Weekend Birds

Late Swallow brood

Saturday was wet here in north west Norfolk. I needed to visit the garage in Brancaster and took advantage of the opportunity afterwards to sit in my car in the harbour for an hour watching the tide slowly rise and the rain drops pit the surface of the water. Almost the first birds that I saw and heard on arrival were a couple of Greenshank's manically feeding around the edges of the harbour, every few minutes taking flight and landing in a new feeding location where they resumed their buy scything of the shallow water before taking flight again.

Greenshank's

A Little Egret fed reasonably close inshore catching small fish that seemed from my perspective to be barely worth the effort that it had to put into catching them. As the rain eased a number of Swallows flew west and Spoonbill circled over the saltmarsh to the east.

Little Egret

Sunday and the sun was back out and we went to our beach hut in the sand dunes to the east of Brancaster beach. Here a late brood of swallows sat spilling out of their nest in the eaves of neighbours beach hut whose decking sported a large pile of swallow crap. Next door a Common Lizard sunned itself. In the scrub a Willow Warbler shared a bush with the local House Sparrows and Wheatear sat up in a gable end.

Willow Warbler

The  sea was still relatively warm and the visibility was the best I've ever known it. Off shore there were still Sandwich Terns albeit in reduced numbers and solitary Great Crested Grebe, Red Breasted Merganser and Guillemot.

Wheatear

Its weekends like this that remind me of why I choose to live where I do, the opportunity it affords me to raise my children by the sea, spend quality time with them in great locations and to live in a bird rich and dynamic part of the world.

Rough Legs in the Gloom

The rain eased off mid afternoon and I managed to get out in the car for a quick drive to do an errand in Brancaster Staithe via a couple of birding sites. From Hunstanton I took the back road past Courtyard Farm and whilst I didn't find any Little Owls a large mixed flock of Corn Buntings and Yellowhammers was good value.

Crap Rough Legged Buzzard picture

I turned north up Chalkpit Lane and stopped before the summit of the hill. I quickly got distance views of a Rough Legged Buzzard and after a few minutes I was watching two birds "tumble" along the hedgerow in the distance, one bird flying up into a bare tree to be followed shortly afterwards by the second birds, I couldn't work out his this was a pair of birds bonding, fighting over territory or a bit of pre-roost socialising. Eventually they went their separate ways and I managed some very grainy " record shots" which I have heavily manipulated on the computer to get anything even vaguely usable.

An another

From here I swung down into Brancaster Staithe Harbour and had a pleasant ten minutes with the long staying Red Necked Grebe which was joined by a trio of Red Breasted Mergansers. As the light faded and the ISO setting on my camera got cranked ever higher I tore myself away and headed for my errand in Brancaster and then home.

Red necked Grebe

Red Breasted Mergansers

Red Necked Grebe, Brancaster Staithe

The strong winds of the last few days were starting to ease a little this morning and I decided to combine a errand in Brancaster with a visit to the harbour in Brancaster Staithe to look for the  Red Necked Grebe that had been reported here. Joined by no1 son [age 6] I drove down as close to the edge of the water as I dared and practically the first bird I saw was the Grebe fishing in the channel to the west of the harbour. I wasn't able to stay long and the bird never came close enough for great photographic opportunities so this heavily cropped record shot is the best I managed in the ten to fifteen minutes we spent with the bird.

Red Necked Grebe, Brancaster Staithe

A Shrike and the return of the wild geese

Tuesday 23rd September
Early evening and stopped at the traffic lights by Norfolk Lavender in Heacham when a Barn Owl carrying prey flew over Docking Road presumably to a late brood.

Wednesday 24th
Lunchtime walk around Ken Hill Woods was enlivened by a Kettle of 6 Common Buzzards over the top of hill in the middle of the woods.

Grey Squirrel, Ken Hill

Friday 26th
Another lunchtime walk through Ken Hill Woods and good to bump into a mixed flock with Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Blue, Great, Coal, Marsh and Long Tailed Tits.

Sunday 5th October
A quiet walk along the Brancaster to Brancaster Staithe boardwalk, had 4 Buzzards circling overhead, a single male kestrel, the biggest flock of newly returned Brent Geese contained 80 birds, also several Little Egrets, a Cetti's Warbler 1 calling by NT Branodunum in reed saltings, several Bearded Tits heard calling above the reeds by Brancaster Staithe, two Goldcrest in garden by the National Trust Branodunum field and a Red Admiral.

Wednesday 8th October
A night time walk around the block in Hunstanton turned up sighting of a Tawny Owl when one flew across the A149 by the recreation ground.

Thursday 9th October
Managed to use a little flexitime to leave work early and got to Burnham Norton for 5 pm to look for the Steppe Great Grey Shrike. This duly disappeared for a couple of minutes when I arrived before working its way down the side of a ditch by perching on fence posts, eventually it flew into a Hawthorn by the side of the path only to be flushed back into the middle of the grazing marsh as a 'surge' of birders and photographers spooked it. Was still able to watch it through the scope feeding, presumably of insects. Good to get a Norfolk and UK tick.

Steppe Great Grey Shrike, Burnham Norton

Friday 10th October
Another lunchtime boot around Ken Hill Woods and another nice mixed flock with Goldcrest, Blue, Great, Coal, Long Tailed and Marsh tits. In the late autumn sunshine Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma and a White sp.

Sunday 12th October
Hunstanton
Walking through the cold thick fog across the car park to the Oasis swimming pool in Hunstanton for my early morning swim there was a cacophony of bird calls coming from the roof of the pool where there were perched a couple of hundred starlings, presumably enjoying the heat rising from the pool underneath.

