Simeon's Birding Diary

Young Norfolk Birders

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Before you start judging my photos, note that they are all phone-scoped (or just taken with a phone)...just look at them from a distance!

November 

14/11/09

Quite a few raptors today. I had another driving lesson and the car decided to develop a loud clunking noise when I accelerated, so I wasn't driving irresponsibly when I saw Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and a Marsh Harrier (the latter of which was near King's Lynn)...I wasn't driving at all in fact, the instructor was...to the garage!

11/11/09

This morning a Sparrowhawk flew over the bus, but that was about it birdwise...it seems the fingers of winter are slowly stretching across the country, and hopefully there'll be plenty of wildfowl this year! I haven't seen a Smew in ages...

8/11/09

At Denver Sluice this morning I was surprised that there still weren't any Goosanders around, but I suppose it's not cold enough yet. There were several signs of winter though; 2 Whooper Swans flew South towards Welney, along with 165 Golden Plover. 2 Snipe were present and a huge finch flock numbering over 100 birds contained mostly Linnet, with a few Goldfinch, Yellowhammer and a couple of Reed Buntings. They fed in the stubble fields along with quite a number of Skylarks. On the river there were 3 Tufted Ducks (2 males), 2 Little Grebes and a Water Rail called a few times - the first of the winter.

A few Fiedlfares flew over and on the way back a Marsh Tit and Bullfinch called near the railway crossing, where 2 Siskins flew over.

In the garden early afternoon there were 2 Nuthatches on the Peanuts, and 2 Goldcrests showed nicely in the pear tree. I caught a brief glimpse of a male Blackcap before it shot over the wall too.

In the afternoon Nigel took me around a local estate which I will be surveying over the next 12 months. The place is an extensice garden in the nearby village of Stow Bardolph and has some excellent habitat. On the tour round we noted at least 3 Nuthatches, many Redwings and Fieldfares, and Kestrel

7/11/09

On my first driving lesson (which went surprisingly well) a nice male Kestrel flew over some fields and landed in a nearby tree, but don't worry, we were parked in a layby at the time...I wouldn't dream of birding whilst driving!

Back at home another Kestrel flew over the house and landed on the church, before moving on.

5/11/09

4 Swans flew South over the house this morning and two flocks (4 and 5) totalling 9 birds flew South over Denver Sluice yesterday too, so it would appear that they are starting to congregate on the washes. Although I couldn't see what species they were, they looked majestic against the rising dawn.

I also flushed a Green Woodpecker from the pear tree in the garden and there are several Blackbirds beginning to "clear up" the various fruits... I've noticed that they seem to prefer the grapes round the back, and have seen upwards of 5 birds at a time feasting on them - hopefully they'll soon start on the apples!

3/11/09

A Yellowhammer called as it flew over the garden this morning; a surprisingly scarce bird from the house. A Little Grebe on the way to school was in an area I haven't seen them before, and was a nice bird to start the day. A Siskin flew over the playing field and hundreds of Gulls went over after school too, heading to roost.

October 

31/10/09

A visit to Denver Sluice this morning started off dry, but the rain soon hit, and didn't stop for more than two hours, by which time I was home... There were a few Redwings and Blackbirds about, but no real numbers on the ground. A Robin with a subtly different call suggested it might be of continental origins. On the river there were 3 Little Grebes, 11 Great-Crested Grebes, and a flock of 18 Canada and 2 Greylag Geese. It was good to see 2 Wigeon as well, and hopefully it will be a nice cold winter to provide plenty of wildfowl interest...there still weren't any Goosander, despite numerous reports of them from the caost already.

Whilst standing in the rain wondering what to do, a Marsh Harrier flew past being mobbed by Lapwing - it looked quite sorry for itself as it disappeared in the rain and mist towards the North! A group of about 200 Lapwings flew up from the fields the other side of the River Ouse, and a couple of other flocks flying over later on totalled a further 100. A couple of Song Thrush dropped in and I decided I had had enough so I turned back. The final decent birds were a 2 Snipe which flew up from the stubble fields in between the two main rivers.

29/10/09

I was delighted this morning when I looked out of the window and saw 3 Bramblings in the apple tree in our garden! Brilliant little birds, and they really have that Autumn feel about them!

28/10/09

2 Redpolls flew over the house again this morning, so I think there could be a pair wintering in the area. 2 Skylarks went South and a small group of Redwings contained a Fieldfare too.

Malcom picked me up just before 10am and we headed south towards the Brown Shrike in Surrey. It was a long drive with major delays on the M25, but we eventually reached the site to find a muddy footpath - a sure sign of a mass twitch! We emerged in a large meadow and as expected few people were present! Sure enough though, after a few minutes, the Brown Shrike flew up to the top of a bush and showed very well! We were joined by one or two other birders and soon decided to cross the river to try and get better views of the bird. Once we were on the other side we waited, and the bird came much closer to us, showing brilliantly on a bush not 40 yards away! It then flew to the top of a nearby exposed twig and posed nicely for some cracking shots! (Thanks to Malcom for letting me use his scope for the photos!)

I texted James to let him know we'd seen it and shortly afterwards, I heard a strange call. It was like a cross between Greenfinch and Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker, only it carried quite a way. I looked up and was pleased to see a group of 4 Ring-Necked Parakeets flying over! This was, perhaps surprisingly, another new bird for me so I was overjoyed! 2 new birds already! But the game wasn't over yet... On the way out of Stanwell Moor we saw a group of 3-4 Redpolls and a Cetti's Warbler was singing from a small reedbed. After getting some rather confusing directions from a local, we headed to Staines Reservoirs in order to try and secure a final bird that I have waited so long for! It is perhaps the most common bird not on my list, so it was with determination that we stepped onto the causeway as the sun was beginning to set to the West of London. We first scanned the Northern Reservoir, seeing at least 8 Great Crested Grebes and a Grey Heron, but they weren't what I was after. Simultaneously turning our attention to the Southern Reservoir we continued scanning...I spotted a small grebe on the far side of the water but it turned out to be a Little Grebe, which was a bit too small...Finally I spotted another bird near a male Mallard. It was obvious that it was another grebe, but it was a lot whiter on the face and flanks than the Dabchick we had just seen, and slightly larger...looking through Malcom's (much better) scope, I confirmed it as a Black-Necked Grebe and was thrilled to have at last ticked it off! It was right on the far side of the reservoir, so the views weren't that amazing, but were enough to be able to identify it!

