Edging Forwards: Late Summer And Autumn On The Patch

A late patch update; well overdue! From late July until the end of the August, I more or less lived in Norfolk, or more precisely Costessey House Private Estate. This, by an arm and a leg, is the longest I’ve ever stayed on the patch. There was ample opportunity for the patch to produce the goods and nip up towards the centenary, but unfortunately, even when taking a brief visit this October into account, I have yet to break that boundary.

It was a disappointingly quiet month’s stay, although many of the summering highlights from June were still around. The Hobby pair provided regular entertainment in the gorgeous summer weather, with views of singles and the pair together hawking over Drayton Meadows, Mill Field and Fishermen’s Field at numerous points, displaying their inimitable aerial prowess. My first night held what must have been the best experience I’ve ever had with these birds on patch, as I watched the male for 20 minutes above the woods behind Drayton Meadows, in a cerise canvassed sky. At one point it classically torpedoed from great height, catching a floating insect at god knows how many mph, before rising ethereally further to the left, back up to its original height. Imagine the whole action, no more than 6-7 seconds, as a massive letter V being formed in the sky – this is what the bird did in that short interlude as it caught the insect. Minutes later, it suddenly bolted across Drayton Meadows within 1oft of me in the half light, towards a swirling mass of 40 chattering, feeding Swallows. Pure chaos ensues. The Hobby wreaks havoc among the flock, stabbing into its very heart. Out of nowhere, the female appears and joins in with the frenzy, proceeding to ruthlessly pursue a group of Swallows towards Fishermen’s Field. I watched the pair disappear into the incandescent sky, over the top of Drayton Woods and away from the patch. I was blown away after that – a real day-maker on an otherwise quiet first day. My last record of Hobby was of a single on 28th August, although I imagine they stuck around for a bit longer after that. I will look forward to having them back next summer – perhaps I’ll find out a bit more about them yet…

Hobbies in unison (29/7/13)

disappearing over Drayton Woods in the last flickers of light

The other two ‘patch specialities’, as I like to label them – Little Owl and Grasshopper Warbler – also remained throughout the period, though were considerably less regular. For the first couple of the weeks Little Owl was more or less daily out the back of the paddocks, with a single favouring  the dead tree on most nights, but after 13th August they became increasingly elusive, with the last record being of a single calling on 19th. That was that, however, and there were no records during my visit this October either. 2 Grasshopper Warblers were noted on several late evenings from late July, with the last record on 17th. The Kingfisher pair and Nuthatch remained, while Swift numbers peaked at 80 and a single Snipe north over the cottage on 23rd was a decent record, as was 13 Greylag Geese that rested up in Old Costessey Fields on 4th August. Up to 3 Barn Owls were around, including what appeared to be a new individual, first noted on  9th August, a young bird with distinct muddier brown tinges to the mantle that were quite unlike either the usual very pale individual or the more standard individual. This likely refers to a bird recently fledged bird hatched by the pair in the last few months at two possible sites on patch that I have deduced are both suitable for nesting. The young bird was also seen during evenings on 13th and 20th August, though I imagine it has since dispersed to further climes. This is absolutely excellent news though, a real highlight of the patching year and something I hope will be replicated next year.

13 Greylag Geese in flight over Old Costessey Fields (3/8/13)

The two best moments of the month’s stay inevitably go to two patch lifers, helping to nudge up the patch list to 99, painstakingly close to that 100. The first came just three days in, on 31st July. I had been standing on Drayton Meadows, doing some mid-evening vis-migging, when I picked up a medium sized wader heading eastwards very high up towards me at quite a pace, all the way from Old Costessey village. The bird flew on a straight course, fortunately right above my head. Craning my neck, I noted stiff, rapid wingbeats, its general headless appearance and fine-edged wings, confirming the bird as a GOLDEN PLOVER. Score!! As the bird migrated determinedly over Low Road, it uttered out a single melancholy note, soon becoming lost to view. Adrenaline pumped through me: another patch wader, and one of the less likely at that. I have fancied Old Costessey Fields for an autumn group of GP, but given that even Lapwing are hard enough on there I had no reason to get my hopes up about scoring this species on patch. That said the patch does seem to have a habit of scoring trickier wader species while completing evading some of the easiest: e.g. Woodcock, Jack Snipe, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and Golden Plover, but no Redshank or Curlew! If there’s are candidates for no. 100, either of the latter two species fit the bill, but somehow I doubt it will be either of them.

