North Norfolk

Hello, here's my post from last week's trip the north Norfolk coast. I was a bit hesitant to put it up because I really failed on the photo front, but the birds themselves were so great that they deserve to be shown/talked about. I arrived on Tuesday and left on Friday so had two proper days in the field. Weather was... yuck. Grey and dingy, brooding clouds everywhere, unseasonably mild.

Day 1, and Nigel and I went to Cley in search of a Grey Phalarope on the marsh. Birders were in situ when we arrived and pointed out the phalarope. Nigel got his scope on it and we watched it pottering along the shore beside one of the tiny pools. It was too distant for ANY photo, which is unusual... but I couldn't even find it in my bins let alone through the camera. However, it was nice enough through the scope. On the opposite side of the bank there was a big reedbed, from which the occasional muffled 'ping' emerged and the occasional Bearded Tit popped up for a microsecond. There were plenty of ducks on the marsh, the expected Teals, Wigeons and Gadwalls, a Pintail or two. A flock of Lapwings swirled overhead, and then a flock of Golden Plovers did the same thing.

We drove on to a spot called Gun Hill on the coast near Burnham Overy Staithe to see if we could find the three Shore Larks reported there. The walk coastwards was extremely muddy and really a wellies situation but we squelched onwards. We bumped into the artist Nik Borrow en route (he was sensibly be-wellied) and passed the time of day with him and his two companions for a little while - they had seen the Shore Larks. Hurrah! We continued, eventually leaving the muddy track for a raised bank which was a bit more manageable underfoot.

The path was raised because all around was now muddy saltmarsh, complete with waders. We saw Redshanks, Dunlins and a few Grey Plovers, including this one. At some point it dawned on me that we were on the same long-distance coast path that I'd visited and written about on a press trip more than 10 years ago.

We finally emerged onto the dunes. The tide was well out and there was a nice obvious strandline. We walked west towards the point where the channel of the river Burn (I think) enters the sea, noting a Curlew splashing happily around in a small pool. We also noted a couple of birders, whom Nigel waylaid for precise Shore Lark directions. When we got to the point they'd described, there were the larks, moving in a tight little group. I managed to get reasonably close to them at times but the light was ghastly.

Here are photos anyway. What beautiful little birds. They were very quiet and methodical as they scoured the strandline.

The birders had also told us there was a Slavonian Grebe in the river channel, so we carried on to look for that. The first swimming/diving entity we found in the channels was not a grebe but a Red-breasted Merganser, and so was the second. But then we located the Slav, looking extremely dapper in its black-and-white winter kit. Both mergs and grebe were too far off for pics.

Perhaps wishing to make up for the shortcomings of their fellow birds, these two Knots by the channel did allow quite close approach.

The walk back brought another Shore Lark encounter...

... while on the marsh was another Curlew.

We had to wade along the muddy track once again, this time compensated by a big and quite close flock of Brent Geese, and a flyover Hen Harrier.

Day 2, and we were joined by Nigel's friend Chris. We had considered going all the way to Snettisham to look for the Pallid Harrier that's been there for some weeks, but it hadn't been reported from Snettisham the day before, there was just one report from a random field a few miles away from there. So instead we went all the way to King's Lynn to look for an Iceland Gull. We found it almost at once by the river, sitting glumly on a pile of mud with Herring Gulls, and looking bizarrely large alongside them.

Despite its bigness it's clearly an Iceland not a Glaucous, with that dainty head and bill. It's a first-winter, and it actually stood out a mile though that's not really obvious in this very grey photo.

We stuck around for a while and eventually were rewarded with flight views.

We then decided to head to Flitcham and the random rural spot where the Pallid Harrier had been reported from the day before. The lucky birder who'd seen it had been in a little bird hide attached to a farm. We found the farm and then the hide without trouble, but the view it offered wasn't too inspiring. It overlooked a small pool full of Teals, and a pair of Egyptian Geese stood guard nearby. We stayed about 10 minutes then left, intending to head east to Docking and a Rough-legged Buzzard.

We had just begun to drive down the lane, and I think I was checking my phone, when the two gents in the front of the car shouted 'Harrier!' and I looked up to see what was indeed a harrier, flying low over the road away from us and just ahead. We screeched to a halt and jumped out (though Chris then had to jump in again as, typically, a massive tractor picked that moment to appear). Nigel and I had the most amazing close view of the young Pallid flying directly over us, all ginger tummy, boa-ed neck and fabulous banded tail. It headed out over a field and luckily didn't vanish immediately but spent several minutes working along a hedgerow at the back of the field, allowing Chris (who'd managed to get the car off the road) to see it too.

Here's the little beauty. How I wish I could've got the camera on it when it was close, but this is better (miles better) than nothing, and I still can't quite believe how lucky we were to find it.

The field over which it hunted was full of Grey Partridges. And, scanning an adjacent field, I found a ringtail Hen Harrier (what a grey and lumpen bird it seemed after watching the Pallid!). Said field also contained a couple of hares.

