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.

Norton Green Chats

Popped down to Norton green for an hour this morning. The place hasn't had the usual coverage this year with lock down etc, but over the last few weeks the regulars have been reporting migrants. Whinchats Wheatears and Yellow Wagtails have been recorded over the last week so it it would be worth a visit.

Tony Hukins car was there when I arrived and I eventually met up with him. The usual access point on the bank is terribly overgrown, as is much of the track along the top so it was tough going. When I got to the open section on the west side I could see someone scoping the female Wheatear with Tony approaching. He hadn't seen much else unfortunately so we decided to scour the large rose dominated scrub in the middle. There wasn't a greta deal happening, although sunny and warm, there was a bit of a chilly northerly breeze which seemed to be keeping things down.

One Whitethroat was the best I could manage, with the occasional Robin, Wren and Blue Tit. On a couple of occasions we had brief sightings of 'something' perched up in bushes which inevitably disappeared the moment we noticed them and could never be pined down, so it was very frustrating. However after about 40 minutes we headed back to the open area and I got a good but brief view of a Whinchat in a small rose patch which then disappeared. Despite a thorough search of this tiny patch there was nothing. 

The mystery was solved when I decided to watch the Wheatear for a while, and saw a second bird with it. How the Whinchat  managed to elude us and then appear in the open 50 yards away I don't know, but there it was on the ground feeding happily. I got a couple of record shots.

Catching Up 2

 The Bank holiday gave me the opportunity for more catching up. I have been itching to get to the Norfolk coast for a while now as the only other visit this year was at there start of the year. The forecast northerlies all weekend were rather tempting as well with the promise of some decent seabirds. Unfortunately the news from Saturday was rather disappointing, with smaller numbers than hoped for, although there were some interesting sightings.

Colin and I left early again, and arrived at Titchwell around 8am as parking is currently a bit limited and the facilities likewise. The northerly winds were still present early on, though a lot less stronger than the Saturday. The intention was to head to the sea while the winds held out and then check the lagoons on the way back. The most unexpected sighting was meeting a returning Phil Ball well outside his usual Amwell comfort zone, who had been seawtaching with his bins and noted numbers of passing Skuas.

The sand blasted beach was rather uncomfortable, and as Phil had said, visibility was indifferent though improved as the morning progressed. Despite the direction of the winds, a lot of the seabirds were a fair way off and in many cases best left unidentified. Gannets were ever present, generally heading east, but most other birds were moving west, with singles and small parties of Arctic and Great Skuas, the occasional Fulmar and Kittiwake and best of all a Sooty Shearwater. There were still a few terns lingering offshore, some Sandwich were obvious but a couple of 'Commic' terns were feeding into the wind and couldn't be identified for sure, though the likelyhood  is that they were Common rather than Arctic. There were also a few largish duck flocks heading west as well, mostly Common Scoter but Wigeon and teal were also seen. 

Most of the waders were on the beach-the usual assemblage of Godwits, Redshank, Curlew, Sanderling, Turnstone, Knot Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher. The gulls on the shoreline were inspected on a regular basis but there wasn't anything unusual among them. The fresh marsh was a bit disappointing on the way back. There weren't many waders, with small numbers of Dunlin and Ruff  on the exposed mud, plus a few Avocets of course. A couple of Curlew Sandpipers were found but we couldn't see the Little Stint. 

After a welcome coffee we returned and went via the currently one way Fen Trail to Patsies Pool. We apparently missed a Great White Egret and there wasn't a great deal here. There were a a few Common and Ruddy Darters, Migrant Hawkers and a single Brown Hawker. Couldn't find any Willow Emeralds in the usual spot.

After a visit to the optical suppliers Cley Spy we had intended to go to Weeting Heath, but on arrival discovered that it has been shut since lockdown started. Should have thought of that earlier! Anyway Lakenheath Fen was just down the road so we called in there instead.

Being rather dull and cloudy, and with the breeze still present it wasn't at its best. There were very few butterflies and dragonflies, and birds were hard to get, with very little along the southern track to Joist Fen. We spent a bit of time at the view point, with lots of hirundines in the distance, but only a couple of Marsh harriers and Kestrels in the air. A very distant large white egret must have been the Great White that is resident, and Colin thought he had a brief  sighting of one of the Cranes. 

