Birding out east and locally

An appointment out east on 18th was an opportunity to do some birding round Waxham and Horsey.  My first Whitethroat of the year was singing along the road between West Somerton and Horsey, my first of 3-4 that day.  As I headed down the dunes from Waxham 3 Cranes flew over and I got distant views of a ringtail Hen Harrier.  At least I'm pretty sure it was a Hen Harrier though to be honest I identified it primarily on jizz, especially the breadth of its hand, as plumage details were barely discernible at that range.  A female Pallid Harrier was found in the area a few days later which in some photos seemed to show a surprisingly (for me) broad hand, which made me wonder if I could have stuffed up, but I really don't think so - my bird just looked like a bog standard Hen.

Cranes, Waxham, 18th April

There was a White Wagtail at the holiday camp and my first of 2-3 Lesser Whitethroats was singing at Horsey Gap. 

Lesser Whitethroat, Horsey Gap, 18th April

A group of 7 Cranes spent a lot of time in the air viewed from here, very slowly moving north.  Apparently 2 dropped off at Waxham so perhaps the others were the same 5 Cranes that were later seen at Cromer?  At least one Yellow Wagtail flew south and a Whimbrel called as I returned past Horsey Gap and then this Red Kite flew south.

Red Kite, Waxham, 18th April

As I was getting into the car I heard a call that instantly put me in mind of Serin.  Sadly it didn't call again and I couldn't locate it, so I shall consign that one to the bin.  Two Yellow Wagtails flew past me while I was searching for it and further down the road a Wheatear was seen.

On the way home I stopped at Felthorpe to see if there were any Redpolls left.  There weren't, at least not showing while I was there not that I gave it very long, but a surprise and surely a Felthorpe-mega was a Yellow Wagtail feeding around a puddle before flying off.  I also stopped at St Faith's Common where a Treecreeper was the only bird I noted.  Back at the patch later, 2 Green Sandpipers were the highlight.

A Willow Warbler was singing in my garden early on 24th April.  Later I had a look round the Cathedral Meadows which I'm now surveying for moths and butterflies (and anything else).  The avian highlights were a Cuckoo, pair of Nuthatches, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Bullfinches, Sparrowhawk, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 2 Little Egrets over.

Nuthatches, North Elmham Chapel, 25th April

I moved on to Ryburgh where a Wheatear was the clear highlight, a species rarely recorded at this site.  There was also Red Kite, 2 Sparrowhawks, at least 6 Buzzards, 2 Snipe and Grey Wagtail.

Pheasant, Ryburgh, 25th April

The Nuthatches were still at the Cathedral Meadows on 27th...

Nuthatch, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th April

After an early start at the meadows I went on to the patch where the highlights were a Yellow Wagtail south, a Whimbrel and a migrant singing Reed Warbler.  Also at least 6 Little Ringed Plovers.

On Tuesday 2nd May a Cuckoo was calling by the Cathedral Meadows at North Elmham and 2 Barnacle Geese flew over.  On the patch a Hobby was the clear highlight, with Little Ringed Plovers, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Marsh Tits and Bullfinch bring up the rear.  Sadly no sign of Dave's Pied Flycatcher or 5 Wheatears.  Cuckoo, Barn Owl and Great Spotted Woodpecker were the highlights at the Cathedral Meadows that evening.

The Cathedral Meadows were very quiet yesterday, at least in respect of non-local birds (there was plenty of activity from the locally-breeding birds first thing).

Wren, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 4th May

Song Thrush, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 4th May

Linnet, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 4th May

Dunnock, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 4th May

Eagle surprise and Savi's

I arrived at Potter Heigham church at dawn on Saturday and walked out to Rush Hill scrape where I hoped to see the Savi's Warbler.  Almost the first bird I heard, and certainly the first Locustella, was the Savi's Warbler and it proved reasonably easy to get some kind of views of it.  I must have stayed with it for at least an hour and a half and during that time it sang continually, and was usually visible, if only just, as it did so.  It tended to keep quite low in the willows so it wasn't easy to see, and was pretty much always a bit obscured, but it was visible and views were perfectly adequate.  It wasn't as distant as I'd imagined, but with it being quite obscured and low down it was very hard to photograph.

