Black Scoter at Holkham

Black Scoter isn't a particularly rare vagrant but it's a difficult one to catch up with. The first British record was 1987 in Lothian and there have been dozens since but until 2014 all had been around the Scottish and Welsh coasts save an exhausted bird picked up in Lancashire in 2007. 2014 Saw one found off the coast of Cleveland at Redcar before 2015 saw one found in Northumberland which proved popular returning each year until it's last accepted appearance in August 2022 although sightings continued through 2023.

So my reluctance to travel too far to scan the seas for this bird has held me back until this year when one was found off the coast of Norfolk at Holkham. I travelled up on 29th January but failed to find the bird so with a free day today I arranged to pick Jim up and head up for a second go.

We arrived at Holkham for 8am and put £6.50 in the car park machine in return for four hours of leaving my car in the road before walking out towards the gap. The marsh was flooded so we made the decision to stay on the west side of the flood. To get around the flooded channels was quite a walk but we soon had our scopes set up on the beach and starting scanning what looked like three main rafts of Scoter.

A couple of Common Scoters got some interest showing good yellow on the bill but were quickly dismissed. We were joined by three other birders and a group of around fifteen sat in the dunes to the east of the gap. Mergansers and Grebes fed in front of the Scoter flocks and we noted Tufted duck, Scaup, Teal, Wigeon and Pochard on the sea before a surprise flock of c50 Eider flew east over the Scoters. A few Velvet Scoters were picked out but we struggled with the target until the sun came out and luckily so did the Black Scoter with its yellow/orange bill shining in the bright light and even visible in flight. The bird appeared a little bulkier in flight than the commons.  I managed to get the other guys onto it and we all left happy with the three hours we'd invested into finding it today.

Jim still needed Shorelark for a year tick so we walked west for about a mile and Jim found them feeding on the sand to get the year tick before we left to beat the parking time limit.

Sanderling

Sanderling

Sanderling

Shorelark

Shorelark

Shorelark

On the way home we made a stop at Cockley Cley, Lynford and Santon Downham where we added just  Woodlark to the year list.

Black Scoter is my 448th British bird, my 165th this year and my 302nd for Norfolk

(Woodlark took the year list to 166)

This Scoter would have completed the Scoter set for the British list if they hadn't have just this week added Stejneger's Scoter to the official list so I still have one to find but with my reluctance to travel I think it could be a while before this set is now completed.

White-billed Diver at Southend pier

A quick catch up blog post.

Since my last post at the end of January I've mostly been busy looking after my wife, her father and the grandchildren but I have managed a few hours birding.

2nd Feb. 

I drove solo up to Abberton after visiting my son in Hornchurch hoping to year tick the wintering Canvasback but the Pochard flock was too distant and I couldn't pick out the bird amongst them. I did manage to year tick Caspian Gull when Daryl R pointed out a first winter bird flying in which obliged by dropping into the Coot flock. Goosanders, Red-crested Pochard and a Black-necked Grebe the other highlights.

Goosander

Goosander

Goosander

Goosander

Pied Wagtail

5th Feb 

A trip to Abberton again with the Jims to search for Lesser Scaup which we found between Wigborough bay and the screen at Billets farm. These five birds have wintered in Devon and taken the strange route north east via Abberton and doubled the amount of Lesser Scaup I've ever seen having seen five single birds previously. A Raven as we drove up the A12 was unexpected and the big surprise was only one Pochard being seen across the whole reservoir. Smew, Goosander and Goldeneye the best of the rest.

8th Feb

I had a short window between school drop off and pick up so headed down to Southend again. It was raining and the trains weren't running but regardless I had the free time so I walked out to the pier end with just me and one other non birder on the pier I searched in vain. Red-throated and Gt northern Divers were seen along with Razorbill and Guillemot with the Great-crested Grebes. A single Med Gull and lot's of Turnstone the only other birds of note in a miserable venture.

A long wet walk down the longest pleasure pier in the world

1.33miles of Soouthend Pier

The pier beyond the pleasure park

10th Feb

Back down to Southend today with Jim and this time we did pick out the White-billed Diver which despite giving great scope views at 50x it didn't come close enough to attract the attention of my camera. Three Gt northern and several Red-throated divers were seen along with a few auks, an Eider and a couple of Shag. Med Gulls were present in good numbers and a roost of well over a hundred Turnstones was good to see.  The Diver is the first twitchable record for Essex and brings my modest Essex list to 279.

The White-billed Diver admirers

The end of the pier

the bird was about half a mile off the end of the pier today.

Year list now 164