Road Tripping

It seems most of Britain had great weather during the half-term holiday 25th May – 2nd June 2013, except just about all the places I visited during that time. Yes, rather a week of quality time at home with the kids, I chose to squeeze in with good friends Mike and Chris, plus young Chris, Lee (yes, him again), Craig, Paul, Tia, and Andy to try and see as many species as possible in the UK in nine days. Depending how you look at it, that’s nine days of freedom, camaraderie, banter, and the Great British countryside, or nine days I'll never get back. I’ve still not decided which it was…

As on the trip three weeks earlier, I met with Mike and Chris in Falkirk on the Friday evening. Day 1 started with ten Black Grouse on Braco Moor.

Black Grouse lekking, Braco Moor, Perth & Kinross - Saturday 25th May 2013

 We have a winner!

Plenty of Whinchat around, plus the expected Common Gull, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Snipe, Curlew, Willow Warbler, etc. We made our way to Loch of Lowes, getting some better views of Whinchat, Common Whitethroat, and Garden Warbler on route, and more Black and Red Grouse. House Martins seem to be doing okay here.

The Osprey nest at Loch of the Lowes was occupied, but they weren’t giving their best views while I was in the hide. Better was around the feeding station: smart Siskin, Lesser Redpoll and Yellowhammer the highlights.

Our plan was to catch the ferry to Lochmaddy (North Uist) from Uig (Skye) at midday. But we’d left it late and had to dash across country to get to the terminal in time. We hadn’t booked tickets, which meant for an anxious wait to see if they’d let us on (this kind of unavoidable drama is usual for trips with Lee!). We spent our time scanning the harbour: Black Guillemot, Razorbill, lots of Shag, and a double-figure group of Red-breasted Merganser washing in the shallows. The weather wasn’t too bad, overcast and chilly, but okay. Word was the weather on North Uist was poor, which didn’t help our chances of seeing any eagles or the much-wanted Snowy Owl.

We were allowed on board, and spent the trip sea-watching as it became gradually colder: a large numbers of Puffin, Razorbill and Guillemot, a few Arctic Tern, Fulmar and Kittiwake, the odd Great Skua, and a Manx Shearwater.

We took the northern road around North Uist, going via Solas. At Grenitote a Glaucous Gull landed in front of us as we were watching Little Tern, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Shoveler, and a female Hen Harrier pass through. It had started raining and was getting worse, so headed off to Balranald, further west.

We parked at the sea-watching site and Lee lead us over a hill to a lochan where a Cackling Goose was swimming around, happy as Larry in glorious isolation. This was the Cackling Goose (or Richardson’s Canada Goose) I’d spent hours looking for in early March. Result!

Richardson's Canada Goose, Balranald, North Uist - Sunday 26th May 2013

There were lots of Eider and a fantastic Great Northern Diver close in on the sea, with three Little Gull riding the wind with other gulls. Further down the beach we saw a bird I was already acquainted with: a young male Harlequin Duck.

Also on the reserve: Whooper Swan, Shelduck, Snipe, Sanderling, more Bar-tails, Twite, Corn Bunting, and a couple of passing Pomarine Skua picked out by Craig. Balranald was a different reserve to the one I visited just a few weeks earlier. So nice we came back the following morning…

 Sunrise at Lochmaddy, North Uist - Sunday 26th May 2013

Day 2 and we were back at Balranald listening for Corncrake. We heard them ok, but got no views. We did get to get on to a Ruff, hidden in the long grass, thanks to a fellow birder letting us look through his scope (all adding to the trip list). The weather was much better now, allowing me to take some shots of the goose and to do some sea-watching. Craig and Lee got on to a distant skua heading north – very, very long-tailed, with long, thin wings, a slight tern-like action, and a meandering rather than direct flight: a Long-tailed Skua. Excellent, two lifers in two days.

