Weather: drizzly rain. From 11am.
After Reffley Wood a visit to the Fisher Fleet & the Point for possible shorebirds. Around the Fleet's outflow pipe: Cormorant, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Mallard; overflying Starling, Black-Headed Gull, Woodpigeon, Pied Wagtail & Collared Dove; a single Common Tern also flying along the river.
In the hedgerow & verge along the track to the Point: Greenfinch, Reed Warbler from low in the grass; Sedge Warbler clearly visible from a shrub; Reed Bunting, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch; Swallow overflying & charms of Goldfinch.
Just past the sheep paddock a lovely Turtle Dove preening itself in the wind & rain, it sat for a while allowing nice views. In the vegetation near the houses: Great Tit, Dunnock.
At the Point: Buzzard soaring high over the river before being lost to view; singing Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan & Oystercatcher over the marsh flats; Shelduck, Redshank, Little Egret & Lapwing on the river-side mud.
29 species, none new.
Monday, 23 June 2008
Reffley Wood, King's Lynn, Norfolk, 21/06/2008
Weather: Cloudy, cool, rain showers. From 9am.
A return to Reffley Wood 24 years after my first visit, which was my first birding outing, & I was pleasantly surprised that it was still there as I had assumed that the ongoing housing developments observed as I grew up would have eaten it away entirely by now. Fortunately the wood is now owned & managed by the Woodland Trust for posterity.
Around the entrance & tiny car-park: Blackbird & Long-Tailed Tit; Song Thrush in good voice, the first of a few around the wood; Woodpigeon, the first of very many.
Walking in the woods for: Blackcap, only a couple throughout the day; Robin, mostly adult with young; a Stock Dove on a branch over the path & as I watched it a Wren appeared feeding its following brood.
In pines near to the houses that border the wood, a good group of mixed birds: squawking Jay, Great Tit, Coal Tit, a scruffy-looking Willow Tit, Blue Tit & Goldcrest, most apparently feeding youngsters.
After viewing this group a piercing cry was heard, although the bird was not seen I later identified it as sparrowhawk.
After doubling back to the wood's entrance I headed to the new growth area near to the bypass for: Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Swift, House Martin, Collared Dove & Dunnock.
On reaching the wood's edge I had more excellent views of goldcrest which was singing in the larger trees. I also heard but did not see skylark, goldfinch & a green woodpecker's yaffle as well as a willow warbler singing from deep amongst the younger & denser trees.
A low-key morning with most of the birds that I saw the first time noted again, although I was disappointed to hear nothing of the garden warblers or nuthatches, but maybe I timed the visit just a couple of weeks too late to at least hear them - maybe next year.
20 species, none new.
A return to Reffley Wood 24 years after my first visit, which was my first birding outing, & I was pleasantly surprised that it was still there as I had assumed that the ongoing housing developments observed as I grew up would have eaten it away entirely by now. Fortunately the wood is now owned & managed by the Woodland Trust for posterity.
Around the entrance & tiny car-park: Blackbird & Long-Tailed Tit; Song Thrush in good voice, the first of a few around the wood; Woodpigeon, the first of very many.
Walking in the woods for: Blackcap, only a couple throughout the day; Robin, mostly adult with young; a Stock Dove on a branch over the path & as I watched it a Wren appeared feeding its following brood.
In pines near to the houses that border the wood, a good group of mixed birds: squawking Jay, Great Tit, Coal Tit, a scruffy-looking Willow Tit, Blue Tit & Goldcrest, most apparently feeding youngsters.
After viewing this group a piercing cry was heard, although the bird was not seen I later identified it as sparrowhawk.
After doubling back to the wood's entrance I headed to the new growth area near to the bypass for: Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Swift, House Martin, Collared Dove & Dunnock.
On reaching the wood's edge I had more excellent views of goldcrest which was singing in the larger trees. I also heard but did not see skylark, goldfinch & a green woodpecker's yaffle as well as a willow warbler singing from deep amongst the younger & denser trees.
