Weather: muggy, rumbles of thunder then rain. From 430pm.
On the way back to London I called in at Weeting, hoping to see a flycatcher or some other early migrant in the trees, but the weather rapidly deteriorated accelerating the onset of dusk, however from one of the hides: Kestrel, Woodpigeon, Rook, Jackdaw.
Then after noticing a persistent piping call I was surprised to see up to five Stone Curlew on the heath, fairly close together, & presumably as part of a migration flock. It was great to see this species again after first seeing them many years ago. Another reserve to visit again in the Spring when the curlews will have returned.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Saturday, 30 August 2008
NWT Cley Marshes, Norfolk, 30/08/2008
Overcast, mild, wind whipped up as the day progressed. From 11:50am.
From the car-park & the snazzy visitors' centre:
Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Starling, Marsh Harrier.
Into the first set of three hides in the middle of the reserve: Coot, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Black-Tailed Godwit close to the hide for good views; good numbers of Shelduck & Dunlin; Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Ringed Plover, Gadwall, Teal; a single Green Sandpiper on the far-side of the scrape, it flew away towards to road; Ruff, Snipe, Avocet, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Moorhen, Black-Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Shoveler, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Curlew.
Heading back to the car-park an adult Little Grebe with a youngster in the reeds of the creek that runs along the path, as was a water vole a few metres.
On entering the car-park a distinctive falcon sped along behind the visitors' centre, 'another' Hobby (surely not from Wells?!) which spooked the lapwing in the field next to the centre. Most people in the car-park were understandably looking out onto the reserve rather than looking over the visitors' centre but one other birder spotted what I had seen & watched the hobby swiftly fly out over the reserve spooking more other birds as it went.
After a car-park pitstop heading out onto the East Bank: Egyptian Goose, Redshank.
Finally reaching the single beach: Sandwich Tern, Common Tern flying along the shore & overhead.
From the hide at the far end of the reserve adjacent to the beach: Linnet, Wigeon, Golden Plover.
Returning along the shore & a quick look out to sea: Gannet, my first in Norfolk; Great Black-Backed Gull.
I also visited the remaining hide on the reserve for some close-up views of dunlin but otherwise nothing addition.
Finally, leaving the car-park: Kestrel.
A reasonably successful first visit to one of Norfolk's birding Meccas though such is its reputation I expected to see a couple of new species without trying! I'll be back, I even joined the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
40 species, none new.
Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk, 30/08/2008
Bright & sunny, some clouds. From 845am.
A visit back to the pine woods after a family beach trip in July, to check out the 'dell' for migrants, though I was obviously too early!
In the car-park: Pied Wagtail, Woodpigeon & Swallow over the nearby (smelly) boating lake.
Into the woods: Willow Warbler singing but not seen; Wren, Great Spotted Woodpecker, & a foraging Coal Tit group.
Further into the woods: Dunnock in brambles, Jay, then a muntjac deer scrambled away through the undergrowth; in another foraging party, Goldcrest & Treecreeper.
Leaving the forest & walking along a road alongside fields: Carrion Crow, Lesser Black-Backed Gull over flew; Long-Tailed Tit calling noisily from hedgerow.
Back into the woods & then emerging along the beach's dunes I heard crossbills but didn't catch a glimpse, however as I scanned the trees for them I noticed a distinctive couple of falcons. Two Hobby were chasing insects including at one point what appeared to be a cabbage white butterfly, zipping back & forth on their speedy wings: a first for me in Norfolk. At the same time I watched the hobbies a Marsh Harrier drifted through & finally a Collared Dove in the carpark.
16 species, none new.
A visit back to the pine woods after a family beach trip in July, to check out the 'dell' for migrants, though I was obviously too early!
In the car-park: Pied Wagtail, Woodpigeon & Swallow over the nearby (smelly) boating lake.
Into the woods: Willow Warbler singing but not seen; Wren, Great Spotted Woodpecker, & a foraging Coal Tit group.
Further into the woods: Dunnock in brambles, Jay, then a muntjac deer scrambled away through the undergrowth; in another foraging party, Goldcrest & Treecreeper.
