Superb Somateria Spectabilis

Saturday 14th April saw me doing my first bit of local birding in a good while when I headed up to the Ythan Estuary to have a go for the King Eider; back for the third spring in a row. My expectations were pretty high of seeing the bird but I wouldn’t have minded if I dipped. However, the King Eider proved to be extremely easy to locate at the mouth of the estuary, seen immediately on scanning the closest group of Eiders to us in the channel somewhat to the left of the seal colony. We were treated to fantastic views of this truly spectacular duck, perhaps down to 25ft at first and later down to 10-15ft when it was virtually the closest duck to me as I stood on the edge of the sand, leaving me awe-struck by its beauty. I really regretted not having my DSLR on me – which is unfortunately undergoing repairs at the moment due to a dodgy pin which helps hold the memory card down – as if I had had it on me the results would have probably been pretty good! Instead I had to suffice with some digi-binned shots which nonetheless came out very well. The following have not been cropped nor edited and thus should demonstrate just how close I was to this superb bird, which well and truly graced itself in all its majesty. In the last photo the bird was on the other side of the channel, the furthest away it went for the half an hour or so that I watched it. On a number of occasions it became quite rowdy, displaying to the the female Eiders around it and warding off surrounding and understandably peeved males. I feel extremely privileged to live in the only region in the UK that boasts a ‘summering’ (although it tends to leave in late June) drake King Eider most years, and even more so to live just 10-15 miles away from the one site that hosts it.

King Eider, Ythan Estuary (14/4/12). Digi-binned shot (without cropping) emphasises how close this beautiful bird came.

near the bank

Other interest here was provided by a healthy amount of Calidrids with a similarly healthy amount of Ringed Plovers (at least 30) including upwards of 35 Sanderlings and 15 Dunlin. A few Red-breasted Mergansers were around and it was nice to see a fairly substantial amount of Sandwich Terns back at the ternery. Apart from that however it was all quite quiet at the mouth so we moved up to the Snub. It was similarly quiet in terms of species variety here, although around 100 Curlew were dotted around, a Buzzard flew over east, at least 20 Wigeon were roosting on the Snub and 6 Pink-footed Geese were amongst a group of Greylag Geese distantly towards Logie Buchan Bridge. Before heading home, we stopped in at Meikle Loch which held 20+ Tufted Duck (interestingly somewhat more than usual, there’s normally no more than 10), a pair of Shoveler and a few smart adult Lesser Black Backed Gulls, That done, I headed home to continue revision after what had been an immensely enjoyable break; by far the best views I’ve ever had of the King Eider and the sort of views that will stick with me for some time.

Thanks for reading,

Joseph

Traditional North Norfolk Birding

Tuesday 10th April saw me birding the North Norfolk Coast for the first time this year. I took an early train from Norwich to Sheringham and then the Coasthopper bus service from Sheringham to Cley in order to meet Simeon Grundy, a good birding friend of mine who I had the day out with. It was a sunny day; the sunniest it had been for some time. I arrived at Cley shortly before Sim, setting up in Avocet Hide where 2 Spoonbills were roosting at medium distance, my first of the year and a cracking start to the day. They are such wonderful birds and always leave me with a smile on my face. I have noticed that Spoonbills don’t excite some Norfolk birders in the same way that they used to and may not be considered a ‘day maker’ due to the increasing occurence of this species in the region, which is a pity as they are such visually appealling birds. Anyway, these two birds roosted for almost the entirety of the time I was there. On the one occasion they did raise their heads, it was confirmed that an adult and juvenile bird were present respectively; the juvenile with a fleshy pink bill.

Roosting Spoonbills, Cley Marshes NWT (10/4/12)

Sim soon arrived and was watching the Spoonbills with me. There was plenty of other activity too, including delightful numbers of Black-tailed Godwits, numbering 70+ in varying plumages, and 145 Avocets. Seeing the latter in triple digit numbers was and always is an amazing experience, especially to seasoned NE Scottish birders such as myself who have to cope with Avocet being a sometimes less than annual regional scarcity. I saw similar numbers when I was birding at Fingringhoe Wick in Essex during New Year, where a good number of the Norfolk birds winter. It was great to see them newly back and in force at their beloved North Norfolk hotspot. Perhaps 10 Ruff were doubted around the various scrapes, whilst a Marsh Harrier quartered the dunes.

