Hooded Crows, Shorelarks and more

An excellent day around the patch began with a walk along the cliffs at Trimingham in the hope that the Hooded Crow that has been cruising the patch over the last few days might be there, but despite no sign, it was still a very rewarding walk.

Heading west along the clifftop the first Yellow Wagtail of the year was heard calling before I watched it flying off west, a few Swallows and Sand Martins were on the move, as were a good number of Linnets and Meadow Pipits, and a few Wheatears were noted in the fields.

My attention was then drawn to a flock of Woodpigeons scattering all ways from Sidestrand School wood and the glorious sight of a Red Kite came heading towards me low over the fields giving excellent views before heading off over Trimingham village. Unfortunately it was never close enough for a decent pic, but I took a quick record snap of it as it passed by anyway.

I then met another local and as we chatted two House Martins, my first of the spring flew along the cliffs. Whilst discussing the recent Hooded Crow sightings, it was mentioned that one had been seen at East Runton back in Feb, so I stored that bit of info in the memory bank to maybe have a check around the area at some point in the near future.

I then did the Lighthouse & golf course area with the highlights being 5 Wheatears on the turf slope and a Fox sunbathing down on the undercliff.

At this point I nearly decided to head back home to watch the finish of the cricket world cup final and the football, but fortunately decided to act on the info gleaned earlier and check out East Runton instead. Heading past the council offices I noticed a flock of corvids in the field to the north of the road so I quickly dived into the layby and grabbed my bins to have a scan of the flock, and almost immediately upon going through the flock I was looking at a Hooded Crow!

Incredibly inconviniently, at this point a bird scarer went bang and the whole flock dispersed to all points, but after a game of cat and mouse whilst walking the permissive path round the field, when I again had it in flight and then briefly on the deck, it finally settled down in a field some distance away and upon getting it in my scope I was shocked to see that there were actually two!

With Hooded Crows now a very scarce occurrence in the county, maybe they were the same pair that I had found at Trimmingham last autumn which had gone on to winter in the area, and the one that I had seen before Christmas at West Runton also being one of these birds, which also presumably account for the number of recent sightings around the patch too?

I took a few record pics of the two birds, but thanks to the bird scarer continuing to go off they never came very close to get anything better.

I then headed off to West Runton as a flock of 6 Shorelarks had been reported as being there a couple of hours ago. Not really expecting them to still be around I was very pleasantly surprised that my first scan of the field revealed that they were in fact still there and were happily feeding away in the recently sown field. I could only find four, but was more than happy with those, and with the recent Lapland and Snow Buntings in the same field during the last couple of weeks they completed a very welcome treble.

Despite doing their best to hide amongst the new shoots, they did oblige by coming close enough to the path for a few good pics to be taken before moving off into the middle of the field again.

A few Wheatears were also noted in the field, and offshore 7 Sandwich Terns were seen passing by and occasionally diving for fish, and it was nice to hear their calls once again. Overhead the passage of Swallows and Sand Martins continued.

One the way home I decided to call back into East Runton and walked up a track from the other side near to where the Hooded Crows had been and was rewarded with much closer views of one of them feeding amongst a corvid flock. No sign of the other although it could easily just have been out of sight as there is a lot of dead ground in the area.

Hopefully they will continue to hang around the area, maybe even summer, and if they are a pair...?

Migrants Galore

A walk around the lighthouse/golf course area this morning produced the now usual Chiffchaffs singing and a couple of Siskins flew over. East Runton was equally quiet on the bird front with just more Chiffchaffs, but a bit more action on the Butterfly front with my first Peacock of the year, along with numerous Brimstones and a few Small Tortoiseshells.

I then visited West Runton with little expections given how quiet it seemed to be, but that all quickly changed and it turned out to be a really excellent couple of hours there.

An initial scan along the cliffs revealed there was a flock of a dozen Sand Martins prospecting the cliffs which were then joined by a couple of Swallows, my first of the year. A couple of Wheatears appeared along the clifftop and then a scan out to sea produced the first Sandwich Terns of the year with a single and then a pair heading west. A Guillemot was noted close inshore and following too much attention from the local Herring Gulls it hauled itself out of the sea and hid amongst the rocks on the beach.

A few more Sand Martins were seen heading westwards, and a walk along the clifftop produced a couple of Snow Buntings feeding on the path and a White Wagtail in the field. Finally on the way back a Black Redstart appeared on the clifftop fence and then quickly worked its way inland across the fields.

