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Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Second half of the month

As expected the last couple of weeks of the month have been fairly quiet round the patch, although a Canada Goose (108) on Felbrigg Lake was a welcome new arrival.


A couple of Goldeneye also put in an appearance on the lake joining the long staying Whooper Swan, and a party of 4 Common Buzzards circling high over the park were also noteworthy.

With a fairly stiff easterly breeze blowing today, a bit of a seawatch seemed like a good idea, which was rewarded with 3+ Little Gulls (109) feeding offshore. Good numbers of Guillemots were also noted passing by, along with a few Gannets and Red-throated Divers and a single Wigeon.

Sunday, 15 January 2012

More of the same

More seawatching off West Runton on the 13th revealed a steady passage of Kittiwakes moving east, plus the first Red-breasted Merganser (101) and Brent Geese (102) of the year, along with the usual Red-throated Divers and Guillemots offshore.

A visit to Felbrigg produced a Pochard (103) new in on the lake along with the lingering Whooper Swan. A male Peregrine made a brief visit trying to land in the cormorant trees but was immediately seen off by the local crows, a pair of Common Buzzards were over the park and a few Redpolls, Siskins and Bramblings were evident there too.


More seawatching from West Runton on the 14th produced a Great Skua heading west, harassing a few GBB Gulls whilst on its way, with 2 drake Eiders (104), and a single Common Scoter amongst the other notable birds.

Another check of Felbrigg Lake finally produced Water Rail (105) with two or three birds seen briefly along the edge of the reedbed. No sign of the Pochard or any Mandarins today but the Whooper Swan seems happily settled in there now, and 4 Cormorants were squabbling over perches on the island and looking positively prehistoric as they spread out their wings to dry.


A check of various areas of suitable habitat finally paid dividends when a Woodcock (106) was found on East Runton Common, as it exploded from the undergrowth at point blank range as is the usual encounter with the species.

A bit more seawatching today produced a single Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Brent Geese and 2 Eider west, Red-throated Divers and a few Guillemots were as usual offshore, and the first Lesser Black-backed Gull (107) of the year headed east along the beach.

Thursday, 12 January 2012

Early January

The last ten days have been spent mopping up those few birds missed on Jan 1st and also seeing a few surprises too.

A check of Felbrigg on the 2nd revealed 3 Mandarins (78) and a female Goldeneye (79) on the lake, and a Marsh Tit (80) was present in the alder carr next to the reedbed. Seawatching off Cromer on the afternoon of the 5th produced a few Fulmars (81) passing by, and some more seawatching on the 6th from West Runton was rewarded with 4 Goosanders (82), a few Knot (83) and a group of Shelduck (84) all heading west, and a Lapland Bunting (85) flew over the car park. Another visit to Felbrigg produced both Bullfinch (86) and Common Buzzard (87) in the park. A couple of Redshanks (88) were feeding on the beach at West Runton on the 7th, and a flock of Wigeon (89) and a couple of Sanderlings (90) were noted passing by out to sea.

A text message on the morning of the 8th alerted me to the presence of a Whooper Swan (91) on Felbrigg Lake, and upon hot-footing it down there was treated to excellent views as it mingled with the newly established Mute Swan flock.


Whilst watching the Whooper I then received a very fortuitous phone call from my Dad, who had coincidentally just pulled into the main car park at Felbrigg, to say that he was watching a Red Kite (92) circling over the park, and upon looking up it was immediately picked up as it slowly drifted off southeast towards the village.

A male Blackcap (93) in the garden first thing on the 9th was a nice surprise, and a walk along the cliffs between Sidestrand and Trimingham on the 10th produced Green Woodpecker (94), a flock of Golden Plover (95) and a Peregrine (96) flushed off the cliff face and then watched as it slowly made its way inland. A check of the reservoir produced a Grey Wagtail (97) and then a search round the fields of Northrepps finally resulted in the first Yellowhammers (98) of the year.

A visit to Felbrigg on the 11th produced Mistle Thrush (99), a pair of Mandarins and the Whooper Swan were on the lake, but the flock of Redpolls, which contain a few interesting looking pale individuals, proved as mobile and near impossible to view satisfactorily as ever. With temperatures hitting 12 degrees it was no surprise to see a Red Admiral had been awoken from its winter hibernation and was basking in the warm sunshine.


