Half a ton of Corn Buntings

A wander round Sparham Pools on Monday was pleasant but uneventful - a Kingfisher was the highlight.  I had a good look for the Great Grey Shrike that's been commuting between here and nearby Sparham but couldn't find it at either location, once again.

On Tuesday I headed up to Blakeney and had a wander round the freshmarsh.  The Lesser Black-backed Gull x Herring Gull hybrid was at the duckpond on my arrival.

Lesser Black-backed Gull x Herring Gull hybrid, Blakeney, 21st February

A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting over the saltmarsh and a Kingfisher was flushed by dog walkers.  There were 2 Stonechats along the path.

Stonechat, Blakeney, 21st February

Skylark, Blakeney, 21st February

Reed Buntings, Blakeney, 21st February

There was a flock of at least 73 White-fronted Geese sleeping on the freshmarsh and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose flew over with Dark-bellied Brent Geese.  Bearded Tits were calling as I returned to the car.  I'd seen a flock of Goldies on the marshes but when they took to flight they gave an opportunity to photograph the whole flock and count them later - 1796 Golden Plover.

The duckpond is always worth a look and it was fun watching and listening to the pair of Hooded Mergansers displaying.

captive Hooded Mergansers, Blakeney collection, 21st February

There are always lots of Collared Doves around the wildfowl collection...

Collared Doves, Blakeney, 21st February

From the entrance to Friary Hills another (or the same) Kingfisher perched up and showed nicely for a bit while I studied variation in female Wigeon plumage.  Quite a lot of variation in the extent of internal markings in the scapulars and two out of 22 had obviously grey outer secondaries.  No real contenders for American Wigeon though... I'll keep looking.

Kingfisher, Blakeney, 21st February

I headed up to Kelling Heath where Woodlarks were singing and Dartford Warblers were chasing Stonechats (well, two of the four were).

On Wednesday there were still 12 White-fronted Geese on the local patch.  Wigeon numbers seem to be falling though they do move around sites so they may not be going far; Shoveler numbers were up slightly.

I spent Friday in the Fens, starting at High Fen, a site I'd discovered recently and been impressed by the number of birds present.  It wasni't quite as good today but it wasn't dead by any means.  The plover flocks were more distant, but I counted 268 Golden Plovers.  I also heard a Curlew calling - perhaps one of the birds that breed in the Brecks area.  A lot of duck on the flash I didn't have time to reach last time - mostly Teal but I also counted 105 Shoveler, and that was almost certainly an incomplete count.  There were also 14 Pintail on there.  Passerines along the lode included a singing Treecreeper and Bullfinch.  Good to meet one of the local farmers here too, a chap who was clearly interested in the birds and wildlife on his land and doing his bit to encourage them.

I moved on to Wissington where a large flock of swans were feeding south of the beet factory.  Some were out of view so I didn't do a proper count but there were at least 120 Whooper Swans and the odd Bewick's too.  There were 5 Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids on the fishing ponds which I walked round, finding Kingfisher and a nice drake Goosander on the river.

Goosander, Wissington, 24th February

I walked through the beet factory where a Grey Wagtail fed in a puddle but the pools visible from the path were far quieter than last time.  This time I continued along the riverbank (north side) until I could look across to NWT's new (not publicly accessible) reserve, Hilgay Fen.  There were another 6 Whooper Swans, a Glaucous Gull and a Yellow-legged Gull.  I failed to read the tag of a green wing-tagged Marsh Harrier.  Another Treecreeper was singing in one of the copses.

Glaucous Gull, Hilgay Fen, 24th February

By now I was getting hungry and had forgotten to bring any snacks with me, so I decided to move on to Welney for lunch.  As I drove out of Ten Mile Bank a small field was heaving with birds - Fieldfares and a very impressive 50 Corn Buntings.  That's by far the biggest flock of this declining species I've seen in Norfolk for many years - in fact I haven't seen more than single figures since the end of the last decade.  A little further on I spied a Short-eared Owl quartering the fields.

As I walked into the cafe at Welney one of the staff asked me if I'd seen the Kingfisher.  It was showing nicely just outside the cafe.

Kingfisher, Welney, 24th February

I didn't see nearly as much at Welney as I had on my visit earlier in the month but of course there are always plenty of common birds to enjoy.  I also ambled down Cock Fen Road at Lakes End but didn't see much except lots of Whooper Swans.