Savi's Warbler, Potter Heigham Marsh, 22nd April

While I was watching this a Grasshopper Warbler was reeling close by, from the bushes adjacent to the hide I think.  At least one Bearded Tit kept appearing and a Water Rail called.  Another Grasshopper Warbler reeled further away into the reeds the other side of the hide.  There were 2 Spoonbills sleeping on Rush Hill and a Pintail among the Shovelers.  As I continued along the footpath to Potter Heigham Marsh a Cuckoo was calling and a third reeling Grasshopper Warbler showed.

Grasshopper Warbler, Weavers Way near Rush Hill, 22nd April

As I approached Potter Heigham Marsh I saw a group of 3 waders flying off - two were clearly Grey Plovers but the other was much much smaller and had a short straight bill.  I've an inkling it was a Little Stint, or at least Stint sp., but I can't be certain on the views I got.  A pair of Cranes were on Heigham Holmes but flew off north from there.  Another Cuckoo was calling over towards Potter Heigham and there were 31 Avocets on the marsh.

As I headed back from the far end I found a drake Garganey in the SE corner.  It was my intention after finishing here that I would head down to Ormesby Broad to see the White-tailed Eagle that had been there yesterday and it had been confirmed as still present this morning.  The thought occurred to me that I might get really distant views of it from here if it were to get up high, though I thought that fairly unlikely.  However as I scanned in that direction I was surprised to see the White-tailed Eagle - not miles away over Ormesby but not far away at all - my side of Martham! It was circling around but soon disappeared behind some trees at which point I lost it for a while.

White-tailed Eagle, Martham, viewed from Potter Heigham Marsh, 22nd April

A little while later I picked up a flock of 16 Cranes over to the SW.  They spent a while circling before eventually coming towards me, over me and off to the north-east.  I've seen larger flocks than this before but I think only on the deck or low in flight - the sight of such a large flock spiralling around high in the sky seemed like an exciting and novel experience for me, although I'm sure Broads locals see it all the time.

Cranes, Potter Heigham Marsh, 22nd April

The 2 Spoonbills, presumably the ones from Rush Hill, dropped in on the marsh.

Spoonbills, Potter Heigham Marsh, 22nd April

I found another 2 drake Garganey sleeping with some Teal.  At least I had only just left the first one in the corner behind me so I assume they were probably both different to that one, but in an attempt to make sure I retraced my steps the check the first one was still there.  It wasn't, or at least it wasn't on view, so I shall have to put it down as 2 in total, though I suspect there were 3.

After a while I picked up the White-tailed Eagle again, this time somewhere over towards Horsey, and now a long way off.  It was still visible quite some time later, mobbed by corvids and now seemingly drifting south slowly.

I noticed that there were now 3 Spoonbills on the marsh before I headed off back along Weavers Way (hearing Kingfisher along the way).  There were 2 Cranes on the fields north of Potter Heigham Marsh (is this Candle Dyke Marsh?) - I can't be sure if they were the original 2, 2 of the 16 (two had split off from the rest) or additional birds.  Another or the same pair of Cranes were later seen in flight as I neared Rush Hill.

Cranes, near Potter Heigham Marsh, 22nd April

After this I had a quick look at Rollesby Broad where the Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid was still present, along with a female Mandarin.

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid, Rollesby Broad, 22nd April

Ormesby Broad had 5 Common Terns and a Sparrowhawk flew over.  Lastly I headed off to the local patch where 4 Little Ringed Plovers (2 sites) and a Snipe were the highlights.

On Sunday I popped into Longwater on my way back from Norwich and saw the 16 Waxwings that have been hanging around there for a while.  They failed to come down to the berries for photos though, and instead headed off towards Longwater Lane.