It was then on to West Runton where a flock of 40+ Common Scoter heading west brought up the 100 for the patch this year in record time, and rounded off an excellent start to the year on the patch.

Sunday, 1 January 2012

New Years Day List

As usual the first day of the year saw me doing a day list round the patch, with last years total of 75 being the record to beat.

Robin and Blackbird were pre-dawn singers, but the first bird seen in the first glimmers of light was a Magpie (1), closely followed by Black-headed Gulls (2) and Woodpigeon (3). A familar sound then had me rushing back to the window as the days first skein of Pinkfeet (4) headed west silhouetted against the early morning sky. Chaffinch (5), Great Tit (6), Blue Tit (7), Dunnock (8) and Robin (9) were all noted visiting the feeders at first light, and a few foraging Blackbirds (10) were also noted as I left the house.

First stop was to check the sea off Overstrand, and whilst parking the car Starling (11), House Sparrow (12) and Goldfinch (13) were noted. A Song Thrush (14) was in early morning song on the cliff face, and down on the beach Herring Gull (15), Great Black-backed Gull (16), Carrion Crow (17) and the surprise of a couple of Lapwings (18) on the tideline were noted, a Cormorant (19) was fishing close inshore and a Pheasant (20) was on the clifftop. Deciding to quickly move on, driving through the village produced Collared Dove (21), and a flock of Greenfinches (22) and a single Redwing (23) were noted perched up in a tree.

A quick stop opposite Cromer Golf Club produced a flock of Long-tailed Tits (24), Feral Pigeons (25) were noted as I passed through the town, and then a stop by the carnival field produced Common Gull (26), Rook (27), Turnstones (28), and a flock of Oystercatchers (29) on the beach below. East Runton duckpond produced Mallard (30) and Greylag (31), and then a check of the sea there revealed a Great Crested Grebe (32) close inshore and a number of Red-throated Divers (33) passing by.

I then made my way to West Runton picking up Jackdaw (34) on the way, and on arrival quickly noted Ringed Plover (35) and Grey Plover (36) on the beach and a Guillemot (37) close inshore. The wintering Med Gull (38) appeared over the car park, Skylarks (39) and Meadow Pipits (40) were flying round the fields, which also held a couple of Stock Doves (41). I then settled down for a bit of a seawatch and noted Gannet (42), Kittiwake (43) and the big surprise of a Great Skua (44) passing by, despite this being the third year running now that I have seen one in January.

Heading up to Felbrigg a Jay (45) was seen by the Shirehorse Centre, and a brief stop near Roman Camp produced Coal Tit (46) and Goldcrest (47). Walking down towards the lake at Felbrigg a Lesser Redpoll (48) was noted flying over and slightly further on a larger flock of 40+ birds were encountered which contained both Mealy Redpoll (49) and Siskin (50). A Nuthatch (51) was heard calling and then quickly located, and a Treecreeper (52) was also noted in the same stand of trees.

On the lake Moorhen (53), Mute Swan (54), Gadwall (55), Teal (56) and Tufted Duck (57) were all noted, an Egyptian Goose (58) was on the meadow infront of the hall, a Reed Bunting (59) was in the reedbed and a Heron (60) was fishing around the Mandarin-less trees. A Snipe (61) was flushed from the meadow north of the lake and Fieldfares (62) were noted flying over. Heading back to the car the hoped for flock of Bramblings (63) was encountered by the main car park, but time was then wasted chasing a calling Bullfinch through the trees which I never caught up with.

Moving on, Roughton Road produced a nice flock of Linnets (64) and a Wren (65) and then a quick foray was made into Warren Wood for the Tawny Owl (66) which remains ever faithful to its roost tree. Great-spotted Woodpecker (67) and Red-legged Partridge (68) were seen en-route to the private wood where the Yellow-browed Warbler (69) and a Chiffchaff (70) were quickly located.

