The Broads - 10th February 2024

A www.blueeyedbirder.com adventure:

I slightly veered off through Lowestoft on the way to out meet point and had a look in the gloom at Ness Point for the Purple Sandpipers which as usual were not there despite the Turnstones still being present on their roosting groynes.  A 1w Shag was a surprise as it dozed next to them.

On to meet the crew at Filby (yes, I know I have been here a lot this winter) and somehow it was flat calm and without a breath of wind. It only took a few minutes to find the Ferruginous Ducks and whereas they gave me the run around last winter, I have found them every time this season.  They were midway across the Broad and to be honest actually showed rather well.  Goldeneye were starting to display and a male Marsh Harrier flew through.

Goldeneye 

Essence of Ferruginous Duck - 2nd from right!

A fine Pike brought in and released by a fisherman

We walked down through to the Ormesby Little Broad screen passing the expected Marsh Tits, Goldcrests, Treecreepers and squealing Water Rails.  A Great White Egret flew over and the Great Crested Grebes were vocal and starting to dance.

On to St Benet’s Abbey which allowed us to get some fantastic views of at least four Short-eared Owls but unlike my last visit, we could not find any Cranes or Hen Harriers. But there were other birds to be seen with two good views of Cetti’s Warbler, the first singing Reed Buntings, a couple of pairs of Stonechat and melodious Skylarks.

Short-eared Owl

There were Marsh Harriers and many perched up Buzzards and a female Peregrine was terrorising the large Lapwing flocks across the wet fields.

The Swans at Hickling Green on their potato puddle were even closer with 32 Whooper, 16 Bewick’s and four Mutes and two of the Cattle Egrets were visible up the road with the Belted Galloways although they cows had moved and viewing was a lot more difficult.

Whoopers

Bewick’s 

Bewick’s 

Whooper

Whooper

Whooper

Whooper

Bewick’s 

A dune watch off Waxham Barns produced a vast flock of Pink-feet but no Cranes this time and a male Peregrine was perched up on post in the distance with several Buzzards also loafing around too. The sea lacked waves but there was a heavy swell and it was very murky but every scan produced Red-throated Divers but four adult Gannets were the only other species noted.

A fine sausage sani and coffee followed at the Dunes Café with the constant sound of Pink-feet from the inland fields.  A solitary Yellowhammer flew over calling too. Across to Hickling and a walk down to Stubb Mill and back.  Brenden’s Marsh was covered in dabbling duck along with a few Pochard and Tufted Duck but also a female Smew that was happier feeding just into the reed margin.  I am not sure I have seen too many in Norfolk before.  

Smew and Gadwall

Two Great White Egrets paraded around and both had legs that were already colouring up.  I wonder if they will stay to breed.  With over 30 roosting at Fritton Lake at the moment t would only seem to be a matter of time.

Great White Egrets

Three pairs of Cranes were seen in flight and two Bitterns were booming in the mild conditions while the adjacent fields were once again home to hide and seek Fieldfares, Redwings and Starlings.  Reed Buntings were singing here too and a group of five Water Pipits got spooked up from the margins and flew over us.  Both Chinese Water Deer and Muntjac were seen but we were too early for Owls and such like.

Cranes

Muntjac

Inland now to Buckenham Marshes for the end of the day. The marsh was covered in Wigeon and Lapwings as to be expected along with a smattering of Golden Plover, Ruff and Dunlin.  There were no ‘wild’ geese on the marsh at all but I eventually picked up 26 White-fronts dropping into the fields beyond Cantley and some Pink-feet off towards the Ted Ellis reserve. Marsh Harriers and Buzzards were constantly on view and a male Peregrine put on a breath taking performance and all with a throbbing jungle drum and bass soundtrack from a hidden rave somewhere near the blue house on the other side of the river!  It, unlike the Peregrine, never paused for one moment for the entirety of the visit and could even be heard from back at the car!

