Review of 2019 and 2020 - Birds: Waders

STONE-CURLEWS (family BURHINIDAE)


Stone-Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus - Calling birds heard while out mothing on one night each year, one site in the Brecks and the other quite close to another known breeding area.

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OYSTERCATCHERS (family HAEMATOPODIDAE)


Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus - Occasionally seen flying over the house and the meadows during the summers.

Oystercatcher, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 3rd May 2020

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PLOVERS (family CHARADRIIDAE)


Lapwing Vanellus vanellus - At least one pair bred in farmland adjacent to the meadows raising well-grown chicks in 2019, though I was unable to confirm they definitely fledged.  Small numbers occasionally seen flying over (max 57 migrating west on 30th October 2019).

Lapwings, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 20th November 2020

Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria - Heard after dark at the meadows on 2 dates in February 2019 and during the day on 15th August 2019.  One seen flying over there on 30th November 2020.  75 at Pendeen (Cornwall) on 4th October 2020 and 60 at Porthgwarra Moor on 6th.

Golden Plovers, Porthgwarra Moor (Cornwall), 7th October 2020

American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica - I missed one at Pendeen (Cornwall) on 4th October 2020 but got a second chance when it later reappeared on Porthgwarra Moor two days later.

American Golden Plover, Porthgwarra Moor (Cornwall), 6th October 2020

Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula - No records worth mentioning.


Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius - Recorded at the local gravel pits and at Tichwell in 2019.

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SANDPIPERS and SNIPES (family SCOLOPACIDAE)


Curlew Numenius arquata - At least 2 heard calling as they flew over the meadows in the wee small hours of the morning while I was mothing on 8th July 2019.  One heard flying over home on 9th August 2020.

Curlew, Hayle (Cornwall), 10th October 2020

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica - No noteworthy records.


Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa - A ringed Continental bird (race limosa) at Titchwell on 21st July 2019.

Continental Black-tailed Godwit, Titchwell, 21st July 2019

Turnstone Arenaria interpres - No noteworthy records.


Knot Calidris canutus - No noteworthy records.


Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea - One at Titchwell on 21st July 2019 and one at Hayle (Cornwall) on 10th October 2020.


Dunlin Calidris alpina - One heard flying over the meadows while I was out mothing at 25 past midnight on 1st July 2019.


Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima - Singles at West Runton on 18th March and Cley on 12th November 2019.

Purple Sandpiper, Cley, 12th November 2019

Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla - One at Titchwell on 21st July 2019 was a belated Norfolk tick for me - another great James McCallum find.


Woodcock Scolopax rusticola - At the meadows 2 flew low over the railway at dusk on 9th February 2019 and on 17th February I found at least 2, probably 3, feeding on the meadows by torchlight.  Another found there by torchlight on 4th January 2020.  Elsewhere singles heard at Sculthorpe Moor and on Mull in 2019 and a migrant flushed at Brancaster on 17th October 2020.

Woodcock, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 17th February 2019

Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus - One seen in flight with Snipes from the meadows on 16th October 2020.  They had been flushed from an inaccessible part of the valley by a Marsh Harrier.

Jack Snipe, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 16th October 2020

Snipe Gallinago gallinago - Small numbers occasionally seen from the meadows, either in flight over the meadows or in a flooded field just visible from the recording area.  I have seen 8 on 3 occasions but, aided by a Marsh Harrier that was flushing them, 45 on 27th Novemebr 2020.

Snipe, Llobregat Delta (Spain), 22nd February 2020

Snipe, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows, 27th November 2020

Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius - One east past Sheringham on 21st October 2019.  Compared to others I've seen on seawatches previously I got an unusually good look at this one.


Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos - A nocturnal migrant heard over the meadows on 23rd June 2019.  Also seen at Minsmere and Titchwell in 2019 and at numerous sites around Mull.


Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus - One heard flying upriver at the meadows on 25th April 2020 - despite calling 4 times I didn't manage to see it.  Elsewhere one at Ryburgh in April 2019 and singles in Spain and at Warham Greens in 2020.

Green Sandpiper, Llobregat Delta (Spain), 22nd February 2020

Redshank Tringa totanus - No records worth mentioning.


Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus - 2 at Titchwell in December 2019 and one heard at Stiffkey in October 2020.