Another private site produced Little Grebe (71) and the surprise sighting of a Marsh Harrier (72) drifting over southeastwards. Driving round the back roads of Northrepps in search of Yellowhammer drew a blank but Sparrowhawk (73), Barn Owl (74) and Kestrel (75) were all seen.

Time and the light were fast running out and a check round East Runton for a few remaining targets drew a blank, so I quickly made my way back to Felbrigg where the Little Owl (76) was located immediately in its favourite tree. A dash down to the lake failed to produce Mandarin or Water Rail, although Green Woodpecker was added to the heard list, and the second Barn Owl of the day was noted. In the fading light I made a dash back to Cromer to enjoy the roost of Pied Wagtails (77) at Morrisons, with up to a hundred birds gathering there.

I returned to Felbrigg in the hope of a Woodcock, and whilst waiting totted up the days total for the first time and was delighted to find that I had beaten my previous record by two, so with rain now setting in I decided to call it a day with the excellent haul of 77 species seen plus a further 2 heard only.

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Review of the year

With another year gone, here's a quick look back at what has been an excellent year on the patch.

In total 190 species were seen on the patch with 9 new additions for the area - White-tailed Eagle, Citrine Wagtail, Dotterel, Bluethroat, Bonelli's Warbler, Pallid Swift, Humes Yellow-browed Warbler, Long-eared Owl and Woodlark. Additional species such as Greenish Warbler, Pallas's Warbler, Quail, Avocet, Great Grey Shrike and Tundra Bean Goose were only second records, with notable mentions also going to the 5 Grey Phals, and the autumn influxes of Short-eared Owls and Geese. Away from birds, the Willow Emerald Damselfly was the most memorable occurrence.

Further afield 2011 also provided a good haul of British ticks with White-throated Robin, White-winged Scoter, Rufous-tailed Robin and the putative Slaty-backed Gull, plus honourable mentions to the Eastern Black Redstart and Oriental Turtle Dove.

Continuing my interest in Butterflies, 11 new species were seen during the year - Adonis and Small Blues, Northern Brown Argus, Duke of Burgundy, Large Heath, Silver-spotted Skipper, Brown Hairstreak and Marsh, Heath, Pearl-bordered & Small Pearl-bordered Fritilaries, and on the dragonfly front Common Clubtail was also a new addition.

So overall a really excellent year, and here's to 2012 and many more memorable encounters.

Yellow-browed Warbler

The undoubted highlight of the last few days of the year around the patch was the discovery of a wintering Yellow-browed Warbler (on private land with no general access). With I think it being only the second winter occurrence in the county, following the one that overwintered in Stiffkey campsite wood in 2002/3, it was naturally an excellent record for the patch.

Extensive checking of the patch in readiness for the Jan 1st day-list, revealed that up to 6 Chiffchaffs are wintering in various locations, and 5 Mandarins (3 drakes) on Felbrigg Lake were a welcome sight.

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Sanderling

Highlights during the last week round the patch have included a ringtail Hen Harrier which flew low west along the cliffs at West Runton, and a Sanderling up on the reservoir which was the first record for the site, and a pretty remarkable occurrence given their total absence from the local beaches this year.


Seawatching has produced a few Kittiwakes and Gannets continuing to pass through, along with Guillemots, Red-throated Divers and a couple of Great Crested Grebes.

A check of Felbrigg lake revealed that there are now 23 Mute Swans on the lake, easily the most I've ever seen on there, with a pair of Egyptian Geese, plus a few Gadwall, Teal and Tufted Ducks also present. Works have started there to alter the course of the stream that runs down into the lake in order to make it more meandering, along with the installation of a weir and a new bridge, however the intentions to flood the meadow on the north side of the lake during the winter are the most interesting aspect of the scheme with the potential of the birds that that might drag in, so it'll be very interesting to see what happens there.

Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Woodlark revisited

With the Woodlark continuing to linger, I took the opportunity to go and have another look at it yesterday with the hope of getting some views of it on the ground.

Having sussed out its favourite corner of the field, I quickly located it feeding amongst the furrows and then latterly on the grassy strip along the clifftop where it gave excellent views. Unfortunately the very blustery conditions meant trying to hold the scope and camera still was a near impossibility but I managed a couple of acceptable shots out of the couple of hundred blurry ones taken.