The Pallid eventually moved on and so did we, though we stopped again very soon after to check out some mammals in a field, which the guys said were hares and then revised to Muntjacs.

Um, one more try, guys? They were four Roe does and they were not happy about being looked at so we left them to it.

From the hill at Docking we found a birder and under his directions a swirling kettle of five buzzards over a very distant copse. Scope views revealed that one of these five was a nice frosty-looking Rough-legged. Photos? You jest, surely!

Last pic, taken on the drive to Titchwell where we stopped for tea, is part of a massive flock of Pink-footed Geese. The Pinkfeet are so pivotal to the general winter vibe in north Norfolk - I'm sure the resident birders get used to them but it was wonderful to see and hear them everywhere.

And a little postscript - on the day I went back, Nigel went to Cley and saw something even more startling than our Pallid Harrier - a Red-rumped Swallow! 

A good day for LEOs

Not that I believe in astrology. But Friday was the day that I photographed my first Long-eared Owl so that makes it a good day for Taureans too. I met Phil at West Malling station, and we drove to Dungeness, stopping briefly at a KWT reserve called Quarry Wood, so Phil could meet the warden there and collect a key for the gate (it is very local to him and very underwatched). During the stop I noted a flock of 50+ Fieldfares, and made friends with the warden's very sweet terrier. And then on to Dunge. It was a beautiful day and we were keen to make the most of the few hours of daylight.

I warmed up my out-of-shape photography reflexes on this Carrion Crow, which flew over as we got out of the car.

Two pretty much identical views of the Long-eared Owl that's been here a while now. Its roosting spot is on the far side of the dipping pond. The shots are very cropped as you can't get close to it, but no doubt if it were possible to get closer then someone would've got too close by now and the owl would have left. It must feel safe enough to be roosting almost in plain view. As we watched it, a couple of Peregrines flew overhead but I was too slow to catch them on camera.

The views from the hide revealed the usual array of wildfowl. Actually, there were no Pintails. We found one Smew (no pics) and quite a few Goldeneyes though all were female-types. A Kingfisher showed very well in flight a few times. The water levels were super-high, hence no waders (except Lapwings).

We walked the full loop around the main reserve and didn't see very much - Marsh Harriers (distant), a solitary Stonechat, a Great White Egret at the back of Dengemarsh.

Driving back over to the ARC pit we found a slightly closer GWE, but the ARC itself was almost a no-bird-zone. We heard a couple of Cetti's on the short walk to the hide.

On to the beach. Here are a few Great Black-Backs and Herring Gulls, photographed while Phil tried and failed to purchase some plaice for his tea from the little fish shop by the lighthouse. Moments after this, a Weasel crossed the road, and then we found another when we walked around the Obs - but again no birds to speak of - my hopes for a Black Redstart round the back of the power station were not to be fulfilled.

One of several Pied Wagtails trotting along the power station perimeter wall. Also on this bit of path we met what we thought at first was a group of four birders heading back from the beach hide, but as they got closer we saw that while two of them were indeed birders, the other two were police officers carrying massive guns, though they greeted us with great friendliness. We asked the coppers if they'd seen any Caspian Gulls (they said no) and they asked us if we'd seen any terrorists (we said no). It was all very good-humoured, though quite scary to see their weaponry close-up.

Lots of shingle-shifting work is going on round here. I've put up a photo of a digger in the absence of any bird pics. Not too much was going on at sea, except for the 'patch' which was seething with gulls, but we decided to head to Hythe and look for Purple Sandpipers for the last bit of daylight rather than spend more time here.

At Hythe I was keen to check the strandline as I've been reading about interesting stuff washing up lately - goose barnacles and whatnot. But there wasn't a strandline - they have been combing and raking the shingle. I did find this tragic washed-up casualty though.

The first breakwater was bird-free but we went on to the next and found a few 'Purps' - five in all. The light was really gone by this point but I took a few pics anyway, they are such appealing birds.

Apologies for absence

Hello, folks, and sorry it's been an age. I've done a few trips lately, including a week in south-west Cornwall where due to a packing mishap I was sans camera, and a weekend Up North where I was sans camera on purpose, as the forecast was terrible. Then there has been another weekend Up North where I visited Woolston Eyes, and a day at Rainham, searching in vain for the Short-eared Owls that have been frequenting the area of late. Put those two together and there are just about enough photos to justify a post but be warned, it's very heavy on the ducks and very light on everything else.

So, Rainham first. This happened last Wednesday (18th), the day after a very grotty and stormy Tuesday. It was brighter on Wednesday but still windy, which meant the owls were not hunting. Shane and I leant into the wind and walked the loop anticlockwise, with a couple of extra bits in search of owls - along the river first thing, and then down to the Serin mound after doing most of the reserve loop.

In the shelter of the woodland, things were warm enough to encourage a Red Admiral to have a bask, here sharing space with a wasp.