Tufted Duck, Welney, 24th February

Buzzard, Welney, 24th February

Next I checked the various bridges between Stowbridge and Saddlebow, the highlights being 2 Goldeneye and a Barn Owl at Magdalen and 3 Scaup (all drakes) at Saddlebow.  Another Barn Owl was by the road at Massingham on the way home.

Barn Owl, Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen, 24th February

Local White-fronts, Cley, Christmas & an Eastern Black Red

No birding on 21st December though I did drive past Lyng Easthaugh gravel pits on my way home from Norwich and noticed a Greylag x Canada Goose hybrid there.

On 22nd I popped in to the local patch for the first time in ages.  Not much doing on the whole except for one exellent local record - a flock of 26 White-fronted Geese.  Not the first time I've seen this species on the patch but a flock this big is very unusual.  The flock comprised 18 adults and 8 first-winters.

White-fronted Geese, Hell Pit, 22nd December

A drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker was great to hear - I thought it might prove to be my earliest but checking through my records I've heard them drumming this early several times before.  On my way up to the coast I paused briefly at Bintree Mill.  Not much doing there but a flock of 20+ Brambling opposite the end of the road.

I headed up to Cley hoping to see the hybrid sparrow that's been knocking around there.  I spent a good deal of time in Cley Spy looking at the feeders but with no luck.  Eventually I gave up and headed along the road to look in the hedgerows and gardens (I gather it was first seen at Steve G's place).   A party of 3 White-fronted Geese flew around, eventually heading inland with Brent Geese.

White-fronted Geese, Cley, 22nd December

Once I'd given up on the sparrows I headed to Dauke's where a Water Pipit appeared briefly.  Interesting that it seemed to be quite heavily streaked (especially above) which made me doubt my ID slightly, but in the end it has to be Water, unless I'm much mistaken.

Water Pipit, Cley, 22nd December

Lots of duck there, but I failed to find anything unusual among them.  A Bittern flew low over the reeds and a Kingfisher sped past.  A Stonechat perched up in the distance.

Shoveler, Cley, 22nd December

Wigeon, Cley, 22nd December

On Christmas Day Vitty and I headed up to Burnham Overy for a picnic lunch after church.  Two Red Kites were trying to feed on roadkill north of Sculthorpe.  The walk out to the dunes and back was a bit more rushed than usual (with Vitty not being interested in standing around in the wind while I looked at birds), but I had time to pick out the Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose hybrid, an odd-looking Pink-footed Goose with very dark head and neck (stained?), at least 46 Barnacle Geese (far and away the largest number I've seen here - perhaps wild but with a feral population nearby I'm not sure) and at least 2 White-fronted Geese.  Finally a single Stonechat was seen in the dunes, and we headed back home for another goose, cooked this time.

We headed up to see family in the Lake District on 27th, stopping en route at Skinnigrove (ok, Cleveland isn't exactly en route, but near enough) to see the Eastern Black Redstart.  A thoroughly lovely bird it was too, although the sun was some way off rising enough to shine on it before we had to leave so the photos are a bit grainy.

Eastern Black Redstart, Skinningrove. 27th December

Amazing the number of birds feeding on this unvegetated pile of boulders - Wren, Dunnocks, Robins, Pied Wagtails, Rock Pipits and the Redstart.

It's grim up north, and whether it was the air or just a bug, I was pretty unwell for the rest of the day, which was a shame as it rather spoilt the lunch we had at one of the best restaurants in the country. 

Feeling a bit better next day I ventured out around the south Lakes, stopping first at Windermere where one of 3 Goosanders was very tame.  

Goosander, Windermere, 28th December

Also a hybrid between a domestic Greylag and a Canada Goose here.  From the Roa Island causeway a large mixed flock of Dark- and Pale-bellied Brent Geese contained at least 220 of the latter.  Also 319 Eider.

Hodbarrow held another Greylag x Canada Goose hybrid, at least a dozen Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser and 12 Scaup.  2 Greenshank flew over the causeway to the beach.

I had just a short amount of time to kill on the morning of 29th before meeting family for lunch and had a drive round Ullswater.  Not much doing there - just a couple of goose flocks and a one Wigeon flock.  The former included 40 Barnacle Geese and 5 Greylag x Canada Goose hybrids.