Leaving the forest & walking along a road alongside fields: Carrion Crow, Lesser Black-Backed Gull over flew; Long-Tailed Tit calling noisily from hedgerow.
Back into the woods & then emerging along the beach's dunes I heard crossbills but didn't catch a glimpse, however as I scanned the trees for them I noticed a distinctive couple of falcons. Two Hobby were chasing insects including at one point what appeared to be a cabbage white butterfly, zipping back & forth on their speedy wings: a first for me in Norfolk. At the same time I watched the hobbies a Marsh Harrier drifted through & finally a Collared Dove in the carpark.
16 species, none new.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Wilstone Reservoir, Tring, Hertfordshire, 07/08/2008
Weather: Mild, bright but overcast, just after rain. From 11am.
From the wall, scanning the whole reservoir: Mute Swan, Coot, Tufted Duck, Great-Crested Grebe, Mallard, Cormorant, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Moorhen.
More unusually: Ruddy Duck, a couple of males; Pochard, one or two; Teal again a couple on the mud & on the banks in front of the hide.
Further along the wall: Pied Wagtail, juveniles; good numbers of gregarious & chatty Lapwing; Black-Headed Gull, Canada Goose.
In the wall-side hedgerow: Woodpigeon, Wren, Robin, Goldfinch; a yellowhammer singing, but not seen.
Into the small woods: flitting Goldcrest & Great Tit.
Taking up position in the hide: Gadwall, then after a few scans of the whole reservoir I picked out Red-Crested Pochard in eclipse plumage, easily identified by its bright red beak, & one of the birds I had hoped to see on this visit after reading the latest sightings on the website.
As I was about to leave the hide a heavy shower came down so I waited it out, & after it finished it triggered some activity: a Common Sandpiper skimmed the water & perched on a distant bank; then a fellow birder alerted me to a couple of Green Sandpiper which had flown up & out of their previous, hidden position to alight on the edge of the reeds, where they foraged before again moving out of view. A much darker bird than the common, a slightly dumpier, & marginally less active & 'dipping', & also a new species.
No sooner had the 'green sands' moved out of view than I picked up a Kingfisher perched on a fence post, again on the edge of the reeds. It preened for a while allowing me to take some digiscoped shots before it flew off. The first time I've seen one perched & not more usually zipping along & away from view in an instant.
The other birder then alerted me to a Red Kite floating over the car-park; a Crow flew across the reservoir onto a tree & as I scanned the area I again picked out a kingfisher. For a brief instant it was joined by another then one even dove into the water before it sat on a overhanging branch, before again flying out of view. Really good views!
I reluctantly set off for the car park, hoping to pick up a little owl in a dead tree that the other birder also tipped me off about, but to no avail, although I did see Swallow & Kestrel overflying.
Another excellent excursion & mission accomplished for a couple of target species (red-crested pochard & green sandpiper).
33 species, 1 new.
From the wall, scanning the whole reservoir: Mute Swan, Coot, Tufted Duck, Great-Crested Grebe, Mallard, Cormorant, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Moorhen.
More unusually: Ruddy Duck, a couple of males; Pochard, one or two; Teal again a couple on the mud & on the banks in front of the hide.
Further along the wall: Pied Wagtail, juveniles; good numbers of gregarious & chatty Lapwing; Black-Headed Gull, Canada Goose.
In the wall-side hedgerow: Woodpigeon, Wren, Robin, Goldfinch; a yellowhammer singing, but not seen.
Into the small woods: flitting Goldcrest & Great Tit.
Taking up position in the hide: Gadwall, then after a few scans of the whole reservoir I picked out Red-Crested Pochard in eclipse plumage, easily identified by its bright red beak, & one of the birds I had hoped to see on this visit after reading the latest sightings on the website.
As I was about to leave the hide a heavy shower came down so I waited it out, & after it finished it triggered some activity: a Common Sandpiper skimmed the water & perched on a distant bank; then a fellow birder alerted me to a couple of Green Sandpiper which had flown up & out of their previous, hidden position to alight on the edge of the reeds, where they foraged before again moving out of view. A much darker bird than the common, a slightly dumpier, & marginally less active & 'dipping', & also a new species.