First Blackcap of the year

My usual check of the Lighthouse and Golf Course area this morning produced my first local Blackcap of the year with a female on The Warren. A few Chiffchaffs continued to sing and a Brambling and a few Siskins passed over.

With the news that a Red Kite was potentially heading towards the patch having flown east over Salthouse and Weybourne, I set myself up on a high point at the back of Cromer and soon picked up what was presumably the same bird over the ridge near Aylmerton and watched as it gained height thermalling for some 15 minutes before rapidly drifting off north-east and out of view over Cromer. A couple of the local Common Buzzards were also noted along with a Sparrowhawk.

A visit to West Runton revealed that there had been a mini fall of Wheatears. I saw 4 birds at once but there were probably more than that as they were ranging widely all along the cliff top, fields and car park being continually flushed by all the walkers who were out enjoying the warm weather.

An Eider was again offshore, and a Stock Dove was down on the beach, but no sign of any Lapland Buntings and the Med Gull was conspicuous by its absence so may have moved on for the summer?

First Sand Martins and Pochard on Felbrigg

A check along the fields at West Runton this morning produced the first Sand Martins of the year with a group of three flying west along the cliffs. There was still a Lapland Bunting in the recently sown field, the third bird of the week as this one was much drabber plumage wise then the two present earlier in the week.

Offshore there was a couple of Red-throated Divers and an Eider. Two Brent Geese flew west and a couple of Curlew east.

A trip up to Felbrigg revealed that the Firecrest was still in the western car park, along with a couple of singing Chiffchaffs. A few Siskins and Redpolls also flew over calling.

A walk down to the lake produced the surprise of a drake Pochard, the first one I had recorded there this year, and a pair of Mandarins were doing their best to evade detection amongst the trees.

Having been fortunate to be able to quickly acquire another Lumix TZ3, second hand but in really good condition, in addition to the Pochard I tested it out on some easy targets.

Lapland Buntings continue to linger

A check along the golf course and lighthouse area today revealed a number of Chiffchaffs still singing away, 3 Bramblings were in Warren Woods and a couple of Greylags headed NE out to sea. A few corvids were on the move and the first Brimstone of the year was also noted.

A visit to West Runton revealed the two Lapland Buntings were still present, inevitably showing very well now that I am camera-less, and the Med Gull continues to patrol the car park in its splendid summer attire.

Offshore a flock of 18 Eider was noteworthy, and a Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver were noted moving west. A few Common Buzzards and Sparrowhawks were noted along the ridge circling up high enjoying the warm and sunny weather.

Bunting Bonanza and more migrants too

A phone call from my Dad this morning alerted me to the fact that he had found a Lapland Bunting in the cliff-top field at West Runton. We had both been checking there regularly for one, especially as there were large numbers just along the coast at Webourne, so it was nice to know that our persistence with looking had finally paid off. Fortunately it was still there when I arrived and it gave excellent views as it fed along the field edge, and was in really smart plumage.

A Black Redstart briefly alighted on the fence along the cliff edge before vanishing, and then as I walked further east to check the rest of the fields I was delighted as three Snow Buntings flew along the field in front of me and began feeding in the ploughed field. After a short while they joined up with the Lapland Bunting and it was excellent to see them feeding side by side, before something flushed everything up from the field and they were lost to view.

Unfortuately at this point my camera decided to develop a terminal problem with completely of its own accord it zooming out to full magnification and jamming in this position and consequently preventing any other button on it from working so I was far from happy! It might be repairable, but as the lens is quite scratched now and the sensor being tempermental especially on the macro setting, its probably time to look at a new one.

Back in the car park a male Wheatear, the first of the year, was briefly seen on the large grassy area before vanishing as everything scattered revealing a Peregrine slowly moving west.

A check of the golf course revealed a number of Chiffchaffs singing in the wood and the undercliff, and other birds noted moving included a few Siskins, alba Wagtails and Starlings.

I then decided to do a bit of raptor watching from Incleborough, with the added bonus of some Cranes hopefully moving east along the coast as per the pager. Unfortunately the Cranes moved through unseen, probably too far inland to see, but a very distant Red Kite more than made up for that. It was undoubtedly the same bird that was seen over Cley reserve then heading SSE over Walsey, and I would guess it was over Kelling Heath when I picked it up before it dropped below the tree line on the Holt-Cromer ridge never to rematerialise.