It had been an amazing day, and made up for the lost cause that was Sunday (which will never be spoken of again)! I had seen 3 new birds, which is the most I've had for a long time!

27/10/09

A cracking day today. After going bowling last night, 3 mates stayed round and I woke up not expecting to see anything special. A Nuthatch was in the apple tree and whilst outside a huge flock of Redwing flew over - about 200 birds! On checking BirdGuides it was clear that there was some movement in progress with several Ring Ouzels reported. A walk to the playing field wasn't a birding trip at all, but 2 Redpolls flew over the road on the way up! More thrushes piled over and with the open space we could see more. We estimated 450 Redwings south in total plus my first Fieldfares of the Autumn - about 20 birds in with some Redwings. A Grey Wagtail also flew over, which was a decent record away from Denver Sluice, and a Meadow Pipit flew over the house later on.

Looking on the internet again, we planned our main trip of the day - to a Red-Rumped Swallow only half an hour from us. The bird had been present all day and seemed to be easy to connect with, so we went for it, arriving mid-afternoon, although the sun was already setting! Just as we entered the village I spotted a hurindine circling over some houses and as we entered Silver Street and got out of the car, the bird was simply circling above us! It was the Red-Rumped Swallow! Fantastic! The bird was a little high, but it was feeding well and turned several times, showing its very pale rump to the assembled observers. We were able to note a slight orange-tinge to the face, and the black undertail feathers were obvious (they are white on Barn Swallow). The tail streamers were present, but weren't very long, and gave the impression of the bird appearing not too dis-similar to a House Martin in flight. It was a brilliant end to a brilliant day!

26/10/09

A male Blackcap was eating grapes in the back garden this morning and a large tit flock moved through, containing at least 3 Goldcrests. A small group of finches flew over just before lunch. There were 7 birds in the flock, mainly Goldfinches, but also at least 1 Siskin.  

25/10/09

Went to Durham today. The scenery was nice. Bit windy. Enough said. 

23/10/09

4 Swans flying over the main road near Salter's Lode this afternoon were surprisingly Mute (no pun or rhyme intended!)...a flock of Lapwings consisted of about 25 birds nearby.

Meanwhile a British First has appeared in Durham - Eastern Crowned Warbler!!! 

22/10/09

A Grey Heron flew low over the house this morning and a lone Tufted Duck looked quite despondent in the low cloud on the river at Downham Market.

20/10/09

A Common Buzzard was flushed from a field near Nordelph as our bus drove past this morning. It was quite a well marked individual with paler upperparts than normal.

17/10/09

A trip up to the coast this morning started at Holme at first light. There were quite a few people present, and coming down the access track we were in the middle of a 6 car convoy! Anyone would have thought a mega had been found!

Seawatching for about 3.5 hours was very productive, with the best birds being 3 Pomarine Skuas, a Velvet Scoter, a cracking summer plumaged Great Northern Diver, and 24 Razorbill. Other wildfowl in evidence were over 100 Brent Geese, 2 Pintail, 3 Goldeneye, 4 Shelduck, 8 Wigeon, 109 Common Scoter, and 12 Eider. Quite a few Red-Breasted Mergansers were moving, and the combined total was 24 - I probably saw about half this amount though! I missed 9 Goosander unfortunately, but the fact that they were seen means that they will soon be arriving at Denver Sluice! Other birds seen were 7 Red-Throated Divers, 6 Great-Crested Grebes, over 100 Gannets, 25 Great Skuas, 5 Arctic Skuas, 2 Sandwich Terns, 2 Shearwater sp., 6 Little Gulls and 43 Kittiwakes. 19 Pinkfeet also came in off the sea. The Great Northern Diver was brilliant, as it flew East just beyond the surf and was a beautiful bird!

After this Connor and I split up to cover the pines, him doing the South side and I doing the North. After no more than 30m and 2 Robins later, I got a call from him, alerting me to the fact that there was a Yellow-Browed Warbler in the NWT carpark. I headed straight there and met Connor, who had just had a female Firecrest in the pines! It was surprisingly hard to see the warbler, despite it being in just 2 sycamores. After a while the Yellow-Browed Warbler showed well, and called a few times. I then played the call on my phone and it responeded amazingly, coming out and showing on an exposed branch for about 10 seconds! It then flew back into the canopy and we turned to admire a huge flock of Starlings that had errupted from the marsh. There must have been at least 1000 birds and as they were settling again, I noticed another bird which at first looked like an odd wader in flight. I alerted Connor and Chris Mills and we soon identified it as a Little Auk! It flew west and we quickly alerted others, but thankfully it came back round and circled the carpark right over our heads, no more than 30m away! It was a stunning bird - the best views I've ever had of this species! The day was going well, and I headed back to the observatory to see if I could get any views of the elusive Bramblings which we had heard earlier. Unfortunately they remained elusive, but I saw one drop into the pines, and there were about another 5 birds present. There were also many Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Chaffinch around the feeders.

7 Snipe flew through East and 2 Buzzards and a Marsh Harrier were noted, but after lunch we headed East towards West Runton. On arrival here we joined with a group of five birders and combed the field, spreading out and walking in a line through the stubble. After a while groups of Skylarks flew up and we soon spotted the Short-Toed Lark with them! The first few views were poor, but eventually we gained decent flight views, noting the wingbars and overall sandy colour of the bird. It was also a lot smaller than the Skylarks. I didn't really approve of this method of seeing the bird, so it was fortunate that when the bird was flushed again, it landed about 30m away from me. Thankfully it landed in the exact same furrow that I was standing in and I gained decent views of it on the ground before Connor and Billy joined me. We set up the scopes and the bird hopped into the stubble, only to hop across the furrow again and into one just to the left. We all got fairly decent scope views of the bird on the ground, and were able to note the tell-tale features; lack of prominent streaking on the underparts, sandy colour, and larger bill. It was great to have been so lucky as to see it on the ground, as many people only got flight views of this bird. It was a lifer for Connor, Billy and I, so we all left the site pleased.

