Spring out of the Bottle

Spring is late this year, the Beast from the East and its various pale imitation successors have delayed the arrival of early Summer migrants and to be honest it just hasn't felt that nice out. But with the Easter Bank Holiday weekend safely out of the way the weather took a turn for the better and on Tuesday afternoon I had a walk around Holme Dunes in 12 degrees and with a warm breeze blowing.

Chiff Chaff, Holme Dunes

I knew that there had been a male Black Redstart seen and as I lifted my binoculars to scan a familiar out of focus deep blue shape flitted across my line of sight, a Swallow, soon to be followed by half a dozen others, marvellous. A short walk and I found some Chiff Chaffs feeding in the scrub and there seemed to have been an increase in Stonechat's with at least four present. But best of all were two box fresh totally immaculate male Wheatear's feeding on some short turf.

Wheatear, Holme Dunes

 Still no sign of the Black Redstart and I had almost given up when a movement in the distance caught my eye and I had a brief glimpse of it on a fence wire perhaps 50 metres from where it had last been reported. I walked round for a better view and managed a couple of shaky handheld digi-scoped shots before what proved to be a very skittish bird moved off.

Black Redstart, Holme Dunes

Then the light left the sky and it started to spit a cold rain, this rapidly increased in volume and size of rain drops and I took partial shelter under the pines whilst a heavy cold squall passed through.

This morning I managed a couple of hours out using the car as a mobile hide on the local back roads. It was slow going at first but for the last half hour before I needed to get home to look after the kids, the sun came out and the wildlife action hotted up. Highlights were large numbers of summer plumage Brambling's in the hedgerows, a Bran Owl flying into a hole in an old oak tree presumably its nest site? and a Little Owl standing sentry by a break in an Oak branch, another nest site?

Brown Hares

A Marsh Harrier quartering a field close to the road watched by a wary Hare was the final bird before I had to make a speedy drive home.

Marsh Harrier

Choseley Red Footed Falcon

Its not often that time off work, a gap in family duties, nice weather and a good bird all come together, but that's what happened this morning. I'd mentioned last night to the wife that the forecast looked good for migrants this morning and that I might try and grab a couple of hours spotting and then take the kids swimming in the afternoon.

Female Red Footed Falcon, Choseley

A much later start than anticipated meant that I was aware of a report or a Red Footed Falcon at Choseley and whilst part of me wondered if this was a mis-identified Hobby, I decided to give it a go before dropping down to Titchwell.

Female Red Footed Falcon, Choseley

I arrived at the drying Barns only to be pointed down the hill to the bend in the road where half a dozen cars were squeezed into a small parking space. It was clear that better views could be had from the south side of this giant field and I jumped back in the car for the short drive and a tight verge side parking place.

Red Footed Falcon Gallery

From here the bird gave great scope views as it hovered over the field and then sat on clods of earth in the ploughed field. It really was immaculate with its grey back, apricot brown undersides and highway man mask. I couldn't see what it was catching but there seemed to be plenty of prey to keep it occupied. It would do a regular circuit although never coming to close to the small knot of birders. Having grabbed some crop-able shots I walked back down the lane to a hole in the hedge and was able to get some closer shots.

I'm not that happy with the way the Canon 100 - 400 lens and 5D MK2 performed as many shots are not as sharp as I'd like, may be a combination of the age of the lens and the distance I was working at. I suspect that I could have got some crippling shot with my compact Panasonic TZ30 digi-scoped through the Kowa but that camera needs a trip to the menders.

Female Red Footed Falcon, Choseley

After a while the Red Foot was joined by a male Kestrel which caused a momentary panic as the cry went up "are there two of them?". A very pale Common Buzzard perched in a distant Oak and a Red Kite drifted by. A couple of Wheatears added to the early May Bank holiday migration feel.

Female Red Footed Falcon, Choseley

After about 90 minutes with the Falcon it disappeared when I had my eye off it and I don't think it was seen again.

