spain) in February 2020.

Chiffchaff, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th March 2019

Chiffchaffs, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 5th September 2020

Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus (colybita) tristis - One at Bylaugh on 4th January 2020, a great local find by Steve Connor.

Siberian Chiffchaff, Bylaugh, 4th January 2020

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REED WARBLERS (family ACROCEPHALIDAE)

Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus - At (or rather heard from) the meadows, a bird singing along the river in June 2019 (as in 2018 but not repeated in 2020).

Sedge Warbler, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th June 2020

Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus - One in sub-song in a hedgerow on 12th August 2019 is to date my only record for the meadows. Either a migrant moving through or perhaps a dispersing bird from a local reedbed? It was a very skulking bird, hard to get a glimpse of let alone a decent photo...

Reed Warbler, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th August 2019

Reed Warbler, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 12th June 2020

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CISTICOLAS (family CISTICOLIDAE)

Fan-tailed Warbler Cisticola juncidis - One singing at the Llobregat Delta (Spain) on 22nd February 2020.

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SYLVIID WARBLERS (family SYLVIIDAE)

Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla - Common at the meadows and regularly singing throughout the summer in the neighbour's garden too. 4 singing at Fairburn Ings (Yorkshire) on 7th April 2019 but not seen locally until the next day. First appeared at the meadows in 2020 on a similar date, 5th April, but I'd had one singing at home from 31st March.

Blackcap, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th April 2020

Blackcap, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 13th July 2020

Garden Warbler Sylvia borin - I am yet to record this species at the meadows - in fact I don't appear to have logged it anywhere at all in 2019 or 2020.

Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca - Having heard several singing at the meadows when I first started visiting there in spring 2018, one of which remained for much of the summer, I was disappointed not to find any there in 2019. However one singing there (at the same place as the lingering bird in 2018) from at least 22nd April to 8th May 2020. Elsewhere one singing at Beetley in May 2019 and one at Brancaster on 18th September 2020.

Lesser Whitethroat, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 8th May 2020

Lesser Whitethroat, Brancaster, 18th September 2020

Whitethroat Sylvia communis - Common at the meadows with 2-3 territorial singers each year and a couple of additional migrants seen in spring 2019.

Whitethroat, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 24th August 2020

Dartford Warbler Sylvia undulana - 2 heard at Winterton on 19th August 2019.

Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala - Small numbers at several sites in Spain in February 2020.

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CRESTS (family REGULIDAE)

Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla - 6 at Monistrol de Montserrat (Spain) in February 2020 then 3 in Cornwall in October - a bird in full song between Trevadran and St Loy on 5th, one at Kenidjack on 8th-9th and one at Lelant on 10th.

Firecrest, between Trevadran and St Loy, 5th October 2020

Goldcrest Regulus regulus - Regular at the meadows, mainly outside of the breeding season although odd singing birds are sometimes seen during the breeding season suggesting breeding nearby.

Goldcrest, Brancaster, 14th October 2020

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WRENS (family TROGLODYTIDAE)

Wren Troglodytes troglodytes - Common throughout the year at the meadows and breeds in my garden.

Wren, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 26th August 2019

Wren, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 7th April 2020

Wrens, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 15th May 2020

Wren, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th November 2020

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NUTHATCHES (family SITTIDAE)

Nuthatch Sitta europaea - Commonly seen and heard at the meadows. They're favoured area is by the chapel ruins and they have at least attempted to breed in this area but they're also often present along the railway, if slightly outside of the recording area (but easily audible from within it). Less often seen along the track or the other hedgerows. Several records at home in July-August 2019 but not recorded here in 2020. Elsewhere recorded at Lynford, Santon Downham, Lackford Lakes (Suffolk), Derwent Water (Cumbria), Swanton Novers and Bylaugh in 2019 and Hoe and Lelant (Cornwall) in 2020. One of my all-time favourite birds, right up there with Bee-eater and Swallow-tailed Kite, neither of which presented themselves to me in 2019/20 (unsurprisingly).

Nuthatch, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 11th February 2019

Nuthatch, Lackford Lakes (Suffolk), 23rd February 2019

Nuthatch, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th February 2019

Nuthatch, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th March 2019

Nuthatch, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 29th March 2019

Nuthatch, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 18th August 2020

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WALLCREEPER (family THRICHODOMIDAE)

Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria - This was my main target for my long-weekend in and around Barcelona in February 2020. There have been quite a few records at Monistrol de Montserrat so we walked up the track from the monastery here to look for them first. It was a pretty hard climb for someone as unfit as me, on a hot and sunny day, and half way up my wife accidentally dropped our only bottle of water which fell irretrievably down a steep bank. At this point we decided it would be wise to turn back, but to be honest I'm not sure if the habitat was any better further up than it was round the monistery. Anyway, I couldn't find any round here so we decided to try another site where I'd seen there had been a number of recent records on E-bird, a 2-3 hour drive along a very boring road with the sun in my eyes and suncream dripping into them too. Still, it would be worth it if it produced the goods, and it did! I stopped at a suitable looking sunlit rock just before the damn and after maybe half an hour found a Wallcreeper moving around at the edge of a crevace (out of the sun). Pretty soon it flew off and I lost it, and a little later I realised a rock-climber was ascending the same rock so that might be why. I moved closer to the dam and tried another spot and saw another or the same Wallcreeper fly across the road and disappear into a very small crag mostly covered in vegetation. It seemed quite an unsuitable spot for it to go in but eventually it came out and flew over to the cliff just right of the dam where I got good scope views for a more prolonged period.

I have looked for Wallcreepers on numerous previous trips to various places and always failed to find them, so this was all the sweeter!

Wallcreeper, Embalsa de Santa Ana (Spain), 23rd February 2020

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TREECREEPERS (family CERTHIIDAE)

Treecreeper Certhia familiaris - Regularly recorded at the meadows up to mid April 2019 and again from mid July, becoming scarcer again after October. Singing birds were often heard between February and April and again briefly in September. A similar story in 2020 but without any in March/April and an early post-breeding dispersal (?) on 20th June. Elsewhere recorded at Lynford and Swnton Novers in 2019 and Thompson Common, Gypsy Lane, Cockthorpe Common, Bintree Wood and Bylaugh in 2020.