First Gannet of the year

Seawatching today produced the first Gannet of the year, plus good numbers of Red-throated Divers and a Harbour Porpoise offshore.

Smew and lots at Felbrigg

Today I paid a visit to Felbrigg to see if any more wildfowl had returned to the lake following its thaw and I wasn't disappointed.

A pair of Canada Geese, 13 Tufted Ducks (9m4f) and a Mute Swan were on the lake, and 8 Greylags were on the grassy field running up to the hall.

I then went to the eastern side of the park in the hope of locating a Marsh Tit, and although I drew a blank I was amply compensated with a stunning Firecrest in an area of holly bushes. At least one presumed Lesser Redpoll was flying round the area but it never settled to have a good look at it, a couple of Woodcock were flushed from the undergrowth and Treecreepers seemed to be everywhere.

Another surprise sighting was this Red Admiral which had presumably been brought out of hibernation by the recent very mild weather.



I then went over to a private lake in the hope of some Gadwall and was suitably rewarded and then suddenly noticed a duck flying into the lake and upon raising my bins was shocked to see that it was a Smew, only my third patch record following one on Felbrigg Lake and the unusual record of one on the sea amongst a Scoter flock off Overstrand.

Naturally I was delighted with the find, and it was definitely an excellent bird to bring up the 100 for the patch this year in record time. I tried to get some photos but at the same time keeping low down behind some reeds so not to disturb it so the image below is slightly blurred with the odd reed in the foreground, but nonetheless a pleasing result.

Slaty-backed Gull

With a putative Slaty-backed Gull having been present on the Landfill Site adjacent to Rainham Marshes the last couple of days, I took a trip over there today to hopefully connect with this potential first for Britain.

Having located it amongst the other gulls on the tip, we had around 15 seconds of views before it took off, but unfortunately it did not reappear again for the remainder of the day, the tip closing at midday not helping, although others did note the bird later in the morning.

The brevity of the views were disappointing, but more so was the now expected bitching on the internet with others questioning the validity of the sighting etc. Anyway, I am happy as to what we saw and can't be bothered to get involved so won't waste my time writing any more on the subject, but hopefully it will reappear soon so everyone else can see it.......

Back to birding, a couple of Ring-necked Parakeets flew over the reserve car park on the way back calling loudly which were nice to see for those of us living away from their stronghold.

Great Skua

A lunchtime seawatch off West Runton today produced the big surprise of a Great Skua slowly passing west and a Guillemot which landed on the sea fairly close inshore.

Good numbers of Red-throated Divers were on the sea too, until a very large plane flew fairly low over the sea flushing them all in the process, although the sight of them all flying round together in the sky was a rather spectacular sight.

Mandarins back at Felbrigg

A look at the sea off West Runton today produced a few Kittiwakes moving past, along with a Lesser Black-backed Gull. Red-throated Divers, Fulmar and a couple of distant auks were also noted.

Kestrel, West Runton

A visit to Felbrigg Park revealed that the lake was now partially thawed and as a result the hoped for Mandarins, 2 males and a female, were located lurking in their 'usual' corner under the trees. However apart from one on new years eve, I've only recorded 1 other there during the last 4 or 5 months so their return was a very welcome sight. On the way back to the car the first Green Woodpecker of the year was noted too.

A drive round the southern side of the park produced 3 Common Buzzards in the air together enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

Finally a walk around Overstrand and Sidestrand appeared that it was going to go unrewarded until the white rump of a Brambling flew up infront of me and into a thick hedge, with a look through the bins revealing that there was actually a small flock present which was a nice record for the village.

2nd & 3rd Jan

The remainder of the holiday weekend was spent trying to mop up some species missed on Saturday.

First port of call on Sunday was West Runton where a Common Scoter was noted passing by, then a quick stop at East Runton provided Fieldfare feeding on the sloe berries and a brief fly-round by the Waxwing which then disappeared into another non-viewable area of sloes.

Northrepps sewage farm produced a Grey Wagtail, and a Coot and a couple of Little Grebes were on Southrepps Little Broad, plus a few Yellowhammers and a Stock Dove nearby.

Monday morning saw me back at West Runton where the Purple Sand was again watched feeding amongst the seaweed covered rocks, an Eider was on the sea and both Curlew and Dunlin were noted passing west.