Female Red Footed Falcon, Choseley

Female Red Footed Falcon, Choseley

I dropped down to Titchwell Marsh for a quick 20 minute look at the Fresh Marsh and was rewarded with  a sleeping male Garganey, three male Red Crested  Pochard's and a couple of cranes in the distance as they flew over Thornham, all in all a great morning.

Spring Waxwings

Late April and the Bird Guides Norfolk page continues to carry news of a flock of Waxwings on the outskirts of Norwich, I realise that they are hanging a round a retail park and industrial estate just off the A47 on my way home and that I haven't seen a Waxwing this year.

Waxwing, Norwich

The next morning I pull off the A47 and have a drive around the industrial estate but no joy, its a big place and I could do with directions, fortunately a colleague spent Sunday morning watching the birds and is able to sketch a map for me on a piece of scrap paper.

Waxwing, Norwich

Properly equipped I revisit the industrial estate and soon find the birds or rather they find me as they fly over my car. As soon as I get out I can hear their wonderful trilling call and by arching my neck I can see half a dozen Waxwings in the tree above me. Soon they take flight across the road and back to some berry bushes to feed and I am able to get close enough wit a old 100 - 300mm zoom lens to take a few snaps, the lights isn't great but it is still lovely to be so close to these birds.

Waxwing, Norwich

Fittingly the weather is wintry with grey cloud a cold wind and occasional showers, I wonder if they will still be here in a weeks time when the first returning Swifts could be flying overhead?

Black Tern at Titchwell

Saturday's are always a busy family day with kids swimming lessons, and shopping for groceries to do and usually involve me casting regular glances at my phone to check the Bird Guides Norfolk news page. Last weekend was no exception to this pattern and I even squeezed in a kick about with the boys in the park after lunch.

Black Tern, Titchwell

The bird news was dominated by the east of the county where a singing Savi's Warbler and wandering Sea Eagle were the highlights. Closer to home though a Black Tern stood out as a good bird to go for, these are annual here but never common and it is perfectly possible to go a year or two without seeing one [I can prove that because it must be a couple of years since I last saw one on the coast].

Black Tern, Titchwell

So after putting some sausages in the oven for the boys tea I left them at home with their Mum and headed east along the A149 for the six or so mile drive to Titchwell. Walking down the West Bank path past a trio of male Red Created Pochard's I soon could see the Tern distantly swooping over the most distant side of the Fresh Marsh. I decided to position myself just outside the Parrinder Hide in the hope that it would at least once fly close enough for some decent pictures.

Once in position the Tern gave great scope views, its dark charcoal black plumage glistening in the spring sunshine. Unfortunately it never did come close and so the pictures I have to share with you here are heavily cropped record shots rather than works of art. But it was a great bird to see and it gave me an excuse to spend a very peasant hour looking out across the Fresh Marsh listening to he calls of the Avocets and the distant boom of a Bittern.

Couple of Shelduck that flew over whilst watching the Tern

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.

A couple of visits to Titchwell

I've had the last week as leave from work and have packed a lot into the ten or so days out of the office including a couple of visits to the RSPB's Titchwell Marsh nature reserve. Unusually for me these were not rushed visits and I had time to properly "bird" the site.

Titchwell at dusk

The Fresh Marsh is alive with birds at the moment, last night I counted 21 Spoonbills here, some doing what Spoonbills do best standing around sleeping, others wading through the shallows feeding. Alongside the Spoonbills were 35 Little Egrets [an under estimate].

Common Tern at Titchwell

Wader diversity hasn't been at it's highest but even so between my two visits I saw large numbers of Avocets and Black Tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Spotted Redshank, Dunlin, Little STint, Common Sandpiper, Lapwing, Golden Plover Oystercatcher, Ruff, Curlew, Whimbrel, Little Ringed Plover.