Yesterday I went up to Burnham Overy, again arriving in the dark so that I could get to Gun Hill by first light or thereabouts.  Once again a Spoonbill was seen in the dark feeding in one of the pools just across the dyke, and a Barn Owl was visible as it started to get light.  Vis mig was relatively slow early on so I didn't spend too long at Gun Hill before wandering round the dunes.  It included a Marsh Harrier west at sea, at least 7 Yellow Wagtails and single figure counts of all 3 hirundine species.

I heard Tree Pipit a few times but wasn't convinced they were different birds moving through - maybe one bird knocking around in the dunes somewhere.  Eventually I located it at the east end of the dunes.

Tree Pipit, Burnham Overy, 24th April

Not the best photo, I know, but I was happier with this hastily grabbed shot of a Meadow Pipit.

Meadow Pipit, Burnham Overy, 24th April

There were still a few Ring Ouzels around - I saw 8, others saw more.  Also 9 Wheatears and 7 Whimbrels and, at last, my first Whitethroat of the year.  Hanging on from winter were 20 Pink-footed Geese and a Golden Plover.

Wheatear, Burnham Overy, 24th April

Pochard, Burnham Overy, 24th April

I also found a pair of binoculars lying in the dunes - if you have lost them or know of someone who has get in touch!

Next I headed to Burnham Norton where there were at least 9 Wheatear and 7 Yellow Wagtails including a party of 5 which were the first I've seen on the deck this year.  Also at least 4 Whimbrel, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and, on Deepdale Marsh, 2 Little Ringed Plovers.

Broadland birding

On Monday I headed to the Broads.  I arrived at Martham Broad at dawn as 7 Little Egrets were flying from roost somewhere south of the broad and a Barn Owl was hunting alongside the footpath.  In the field were 2 White-fronted Geese among the Greylags but by the time I walked back these had increased to 9 White-fronted Geese.  The Tawny Owl was in its usual spot - just as difficult to see as before.  I was pleased to see far more duck on the broad compared to my last visit (in fact one duck would have been an improvement).  Among the 95 Pochard and 86 Tufted Ducks were 2 Scaup, both drakes.  There were also 9 Goldeneye there.  Cranes were calling but I didn't see them.

Scaup (and a Pochard), Martham Broad, 30th January

There were another 4 White-fronted Geese in a field next to the road at West Somerton and I stopped at Horsey Mere where 2 Red Deer were in the field opposite.  There were quite a few duck on the mere itself but many of the Teal swam out of view as soon as I arrived.  As I headed back to the car a Green Sandpiper flew up and away - worryingly this is the first one I have seen or heard this winter which, given how much time I've spent birding in suitable places, is a bad sign.  I used to encounter them a few times over the course of a winter in various places with far less effort.

Magpie, Horsey Mere, 30th January

I stopped briefly at Waxham - couldn't see Glaucs or Purple Sands or anything else of note along the beach, though I only looked from the top of the dunes by Shangri La.  There were a few Red-throated Divers moving past - I counted 12 in what can't have been much more than 5 minutes or so.  I then drove down Eastfield Road at Hickling.  I'd only been down here a couple of times, once to see a White-tailed Eagle way back in the early 90s (which I didn't see) and once more recently to see a Lesser Grey Shrike which was on private land off the end of the road (access had been arranged).  I thought the footpath running parallel to the road to the east might be worth an explore, and so it was, just about.  There were 8-10 Lesser Redpolls in the alders and a small flock of Redwing feeding on the ground.  I flushed a Woodcock and a Chinese Water Deer.  I could hear the Cranes again from here.

Next I stopped at the Pleasure Boat Inn at Hickling where looking out across the Broad I picked up a group of 6 Scaup.  Also 4 Goldeneye here.

