Weather: bright, sunny, warm, faint breeze, some clouds. From 11am.
A very special visit for a number of reasons to a favourite location.
First off though, earlier that morning from the hotel I heard my first Cuckoo of the year; singing for quite some time, its voice seemed to be heading off towards Holme.
On arriving at the reserve, no sooner had I parked the car than Kim & I spotted a Marsh Harrier floating over nearby fields. Other species around the car-park were Long-Tailed Tit, singing Reed Bunting (initially only heard but plenty seen later on), Chaffinch, Blackcap singing from thick vegetation, Willow Warbler & Woodpigeon.
After passing the visitors' centre on the first part of the beach path it's not unusual to hear Cetti's Warbler which we did & later when we visited the Fen Hide, in a failed attempt to see bittern, we saw one through the thick bushes.
Further along & either side of the path: Cormorant, Robin, Blackbird, Kestrel, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Black-Headed Gull, Sedge Warbler: the first of many in full song; Grey Heron, Shoveler; Brent Goose overflying; Greylag Goose, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Canada Goose, Shelduck.
Whilst watching the brent geese grazing on the marshes, which are some of the last winter visitors to leave for the north, which allows for their breeding grounds to unfreeze, I was called over by some other birders to look across the freshwater marsh where they had picked up a male Garganey on the far side of the marshes but out on the open water. Although distant I could pick out the stunning white eyestripe & it made a sought after life list tick for me. Also as we watched we heard a booming Bittern from near the Fen hide. Continuing to scan the nearer freshwater marsh also revealed several Little Gull, some with blacker heads than others & a site tick. Reluctantly we left these excellent species & continued to head towards the beach & along the way Curlew & Swallow over, & singing Skylark.
Reaching the tidal marshes another birder pointed out a lone Greenshank, there were also a few Redshank & a lone Turnstone swept past heading to the freshwater marshes. Meadow Pipit were also numerous, many singing heartily. A nice surprise were several Little Tern diving into the waters not far from the path. Later I spoke to a warden who said that they have begun to return regularly & that they had attempted to nest, however their favoured sand bank has become too overgrown, but the RSPB are not able to reduce the weeds on that bank because English Nature argue that it would interfer with a natural process, so the rare little terns lose out to the weeds!
On the final stretch of path to the beach, either over or amongst the bushes: Herring Gull, Wren,
Little Egret, Linnet.
Once on the beach Kim & I decided to walk the length of it towards Thornham over a lovely large stretch of mainly deserted beach, & with the weather being so lovely we had great views across to Thornham Harbour & Holme NOA. Along the way several Sandwich Tern & a lone Fulmar skimmed the waves heading towards Brancaster. On the final 'corner' of the beach, which looks across to Thornham, a couple of Ringed Plover on the sand & also a Great-Crested Grebe at sea, then a surprising couple of Sanderling who were coming into their richer breeding plumage prior to heading north.
On the way back I spotted a few Eider on the placid sea: a male & three females. We finally made our way back to the dunes near the reserve & had our lunch, during which amazingly, a Grey Seal popped its head up for a few seconds! It soon submerged & though we watched for a while we didn't see where it came back up. Surely some sort of omen on such an unusually still day?
After lunch I scanned the sea again & was pleased to pick out a close-in female Common Scoter on its own. Just after that I roused Kim & found a bottle with a message buried in the sand. It was a bottle I had planted there though because as Kim opened it up to reveal our earliest correspondence, I asked her to marry me, to which she said yes after overcoming her initial surprise! It was a special moment at a place we both consider to be our favourite spot, with the seal & the still, sunny day making it all the more special, & a day I will never forget.
Heading back, we stopped at the Parrinder Hide & soon picked out a pair of Teal, Lapwing (1), a lone Grey Plover amongst several Dunlin (>10) & a three to four Knot. Also a nearby but brief Bearded Tit, then three male Pochard came out of the reeds on the far side of the scrape (near to where the garganey had initially been). The garganey seen earlier had however moved much closer in allowing excellent views of its intricate & subtle plumage, including a marvellous striped panel on its underside which was really clear in the sunlight as it dabbled about 20 metres away.
