2009 Diary
10th July - The doldrums continue... an update on the SAL score from Mr Wills mean't that I was free from that chore for the afternoon, so I took a leisurely wander up to Fen Drayton for early evening. The summer-plumaged White-winged Black Tern found this morning was still present and showing well at times over Ferry Lagoon. My seventh White-winged Black in the UK, this was probably the closest to summer-plumage that I have seen one - with the bird showing just a few signs of moult around the head and mantle.
21st June - With the summer doldrums in full swing, news of a singing Marsh Warbler at Amwell seemed too good an opportunity to miss. A casual wander down there, and after a bit of a wait, the boy was in the bag. With patience it gave good views, but as usual with Marsh Warblers, just listening to it in full song was probably worth more than any views of the actual bird!
3rd June -Sat at work, news of a Pratincole at Dungeness immediately had my interest. Having not thought too much about the bird present at Pagham last week due to it seemingly firmed up as a Collared - I had cringed on Friday night when I finally saw photos of the bird. The online sceptics were right, and the bird did indeed appear to be an Oriental! Lo and behold, it had done a bunk come Saturday morning, and that appeared to be the end of that story. As the clock ticked away news came through that the Dunge bird had been identified, it was an Oriental Pratincole and it was still showing at 1:30pm. I ran through all the scenarios in my head, and decided that I needed just to go straight away - so making my excuses, I took my early finish two days early and blasted down to Dungeness. A quick walk up to Hookers and the Dengemarsh end and I joined a small group not seeing very much! The Pratincole had dropped down somewhere out on Dengemarsh a while before, and had yet to resurface. About forty minutes passed before suddenly the Pratincole was in the air and hawking over the pools in front of the hide; fortunately it dropped down onto one of the pools and spent the rest of the evening loafing on the small muddy islands. Generally rather inactive (as typical of Pratincoles), it occasionally took to the air and hawked back and forth in front of it's fawning audience. Taking my fill of the bird, I stayed until just before 7pm before heading off home. Several Marsh Harriers and a Hobby also entertained whilst the Pratincole displayed, whilst the drive home produced an adult Med Gull over the M20 and three Ring-necked Parakeets north of the Dartford Tunnel.
25th May - Visting relatives in Cambridge, I was conveniently close enough to Wicken Fen to call in for a look at the first-summer Squacco Heron on Baker's Fen. The bird was proving rather elusive as it frequently an area of ditches and juncus, but after about forty minutes, it finally emerged into view. Unfortunately despite being at no real distance, it proved rather difficult to get clear views of as it sat motionless hunkered in the vegetation.
This was my third Squacco Heron in as many years, though probably the least obliging of the three! Below is the way that Squacco's should behave, illustarted by the superb adult that was at Crossness in May/June 2007.
17th May - Having missed out on most of the 'fall' action (or what action there was!) of the last week, the weekend seemed pretty much mundane with not too much to get excited about! A night on the town in Ipswich meant that I was in a prime position on Sunday to pop down to Landguard where a small crowd was watching a singing male Melodious Warbler. Having only ever seen one Melody previously, and with this species being pretty rocking horse on the East Coast (to put this in context, Norfolk has only ever had three records of this species!) this bird was not to be sniffed at. Rather typically for a Hippo, it was pretty inactive, as it sat in a hawthorn bush. Less typically, it was sat motionless - but in view for it's fawning crowd for some 15-20 minutes! I left as the bird decided it had enough of it's temporary residence on the Icky (not today!) ridge and disappeared toward's the Customs House.
Putting the shoddy back in shoddy shots...
14th May - I spent the midweek checking local sites trying to cash in on some of the action that other inland sites were experiencing. All in all, it wasn't too bad! A Hawfinch in Hatfield Forest was unexpected, but not quite as much as the Black Tern over the car-park at work on Thursday morning. Most appreciated were the party of ten Avocets that pitched up at SAL on Wednesday evening. Probably one of the more predictable species missing from my local area list, so a good catch up bird, being the fourth record for the species at the Lagoons.
10th May - A quick afternoon dash down to Reculver Towers with Dave S to look for the Black-winged Pratincole present there. We eventually managed some very brief and somewhat distant views of the bird in flight, but not particularly fantastic! A male Marsh Harrier, calling Whimbrel, Little Gull and lots of Yellow Wagtails were also noted.