Black Tailed Godwit at Titchwell

A Hobby dashed through chasing a small wader high up into the sky over the Fresh Marsh before the waders determination to save its life saw it tire out the Falcon and then escape.

Ruff at Titchwell

Bearded Tits can be easily heard at the moment and smalls flocks of juveniles are much in evidence.

Juvenile Bearded Tits at Titchwell

This autumn just keeps on giving: Bluetail, Issy Shrike and Pallas's Warbler

I watched the amazing fall of migrants along the north Norfolk coast unfold not in the field but one step removed on the Internet on the BirdGuides website and various blogs, pictures and accounts of  a stellar cast of eastern rares. Work and a child with a stomach bug got in the way of experiencing any of the birds first hand until Friday when finally I could no longer resist and I took the morning off and drove along the coast road to Holkham.

My plan was to walk quickly to where the Red Flanked Bluetail was located down by the Cross Tracks at the Western end of the Pines in some Sallows and then work my way back east spending more time looking at the Goldcrests in the hope of pulling out a Pallas's or Yellow Browed Warbler. And of course the Isabeline Shrike that was present as well, I knew I wouldn't have time for Wells Wood and the goodies on show there.

Grab shot of Red Flanked Bluetail at Holkham

As I walked I could constantly hear Goldcrests and my planned brisk walk slowed as I paused to look at these. Over head there were flocks of newly arrived Redwings calling in flight. I walked past the small trail for the Bluetail and re-traced my steps with another birder who had done likewise. Arriving round the back of the Sallows I joined a small congregation and the bird quickly showed posing for a second , just long enough for me to admire its deep bluetail before disappearing from view. I stayed for an hour and had a couple more equally brief but worse views before tearing myself away.

Next stop was the Shrike which had apparently been showing well earlier, it wasn't when I arrived in its favoured area and it was only when another birder came and fetched me that I got 0onto it feeding along a scrubby ditch line out on the grazing marsh. That was my lot and I needed a brisk walk back to the car and then home for an afternoon of office work.

Isabeline Shrike [and Redwing] digi-scoped through an very old Nikon ED Scope

But I still had a Pallas's Warbler sized itch to scratch, I'd not seen one for a few years and I didn't want to miss the opportunity that this autumn provided, so today I managed to get out for a couple of hours in the afternoon and headed to Holme where a bird had been reported. Getting directions to the area of The Forestry [sea Buckthorn and Sallow scrub] the bird was in I didn't feel overly confident but I got myself in the right area and a couple of birders put me onto where the bird had last been seen. They left me on my own and I managed to pish the bird out very briefly, what a beauty my favourite bird of the autumn, like a Goldcrest dipped in Sherbet that crown strip and yellow rump, yowser! I set the camera on its maximum ISO setting and grabbed a few shots which I have heavily cropped here.

Pallas's Warbler at Holme

Essence of autumn at Holme: Yellow Browed's and a Firecrest

A busy weekend of chauffeuring to and from children's birthday parties, shopping and a trip to the swimming pool with number one son. But by late afternoon on Sunday I managed to find a couple of hours clear to make the short drive along the coast road from Hunstanton to Holme where some of the influx of Yellow Browed Warblers had been reported on BirdGuides.

Yellow Browed Warbler at Holme NWT

Getting down to the The Firs at 4.30pm I chose to park in the NOA car park, I wandered over to a couple of birders staring hard at a Poplar tree and within a few minutes I had my first fleeting glance of the afternoon of a Yellow Browed Warbler, after a few minutes I had seen this bird reasonably well and taking the birders advice wandered over to the sycamores behind the NWT car park where three Yellow Browed's and a Firecrest had been showing well.

Positioning myself on the sunny side of the Sycamores with a stunted Horse Chestnut all burnt brown leaves in front of them I quickly got onto a flicker in the canopy and soon had good scope views of a Yellow Browed which even posed long enough for a usable but poor quality digiscoped image.

