Friday 11 October 2024

Northern Lights

 I've been on this planet for sixty years and I've never come close to seeing the Northern Lights.

I missed the show earlier this year because a) I didn't believe I'd be able to see them and b) I was lazy so when there was talk this week of a second chance I took a bit more notice. I'd just watched England lose to Greece and decided to check the sky for signs of the promised showing from the North and I was amazed I could actually see the red and green in the sky. I called Suzanne and she managed a look from the bedroom window and I walked around the corner to get a clearer view without the street lights. At the top of the hill the lights were much more visible and when I lifted the phone/camera the views were even better allowing me to grab an image to remember the night by.




Pleased I made the effort to look outside on this occasion and pleased the sky was clear enough for us to see the show.

Now where's that next bird coming from?



Monday 7 October 2024

Hoopoe at North Walsham in Norfolk

For a while I struggled to connect with Hoopoe but now they're almost annual on my year lists.
I've seen birds in Essex, Kent, Norfolk, Hampshire, Staffordshire, Herts and Cambridgeshire but I haven't seen one since 2022 so made an effort to drive to North Walsham to make sure I didn't go another year without seeing one. 

Arriving at the reported site I was amazed to see the bird just pottering about on the small front lawn of the bungalow ignoring the birders/toggers a few feet away. I joined them, laid myself down on the path to the amusement of the locals and took a few (140) images of the bird as it walked around the lawn coming to within about seven feet of me at times. It was regularly pulling beetle lavae from below the surface. The crest would occasionally lift in the wind or when the bird was startled by a car pulling up or pulling away.

I've seen confiding Hoopoes before but this bird took it to another level and I'm so pleased I made the effort to visit it.

It was bird 246 for 2024 











Asian Desert Warbler at Winterton Dunes

I woke yesterday to news of an Asian Desert Warbler at Winterton Dunes in Norfolk. This is a bird on my dipped list having tried and failed for the one at Holy Island in June 2020 so it took seconds for me to decide I was going for this one as I had a free day and time for once was my own. I called Jim at 7.35am and by 8.15am we were on our way arriving at 10.15am to find the car park already quite full. We paid £4 for two hours parking and started the long walk north. After a mile or so we found a group of around thirty or so birders surrounding some shrub and joined the party. The bird was quickly picked up deep in the cover of the bushes as it was pretty cold and very windy. With patience the bird gave good views but was tricky to photograph in the thick cover. At last I'd put that horrible dip behind me and finally seen my first Asian Desert Warbler. 

Asian Desert Warbler breeds in Central/Western Asia and winters in North East Africa so this guy is a little lost. There are 13 previous British records with the first being in 1970 and the last being one I dipped in 2020 so this will be the 14th record for Britain and the second for Norfolk after a 1993 bird at Blakeney point.

Asian Desert Warbler





It was a long walk

A few like minded fools



Having used our two hours parking we decided to head home but diverted to year tick a Hoopoe at North Walsham which showed ridiculously well as it feasted on bugs and grubs hidden in the front lawn of the chosen bungalow. 

Hoopoe

Year list now 246
Life list now 449
Norfolk list now 302

I do love a list! 🤣

Thursday 3 October 2024

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler at Bempton RSPB

News of an Arctic Warbler at Bempton mid afternoon on 25th September was noteworthy and then it was upgraded to probable Eastern Crowned Warbler later that evening. Now as good a bird an Arctic Warbler is, it's no Eastern Crowned Warbler with only four previous British records and the last being at Bempton in 2016 so this news was greeted with a certain degree of twitchiness. My home schedule didn't allow a mad dash up the A1 to Bempton and I was relieved I'd held back when on 26th there was no sign of the bird. Roll on 24 hours and the bird had been seen again and successfully photographed and sound recorded. This recording lead to the bird being reidentified as Pale-legged Leaf Warbler. Now as good a bird the Eastern Crowned Warbler is, it's no Pale-legged Leaf Warbler. 🤣

There is just one previous record of PLLW in Britain and that was a bird found dead on Scilly in 2016 although there is also a record of one at Portland Dorset in 2012 which apparently wasn't seen well enough to confirm fully.

