Bewick’s And A Dick’s

Christmas and New Year in Norfolk was particularly unusual this year, not for the birds as such, but due to the fact the South African part of my family had come all the way up to the UK to visit. This unfortunately meant there were severe limitations to my available birding time away from the patch. Thus, I had to economize and prioritize appropriately.

I wasn’t able to get out for a day on the coast until the 27th December, and with no-one available to meet I concluded that the plan of action was to work the stretch of coast between Kelling and Salthouse and then move towards Burnham Deepdale to see what comes into roost. Time was precious as I was unable to get a lift to Fakenham for the bus before 10, which in turn meant I did not pitch up at Kelling until nearly 11:30. Once I had arrived, I started down the verdant grove track that runs parallel to Kelling Quags and past the Water Meadows.

It just so happened that a Richard’s Pipit had been faffing around for a few days in the fields just west of the Water Meadows. If the bird was still there I decided I’d give it a brief look whilst I scouted the area for other stuff. The Water Meadows were deadly quiet, not holding any wildfowl at all, so I continued round towards the airfield only to have the Richard’s Pipit flying right over my head and calling: nice, the first time I’ve actually heard this species call. Behind it were a couple of Mipits, reduced to minuteness. The Dick’s largely favoured a load of grassy hay-like debris that had been washed up by early December’s devastating north and east Norfolk coast floods. Here it literally became a needle in the haystack job, so I was disinclined to stick around for long. I gave it 10 minutes, managing stonking views through the scope early on before it headed into the debris, as it fed busily by a pool. Its gorgeous pale fringed lesser and greater coverts were evident, as were the pale lores, the long hind-claw and the characteristic Turdus-esque stance. That was my lot though. I could not be arsed sticking around as it gradually headed deep into the nearby debri, becoming amorphous with it. I happened to get more flight views of it as I started towards Muckleburgh Hill though, where there was nothing particularly of note save a Stonechat.

This was the first wintering Richard’s Pipit I’ve seen. Wintering Dick’s are by not entirely unprecedented in Norfolk, with rogue individuals from the autumn often sticking around, albeit sometimes transient on a local scale. This has been the case since the early 20th century and beyond, as my superb Christmas present A Season Of Birds: A Norfolk Diary (1911) by Jim Vincent testifies. Vincent, a professional wild-fowler, avid bird enthusiast and Hickling born and bred, accounts for a year’s birding at Hickling and its environs in this wonderfully evocative and beautifully presented diary-cum-book. At the beginning of the diary he recounts:

‘2nd January: Strong wind from the N.W. Squalls of hail. No-one in Hickling can remember so high a tide. I saw close by the Lodge on Hickling wall a Richard’s Pipit. Watched it running on the wall, and at the edge of water several minutes’.

Over the page, there is a delicate illustration of this chanced upon Richard’s Pipit by Vincent’s friend George Lodge, capturing with a certain raw beauty the various diagnostic feather patterns and plumage hues of the bird in its watery, boggy environs. On reading of this record when I got the book a few days ago, I was immediately transported back to the bird I had seen at Kelling. The Richard’s Pipit at Kelling was, like Vincent’s lonesome individual, taking advantage of the squalor created by tidal flooding and, most evocatively for me, also spent a brief time pecking around at the edge of some water that had been left by the high tides. A timely and touching coincidence, given that Vincent’s diary was also written in Norfolk, and also accounts for a wintering Richard’s Pipit in roughly the same period.

Anyway, offshore at Kelling there was very little kicking off, the best I could muster being 15 Red-throated Divers, their demarcations gleaming out against the flat-as-a-millpond sea. The stretch to Salthouse was utterly bird-free, and my spontaneous plans to continue walking across the shingle to Cley were completely hindered by a new patch of where the shingle had subsided and the sea had pushed through, blocking off the rest of the shingle on the other side. I stuck around at Salthouse for 45 minutes before taking the Coasthopper westwards, by which time it was nearly 2:30pm. This left me with an hour and a half or so before dusk, and with the bus not due to arrive at Deepdale until near enough half 3, I did not have long.

After a tense wait I finally made it to Deepdale in the failing light. Standing along the sea wall, I watched rafts of Little Egret, perhaps 60 in all, wing their way towards Holkham. In the winter half-light their white forms were like ethereal, giant ghostly glowflies. Towards Holkham and Wells the sky was black with a flock of 2000+ Pink-footed Geese, not quite audible. 200 Brent Geese were obscured as they touched down on the sand beyond Deepdale’s creeks, whilst 4 female Marsh Harriers hunted briefly, each heading westwards from Holkham. This disrupted throngs of winter waders, including 100s of Curlew, 40 Golden Plover and 30 Grey Plover. The night won, and I headed home.