Reluctantly leaving the garganey we headed back down the path to the car & saw a Pied Wagtail & a couple of Magpie. We also lingered in the picnic area, taking snaps of a Great Tit feeding on put-out grain on a tree stump & a very tame male Pheasant. I also heard Chiffchaff & a Dunnock also sang from the nearby trees. Finally in a field adjacent to the carpark, a Crow & a couple of Jackdaw were busy foraging.
An amazing day with an equally amazing 64 species seen, with one new species - I think this is a site record.
03/05/2009
Weather: bright, sun but cloudier & windy than yesterday. From 12pm.
After the lovely day we had on the Saturday we felt compelled to go back to the reserve after we checked out of the hotel. We only walked to the Parrinder Hide but saw the following in addition to the those seen the day before: Ruddy Duck on the marsh ponds to the left of the beach path; Starling over; single Ruff foraging on the freshwater marshes; Common Gull & Lesser Black-Backed Gull from the left-hand side of Parrinder as were a few Wigeon & a Bar-Tailed Godwit. Finally a Swift over on the way back to the visitors' centre.
These additonal 9 species brought the 24 hour total up to a fantastic 73!
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Hampstead Cemetery, London, 26/04/2009
Weather: bright, sunny & warm. From 11am.
I've been meaning to visit Hampstead Cemetery, a promising-looking & nearby area of urban greenery, for some time, to see what potential it has as a local patch. After this pleasant Sunday morning stroll, & depending on the time I have, I will definitely try to visit it more often.
General park & woodland species were recorded in the sunshine: Woodpigeon, Starling, Blackbird, Great Tit, Song Thrush (a couple heard singing), Blackcap (singing then one visibe next to the chiffchaff), Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Chiffchaff (one seen preening in the undergrowth then later another heard singing), Green Woodpecker (flew to a tree where it stayed looking intently at something, but not feeding, before it flew off into deeper scrub), Jay, Crow, Blue Tit.
A promising start, especially the green woody area of "deeper scrub", hopefully I will be able to start my own 'patch birding' here, which is something I'm missing at the moment.
14 species.
I've been meaning to visit Hampstead Cemetery, a promising-looking & nearby area of urban greenery, for some time, to see what potential it has as a local patch. After this pleasant Sunday morning stroll, & depending on the time I have, I will definitely try to visit it more often.
General park & woodland species were recorded in the sunshine: Woodpigeon, Starling, Blackbird, Great Tit, Song Thrush (a couple heard singing), Blackcap (singing then one visibe next to the chiffchaff), Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Chiffchaff (one seen preening in the undergrowth then later another heard singing), Green Woodpecker (flew to a tree where it stayed looking intently at something, but not feeding, before it flew off into deeper scrub), Jay, Crow, Blue Tit.
A promising start, especially the green woody area of "deeper scrub", hopefully I will be able to start my own 'patch birding' here, which is something I'm missing at the moment.
14 species.
Saturday, 18 April 2009
RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, 17/04/2009
Weather: grey though getting out as the day wore on.
On my way back to London I wanted to visit a fenland reserve, in particular the one that now has breeding corncrake. Unfortunately I picked the wrong one - not the first time I'd ended up in the wrong location this Easter! In fact I should have visited Nene Washes for the corncrake & not the nearby Ouse Washes, however both report tree sparrow & yellow wagtail which would be great to see, particularly tree sparrow which I last saw in when I lived in Germany nearly 15 years ago.
Outside Manea at some farm buildings.
From 10:45am.
Corn Bunting - 12 on overhead lines, one singing heartily: great to hear.
Mute Swan - 20 or so in a field, noticeable for their number.
From 11:10am.