The next stop was Muckleburgh Hill where we met with John Furse, but there were very few birds around. A few Robins, Blackbirds, 2 Song Thrushes and 2 Chiffchaffs were the only migrants we could find. There were also 3 Goldcrests with one of the two tit flocks on the hill. The last stop of the day was Cley beach car park, where we had a brief seawatch with Penny Clarke, but this was also fairly uneventful, with 3 Red-Throated Divers being the only highlights.

It had been a brilliant day and it was great to get out to the coast again!

15/10/09

It's still all happening on the coast at the moment, with a Paddyfield Warbler new at Snettisham Coastal Park early afternoon. I can't wait to get out at the weekend!

Coming home this evening after staying late at school a huge flock of over 1000 Starling headed South down the River Ouse at King's Lynn. A brilliant spectacle.

14/10/09

A flock of about 70 Starlings heading south-west over the sluice this morning was shadowed by a huge flock of over 700 birds heading south-west near Outwell in the afternoon. Big things happening at the moment, lets hope it still is at the weekend!

12/10/09

Finches still going over this morning, but interestingly they were heading North. Only a few Greenfinch and Goldfinch though, and the numbers didn't reach double-figures on either species. Redwings moving about too, but in no real direction, just deciding which orchard to plunder next...

On the way back from school a raptor flew over a wood, and I'm pretty sure it was a male Hen Harrier, but something just didn't seem right about it... 

A Tawny Owl called a couple of times at around 9pm, but didn't sound as close as it did a few nights ago.

Edit: After I turned off the computer the Tawny Owl came closer and called from the top of the pine tree just outside my bedroom window! Very loud...and exhilerating!

11/10/09

It took me ages to decide what to do today, but I thought last night so I didn't waste birding time! I could either go to the coast, but would end up getting there as late as 1pm. This would have the advantage of me not being too tired, but I always find morning is best, unless there was to be an afternoon arrival. The other option was to go out early to Denver Sluice and do a "vis-mig" watch.

I eventually decided to save a coastal trip until I can get a lot more out of it, so at 4am this morning the alarm went off. 2 hours later (I kid you not!) I got up and headed off to Denver Sluice, arriving for first light. I also decided (at 4 in the morning) that I couldn't be bothered to get there that early, as Redwings would probably be the only things I heard...

Anyway, I arrived at the sluice and the first birds were some Pied Wagtails that came out of their roost in the reeds. I only started counting after a while, but there were more than 100 birds in the roost! Very impressive. 3 Grey Wagtails also came out and lined themselves up nicely for me to have a good glare at. Then it was onto the migrants.

A few Meadow Pipits were going over with some more Pied Wagtails at first, but then more species joined the list. Greenfinches and Goldfinches were going over in small numbers, along with Linnets, Skylarks and Reed Buntings. 2 Grey Wagtails headed south and a nice surprise came in the form of a group of 3 Snipe, then another 2, then a single. Small groups of Lapwings were moving too. Thrushes were going south in good numbers, and Redwing counts reached over 100. Sure, it wouldn't look that impressive as a coastal observation, but inland it was a welcome sight.

By far the best bird of the day appeared when I looked to the East at around half eight. I saw what I presumed were 3 corvids, but on closer inspection one of the birds was a raptor. It was being mobbed by two Carrion Crows and as I got it in the scope I confirmed it as a ringtail Hen Harrier! Fantastic! A new bird for the patch! It headed strongly South and I lost it to view as it carried on its migration...I wonder where it will stop...

Vis-mig totals for the 2.5 hours (7am-9:30am) were;

Greenfinch 32 S, Goldfinch 7 S  1 N, Reed Bunting 5 N, Lapwing 11 S, Snipe 6 S, Hen Harrier 1 S, Meadow Pipit 23 S, Redwing 109 S, Song Thrush 18 S, Linnet 3 S, Skylark 8 S, Pied Wagtail 19 S, Grey Wagtail 2 S, Starling 17 S, Chaffinch 1 S, Blackbird 1 S.

It was interesting to note that I saw only 1 Chaffinch, as this has perhaps been the most numerous finch on the coast. I also counted only 17 Starlings, whereas a friend recorded over 4000 yesterday at Holme! Birds were using the area as a staging post on their migration. Song Thrushes and Redwings were dropping in and then continuing on their journey after a short feed. The Blackbird was flushed from a patch of bushes, and then gained height and went strongly south.

The only birds of note on the rivers apart from Great-Crested Grebes were a flock of Geese containing 16 Canada and 2 Greylag.

It was a brilliant day, and great to be able to get all these migrants so close to home. It will be interesting to see whats arrived by the end of this coming week, as light North-Easterlies are predicted with a high pressure in Scandanavia...I can't wait for next weekend!

10/10/09

Well at last! Autumn is finally here! With some South-East winds yesterday and fair conditions up in Scandanavia, it seems a few birds were encouraged to make the move. I stayed up deliberately last night, but despite poking my head out of the window at midnight for a while, I heard no Redwings. A Tawny Owl was calling though.

On waking up this morning I looked out of the window to see a whole host of birds on or around the feeders, including; 4 Dunnocks, 2 Coal Tits, 4 Blue Tits, 2 Great Tits, and 3 Chaffinches. I went round and looked out the back of the house, where there was plenty of Blackbird activity. The numbers had increased slightly since yesterday and I noticed a few continental birds amongst the 20 or so birds present. Needless to say there was plenty of squabbling as new birds arrived in residents territories. A few Song Thrushes were also about and a Goldcrest fed in the tops of trees. A few finches were moving overhead; mostly Chaffinches.

