King Eider, Siberian Chiffchaff and Grey-bellied Brant

Apart from Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Redpolls, Siskins, Bullfinches and a Brambling at the local meadows, the only birding worth mentioning in the first week of November was a quick visit to Sheringham.  I found the King Eider reasonably easily, opposite the west end of the golf course.  There was a Common Scoter in the same bit of sea and 4 Redshanks flew west.

King Eider (with Common Scoter in bottom image), Sheringham, 5th November

Local birding didn't improve the following week except that there were up to 4 Lesser Redpolls and Siskin at home.

A visit to Burnham Overy on 17th November was interesting enough, though perhaps not as much as I would have liked.  There were 20 Barnacle Geese, which are normally assumed to be the local feral flock.  That may indeed have been the case for all of them, but I did wonder about these two as I picked them up over the dunes apparently flying in from the NNW.  Maybe they were part of the feral flock that had just had a bit of a fly around, or maybe they were genuine immigrants arriving from the north...?  I suspect the former.

Barnacle Geese, Burnham Overy, 17th November

There was a large raft of Common Scoter just off the mouth of the Burn.

Common Scoter, Burnham Overy, 17th November

Sadly I couldn't find any more unusual scoters among them, though there were 6 Red-breasted Mergansers knocking around.  Also 4 Tufted Ducks east and 3 Razorbills.

There was a Great White Egret in the estuary, and I saw 2 Avocets, Kingfisher, Short-eared Owl and 2 Red Kites.  But so far as passerine migrants were concerned it was pretty tough going.  There was one Blackcap and at least 100 Blackbirds but precious little else.

Mike Buckland had fared a little better at the west end of Holkham Pines finding a nice Siberian Chiffchaff there, so I went along to join him looking at that.  It was an interesting bird.  Not quite as obvious as they can be with distinct greenish tones visible in the scapulars in some lights - enough that would once upon a time have disqualified it but apparently not any more.  In other lights it looked really good - compare the two images below.

Siberian Chiffcahff, Holkham Pines, 17th November

Mike had tried playing its call in order to elicit a response as the bird had failed to call at all.  This hadn't worked but someone else came along and played a quick burst of Siberian Chiffchaff song.  The bird's response was instantateous!  Immediately it popped up high and started engaging in an amazing wing-shimmering display.  It still remained silent, but this was enough to disperse any remaining doubts as to its identity.  The other Chiffchaff that was alongside it didn't respond at all (in fact there were at least 3 Chiffchaffs here).

Chiffcahff, Holkham Pines, 17th November

For the rest of the month I stayed local and consequently saw little.  I heard Barn Owl from my study and at the meadows heard a Brambling, saw Sparrowhawk, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatch and Treecreepers, Siskins and up to 5 Bullfinches.

Stock Dove, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 21st November

Skylark, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 21st November

Robin, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 21st November

Bullfinch, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 21st November

Mistle Thrush, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 25th November

December started with Pink-footed Geese heard over the house on 1st and 2 Redpolls on 3rd.  A quick stop at Wroxham Broad when I was passing on 5th produced 2 Pink-footed Geese among 200+ Greylags.

Local birding was generally slow.  Despite overlooking the river Wensum the only duck species I'd recorded at the Cathedral Meadows between the end of April and December was Mallard.  So it was a surprise to see a Shoveler and 3 Gadwall fly over heading towards the park on 8th.  I don't think I've ever been so excited to see a Shoveler and some Gadwall before in my life!

I went along to Bittering on 17th December where the highlight was these 3 Whooper Swans, a good local bird though not the first time I've seen them here.

Whooper Swans, Bittering, 17th December

Nuthatch and Treecreeper continued to be regular at the meadows, and also Marsh Tits were now appearing more often.

Coal Tit, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 17th December

Blue Tit, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 17th December

Great Tit, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 17th December

A distant flock of 62 Golden Plover were new for the meadows on 22nd (also 213 Lapwings) and 29 Pink-footed Geese flew east on Christmas Eve.  Also this day a newly-formed puddle viewable from the corner of the meadows provided some new habitat and with it some new species for the patch - 2 Wigeon and 12 Teal.

Treecreeper, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 22nd December

I could hear a right old commotion in the larger trees behind the chapel ruins with tits, Blackbirds, finches and Jackdaws all making alarm calls.  Clearly something was up, but the birds seemed well spaced around the top of the tree and it wasn't immediately clear where their cause for concern was.  I wondered if it was a Tawny Owl, but couldn't see one, and then 2 Jays appeared in the tree.  I've seen birds mobbing Jays so maybe these were the cause, but I wasn't convinced.  The Jays flew off and the noise continued, so I walked round the other side and sure enough, there was a Tawny Owl, sat in full view in a hole at the very top of the trunk - an unusually exposed position for one of these to roost I thought.  Well it liked it enough as it remained more-or-less reliable there through into March, and a staggering number of birders came to see it during that time.  Interestingly though, I never saw the other birds getting remotely bothered by it again.

Tawny Owl, North Elmham Cathedral Meaodws, 24th December

On the way down to Kent on Christmas morning 2 Ring-necked Parakeets flew over the M25 near Stapleford Tawney.  Then on Boxing Day, on the way up to the Lake District, I saw a Red Kite near Harrogate and then 8 Black Grouse at a well-known spot followed by Red Grouse and a Barn Owl around Alston Moor.  Not sure how common Barn Owl are up here - I don't recall seeing them up north before.