Different people have different rules when it comes to counting birds for a specific area, for me its as long as I'm on the patch I count it for the patch irrespective of whether the bird is actually outside the boundary, after all its just a bit of fun, and I'm sure I'll have one over the patch in the near future anyway if past years are anything to go by.

A scan of the field at West Runton from the top of Incleborough revealed that there was now two Lapland Buntings in the field, so after I'd finished raptor watching, a few local Common Buzzards and Sparrowhawks were also seen, I went back down to the beach car park for a closer view of them before heading home after a really excellent day.

First Chiffchaffs arrive on the patch

With the official beginning of Spring today, a walk around the golf course/lighthouse area coincidentally produced the first Chiffchaff of the year singing away in Warren Woods, and after a little searching it finally showed well making frequent sallies out from the trees after insects. Further along another was calling from the undercliff, and it was so nice to hear them again after what has been a long winter.

A check around East Runton produced the first Lizard of the year which happily froze on the bare earth it was sunning itself on, obviously knowing that I had left the camera in the car! A couple of Small Tortoiseshells flew by, but no other migrants or birds of note were encountered.

Another Firecest in Felbrigg

Another quiet week on the patch, and with the cold wind and foggy days spring can't come quick enough.

Highlight of the week was another Firecrest in Felbrigg, with this one being in last years haunt of the western car park. Although it was showing well as it did its circuit merrily singing away, getting a photo of it was another matter and I had to settle for the effort below which although is out of focus you can still see what it is so it'll do.

Rock Pipits

A check along the patch for Wheatears drew a blank, but a couple of Rock Pipits on the cliffs near Beeston Bump were a nice surprise and the first on the patch this year.

The Med Gull has now acquired a full black hood on one side, with just a tiny amount of white remaining on the other, and was looking splendid in the sunshine.

Presumably part of the small flock seen earlier in the year, at least 4 Bramblings were noted around the eastern end of Overstrand, with a couple of smart plumaged males, and a quick check of the sea produced half a dozen Gannets moving east.

First Comma of the year

A walk along the golf course produced another Stonechat and the first Comma Butterfly of the year was seen sunning itself in Happy Valley.

Black Redstart

As with last year, Black Redstart was again the first proper spring migrant to be recorded on the patch with one on my Dads allotment in East Runton today which showed well on and off around the freshly dug plots.

The first Small Tortoiseshell of the year was also noted flying through.

A check around West Runton produced a pair of Stonechats around the beach carpark, so with the one on Tuesday obviously their spring migration is well underway now.

Finally a visit to Felbrigg produced the Mandarins which have recently returned to the lake with a pair plus a lone female present, although they were pretty wary flying off onto the meadow pool when disturbed by walkers.

Stonechat

The West Runton Med Gull is fast acquiring its full summer plumage with virtually a full black hood now save for just a few white speckles remaining around the base of the bill. As ever it was dutifully obliging for a bit of food in return.

I also took some pics of the local Black-headed Gulls with a couple of them below.

With the nice weather, I then took a walk along the golf course in the hope of an early migrant and was rewarded with the first Stonechat of the year in Happy Valley lifting expectatations for the forthcoming weeks and an end to the near birdless last few weeks.


A check of the roosting Gulls on the sea to the east of the pier revealed another(?) adult Med Gull.

Oriental Turtle Dove

With the patch continuing to be quiet, a trip was made to see the Oriental Turtle Dove. A big thanks goes to the home owner who was continuing to kindly allow birders to view his back garden where it was frequenting from inside his kitchen.

After a short wait the Oriental Turtle Dove flew in and then busily fed on the ground at the back of the garden before flying up and resting in a tree. Eventually it plucked up courage to visit the bird table and we were treated to superb close views.

I took a few snaps as it fed which have come out ok considering they were taken through glass, plus another couple of more distant ones as it perched up in the tree.

Apart from the Dove, a good number of other species were regularly visiting the feeders with Blackcap, Reed Bunting, Bramblings and Bullfinches being the most notable.

On the way back several Red Kites were seen including one low over the car circling a dead Badger on the road.

Sea sees out the month

The remainder of February around the patch has continued to be very quiet, with a build up of Gadwall (c10 pairs) and a single drake Wigeon on Felbrigg Lake being the only real change.

A Goldcrest which was visting the feeders in the garden to feed on both the fatballs and nuts was a most unusual sighting.

The final day of the month saw some nice brisk onshore winds so some seawatching off the patch was in order. A number of Gannets, Kittiwakes, Red-throated Divers, Eiders, Common Scoter and a few distant auks were noted, along with the first 3 Shelducks for the year.