A low-key morning with most of the birds that I saw the first time noted again, although I was disappointed to hear nothing of the garden warblers or nuthatches, but maybe I timed the visit just a couple of weeks too late to at least hear them - maybe next year.
20 species, none new.
Monday, 2 June 2008
RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk, 01/06/2008
Weather: Overcast but bright, trying to rain. From 10am.
A late Spring return to Minsmere, I was tempted into the long drive by the recent sightings reports & to see the summer terns & warblers.
From the carpark: Goldfinch in large flocks in the trees; a Pheasant on the ground casually feeding; Woodpigeon, Black-Headed Gull & Chaffinch; Linnets in a very large flock with other finches; a close-up Greenfinch singing from a gorse bush, & Magpie.
On the visitors' centre feeders: Blue Tit, Great-Spotted Woodpecker & Great Tit.
On the path to North Hide: Blackcap singing in the trees; Sand Martins coming & going from the sand bank next to the pond; Mallard overflying & Coot on the pond; Dunnock, Wren, Chiffchaff, Robin & Whitethroat all also singing from the trees along the path; a Kestrel also overflew the area before the hide.
From North Hide: Canada & Greylag Goose both with youngsters; Redshank active & apparently breeding in the long grass around the scrapes; Avocet, Common Tern, Tufted Duck & Moorhen scattered all over the scrape; Barnacle Goose in large, apparently feral flocks; the first Marsh Harrier of the day overflew & was enthusiastically mobbed for its trouble. Also first views of Little Tern, then I picked out smaller numbers of Gadwall, a lone Ringed Plover & a Little Egret.
Leaving the hide to head to the beach, along the section of the path that adjoins the heath: a couple of Nightingale, very bold along the path, one hopping about like a thrush; another marsh harrier quartered the heath which flushed Green Woodpecker, & it was then mobbed by an Oystercatcher.
Continuing along the path to the beach through the reedbed area for good views of singing Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler & Reed Bunting. Once on the beach just Herring Gull & feeding terns were picked out, the seas were empty otherwise.
From East Hide: Shelduck & Cormorant; leaving the hide a loud Cetti's Warbler song from very close quarters was heard so, primed from breaking my dipping out jinx in Spain I felt confident of seeing it for the first time in Britain, & there it was, low in the undergrowth into which I poked my head.
Following the path from the hide along the beach took me past the fenced off little tern breeding area & there I diverted onto the beach for better views of the lively & noisy colony coming & going. Rejoining the path towards The Sluice: whitethroat, reed bunting & linnet again; a male Stonechat amongst the gorse; a lively Meadow Pipit in song flight; a few Swallow flying over the fields & Skylark singing high over the fields; cetti's yet again, apparently now I've seen one there's no stopping them from showing!
From South hide: Mute Swan, Little Grebe & Swift over the reedbeds.
From West hide: Jackdaw & Crow. Also during the walk from the south hide I was stopped in my tracks by a deep bass noise emanating from the reeds that could only be bittern, the first time I had heard them 'booming'. Once in the West hide I was scanning the horizon when a distinctive bow-winged & heavy-looking bird casually flapped heron-like above the reeds: my first Bittern. Only a glimpse from distance but enough to verify a new species.
After a brief chat with another birder about good views of bittern from the Island Mere hide I decided to go straight there skipping the Bittern hide but along the way: blackcap, Blackbird & Long-Tailed Tit.
From Island Mere hide: immediately another Bittern flew into the reedbeds behind the hide; a couple of Great-Crested Grebe busy around their nest; Grey Heron & House Martin flying over the further reedbeds; a lone Teal also made a rapid flight away from the hide; finally yet another bittern flew across the water in front of the hide before flopping into the reeds - a good, close view of a usually elusive bird.
Heading back to the visitors' centre: Wren & Willow Warbler in the scrub along the path.
