Saturday 9 March 2024

Lesser Yellowlegs, Frampton Marsh

An early morning visit to Frampton Marsh today. We pulled into the car park and spotted the Lesser Yellowlegs immediately. It was feeding along the muddy edges close to the car park fence. A large herd of Whooper Swans was resting on the water in the northwest corner. We were still in the car park when they flew directly overhead toward their favoured feeding areas in the nearby fields. There were large numbers of Pintail, Wigeon, and Teal on the water known as the reservoir.

We wandered along the track, and while checking out a small wader on the Marsh Farm Grassland, Brian found the Green-winged Teal nearby. Golden Plovers and lapwings were present in large numbers, along with lesser counts of Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, and Oystercatchers.

Scanning the North Scrapes from the sea wall, we failed to find any Little Gulls from the previous day, but several Med Gulls were present, along with good numbers of Black-tailed Godwits. Before heading for home, we had managed to see a total of 76 species. 


Frampton Marsh visitor centre and cafe



Feeding area of the Lesser Yellowlegs




Lesser Yellowlegs







Green-winged Teal


Whooper Swans


Saturday 2 March 2024

Great Grey Shrike: Weeting Norfolk

We had made plans to visit Weeting on the 28th Febuary, however these plans had to be changed at the last minute. Today was our first chance since then to visit, the weather forecast was not looking good, in fact it was looking pretty grim, with heavy rain showers predicted. We put the rain gear on, but were greeted with sunshine upon arrival! 

We parked by ride 47 and followed the track to the clearfell. It took several scans of the area before eventually finding the shrike. I had brief views of it in flight, then enjoyed much better views when it  perched at the top of a tall tree stump. It was quite active, visiting many of the trees and bushes within the clearfell.

Up until this point we had escaped without any rain but as we headed back up the track the gathering clouds turned from grey to black and duly delivered the predicted heavy rain.


The track from ride 47 to the clearfell















Friday 16 February 2024

Black Scoter: Holkham Gap, Norfolk

A visit to Holkham in January searching for Norfolk's first record of Black Scoter proved very frustrating. Firstly the water levels in the bay prevented me from walking out to the dunes for thirty minutes and once among the dunes, the scoter rafts were just too far away for any reasonable chance of picking the Black Scoter out among them.

Brian had a free day ahead of him today and was keen to try again. So shortly before 6am, we set off for Norfolk, arriving at Lady Anne's Drive around 8am. Having fed £6.50 into the parking meter for 4 hours of parking, we headed for the beach knowing we had roughly 3 hours to find the scoter as it takes the best part of an hour to walk out and back.

The water levels in the bay were high enough to prevent me from walking straight out to the dunes, so we walked around the western edge and decided to scan from the beach. There were three main rafts of scoter to check through. Unlike our previous visit in January, the scoter were within scope range. The flocks contained mainly Common Scoters, but several Velvet Scoters were also noted. Scaup, Tufted Duck, Merganser, Teal, and a flock of c50 Eider were also seen.

The weather wasn't helping us pick out the Black Scoter, A couple of Common Scoter looked good briefly but were soon dismissed after further scans. A brief break in the clouds allowed the sun to come bursting through and the Black Scoter was found soon afterwards. The bill really stood out as the sun bounced back off it and the Black Scoter looked bulkier overall and thicker necked alongside the Common Scoters. Brian managed to get the other three guys standing with us onto it before we headed further west along the beach in search of the Shorelarks. 

I'd missed them on a previous visit and was keen to find them today. After walking a further mile and a half along the beach we found them feeding close to a water channel. I enjoyed watching them through the scope as Brian managed a few shots with the camera.


Walk out to the beach


Start of the 2-mile walk back to the car



Shorelarks



6 of the 13 Shorelarks present





Sanderling

To break the journey up on the way home we stopped at Cockley Cley, Where we enjoyed watching several Buzzards displaying but had left it too late for any sightings of Goshawk. At Lynford we watched Brambling, Yellowhammer, Nuthatch, and Treecreeper before making a final stop at Santon Downham where we added a singing Woodlark to the year list. 

Wednesday 31 January 2024

All five grebes species seen locally

We had a spare couple of hours this morning, so popped over to the reservoir in search of the Red-necked Grebe. Scanning the north basin we soon found Great Crested and Little Grebes in good numbers. Another scan and we spotted the Slavonian Grebe among a small flock of Tufted Ducks. The main target had still eluded us thus far but after numerous scans, the Red-necked Grebe was found. It was distant, and not far from the west bank. It was diving frequently, and no sooner had it surfaced than it would dive again. Two Great Crested Grebes in the same area proved to be very useful in relocating the Red-necked as it seemed to reappear each time close to them.