An afternoon visit to Felbrigg Park revealed that the lake remained frozen but the Barn Owl was watched quartering the meadows

Patch Day List

As ever the new year commenced with a day list round the patch and thankfully the fog of the last few days had dispersed to allow some birds to be seen.

A Robin singing pre-dawn brought in the new year, and it, along with a Blackbird, Dunnock, Black-headed Gulls, Magpie and Jackdaws were all seen from the window in the first glimmers of daylight.

On the way down to the seafront House Sparrow, Woodpigeon and Starling were quickly seen along with a Jay and, as it transpired, the first of many skeins of Pinkfeet to be seen during the day passed over. The seafront produced Herring and GBB Gulls and the resident cliff-dwelling Feral Rock Doves, but nothing at all was evident out to sea.

Not wanting to waste time, and to dodge the annoying early showers, I was soon heading off along the coast road towards West Runton seeing Carrion Crow on the way, and a stop at Cromer carnival field produced Pied Wagtail, Rook, Oystercatcher and Fulmar on the cliffs.

Arriving in West Runton, Collared Doves became evident on the houses and before I was even half way down the road to the beach car park, the Med Gull dutifully flew round over the car, and was accordingly rewarded with a few slices of bread!

A scan of the beach quickly produced Common Gull, Grey Plover, Redshank, Lapwing and Turnstone and then the hoped for Purple Sandpiper, which has been around for a few days now, was picked out amongst the seaweed covered rocks.

Attention turned to the sea with a Cormorant and a few Red-throated Divers offshore, and then a party of ducks were seen approaching which turned out to be Wigeon with the added surprise bonus of 2+Pale-bellied Brent Geese amongst them. Skylark and Meadow Pipit were flying around the cliff-top, a Golden Plover flew over and then a flock of 11 Knot were picked up on the rapidly increasing shoreline. A Great Crested Grebe was picked out on the sea amongst a small group of Divers and then another big surprise with a redhead Goosander flying close inshore heading east and a few Dark-bellied Brents were also noted passing by. A check of the fields along the beach road produced Common Snipe.

Moving on, a quick stop near the station produced a nice mixed finch flock with Siskin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Chaffinch in the alders along with a Blue Tit, and Mallards and Moorhen on the pond. Further along the road the first Pheasant was noted and a stop by Roman Camp produced Goldcrest and Great Tit.

It was then on to Felbrigg Park with Nuthatch and Wren closely followed by Mistle Thrush and Redwing, and then the welcome bonus of a Woodcock flushed from along the stream edge. Egyptian Geese and Teal were also along the stream but with the lake still frozen no other wildfowl could be added. A Water Rail was inadvertently flushed from lakeside vegetation and a few Reed Buntings were in the reedbed. On the way back to the car a fine male Bullfinch was seen along with a flock of Long-tailed Tits and a Great-spotted Woodpecker. A Coal Tit was noted in the car park and then both Tawny Owl and Green Woodpecker were heard calling but evaded detection. A quick dash into the other end of the park produced Treecreeper.

A drive round to try and mop up a few more produced Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Red-legged Partridges and Heron along the Roughton Road, Overstrand produced a Kestrel and Song Thrush and a Sparrowhawk was noted over Sidestrand.

Time was pressing now so I headed back along the coast road, calling into East Runton to see the semi-plastic Greylags, and then as light was rapidly fading made the decision to abort a return to West Runton but instead carry on up the road towards Felbrigg Park for owls. This proved a very fortuitous decision as while making a very quick stop on the way to look for Yellowhammer, I stumbled upon a Waxwing loosely associating with some Redwings feeding on sloe berries. With little time and even less light a rubbish record shot was quickly taken and then it was off to Felbrigg.

A quick dash down to the lake area failed to produce Barn Owl but on the way back I suddenly noticed two geese in the field just in front and was delighted to see that they were a couple of Whitefronts, an excellent site record. Back to the car and then a quick scan virtually immediately produced the resident Little Owl an excellent finish to the day, or so I thought, as within a few hundred yards of getting back home a Tawny Owl gracefully glided across the road rounding off the day perfectly.

A grand total of 75 birds were seen during the day, all within a 4km radius of Cromer, a really excellent tally and one which soundly beat my previous day list high of 67.