Sunday, 11 December 2011

WOODLARK

Spent the morning today walking the clifftop between Sidestrand and Trimingham looking for a Woodlark which was reported yesterday, but which I failed to find in a search late afternoon although the exact location was somewhat unclear from the message broadcast on the pager.

Having again drawn a blank, and not seen anything else of note along the cliffs either, I had decided to go elsewhere and was heading back to the car when my attention was suddenly grabbed by a musical call overhead and on quickly looking up I was thrilled to see the Woodlark circling round above me before dropping down in the middle of the field. A short while later myself and another birder again had good flight views as it flew round calling overhead before it flew off a short distance coming down on a bit of nearby heathland.

So a really excellent record being my first one ever for the patch and certainly not one I've had predicted here in December, and a great way to bring up the 190 for the patch this year.

Saturday, 10 December 2011

Black-throated Diver & Bewick's Swans

A bit more seawatching was had today, this time from West Runton with the highlights being a flock of Bewick's Swans which headed west and a Black-throated Diver on the sea. A few Shelduck, a couple of Shoveler, Goldeneye, Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Red-throated Divers were all noted passing by too, and a single Golden Plover was on the beach amongst the roosting Grey Plovers and Lapwings.

Not a great pic of the Diver due to the distance but you can still see what it is.


The usual Med Gull in the car park was a bit more photogenic!

Friday, 9 December 2011

Seawatching

With the very stormy conditions further north yesterday followed by a bit of a northerly airflow down the North Sea along the back edge of the low as it tracked eastwards, it was worth having a look at the sea today even though it was a WSW wind here.

Three hours of watching from Cromer was rewarded with 40+ Little Auks moving west, in groups of up to 4 birds. A few passed just beyond the breakers giving excellent views, with those, along with some others slightly further out, pitching down on the sea temporarily by the pier, before they carried on their way.

A Grey Phalarope was also noted heading west, briefly landing on the sea a few times to feed as it went, which is always good to see just to confirm the id. The other notable sightings were my first Great Northern Diver of the year, and a pair of Harbour Porpoise

Wildfowl were very notable by their absence with a Red-breasted Merganser being the only duck species noted, along with just a single Brent Goose. A couple of Great Crested Grebes, Red-throated Divers, Guillemots, Gannets, Kittiwakes, an Oystercatcher and a Dunlin were the other species noted during the watch.

Saturday, 3 December 2011

Goosander

With the influx of geese that took place last month it was no surprise when 3+ Tundra Beans were found amongst a flock of c400 Pinkfeet which yesterday took up temporary residence near Northrepps. Although they were fairly distant they were still nice to see and given their previous extreme scarceness on the patch, still a very notable occurrence despite the numbers present this year.

Today saw me head down to Felbrigg lake to see if the Goosander which had been reported yesterday was still there, and after a bit of scanning I eventually found it asleep up against the far bank. Despite a number of walkers going round the lake it didn't seem that bothered so I made my way round to get a closer look and of course the obligatory snap of it.


Whilst watching it my attention was suddenly grabbed by something small whizzing across the surface of the water out of the corner of my eye, my immediate thought was Kingfisher but swinging round I was surprised to see it was actually a bat!

Over the next ten or so minutes I watched as it fed back and forth low over the waters surface obviously feeding on insects before it eventually disappeared up into the trees and presume it was having a bit of a feed up either ready for hibernation or just maybe because the overnight rain had prevented it from feeding last night, but still a great sight in broad daylight especially given the time of year and it not being particularly mild either.


 
This Heron was quietly stalking fish amongst the 'Mandarin trees', although there was no sign of the latter there, and back at the car the resident Little Owl was watched in its usual area of trees and a few Bramblings were also noted.

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Cley Peep

Following a phone call alerting me to the fact that there was a possibility that the Semi-p currently at Cley may well actually be a Western Sandpiper, I headed over there this afternoon to have a look at it.