The bird was still present on Friday but not reported until early evening delaying the twitch until the weekend and sure enough there was a massive twitch on Saturday and to a slightly lesser degree on the Sunday where the bird proved difficult but reliable if given time. I couldn't get a free day until Wednesday but having checked the weather and seen two days and nights of rain on Monday/Tuesday I hatched a plan with the Jims to give it a go Wednesday morning if it had been seen at all on the Tuesday which it had.




We set off at 3am and made Bempton just after 7am to find around thirty early birds already looking for the bird and several using thermals to aid the search. At around 8am a guy using a thermal picked up a sign and quickly put out the shout that he had it. I was lucky to be close enough to get on his directions and spent the next hour or more finding it in the bins and trying to help as many people as possible to get on it which was by no means easy. I didn't lift the camera once due to the bird being deep in cover and the role I'd taken upon myself to help others where I could. I heard a couple of Yellow-browed Warblers during the time on site and saw one briefly drift through the Sycamores. 
In the nearby scrub I found lots of Tree Sparrow as you'd expect at Bempton plus a Garden Warbler, Blackcaps, Goldcrests and a few Chiffchaffs. I missed a Firecrest by a few moments but failed to refind it before we left for Flamborough.

At Flamborough we managed to see a rather showy if some what distant Icterine Warbler and Red-breasted Flycatcher. The Icterine was Jims second lifer of the day and one he was very happy about having missed a couple in the past. The Arctic Warbler had been reported again at Spurn so with the Jims needing that for a life tick I decided to drive them down there too, just another 50 miles or so but who's counting.

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Icterine Warbler

Icterine Warbler

We arrived at Spurn to news that nobody had seen the Arctic Warbler since about 9.30am but a guy had heard it recently in the car park which explained why at 12pm twenty or so people were gathered there in expectation. I had a quick look around the car park then set about walking off to see if I could relocate it and of course being Spurn there's always the chance of bumping into something else. I hadn't gone more than fifty metres from the pack when I found the Arctic, I phoned the Jims and very quickly the car park crew were with me watching the Arctic which was great as for many it was indeed a life tick. We left this scene so as not to crowd the area any more than needed and walked up to the trapping area were we found a couple of birders who put us on a Barred Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher.











Before we left for home we dropped into Kilnsea Wetlands where we spotted the American Wigeon sleeping on the muddy banks to give probably the worst views I've had of this species but it did provide another welcome year tick.

Pink Feet Geese and Redwings moving over head with small pulses of both Swallow and House Martin provided some romance to the day too. I would have liked time for a bit of a Sea watch as there was some decent reports of Pom, Sootys and Petrels during the day.

We almost made the ten mile detour on the way home for the Hoopoe but traffic was heavy, I was knackered and we still had a four hour drive to do so did the sensible thing and carried on towards home arriving back in Loughton at 7pm.

Now if the above seems like a dreamy birding day consider also the birds we missed in Yorkshire whilst up there. Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Two Barred Warbler, Wryneck, Hoopoe, Great Grey Shrike, Olive-backed Pipit, Dusky Warbler, Pallid Harrier, Marsh Warbler, Corncrake, Ring Ouzel, Little Bunting, Snow Bunting and Lapland Bunting. All of these were seen yesterday while we were there with the Two-barred being the only one that was a bit of a distance from us. 

Roll on to Thursday the day after our visit and firstly it would appear that my concern over the clear night of Wednesday giving the PLLW reason to depart seems was justified as it hasn't been seen yet today nor has the Icterine but we have yet more new arrivals in the shape of a Rustic Bunting and another that has since been reidentified as a probable Black-faced Bunting (just nine accepted British records and only one prior in Yorkshire) then an Isabelline (Daurian Shrike) or Red-tailed Shrike (Turkestan Shrike) (yet to be determined but less than a dozen records of either so either way a decent bird again and in the afternoon a Red-flanked Bluetail at Flamborough.