 Balranald RSPB, North Uist - Sunday 26th May 2013

Corn Bunting, Balranald, North Uist - Sunday 26th May 2013

The group’s focus (or rather Lee’s focus) seemed to be more on Corncrake than Snowy Owl, which wound me up somewhat. But, the views we had of a Corncrake stood on a dry stone wall perked me up. We made some cursory attempts at the Snowy Owl (which, with hindsight, probably had left overnight), finding only Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Sanderling, etc, between the machair and the sea.

We had a date with the ferry, and while in the car park I picked up some distant raptors. One really struck me as different – a White-tailed Eagle. It circled and drifted in our direction, eventually passing low directly over our heads, looking like a floorboard with a bird strapped to it. An awesome sight.

Lochmaddy-Uig ferry

I enjoyed the boat trip back to Skye, picking out Manx Shearwater, and large numbers of Arctic Tern among the other sea birds, and Buzzard and a pair of Raven over Uig harbour.

We spent the morning touring Skye, the highlight being a group of Mealy Redpoll coming to feeder in a garden on the north of the island (near where we saw some last year). Making our way over to Grantown-on-Spey for the night – Black-throated Diver and Slavonian Grebe on lochs on route.

Day 3 – Another 5am meet and more great views of the rogue Capercaillie in Abernethy Forest (the same chap as three weeks earlier). It was lekking close to the road, allowing the photographers to get some great shots.

Capercaillie, Abernethy Forest, Highland - Monday 27th May 2013

 

  Who says photographers always want to get too close?

Beetle, Abernethy Forest, Highland - Monday 27th May 2013

 Wood Ant nest, Abernethy Forest, Highland - Monday 27th May 2013

After breakfast we headed back towards Loch Garten RSPB, getting Dipper on the Spey. We all had some good views of Osprey and Crested Tit, then the photographers in the group wanted more Caper action, so went back for seconds. According to the video I’ve seen, someone may have got a little too close for comfort – though it was the bird approaching him, rather than the other way round!

The rest of the day was spent in the Aviemore area, getting some nice Osprey views and adding Goldeneye to the trip list.

 Osprey, Aviemore - Monday 27th May 2013

We started Day 4 with a lie-in, meeting at 6am and heading to Anagach Forest. Craig picked up a Pine Martin, but most of couldn’t get on to it. The weather was a bit cold and overcast, which probably led to it being a quiet session for birds: singing Tree Pipit, Redstart, Mistle Thrush, and Willow Warbler where the highlights, among all the Chaffinches.

After brekkie some us headed up Sneachda from Cairngorms Ski Centre, looking for Ptarmigan. Although I’d seen these really well three weeks earlier, I’d never pass up the chance to see them again – I mean, these are a real Scottish speciality and we (Englanders) don’t get chance to see them at home. I’m glad I did go too: we had some great views. We couldn’t go too far because the weather up top was bad, but the area just below the snow line and mist was best for Ptarmigan anyhow. We had some nice Red Grouse on the way up and down too, and a pair of Ring Ouzel carrying food by the car park.

 Ptarmigan, Ben MacDui, Aviemore, Highland - Tuesday 28th May 2013

 Time to turn back...

On the way down..

We spent the afternoon at the upper end of Findhorn Valley. This is a traditional site for Golden Eagle, and we weren’t disappointed, with one flying right over us, shortly after being mobbed by a Peregrine. A few Buzzards around too for a handy size comparison.

Then we started heading south, and called it at one of my favourite sites: Killiecrankie near Pitlochry. It was lovely warm evening now, and we walked further along the River Garry than we have in recent visits. My birding sense was switched on (for once on this trip), and I managed to find us a Spotted Flycatcher feeding over the river, before picking out a female Pied Flycatcher after we’d heard a male singing nearby. A couple of Wood Warbler were singing their awesome song too. I got chatting to some other birders and they helped me find a pair of Dipper feeding three recently fledged chicks, and tell us about some nearby Osprey. Garden Warbler, Pied and Grey Wagtails on the river, Great Spotted Woodpeckers… excellent site. Well worth calling in if you’re passing during the spring/summer.

