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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Local birds and a good day in the Broads

A visit to the local patch the day after I returned from Cornwall (Sunday 9th April) produced nothing better than a pair of Little Ringed Plover.  I headed out to Foulden Common that evening with a view to looking for moths.  There was a Marsh Harrier there and I heard my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year singing.  This was a full week earlier than my previous earliest Lesser Whitethroats.  A Marsh Tit was singing and a Green Woodpecker called.  As it got dark I heard a Snipe drumming - the first time I've heard one drumming for over a decade.  There were also a number of Woodcocks including one seen feeding before it noticed me and scurried away.  Both Barn Owl and Tawny Owl were heard calling and a Teal could also be heard calling from one of the wetter areas of the common.

A Blackcap was singing in the garden (or more accuarately, the neighbour's garden) on Monday and it or others have done so many days since.

Regular visits to Great Ryburgh have been a little bit productive though hardly earth-shattering.  Up to 3 Pink-footed Geese and a White-fronted Goose have remained along with up to 7 Barnacle Geese.  A Coot one day was apparently a rarity for the site - possibly only the second record ever!

Coot, Ryburgh, 11th April

Mallard, Ryburgh, 17th April

Shovelers, Ryburgh, 19th April

Little Egret, Ryburgh, 19th April

Herring Gull, Ryburgh, 17th April

Early or late visits have often produced a pair of Mandarin once and a single drake Mandarin three times, always flying up or down the river.  Waders included 2 Snipe but frustratingly I didn't quite nail what appeared to be a Dunlin seen fleetingly in flight (would have been an excellent record for the site). Raptors have included Red Kite and regular Sparrowhawk.  A Kingfisher put in an appearance three times and a Grey Wagtail twice.

Oystercatcher, Ryburgh, 17th April

Kingfisher, Ryburgh, 12th April

Grey Wagtail, Ryburgh, 17th April

I had a bit of trouble resolving the identification of a White Wagtail.  The mantle and scapulars didn't seem as pale as I'd like and the situation was complicated by the appearance of a second bird, when the first was absent, that looked almost identical in head pattern and tone of upperparts, so causing me to assume it was the same bird.  It turned out that they were different birds - one a grey-rumped White Wagtail and the other a black-rumped Pied Wagtail.  There was a slight difference in the flanks (the Pied being darker of course) but this could be hard to see and at times when the rump is hidden the only difference I could detect between the two birds was the presence (Pied) or absence (White) of grey streaking below the bottom of the black breast.

 White Wagtail, Ryburgh, 11th April

White Wagtail, Ryburgh, 12th April - two photos showing how different it looks at different angles/lights

Pied Wagtail, Ryburgh, 17th April - a very similar bird to the White Wagtail with its grey centre to the crown and similar-toned upeprparts but this one has a blacker rump, a few grey streaks below the black breast and a tiny bit darker flanks/breast sides

All 3 hirundines were recorded there, 4 Sand Martins north on 12th apparently being a good local record.  Both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were recorded and a Lesser Whitethroat sang on 19th.

Coal Tit, Ryburgh, 15th April

Chiffchaff, Ryburgh, 20th April

Greenfinch, Ryburgh, 16th April

Regular visits to the other local patch have produced Little Ringed Plovers, the odd Snipe but not a great deal else.  Other local records include a pair of Grey Wagtails at Bintree Mill a couple of times and a Marsh Harrier.

Little Ringed Plovers, 17th April

Little Ringed Plovers, 20th April

On Good Friday after visits to Ryburgh and the local patch early morning I decided to head over to the Broads.  First stop was Rollesby Broad where a Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid is hanging out with 3 Mandarins.  It spends a lot of its time displaying, often to the female Mandarin whose company it seems to quite like, but also to Mallards and just on its own.  I imagine they're all out of the same cage and suspect they were released their deliberately rather than escaped from somewhere and flown there.

Blue-winged Teal x Cinnamon Teal hybrid, Rollesby Broad, 14th April

Mandarins, Rollesby Broad, 14th April

I then headed over to Barton Broad where a tern was bouncing around the lake visible from the platform as soon as I arrived.  It was an Arctic Tern which made for a nice surprise - I don't see many of these in Norfolk except on autumn seawatches.

Arctic Tern, Barton Broad, 14th April

This Kingfisher flashed by...

Kingfisher, Barton Broad, 14th April

As I passed between Smallburgh and Stalham I noticed a lot of gulls following the plough by the layby.  I thought it might be worth a look through them and so it proved - there was a first-winter Glaucous Gull among them!  There has been one along the coast around Winteton/Hemsby recently and I guess it may well be the same bird.

Glacuous Gull., between Smallburgh and Stalham, 14th April

Next stop was Hickling Broad, first checking from the Pleasure Boat Inn (nothing) and then the NWT reserve, a place I don't go to very often and rarely seem to see much there.  Today was no exception, though plenty of commoner warblers in.  My first Common Tern of the year was probably the highlight, though if you belong to the school of thought which says a Grey Heron with rusty colour on its wing-coverts is a Great Blue Heron then maybe not.  Sadly this isn't always the case - I've seen a few Grey Herons with rusty or brownish wing-coverts and/or rusty thighs.

Grey Heron, Hickling NWT, 14th April

With moderate NNE winds I headed up to Sheringham on last Tuesday (18th) for a seawatch.  Seawatching in Norfolk is rarely good in spring (here I am referring to seabirds really - there can be some excellent vis mig days at least some of which can involve birds flying over the sea) so my expectations were low.  I arrived at first light and there was almost nothing moving at first.  Things picked up slightly but I only got about 80 Gannets, 30 Sandwich Terns and 24 Common Scoter.  A few Fulmar were moving but hard to tell which ones as local birds were also passing, and other seabirds included 2 Kittiwakes and 8 larger Auks, at least 2 of which were Razorbills.  There were 4 Red-throated Divers and one group of 3 waders west included Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit.  A distant party of 3 birds flying east eventually proved to be the birds of the day - a scarce species flying over the sea, Black-tailed Godwits.

From my study I could hear  Lesser Whitethroat singing on Wednesday - a house tick.  Another house-tick followed the next evening when I heard a Coot flying over (with a second Coot on Friday night).