Suddenly I heard a drawn out "tseeeet" which I instantly recognised as Redwing! It called again and I saw it in the same tree as the Goldcrest. Suddenly out of no-where about 20 more Redwings plummeted out of the sky and into this tree! Brilliant! I dashed back into the bedroom and grabbed my bins, before returning to get a better look at the group. After only a few seconds view of an obliging individual, the whole flock took off and I counted 23 Redwings in total! To top it all off, a Lapwing flew high over, going South - definately a migrant. What an amazing morning, and I didnt even have to leave the house!

10:20am update: 10 more Redwings just flew South over the house. It's all happening!

1:30pm update: A trip to Wissington where a walk along the river yielded 3 Marsh Tits and flocks of 28, 9 and a few single Redwings, mostly heading South. Also south were 4 Skylarks, 2 Meadow Pipits, and 25 Lapwings.

More than 100 Teal were on a reservoir along with 6 Snipe, 2 Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper.

7/10/09

Walking out of the house this morning I flushed nearly 10 Blackbirds and at least 5 Song Thrush from the garden. Thrush activity certainly on the increase of late...a promising sign. Also on the way home from school 8 Golden Plover flying over fields near Downham Market.

5/10/09

2 flocks totalling about 40 Golden Plover over fields near Denver Sluice on the way to school this morning.

3/10/09

What's happened to Autumn eh? September passed me by without much of a bang. Alright, I suppose Sabine's Gull, Balearic Shearwater, 2 Honey Buzzards and a Pallid Harrier is pretty good, but it didn't feel amazing! There weren't any sizeable falls or big exciting arrivals, and working the dunes seemed relentless, a bit pointless...I didnt even get a Pied Fly!

Theres a couple of short bursts of strong North-Westerlies predicted in the next week, but thats not going to do the trick. What we need is a nice prolonged period of North-Easterlies with some showers!

September

27/9/09

Finally got out today and was at Denver Sluice just after 7am. It was nice to be here again and I should hopefully be covering it a lot more in the Autumn and Winter months. Unfortunately as I arrived mist was covering the whole area and I couldnt see more than 30 yards, so I decided to adopt a new tactic, one that I may stick to in future, even if it's clear; I walked right along the hedgerows and actively looked for birds rather than half-heartedly waiting until a call or song caught my attention.

Needless to say, I didn't see much. I heard a bit more than I saw, but numbers weren't particularly high as the recent weather conditions havent exactly been favourable for any large arrival of migrants... There were about 20 Robins present, but they were probably all residents! I counted 15 Meadow Pipits going South (one later flew over the house), and a few more Song Thrushes. Still no Redwings.

2 Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff made up the warbler counts (impressive, i know). The rivers were far more impressive. They were only viewable really after about 9am, but there were still a few birds to be had. A Kingfisher flew past, and a high count of 17 Great Crested Grebes equalled the site record (which was set last winter) and 3 Tufted Ducks were amongst them. I counted about 10 Mallards, so they're all probably resident, but a Little Grebe was a nice bird.

On the Ouse itself an area of exposed muc right in the middle of the river helf 3 Black-Headed Gulls, 2 Egyptian Geese and 3 Common Gulls...well it looked cool at least! It wasn't hard to imagine somthing like a Spotted Sandpiper asleep on it!

Anyway, back to reality. The reality was, there wasn't much happening! A Grey Heron was fishing along the Ouse relief channel and a few Yellowhammers and Linnets mixed with a couple of Greenfinches and Reed Buntings in a large bush.

Just as I was walking back along the bank I looked up and six swans were flying towards me. Quickly getting them in my bins I noticed they had yellow bills! A couple more seconds of decent views as they flew right past me confirmed their identification as Whoopers! Fantastic! Finally the first real migrants had arrived! It was great to see them as they curled round and then headed back from the direction they had appeared from. New in from Iceland? I like to think so!

Cycling back a group of birds flew down and landed in a tree out of sight. They looked like small Thrushes and I thought I heard a Redwing call. Couod they have been Redwings? I never found out, but I'm sure there'll be plenty more as the Autumn progresses!

23/9/09

No birding trips over the weekend unfortunately, so not much to write about. Doesn't look like I missed much though...

A few hurindines have been moving through and there's been more Song Thrush activity in the neighbourhood (does anyone use that word anymore?!) recently, with at least 5 birds seen yesterday. A few gulls went over this morning too, but only Black-Headed from what I could see.

20/9/09

Emptied the moth trap this morning and still havent IDed all the moths! Will send pictures to a more knowledgeable friend and include any highlights at a later date - if there are any!

Nice Autumn feel to the morning when I got out just after 7am. Grey cloud and a bit of light drizzle, but unfortunately the wind was coming from the Western quarter, which is where it is forecast to remain for another week or more.

Wake me up when September ends...

19/9/09

I think a Grey Wagtail just went over...

I also just remembered to put the moth trap out in time, and still had to set it up in the dark! But hey, it's not yet 9pm, so we're all good...

18/9/09

Apologies for lack of reports recently. I've been very busy at school, I'm still feeling ill (Swine Flu knowing my luck!) and I also haven't seen many birds.

2 probable Tree Pipits over the house a few days ago were just about the only birds of note, and they weren't even confirmed! Can't wait to get out on the coast again!

Dare I mention the Tufted Puffin in Kent...?

13/9/09

It was the NOA cricket match today and we did a lot better than last year, only losing by 60 runs this time. I got 15 runs not out in the first innings but the second innings was a much poorer show with wickets being taken at a much quicker rate. It was great fun though, and good to meet up with people again!

Along the coast it appeared we had missed a decent seawatch, but the rest of the week still looks good! 