We went past Bonskeid House, a former YMCA centre where I’d stayed with my mum in the summer of 1979. Brought back loads of memories of walks, bird watching and eating chocolate... It reminded me just how ace my mum was and how much I still miss her after all these years.

We ended the day at Musselburgh, adding Common and Velvet Scoter, Sandwich Tern and Grey Plover to the trip list. We had a heated debate in the car park of the Premier Inn at Musselburgh (it was full), during which I drank Peroni in the bar. We decided to split up for the night (Mike’s car to Falkirk and Lee’s to Berwick-on-Tweed)…

Wednesday (Day 5) and we started the day trying to see the terns on Coquet Island from the mainland. It’s doable, but not in strong winds with gusts and heavy rain. I nearly got hit in the face by a Fulmar, which – while great – illustrates the type of weather we were up against.

We knocked about Druridge Bay for a while, seeing Spoonbill and Common Terns (no doubt nesting on Coquet Island) feeding at Hauxley NWT, and a nice pair of Stonechat and Sedge Warbler at East Chevington. We called at Seaton Common in Cleveland (near Saltholme RSPB) for a Great White Egret (and got the bonus of a brief Yellow Wagtail), but the weather wasn’t improving so we headed south… to Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk.

The prize here was Savi’s Warbler and we were treated to some good views of it in lovely weather as it sang in the reeds about 20 metres away. While easy to see with the scope, it was very difficult to digiscope, so my best photo is pretty crap. It was nice to compare the Savi’s song with a Grasshopper Warbler singing nearby. The former sounding like a tiny motor, the latter being a smoother, thinner noise, like a freewheeling bike.

Savi's Warbler, Lakenheath RSPB, Suffolk - Wednesday 29th May 2013

There were lots of Groppers dotted around the reserve, as were Sedge and Reed Warblers. I lost count of the number of Cetti’s Warbler and Cuckoo I heard. A bonus was a Common Crane in a field across the river (in Norfolk).

We had our latest start - 7am - on Thursday (Day 6), not surprising after that long drive on Wednesday. The bad weather had caught up with us and we headed back to Lakenheath in the rain. We had more good views of Savi’s and Grasshopper Warblers, and Common Crane, and a low-flying Bittern. Nearby we had our first Grey Partridge of the trip, before calling in at Weeting NWT for a Stone Curlew after a 10 minute wait (we didn’t have to wait all day like I did for my first here in 2008).

We headed north to Titchwell Marsh on the Norfolk coast, seeing our first Red-legged Partridge of the trip on the way. We arrive at 10am, no bad, given the late start. Titchwell rarely disappoints, and this was another enjoyable visit. Highlights and new birds for the trip were Black-tailed Godwits, Avocets (they’re taking over), Little Egret (taking til now to get one), Garganey, Teal (again, taken us all week before we came across these), Red-crested Pochard, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Mediterranean Gull (three beautiful adults flying low over), and Little Gull (wonderful views of adults and sub-adults – such a great bird to watch). The Little Stint we thought we had turned out to be a Sanderling – think there were some crossed wires there.

The weather turned cooler in the afternoon, as we went in search of Montagu’s Harrier. We were not disappointed. After the warm up acts of Red Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Hobby, and a pair of Marsh Harriers exchanging a rabbit mid-air, the male Monty flew in. He hunted over the field for a short while before coming to rest on a farm track. The female joined him soon after. A real highlight of the trip. Watching a Lesser Whitethroat carrying food to a nearby hedge for the hour we were there was a nice bonus.

We had Greylags and Egyptian Geese at Holkham as we headed to Kelling Heath for Woodlark and Turtle Dove. We checked in to our various B&Bs in Sheringham and had a great Thai meal, arranged as ever by Chris M. I was a bit tipsy when we were out looking for Nightingale, but we (the group in Mike’s car) did get a brief glimpse after we all had heard one sing.