No,99 came on 12th August, a day that I somehow managed to predict would herald a patch tick. I was on prophetic form. As I began my patching on an extensive check of Mill Field, I thought ‘been a while since I’ve had a Little Egret flover’. A few seconds later and BAM, a Little Egret west over towards Taverham. The rest of the patch held many of the usual suspects, so my hopes of a patch lifer were dwindling. However, as I headed along the field at the back of the paddocks, I flushed an interesting looking drab passerine from a piece of foliage. It landed on a small bush, revealing itself to be a cracking SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. DSLR at hand this time, I capitalized on the opportunity to wrap out a couple of shots instead of follow the bird in the bins. This worked against me, as no sooner had I managed a couple of photos did the Spot Fly flush deep into the trees, not to reappear. I was absolutely buzzing though, a proper early autumn migrant had just graced the patch! Not the most stunning admittedly, but a species I had not even thought of as being a possibility. I tried in vain to search it out from the green mass, but was rudely interrupted by an intense bout of rain, forced to run home before my DSLR got too exposed. This Spot Fly takes the accolades as the month’s highlight, and as it stands is the last decent species I’ve had on patch.

Spotted Flycatcher at the back of the paddocks (12/8/13); a top patch bird and no.99

I was back down on the patch for a long weekend in October, managing a couple of days on 26th and 28th. The nettes that had obstructed the path along the river had been cut down, leaving much more ease of access to a suitably marshy looking Drayton Meadows. Far more wintery fare were in prevalence, including a roving flock of 100+ Black-headed Gulls on 26th, a maximum of 11 Meadow Pipits flushed on 28th, and the first three Snipe of the winter also on 28th. 2 Cormorants were around on both dates, and I was glad to see that the 4 Egyptian Geese had returned. Passerine passage was reduced to a small group of 10 Redwings on 26th, and 60 Starling on 28th, the latter total being the largest amount of this species I have had on patch. The visit was marked by its distinct lack of Barn Owl however: hopefully these birds will be around when I am back in a month so. That however, was that, but it was nice to show fellow young birder Jake Gearty around on the Sunday: to give him a taster of the habitat and to talk him through what the patch could offer on better days.

***

So, the question is begging. What will the no.100 be? Will it happen before the end of this year? It is impossible to know the answer to the first, but if it comes this winter then I reckon it could be Wigeon. As for the second question, what with a Christmas stay now lined up, I’d like to fancy I have time to hit the centenary by, or even on, 31st December. I will be an intensely happy man if it does happen to work out.

Thanks for reading,

Joseph

Swift Summary?

I am quite frankly miles behind on this blog with relation to my Norfolk birding. I basically lived in Norfolk from late July to the beginning of September, during which time I did a tonne of birding. Covering it all would be too long-winded, so I’ll go quickly through some of the highlights of my Norfolk birding during that period, and also ‘swiftly’ through a decent day out during a visit to the region last weekend.

European Roller, Horsey (6/8/13)

I remember thinking several years ago that Roller would be one of those species I could only ever dream of seeing in the UK. It seems however in the last couple of years that this words-cannot-describe-how-stunning species has been occurring in the UK on an increasingly regular basis annually. I was in the wrong place for a fleeting Roller in Aberdeenshire last year (also the Yorks bird), and prior to that had not been presented with any opportunities to go for one locally. So when news filtered through of an individual at Horsey (presumably the Holt bird of a couple of months earlier), I could not resist. If there’s one bird I’d try my utmost to locally twitch, it’s this species. A long stayer, this ROLLER remained distant for much of the time I was there: a whole an and a half, simply gawping at this bird, bowled over by its mouth-dropping beauty. Distance barely impacted on the enjoyment of this bird, as it continually moved between the fenceposts along the Nelson’s Head Track, allowing for several tear-inducing glimpses of its contrasting azure underwing coverts and navy-blue- purple-tinged primaries and secondaries. JUST LOOK AT IT. It’s not even that great a picture, but the bird completely arrests your attention, causes you to shout impetuously in excitement. Undoubtedly in the top 5 birds I’ve seen in Britain, let alone the most pleasing rare I’ve had in Norfolk or Britain this year.

juvenile Mediterranean Gull, Cley (3/8/13)

adult Yellow-legged Gull on Pat’s Pool, Cley (3/8/13)

Spoonbill at Titchwell (August 2013)

The rest of August birding in Norfolk was characterised by gulls, passage waders and Spoonbills. It was an excellent period for getting better versed in michahellis, with individuals in the gull roosts at Cley allowing for much finer inspection of primary patterns as well as much pleasure. I probably saw about 20 Yellow-legged Gulls over the month on several visits to Cley, including 10 in one group on 21st August. The large majority of birds seen were adults, but on some occasions did include a few 3rd summer types. One of the excellent things about Norfolk birding in late summer, these michahellis. 2 Mediterranean Gulls were seen at Cley on different dates, involving the above juvenile and an adult on 21st August. Spoonbills rarely eluded my presence, with numerous birds seen together at Cley,Titchwell, Burnham Deepdale (maximum of 3) and Morston/Stiffkey, the latter birds relating to a group of 7 mobile between the latter two sites on three days camping that I had in the area in late August.