12/9/09

It was James' last weekend at home before he goes to France and then uni. We decided to use it well and grilled Burnham Overy Dunes for 9 hours! On arrival a couple of Chiffchaffs were in a tit flock and 2 Wheatears were in the dunes near Gun Hill. Apart from this passerines were very thin on the ground so we turned our attention to the sea. James quickly picked up a gull heading East and I cinfiirmed it's ID as a Sabine's Gull, but James has since had doubts... I noted the very dark area on the wings and back, not bordered by any black marking, but with the black leading-edge to the primaries. There were loads of Kittiwakes and Gannets passing through. I made a brief attempt at counting the latter species and ended on over 150 in about half an hour! I picked up a Shearwater at less than half distance and after a frustrating wait, James got onto it, by which time I had had decent enough views to see that the undertail was a brownish colour, confirming my suspicions that the bird was a Balearic Shearwater! The bird headed quickly East and after a while we headed off. James also saw 6 Arctic Skuas and 2 Manx Shearwaters. As James headed back to the tidal creeks to search for an unusual wader he had found (and lost) earlier, I carried on through the dunes to the West end of Holkham Pines. Connor had had 2 Pied Flycatchers near here earlier in the morning and despite nearly 2 hours searching, I couldn't relocate any. This seemed to be the case all along the coast, with birds being seen early morning and then not again since!

A few migrants were in the bushes, but nothing to get the heart racing; totals of 4 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Whitthroats, 2 Stonechat, 3 Blackcaps, and 3 Chiffchaffs. In the pines it was nice to see a Treecreeper and a Nuthatch with another tit flock.

I met James back along the Norfolk Coastal Path and we sat on a bench contemplating what to do next. A Marsh Harrier flew high East - probably a migrating bird. Just as we were about to leave I spotted another raptor above us. Getting it in the scope we confirmed it as a female Honey Buzzard! Brilliant! Overhead passage had been best in the morning with a group of 4 Grey Wagtails over, and Yellow Wagtails in small numbers too. Meadow Pipits got well into double figures, but we weren't really counting them...

With some time on our hands we decided to drop into Holme. 3 Snipe and a Green Sandpiper showed well on Redwell Marsh, but no other birds were of particular note. A short seawtatch was fruitless as the wind had dropped completely and the sea was amazingly glassy. It was the calmest I'd ever seen it! It was easy to pick out a group of a few hundred Common Scoter and a few Eider near the shore, but nothing was moving.

It had been a great day with some respectable finds and wonderful weather!

8/9/09

Tawny Owl calling near the house just before 8pm this evening. The bird was also calling last night. Also plenty of hurindines passage with Swallows and House Martins going over in an almost constant stream between 7pm and 8pm this evening.

7/9/09

An after-school trip to the Haddenham area in Cambridgeshire came up with the goods in the form of the 3cy male Pallid Harrier. Unfortunately it was rather distant, but it was a beautiful bird, and another lifer! It flew East, and we lost it to view over a river bank. There was also a Wheatear in a nearby field and 3 Yellow Wagtails flying around.

6/9/09

Whilst playing cricket in the garden I noticed a large raptor flying towards us being mobbed by Jackdaws. I sprinted indoors and grabbed James' and my bins. I got out just in time, but the bird was unfortunately more distant. Nevertheless we were still confident in it's ID as a pale phase Honey Buzzard! Fantastic! And a brilliant bird for the house list! We last saw it as it disappeared behind some tress heading South-West.

5/9/09

An early start saw Connor, Billy and I seawatching from the dunes at Holme from 6:30am. Quite a few Gannets were moving on the rough sea, along with only a very few Manx Shearwaters. A few distant Fulmars provided confusion. It wasn't long before the first skuas came through; first was a close group of 5 Great Skuas! Shortly afterwards a group of Arctic's, totalling 7 birds, bombed through West too. They weren't even bothering to harrass any Terns most of the time.

Billy left after an hour and we were joined by Jed, Sophie and Ray. A few Great Crested Grebes passed, along with the first Red-Throated Divers of the Autumn. An Auk sp. bombed past, unfortunately tooo fast for it to be identified! A sign that winter isn't far away came in the form of ducks. In total, 3 Shelduck, 3 Wigeon, 33 Teal, 9 Eider, and 359 Common Scoter were either moving through or were sitting on the sea.

The wind dropped a little shortly after 9am and immediately Tern passage picked up. The highlights sounded something like this; "Black Tern....another to the right of that...another 2 just to the right of that..."! There was an almost constant stream of Black Terns moving slowly through. In the end I had 20 birds (Ray had another 2 later on)! This is amazing, considering that beforehand, I had only ever seen about 10!

Totals for my seawatch, which lasted about 6 hours, included;

3 Shelduck

3 Wigeon

33 Teal

9 Eider

359 Common Scoter

4 Red-Throated Divers

9 Great Crested Grebes

16 Fulmars

6 Manx Shearwaters

240 Gannets

28 Arctic Skuas

49 Great Skuas

123 Sandwich Terns

11 Common Terns

16 Arctic Terns

20 Black Terns

For the combined totals of everyones birds, see the observatory's website;

http://norfolkornithologistsassociation.pbworks.com/

On the land, there were very few birds of interest unfortunately. A Wheatear was in the dunes and a Willow Warbler, a Blackcap and a Whitethroat were in the Forestry.

4/9/09

After a short sixth-form induction day at school (what a pointless waste of time!) I went home with Connor. A quick change of clothing (I wasn't going to be seen seawatching in a suit!) and we headed out. First stop was the East Bank at Cley where an Ortolan Bunting had been found earlier. Thankfully not many people were present! With only 10 people there, the viewing was difficult enough for those at the back! There was a Reed Bunting on the path and a Weasel often running across, which worried everyone a little! The rain picked up again, along with the wind, and soon we were all soaked through! A couple were walking from the other direction and flushed out another Reed Bunting and the Ortolan Bunting from their grassy cover. They fed on the path for a while, but it was difficult to get decent views, as the wind was constantly shaking the scope! It was a very nice bird nonetheless and was still present when we left.

We then headed to the Coastguards and did a short seawatch. A few skuas were moving along with the normal Gannets and Fulmars. 2 Black Terns came past (Connor had 4), showing brilliantly, just along the tideline. There were also a few Manx Shearwaters.

3/9/09

A notable passage of Hurindines over the house today with at least 40 House Martins/Swallows together in a flock. An afternoon visit to Welney produced Sand Martin, 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Yellow Wagtails, a Ringed Plover and 2 Little Ringed Plovers. Back at the visitor centre a smart Hobby was chasing Hurindines, and some young Swallows were very approachable, as James found out when he took this picture! He managed to get within inches of the bird!!!