Friday 31st May (Day 7) was an even later start – 8am. The sea mist was covering the whole of the North Norfolk Coast, so there was no rush. It was cold when we did eventually venture out into Sheringham Country Park, but we managed some lovely views of Firecrest and Nuthatch. We failed to see the summering Pick-foot and Whitefronts at Holkham again, as we headed for a second stab at Titchwell. Today’s target was Temminck’s Stint. The weather improved and we were getting some heat haze when watching the tiny stint. Little Ringed Plover was another addition.

News came through of a Short-toed Lark on Blakeney Point, a life for most of us and a year tick for all. Parking at Cley coastguards we set off on the yomp to the Marrams as fast as we could. Every birder we met coming back said they’d dipped it, but there were Wryneck and Black Redstart about. We soldiered on and found the lovely female Black Redstart in the blue boat.

Blakeney Point, Norfolk - Friday 31st May 2013

We tried in vain to see one of the Wryneck (although I did see a brown, woodpecker-shaped bird glide into some Suaeda in the area one had been seen, which was almost certainly a Wryneck, but not enough for a positive ID). I enjoyed watching the Little and Sandwich Terns, but as the sun beat down and I rued bringing my coat, I started taking a closer look at the plants.

Red-tailed Bumblebee on Common Birds-foot Trefoil - Blakeney Point

 Sea Campion - Blakeney Point

 Sea Campion - Blakeney Point

 Sea Kale - Blakeney Point

Thrift (Sea Pink) - Blakeney Point

Thrift (Sea Pink) - Blakeney Point

Whelk egg sacs - Blakeney Point

We had started to trudge back when a call came from Brian Bland, the be-sandled birder we’d bumped into a few time in Norfolk. The Short-toed Lark was there on the shingle, just over the cordon protecting the Little Tern nests! Result! We all got good views, with the photographers getting a couple of shots off, before it flew high west along the point, where we lost it in the glare of the sun. A really interesting bird - very pale upperparts, making it difficult to see against the shingle. The unmarked breast was a key feature too, though we didn’t have long to study it. It ran in short bursts, allowing us quick stationary views, then flew off before any other birders could get a look.

Well now, that cheered us up, and we headed to Burnham Overy Staithe for a beautiful male Red-backed Shrike with a Barn Owl hunting behind in the sunshine. At Holkham, our last site of the day, were two Greenshank and two Whimbrel calling as they flew over from the south heading straight out over Holkham Pines.

We stayed in Sheringham again, though this time at the YHA – basic but cheap, just what we needed. Day 8 started at 7am, and we soon scored a local Dartford Warbler. We didn’t have much time before news broke of a White-spotted Bluethroat at nearby Cley. We piled down the East Bank and had nice scope views of a male singing from the willows out in the reeds to the west. The white area in the blue feathers on the throat were clear to see as the bird sing its heart out.

Watching the Bluethroat from the East Bank, Cley, Norfolk - a cold Saturday 1st June 2013

Sculthorpe NR was the next destination – a nice reserve, one of my favourites in Norfolk. We were after Marsh Tit, a speciality here. We all added Bullfinch to our trip lists first, before heading out to the Marsh Hide, overlooking the reedbed. The Marsh Harriers entertained us until a Marsh Tit showed up, right on cue. This is where we said goodbye to Chris M – no point in him going off south when we were so close to his house. Top bloke.

Marsh Harrier sculpture - Sculthorpe, Norfolk

 Cowslip - Sculthorpe, Norfolk

   Greater Stitchwort - Sculthorpe, Norfolk

   Red Campion - Sculthorpe, Norfolk

Our last call in Norfolk was Abbey Farm, Flitcham, for Little Owl, before Welney WWT in Cambridgeshire for Whooper Swan (after I’d fallen off a gate – not the first time). We then headed for Berry Fen RSPB. The quarry here was Pectoral Sandpiper, which simply eluded us for ages. A pair of Garganey was a nice find, and it was only as we were leaving that I chanced upon a small wader among some sleeping duck – the Pectoral Sandpiper.