Slavonian Grebe

We had now seen four of the five grebe species, so we set off to scan the Girling hoping to add the fifth species, and it wasn't long before we found a Black-necked Grebe among a flock of Tufted Ducks. 

A couple of hours birding only fifteen minutes from home had produced all five species of grebe. Two of which were new additions to the year list.

Monday 29 January 2024

Failing to see the Black Scoter at Holkham

A birthday trip to Norfolk this morning. The Black Scoter was our main target, but we knew before we set off it was going to be a difficult challenge. We arrived at Lady Anne's Drive around 8am and had a quick scan for the Green-winged Teal that had been found on the 21st. We failed to find it among the mixed flocks of Eurasian Teal, Wigeon, and Lapwings, but we didn't spend very long looking as we wanted as much time searching for the Black Scoter as possible. We headed along the boardwalk toward the beach, only to find the tide had almost completely covered the bay. All that was left was a thin strip running along the fence line. Brian had made the right choice and put wellies on, I on the other hand had not, so I walked as far as I could passing the roped-off area but soon realised I would either have to suffer wet feet, take my boots off or wait for the tide to recede. I chose to wait and after half an hour or so, it was shallow enough in places to safely pass.

While waiting for the tide to recede I could see a long line of scoter out on the sea, but it wasn't until I joined Brian that I realised the true scale of the scoter flock. It was massive, and more worrying it was very distant! We spent over three hours scanning through the raft, picking out a couple of Long-tailed Ducks for a year tick, and a few Velvet Scoters were picked out. but the massive scoter flocks were just too distant. 

As Brian went off in search of Shorelarks, I tried to find a way back through the flooded channels to the car park. Missing out on the Shorelarks gave me more time to try to find the Green-winged Teal, which thankfully I did. It was asleep but showing well through the scope.



Green-winged Teal





We left Holkham and headed for Sheringham, stopping on the way at Cley hoping but not expecting to find some Twite. We drove along Beach Road and pulled into a small parking spot, after climbing the bank we immediately spotted a flock of thirty or so Twite close by. We watched as they flew across the path and then back again and landed among the reeds further along the bank.

At Sheringham, we took the footpath passed the museum and down past the shelter but could not find any Purple Sandpipers. The ticket for the car park was nearing its expiry time, but one last look over the wall to the rocks below and Brian found a single Purple Sandpiper.


Museum with the shelter in the background



Although we had failed to find the Black Scoter I still managed to add five new additions to the year list.

Hopefully, we will get another chance at the Black Scoter if it hangs around.

Friday 26 January 2024

No sign of the White-billed Diver at Southend Pier

News of a White-billed Diver yesterday at Southend was frustrating, as Brian had grandad duties and by the time he was free we wouldn't be able to get there before dark or before the pier had closed. 

We decided we would give it a try this morning, we set off early but with the pier not opening until 10.15 we headed for Wallasea Island. We pulled up along the entrance track and within an hour of scanning the marshes we had managed to see six species of raptor. Kestrel, Merlin, Buzzard, Short-eared owl, Marsh Harrier, and Ringtail Hen Harrier. 




We arrived at the pier shortly before it opened and having taken care of the parking charges, we took the train along the 1.25 miles to the end of the pier. As soon as we disembarked, we had views of several Med Gulls. 



Mediterranean Gull






We had three hours to scan the water, and we picked out plenty of Red-throated Divers and a couple of  Great Northern Divers, one of which caused a bit of debate but was soon found to be another Great Northern Diver. Razorbill, Guillemot, and Great Crested Grebes were all seen, but there was no sign of the White-Billed Diver. Several Grey seals were also seen at close quarters.

We had walked up and down most of the pier looking for the diver, but after three hours we had to admit defeat and head back to the car. The bird would be reported again at 4.15pm, but we were left wondering if this was a genuine report or the Great Northern Diver that had caused some confusion earlier in the day. 




Saturday 20 January 2024

Ferruginous Duck, Snaresbrook

On Tuesday a Ferruginous Duck "of unknown origin" was found on Jubilee Pond at Wanstead Flats. Yesterday it was refound on Eagle Pond in Snaresbrook. Just five miles from home it was worth a visit even if not a genuinely wild bird. We arrived to find three-quarters of the pond frozen. At first, we couldn't locate the bird, but then spotted it among the overhanging branches of a tree at the end of the island. It remained asleep for a while, but eventually, it became more active. 

When the locals turned up with bread for the resident ducks and swans, the fudge duck followed them around and would dive to feed on anything that had been disturbed. It didn't seem interested in bread until some was thrown directly to it. Wild or not it's a really smart looking duck and worth the short drive to see it.


Sunrise at Eagle Pond