Arriving at the reserve, a nice little visitors' centre & a hive of farming & birding activity.
From the carpark alone: Blue Tit, Blackcap, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Song Thrush briefly through the hedgerow, Mistle Thrush, Collared Dove, Kestrel, Great Tit.
At the visitors' centre a few feeders were placed around the picnic area & quite a few species were active: Great-Spotted Woodpecker at first overhead but later I spotted one on the feeder. Then amongst the house sparrows a few smaller Tree Sparrow with distinctive deep chestnut-heads. Although they visited the feeders they were definitely more comfortable in the surrounding bushes. It was great to reacquaint myself with this species & I was amused that they made up for their slightly smaller size by being so noisy, emitting an angry-sounding buzzing churr. Also present were Stock Dove (~3) & unusually a lone Long-Tailed Tit.
On the way to the hides: Swallow, Mallard,Wren, Starling, Cormorant, Reed Bunting, Crow.
Welches Dam Hide.
Mute Swan, Black-Headed Gull, Shelduck, Lapwing, Marsh Harrier - a lone female sitting on a post in the field, Herring Gull (juvenile), Greylag Goose, Meadow Pipit, Grey Heron, Sedge Warbler, Skylark, Corn Bunting heard singing from a distant oasis of trees in the agriculutral fields.
Common Wash Hide:
Whooper Swan - a lone, slightly bedraggled looking individual which I assume will now stay the summer, Oystercatcher, Redshank (~3), Coot, Gadwall, Shoveler.
Rickwood Hide: additional Pied Wagtail (2).
Kingfisher Hide, is in the opposite direction to the other hides I visited & it proved to be the most productive: Greenfinch, Moorhen, Wigeon a few in the further fields; a Sparrowhawk flew in low & fast with something in its talons, & landed on the ground under a thick bush. Here it rested until a mute swan took an interest whereupon it beat a hasty retreat!
In the dyke in front of the hide, Great-Crested Grebe (1); Little Egret (pair) roaming the distant washes; several Black-Tailed Godwit resting together in one of the distant wash pools; Green Woodpecker flew right to left in front of the hide & then yaffled; Common Sandpiper picked out bobbing & feeding on a muddy bank next to a protective-looking mute swan; finally Magpie also flew in front of the hide.
Despite not looking too promising & being the 'wrong one' an excellent number of species seen, the highlight undoubtedly the tree sparrows.
50 species.
On my way back to London I wanted to visit a fenland reserve, in particular the one that now has breeding corncrake. Unfortunately I picked the wrong one - not the first time I'd ended up in the wrong location this Easter! In fact I should have visited Nene Washes for the corncrake & not the nearby Ouse Washes, however both report tree sparrow & yellow wagtail which would be great to see, particularly tree sparrow which I last saw in when I lived in Germany nearly 15 years ago.
Outside Manea at some farm buildings.
From 10:45am.
Corn Bunting - 12 on overhead lines, one singing heartily: great to hear.
Mute Swan - 20 or so in a field, noticeable for their number.
From 11:10am.
Arriving at the reserve, a nice little visitors' centre & a hive of farming & birding activity.
From the carpark alone: Blue Tit, Blackcap, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Song Thrush briefly through the hedgerow, Mistle Thrush, Collared Dove, Kestrel, Great Tit.
At the visitors' centre a few feeders were placed around the picnic area & quite a few species were active: Great-Spotted Woodpecker at first overhead but later I spotted one on the feeder. Then amongst the house sparrows a few smaller Tree Sparrow with distinctive deep chestnut-heads. Although they visited the feeders they were definitely more comfortable in the surrounding bushes. It was great to reacquaint myself with this species & I was amused that they made up for their slightly smaller size by being so noisy, emitting an angry-sounding buzzing churr. Also present were Stock Dove (~3) & unusually a lone Long-Tailed Tit.
