Monday 2 December 2019

Siberian Stonechat: Hollesley Marshes, Suffolk

Setting off this morning we had three main targets in mind, Siberian Stonechat in Suffolk along with Red-breasted Flycatcher and Taiga Bean Goose in Norfolk. Brian needed just one of them to reach his target of 300 species in a calendar year. Undecided as to where to begin we opted for Hollesley Marshes in Suffolk.



The walk of about half a mile along a very muddy and slippery track was well worth the effort as the bird was quickly located among the reeds. At one point it flew to the edge of the grass bank we were standing on but spent most of its time feeding among the reeds at a much greater distance. Brian had seen his 300th species of the year! Without any trips to Shetland or Scilly, that is some effort Congratulations mate.






The Winter Flood 

Unfortunately, The Red-breasted Flycatcher at Waxham was a no show and we had already failed to locate the Eagle Owl at Winterton on the way up. However, while there we managed to get a few pointers as to where to look for the Bean Geese at Buckenham Marshes. This information proved extremely useful as the geese were very distant and partly hidden among the grass. We managed decent scopes views of three of the reported four birds by the time we left.

Buckenham Marshes

Two of the three targets for the day had been found and on the way home, we stopped in the Brecks for another try at finding Golden Pheasant. The three previous attempts were all unsuccessful but we got lucky this time when a male was seen walking among the undergrowth.


PS News has since emerged of the Eagle Owl having a ring on its left leg.





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