Firecrest in Sycamore at Holme NWT

With time pressing I headed back to the car pausing on the car park side of the Sycamores where within a couple of minutes I was getting good views of a wonderful Firecrest and even managed a couple of so so snaps of this. Soon a Yellow Browed appeared and I managed some much better shots with my DSLR. As I watched a Green Sandpiper called in the distance and I reflected that this quick hour out was in many ways the essence of autumn birding distilled: a warm still blue sky October afternoon, staring into a clump of coastal sycamores, looking for eastern vagrants.

Twilight Impressions of Titchwell

I popped into Titchwell Marsh yesterday evening for the last hour of light. The water levels were higher than recently raised by the heavy rain we've had here in Norfolk. It was exactly peaceful with the sound of  music carrying from the village [presumably from a wedding at one of the hotels].

Here are a few impressions of the birds and wildlife that I saw.

Constant invisible pinging of Bearded Tits coming from the reedbed as I walked down the West Bank path.

The dead trees to the east of the Fresh Marsh filling with at least 27 Little Egrets and then emptying as the birds moved to settle and disappear into in the deciduous trees behind them.

A rush of wings as the roosting Starlings are spooked into the air and then a Magpie appears underneath them and laboriously beats vertically up into the middle of the panicking flock trying to take a Starling in flight. Failing in its impersonation of a Sparrowhawk the Magpie disappears and the Starlings settle but not before the waders feeding on the patch of mud nearest to this piece of action are spooked into a precautionary flight.

Avocets "fidegetting" in the Twilight

In the twilight flocks of Avocets and Gulls get up and fly around the Marsh in what might best be called pre-roost fidgets.

Fox on Betts Marsh

As I drag myself away at about 9.15pm a Fox walks across the dried out muddy surface of Betts Marsh. It flushes a Grey Heron , the fox and Heron have a stand off, with the Fox clearly scared and wary of the Heron. I take a picture of the Fox with my camera cranked up to as mega high ISO setting. 

Spotted Redshank at dusk

Spotted Redshank's are always immaculate birds and tonight it is a pleasure to be able to watch several feeding in the shallows in front of Island Hide.

A Barn Owl, more cream than coffee in its plumage, hunts the salting between me and the setting Sun and the old pill box to the West of the reserve.

A juvenile Water Rail furtively walks along the edge of the reeds along the thin strip of mud left exposed by the raised water levels.

A wonderful evenings birding.

Vagrants and colonists from the east

Wednesday 17th September
I had to work late into the evening, so I treated myself to a morning walk out to Burnham Overy Dunes, I knew that there had been a few goodies here the day before but I set out more in hope than expectation.

First stop was the reed fringed pool and despite giving it a long hard look over I couldn't find the Black Necked Grebe that had been present, the effort I put in wasn't wasted as I found a Green Sandpiper and had my first Pinkies of the winter, six flying overhead their distinctive "wink, wink" calls as they flew giving them away, their arrival as sure a marker of the changing seasons and autumns inexorable slide into winter, as the first swifts screaming through the air in late Spring herald the dawn of summer.

A passing birder told me that a Yellow Browed Warbler was showing, so I quickened my pace. On arrival I was told that a Red Breasted Flycatcher was on view and as I lifted my binoculars a Pied Flycatcher popped onto the wires of the fence below me.

Red Breasted Flycatcher, Burnham Overy Dunes

Whilst waiting for the Yellow Browed Warbler I added Garden Warbler, Whinchat and Wheatear to my mornings tally. At last the Yellow Browed showed well if briefly, it is always a treat to see one of these birds that bring to mind associations with scrappy bits of scrub and woodland on the east coast of England in autumn and also of winter birding trips I made to Asia many years ago. Here I also saw a single Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat in the same binocular field of view. It was at this point it became apparent that there were two Red Breasted Flycatchers present. one of which worked its way along the fence in front of me and at one point was maybe 6 feet away, it really was classic east coast autumn birding.