Sim and I had a good catch up as we walked up towards North Beach and then Blakeney Point. As we walked along the road a white rumped passerine flashed in front of us onto Eye Field, one of a total of 6 Wheatears present here – my first of the year. Rather concerningly, a Brent Goose was sat in a puddle on the right hand side of the road here, seeming unable to fly and at close quarters appearing very small. It looked moribund, but when we returned later we found it feeding in Eye Field; a big relief.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Cley Marshes NWT (10/4/12)

A quick look offshore from the shelter at the beach did not reveal much species variety, but did make it clear that vast numbers of Sandwich Terns were on the move. Our walk to Blakeney Point and back saw them streaming westwards along the shingle beach at a rate of a few birds per minute; a total of 120 were seen going in this direction. A strong westerly wind meant that the three mile walk to Blakeney Point and back was disappointingly quiet on the passerine migrant front. Another Wheatear was seen near Halfway House, whilst 3 Rooks were heading determinedly west here, rather exciting as these birds were definitely migs. A female Merlin was the highlight of our stint, which showed nicely eventually as we followed it through the shingle towards the point. Halfway House held nothing, whilst The Plantation and The Lupins at the point itself were dead quiet. The only other birds we managed were a nice White Wagtail at The Hood on the way back and 7 Swallows west. Despite it being very quiet, I was glad to have done Blakeney Point for the first time and to have familiarised myself with the different parts of it. I will look forward to visiting during prime time conditions in future autumns, what with its amazing habitat.

Halfway House, Blakeney Point (10/4/12). Halfway to Blakeney Point itself.

Blakeney Point itself, as viewed from a dune top, the famous plantation on the right (10/4/12)

Looking across the expanse of sueda towards Cley and further eastwards, as viewed from a dune top (10/4/12)

Having taken nearly two hours to get to the point on the way, it took us an impressive 50 minutes without stopping to get back to Cley, at the expense of all our energy! Once on the Coasthopper bus, we headed west towards Titchwell, giving our knackered and aching legs a well earned break. We arrived at Titchwell at around 5:30, where a nice evening’s birding was had. This time of day meant we had the reserve largely to ourselves, a nice contrast to its usual crammed nature. From Island Hide we looked out onto the freshmarsh, where a dainty Little Ringed Plover was feeding; my first of the year and always nice to see. A White Wagtail was scurrying back and forth along the scrapes as well amongst a few Pied Wagtails, whilst other waders were represented by numerous Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits, 15 Dunlins and a Grey Plover. We headed to the nearby Parrinder Hide, but were first stopped in our tracks by a simply stunning summer plumage Spotted Redshank on the brackish marsh near the path, another year tick. We watched this bird in admiration as it fed no more than 15ft away from us which was spectacular. The rest of the brackish marsh was quiet, so we moved over to the other hide and had another look onto the freshmarsh. A second Spotted Redshank was located here, as was a male Marsh Harrier and a beautiful Short-eared Owl quartering the bank for 10 minutes or so. This was a special way to end an enjoyable day’s birding with Simeon at the classic North Norfolk sites; it was nice to see him again and I am eagerly anticipating his visit up to Aberdeenshire in June.

summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, Titchwell RSPB (10/4/12), phone-scoped courtesy of Simeon Grundy

a dramatic and contrasting sky-scape at Titchwell RSPB, overlooking the freshmarsh with Island Hide in the foreground and Parrinder Hide in the background.

Despite being quiet at Blakeney Point, North Norfolk had once again proved itself as the superb place for birding that it is, providing some lovely birds such as Spoonbill, Short-eared Owl, Little Ringed Plover, Spotted Redshank and tons of Avocets which allowed its brilliance to shine out despite it being quite quiet on its own terms.

Thanks for reading,

Joseph

Birding The Brecks And Broads

I managed three days out birding in Norfolk, providing a nice contrast to my daily patching. My day on the North Norfolk Coast will be accounted in a separate post from this one, which accounts days out birding that I had in the Brecks (sites around Thetford Forest) and on the Broads/East Coast respectively.

The Brecks (Thursday 5th April 2012):

It had been a year since I last birded the Breckland area for its numerous speciality species, so I was keen to do another day’s birding there. My mum ferried me around the different sites during the day as Thetford and its surrounds were no more than a 30 mile drive from the house. I attempted to start the day at an undisclosed site for Goshawk. The military however use this area as a firing range and the red flag was up to signal that they were practicing, so we had to abandon this. I didn’t leave disappointed though. More or less as soon as I got out the car and progressed a little way up thee path a pair of Woodlarks flew right overhead, their beautiful descending song filling the air as they went. I watched them through the bins for about a minute before they become distant dots; what a piece of luck! What with Woodlark being my top target speciality species for the day – and arguably the most difficult – I was absolutely delighted to have connected, let alone to have seen them so quickly. With this ridiculous slice of luck, I was fine with sacrificing going for Goshawk.