A surprise visit to Holt Country Park was made the next day with family, but I was ridiculously stopped from going to check out the Parrot Crossbills there (mothers these days, hey?). I did manage a bonus stunning Red Kite right over the car as we passed Edgefield Tip, however, and clocked Marsh Tit and Treecreeper at Holt CP proper. The 30th was the final bit of birding I managed during the trip, involving a brief reconnoitre to Jim Vincent’s territory: Ludham for a certain Cygnus sp, namely the annual wintering flock of Bewick’s Swans. Vincent himself noted them in the vicinity of Hickling and around Ludham in the winter of 1911, as early as October, so this is clearly a traditional wintering spot:

’25th October: Saw 29 Bewick’s Swans in the afternoon… after having a short feed and harassed by the Mutes they went off West at dusk. They were all old birds.’

Even in the howling wind and rain, these birds were obliging as I sifted through them with the scope from the comfort of the car, having picked them out from the main road in a field by the A149 between Potter Heigham and Hickling. We took a minor road and were soon watching these superb swans down to 100ft or so in reasonably good light, despite the weather. Bewick’s Swan is a species I have only seen twice outside of Norfolk, so whenever there is an opportunity to see this species locally, I always take the opportunity. The last Bewick’s I had seen were also the Ludham birds, nearly two years ago back in January 2012, where I had delighted in seeing my highest ever personal total: 40 birds. Today there more though: some 60 Bewick’s Swans (3 juveniles) along with 15 Whooper Swans (6 juveniles), feeding intently. The Whoopers were all clustered near hay bales at the left hand edge of the flock, with the odd Bewick’s feeling a bit short-necked and out of place in amongst them. However, the Bewick’s were sprawled messily across a large stretch of the field, one group of 10 were completely detached from the nucleus of the flock. I had an ultimatum of 15 mins with the birds before we had to move on to pastures new for other reasons, so maximized the times by making the above count and taking the below images. A very enjoyable and worthwhile little stop for one of my favourite British species, ending the birding year in Norfolk. What will 2014 herald for me in the county? Only time will tell.

Bewick’s and Whooper Swans at Ludham Airfield (30/12/13)

Bewick’s Swan panorama (30/12/13)

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

Norfolk Niceties

Much of my Norfolk birding this year has been focused on patching. During my visits in April and June, I only went birding outside the Costessey area four times, twice in April and twice in June. Further to that, I haven’t been to the north coast itself since February – a bit ridiculous but indicative of the productive birding within a 20 mile radius of Norwich. Rather than going through each day comprehensively (as I am so prone to doing), here’s some pics from each visit, with overviews and short accounts of each day below.

1st winter Glaucous Gull at Sea Palling (9/4/13)

 This long stayer was a much appreciated bird and worth the short drive, and in my preferred Glauc plumage. 3+ birds were present over the winter, but only the one was present on this occasion. The above flypast was the best views I managed, with views remaining too distant for photography thereafter. A mobile individual, there was a whole 20 minute period when I lost it, only to re-find it right at the other end of the beach. What a stonking beast it was though; I’ll never tire of these birds.

1st winter male nivalis Snow Bunting, Sea Palling (9/4/13).

 A very much enjoyed bonus on the dune slope near the beach entrance. Note the rufous ear coverts, extensive white around the median and lesser coverts and frosty mantle with black streaking. Another bonus was a Red Kite from the A149 near Stalham.

Stone Curlews, undisclosed site, Norfolk (11/4/13)

The highlight of a day in the Brecks was 7 of these enigmatic birds, extremely well camouflaged in their surroundings. Aside from missing out on Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Lynford Arboretum, it was a successful day, holding a single distant male Goshawk at an undisclosed site, 6 Bramblings, a Kingfisher and a dodgy pair of Mandarin at Santon Downham, as well as Marsh Tits and Nuthatches a plenty.

Woodlark in song flight, undisclosed site (23/6/13)

I bumped into this beauty by chance whilst on a casual non-birding walk in decent habitat during late June, its melancholy song adding yet more beauty to the serene surroundings.

Last but not least, as the main Norfolk highlight of the spring and summer so far, was an amazing Nightjar night at an undisclosed site, involving 6+ individuals: 5+ churring males and a female. The latter was seen very well, floating past us ethereally down to 10ft and tracked in flight for over a minute. The frog-like contact call was heard from at least two males, a short, throaty ‘keewick’. What will always stick in my mind, however was hearing wing-clapping from a few males for the first time, the most outlandish sound of all. I have never been in Nightjar habitat during courtship, so hearing this was a lastingly fresh and vivid experience for me. To my ears, the sound is akin to someone clapping slowly whilst a futuristic car with a dodgy engine is being switched off. It is an abrupt and dissonant end to the timeless but resonant earth drone that is churring. This melee of Nightjar noises, as well as decent views of at least two other males, provided one of my highlights of the year; as always with these true birds of the soil. Utterly memorable and superb; easily the most Nightjars I have ever had at any one place in the UK.

I will be down in Norfolk again throughout August. As wader passage gets fully under way, and if this Two-barred Crossbill madness continues, I’ll definitely make my first trip up to the north coast in nearly half a year. A personal record for me, but given how decent the birding was in April and June away from that area, I am not in the least bit fussed!

Thanks for reading,

Joseph