Lapwings

Wigeon

Moorhen

Two Great White Egrets were the first I have seen here I think and two Little Egrets were the first of the day.  As we abled back the usual Linnet flock was gathering in the trackside Brambles and Gulls started to drift overhead towards Breydon in the distance.

The wait for the Corvid roost was as thrilling as usual and like my last visit, the bulk of them left it to the last minute to darken the sky with their swirling cacophonous masses.  Greylag Geese were sneaking silently into the Beet field for a nocturnal feast and thousands of Pinkfeet could just be made out as they too headed in towards their roost for the night.  The wall of sound produced by the Jackdaws, Rooks and Pinkfeet was felt like constant waves on a beach in exactly the way that the Starlings of Somerset back in January.  None of the other people there had ever experienced anything like it before.

The hoped for last minute Woodcock rounded up the day.

Back at home that night I popped outside at about 10pm and despite the lack of wind the sound of the sea just over a mile away was simply astonishing and brought back all those Starling and Corvid memories so recently made...

Lowestoft Life - 29th January - 5th February 2024

With generally dull and windy weather I have spent the last week tackling other projects for the most part.  The gravel was all gone by the middle of the week leaving me with a basically blank canvas into which to landscape the pond but where to put all the soil that it will generate?

Now, Antony has had a ton pile of slate in his garden for at least 18 months with a view to building a dry stone wall into which he will cultivate ferns, mosses and the like but it will require back filling once completed. As such a cunning plan was hatched and on Wednesday we set about building said wall.  Neither of us had done anything like it before but five hours later we stood back and, to be honest, marvelled at what we had achieved. Hopefully the pond digging phase for my front garden will start in the coming days.

Some indoor projects on Thursday including wood cutting out the front and at the end of the day two superb garden ticks were added with a Little Egret and then a Great Northern Diver powering its way back towards the sea from the Oulton direction.  With 200 Wigeon and some Teal on the 29^th and a Turnstone yesterday (4^th) it has been a good few days for the garden tally!  I also managed to plant up some native trees behind the garage which I hope will get going soon.

A doctor taxi run on Friday saw the opportunity for a jaunt afterwards to Filby Broad but it was absolutely howling and the light was rubbish but amazingly our diligence paid off and the pair of Ferruginous Ducks were found tucked in the closest corner.  Antony was very pleased to have at last seen this species.

Marsh Tits called as we walked back and a walk out the other way into Ormseby Little Broad added Red Admiral, Great White Egret and a female Goosander while a circuit from Rugg’s Lane was at the least refreshing in the wind although somewhat lacking in wildlife sightings although there was much evidence of Red Deer tracking through the fields and wet woodland.  A male Marsh Harrier was using the wind to its full advantage. With the wind not letting up we abandoned the idea of St Benet’s Abbey and headed back.

Great White Egret

Feeding marks from molluscs - I bet if I came back at night there would be Tree Slugs radulating!

More garden time over the weekend revealed a few plump Steatoda nobilis while sorting out the stack of flower pots and after countless years in a pot the Monkey Puzzle is at long last in the ground.  The sunset yesterday was wonderful.

Monkey Puzzle between the rotting Leylandii stumps and the first pondlet with some Marsh Sow Thistle already in place

Coming along

Steatoda nobilis - a very plum-black one

Steatoda nobilis

And so to today.  The two young male White-tailed Eagles lured me to Mickle Mere SWT after an early breakfast but it was not to be and neither had been seen since early the previous morning and would seem to have moved on.  Not that I could get into the hide which was packed shoulder to shoulder with lenses so I did not linger long and drove the local lanes checking around some of the other arable areas in which they had been seen but only found a few Red-legged Partridges and two probably very relieved Red Kites.  Several fields were liberally scattered with Fieldfares.