I arrived at Weeting Heath earlier than expected, where I hoped to see Stone Curlew and continue the day on a high. The visitor board indicated that one had been seen from West Hide that morning but was typically elusive. I soon arrived at West Hide where it seemed the bird in question had not been seen for some time. However, I managed to pick up the bird after about 10 minutes, distantly towards the fence at the right hand edge of the heath. Only its head and manic eyes were visible above a dip in the heath, and it was soon joined by another to its right. The 2 Stone Curlews were only seen together briefly, with the second bird soon popping its head below the dip in the field after briefly running into full view. We were thus left with the head of the first bird on show for about 15 minutes – far from the best views I’ve had but still fantastic. I love the enigmatic nature of these birds, its always special to see them there with the knowledge that it’s basically the only reliable spot for them in the UK.

Stone Curlew, Weeting Heath NWT (5/4/12); its head popping above the surface.

Lakenheath RSPB was next, which proved to be both productive and extensive. With plenty of time to kill I decided to walk the entire reserve, something I hadn’t done before.From the first viewpoint it was touching to see a pair of Great Crested Grebes nest-building. A pair of Marsh Harriers gave fantastic views from here, just two of 12+ Marsh Harriers throughout the reserve, with the majority of birds quartering the reeds at the reserves western edge at Joist Fen viewpoint. It was an amazing spectacle to watch so many of these amazing raptors gracing the reeds; numbers you just wouldn’t get here in Aberdeenshire. As I walked past the poplars, a Water Rail let out a squeal from the reeds and a Cetti’s Warbler was repeatedly singing. My first Sedge Warbler of the year was also in song and showing itself here and a gorgeous male Bearded Tit briefly appeared nearby, a valuable year tick. Back at the car park a birder looking onto the Hockwold Washes was clearly on something. I joined him and was directed to 4 Garganey (2 pairs). These ornate ducks were with a group of Teal in the middle of the washes. The drakes were of course particularly delightful and I revelled in watching these fine birds for over half an hour before they disappeared into cover. The wind was strong and the birds were distant, so I had to suffice with this crappy digiscoped shots. My first of the year, they are always such brilliant birds to see and were a great bonus. A late Whooper Swan was also seen distantly from here.

3 out of 4 Garganey, Lakenheath RSPB (5/4/12) . The extremely rubbish quality of the shot doesn't do the birds any justice!

Hockwold Washes at Lakenheath (5/4/12)

Looking eastwards from Joist Fen

Our final stop was a shortish visit to Lynford Arboretum, where I had vague hopes of connecting with Hawfinch. Siskins were everywhere whilst several Crossbills were also around, with 10+ seen including a party of 8 overhead by the paddocks. Two Marsh Tits showed beautifully in the woods by the river, and a Treecreeper was also present here. I didn’t manage to do locate any Hawfinches, but nonetheless it was a enjoyable way to end a very productive day in which I went home afterwards suitably contented.

The Broads/East Coast (Saturday 7th April):

An afternoon’s birding was spent in the Broads/East Coast with a family friend. We started off at the North Beach in Great Yarmouth where I hoped to connect with the famed Med Gulls here. Disappointingly I didn’t manage any and the weather wasn’t pleasant enough for walking far, so we moved northwards to Winterton Dunes with the hope of connecting with some early passerine migrants. Ring Ouzel and Yellow Wagtail were in mind, but an extensive check of the bushes and dunes revealed no passerine migs at all. It was an afternoon that seemed destined to be very quiet, and a check of Horsey Mere continued on this theme, although it did provide 5 Marsh Harriers and my first singing Willow Warbler of the year. We headed back towards Norwich having seen very little. As we passed over the bridge near Acle, however, excitement levels rose as I picked up 2 Short-eared Owls hunting by the side of the road. We managed to pull over briefly to admire these mangificent birds as they elegantly patrolled the marshland not far apart from one another, but with pressures to get back on the road we had to leave them to it after no more than a minute. Thus the final leg of the journey was completed with the feeling that our afternoon was worthwhile despite earlier disappointments.

Thanks for reading,

Joseph