No sooner had the 'green sands' moved out of view than I picked up a Kingfisher perched on a fence post, again on the edge of the reeds. It preened for a while allowing me to take some digiscoped shots before it flew off. The first time I've seen one perched & not more usually zipping along & away from view in an instant.
The other birder then alerted me to a Red Kite floating over the car-park; a Crow flew across the reservoir onto a tree & as I scanned the area I again picked out a kingfisher. For a brief instant it was joined by another then one even dove into the water before it sat on a overhanging branch, before again flying out of view. Really good views!
I reluctantly set off for the car park, hoping to pick up a little owl in a dead tree that the other birder also tipped me off about, but to no avail, although I did see Swallow & Kestrel overflying.
Another excellent excursion & mission accomplished for a couple of target species (red-crested pochard & green sandpiper).
33 species, 1 new.
RSPB Rainham Marshes, Essex, 03/08/2008
Weather: Bright but overcast, mild but breezy; spots of rain.
In the car-park: Magpie, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Collared Dove; overflying Cormorant.
First look at the river in the shrubs next to the visitors' centre, a couple of active & noisy birds which after observing the dark legs, buff upperparts & white throat were revealed as Lesser Whitethroat, a new species. One of the birds appeared to be a youngster & an adult was bust feeding it; the noises they made were distinctive 'kek' & a tchurr; they then moved away towards the centre's feeders & then further into the reserve.
Other species on the centre's feeders: Great Tit, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, Greenfinch & Woodpigeon.
On the river-side mud or on the grass on the bank: Black-Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Starling; a couple of female or immature Reed Bunting perched on a dead shrub; Linnet & Lesser Black-Backed Gull.
After walking further up & again scanning the river-bank's mud quite a few small waders were picked out, some obviously Common Sandpiper, but amongst them one much more upright & slender looking & with distinctive, if not quite diagnostic, yellow legs: Wood Sandpiper. Although I didn't see it for long enough to be able to pick out its white stripe above the eye, also its underside was very white & appeared distinctly separated from its brown upperparts, the next day (Monday) a wood sandpiper was reported on the official RSPB site, so that along with the differences I did observe from the nearby commons were enough to confirm it in my mind. A bird I last saw nearly 25 years ago!
As the sandpipers moved closer to the bank, or flew off, out of view I moved further along the bankside path & immediately noticed a curlew-like bird flying up river, however it looked smaller & had a 'flappier' flight to the usual curlew; after it settled & I trained the 'scope on it I eventually picked out the distinctive head stripes of Whimbrel, another new species, one I've hoped to see for some time now. It stayed visiable for a while then like some of the sandpipers it flew down-river & out of view.
A couple of other species along the river: Kestrel hunting over the grass; Great Black-Backed Gull on the river-side mud amongst any black-heads.
After walking the public river-side path I then headed back to the reserve proper, & through the visitors' centre where a helpful expert pointed out Yellow-Legged Gull through a 'scope on the Thames' far bank-side ud, & tips to identify them: they have the same upperparts colour as common gull, whereas herring gull is the sae colour as back-headed gull; lesser black-backed gull has charcoal upperparts (usually). All very useful & even better, this was the first the time I'd seen the yellow-legged in the UK.
Finally entering the reserve, on the first area of marsh: Mistle Thrush, Little Grebe, Coot, Grey Heron, Pied Wagtail, Moorhen. At this point a militray helicopter overflew a few times to take part in the war games going occurring on the other side of the river, disturbing for a while almost everything on the reserve.
Walking through the forest zone & the plentiful berry shrubs: Wren, Reed Warbler & more goldfinch.
From the hide: Mallard, Little Egret; in the distance another wader, pale & active on the water's edge, a Greenshank.
Leaving the hide, along the path, looking back onto the flash: Greylag Goose, Shoveller; by this time the greenshank had been joined by a couple more, but which were roosting, beaks under wings, rather than foraging.
Beyond the flask crossing a creek for Water Vole, then on the 'back' creeks of the reserve, Mute Swan & Skylark.
