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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Corncrake from the garden and a Dowitcher

On Sunday 16th July Jake Gearty found a Long-billed Dowitcher along the East Bank at Cley.  This is a bird that rarely turns up in Norfolk and although I've seen a few elsewhere the only one I recall seeing in Norfolk before was the Pentney bird in April 1994.  On checking my records it turns out I also saw the juvenile at Titchwell in September 2007 - strange how that one seems to have completely disappeared from my memory.  I checked back on my diary page to see if I could jog my memory - weirdly I can remember well the Mallard x Egyptian Goose hybrids and Signal Crayfish I saw the same morning but even though I have a rubbishy photo of the dowitcher I still can't remember seeing it.  Must be old age.  Anyway, I can remember this one still, which I went up to see late afternoon - a fine bird showing well, if a little distantly, from East Bank.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Cley, 16th July

After a while it flew off west over the reserve and appeared to go down, much to the frustration of Penny who was just arriving.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Cley, 16th July

There were some nice cute baby Lapwings and Redshanks viewable from East Bank too...

Lapwing, Cley, 16th July

Redshank, Cley, 16th July

Penny heard from Eddie that the Dowitcher had dropped in to the central scrapes but in no time it had flown again.  We headed round to North Scrape in the hope that it would settle there but alas there was no sign.  I heard a Whimbrel at some point and a Mediterranean Gull flew past.

The area where people have been hearing Corncrakes calling in North Elmham is no more than 500m from my front door and I wondered if I might be able to hear one from my property at some point.  But I'm always up checking the moth trap before dawn and I'm often in my study with the window open facing that way and I'd had no luck.  Some neighbours had told me they'd heard one at the top end of my road a few times - the other way from the main site - and from their description I was pretty sure they meant it had been calling from my next-door neighbour's property (they have a lot of land).  After hearing this I made an even more concerted effort to hear them from my garden but still with no joy until the morning of Tuesday 18th July.  I went out to check the moth trap as usual at 3.40 am while it was still virtually dark, and almost straightaway I could hear the distinctive "crex crex" call.  The Corncrake continued to call for the next ten minutes or so by which time it was starting to get light, and then stopped completely - I was out there for an hour or so and didn't hear it again.  I presume it was calling from my neighbour's property although it sounded like it was coming from just up the road (where there are just houses and gardens).

The following night there was terrential rain from before dawn so there was no chance of hearing anything above the noise of the rain, not that there was any chance of anything calling anyway.  I never heard it again.

Eclipsing hybrid, close encounters with Kingfisher and Corncrakes in the village

I'd wanted to see if I could find the Mallard x Pintail hybrid in eclipse plumage so headed over to Thorpe Green on Sunday 18th June.  Eventually I found a bird which I figured had to be it, not quite fully in eclipse but far enough to be quite hard to pick out.  By comparison with Dave Norgate's photos taken a few days earlier (but in more recognisable plumage) I was able to confirm it was the same boy.

Mallard x Pintail hybrid, Thorpe Green, 18th June

That evening 3 Grey Herons flew high west over the garden - I don't often see herons here.

At Ryburgh on 21st I saw the White Wagtail again (for the last time - I've not seen it since) and a Kingfisher.  I knew there were Lapwing chicks around from the behaviour of the parents - they had become much more aggresive than previously.  Here is one attacking a Little Egret.

Lapwing vs. Little Egret, Ryburgh, 21st June

Eventually I did get great views of two chicks...

Lapwing chicks, Ryburgh, 21st June

Two Red Kites were the highlight at Ryburgh on 24th.  Also 6 Barnacle Geese.  Adult Blue Tits are not looking their best at this time of year...

Blue Tit, Ryburgh, 24th June

One or two Chiffchaffs showed very well...

Chiffchaff(s?), Ryburgh, 24th June

I went up to Burnham Overy on 26th - lots of big white birds on view as I walked out - 2 Great White Egrets among at least 30 Little Egrets and 4-5 Spoonbills.  That was pretty much it so far as birds are concerned, though I had a great time in the dunes so far as insects are concerned - you can read about that in my mothing diary.  Oh, there was one bird that was just about noteworthy - this Cuckoo.

Cuckoo, Burnham Overy, 26th June

Pochard, Burnham Overy, 26th June

I occasionally see Kingfishers at Ryburgh but rarely do they perch up close enough to photograph.  And when they do they stop for just a second or two so I can maybe get one or two shots if I'm really quick.  On Friday 30th one was far more obliging.  It arrived at 11.27 and left while it was still 11.27 (according to the timestamps on my photos) so it wasn't exactly around for a long time, but it did let me get these shots which I was quite happy with.

Kingfisher, Ryburgh, 30th June

Whitethroat, Ryburgh, 30th June

Other visits to Ryburgh and other local spots around this time didn't turn up much worth mentioning here.

A while back I learned that a large number of Corncrakes had been released in the Wensum Valley "somewhere towards North Elmham" in the last year or two and in late June I discovered more precisely where they had been released.  A number of people started reporting hearing them from the railway just north of North Elmham station and on 4th July I finally got round to having a look myself.  It was a warm, calm evening and I thought conditions might be good but alas there was no sign of them.  The area one had been calling was very close to my road and I suspected that they must be audible from my road - it was no more than 500m away from my front door!  I later discovered that neighbours had indeed heard them from the bottom of my road.  I did see at least 3 Barn Owls and later when I got home I heard a Little Owl alarm-calling.

An early morning visit to the railway on 11th July finally allowed me to catch up with the Corncrakes - I heard at least one Corncrake calling from a barley field between 5 and 5.30 am.  After this I moved on to Ryburgh where a showy juvenile Bullfinch was the highlight.  I've not often managed prolonged close views of juvenile Bullfinches so I quite enjoyed this.

juvenile Bullfinch, Ryburgh, 11th July

My first juvenile Black-headed Gull of the year away from breeding grounds was here and a Kingfisher put in another brief appearance.

Kingfisher, Ryburgh, 11th July

Robin, Ryburgh, 11th July

Sedge Warbler, Ryburgh, 11th July