On arrival I was greeted with the news that it had flown off, potentially into Blakeney Harbour, but decided that now I was here I'd stick it out just in case it returned. Constant checking of the Dunlin flock drew a blank, but a Peregrine drifting over eastwards brightened up the wait, however as it succeeded in flushing up most of the birds on the reserve and clearing everything off from Simmonds Scrape, maybe it wasn't that great after all!

Although most people had now left the hide, I decided to stay and eventually with a few Dunlin starting to slowly return to the area, I picked up a flock of about half a dozen flying into the scrape and immediately noticed that there was a smaller bird amongst them. I quickly grabbed the scope as they landed and confirmed that I wasn't imagining the size difference and although they were at the back of the scrape it was undoubtedly the bird so made a quick phone call to get people back to the hide.

After a while it flew onto the island right in front of the hide and allowed me to get a series of photos which hopefully could add something to the id debate.


At the time of writing the opinions as to its id have firmly swayed over to it indeed being a Western Sandpiper, which would be the first record for Norfolk, although there are still a few doubts being expressed, so developments over the next few days will naturally be closely followed.

A second wader present has also been causing some head scratching as to its id, but a small short-billed Dunlin seems to be the most likely option, although a hybrid origin has been muted along with other rarer suggestions. (N.B other photos of this bird give it a much greyer appearance than in the photos below)


As darkness approached a Merlin was watched chasing prey over the scrapes and was then watched on the ground devouring an item of prey in front of the hide, but sadly it was far too dark for photos at this point.

Saturday, 19 November 2011

Long-eared Owl

Highlights round the patch the last couple of days have included a Black Redstart at Sidestrand, c30 Snow Buntings east along the cliffs at West Runton, with a Little Gull feeding offshore there, and the Scaup continues to linger.

Keeping up the unprecedented recent run of outstanding local birds, today saw a Long-eared Owl being found roosting in a garden at Northrepps. Presumably a very recently arrived migrant, this was my first one ever for the patch so was naturally an extremely welcome record indeed.

Although giving superb views through the scope, getting an in-focus photo through the countless branches with a camera which lacks manual focusing was a near impossible task, but a couple of shots came out ok to record the occurrence of this excellent patch bird.

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

More Wildfowl

The notable influx of geese noted last week has continued to produce small flocks dotted along the patch during the last few days, including this Tundra Bean Goose which was amongst a few Pink-feet at Northrepps.


A few Whitefronts have also pitched down in coastal fields such as these two which were at West Runton.


Continuing the wildfowl theme this Scaup has lingered at Northrepps for a few days, and whilst watching it both a Waxwing and a Snow Bunting flew over.


Having seriously neglected it over the last couple of months in favour of flogging the coast, I visited Felbrigg Lake today and was pleasantly surprised to see probably the most amount of Wildfowl that I've ever seen on there. Most notable were 16 Mute Swans which was by far the biggest number that I can recall ever seeing there, and 2 drakes and a female Mandarin were as usual hiding amongst the trees at the back. Other species noted included Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Tufted Ducks and Pochard on the lake, a Water Rail showed well along the edge of the reeds, a Grey Wagtail flew over and a Marsh Tit was calling behind the lake to add to the variety.

Sunday, 13 November 2011

Eastern Black Redstart

Took a trip down to Margate today to see the Eastern Black Redstart (ssp Phoenicuroides which has characteristic orangey-red underparts), which irrespective of the potential of a prospective future split, was just a really stunning bird to see. Present for its third day, it seemed quite at home happily feeding on the beach and cliffs only a few feet away from its small crowd of admirers, and presented some suberb photo opportunities.

Friday, 11 November 2011

Geese Galore

Today was notable for a number of flocks of Geese going over the patch, with the highlight being a group consisting of 2 Tundra Bean Geese and 9 Whitefronts which pitched down in a field at Northrepps, with the former species being only my second record for the patch.

The 2 Beans only stayed in the flock for a short while so only a distant record shot of them was obtained, but the Whitefronts seemed quite settled allowing better pics to be taken.


A number of other flocks of grey geese were noted going over, including a flock of 14 Greylags and 2 Whitefronts which came in-off the sea, with the origins of the former being intriguing.

A visit to Trimingham produced only a single Chiffchaff, and checks around other areas of the patch produced little of note in the cold and blustery conditions.