A lot of vegetation has been cleared from in front of the Ken Barratt hide, and as we stepped inside we could see that even the closest islands were thronged with resting wildfowl - but they could see us too and the whole lot took off before we'd even had a chance to sit down. Here are some of the fliers - a pair of Gadwalls, and a trio of Wigeons. There were also Pintails and Shovelers. But even the more distant ducks cleared off, leaving us with just a Coot or two to look at.

We moved on, finding the Pintails on the next lake down. Here's a drake in horrible light and two females in rather nicer light. At the back of this lake a line of Black-tailed Godwits sat looking miserable, turned against the wind.

Lots of Teals from the tower hide. I spent most of my time here looking out of the other side, towards the marshes, and picked up a couple of distant Marsh Harriers but no owls (well, you already know that).

We exited the reserve at the gate near the dragonfly pools and turned right, following the trail to the Serin mound. From here we scanned the fields for a good while and enjoyed watching two Marsh Harriers, one a smart adult male.

Unusually, this female Stonechat was by herself - maybe yet to find a winter boyfriend or maybe something had happened to him. She didn't seem bothered either way.

The walk back didn't produce a lot. There were a couple of Common Seals on the far riverbank, a Curlew among the gulls on the foreshore. Here's a Magpie struggling to fly in a straight line.

The feeders were quite busy, with Goldfinches, Greenfinches, House Sparrows, Collared Doves and of course Starlings. Bit of a depth of field issue with this photo!

We decided to have a quick look at the Purfleet hide before heading off. There were ducks aplenty here, mainly Wigeons, and we managed to dig out a couple of Snipes too.

Mallards incoming.

And a rather endearing couple of Wigeons, who broke away from the main pack to come and have a snuggle on the nearest island.

And now on to Woolston. But actually first I'll just mention my first, camera-less weekend in the north-west, which was at the end of October. It rained. Lots. We went to RSPB Burton Mere on the Saturday and despite the rain found some nice birds, including a ringtail Hen Harrier. On the Sunday we visited Pennington Flash and had great views of Willow Tit from the Bunting hide. This time, it was just a couple of hours at Woolston on a sunny but bitterly cold day, and there wasn't a lot about but I took a few photos.

Oh look, it's a Willow Tit! This shoddy effort was the only pic I managed - the bird was coming and going to the feeding station by the hide but was just not very close and was totally hyperactive. Hopefully I'll have more luck next time...

One of two female Goldeneyes on the water.

Wader-wise there was little to see... a distant small flock of Golden Plovers went by and then there was this solitary Black-tailed Godwit, looking titchy alongside a pair of Canada Geese.

A pair of Gadwalls. No Wigeons or Pintails here.

Loads of Teals, however, including these three pretty close to the hide.

After our look around the reserve proper we wandered down to the weir, where we saw Tufted Ducks and a single Great Crested Grebe, and several Black-headed Gulls perched on the overhead wires. Also had flyover Fieldfares in the general area.

Life's been very busy and I've definitely lost the photography mojo a bit... but I am off to Norfolk in a couple of weeks for several days' birding - and with any luck may manage a trip to Dunge or somewhere else in Kent next week, so there should be more photos to show and more wildlife to witter on about in the near future :)

The Havergate hares

Blog readers may have noticed that I've been on the hunt for hares (both species) lately. And that it's not gone all that well in general. Two Saturdays ago there was quite the reversal in fortune when Lisa and I made a trip to Havergate Island, Suffolk.

This island lies in the Alde-Ore estuary and is very small and very low-lying. Indeed, it was pretty much totally inundated in the 2013 storm surges, and lost nearly all of its Brown Hares as a result. But the hares that survived have since been breeding like... lagomorphs, and numbers have recovered to close to what they were pre-flood (still fewer than 30 but that's a lot for a 1km2 island that's mostly lagoon).

We took the RSPB boat from Orford and landed at about 9.30am. We then had 4.5 hours to explore. The lagoons are looked over by hides, and from the first of these we saw a couple of Spoonbills along with a scattering of common wildfowl and waders. Keen to get on with hare-searching, we left the rest of the boat party and headed off towards the drier end of the island. Very soon we found our first hare, then second, then third. We'd been told that the hares were pretty confiding and it soon transpired that some of them are ridiculously confiding. One leveret in particular let us get within two metres and actually fell asleep as we watched - what an amazing experience. Here are some of my many, many hare pics.

As you can see, we had great weather as well as wonderfully well-behaved models.

There were plenty of birds to see too, especially Goldcrests (the east coast in general has had a hell of a lot of Goldcrests dumped on it lately).

Birdy pics. From the top, Goldcrest, Curlew, Kestrel, Little Egret, Meadow Pipit, Whimbrel, Reed Bunting.

The sun brought out some late insects, including this Common Darter and Small Copper. Also quite a lot of mosquitoes, which bit me.

Finally, a few from the boat back. Black-headed Gull, a VERY streaky Herring Gull, and some Avocets.