9th May - The annual May bird race with Mike was very good once again with 150 species on the score card! For the full report see: http://www.freewebs.com/randombirding2008/2009birdrace.htm.
1st May - My second suited and booted twitch of the week as I left work at half two and immediately headed southwards. Despite having to spend an extra hour in the car park that is the southbound M25, I eventually rolled up at the lighthouse at Dungeness at just after 5pm, where a small crowd on the roadside indicated I was in the right spot! Joining up with Colin Wills and a few others, it was only a few moments before our quarry jumped up and flew overhead - a Crested Lark! Ok not the most glamorous of birds it has to be said, but exceptionally rare in UK terms, with the only twitchable birds previous to this involving one at Dungeness in 1977 and one for three hours at Landguard in 1996. The bird had been reportedly extremely elusive and mobile over the previous two days, but it showed well on the deck on three occasions during the hour and a half I spent at the site, and was also seen in flight numerous times. Not quite in Collared Fly league, but good all the same!
29th April - Since the Steppe Grey Shrike last November, my twitching urges have been somewhat subdued - the recent Two-barred Crossbill in Yorkshire, and even the first truly twitchable UK Glacous-winged Gull both not stirring me into action. The recent White-throated Sparrow in Hampshire was too close to not warrant a jaunt, but it didn't really do all that much for me! Sometimes though, sometimes, something occurs where you just know you have to see the bird! It's rare, but it does happen and it happened today as I frantically left work and manically drove southwards on news that the male Collared Flycatcher was still present on Portland. Collared Flycatcher is a bird I have long wanted to see anywhere in the world, but especially in the UK. The fact that there has not been a properly twitchable bird on the English Mainland since the mid-1980's (those who saw the well attended Margate Cemetery bird might like to know that bird was present a couple of months before I was born!), and the annoying tendency for the species to only ever appear on Shetland, meant that the 200mile trip was not even given a second thought. Screaming into Weymouth just under three hours after leaving the Airport, I made my way onto Portland and to the village of Southwell where a throng of birders at the roadside gave away the location of the bird. Dumping the car at the roadside, I joined the throng and after what seemed like an eternity (well about ten minutes), my eyes focused on a flash of black and white betraying the presence of the bird as it flitted into the middle of a small apple bush. A serious tart of a bird, but simply stunning all the same! The bird had an obvious small feeding territory marked out and for the next couple of hours it gave exceptionally good views on and off. Quite simply UK bird of the century for me!
24th April - A late afternoon visit to Abberton. A few migrants were found between the causeways, most notably an Arctic Tern, two flyover Whimbrel, a party of eight Greenshanks, a Green Sandpiper and a few Yellow Wagtails.
20th April - A wander around after work with Dave S produced a Red Kite over Tednambury and three singing male Grasshopper Warblers on Thorley Wash.
13th April -Having been out of action for the whole Easter Weekend, I managed to somehow get myself down the M11/M25/M3 for dawn on Easter Monday, and arrived at Old Winchester Hill just prior to 07:30am. After a few seconds, the first-summer male White-throated Sparrow had shown well in the bushes by the car-park, and proceeded to show very well on and off over the next two hours. My first twitch of the year, and my first success. Let's hope it's not another four months until the next!
18th March - 5th April - COSTA RICA!!! More to follow.
13th March - A gloomy Friday afternoon at Abberton for another test of my new camera. Not much doing on the birding front, with a near-full summer-plumaged Slavonian Grebe from the Layer-de-la-Haye causeway the highlight. The usual array of wintering wildfowl were still present and the hybrid Red-crested Pochard x Mallard was still causing a trap for the unwary off the LDLH.
07th March - With my Costa Rica trip looming ever closer and the fact that I had not been birding for practically two months, I decided that I needed to get out for the day to make sure I wasn't too out of practice!
The plan for the day was to be in the Fens as dawn broke to look for Owls and other such delights, but my need for sleep saw that I wan't leaving home till it was already light! Heading up towards Ely, I stopped first at Pymoor for the obligatory Great White Egret dip. Onwards to the Washes and a scan from the railway bridge clocked 30 Bewick's Swans, 150 Whooper Swans and a female Goldeneye. Further on, another 300 Whoopers were noted near the suspension bridge along with two Little Egrets. The fields around the centre produced eight Grey Partridges, at least four Barn Owls (no sign of the dark-breasted bird!) and 20 Corn Buntings, whilst a couple of Tundra Bean Geese trailed along behind a flock of Greylags, and bizarre bird of the moment was a somewhat out of place-looking Brent Goose sat nonchalently on it's lonesome!