Rainham Revisted

With the Slaty-backed Gull having been seen again at Rainham yesterday, I decided to revisit the site today to hopefully get more prolonged views of it this time.

Arriving at 7.30 I was surprised to find only a dozen other cars in the car park, and with the marshes shrouded in mist and then having spoken to one of the wardens to find out that the tipping area on the landfill may not be visible from outside the site, the prospects of seeing it didn't appear huge, but I was as ever up for the task and began the 2 mile walk along to the landfill.

A couple of Ring-necked Parakeets flew over to liven up the walk, and then a brief stop to check the pools on Wennington Marsh was completely hampered by the mist so I carried on to join the others at the Landfill.

Recognising a couple of other fellow Norfolk birders I joined them to peer through the perimeter fence and the bushes at the congregated gulls, but it quickly became evident that the current tipping area was indeed out of view from our position and that as a consequence we were only seeing a very small percentage of the gulls present.

Having drawn a blank (plus a curious report of the SBG flying over Dagenham), at c1045 we decided to check the pools on Wennington Marsh as we had noted a good number of gulls drifting off that way from the landfill, plus it was a change of scenery and the walk would warm us up a bit!

We joined about half-a-dozen others who were watching from near the Serin mound and after ruling out an GBB Gull which was being watched by some of the others on our arrival, I started what I thought would be the difficult task of sifting through the assembled gulls due to the distance they were away from us and the still relatively misty conditions.

However I immediately locked on to a large dark-backed gull, which was showing a blueish tinge to the mantle and a large white scapular patch. Unfortunately at this point it was facing away from us and was both partially obscured and preening so not much of the bird was visible but I certainly wasn't going to take my eyes off it. It momentarily lifted its head up from preening its breast revealing a streaked head and neck, the streaks being concentrated around the eye area forming a dark patch, and a very pale bill, and alarm bells immediately started to ring! How ironic that given the accusations of not knowing what I was looking at when I had previously claimed the bird, that yet again I was to be the one to pick it out!

Almost simultaneously another birder from the group came over to say he thought he had picked it out and upon quickly confirming we were looking at the same bird we hastened to get everyone else on it, and this time I would do my damnist to get a photo for the doubters should it fly.

After a frustrating couple of minutes of it remaining obscured and continuing to preen it finally gave a view of its back half revealing the large white secondary 'skirt' wrapping around the wing edge giving the final comfirmation, if it was needed, that this was indeed the Slaty-backed.

Phone calls were quickly made to alert those at the Landfill, and despite one horrible moment when it looked as though it was going to fly, it stayed put for everyone on site to see it, and indeed apart from a couple of fly rounds it stayed in the field and on the pools for another couple of hours allowing it to be grilled at will, with the primary pattern and thick white trailing edge to the wings added to the suite of features already noted. With it hanging around for a few hours it was sucessfully twitched from offsite, including some who had been at the Oriental Turtle Dove earlier that morning, making a lot of very happy and relieved faces.

Due to the distance and the mist, only record shots could be obtained with a selection included below, but despite the lack of quality most of the salient features are visible.

A dark Juv Iceland Gull was also noted in amongst the gull flock, seen both in flight and briefly on the deck, which was a great back-up bird as I hadn't seen an Iceland for a few years.

Another Firecrest in Felbrigg

Seawatching yesterday from West Runton produced about half a dozen Guillemots loafing around offshore, with most of them now in their full summer attire. A couple of Gannets and 2 Kittiwakes were also noted passing by, along with the usual Red-throated Divers which seem to be present in good numbers this year.

A walk around Felbrigg Park today produced a stunning Firecrest in a different area to the one seen previously there. Siskins were present in good numbers with the song of the males filling the air, a Lesser Redpoll flew over calling and 3 Roe Deer gave excellent views as they froze only a few feet away, with the aim of remaining undetected, their coats ragged due to moulting into their summertime fur.

Peregrine

A walk along the clifftop between Trimingham and Sidestrand today in the hope of some Twite or Snow Buntings drew a blank, but whilst scanning across the fields inland where 5 Hares were busy chasing each other around, I was delighted to pick up a male Peregrine sitting in the same field.

I watched it for a while before it flew a short way again landing on the ground, but it soon took flight again and this time majestically powered its way inland disappearing towards Hungry Hill.