I now drove round to Potter Heigham church where I parked and walked out to Rushill Scrape.  I didn't notice getting a message about a Great Northern Diver on the Broad viewable from near the scrape - I'm not sure if the message had arrived by that time or not.  I did have a quick look on the Broad from the footpath but might have looked for a bit longer if I'd seen the message.  At Rushill Scrape there were good numbers of Teal feeding and I flushed about 5 pipits from the cut reeds in front of the hide.  Some of the calls sounded like Meadow Pipit but there were at least 2-3 Water Pipits among them.  I walked on, seeing the likes of Marsh Tits and Cetti's Warblers before arriving at the newly created Potter Heigham Marsh.

I first heard about Potter Heigham Marsh when people started to report an assortment of interesting waders last autumn but I'd never been here before.  It's a fairly extensive area of reed-fringed wetland and I gather that the intention is to allow the reedbeds to grow in order to encourage Bitterns.  I guess that will reduce the area of open water which may perhaps make it less attractive for general birding.  Right now though it was great, stacked full of dabbling duck.  I spent quite a bit of time staring at one particular female Wigeon that I thought showed a few American characteristics.  Eventually it flew revealing axillaries as grey as any I've seen, so no luck this time.  It did however prompt a re-read of ID papers covering this topic, something I'd been meaning to do for a while (and which made me realise that my bird hadn't really been so good a contender as I'd thought).

As I arrived at the site 27 White-fronted Geese flew south over the marsh.  Later I found nearly that many in fields across the river south of Martham Ferry (along with 19 Curlew), and imagined they might be the same birds.  There were 2 Stonechats in the reeds and at least 3 pairs of Bearded Tits.

Bearded Tit, Potter Heigham Marsh, 30th January

Stonechat, Potter Heigham Marsh, 30th January

I could hear Cranes over towards Heigham Holmes and made several unsuccessful attempts to see them.  Eventually I did find them - miles away and hidden behind a hedge.  I could only see them because they were dancing, which was great to see albeit with difficulty - when they jumped up flapping their wings they were possible to see above the hedges.

As well as this Kestrel a Sparrowhawk made a dash past me and a Barn Owl was huting over the back.  There were a couple of Water Pipits here too, though I never saw one on the deck.

Kestrel, Potter Heigham Marsh, 30th January

As I reached the far end of the marsh (in fact the mill beyond there) waves of geese began flying over from the direction of Potter Heigham and towards Heigham Holmes.  Some of the flocks were Pink-feet but of more interest were 307 White-fronted Geese.

White-fronted Geese, Potter Heigham Marsh, 30th January

As I headed back towards Rushill Scrape I bumped in to Ryan and Jason - good to see them and have an interesting chat.  While we were talking 3 Cranes dropped in to what I think must be Candle Dyke Marsh.  They flew off towards Rushill Scrape later and when I got round there they were viewable in the field behind the hide - until some more people came along and they flew off.

Cranes, near Rushill Scrape, 30th January

Also Kingfisher heard calling and in the woodland near the tower a herd of at least 20 Red Deer.  The second time I saw Red Deer today which I found interesting - I used to come out this way quite regularly in the 90s and don't remember ever seeing Red Deer in the area then.  I met a couple at Rushill Scrape who had just seen a Great Northern Diver, and it was only then that I realised that I had much earlier received a message about it being there.  Viewing the broad isn't easy from the path but eventually I saw the Great Northern Diver swimming rapidly away.  A minute later I picked it up again, this time in flight flying away over the back of the broad and heading in the direction of the coast. 

It was getting late but I figured there was enough light to look through the Pink-feet at Clippesby.  A lot of birds were flying off from the flock as I arrived and the number of birds remaining was quite low.  Even so I managed to pick out 9 Tundra Bean Geese, although this was a miniscule number compared to the incredible counts Ryan and others were getting over the next few days.  I had a quick look at the broads from Filby Bridge in the last glimmers of daylight - 3 Goldeneye and 3 Whooper Swans on Filby Broad and 3 Goldeneye and a Kingfisher at Ormesby Little Broad. 

Local birding last week was largely unproductive.  A flock of 8 Mandarins near Guist was nice, and a flock of 75 Bramblings near Bintree Mill along with Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail and singing Treecreeper.