Black Grouse, up north, 26th December

The final family visit on the whistle-stop tour of the UK was in Dundee on 27th, where we also dipped on Waxwings.  Finally it was back to Norfolk on 28th where first stop was Docking to see the extremely interesting Grey-bellied Brent Goose.  I've looked at photos of one or two putative Grey-bellied before and thought, why aren't they just Dark-bellied x Pale-bellied?  Well, in one or two cases they probably were.  You won't be able to tell from my rubbishy photos but this was quite different.  Very interesting, and I was very grateful to get a second chance after missing it last winter.

Grey-bellied Brent Goose, near Docking, 28th December

Welney

On Saturday the group I sometimes help with was due to head up to Cley but with the recent flooding we decided to go to Welney for a change instead.  I had time to pop in to Narford Lake on the way.  There weren't as many ducks there as there had been on my last visit and most of those that were there disappeared round the corner out of view as I arrived.  But the Great White Egret that's been wintering there dropped into the reeds opposite the church while I was stood there.

Great White Egret, Narford Lake, 4th February

Arriving at Welney the Whooper Swans behind the centre provided the first atraction for the group and 10 Snipe were seen on the fen while we were signing in.  We saw the first of 3 Goldeneye from the observatory and then headed over to Reedbed Hide.  While we were there a small group of Pochard flew in and I noticed one bird had a female Scaup-like white patch on its face.  I wondered if it might be a Scaup but I only got the briefest of views and didn't notice Scaup wing-bars.  I suspected they had gone down in front of the observatory but couldn't see it there.

We headed over to the observatory just in time for the swan feed, at the start of which I relocated the Scaup-faced bird.  It was immediately obvious that it wasn't a Scaup.  Structurally it was much like a Pochard and it had grey Pochard-like wing-bars.  I considered the possibility that it was just an aberrant Pochard, but I don't think so - it also had a less contrasting dark breast than other female Pochards there and the bill pattern wasn't normal.  I'm aware that female Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrids typically show a white face, more extensive than is usually present on either parent species, but they are also normally smaller than Pochard, have a different bill pattern and often a hint of a tuft.  I have seen photos of one individual that looked very similar to this bird - its identity was never fully resolved but one suggestion was that it might be a Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid backcrossed with Pochard.  I suppose it could be a Pochard x Scaup hybrid, a combination I have never come across before, but I'm not convinced.

possible Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid, Welney, 4th February

Whooper Swans, Welney, 4th February

Pochard, Welney, 4th February

Tufted Duck, Welney, 4th February

A drake Pintail appeared while the swan feed was going on and just afterwards a Water Rail appeared to the right of the observatory.  Then a group of about 20 Bewick's Swans flew in.

Water Rail, Welney, 4th February

Bewick's Swans, Welney, 4th February

Mute Swans, Welney, 4th February

We headed up to Lyle Hide from where I picked up a Great White Egret.  The first-winter Glaucous Gull that had been present a few days was feeding on a dead swan at the far edge and more Bewick's Swans and Snipe were visible from here.  Kate picked up a pair of Stonechats outside Lyle Hide and then another pair behind Friends Hide.

Snipe, Welney, 4th February

 

Greylag Geese, Welney, 4th February

Shoveler, Welney, 4th February

Tufted Duck, Welney, 4th February

Wigeon, Welney, 4th February (including yet another female with white behind the eye)

Wren, Welney, 4th February

Lapwing, Welney, 4th February

Glaucous Gull, Welney, 4th February

swan feed, Welney, 4th February

Back at the centre a Peregrine came towards us disappearing over the centre before the whole group could get on it, and we saw a small group of White-fronted Geese on Lady Fen.

On Sunday afternoon I headed to a field where I have seen Jack Snipe in the past.  Given that they tend not to flush until you practically walk on them I had to walk up and down the field 24 times to cover it fully!  In doing so I flushed 23 Snipe and, eventually, 3 Jack Snipe.  Grey Wagtail flew over and nearby 2 Barn Owls were hunting.

On Tuesday there were still 12 White-fronted Geese on the patch, and a count of 84 Gadwall on a lake which has been pretty birdless on most recent visits.

On ThursdayI intended to go to Sparham Pools but somehow missed the turn and ended up at Lenwade.  I took the opportunity to return towards Lyng along the back road through Lyng Easthaugh and paused to wander round Catch 22 fishing lakes.  Apart from 4 Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids there wasn't much happening, although a fleeting view of a falcon was frustrating.  Had a Merlin feel about it but I'm not sure.  Merlin would be my first in the valley I think.

Great Crested Grebe, Catch 22 pits, 8th February

I did get to Sparham Pools in the end but there wasn't much happening there - a Treecreeper being the highlight!  I'd had a text about some White-fronted Geese near Sparham and as I'd been planning to stop off there anyway in case the Great Grey Shrike might still be lurking in the area, I headed there next.  A flock of Greylags was in the air as I arrived and I could see some White-fronts among them.  Eventually they landed in the field nearby and sure enough there were 16 White-fronted Geese among them.

Yestserday's visit to the patch produced nothing better than 3 Bullfinches.