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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Crossbills, Woodcock, Brant and some plastic ducks

Spent most of the day at Burnham Overy on 27th October.  I saw Kingfisher and heard Water Rail, Cetti's Warblers and Bearded Tit as I walked down to the dunes but there seemed to be few migrants about at first, the boardwalk bushes being quiet.  As I worked Gun Hill things started to pick up and by the time I'd returned to the boardwalk there was a clear increase in number of thrushes (especially Blackbirds) and some Bramblings.

Redwing, Burnham Overy, 27th October

I missed 2 Crossbills flying over at the boardwalk but made up for it later with 2 Crossbills in Hawthorns at the east end of the dunes, before moving up to the pines with a couple of Greenfinches.

 Crossbills (with 2 Greenfinches in lower picture), Holkham Pines, 27th October

On the way I briefly saw a Woodcock moving around beneath a Spindle before it saw me and scarpered, almost flying straight into a couple of birders in the process.

Woodcock, Burnham Overy, 27th October

Coal Tit, Burnham Overy, 27th October

I spent a lot of time at the east end without seeing anything, but just as I was about to give up a Lesser Whitethroat appeared.  At first it wasn't all that elusive but it was quite far off from where I was positioned.  In hindsight I wish I'd just studied it with the scope but I decided to get nearer, at which point it completely vanished.  I got just one photo of it with the camera on the wrong setting, and don't think I'll be able to take it further, but if I were a betting man I'd put a (small) wager on it being one of the eastern forms.  Didn't really fit a textbook example of any of the races though so not sure.  Not a classic blythi and quite a different beast from the presumed halimodendri I found at Burnham Overy a year or two ago, but looking quite un-British too.  Maybe southern-type Siberian blythi fits the pale plumage, brown nape, absence of warm rufousy tones on the wings and greyish colourless underparts?  Not sure what to make of the apparent large size though... maybe it was my imagination, but it was strong enough to make me keep double-checking it wasn't an Orphean (dream on!).

Lesser Whitethroat, Burnham Overy, 27th October

 
Finest bird of the day was an adult male Hen Harrier that flew west through the freshmarsh.  Later on a Short-eared Owl was circling over the freshmarsh, I suspected having just come in.  Other signs of winter included Red-breasted Merganser in the channel and Goldeneye on the reedy pool.  Didn't see any all morning but by the end of the day I'd logged 3 Stonechats - one in the dunes north of Holkham Pines and two on the way back along the sea wall.

Snipe, Burnham Overy, 27th October

Had Buzzard and Grey Wagtail at home on 29th before heading up to The Neptune at Old Hunstanton.  Great food as always and in the morning we mooched along the coast.  With weather not inspiring hard birding and the Mrs more interested in finding something to hang over the fireplace we spent more time in galleries than in the field, but I did manage Grey Wagtail over Cley village before seeing the Black Brant along Beach Road.

Black Brant, Cley, 30th October

Interesting to see that the wildfowl collection at Blakeney has now been re-stocked following the storm surge that destroyed it in December 2013.  Several young birds there and at least one looking like a hybrid.  Not sure about this one though... this Ferruginous Duck had me wondering with its indistinct belly patch, dull colouration (for a male, given its pale eye) and well-banded bill, but I'm not convinced any of that is out of range for a pure first-winter male.  We'll see how it develops...

captive first-winter male Ferruginous Duck (or hybrid), Blakeney, 30th October

Pretty sure I'd seen a photo somewhere of a Pintail x Mallard hybrid backcrossed with a Pintail that showed a breast like this, but with little else suggesting Mallard influence I wondered if perhaps a stained but pure Pintail (advanced first-winter?) was a better explanation.  Then I got a view of its tail and you can see the central tail feather (actually a long central uppertail-covert I believe) is slightly upcurved.  That should be a sign of Mallard ancestry so my conclusion is that this is a backcrossed hybrid (Mallard x Pintail) x Pintail.

captive (Mallard x Pintail) x Pintail backcrossed hybrid, Blakeney, 30th October

captive Smew, Blakeney, 30th October