I opted for a fluid journey home and randomly turned off and firstly followed a brown sign to  Knettishall Heath SWT and enjoyed an hour figure of eight circuit that took me through the heath.   Despite the wind I thought that I could hear Woodlark out on the heath and was delighted to find two quite obliging pairs politely but very vocally sorting out territorial boundaries with strident calls and some intermittent singing.  They all had particularly perky crests when on the ground.

Woodlark

Mistle Thrush and Robin song cut through the wind and once back in the Birches I picked up a couple of Marsh Tits, Long-tails and Goldcrests and three single Yellowhammers flew over calling.  I cut down to the Little Ouse which looked great for Otters but two Mallard is all that I found.  Burdock and Reedmace were ‘ticked off’ with their respective moth early stages and hopefully the bendy Alder ‘flowers’ that I found with an exit hole can be identified to moth host species.

Limnaecia phragmitella

A Grey Wagtail bounded over and a flock of 30 agile Siskin decked out in green and gold dangled at curious angles from the Alders. It was good to have some at eye level for a change.  

Siskin

The route back through the trees saw the Exmoor Ponies idling across the path but they seemed very chilled and let me by with nothing but some expressive yawning.

A flock of Redwings were foraging in the leaf litter with a selection of Tits and a single Nuthatch while Great Spotted Woodpecker was half-heartedly drumming.

Redwings

On again and at the junction with the A1066 at Riddlesworth I managed to pull over to take some hasty shots of a wonderful carpet of Winter Aconites and Snowdrops. They would have glowed if the sun had been out.

A little further down the road an adult female Marsh Harrier was a surprise roadside bird in arable farmland but as I then pulled off to go down to Reedham and Lopham Fen SWT perhaps it was not quite to unexpected.  I do not remember ever visiting here before (although my Dad says I have!) and enjoyed a mile circuit of the Red Spider Trail.  It was quiet and blowy but I will be back to look for the mighty Fen Raft Spiders at some stage.  Marsh Tits were vocal here too and a female Kestrel watched me with interest. 

And if anyone had any ideas what gall this is please let me know.  I am not sure what dead stem it was attached too by possibly a Great Willowherb?

Lunch beckoned.

 

Thirty Years Ago - January 1994

2^nd January:

An overnighter with Adrian Wander to Anglesey in appalling weather to get 1994 started.  The sun was just contemplating getting up as we arrived at the roadside parking just north of Holyhead and fortunately within just a few minutes we had the Killdeer in view. Perhaps my most sought after of waders and it performed exceptionally well in its chosen boggy field.  It was larger than I expected.

Killdeer #399

A drive around the headland produced two Chough, various waders, Little Grebes, Mergansers, Stonechats, a male Peregrine and was followed but a good session around the harbour where we had good views of Great Northern and Black-throated Diver as well as a few Auks and a fine Slavonian Grebe.

We left the Island and went up the coast to Llanfairfechan where the Blue Winged Teal eluded us but our seawatch was excellent with three Auks and Divers, Great-crested, Red-necked and another Slav Grebe, Eider, Scaup, Common Scoters, Mergansers and several Long-tailed Ducks.  A dapper Dipper bobbed on the stream that entered the sea here. 

On again and through the Conwy Tunnels where we stopped for fuel and up above I saw a very large Herring Gull sized Falcon circling round but I quickly lost it from view. Oh well – time to head home.

5^th January:

A quick afternoon visit to Fishers Green to look for the Bitterns was successful with two birds seen very well along with Kingfisher and Water Rail.

23rd January:

Having been at Wat Tyler CP for nearly a week it was about time I paid the Olive Backed Pipit a visit.  It was gloomy and drizzly but I persevered and eventually very good views were had as it grovelled through the grass under the bushes.  My 7^th in the UK.

Olive Backed Pipit

A few Thrushes, Pipits and Buntings passed over the Hawthorn scrub. Pleased with our efforts, Pete and I moved onto Rainham Marshes where Rock and Water Pipits were seen on and around the barges before heading to The Chase where a Long-eared Owl was seen lurking at the bottom of a Willow.