 

Pectoral Sandpiper, Berry Fen RSPB - Saturday 1st June 2013

We tried for a nearby Red-footed Falcon, but could only pick out distant Hobbies, so we headed south. The two cars became separated, which meant we (in Mike’s car) didn’t get the feral Barnacle Geese off the A1 – this did not unduly bother us! In London, the Ring-necked Parakeet is an easy bird to see and hear, but we had the bonus (if you can call it that) of seeing breeding Monk Parakeets. These are the same species I see regularly on trips to Barcelona, but it was novel to see them, and their nests, in London. Couldn’t manage a photo of one, unfortunately.

 

Monk Parakeet nests, Greater London - Saturday 1st June 2013



Breeding Black-necked Grebe are always nice to see, so to see a dozen on a reservoir was real treat. No Rudy Duck around though… Last call of the day was Chobham Common NNR. Woodcock were everywhere. We heard a distant Cuckoo and then a close Nightjar. It flew past us and landed in a tree. Despite some serious eyeballing, we couldn’t actually see it in the tree until it flew out again. Another successful day, rounded off my a margarita at Mike’s house – cheers for letting us stay Mike.

Chobham Common, Surrey - Saturday 1st June 2013

The last day (Day 9) started with a Kingfisher twitch in west London somewhere (yes, I know). I didn’t get on to it as it flew, but told everyone I did, so they didn’t have to hang around. Cracking birds, but we were now just trying to get the trip list up. We headed for the New Forest, in glorious weather. Perfect for Honey Buzzard and Goshawk, and so it proved. We had up to four Honey Buzzard, with two males performing wing quivering displays! One of the three (or more?) Goshawk was right over our heads at one point. The bulk of the bird and the fluffed out white undertail coverts were so obvious.

We wandered around the forest for a while, getting great views of a singing male Redstart and Wood Warbler. A Green Woodpecker nearly flew into my face while I was taking a discrete tinkle in the woods too…

This is where we had to split up – young Chris needed to be in the north west by the end of the day, and I needed to be further north, so while the others went in search of Hawfinch, Mike, Andy, young Chris and I went to Coombe Hill near Tewksbury for a female Red-necked Phalarope (don’t laugh at my photo, it was distant in some serious heat haze!).

   Red-necked Phalarope, Coombe Hill NR, Gloucestershire - Sunday 2nd June 2013

Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, and Little Gull were also present, and that wrapped up our birding. All that remained was to say goodbye – I spent the week with some top people and great birders on this trip.

The group as a whole got 208 species (heard and seen), whereas my personal total was 203 (199 seen, plus four heard-only). Not bad. Not bad at all. My full list below:

Red-throated Diver
Black-throated Diver
Great Northern Diver
Slavonain Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Northern Fulmar
Manx Shearwater
Northern Gannet
Atlantic Great Cormorant (and Continental Cormorant Sinensis)
Shag
Eurasian Bittern
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Grey Heron
Eurasian Spoonbill
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
Greylag Goose
Greater Canada Goose
Cackling or Lesser Canada Goose (hutchinsii)
Dark-bellied Brent Goose
Common Shelduck
Egyptian Goose
Mandarin Duck
Mallard
Gadwall
Shoveler
Eurasian Wigeon
Common Teal
Garganey
Northern Pochard
Red-crested Pochard
Tufted Duck
Harlequin Duck
Common Eider
Common Scoter
Velvet Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
White-tailed Sea Eagle
Osprey
Golden Eagle
Red Kite
Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Common Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
Sparrowhawk
Northern Goshawk
Common Kestrel
Hobby
Peregrine
Red Grouse
Ptarmigan
Capercaillie
Black Grouse
Red-legged Partridge
Grey Partridge
Corncrake
Common Pheasant
Moorhen
Coot
Common Crane
Oystercatcher
Avocet
Stone Curlew
Little Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover
Grey Plover
European Golden Plover
Lapwing
Red Knot
Sanderling
Turnstone
Dunlin
Common Redshank
Common Greenshank
Black-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Eurasian Curlew
Whimbrel
Woodcock
Common Snipe
Red-necked Phalarope
Ruff
Great Skua
Pomarine Skua
Long-tailed Skua
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Mediterranean Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Little Gull
Kittiwake
Little Tern
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Puffin
Black Guillemot
Common Guillemot
Razorbill
Rock Dove
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Turtle Dove
Common Cuckoo (heard only)
Tawny Owl (heard only)
Short-eared Owl
Barn Owl
Little Owl
European Nightjar
Common Swift
Ring-necked Parakeet (plus Monk Parakeet)
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Woodlark
Greater Short-toed Lark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
House Martin
Meadow Pipit
Tree Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Wren
Dipper
Dunnock
Robin
Common Nightingale
Common Redstart
Black Redstart
Whinchat
Common Stonechat
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Common Blackbird
Ring Ouzel
Garden Warbler
Blackcap (heard only!)
Lesser Whitethroat
Common Whitethroat
Dartford Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Grasshopper Warbler
Cetti's Warbler (heard only)
Reed Warbler
Willow Warbler
Wood Warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Goldcrest
Firecrest
Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Crested Tit
Marsh Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Nuthatch
Common Treecreeper
Red-backed Shrike
Common Magpie
Jay
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Hooded Crow
Common Raven
Common Starling
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Twite
Lesser Redpoll
Mealy Redpoll
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Siskin
Bullfinch
Reed Bunting
Yellowhammer
Corn Bunting

I like golf

Actually, I don’t. It’s boring. But, I’ve enjoyed visiting some golf courses recently, not least Kington Golf Club in Herefordshire last year. I’ve always found golfers to be a tolerant bunch (tolerant of birders, at least…). My latest trip to not play golf was on Friday 14th June, to see the male Greenish Warbler on Turton Golf Course, near Egerton in Lancashire.

This was another post-work job for me – not too far. I arrived in drizzle to find the bird had been showing “two minutes ago” high in a beech tree. I watch this area for half an hour or so, enjoying some nice views of three Nuthatch fledglings huddled together on a branch whilst being fed by their very active parents.

Everything was greenish...

I started to look further afield, and so did a couple of other birders, and soon one picked up the Greenish Warbler just down the slope of the clough. Nice work. The bird was feeding low down in some young trees: pines, oaks, beech, and birch (in fact all the trees in the plantation, except the rowan trees).

The greenish (!) colouring on of the upperparts was clear, as was the strong, long supercillium. It had a small, pale wing bar, and the underparts were very pale. It moved freely through the lower branches of the trees, staying close to the ground for long periods. It occasionally wagged it’s tail between flights, but could remain completely still on a branch for periods. Nice bird, and well worth popping back to lovely Lancashire for it.

I headed home, listening to some demos of early ELO, of all things. I tell you, they were really heavy in those days. The "Harvest Years" three-CD set has some great stuff on it from their heavy prog days. So, home for a curry and a weekend of digging the garden and being a good father for Fathers’ Day (i.e. no Pacific Swift for me…).

Hits Dips Lips Power!*

Thrush Nightingale, Hartlepool Headland, Cleveland - Monday 20th May 2013

It’s been an eventful few weeks in the birding life of indiebirder. Unfortunately, too many of those events have been dips! But there have been some hits too...

My first lifer of the spring was a LITTLE BUNTING at Elba Park, Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham. This bird had been first noted on 2nd November 2012 and stayed for another week. It wasn’t reported after that, so maybe it had moved on… Then on 8th April 2013 it was seen again, same place. Either it had been feeding/roosting elsewhere during the bad weather over winter, or I guess the locals weren’t looking for it during that time, or both… Either way, it took me until the evening of Friday 12th April to see it after work.