Greenshank Tringa nebularia - Singles at Bintree Mill on 17th April and Bittering on 18th May 2019 were my only local records but half a dozen more at the coast.


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Jack and the Bean Stalk

Or Jack Snipe and Bean Geese...

Dave has seen a couple of Pink-footed Geese on the local patch a few times this winter but on Friday a fortnight ago (gosh, is that how long it's taken me to write this) he got a bit confused noticing that at least one bird looked a bit like a Bean Goose.  He saw them again on Saturday and there were three birds, but still the situation wasn't clear, not helped by him not having a scope at the moment.  So I rocked up on Saturday afternoon to see what was going on...

A scan of one gravel workings area produced 5 Dunlin among the Golden Plover and Lapwing.  A good local record but not what we were looking for.  Nearby we found the geese.  The pair were lying down (so we couldn't see the legs) and asleep (so we couldn't see the bills) but I wasn't seeing anything to suggest they weren't Pink-feet.  Eventually they woke up and, although they didn't stand up and show us their leg colour they were clearly Pink-footed Geese.  But they didn't look like at least one of the birds in Dave's photos and Dave had seen 3 birds... so was there a Bean Goose here as well?

Eventually we found the third bird, but this was clearly a bog-standard Pink-footed Goose as well.  A good local record as we don't see many Pink-feet here, but not what we were hoping for.  But something wasn't right.  Dave's photos weren't great, he won't mind me saying, but there was at least one bird in there that really did look like a Tundra Bean Goose.  Even if the colours etc.weren't true and it was just a Pink-footed Goose, it didn't look like any of these Pink-footed Geese here.  But here were the 3 birds all accounted for, and all Pink-footed Geese.  And there weren't any more small geese.

Some while later as we were still standing there, resigning ourselves to the fact that there were just Pink-footed Geese and not Bean Geese here, but still scratching our heads as to how this identification wasn't pretty obvious to Dave when he saw them earlier or how they looked so Beany in the photos, and I picked up two small geese flying around.  The three Pink-feet were still on the deck so these were different... and what's more they hard dark forewings, and more dark in the tail, and orange legs, and pale bellies, and Bean-shaped bills... these were 2 Tundra Bean Geese!  They flew round and round numerous times but never came down, at least not anywhere we could see them, but the prolonged close flight views left us in no doubt whatsoever.  A great local record - the first Dave had seen in the Wensum Valley (I think it just about qualifies as that here).  The only ones I've seen in the Wensum Valley before were 2 at Sparham Pools on 20th March 2009 - interesting that these were at the same time of year which is later than any of the 200 or so I've seen elsewhere in Norfolk.

Educational birds too as I don't often get to see them in flight, at least not for a prolonged period.  They looked even more compact than Pink-footed Geese but I was trying to work out why.  Not sure it was entirely down to the length of the neck - wondered if the wings were shorter too?  And maybe more barrel-shaped bodies, bulkier at the rear?

Tundra Bean Geese, near Bittering, 12th March

Still some 150 or so Wigeon here, and still can't find an American among them.

Last weekend didn't give much birding opportunity either, but a visit to the patch was in order.  One field is in a strictly private and dangerous working gravel pit with no general access.  It is not viewable from any public right of way and even if it was no birds are visible without flushing them.  But 3 of us had an opportunity to give it a look on Sunday.  After Ian's preliminary count of 7 Jack Snipe in the morning Dave and I gave it a thorough search in the afternoon.  We couldn't better that, but 7 Jack Snipe, all flushed and impossible to see on the ground, was a great local record - in fact a pretty good record anywhere and the most Jack Snipe I've ever seen in one day.

Jack Snipes, private site, 20th March

Midweek birding has been pretty restricted recently - a couple of lunch time wanders round Syderstone Common have produced the likes of Marsh Tit, Treecreeper and Green Woodpecker, but nowt to shout about.  Otherwise a leucistic Curlew, Barn Owl, Red Kites and Bullfinches have been the closest it's come to excitement.  The room I've been working in over the last week has had a nice view though, with plenty of avian activity outside the window to keep me entertained, if only the likes of Stock Doves, Long-tailed Tits, Mistle Thrushes, Treecreepers, etc.

leucistic Curlew, Burnham Norton, 21st March

Long-tailed Tit, Syderstone Common, 14th March

The only other thing of note was hearing an Egyptian Goose at home one morning - my first for the house.