Review of the Year

As the year comes to an end here's a quick look back at the last twelve months on the patch which were, due to the enormous amount of time spent out in the field, undoubtedly the best ever.

9 new birds for the patch were seen, namely Tundra Bean Goose, Bittern, a pair of Bearded Tits, 2 separate Black-necked Grebes, Little Ringed Plover, King Eider, Corn Bunting, Barnacle Geese and 3 Hooded Crows.

The Bittern & Bean Goose day back in January will live long in the memory, and the buzz of finding most of the others, plus a host of scarce visitors is all that is needed to spur you on during those seemingless birdless periods.

Other notable birding highlights on the patch this year include the lingering Alpine Swift, Glaucous Gull, Richards Pipit, Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike, Yellow-browed Warbler, Hoopoe, Waxwings, Hen Harrier, Wood Warbler, Twite, Shorelark, Jack Snipe and Storm Petrel. In total 200 species were recorded during the year (190 of which were self found) which is an excellent total for an area with no managed reserves and which heavily relies upon those species which are just passing through to make up the yearly total.

Non-avain highlights of 2010 include on the Dragonfly front finding the Red-veined Darter at Felbrigg and refinding the Southern Emerald Damselfly at Winterton, and the amazing spectacle of the Purple Emperors at Fermyn was the undoubted Butterfly moment of the year.

I guess the only disappointment of the past 12 months was the fact that news of a Red-flanked Bluetail at Trimingham in October has only recently emerged which has naturally caused some ill feeling locally, but less said about that the better, and I'm sure there'll be another one on the patch sooner rather than later anyway.

So what lies ahead in 2011? Well with less free time available next year, although hopefully I'll still get out on the patch pretty much daily anyway, getting anywhere near 200 again will be an impossibe task (170 will be a more realistic target), but just enjoying my birding and hopefully finding a few good birds will be as ever the aim. Also after failing to get a British tick this year for the first time ever, a British lifer next year would be very welcome too.

Having well and truly got the Butterfly and Dragonfly bug, I'll hopefully do a bit of travelling in '11 to see some of those species that I've yet to see, with a trip up to Scotland and the south-west planned, and hopefully get loads of decent photos too.

Finally with a day list around the patch planned for tomorrow, here's hoping this persistent fog of the last few days will disperse overnight......

Anyway thanks to all of you who have read this blog during the year and hopefully found it a bit interesting and/or enjoyed looking at my photo's, and hopefully I'll keep it going throughout next year.

Waxwings from the window

A fortuitous glance out of the window this morning resulted in seeing a flock of 6 Waxwings flying past heading west which was a good start to the day.

A check along the seafront at Overstrand produced 3 Sanderlings on the beach which is a good local record as they have become very scarce visitors here compared to recent years. A couple of Ringed Plovers, Turnstone and Oystercatcher were also feeding along the high tide line, and a number of Lapwings and a Golden Plover were noted coming in-off.

A walk up to the reservoir at Sidestrand produced the highlight of a couple of Egyptian Geese flying in and landing in the field next to it, which, away from Felbrigg Park, are also very scarce visitors to the patch.

Christmas Day Kittiwake at West Runton

A Woodcock flew over the house on Monday evening, and Christmas Eve saw a couple of Redwings feeding in the garden.

A check of the beach on Christmas Day morning on the off chance that the Glaucous Gull, which had been at Cromer earlier before flying off west, had dropped in drew a blank but a fine 1st-winter Kittiwake which briefly landing on the exposed seaweed covered rocks was a nice surprise.

The usual Med Gull was on its favourite post, and waders were well represented with a Knot, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Turnstone and Oystercatcher on the beach and Golden Plover and Lapwing in the fields. Offshore a few Red-throated Divers were noted passing by.

Freezing conditions make for a quiet couple of weeks

With the snow and freezing conditions, the last couple of weeks have been pretty quiet round the patch but still a few notable records with a Snow Bunting in-off the sea at West Runton, a White-fronted Goose out to sea off Overstrand amongst an incoming flock of c20 Pinkfeet, and a Little Egret in the meadows around Felbrigg Lake.

Mealy Redpolls bring up the 200!