On the way to the hides: Swallow, Mallard,Wren, Starling, Cormorant, Reed Bunting, Crow.
Welches Dam Hide.
Mute Swan, Black-Headed Gull, Shelduck, Lapwing, Marsh Harrier - a lone female sitting on a post in the field, Herring Gull (juvenile), Greylag Goose, Meadow Pipit, Grey Heron, Sedge Warbler, Skylark, Corn Bunting heard singing from a distant oasis of trees in the agriculutral fields.
Common Wash Hide:
Whooper Swan - a lone, slightly bedraggled looking individual which I assume will now stay the summer, Oystercatcher, Redshank (~3), Coot, Gadwall, Shoveler.
Rickwood Hide: additional Pied Wagtail (2).
Kingfisher Hide, is in the opposite direction to the other hides I visited & it proved to be the most productive: Greenfinch, Moorhen, Wigeon a few in the further fields; a Sparrowhawk flew in low & fast with something in its talons, & landed on the ground under a thick bush. Here it rested until a mute swan took an interest whereupon it beat a hasty retreat!
In the dyke in front of the hide, Great-Crested Grebe (1); Little Egret (pair) roaming the distant washes; several Black-Tailed Godwit resting together in one of the distant wash pools; Green Woodpecker flew right to left in front of the hide & then yaffled; Common Sandpiper picked out bobbing & feeding on a muddy bank next to a protective-looking mute swan; finally Magpie also flew in front of the hide.
Despite not looking too promising & being the 'wrong one' an excellent number of species seen, the highlight undoubtedly the tree sparrows.
50 species.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Roydon Common, Norfolk, 15/04/2009
Weather: windy, bit bleak. From 5:20pm.
Thought I'd check the common to see if the owner of my last visit's unidentified song had returned but to no avail: it was very quiet.
Just the usual: Kestrel, Green Woodpecker (one yaffle but not seen), Long-Tailed Tit, Dunnock, Pheasant, Chaffinch, Linnet, Willow Warbler, Crow.
Thought I'd check the common to see if the owner of my last visit's unidentified song had returned but to no avail: it was very quiet.
Just the usual: Kestrel, Green Woodpecker (one yaffle but not seen), Long-Tailed Tit, Dunnock, Pheasant, Chaffinch, Linnet, Willow Warbler, Crow.
Snettisham Coastal Park, Norfolk, 15/04/2009
Weather: sunnier. From 2:55pm.
Back to Snettisham, this time to the proper location! Plenty of people around so I knew that I was in the right location & the sun even came out.
In the mixed scrub & reed beds: Blackbird, Meadow Pipit, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Black-Headed Gull, Grey Heron, Little Grebe & Coot on the small pool in the centre; Willow Warbler, Kestrel,
Goldfinch, Mallard, Swallow streaming over, Linnet; trying to find my way from the pond I almost trod on a sunbathing Grass Snake which hastily slithered away!
On the other side of the sea defence wall: Shelduck & large flocks of Pink-Footed Goose, in the hundreds, some of which streamed out to the Wash over RSPB Snettisham.
Heading back to the car-park after a long walk round finally I heard the sound I had come for: the distinctive 'reeling' of Grasshopper Warbler. Predictably the individual making the wonderful noise was impossible to see, however I crept closer & after 20 minutes crouched in the scrub I was rewarded with a 2 second glimpse as it scuttled from one thick bramble to another: still wonderful sighting especially considering my last view of one of these warblers was 22 years ago!
Finally in the large bramble bushes adjacent to the carpark, another distinctive song, this time the equally elusive Lesser Whitethroat. Again after standing around for a good 20 minutes this time I was rewarded with two fleeting views, one from the top of a bramble, however the song was a pleasure to hear, more so because it's not one that I'm not overly familiar with.
18 species.
Back to Snettisham, this time to the proper location! Plenty of people around so I knew that I was in the right location & the sun even came out.