On the Monday I decided to do a circuit around Chells Manor and Aston End. Norton Green had a few Yellow Wagtails and Whinchats which would have been a safer bet, but I hoped that the sheep and horse fields would enable me to find my own. It wasn't a great success as the only migrants there were a few juvenile Swallows. Robins are starting to get a bit more vocal as it gets more autumnal, and there were around a dozen Chiffchaffs mostly heard, but the ones seen were juveniles. The usual warbler trap elder and spindle hedge was a bit of a let down with three juvenile Blackcaps-no Common or Lesser Whitethroats which were expected. A few more Swallows from the local nests were still in the Aston end area and the usual Nuthatches were heard as approached Gresley Way.

Over the summer, the work in the garden has been paying dividends with greater than usual numbers of butterflies. Obviously with more time at home that is to be expected, but a few days ago I was surprised to get a Small Copper on the verbena bonariensis. I've only ever seen a few in the garden, and they have been hard to get anywhere this year so it seems.

The pond has had a lot of work and has been completely replanted this year. Fortunately the rather wet August has meant that it is has plenty of water in it at the moment and this has been rather attractive to a variety of overflies, bees and flies. Apart from the expected spring Large red and Azure damselflies there haven't been any other dragonflies until last week when a male Common Darter has been present on the warmer days.

Catching Up

 I've been back at work for two weeks now, after 19 weeks furlough so it has been a bit of a shock to the system, although I have got back into the swing of things fairly quickly. Unfortunately work has now got in the way of all my other interests and time is again at a premium.

The last couple of weekends I have been out with Colin visiting some sites in an attempt to try and fill in a few of the large number of blanks in this years bird year list, though the main priority is to have a good day out. The trips to Otmoor and the Peak District were a good start but I have missed the east coast with only the one trip at the start of the year.

On the 23rd we went to RSPB Framton Marsh, which has in recent years become the place to see waders in the autumn, and we always have a good time. An early start got us there at 0730, just before high tide and right from the start it was a wader fest. A scan from the closed visitors centre got us a few adult Curlew Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper and huge numbers of Godwits and Knot, along with Ruff Avocets and Ringed Plovers. A bit further down we added a few more waders, there were huge numbers of Swallows and Sand Martins, big flocks of Swifts and the usual selection of duck and geese. The walk down to the sea wall was rather quiet as many of the pools on the grazing marsh were empty, but getting up on the bank was rewarding, although very windy. 

The large number of grazing cattle had as usual their attendant flocks of Yellow Wagtails. I get the impression that this is one of the best places in the country for them now, there can't be many places with numbers in the hundreds. The salt marsh also had the expected Curlew, there was around a dozen Greenshanks, half a dozen Spotted Redshanks and eventually we found a spot where two or three Little Stints were lurking, aloe]ng with a couple of Wood Sandpipers.

We decided to head out along the bank to the Welland outfall, a bit of a log being 3km each way. Almost every hawthorn bush held a few Willow Warblers-there seems to have been a bit of an east coast fall as large numbers were reported elsewhere. A couple of Wheatears were good to see, and there were lots of Whimbrel on the marsh among the Oystercatchers, Curlews, Redshanks and Little Egrets. A few Little Terns were feeding around the river mouth were a nice bonus but most seabirds were well out in the Wash and with the tide now falling were a long way off. The walk back was a bit of a slog and having been out for five hours we were in desperate need of coffee and a bite to eat so there wasn't much stopping though watching the 26 Spoonbills fly over was worth a brief halt.

In the afternoon Colin decided to head slightly north and go to RSPB Freiston Shore, not a place we have visited before. A Red Breasted Flycatcher had been reported late morning so it was worth the short drive. When we got there we were told it had been observed sleeping but had disappeared an hour or so earlier. We hung around for a bit as there were a lot of hirundines and Yellow Wagtails around and over the cattle so it was worth scanning through them. I was hoping for Whinchat or a Redstart. While doing that I noticed an egret hidden among the grazing cattle which seemed to be remarkably buff in colour so I casually asked if anyone wanted a Cattle Egret. I was a bit shocked when the photographer next to me asked if I would be submitting the record as its a description species for Lincolnshire (and possibly the first seen this year). Fortunately he was on the records committee and was happy to take my name and number for the report.