Marsh Tits and Sanderling

With the very mild and sunny weather, birds seemed to be very much more in evidence today following the recent lull.

The first Sanderling on the patch this year was noted on West Runton beach, where 3 Harbour Porpoise were noted offshore.

A walk round Felbrigg revealed that most birds were in full song, obviously thinking spring had arrived, and the first Marsh Tits for the year were duely located by their song, with one in the north-east corner of the park and then another in the damp woodland at the back of the lake.

Quiet on the patch but good further afield

The last few weeks as expected have been fairly quiet around the patch as there is little movement of birds at this time of year.

The only noticable change has been the build up of wildfowl at Felbrigg with in excess of 80 Greylags now around the park, and on the lake Tufted Duck numbers peaked at 41, plus a few pairs of Gadwall have appeared along with a Coot. No further sign of any Mandarins however and no Pochards have returned to the lake so far.

As usual the West Runton Med Gull continues to delight in the beach car park, and I think he now recognises my car and knows a bit of bread is coming his way!

Away from the patch a couple of jaunts along the coast produced some good birds including Ross's Goose, American Wigeon, Spoonbill, Rough-legged Buzzard and Glaucous Gull being the most notable along the more expected Shorelarks, Snow Buntings, Twite, Hen Harriers, Water Pipit and Red-necked Grebe etc.

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.

Waxwings at Aylsham

With a big flock of Waxwings still being present at Aylsham today, the short trip over was too hard to resist, and I was soon enjoying the thrilling (or should that be trilling) spectacle of them commuting between overhead wires and a berry-laden hedge, with c99 birds present.

Fairly quiet around the patch

Despite my best efforts in trying to turn up something new for the year, the last ten days have been pretty quiet round the patch, with the only noteworthy sightings being a few Pochard and Gadwall returning to Felbrigg Lake for the winter, a Little Egret flying along the tideline past Cromer Pier, and at West Runton the usual Med Gull.

 

More Seawatching

Highlights of another bout of seawatching from the patch this morning were a single Little Auk, a few Pom Skuas and some Little Gulls. Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers, Eider, Kittiwakes and Common Scoter were amongst the other species noted passing by too.

Scaup and Long-tailed Duck

With strong onshore winds a brief seawatch off West Runton late afternoon produced the desired results with a pair of Scaup and a Long-tailed Duck seen, both of which were new for the year bringing the total for the patch this year to a tantalising 197. Two Sooty Shearwaters passing by were also very noteworthy.

Firecrest

A walk along the golf course today was pretty quiet but a nice surprise was had when checking Happy Valley as I found a Firecrest in Warren Woods which as always was a stunning looking bird.

MARSH HAWK at Tacumshin

Following the finding of a Marsh Hawk, the North American counterpart of our Hen Harrier, last weekend at Tacumshin, its continued presence meant a trip over to County Wexford was the order of the day.

After a couple of brief distant views, it eventually gave itself up as it hunted the fields to the north of the east end car park, and was later watched over the forgotten corner and then finally again as it came into roost in the reedbed to the west of the lake.

As ever Tacumshin held a host of other birds, with the most notable being a few flocks of Greenland White-fronted Geese passing over, good numbers of Whooper Swans on the lake (along with a single Black Swan!), a Peregrine chasing the wader flocks, 1+ Short-eared Owls hunting along the fringes of the lake and a few European Hen Harriers including a nice male at the roost site.

Twite revisited

Today I again visited Sidestrand with the hope of getting some decent pics of the Twite that I had found yesterday and although they continued to be very mobile and elusive I managed to get a few. As usual many of the birds in the flock were colour-ringed allowing them to be traced back to their breeding grounds in northern England.

A flock of c90 Golden Plovers were present in the clifftop field and four Lapland Buntings flew over heading west.

Richards Pipit and Twite

First port of call today was Sidestrand to check out the flock of small birds that I had seen late yesterday afternoon.

 

As I was walking along the clifftop towards where I had seen the flock I suddenly noticed a large pipit hovering over the clifftop vegetation before landing out of sight. Despite the brief views the prospect of this being a Richards Pipit was very high so I carefully tried to position myself where I might be able to see it if it moved to a shorter area of grass, but unfortunately it wasn't on the ground for long but fortuitously flew right past me calling as it bounded strongly off west and I was able to confirm its id. Apart from one that was at West Runton last autumn, this was my only other patch record of the species and the first that I have found myself so I was naturally elated with the record.