My question is then, is Spurn the new Shetland? 

A great day out with Jim and Dad with a life tick and seven year ticks.

Life list now back to 448
year list now 244

Sunday 29 September 2024

Pale legged leaf warbler at Bempton

Couldn't get there yesterday, couldn't get there today, can't go tomorrow, can't go Tuesday, can't see it waiting until Wednesday even if I can find the time that is.

sometimes life gets in the way of this crazy hobby 😉


UPDATE 2/10/24 I did make the time for myself, it did wait until Wednesday and I did see it ....boom!

Monday 23 September 2024

Lesser Grey Shrike at Tollesbury Essex

News came late yesterday of a Lesser Grey Shrike at Tollesbury in Essex whilst I was busy cooking a family dinner for six so I couldn't find a way to escape. This morning I dropped my grandson at school and with news that the Shrike was still there I set off up the A12 to Tollesbury arriving a little before 10am. A quick catch up with Dave who was on his way back to the car park and I strolled on down to join the three birders remaining one of which was Mike O. so another good catch up. The bird was sat at the very top of the large distant oak but showed well in the scope. By the time I left another twenty or so birders had arrived including several locals adding to the social side of the tick.

The Lesser Grey Shrike is my 281st species in Essex and my 237th species for Britain so far this year.
The bird is the fourth Lesser Grey Shrike ever recorded in Essex and the first since 2008 (Rentendon 10-11th Oct. The other two recorded are Old Hall Marsh 26th June - 5th July and Great Wakering 17th -27th August.

Lesser-grey Shrike in that oak tree.

Red Crested Pochard

Red Crested Pochard

In other news I popped over the KGV with Jim in the week where we both added Red-crested Pochard to the list of birds seen at KGV although we've both seen them in the valley before.
We counted 55 species in the hour walk with Lesser Whitethroat, Wigeon and Common Sandpipers the best of them. The Red crested Pochard takes my KGV list to 105.......I know! I do love a list 🤷‍♂️

Thursday 12 September 2024

Red-backed Shrike at Walton on the Naze

Well I'm trying hard to reclaim so me time and it seems to be going ok. I'm still there running around for the kids and the grandkids when they need me. Still looking after Suzanne and still providing care almost daily for her Dad but in between all that I'm finding time to treat myself with some decent birding time.

Today I woke early (out early, home early strategy) and popped over to pick Jim up before we headed up the A12 to Walton on the Naze where a Red-backed Shrike and Wryneck had been seen for a few days. Last night the sky was clear and we accepted there was a chance the birds could have moved on but we had a lovely surprise when we quickly picked out the Red-backed Shrike. I enjoyed the Shrike for a while as Jim went off to search for the Wryneck but once I'd grabbed a few images of the Shrike I joined Jim in the search. Two Garden Warblers, two Lesser Whitethroat, a female Common Redstart, Common Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler and a few Chiffchaffs were encountered as we searched but we failed to find the Wryneck. A large flock of House Martins flew along the ridge above us and a few Turnstones moved along the tide line below us whilst in the car park we encountered a flock of Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipits on the grass before leaving and heading for Shelley in Suffolk where a juvenile Purple Heron had spent a few days. 

Walton on the Naze

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Lesser Whitethroat

Red-backed Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

We parked up and walked back along the road to view the lake from a gap in the hedge. There were four other birders here and they hadn't seen the Heron but had a fly over Osprey just before we got there. Two Hobbies were hunting constantly and both Buzzard and Red Kite flew over. Out on the water with the Swans, Geese and Ducks we counted a Green Sandpiper, Two Snipe, Two Ruff, Lapwings and a Black-tailed Godwit and then the Purple Heron stuck it's head up out of the reeds and we all managed to see it  as it gave great Scope views.

Gifford's Flash Shelley

Gifford's Flash

I even got home in time to sort a late lunch for my father in law and Suzanne to keep the team on board with my drive for more birding.

Year list now 235 (officially now and remarkably not my worst years total) oh and the Purple Heron was my 280th species in Suffolk.