Here it is in all its (very cropped) glory. 

On that high note and after a rather tiring day we decided to head home. I kept an eye out for reports from Graham, Paxton etc just in case there was anything to justify a diversion but in the end we didn't so it was a quick trip back.

Temmincks Stint

  A Temmincks Stint was seen at Amwell on Monday evening and rather unusually it was still present today-Friday 14th. I had seen one here maybe twenty years ago so there was no urgency to go down in the extreme heat of the last few days. However with a lot of overnight rain it had cooled down and looked to be rather pleasant with maybe a shower or two.

After the morning shop I departed and got there just before 10am. It was nice, albeit cloudy in Stevenage, but there was light rain at Amwell. One other birder from Milton Keynes was there and put me on the Stint-feeding on the front edge of the main island. Fortunately I had brought the scope (I rarely take it to Amwell) so got pretty good views as the rain increased in intensity. Scans produced a few Teal, a Common Sandpiper, a few Snipe, and a few Herring and Lesser Black Backed gulls in various plumages. There was supposed to be a Caspian Gull and a Wigeon as well. One Swallow was about the only small bird attempting to fly in the conditions , and after around 30 minutes and now totally soaked decided to leave.

A Big Twitch

 Temptation eventually got the better of me and I arranged with Colin to go to Derbyshire to see the Bearded Vulture. I had held off for a long time because of the distance and the rather erratic nature of the bird. When it first appeared it roosted high in the Derwent Valley, requiring a long hike to see it prior to leaving the roost and then, if you were lucky you might get close views. Otherwise it was a case of staking out a suitable vantage point and hoping it might appear. Earlier in the month it disappeared for a while, but eventually was rebound roosting to the north of Derwent around Crowden and Woodhead reservoirs.    

The views on the Saturday sounded particularly good and it was seen on and off all day in the sunshine, so we departed at 0330 and arrived at the Woodhead dam around 0645. Unfortunately the last stretch of the journey was in poor visibility, and gusting winds-not quite what we were expecting  from the forecast. Part of the problem I think was that the reservoir was fairly high up in the Pennines, and the valley ran east-west acting as a funnel for the easterly wind. I didn't plan on this and only at the last minute did I decide to take a fleece, but I had forgotten my hat.

There were a few other cars parked up, most had come for the Vulture which was last seen on the rocks south of the dam. Unfortunately no rocks were visible for a long time, and there were few birds around while we waited. One or two singing Willow Warblers, a couple of Swallows over the water and a family of Chaffinch. By mid morning I was rather damp and cold, but at least coffee was only a few yards away. Some of the guys decided to head over to the valley in Crowden particularly as it seemed to be a bit warmer and brighter there, and we swapped phone numbers just in case. Eventually the mist/cloud started to disperse and visibility improved sufficiently to scan the hillside. Overnight campers pointed out the crag where the Vulture had perched the previous evening, but it was became clear that the bird wasn't present. There was no news from Crowden either. A couple of Buzzards and a Kestrel were the only raptors around, and there were also several parties of Swift going through.

Around 1pm news reached us that it was on Dowstone rocks about a mile eastwards, and a fast walk got us there (where rather annoyingly it was a lot warmer and brighter). It appeared to be sitting on the rock, shuffling around now and again with some wing stretching and preening. Being around half a mile distant, scope views were adequate, but the slight haze still present caused issues with photography, which in this case meant shooting through the scope with and adaptor and the Z7.

This needed a lot of work and turned out to be the best of the bunch. Facing away, the dar head above contrasts with the back feathers, and below the wings are stretched slightly.

 

 

We eventually departed around 2pm, rather later than anticipated and the planned extra sites we were hoping to go to basically went out of the window. What I hadn't anticipated was the vast number of visitors to the area. Every car park, lay-by and verge seemed to be full up and it was clear it wouldn't be possible to avoid crowds even assuming we could actually get anywhere.