Brancaster Boardwalk
A single Cetti's Warbler in tidal reeds, a kingfisher flew calling over the big tidal creek, and a female Blackcap fed in an overgrown orchard in one of the gardens backing onto NT Branodunum.

Brancaster Staithe and Thornham Harbours

Pink Feet

Driving home with no1 son we stopped for ten minutes in the harbour to watch a couple of Cormorants feeding in the channel at low tide whilst Pinkies & Brents flew overhead. Then we had a quick explore of Thornham Harbour where I managed to see another Kingfisher, three Marsh Harriers, and up to four Rock Pipits.

Rock Pipit

Hunstanton Beach
Managed to get half an hour on the beach late afternoon it was relatively quiet with lots of Herring and Black Headed Gulls and the odd Great Black Backed and Common Gulls, Oystercatchers and Bar Tailed Godwits were the commonest waders. I rather like this picture of a juvenile Herring Gull with people walking on the beach in the background mirroring the Gulls own purposeful stride.

Juvenile Herring Gull

On reflection not a bad week, I had to spend 4 days working in Norwich and had very little time for lunch time walks. On the one brisk walk between meetings that I did manage I grabbed the shot below of a Grey Squirrel in the Rosary Cemetery, this was one of 3 or 4 animals feeding close together and occasionally chasing each other around the Gravestones and trees.

Grey Squirrel, Rosary Cemetery, Norwich

The commute to Norwich sometimes goes by in a daze of Radio 4 or music on a CD, this week I did manage a sighting of a Barn Owl near Docking and a Muntjac.

Friday saw me taking a few hours off work and I chose to spend them walking around Holme, I dipped on the Short Eared Owl and Snow Buntings, but did see 45 species including Peregrine, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel and Common Buzzard which was nice.

On Saturday I grabbed a couple of hours in the cold wind under the cliffs in Hunstanton and spent most of this trying to photograph Bar Tailed Godwit's, the shot below is my favourite image of this session.

Bar Tailed Godwits, Hunstanton, The Wash

Sanderling, Hunstanton, The Wash

Sunday morning was taken up with a nice family walk along the boardwalk on the edge of the Marshes in Brancaster, followed by a lunch of some rather nice takeaway Pizza's from the Jolly Sailors in Brancaster Staithe. The shot below is of cropped shot from my compact camera of a Long Tailed Tit on my father in laws bird feeders. After lunch I took number two son for a drive to get him to sleep and spent the last part of this parked in Brancaster Staithe harbour photographing feeding Bar Tailed Godiwt's. All in all not a bad week.

Long Tailed Tit, Brancaster

Drive by birds

2012 was a long hard year at home with all the fun and hard work that a new baby brings, and some difficult times with sick family members. Mix all of that up with a full on job that just seemed to get busier and busier as the year progressed and its little wonder that I've neglected this blog for over a year.

Male Pintail at RSPB Titchwell Marsh today.

But it’s a new year, number two son is now over a year old and hopefully personally and professionally I'll have more time in 2013 (and with luck it won't rain so much this year).

So where to start? I didn't get out much in January, the highlight probably being 90 minutes at Titchwell with a work colleague showing an old friend from Mongolia the reserve, the sea and some birds which included a lovely male Peregrine spooking the waders and wildfowl on the saltmarsh. Nice scope views too on this visit of a Water Pipit on one of the Fresh Marsh islands.

Other January bird highlights include the 'herds' of Bewick’s Swans feeding in black track side fields as my train headed south across the Fens towards Cambridge and then London. Always amazes me that I don’t see other passengers looking out the window and ‘noticing’ the wild swans, Roe Deer and other wildlife.

Whilst in London walking across Green Park to my meeting, it was lovely to hear and then see high in the canopy of a London Plane tree a Ring Necked Parakeet, a naturalised alien with some brassy charisma.

February has started cold. Yesterday a mix of rain, clouds and sun breaks at times provided some electric light with which to take photos of Curlew and Teal in Brancaster Staithe Harbour whilst no2 son had his afternoon nap in the back of the car.

Curlew at Brancaster Staithe yesterday

Today a crawl round Choseley drying barns, Burnham Overy Staithe and Brancaster Staithe harbours whilst no2 slept in the back, yielded nice views of half a dozen Bramblings, c 20 Yellowhammer and 25+ Chaffinches at the drying barns. Three Dabchicks bobbing in the waves in Burnham Overy Staithe harbour, whilst a Marsh Harrier drifted through. At Branacster Staithe harbour there was no repeat of yesterdays Water Rail but good numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Dunlin, Turnstone, Bar Tailed Godwit etc.



Chaffinch & Bramblings at Choseley drying barns today

 This afternoon I managed a short brisk walk in the cold wind at Titchwell Marsh. Nothing exceptional here but a dozen Avocets, c25 Black Tailed Godwits, and a Marsh Harrier were nice. Less usual sighting were a Weasel on the path at Parrinder Hide and three Bramblings and a Coal Tit on the feeders.

Death down at the Staithe

Beautiful early spring morning. Had a short walk around Holkham Park, no Lesser peckers, but lots of noise from the resident Jackdaws and the wonderful almost owl like cooing of the local Stock Doves.

Stopped off at Deepdale Cafe http://www.deepdalecafe.co.uk/ for a takeaway sausage sandwich and coffee, as ever excellent food, great value for money and friendly service. I took my meal down to the Staithe, what with the tide still being out and a number of folk walking around enjoying the sunshine it was quiet for waders and wildfowl. However the calm was broken by a Sparrowhawk taking out one of the Redshanks. Only managed some distant shots of the BOP as it subdued its prey. I've sharpened and cropped one of these and posted it here.