Passage wader wise, the whole range of uncommoner species were seen, mostly at Titchwell and Cley – Spotted Redshank and Green Sandpiper were particularly abundant , but a few Wood Sandpipers, Curlew Sandpipers and a single Little Stint (at Titchwell) all made appearances, among very decent numbers of the diverse commoner fare. The undoubted wader highlight though must go to a gorgeous juvenile RED-NECKED PHALAROPE at Cley on 8th August, an overdue lifer which was surprisingly elusive and pretty distant. Nonetheless, the overwhelming charisma of this hither-and-tither, frantically-busy-feeding bird was deeply entertaining: it’s rare but intense experience when faced with the inimitable behaviour of a crazy Phal. That golden striated mantle too – OOFT! The same day also heralded a showy female MONTAGU’S HARRIER by chance at an undisclosed site, another major highlight of the month.

I was unfortunate to miss a decent fall during the Bank Holiday weekend in late August. I got out for some birding on the east coast on my birthday, but could only 2 juvenile Pied Flycatchers (Waxham and Horsey), 4 Whinchats and Lesser Whitethroat and a few Wheatears on visits to Hemsby, Horsey and Waxham. Given the density of Pied Flies, Redstarts and Wrynecks during the days prior, this was somewhat disappointing.

***

I was back down in Norfolk last week for a long weekend – a wee hiatus from the humdrum life that is uni. I scheduled a day’s birding with UEA Fresher and fellow Next Generation Birder Jake Gearty, and later with Dan from the Spain trip for a couple of hours. Our inclination was to work the coast between Cromer and Sheringham, not least because the cover there is underwatched, but also due to its productivity within the prior few days; a Pallid Swift had roosted in the area. Myself, Jake and Drew (another UEA Fresher) began by working the cover northwards from Cromer towards Overstrand. South-westerlies dominated the day, leaving things relatively unproductive on the passerine front, despite working 4 or 5 miles of cover from Overstrand to Sheringham.  At this early point however, there was a notable arrival of 100+ Chaffinches, mobile along the cliff-side cover with some commoner tit species and a few Goldcrest mixed in, as well as a presumed migrant Jay and fleeting flight views of a decent candidate for a continental Great-spotted Woodpecker, and vis-migging Mipits and Skylarks. As we walked along the beach, a gorgeous adult winter Med Gull showed down to 15ft, and I noted my first two argentatus Herring Gulls of the year, a 3rd winter and a juvenile.

Med Gull at Cromer, (27/10/13)

argentatus at Cromer

We had produced the aforementioned species in an hour and a half, and were nearing Overstrand.  Jake suggested that we kept on going towards Overstrand: little did we know we would be sent running in the other direction. As I scanned a new group of Chaffinch, a dark hirundine with a very silvery underwing interrupted my field of view. It took a second to compute that a hirundine had just passed through, but as soon as I realised and scanned away from the finch flock I was fully on the bird and out of nowhere bawled ‘PALLID SWIFT!’. Just seeing a Swift species in October was exciting enough, but the fact that this was a Pallid meant that chaos ensued as the others, who were scanning elsewhere, went temporarily mental and desperately tried to look for the bird. I followed it as it kept low and straight wings along the cover, but it soon rose above the clifftop and hawked, where Jake and Drew managed to connect.

Adrenaline surged through us at the prospect of this out of the blue re-find: it had not been reported since early morning, and we were the only people watching this stunning, not-so-scythe-winged Swift. In the two minutes or so that it hawked near us, giving pretty good views, we noted the contrasting silvery underwing, the more chocolately brown upperparts and the generally blunt-edged rather than sharp-edged wings. I managed to get the following pics before it zoomed westwards, seemingly vanishing into thin air. Reports on RBA showed that 2 Pallids had been seen together at Sidestrand half an hour earlier, so this may or may not have been the individual that roosted at Cromer the previous evening. It does seems likely though that it was one of the Sidestrand birds relocating westwards. This Pallid finally represents my 300th bird in Britain – it’s been a slog, but that’s basically due to the distinct lack of care that I give about my British list.

Pallid Swift, Cromer (27/10/13). These pics do no justice in terms of showing upperpart colour, but the silvery underwing is evident here.

note the blunt-edged wings

After that quite unexpected turn of events, we were more than glad to conclude that the day had reached its peak. We met up with Dan at West Runton, where we had a good old catch up but didn’t really see many birds. Up to 8 Med Gulls were much enjoyed around West Runton, as was my first Scaup in Norfolk, a 1st year male in moult on the sea. Passerine-wise though things were scant, limited to a few continental Song Thrushes, Fieldfares and two Chiffchaffs (one abietinus). Nonetheless though, as the light drew in scarily early, we could not complain with a Pallid, and it was good to scout out some new habbo for future reference.

***

That was my best attempt at a ‘swift’ summary of Norfolk birding since late July – don’t know if I really succeeded in making it concise, but hey ho. I will be back down in Norfolk for Christmas: who knows what it will produce? Fabalis? Nivalis? Probably.

Thanks for reading,

Joseph