Winter catch up

Waxwing, north Norfolk


Common Snipe, north Norfolk

As usual I seem to start a post by apologising for the delay since my last appearance and proffering the same mix of excuses; work and family commitments reducing time in the field and a intermittent BT Broadband connection reducing time online.

Even for a range restricted birder like me this has been a Waxwing winter. I've had a flock fly over the front garden whilst unloading the car, a single bird over Titchwell and a couple of roadside flocks feeding on hedgerow fruit. All were unexpected treats, picked up on call or out of the corner of the eye whilst driving a back road in NW Norfolk. What I haven't managed is to spend time in good light with confiding birds so none of the shots I have taken are any better than 'record' shots.

It would be nice to think that the cold weather would push over some exciting birds from the continent [Nutcraker, Gyr Falcon or a White Tailed Eagle would be good]. Even without these sort of birds its been nice to have a chance to take some pictures of birds in the snow and ice.

The second picture is a of a Common Snipe frozen out of the main body of the saltmarsh at Thornham and forced to feed in the open on the edge of a tidal creek. Even here with the twice daily scouring of the tide the sides of the creek were coated in a layer of ice.

Not had a chance to have a proper look inside the new hide at Titchwell yet, but I'm told its quite spectacular and offers a great birding experience something to look forward to when I get a moment over the holiday season.

Bonxie and Water Deer at Titchwell

Chinese Water Deer on saltmarsh at Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk


Bonxie at Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk

I managed to get to Titchwell for a couple of hours this morning. A beautiful day with a clear blue sky and a matching full car park. I had hoped to get lucky with the Pallas's Warbler which had been seen intermittently over the previous five days, but after a cold hour staring into a tangle of scrub and seeing diddly squit I decided to walk to the beach.

Highlight of this stroll was an unexpected Bonxie which has apparently been hanging around, freaking out the waders and wildfowl for a couple of days. As it passed over the reedbed towards Thornham a couple of Marsh Harriers came up to mob it and gave a real indication of what big and butch birds these Skuas are.

The Twite flock were present as usual in the low saltmarsh on the Brackish Marsh and I'm told 26 colour ringed birds from the Penines have been identified here this autumn.

Heading back to the car I stopped to look at a Chinese Water Deer on the edge of the saltmarsh an increasingly common sight in this part of the world. At the Visitor Centre feeders a female Brambling could be seen amongst the Greenfinches and Chaffinches and Lesser and Mealy Redpolls enlivened the Siskin flock.

Back in the field

Arctic Warbler twitch, Holme Dunes, Norfolk.

Been a busy summer of family activities and work. Although I've spent some time out and about I don't seem to have been able to find the time to keep this blog up to date. I have though kept posting on my Flickr page [see link opposite].

I have manage to get out for a couple of hours at Holme on each of the last two weekends. Last weekend I managed to connect with Red Backed Shrike, Red Necked Phalarope, Barred Warbler and Common Redstart, all in the space of two hours. Today I joined a crowd of birders in the pines searching for the Arctic Warbler that was first trapped and ringed last Monday. My luck was in and I enjoyed several brief but good views of this cracking little bird, my first in the UK since one in Kent about 15 years ago and even better it was my first Norfolk tick in a long time bringing my county list to a modest 269.

With the West Bank path at Titchwell reopening as far as Island Hide today, I'm looking forward to finding an hour away from the family tomorrow afternoon to catch up with some waders.

The Way Through The Woods

Ken Hill Wood, Snettisham, Norfolk

They shut the road through the woods
Seventy years ago
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was once a road through the woods
Before they planted the trees
It is underneath the coppice and heath
And the thin anemones
Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.

From: The Way throug the Woods, by Rudyard Kipling.

Summer has arrived with a vengeance in NW Norfolk with temperatures in the mid to high 20's forecast for the next few days.

Fulmars at sunset

Fulmar, Hunstanton

Busy day today so nice to be able to spend half an hour as the sun set over the Wash photographing the Fulmars that nest on Hunstanton cliffs.

You can see some more pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullofthebog/sets/72157624081467974/

Spring Red Necked Grebe

Red necked grebe, Gypsy Lane, Titchwell, Norfolk

Got out for a couple of hours this evening. Main target was the Red necked grebe which has been hanging around the borrow dyke at Gypsy Lane. This proved very easy to find and I even managed a couple of record shots. Cuckoo and Marsh Harrier here plus lots of Redshanks, Lapwings and Oystercatchers.

Then popped into Titchwell Marsh for a quick look for the Curlew Sandpiper reported today. Couldn't find this, but 36 stunning brick red summer plumage Black Tailed Godwits were some compensation.

Bluebells and Opening Times

NWT Foxley Wood, Bluebell Fence

May has been a poor month for me. It started badly with one of the worst colds that I can remember, going round the office and my family and just as I recovered from that the wind got stuck in the north and we have shivered through most of the month. So it was a joy to get out in the sunshine with the family today and visit the Norfolk Wildlife Trusts Foxley Wood nature reserve to see a few Bluebells.

It had been a few years since we last visited late on a spring afternoon, then we were greeted with a sign that explained that the reserve shut at 5pm and that we and our car would be locked in after that time. The sign was still there along with a more welcome one pointing out the direction to go for the Foxley Wood Bluebell trail. Reassured that we would be directed to the best part of this large wood for Bluebells we set off pushing the pram in four wheel drive mode and toting a restrained amount of camera gear.

It was great to hear even quite late in the morning [you can't access the site before 9 am or on a Thursday, Why?] a great deal of bird song including Blackcap, Garden Warbler Chiff-Chaff, Willow Warbler and Turtle Dove. At the first junction it become apparent that the only helpful Bluebell Trail signs were in the car park and from here on in we would just have to explore the wood by following our noses, something I enjoy doing normally but by now I had raised expectations of being taken to the best Bluebell areas of the wood.

After a pleasant half hour stroll in which the Little Fella pointed out lots of trees and a Ladybird [a talented naturalist at thirteen months] we finally came to a patch of Bluebells which we were excluded from going anywhere near by a temporary fence. There was no interpretation by this barrier to explain why it had been erected and I came away with the impression that it was there purely to keep visitors to the woods away from the Bluebells that they had come to see.

All in all our visit seemed a great example of how through careless signage and a antagonistic approach to the visitor experience, an organisation was able to put a gap in a visitors mind between the enjoyable parts of our visit and its role in providing them. Very frustrating.

An afternoon visit on my own to RSPB Titchwell Marsh had a very different feel to it. A special event was being held attempting to see how many species could be seen on the reserve in one day [the list stood at 113 species in mid afternoon] and there were wardens and volunteers positioned along the West Bank path to point out birds if you wanted them to. This was both fun and really helpful and enabled me to see the two Wood Sandpipers and two Temminks Stints which skulked half hidden on the Fresh Marsh. These along with Little Terns and Common Terns and a warm sun on my back gave the reserve a real feel of summer and the helpful wardens and signage gave it a real welcoming feel.