A walk around the north east corner of Felbrigg Park today in the hope of locating some Redpolls proved a success and even better when it became quickly obvious that they were Mealy Redpolls which I had been doing a lot of searching for over the last few weeks so I was delighted both at my find and the fact that they brought up the 200 for the patch this year, a really brilliant achievement and good reward for a huge amount of patch working this year.

At least 3 were present, and whilst watching two feeding overhead in some birches they were joined by a Lesser Redpoll which gave a good comparison between the two species.

Jack Snipe and Hooded Crow

With the freezing conditions persisting and a heavy snowfall overnight it was no surprise that birds were on the move today seeking out any suitable areas to feed.

A walk round the village was cut short with the news that my Dad had found a Black-tailed Godwit on the beach at West Runton, but unfortunately with the treacherous road conditions making the drive there extremely slow the incoming tide got to the bird before I could and pushed it off west, however a Hooded Crow feeding on the tideline amongst a melee of gulls was some compensation.

Whilst I was there a number of Snipe were noted coming in-off the sea so I decided to check the stream which ran alongside the beach road as it remained unfrozen and was immediately rewarded as I inadvertently flushed a Jack Snipe up out of the ditch which conveniently joined a Common Snipe as they flew round giving an excellent size comparison between the two before they went down into the adjacent fields, which was a really excellent record for the patch bringing me to just one short of my 200 target, and with all the freezing conditions currently occurring hopes were high of finding that one last bird..........

Big passage of Redshank and Shelduck

A seawatch today in a freezing onshore wind revealed that there were large amounts of waders moving past west presumably having been frozen out from the continent, and although the majority of flocks were too distant to id to species, the ones that were closer were all Redshank with flocks of 20+ birds passing at a time, and were undoubtedly the most I had ever seen moving through the patch. Also moving west were a notable passage of Shelduck along with a few Pintail too.

Whooper Swans over Trimingham

A planned walk along the clifftop between Sidestrand and Trimingham today to see if the Twite were still present had to be aborted as a major chunk of the cliffs, along with some of the clifftop sugar beet field, had recently collapsed and there was no longer a pathway along there.

I therefore decided to walk in from the Trimingham end but as I arrived at the layby I noticed a huge snow storm approaching from out to see so I decided to sit in the car for a while to wait for it to pass through, which as it transpired was a fortuitous decision as after a couple of minutes a flock of 10 Whooper Swans flew in off the sea just on the front edge of the storm and passed right over the road in front of my car.

Hoping that the snow may have grounded them I drove round the fields inland but there was no sign of them but still I was delighted with another new patch year tick bringing me to 198 as the month came to a close.

Goldeneye on Felbrigg Lake

A visit to Felbrigg Park today produced a fine drake Goldeneye on the lake, but unfortunately the Goosanders which had also been on there had been flushed by gun-shots in the adjacent wood shortly before my arrival.

Bittern at Titchwell

Another visit to Titchwell this afternoon produced a nice flight view of a Bittern over the reedbed, a redhead Goosander on the freshmarsh and a ringtail Hen Harrier over Thornham Marsh, along with a couple of Chinese Water Deer including the one photo'd yesterday with the split ear.

Raptors Galore

A visit to Titchwell today produced a plethora of raptors over Thornham Marsh with 2 Hen Harriers, 2+ Peregrines, Common Buzzard, Merlin, Marsh Harriers, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel, plus a Barn Owl too.

The bird being touted as a Northern Harrier was also seen distantly around Thornham Point but having seen the Tacumshin bird I must admit I was underwhelmed by this bird and think there is still alot to learn about the variation that Hen Harriers can show.

Other highlights whilst we were there included a couple of Lapland Buntings flying over and a Chinese Water Deer.

More Waxwings

More Waxwings were the highlight of the day today with a flock of 80+ on roadside wires near the Cawston roundabout which may well have been the birds from Aylsham, plus on the way home another 6 were seen on the roadside near Colby.

Rough-legged Buzzards at Holkham NNR

An early morning seawatch off East Runton produced a presumed Short-eared Owl in off the sea, and whilst a check of the clifftop bushes in which it appeared to go down in drew a blank, a Waxwing flew over.

A trip along the coast to Burnham Norton produced the desired result with a couple of Rough-legged Buzzards seen hunting over the saltmarsh and then on the way back a third flew over the coast road, briefly landing in a tree before heading off over the pines.