In the mixed scrub & reed beds: Blackbird, Meadow Pipit, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Black-Headed Gull, Grey Heron, Little Grebe & Coot on the small pool in the centre; Willow Warbler, Kestrel,
Goldfinch, Mallard, Swallow streaming over, Linnet; trying to find my way from the pond I almost trod on a sunbathing Grass Snake which hastily slithered away!
On the other side of the sea defence wall: Shelduck & large flocks of Pink-Footed Goose, in the hundreds, some of which streamed out to the Wash over RSPB Snettisham.
Heading back to the car-park after a long walk round finally I heard the sound I had come for: the distinctive 'reeling' of Grasshopper Warbler. Predictably the individual making the wonderful noise was impossible to see, however I crept closer & after 20 minutes crouched in the scrub I was rewarded with a 2 second glimpse as it scuttled from one thick bramble to another: still wonderful sighting especially considering my last view of one of these warblers was 22 years ago!
Finally in the large bramble bushes adjacent to the carpark, another distinctive song, this time the equally elusive Lesser Whitethroat. Again after standing around for a good 20 minutes this time I was rewarded with two fleeting views, one from the top of a bramble, however the song was a pleasure to hear, more so because it's not one that I'm not overly familiar with.
18 species.
Holme Dunes NWT, Norfolk, 15/04/2009
Weather: windier. From 11:40am.
There seemed no better time than mid-Spring migration to visit Holme Dunes, I also figured that I could walk partway to Thornham harbour & it was closer to the dunes than I realised. However it was a disappointing outing as there was next to nothing about, apart from the following more usual species: Moorhen, Pheasant, Black-Headed Gull, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Shoveler, Canada Goose, Dunnock, Magpie, Greenfinch, Swallow, Curlew, Shelduck, Chiffchaff, Mallard, Coot, Little Egret, Crow, Avocet, Pochard, Skylark, Linnet.
On the fields at Thornham harbour: Pied Wagtail (1), Redshank (1), Golden Plover (2) apparently still present with dark bellies, I say apparently because after initially picking them up I moved further along the bank & couldn't pick them up again. There were also a decent group of Brent Goose on the salt marshes.
26 species
Choseley Barns.
Weather: brighter, windier. From 1:30pm.
Up to the Choseley barns as a ring ouzel had been reported the day before & there were plenty of other birders looking for it, however none of us saw it despite quite a thorough search. However Yellowhammer, Marsh Harrier, Red-Legged Partridge, Skylark, Dunnock & Chaffinch were seen. I was also informed of the correct location of Snettisham Coastal Park by one of the ouzel-searchers so I resolved to return to Snettisham!
6 species.
There seemed no better time than mid-Spring migration to visit Holme Dunes, I also figured that I could walk partway to Thornham harbour & it was closer to the dunes than I realised. However it was a disappointing outing as there was next to nothing about, apart from the following more usual species: Moorhen, Pheasant, Black-Headed Gull, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Shoveler, Canada Goose, Dunnock, Magpie, Greenfinch, Swallow, Curlew, Shelduck, Chiffchaff, Mallard, Coot, Little Egret, Crow, Avocet, Pochard, Skylark, Linnet.
On the fields at Thornham harbour: Pied Wagtail (1), Redshank (1), Golden Plover (2) apparently still present with dark bellies, I say apparently because after initially picking them up I moved further along the bank & couldn't pick them up again. There were also a decent group of Brent Goose on the salt marshes.
26 species
Choseley Barns.
Weather: brighter, windier. From 1:30pm.
Up to the Choseley barns as a ring ouzel had been reported the day before & there were plenty of other birders looking for it, however none of us saw it despite quite a thorough search. However Yellowhammer, Marsh Harrier, Red-Legged Partridge, Skylark, Dunnock & Chaffinch were seen. I was also informed of the correct location of Snettisham Coastal Park by one of the ouzel-searchers so I resolved to return to Snettisham!
6 species.
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