We came home via Strines moor an area we have visited many times in the past. A stop off at one usual spot failed to produce Red Grouse, Whinchat or Wheatear, the other usual stops were full of cars, and a quick exploration of part of Bradfield Dale was rather quiet, though the bridleway leading up to a farm produced a few Dark Green Fritillaries. Looks like it could be a good Dipper site and there was also potential for Pied Flycatchers and Redstarts as well. 

Hello Colin

 My last trip major trip was back in February with the Grimsby Black Throated Thrush. Over five months ago. Since then with lockdown, isolation etc, I haven't actually ventured outside Hertfordshire, and there have only been a few short drives away from Stevenage. Obviously as a result, I have missed a great deal of the things that I would normally expect to see over the course of spring and summer, but on the other hand staying local has been interesting and I have had a great time. However I knew at some point that I would need to get out and about a bit more, while still considering health risks, so I gave Colin the heads up last week and we decided on a fairly Sunday short trip, both being well out of practice at this sort of thing.

 Our main site was RSPB Otmoor, which we tend to visit in late August. Despite its attractions its never really busy so I was happy to spend a few hours here. For the first time, I took the new Nikon Z7 out, along with the 300mm F2.8 lens and 1.7 converter to get an idea of how it would handle. Unfortunately I had put my back out the day before and was unsure of the weight issue but it turned out ok in the end. Its been over two years since I had used the lens, having stuck with the micro four thirds GX8 and 100-400mm lens (sometimes with the manual 500mm Nikkor), and was well pleased with the way it worked on the Z7. A lot of people have criticised the Z7 as being a poor choice for wildlife and action photography preferring the autofocus of the D850 or D5 but it seems to work for me.

 Anyway the initial section of Otmoor is the summer meadow trail which is always full of insects and flowers and we spent some time here trying to get shots of some of them. the iNaturalist app on my phone added a few new plant species to my meagre life list as well.

 Further on we discovered that there was a feeding site for the Turtle Doves in the cattle fields. despite hanging around for a bit all we had were Linnets.

 Our intention was to go up to the northern lagoons and we reached the crossroads gate and had a chat with another visitor. I was scanning the woods to the north seeing several Buzzards and a much larger paler bird with them-and Osprey! At the same moment the other chap yelled that there were Cranes flying to our west-we could certainly hear them. After a bit of headless chicken syndrome Colin and I ran back and picked up one flying over the southern marsh, but the other doubled back and dropped down into one of the cattle fields joining another one. One showed quite well but was always distant. I  never found the Osprey again though.

 The lagoons were a bit disappointing with highish water levels and apart from Lapwings the only wader present was a Little Ringed Plover, so we reluctantly returned hoping to get Brown Hairstreak in the usual spot.

 We were held up for some time when some loud purring alerted us to two Turtle Doves. They tended to stay well in a tree, flying out on a couple of occasions to another and then returning.

 The Brown hairstreaks didn't play ball. We met a couple of guys that had one sitting on a flower patch for around 15 minutes but although we had a couple of flybys none lingered, and neither did the Purple Hairstreak that dropped down briefly.

 After lunch we headed down to the BBONT reserve at Warburg. It seems to have become rather popular with dog walkers, picnickers etc but we managed to avoid most of them. The beech slopes were quiet fortunately allowing us to spend some time checking the helleborine cages. There were some Broad Leaved on the track up, in full flower but most of the cages only had small plants, a couple well past their best and a few with flower spikes. I took close ups of all of them in the hope of identifying them at home, and as it turned out all appeared to be Broad Leaved. There were no Narrow Lipped at all, and the one flower that looked good for Violet had green stems and may have been a hybrid. 

 There were no orchids in the meadows, and few birds apart from the expected Marsh Tits. Butterflies were also thin on the ground, with only one Silver Washed Fritillary, a couple of Brimstones, some whites blues and browns and a couple of Large Skippers  (Small and Essex have been thin on the ground this year).

 

All in all a fairly good test of the camera and big lens combo, and a pleasant day out with Colin again.