With time pressing and a long car journey ahead of me to a meeting in Essex I dragged myself away from what had been a top mornings spotting.

Thursday 18th September
Got home not much before midnight on the 17th and up and out the house in good time this morning to catch the train to London for another meeting. My route in London takes me on a short and enjoyable walk through Green Park and St James's Park. The Parks were very busy with tourists enjoying the fine autumn weather. Time was tight but I paused for a moment on the bridge over the lake in St James's Park, looking into the clear water I could see a huge shoal of Perch and Rudd, the Perch are easy to Identify with their vertical barring, the Rudd are less obvious but my friend The Grumpy Ecologist tells me that they "Look like Rudd - bright red fins, mouth has longer lower lip (rather than roman nose and long top lip of roach)".

Rudd and Perch, St James's Park Lake.

Ring Necked Parakeet in Indian Bean Tree, St James's Park

Once across the bridge I was further distracted by the distinctive call of a Ring Necked Parakeet from some mature trees just off the path, after a little searching through their large densely packed green leaves, I spotted a couple of well camouflaged birds feeding on the seed pods of what was a large Indian Bean Tree, for such dayglo green birds it's amazing how they blend in.

On Googling this behaviour at home it is clear that London's Ring Necked Parakeets regularly exploit this food source and observers who have had more time to observe this suggest that they are feeding on the pulp not the seeds. Interesting how a tree from the Americas and a bird from Asia have come together in the man made habitat of central London.

Friday 19th September
A busy day in the office in Snettisham, but had a quick 20 minute stomp through Ken Hill Woods and bumped into a large mixed feeding flock including several each of Treecreeper, Goldcrest, and Coal Tit.

Saturday 20th September

Holme Church from Holme Marsh

A busy morning, first I went swimming, then I shot home got no1 son and took him for his swimming lesson, finally I had 90 minutes spare and opted for a walk around Holme Marsh on the grounds that its less than 10 minutes drive from home, not many folk go there, there are lots of birds about and therefore I might have a chance of finding something good. The last part of this line of logic is where it fell apart, Holme Marsh was nice but quiet, still I did find Chiff Chaff 4, Blackcap 2, Wheatear 1, Marsh Harrier 3 and as ever the Konik Ponies were photogenic.

 

Konik Ponies, Holme Marsh

Sunday 21st September

A quick visit to Titchwell more to buy some bird food than to go spotting, a cold north wind was keeping passerines down but I did manage to pick out three distant Little Stints on the Fresh Marsh and three different Chinese Water Deer around the reserve. At home a couple of skeins of Pink Footed Geese totalling maybe 40 birds flew over calling as I put out the washing.

Firecrest and other stuff on the move

In some small way its felt has if my birding mojo has started to return this past fortnight. Having spent the winter not seeing very much at all I've managed to find a couple of OK birds and had a general sense that some movement was happening and in my own small way I was connecting with it.

A Shag at sunset

Tuesday 18th saw me back under the cliffs in Hunstanton this time with a DSLR and a big lens but unfortunately I couldn''t find the previous evenings Peregrine, I did though again manage to see four Shags. Earlier that day a family walk in Ken Hill Woods turned up three Marsh Tits my first of the year there.

On the 21st I found a flock of 50 - 100 Fieldfare at Courtyard Farm and a couple of days later a similar sized flock feeding in another roadside field. Whilst a train journey south across the Fens from King's Lynn on the 24th was notable for the flocks of Redwings, Fieldfares and Starlings in the fields and maybe the last wild swans I'll see on this journey this winter, what I took for a herd of Whoopers.

Fieldfare

A drive on the 22nd to get our two year boy to sleep was enlivened by a flock of around 30 Bramblings in the fields and hedgerows between Choseley drying barns and Choseley hamlet. Earlier that morning a family walk along the boardwalk on the edge of the marshes at Brancaster had turned up my first butterfly of the year a Small Tortoiseshell in a marsh side garden sitting on a snowdrop.

