Tuesday 22 September 2020

Norfolk Shrikes and Flycatchers

 After a couple of quiet weekends, I was out and about with Colin again on Sunday. The generally north easterlies of the previous few days made a trip to north Norfolk rather tempting.

As usual now, we left early and reached Warham Green near Wells around 0800. It was cool and there was still a very nice breeze that really made me feel that it was going to be a good day. I haven't been to Warham for many years, maybe not even this century and while the approach track and parking seems to have improved it was very much as I remembered as we headed west along the coastal path. Bumped into a returning Ian Bennel who had already had a good few hours out. he mentioned a Redstart near where we met, but I never saw it. WE joined the small crowd in the field and waited. Lots of activity in the hedgerows with Dunnocks and tits darting in and out, ticking Robins and regular flyovers of waders and wildfowl escaping what I later heard was an incredibly high tide.

We were waiting for a 1w Brown Shrike-my second of what was once incredibly rare but is more or less expected in autumn these days, probably more down to a greater understanding of it's difference to the Red Backed/Isabelline complex than an increase in numbers. It took a while for it to show for me and while the scope views were fantastic it was a bit too far away for the 100-400 lens on my Lumix (I was intending to have the heavier Nikon gear plus digiscoping adapters but the usual backache put me off).


After a very enjoyable time with the Shrike we headed to Wells Wood and it's very expensive car park which was fortunately rather quiet as it was still rather early. We met up with a few other birders and walked along the southern track stopping just past the dell and scanned the cattle field fence and it didn't take long for the Red Backed Shrike to show. Again a bit too distant.


The next hour or so was spent in and around the dell and meadow trying to find the Red Breasted Flycatcher with Ritchie Gannon and co. We were directed to a wooded sandy ridge which had a couple of nice sunny spots but birds were hard to locate. A long and frustrating search for a pale bird eventually turned out to be a female type Pied Flycatcher- a nice year tick but not our target. A confused message from Ritchie got us out into the meadow and an increasing crowd of birders. There was a very big tit flock moving around and with it were a number of Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and some crests. 

Colin and I decided to head to the dell and it's Yellow Browed Warbler, not realising the meadow crowd were watching it (or another). After a brief rest on the bench we reached the dell and met Penny Clarke who had been in the woods since the early hours and it turned out that there wasn't much in the area now. Things had certainly got a bit quieter as it warmed up and the wind had also dropped. She did give me pointers for the Red Breasted Flycatcher which was ranging widely along the wooded edge to the meadow and our sandy ridge. 

There was a small crowd tucked now and after a short wait we got to see the flycatcher low down but rather obscured for a few minutes. It moved about 50 yards west where another group got close views and was expecting to return to our area but it seemed to vanish. There was a suspicion that a very aggressive Robin was keeping it moving. I went to stretch my legs in the meadow in the hope of seeing it from that side and then ducked back into the wood again, just as the Flycatcher appeared above me and then posed quite nicely in a small birch. The back lighting was a bit harsh but I got one or two rather nice shots. 




 We didn't linger, the woods were now heaving with crowds of holiday makers, dogs were everywhere and there wasn't much sign of Covid precautions, so we came home. Fortunately I got back in time to catch almost all of the final stage of the Tour de France, not that that affected my decision to return-honest guv.


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