Another excellent day at Minsmere & this time a new species to go along with one of my most productive days. The famous bitterns didn't disappoint & I was very pleased to see this keystone species which has a stronghold in East Anglia after many years of birding in the region.
63 species, 1 new.
A late Spring return to Minsmere, I was tempted into the long drive by the recent sightings reports & to see the summer terns & warblers.
From the carpark: Goldfinch in large flocks in the trees; a Pheasant on the ground casually feeding; Woodpigeon, Black-Headed Gull & Chaffinch; Linnets in a very large flock with other finches; a close-up Greenfinch singing from a gorse bush, & Magpie.
On the visitors' centre feeders: Blue Tit, Great-Spotted Woodpecker & Great Tit.
On the path to North Hide: Blackcap singing in the trees; Sand Martins coming & going from the sand bank next to the pond; Mallard overflying & Coot on the pond; Dunnock, Wren, Chiffchaff, Robin & Whitethroat all also singing from the trees along the path; a Kestrel also overflew the area before the hide.
From North Hide: Canada & Greylag Goose both with youngsters; Redshank active & apparently breeding in the long grass around the scrapes; Avocet, Common Tern, Tufted Duck & Moorhen scattered all over the scrape; Barnacle Goose in large, apparently feral flocks; the first Marsh Harrier of the day overflew & was enthusiastically mobbed for its trouble. Also first views of Little Tern, then I picked out smaller numbers of Gadwall, a lone Ringed Plover & a Little Egret.
Leaving the hide to head to the beach, along the section of the path that adjoins the heath: a couple of Nightingale, very bold along the path, one hopping about like a thrush; another marsh harrier quartered the heath which flushed Green Woodpecker, & it was then mobbed by an Oystercatcher.
Continuing along the path to the beach through the reedbed area for good views of singing Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler & Reed Bunting. Once on the beach just Herring Gull & feeding terns were picked out, the seas were empty otherwise.
From East Hide: Shelduck & Cormorant; leaving the hide a loud Cetti's Warbler song from very close quarters was heard so, primed from breaking my dipping out jinx in Spain I felt confident of seeing it for the first time in Britain, & there it was, low in the undergrowth into which I poked my head.
Following the path from the hide along the beach took me past the fenced off little tern breeding area & there I diverted onto the beach for better views of the lively & noisy colony coming & going. Rejoining the path towards The Sluice: whitethroat, reed bunting & linnet again; a male Stonechat amongst the gorse; a lively Meadow Pipit in song flight; a few Swallow flying over the fields & Skylark singing high over the fields; cetti's yet again, apparently now I've seen one there's no stopping them from showing!
From South hide: Mute Swan, Little Grebe & Swift over the reedbeds.
From West hide: Jackdaw & Crow. Also during the walk from the south hide I was stopped in my tracks by a deep bass noise emanating from the reeds that could only be bittern, the first time I had heard them 'booming'. Once in the West hide I was scanning the horizon when a distinctive bow-winged & heavy-looking bird casually flapped heron-like above the reeds: my first Bittern. Only a glimpse from distance but enough to verify a new species.
After a brief chat with another birder about good views of bittern from the Island Mere hide I decided to go straight there skipping the Bittern hide but along the way: blackcap, Blackbird & Long-Tailed Tit.
From Island Mere hide: immediately another Bittern flew into the reedbeds behind the hide; a couple of Great-Crested Grebe busy around their nest; Grey Heron & House Martin flying over the further reedbeds; a lone Teal also made a rapid flight away from the hide; finally yet another bittern flew across the water in front of the hide before flopping into the reeds - a good, close view of a usually elusive bird.
Heading back to the visitors' centre: Wren & Willow Warbler in the scrub along the path.
Another excellent day at Minsmere & this time a new species to go along with one of my most productive days. The famous bitterns didn't disappoint & I was very pleased to see this keystone species which has a stronghold in East Anglia after many years of birding in the region.
63 species, 1 new.
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