On the way home a single Whooper Swan was grazing in a field... surely it can't be the first migrant?

2/9/09

So here we are, in September. This is what we've all been waiting for... Isn't it? No. It's all wrong. The winds are coming firmly (very, very firmly) from the West. If we don't see any Northerlies soon, Scandanavian passerines will start filtering down through the continent instead of coming across the North Sea. And we can't have that now, can we?!

Thankfully some North-Westerly gales are predicted in the next couple of days, so seawatching should hopefully come into its own once more! With the winds originating from the Northern areas of Norway, we could see the first decent arrival of passerines too.

A group of over 70 House Martins were over King's Lynn yesterday, purposefully heading East. Or were they just being helplessly blown by the wind?

August

30/8/09

We finished our trip to Connor's with a visit to the Montagu's Harriers. After a short wait the juvenile appeared and performed brilliantly, flying low along the hedgeline towards us and then circling straight over our heads! It also showed occasionally on the ground. It was a brilliant opportunity to get used to the new binoculars.

Other birds present were 5 Buzzards, 3 Marsh Harriers and a Kestrel.

29/8/09

Last night some news came out about seawatching beginning to pick up with good numbers of Manx Shearwaters past Sheringham. We decided to stick with Holme and rose early, staring at the sea from 7:10. First was a Fulmar, then a couple of Gannets, then an Arctic Skua... After a while I spotted the first few Manxies way off to the East. Another few were spotted straight out and within half an hour we had had 8 birds. Ray Roche arrived along with Jed and Sophie. A Bonxie went past at half distance in good light. A beautiful bird. More Manx were picked up going West. They seemed to be in groups, hitting the coast just West of Titchwell and moving towards the Wash. The groups started increasing in size and after sveral groups of over 10 birds, the thrill faded somewhat. Nevertheless, I spotted a group in the fourth hour of the seawatch (!) that contained 21 birds! More Gannets were moving now, along with a few Fulmars. James and I went into the pines to pin down an odd sounding Chiffchaff, which turned out to be just that; an odd sounding Chiffchaff! We missed 4 Black Terns and another Arctic Skua, but weren't too fussed. After more seawatching we eventually returned for lunch. The totals included; 138 Manx Shearwater (plus another 2 that Ray saw in the afternoon), 150 Gannets, 33 Fulmars, 4 Black Terns, 5 Arctic Skua and 1 Great Skua.

Passerines seemed to be in the same order as yesterday, with a Yellow Wagtail over the observatory, a Turtle Dove in the Forestry, along with a few Whitethroats, Blackcaps and the odd Chiffchaff. The three Wheatears were still there, and a Tree Pipit made a brief appearance for Connor before flying West. More Greenshank, Whimbrel and a Siskin flew over, and a Tawny Owl in the pines showed brilliantly. The bird flew flew the trees with such gracefulness, alighting on a branch not more than 10 metres from where were were standing. It then glared at us for a few seconds before turning round and gliding back into the woods once more! Fantastic! It was smiles all round!

Back at Connors house a Grey Wagtail flew over, one of my first this Autumn.

28/8/09

Connor invited us round for a few days so we could all "hunt for migrants" etc. Due to the winds being firmly in the West, it was more a case of "practice bush-kicking for when the migrants come". Before anyone gets on the phone to report me as a racist, we were searching for migrants more along the line of Pied Flycatcher, although coincidentally, the topic of IDing African Collared Dove did come up!

The first day James and I met Connor at Holme late morning, after checking Redwell Marsh, which produced 7 Snipe, 1 Black-Tailed Godwit, 2 Green Sandpipers and a few Teal. A Swift flew over the hide, along with 2 Yellow Wagtails and a fair few hurindines. A Water Vole swam across the stream as we were leaving.

The Forestry produced a few common warblers in the rain, but nothing else. Just beore a particularly heavy shower, James saw 3 Wheatears come in over the dunes. Meeting up with Connor we had the odd Greenshank and Whimbrel over the pines, before heading home via Redwell where there were 3 different Black-Tailed Godwits and a Turtle Dove.

27/8/09

A big day for me today. I collected my GCSE results from school (3 A*'s, 5 A's and a B), but arguably more importantly, I purchased a new pair of binoculars! Thanks to Richard Campey who we met in Poland (and at the Birdfair for that matter) I was lucky enough to get a discount on what I realised was only my second pair ever! I decided on some Opticron Oregons 8x42 at the brilliant price of £50! They were so much better than my last pair (which I now have no idea what to do with...) and I felt I was now at a much better advantage! The image was nice and sharp once more (not that it was particularly blurred on my other pair, but I can't really think of anything to say). They're just a fantastic pair of "bins" and look better every time I look through them!

When we got home, a Siskin flew over the house calling.

24/8/09

A short holiday to Wales was decided by our mum, so we had no option but to go. We hadn't even brought our 'scopes so were at a bit of a disadvantage when it came to seawatching... The tradition of it turning into an annual Monopoly tournament continued along with the rain!

On the last day James and I decided to check a small flood which really ought to have had a rare wader on it by now. It's just one of those pools that looks so cool! In fact, we never got to the pool, and decided instead to shelter from the rain in a small wood next to a campsite. This place in turn looked amazing! It had several paths to explore, and was closed enough to hold migrants in ideal conditions, but open enough to be able to view them decently. The migrant total was 1 Blackcap, as I doubt any of the Robins were contintental...

So the trip had been useful in that we had found another area to search in the coming years...

22/8/09

In a ringing session at Snettisham Coastal Park this morning we caught over 50 warblers, which was really good. 8 species including Garden Warbler and the usual... The first Grey Wagtail of the Autumn flew South over calling, along with quite a few Curlew.

21/8/09

A fantastic day out was spent at the Birdfair in Rutland. It was our first time and we thoroughly enjoyed it, watching Nick Baker and Mike Dilger playing "Just a Linnet", and then enjoying Alex Horne's stand-up comedy talk about his new book "Birdwatchingwatching" (of which I got a signed copy afterwards!). There were hundreds of stalls packed full of information and it was great just looking around, and being around such a large number of birdwatchers!