Heading up towards Kings Lynn, another Barn Owl was clocked near Gayton, before I headed for a quick scan of Roydon Common. No sign of the wintering Shrike, but a couple of Common Buzzards were noted, with Woodlarks singing and displaying all over the show.
Onwards to Dersingham, which was bound to be site of the day. The wintering Great Grey Shrike was immediately located and showing very well by the board-walk, seen catching and devouring a number of Newts! Several Woodlarks were singing, along with a pair of Stonechats and a singing *****. The whole site seemed to be sinking under the weight of Crossbills, as at least 40 birds were in view constantly. Scanning from the cliff-top with the rest of Norfolk produced no RLB, but at least six Common Buzzards, three Marsh Harriers and a couple of diaplaying Sparrowhawks were noted, along with my sixth Barn Owl of the day! Nearby, a singing male Firecrest proved good value.
Bored of waiting around for raptors, I decided to go and bore myself by staring at the sea off Hunstanton for a while. A Red-necked Grebe and a Slavonian Grebe in near complete summer-plumage justified the journey, but little else was noted with just a couple of Eider and a handful of Mergs on the calm sea.
After contemplating a drive along the coast, I decided instead to head back to the Dersingham area for a second stab at the Rough-legs. Seeing the car-park at Dersingham overflowing, and deciding I couldn't be doing with the horders, I drove further and parked up along the road at the western edge of the scissor roads. My position soon proved worthwhile as a ringtail Hen Harrier crossed through my 'scope view. Recollecting that the last RLB I had seen had been accompanied by a ringtail Hen, I pondered momentarily if this was some sort of positive omen. Scanning further to the left and that thought was instantly justified as a gorgeous juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard danced into view. Rough-legs have to be one of the best UK raptors, and this one was as good as they come - an absolutely stunning bird, and by far the palest one I have ever seen. Further watching and the second Rough-legged Buzzard was eventually located at greater distance over the sea-wall, with a second ringtail Hen Harrier and a female Marsh Harrier accompanying it. Closer to the road, a Peregrine buzzed overhead and a flock of 35 Brambling showed nicely.
With time moving on, I decided to head for home - opting to finish the day with a quick bash at Lakenheath. The wintering Great Grey Shrike was showing there on my arrival, before I headed out to the Wash to check the bathing gulls. A fourth-year Caspian Gull proved the highlight, although a couple of Yellow-legs were also observed. A fitting end to the day was provided by a flypast by the resident pair of Cranes, whilst a Water Rail squealed from cover.
04th January - A freezing cold morning and I headed for Abberton for dawn. A couple of Bitterns were proving unusually confiding as they fed out on the ice by the Layer Breton Causeway, whilst the Layer-de-la-haye came up trumps with a Slavonian Grebe, three Red-crested Pochards, drake Scaup and five extremely confiding Smew. A bonus Cattle Egret in the sheep fields near the Visitor Centre, and then off for a flock of 11 Waxwings near the Copdock Interchange. All in all, not a bad first proper outing in 2009!
Au revoir to 2008! It wasn't a bad year, despite my somewhat streamlined birding activities. Picking an overall highlight is always an impossible thing to do, though each of the ten new birds I saw during the year probably deserve a shot at the claim. The White-crowned Sparrow in January was a stunner, though the crowds were not overly enjoyable! Black Duck in March - good supporting cast! The top-notch male Little Crake in Devon in April, followed by the manic drive to Winterton later in the month for the Black Lark. Both simply mega! Spring finished with a singing bramble bush transforming into a River Warbler on Beachy Head in late May, and the next week everyone who wasn't a Tosser was at Dunwich enjoying the megaphone Sprosser. As the summer gave way to autumn, a fine grip-back of an Audouin's Gull had the pulse racing, whilst the autumn kicked off properly with the Flamborough Brown Shrike. Mega after mega in October eventually saw one that was obtainable - a confiding Green Heron in Kent, and finally the year kicked out with that somewhat obliging Steppe Grey Shrike in Lincolnshire. Maybe not a classic year but instantly memorable all the same!!!