On a high, I carried on along the clifftop and quickly located the flock of birds seen yesterday as they flew along the cliffs towards me. From their flight calls, I was delighted to immediately recognise them as Twite, and after quickly changing position I was able to see them land on the cliff-face and then watch them feeding on the seed-heads of the sparse undercliff vegetation.

They were very mobile and often disappeared from view in various crevices, so it was very difficult to count them, so I took a couple of quick snaps on one of the occasions that they flew round for perusal later, with one showing that there were 21 birds present in the flock, and as I hadn't seen any other species with them, presumably they were all Twite, and a very excellent record for the patch.

A couple of Lapland Buntings flew over calling, and there was a nice passage of Lapwings also moving west.

Lapland Bunting and Waxwing

A walk around Trimingham today revealed that there was still at least one Lapland Bunting in the clifftop stubble, and a Waxwing flew over calling but out of sight from my position.

Just as I was leaving I scanned towards Sidestrand and picked up a flock of small birds flying around the clifftop and then they appeared to disappear off across the clifftop field. Knowing that this was unusual for the location and that the same area had previously attracted both Snow Buntings and Twite, they were naturally worthy of further investigation, but as the light was fading fast I decided to leave them for tomorrow.....

Month ends on a quiet note

The last week of the month was pretty uneventful with the only birds of note seen around the patch being a female Mandarin on Felbrigg Lake, the first one I have noted there for a number of months, and the regular adult Med Gull which has returned to West Runton to winter.

Another rewarding seawatch

With onshore winds another seawatch from the patch was in order today, and whilst it initially appeared that it was going to be fairly poor, my persistence paid off when I picked up a Leach's Petrel heading east. Although it was fairly distant, the advantage of a high viewpoint meant I was able to watch it for a good while before it eventually disappeared into the troughs. Other notable birds included a single Little Auk and a few Pom Skuas making it a very worthwhile mornings seawatching.

Rough-legged Buzzard at Stifffkey

A trip along the coast today produced the long-staying Grey Phalarope at Cley and Yellow-browed Warbler at Holkham, but the undoubted highlight of the day came when calling in at Stiffkey late afternoon to check the saltmarsh for raptors.

On arrival a Peregrine was noted siting out on the beach beyond the saltmarsh, and then whilst scanning the area for harriers, I spotted a pale blob amongst the vegetation not far out off the campsite wood. I nearly didn't give it a second look but was very glad that I did as when I got my scope on it I was delighted to see that the pale blob was actually the head and breast of a juv Rough-legged Buzzard! It was sitting on the ground partially obscured but quickly took flight and headed off inland behind the wood, presumably to roost. This bird is part of a small influx along the east coast of Britain at the moment and hopefully one will go on to winter along the north coast this year.

First of the influx of Waxwings arrive

With thousands of Waxwings currently arriving in the north of the British Isles, hopes were naturally high that they would start arriving here in the south too, and today indeed saw that arrival in the county.

Fortunately I was to share in this early vanguard as whilst out walking along the golf-course I heard their familiar trilling calls fast approaching and noted a flock of 12 come in-off the sea and head inland over the country club, and then only a few minutes later trilling again filled the air and another flock of 14 whizzed along the cliff-top past the Lighthouse heading south-east. Its always a special encounter when you find some Waxwings, and with the huge numbers entering the country at the moment it promises to be a very good winter for them especially given the large berry crop we have experienced this autumn.

Wheatear and more Rock Pipits

A visit to West Runton today revealed that there were still a few Rock Pipits passing through, with two or three feeding on the beach and cliffs for a short while before they moved off west. Also a reasonably late Northern Wheatear which was feeding along the base of the cliffs was noteworthy too.

More Grey Partridges

Highlight of today was an even larger flock of Grey Partridges that I discovered in the field adjacent to Sidestrand School with 14 present in this covey. Thet were trying their best to evade detection in the recently sown field, before they eventually flew off in the direction of the fields where I had encountered the flock of 9 a week ago.

Purple Sands

A walk aroung Trimingham this afternoon produced my first Snow Bunting of the autumn with one flying along the cliffs.

A text then alerted me to the fact that there were a couple of Purple Sandpipers feeding on the prom at Overstrand over high tide, which were fortunately still present when I arrived, and showed very well feeding unconcerned on the lowest concrete ledge occasionally needing to take quick evasive action as the highest of the waves crashed over them. After a while they then flew up on to one of the groynes where they roosted for a while before returning to the prom to feed.