Thursday, 10 November 2011

Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler

After yesterdays events, naturally Trimingham was the obvious destination of the day with the hope that the Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler would still be present, although after about an hour of searching it wasn't looking good, but a showy Firecrest definitely brightened up the gloomy morning.

However eventually a couple located a yellow-browed type and upon calling us over and seeing it up in the canopy it quickly became evident that this was undoubtedly going to be the Hume's, and after a brief disappearance it popped up again right infront of us and conviniently called too to confirm its id. It continued to be mobile and elusive until we sussed out where it had settled down to feed and was then treated to good views on and off during the next hour or so. So a great relief that it had stayed overnight and an excellent new bird for the patch list too.

A couple of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were also present in the scrub, along with a Bullfinch and a few Golden Plover were noted flying over.

Wednesday, 9 November 2011

Pallas's Warbler etc

Another excellent day on the patch today started with a walk along the clifftop between Sidestrand and Trimingham. A flock of 16 Waxwings flying east got the day going, closely followed by a Peregrine cruising the cliffs. Redpolls and Siskins were flying overhead, as did a Snow Bunting, plus various thrushes and Meadow Pipits.

As I walked along the Peregrine landed on the cliffs in the distance but soon after what I initially presumed was the same bird suddenly flushed from a much closer position than I thought it was, and I watched as it headed out over the sea. I then scanned further along and saw that the original bird was still further ahead so infact there were two and a great double for the patch.

Walking further along 14 Whitefronts came in-off and then joined up with a massive flock of Pinkfeet that were heading westwards slightly inland, and 9+ mobile Snow Buntings were on the cliffs/ clifftop stubble field.

Then came the real surprise of the day when a bird was flushed from the cliffs and bounded along infront of me before landing again. Initially it just didn't register what it was but on raising my bins I was shocked to see that it was a Little Owl. It sat momentarily on an outcrop before quickly flying again and disappeared into a hole in the cliff-face! Quite what it was doing here I don't know, and as to whether it was an incoming bird or a resident bird from somewhere inland is anyones guess.

I then got a call to say a potential Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler was at Trimingham so I quickly made my way there, but unfortunately it couldn't be relocated although a Hume's-like call was heard in the trees. However things suddenly took a turn for the better when a Pallas's Warbler appeared in the same area and eventually treated us to excellent views just above our heads. In fact at one point there was the Pallas's, a couple of Chiffchaffs, Blackcap and 1+Yellow-browed Warblers all in the same group of trees at the same time so it was hard to know which way to look! Further searching couldn't turn up the Hume's, but as an added bonus 2 Whooper Swans flew in-off and headed inland, my first of the year.

A late afternoon check along the beach for rare Wheatears drew a blank, but with the Hume's being reported again at dusk hopefully it'll stick overnight, especially as I missed the only other one to be seen on the patch due to being on Fair Isle at the time.

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

Great Grey Shrike and more

With the news that a Great Grey Shrike had been seen in East Runton, near to Cromer Waterworks, this was naturally my first port of call today and on arriving on site it was immediately seen briefly perched up before dropping out of sight.

Frustratingly it then decided to lie low for nearly the next two hours, during which time my first Waxwings(6) of the winter flew over heading south, and good numbers of Blackbirds, Redwings and Fieldfares passed over too.

Eventually it reappeared right in front of us virtually exactly where it had dropped down, and proceeded to show well, but being alongside the railway, each train that passed flushed it, but after a bit of a fly round it soon returned to the waterworks compound and occasionally came right onto the railway embankment performing admirably for us.


With the nights now closing in and it being such a dreary day into the bargain, I then did a whistle-stop raid on a few of the clifftop sycamore woods on the patch in the remaining daylight with the hope of finding a Pallas's Warbler. No such luck but I came close with the discovery of a Yellow-browed Warbler at Sidestrand which I was still more than happy with as it had looked like this was going to be the first autumn for quite a while that I hadn't self-found one on the patch. So an excellent ending to a great day on the patch and although the autumn is now fast coming to an end, hopefully with one last blast of effort over the next few days there may still be that one more decent bird to be found.