There were also plenty of optics to wet the appetite and some familiar and friendly faces...

The only birds of note were a couple of Greenshanks we saw whilst trying out a Nikon ED82 on 75x zoom! We were so attracted by the marquees that we never actually ventured onto the reserve itself (!) but I did get brief views of an Osprey from the road on the way into the fair...

19/8/09

A few Swallows moving through now, with four over the house today, 7 yesterday, and a few at Denver Sluice on 16th. Other than that, with the winds still in the southern half, theres pretty much naff all about...

16/8/09

Missed an Osprey over Denver Sluice this morning. It was being tracked West and I thought it might come south along the river, but apparently it carried on West across the Wash...no surprises there then!

I did have a nice group of 20+ Yellow Wagtails feeding amongst the cows, with quite a few juvenile birds, so their local breeding has been a success this year. Also 3 young Great Crested Grebes and a Common Tern. 2 Grey Wagtails flew past at the end.

Back at home 4 Spotted Flycatchers must have included some young birds, but I couldn't get a decent look at them. Also a Chiffchaff in thbe garden.

Birding outlook: unless you like waders, norfolk will be pretty rubbish for the next few days. Cornwall will be the place to be, with seawatching picking up. Theres already been Wilson's Petrels off Cornwall and Ireland, and there'll be more to come. Keep checking the skies for raptors and if you get really bored, you could try checking some coastal scrub, but there'll only be stuff like wheatears and the odd whinchat yet. The wind is in the wrong direction for passerines at the moment, though there has been Barred Warbler on Shetland already.

15/8/09

A trip up to the Lake District gave James and I an opportunity to try for the resident Golden Eagle at Haweswater. Thanks to our mum being patient we got it on the second attempt, at first nearly 2 miles away, but then again as we were leaving. We were in the car driving up the road and I spotted a large raptor over the lake so we stopped and had stunning views of the Golden Eagle as it soared straight past us, occasionally being mobbed by Ravens and doing spectacular barrel-dives! We also had superb views of Dipper on a stream and James sharply spotted a male Merlin as it pelted along a dry-stone wall.

11/8/09

Whilst visiting a friend in Stowbridge an Osprey flew over, along with a second unidentified raptor (probably a Buzzard). We ran out onto the nearest field to get a panoramic view, but it had disappeared. There was another Buzzard over a distant wood though.

On a Quail expedition in the evening, we failed to hear any unfortunately...despite my "contact" having heard it a couple of days previously and seeing two today near his farm! Never mind...

10/8/09

A trip to the Baird's Sandpiper started badly after we picked up Connor and went round Fakenham and then down to Norwich. This route was chosen by Connor, as he said it was the way he always went, only to change his mind half way...It was a horrible route and took us nearly 2 hours to get to Hickling! Never mind, we forgive you Connor!

On arrival, the Baird's Sandpiper was showing, but slightly distant, with a group of Ringed Plover and Dunlin and alongside a Little Stint. This allowed good comparison between some of the cinfusion species and the bird was wandering around, so we saw it against different backgrounds, showing different features of the bird in turn. The oval shape of the body was particularly interesting, and the bird was smaller and more attenuated than the Dunlin, with an overall greyer plumage. It was a very nice addition to my life-list, putting me on 305.

I was slightly surprised when 24 Barnacle Geese walked out onto the edge of the scrape! Unfortunately they were probably quite "plastic".

We returned along the A47, and got Connor home in under and hour and a half! Good old dual carriageways!

9/8/09

I invited Trevor round and we ringed the second brood of Spotted Flycatchers from the nest in our garden. Trevor ringed one and I ringed the other three. It was quite different from ringing adult birds as they don't struggle at all, and they just sat in my hand, unaware of the potential danger...

1-8/8/09

Apologies for this kind of update - I hate it when websites do this, but thay may just be me. Anyway, I have spent the whole week volunteering at Titchwell RSPB. It was great fun and although I did plenty of work, there was still time for some birding in the early mornings and evenings.

Highlights included self-found Common Crane (1/8), self-found Black Tern (7/8), plenty of Spoonbill (3 on the freshmarsh 1/8, 3 on the freshmarsh 6/8, then 1 on the freshmarsh which joined a group of 7 as they flew East on 7/8.), up to 9 Curlew Sandpipers (Paul had 19!), a Little Stint, and the usual bits and bobs on the sea: 4 Arctic Skuas, a few Common Scoter, Gannet, Fulmar, and around 30 Eider.

Also got the 5 Red-Crested Pochard a few times, and several young Marsh Harriers. Hiigh counts included 8 Common Sandpiper, 12 Little Ringed Plover, 61 Ruff, 180 Teal, 457 Lapwing, 628 Golden Plover, 242 Black Tailed Godwits, 5 Little Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull.

The first few days we were plagued by the ladybirds, and I soon found out that they bite! There were literally thousands coming in off the sea, and several seawatchers gave up fairly quickly! I also saw a Lizard a couple of times, soaking up the sun, and getting crawled in by ladybirds!

In the tidal creek there were a few Seals (Common I think) and on a survey of Dune Tiger Beetles we counted 48 all along the beach...

One of the funniest moments was when I had to venture onto the freshmarsh to cut some reeds. I was thankfully wearing wellies but suddenly hit a particularly soft patch, and as I struggled to get one foot out, the other went further in! This resulted in me getting completely stuck up to my waist and reduced my to helpless laughter! Thankfully the water levels were low enough that I only got a couple of small clods of mud inside my boots, and no water! I had to be pulled out by Chris, another member of staff! It was all good fun!

On the way home James and I stopped off at Redwell Marsh NOA and got 5 Green Sandpipers, 3 Common Sandpipers, a Common Buzzard, 4 young Shelduck, and fantastic views of a Cormorant perched on one of the posts drying itself in the sun:

We carried on and passed the playing field at Smithdon High School, and I suddenly spotted an adult Med. Gull. We pulled over in a minor road and got out to scan - the result was a total of 4 Med. Gulls! There were also hundreds of Common Gulls, quite a few Black-Headed Gulls, but only one Herring Gull! This taught us to scan it in future! It was also a brilliant end to a brilliant week...

