Grey Phalarope, King George V Reservoir

A couple of hours spent at KGV Reservoir this morning proved rewarding when the reported Grey Phalarope was found on the north basin. When we first spotted it, it was very distant feeding along the edge of the causeway in the southwest corner. The wind blowing across the reservoir basins made for challenging conditions for the phalarope, and it was pushed onto the causeway bank several times. The direction of the wind worked in our favour though as the phalarope drifted along the causeway edge and came right past where we were standing. 

The reservoir has been a good place locally to connect with phalaropes. I've seen two grey and two red-necked in the last ten years. 

Pallid Swift: Winterton, A missed chance

Today was our first opportunity to visit Winterton in Norfolk and try to connect with the Pallid Swift. The swift had been present for twelve days. There had been positive news yesterday morning but no news at all in the afternoon, we arrived at first light and scanned the skies around the church, and surrounding areas for over two hours. It was bitterly cold and there was no sign of the swift. It had either moved on or worse it had perished overnight in the plummeting temperatures. During our visit, we witnessed thousands of Pink-footed Geese flying overhead along with several small flocks of winter thrushes. The surprise of the morning was a low-flying Woodcock that flew directly over our heads. 

Once back in the car, we headed a few miles south to Filby Broad. We scanned Ormesby Little Broad from the viewing platform  There was very little of note seen from here apart from two Kingfishers. We decided to scope the lake from the back of Filby Bridge Restaurant and found a Scaup among the numerous Tufted Ducks. Crossing the road we scanned Filby Broad and eventually located two Ferruginous Ducks along the edge of the reeds in the southeast corner.

View of Filby Broad from the roadside

We headed further south along the coast and stopped at Ness Point in Lowestoft,  hoping to find Purple Sandpiper. We walked along the length of the concrete pathway, stopping and scanning every few metres. Eventually, we were rewarded with views of six Purple Sandpipers feeding along the concrete ruins.

The line of ruins where the sandpipers were feeding.

Eventually, the birds ventured close to our position allowing for some nice photo opportunities.

Purple Sandpiper

There had been reports of 40 Waxwings just two miles away from Ness Point. we drove along the local roads and quickly found the flock. As they settled in the trees close to us I managed a count of 47 birds.

It was disappointing not to connect with the swift, but knowing we couldn't have visited earlier softened the blow and we had an enjoyable day regardless.

Wallasea Island, Short-eared Owls

A phone call from Brian offering a trip to Wallasea Island to look for Short-eared Owls was agreed to immediately, as I still hadn't managed to connect with any Short-eared Owls so far this year. 

Weather conditions were looking good as we arrived at the car park, we took the track toward the hide and were soon watching our first Short-eared Owl. This was quickly followed by several more owls hunting in the area. Eventually, we managed a count of eight owls in the air at the same time. 

While watching the owls a ringtail Hen Harrier appeared and started hunting in the same area. While the owls were constantly on show throughout our visit the ringtail hunted over a much larger area. Often hunting along the grass bank and disappearing over the bank onto Allfleets Marsh, only to reappear a short time later and resume its hunting among the owls.

We left as the light began to fade, and managed sightings of two more owls and another ringtail Hen Harrier as we approached the entrance gate.

The area the owls were hunting in

Canvasback, Abberton Reservoir

News of a Canvasback present at Abberton Reservoir yesterday was reported just too late, even being just over an hour away from the site, we wouldn't have arrived before dusk. 

This morning we arrived at first light and began checking through the first raft of Pochard for any sign of the Canvasback. No sign of the target among those. A scan of the main reservoir from Layer-de-la-Haye causeway also failed to locate any Pochard so we decided to head to Wigborough Bay and scan that area. Again no Pochard was present. The next stop was Billet's Farm. We walked to the viewing screen in the company of four other like-minded birders. We found a large raft of Pochard close to the shore, but scanning them was made difficult by the tall vegetation between us and the water's edge. The whole raft would drift right and then back left, giving us a narrow field of view as they moved past small gaps in the vegetation. Suddenly there it was towards the back of the flock. The news was put out and very soon the viewing screen and the whole of the footpath were converged on by birders. Picking it out among the large raft of Common Pochard proved challenging at first but after several decent scope views the main features like the longer neck, sloping darkish/blackish bill, and the seemingly paler back and flanks become more evident.

   

Visitor centre viewed from Layer-de-la-Haye causeway

Body of water between Layer-de-la-Haye and Layer Breton Causeways

There haven't been any UK records of this species for over twenty years, but previous records of Canvasback do seem to show a liking for the large body of water at Abberton, with accepted records from 1997, 1999, and 2000.

I'm now hoping this individual will join them on that list and prove to be a county, year, and life addition. 🤞.

Arctic Tern, KGV Reservoir

I had no plans to go birding this morning until Brian suggested a quick trip to the local reservoir. We walked along the east side of the south basin, passing the sailing club hut and heading towards the causeway. As we approached Brian spotted a tern in the distance. As we got nearer we could see it was a juvenile Arctic Tern. A late but very welcome year tick. 

It spent much of its time flying back and forth along the causeway, occasionally resting on the bank after catching a small fish.