Heading back to the visitors' centre: overflying Herring Gull & Sand Martin.
Passing through the centre & back to the path over-looking the river, the tide had now risen& on one of the rocky islands the whimbrel had re-appeared & got much better views as it foraged amongst the rocks. Finally an over-flying Black-Tailed Godwit.
Excellent day, with a couple of target species seen (yellow-legged & sandpiper[s]) & a couple of bonus lifer-ticks (lesser whitethroat & whimbrel).
42 species, 2 new.
In the car-park: Magpie, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Collared Dove; overflying Cormorant.
First look at the river in the shrubs next to the visitors' centre, a couple of active & noisy birds which after observing the dark legs, buff upperparts & white throat were revealed as Lesser Whitethroat, a new species. One of the birds appeared to be a youngster & an adult was bust feeding it; the noises they made were distinctive 'kek' & a tchurr; they then moved away towards the centre's feeders & then further into the reserve.
Other species on the centre's feeders: Great Tit, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, Greenfinch & Woodpigeon.
On the river-side mud or on the grass on the bank: Black-Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Starling; a couple of female or immature Reed Bunting perched on a dead shrub; Linnet & Lesser Black-Backed Gull.
After walking further up & again scanning the river-bank's mud quite a few small waders were picked out, some obviously Common Sandpiper, but amongst them one much more upright & slender looking & with distinctive, if not quite diagnostic, yellow legs: Wood Sandpiper. Although I didn't see it for long enough to be able to pick out its white stripe above the eye, also its underside was very white & appeared distinctly separated from its brown upperparts, the next day (Monday) a wood sandpiper was reported on the official RSPB site, so that along with the differences I did observe from the nearby commons were enough to confirm it in my mind. A bird I last saw nearly 25 years ago!
As the sandpipers moved closer to the bank, or flew off, out of view I moved further along the bankside path & immediately noticed a curlew-like bird flying up river, however it looked smaller & had a 'flappier' flight to the usual curlew; after it settled & I trained the 'scope on it I eventually picked out the distinctive head stripes of Whimbrel, another new species, one I've hoped to see for some time now. It stayed visiable for a while then like some of the sandpipers it flew down-river & out of view.
A couple of other species along the river: Kestrel hunting over the grass; Great Black-Backed Gull on the river-side mud amongst any black-heads.
After walking the public river-side path I then headed back to the reserve proper, & through the visitors' centre where a helpful expert pointed out Yellow-Legged Gull through a 'scope on the Thames' far bank-side ud, & tips to identify them: they have the same upperparts colour as common gull, whereas herring gull is the sae colour as back-headed gull; lesser black-backed gull has charcoal upperparts (usually). All very useful & even better, this was the first the time I'd seen the yellow-legged in the UK.
Finally entering the reserve, on the first area of marsh: Mistle Thrush, Little Grebe, Coot, Grey Heron, Pied Wagtail, Moorhen. At this point a militray helicopter overflew a few times to take part in the war games going occurring on the other side of the river, disturbing for a while almost everything on the reserve.
Walking through the forest zone & the plentiful berry shrubs: Wren, Reed Warbler & more goldfinch.
From the hide: Mallard, Little Egret; in the distance another wader, pale & active on the water's edge, a Greenshank.
Leaving the hide, along the path, looking back onto the flash: Greylag Goose, Shoveller; by this time the greenshank had been joined by a couple more, but which were roosting, beaks under wings, rather than foraging.
Beyond the flask crossing a creek for Water Vole, then on the 'back' creeks of the reserve, Mute Swan & Skylark.
Heading back to the visitors' centre: overflying Herring Gull & Sand Martin.
Passing through the centre & back to the path over-looking the river, the tide had now risen& on one of the rocky islands the whimbrel had re-appeared & got much better views as it foraged amongst the rocks. Finally an over-flying Black-Tailed Godwit.
Excellent day, with a couple of target species seen (yellow-legged & sandpiper[s]) & a couple of bonus lifer-ticks (lesser whitethroat & whimbrel).
42 species, 2 new.
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