July

28/7/09

40+ Swifts over the house this morning was a good count, along with a Lesser Black-Backed Gull drifting through them.

We dropped in at Holme in the afternoon but didn't do much birding...a few Little Terns and a couple of summer plumaged Knot past on the sea along with the usual Sandwich Terns, a Bar-tailed Godwit and some Sanderling.

Finally got a membership with the NOA, which was well worth doing, as we got free keys to all the hides :)

I thoroughly recommend this, as it is both cheap and worthwhile!

27/7/09

An afternoon trip to Breydon Water for the Pacific Golden Plover was successful with the bird showing very well - and what a bird! It was lovely to have a summer plumaged adult as my first one as well. It was high tide when we arrived so plenty of other waders were present with an estimate of over 500 Avocets (!), also a couple of Greenshank and a Bar-tailed Godwit. We missed a Roseate Tern by a few minutes and no Little Gulls were present, but the Plover was what we went for...

26/7/09

A pair of Bullfinch round the back were found by James and missed by me this morning. One of the Spotted Flycatchers was in the tree eating a Butterfly too.

I am glad to say that the morning we left for Poland we noticed a young Spotted Flycatcher on the lawn. It looked very young and vulnerable, but hopefully it grew up quickly! (It's parents were very wary, so it was in good hands...)

25/7/09

A brief trip to Welney revealed quite a few waders with their heads tucked in (typical!). I only got 1 Ruff and 6 Redshank, but James went to another hide and counted a further 18 Ruff and 8 Dunlin. At Denver Sluice on the way back a Common Sandpiper was feeding on exposed mud.

Well I'm back from an exhausting but awesome birding holiday in Poland. It might be a while before I write up the report, but some pictures can be found by clicking on the "Trip Reports" page and then following the link to the report...

7/7/09

Today James, Connor and I went for the Buff-Breasted Sandpiper at Cley. I can't really remember much of what happened as so much has happened since then (I am writing this after I have been to Poland...ie. 25th July!), but to cut a long story short....we saw it....it was nice....below are some pictures which might tell more of a story...

6/7/09

The final day of our trip willed us to the finish, but my ankle hadn't improved much overnight. Fortunately, after the first 2km, it stopped hurting for some unknown reason! We had awoken to rain, which had been on and off all night, and we walked the first 5km or so getting soaked through to the skin, even with waterproofs on (water must have gone up my sleeve as I raised my arm to slap one of the many midges that had been bothering us at vertually every single campsite). After a while the sun came out and dried us off.

The day involved us walking from the bottom of Ullswater, where we had slept overnight, right to the top of the lake, where we were very releaved to get in the minibus and go back home. Not many birds were noted this day, but plenty of Willow Warbers, Chiffchaffs, and Blackcaps were singing in the woodland around Ullswater.

The total trip had involved walking approximately 80km, and we saw some fantastic scenery, as well as some decent birds. My totals for the trip included:

c.10 Ravens

35+ Wheatear

1 Osprey

2 Redstart

4 Ring Ouzels (+1 heard)

4 Wood Warblers (unfortunately never seen)

2 Dippers

5+ Grey Wagtails

3 Red Squirrels

1 Mountian Ringlet

4 Golden-Ringed Dragonfly

5/7/09

The third day of walking meant that we were over half way, and this was some relief. A rather large total of 22km was covered, the first few of which were dampened by consistent rain, but later it cleared up rather too much for some peoples liking, and sunburn was rife in our group.

Fantastic views of a couple of Ravens, which flew very close by as we walked along Old Coach Road, passing several other D of E groups. Another male Ring Ouzels flew over my head just before we stopped for a lunch break. 

There was probably a Buzzard somewhere too, but I had already seen qiute a few, and my feet were hurting to much for me to care. I somehow managed to twist an ankle but suffered in silence and continued for another 7km to our campsite.

4/7/09

The second day of our expedition involved a 20km walk up Ullscarf and round to our campsite at the Northern end of Thirlmere.

A distant Dipper was identified by its bobbing, bringing the total to 2 birds.

On a crag at the top of Greenup Edge we sat and watched a family of Ring Ouzels, consisting of a male, a female, and a young bird. It was brilliant to finally have this species in their breeding area and the birds showed excellently and called from time to time, allowing even the non-birders in our group to get to grips with this unusual creature, which some of them are unlikely to ever see again. Not many other birds noted this day, and we arrived late at our campsite again...

3/7/09

Our first day of the actual expedition consisting of an 18km walk up some fantastic mountians including Red Pike, High Stile, and Hay Stacks, near Buttermere.

There were plenty of Wheatears about, including a count of over 20 just on the drive from the youth hostel to the car park. 2 more Wood Warblers were noted at the beginning of the day, bringing our total up to 4, which it would stay on for the remainder of the trip.

An Osprey flew high over Bleaberry Tarn at the base of Red Pike, being mobbed by 5 Ravens.

Connor had two brief sightings of Ring Ouzels, and we heard a third bird near the end of our days walk, but I was yet to see one.

We arrived late at our campsite, but it had been an enjoyable day, except for the weather, which had closed in whilst we were 800m up, reducing visibility to under 20m for nearly 2 hours and making navigation very difficult and slow.

2/7/09

A Dipper was noted first thing on the river outside the youth hostel and showed well for about five minutes, before flying off downstream calling. We even saw it swim underwater once or twice! What a fantasticly charismatic little bird they are.

Another Wood Warbler was noted during our "climatisation", when I also took this artistic shot of a pile of slate with a mountian in the background.

1/7/09

Today I travelled up to the Lake District for the final Duke of Edinburgh expedition ever - Gold. A huge hike was imminent with a backpack weighing in excess of 30kg complete with a tent and enough food to last me a week.

The first day consisted of travelling up so only a Red Kite was noted, but on arrival at the youth hostel, a Wood Warbler was singing from the adjoining woodland.