The 26th saw me taking a lunchtime walk around Ken Hill Wood and although pleasant was pretty uneventful bird wise until I came to leave the wood in Common Road, I noticed a Long Tailed Tit that seemed to be accompanied by a Chiff Chaff. Raising my binoculars I quickly realised it wasn't a Chiff Chaff but a Crest and for a moment I was non-plussed by the socking great white supercilium on the bird and the realisation that I had lucked into a Firecrest. I spent the next 20 minutes or so trying to get a picture with my little compact Panasonic Lumix TZ30. The picture below is heavily cropped and was the best of the bunch taken at 3200 ISO. 

Ken Hill Firecrest

Ken Hill continued to produce the goods with three flyover Crossbills on the 28th and nice views of a Siskin on the 29th a species which has been thin on the ground there this winter.

Take a Butcher's

Great Grey Shrike, Burnham Deepdale

Butcher's is short for Butcher's Hook which is Cockney rhyming slang for Look, so take a Butcher's means take a look. Shrikes are known as Butcher birds due to their habit of impaling their prey on thorn bushes. Hence this blog's title.

Been loads of Shrikes along the east coast this past week, I lucked into this bird as I drove home from work this evening. Crap picture of a great bird.

Gulls - Large & Small

Immature Herring Gulls, The Wash, Hunstanton

A pattern is beginning to slowly emerge, the kids are still both demanding and rewarding, but as no2 son heads towards his second birthday small windows of time are more regularly coming my way and I am choosing to spend them below the cliffs at the end of our road in Hunstanton. I say "choosing" in some ways I am lucky that the nearest open space to our home is a stretch on beach facing onto the Wash, doubly lucky as I don't really have the time yet to travel further afield.

And so I sense that I have re calibrated my expectations has to what is a good or interesting sighting, in one sense this reminds me of patch watching in London in the 80's when what constituted a rarity was defined by its status in north London. So too now I am taking pleasure from the birds I am managing to winkle out on my short visits to the base of the cliffs.

Today having persuaded no1 son [age 4] to join me I had 40 minutes mid afternoon under the cliffs just as the tide dropped. A large flock of young Herring Gulls hung in the air below the sea wall looking to snatch starfish that had been swept onto the shore by the receding tide. Offshore a steady passage of immature Gannets headed for the mouth of the Wash and I think I saw 30+, a few Turnstones, Oystercatchers and Bar Tailed Godwits flew past low over the choppy waves and a trio of Red Breasted Mergansers. But my best bird was a stunning winter plumaged adult Little Gull, wonderful dark underwings and white trailing edges. I got a lot of satisfaction for picking this small gull out as it flew by low over the grey sea.

Autumn Birds at Titchwell

Although I only live a few miles along the coast its been a while since I've visited Titchwell Marsh, so it was great to be able to spend a couple of hours there walking and talking with some work colleagues and do a bit of gentle spotting at the same time.

What struck me most of all was that the site was just hooching with birds. On the Fresh Marsh migrating waders fed within a few feet of the path, Wigeon grazed the islands and Bearded Tits called from within the reedbeds.

Greenshank, Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk

For me the first of two highlights of my visit were a flock of 17 Greenshanks picked up on call flying in at height from the west and slowly circling and descending low over the marsh whilst still calling, something very enigmatic about the sight and sound of this flock of birds on a north Norfolk Marsh in the autumn.

The second highlight were the wild geese. On the Fresh Marsh a flock of 20 Brent Geese were the first I have seen this autumn and the wink wink calls of a skein of Pink Footed Geese alerted me to 15 - 20 birds flying over again my first of the autumn.

Other great birds seen included a Snow Bunting, a couple of Curlew Sandpipers, a Little Stint and Spotted Redshank, as well as some splendid looking Little Egret's. All in all a very pleasant couple of hours.

Little Egret, Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk

Pictures taken with Panasonic Lumix TZ30 and cropped.