Hooded Merganser Titchwell

Well after a week of rain, westerlies and gardening, Colin and I decided that unless something came up, we would go to Titchwell on Saturday. It was expected to be dry with light winds so it was a bit worrying when I woke up to rain-we had quite a lot overnight. There was no sign of it letting up when Colin arrived, and it wasn't until we got past Ely that it started to improve.
We called in at Choseley briefly in a pull in south of the barns. The adjacent fields were full of Pink Footed Geese, with around a 1000 visible and many more flying around. As usual there were also a lot of Red Legged Partridge and a couple of Buzzards sitting on the ground. Apart from a small Linnet flock and some Skylarks there weren't many small birds around and there weren't any thrushes at all.
Titchwell was jam packed, as shortly before we arrived a drake Hooded Merganser had been reported, so all the locals were turning up in the hope of a county tick. It was initially on the fresh marsh and then flew into Patsy's pool for a nap. Before we went for it, we spent about an hour around the fen trail and on the tank road looking for warblers. Several yellow Brows were present-I think I heard three different birds and there was also a Siberian Chiffchaff. This proved to be a bit more challenging as there didn't seem to be any Chiffchaffs present. Eventually a classic juvenile appeared and shortly after a more interesting grey and brown bird with very dark bare parts. This spent a bit of time in an elder before flying off with a short piping call-pretty convincing for the Siberian. Two male Blackcaps entertained us while we were waiting and on a couple of occasions a Long tailed Tit flock passed through but the Yellow Brows never actually showed for us.
Eventually we made our way to the pool to see the Merganser. Most of the time it was asleep but woke up on a couple of occasions. The wings appear to be intact and apparently there wasn't any trace of rings, so there is some hope it might get through as a wild bird.

Water levels on the fresh marsh were very low, but as the tide was out, most of the waders were on the beach. The only notable sight was a flock of 52 juvenile Ruff-with another 7 birds elsewhere this was probably the biggest I've ever seen.
We didn't spend a great deal of time looking at the sea-the southwester-lies meant that there weren't many birds around, though a juvenile Gannet flew by just past the surf line. Had to give it a check to eliminate a Booby......
The Grey Phalarope that has been hanging around Thornham Point for a few days was still present so we headed up the beach and climbed through he dunes to the old control tower. Interestingly it wasn't spinning around on the water as they usually do but feeding on the marsh. Unfortunately this meant it was very obscured and I didn't get any decent images.

We returned to the car for a spot of lunch and then spent about an hour back on the fen trail and walked along the big hedge adjacent to the paddocks. Looked good for Barred warbler but apart from a few crests, lots of Migrant Hawkers and Common Darters the best i could manage were a few Blackbirds which never turned into Ring Ousels. We did get to hear one of the elusive Yellow Brows again, and found quite a few Chiffchaffs but nothing out of the ordinary this time.

October Holiday

I started my annual October fortnight off last Friday, and as so often seems to be the case these days, I've spent more time working in th e garden than going out birding.
On Saturday, I decided to pay a visit to Amwell and was rather surprised to discover that no-one else was there. The weather wasn't all that great, cloudy but with a south-westerly, not exactly ideal for migrants. Water levels remain low, despite the rain in recent weeks and it seems the sluice has not been raised, and the trust apparently expects Barry to look after him despite being away on yet another trip to boost his world list.
Duck numbers are building up though, with a lot of Gadwall and Mallard, two Teal, 10 Wigeon and 26 Shoveller. A pair of Dabchick in front of the White Hide was a bit unusual, but its the favoured spot if they appear on the main lake. I tried to work through the gull flock which gradually built up during the morning but apart from two Common Gull in with the Black Heads  it was the usual selection of miscellaneous Herring and Lesser Black Blacks. Attempts to turn an interesting white headed juvenile into something a bit different failed.
I had intended to go to Hollycross for Willow Emeralds,  but it was a bit cool and too cloudy. I got as far as the new bridge where I met Phil and he agreed it would be a waste of time. Tumbling Bay had a couple of very volatile Chiffchaffs in one of the willows and a rather loud tacking call couldn't be pinned down. Dusky warbler would have been a nice fantasy, but Blackcap is the more sensible option, though I couldn't pin the bird down before the birds flew away.
We bumped into Bill at the view point and had a chat. A few Skylark were moving westwards, and there were a couple of mixed hirundine flocks gradually heading south west don the valley. Most that were close enough appeared to be Swallow, but there were a few House Martins as well. The only other (and rather odd) movement concerned Cormorants, as several flocks, maybe 50 birds in total  came up the valley, and around 30 returned to feed in one huge mass near the big island.

The next few days were spent in the garden when the weather (lots of rain at times) allowed. On Monday I took an old fridge down to the tip and then picked up some ericaceous compost to repot my (hopefully) hardy Yuzu circus tree. After carrying that lot my back went so the next  day involved very light work and planting and rearranging a few things. I have a variety of Salvias, and the best at the moment are Waverly and Amistad. The latter looks really good in the sunshine at the moment  and attracted a lot of bees through the summer. They are getting a bit scarce now, but the Humming Bird Hawkmoth was a nice bonus.
Yesterday was another strenuous day, up a ladder taking out the old branches from the palm tree, cutting back the honeysuckle and then shredding the lot. Since the shredder as out I also tidied up the shed a bit. So my backs aching again as are my arms and , I've lots of cuts and bruises and despite all the time working failed to get any decent birds either in the garden or flying over. I've got several resident Dunnocks and Robins of course, and tits visit all the time-including Long Tailed and the rather rare for me Coal Tit. No crests or Chiffchaffs yet-they should be around at this time of year.

Today I walked around Aston End. It was another cloudy day with a south westerly and so rather lacking in bird movements. Plenty of Chiffchaffs of course, and a few Skylarks moving around. The ploughed fields didn't hold much, though there was a small flock of Meadow Pipits in one and a few Pied wagtails in another. Only one Yellowhammer and two Chaffinch was a bit worrying, I just hope that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and missed most of the birds. Very few thrushes were seen, only a couple of Blackbirds. There are no Song or Mistle thrushes around and no sign of any winter visitors yet, thought hey are being reported elsewhere.

So that's it so far. All the good stuff seems to be in Ireland, the Scillies or the Azores and the east coast isn't really producing anything, and if the the forecast is to be believed its going to be the same next week.