This was not an easy bird to pick up. When I arrived some birders were viewing/filming it from inside the plantation, gradually forcing the Little Bunting, and Reed Buntings it was with, through the scrub. I couldn’t pin it down. Eventually, as the light faded and only four birders were left on site, it started making a chip-chip-chip call from a post near the fence. Well, I could hear the call clearly, but couldn’t place it. A photographer was on it (good job I noticed – he didn’t call me over), and me and another birder arrived in time to watch it calling at close range for 60 seconds while I also tried (unsuccessfully) to get the last birder on to it.

A cracking, well-marked bird: with dark head stripes, lovely chestnut ear coverts, a distinctive straight-sided metallic-looking bill. It flew off high south, to roost. Cheers to the finder and refinder (who refound it on 8th April, not that selfish photographer…).

Only a few days later… and I was panting up the street to get the car for a trip Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire. This time for a drake BAIKAL TEAL, on Monday 15th April 2013. This bird had been seen coming in off the sea with two wigeon by famous Flamborough sea-watcher Brett Richards, eventually pitching up at Northcliff Marsh. Good enough credentials already. Timing was good (spring movements well under way), weather patterns about right, no zoos missing any birds… It was nailed on.

The bird showed well while I was there – after waking up – and it wandered around and swam giving good views the assembled crowd (particularly those on the hide roof…). I know, it’s behaviour wasn’t exactly fascinating, but that awesome plumage was worth the effort.

The best way to see Baikal Teal - Northcliff Marsh, Monday 15th April 2013

I dipped the Rock Thrush at Spurn on Saturday 27^th April, which was a disappointment to say the least. Sigh. I’d been in Manchester on a training course for the duration of its two-day stay. These things happen. Small compensation was had when travelling back from Spurn I decided to call in at my beloved Rodley Nature Reserve (something of a local patch for me) and stumbled across three patch ticks (Shelduck, Little Ringed Plover, and Common Sandpiper), and the reserve’s first Swifts of the year.

I got up to Scotland for the May Day bank holiday weekend - separate report here. Later in May at Rodley, while doing  theWeBS count on Sunday 12^th,, I added another patch tick for Rodley: Collard Dove! In ten years of visiting Rodley, I’d never seen one on the reserve itself – always just off in the nearby gardens, not viewable from on site. Patch list now up to 88.

During the same WeBS survey, I finally got my first Sedge and Garden Warblers of 2013. The GWs were very vocal and showed well, well outnumbering the Blackcaps on site. Is this a feature of this year? Since then I’ve seen more GWs than BCs.

I’ll not mention the fact I wasn’t allowed to go for the Dusky Thrush in Kent on 18th May (the last day of it’s 4-day stay). Well, maybe a brief mention. Grrr…

Anyway, there some compensation in the THRUSH NIGHTINGALE on the evening of Monday 20th May – another post-work twitch. I met up with Joel, the Secret Twitcher, and was quickly on site and getting really good views.

 Thrush Nightingale, Hartlepool Headland, Cleveland - Monday 20th May 2013

Thinking the weather looked good, we continued on north to Holy Island, which was promising some good stuff: Icterine Warbler, lesser Grey Shrike, Red-backed Shrike, etc… Unfortunately, it was raining heavily when we arrived, meaning my much-wanted Icky Warbler was unlikely to show. After 45 minutes peering in to soggy garden (and watching Chaffinches feed their young in a nest close to the wall), I headed off to meet up with Joel. On route, a Barn owl swooped low over a hedge – very close to my face – and the Lesser Grey Shrike could be seen on a distant post, a nice year tick. I caught up with Joel, but the Red-backed Shrike eluded me, but a hunting Short-eared Owl and close reeling Gropper are always good compensation.

So, not a bad a spring so far. Just made to seem bad because of those dips…

* With apologies to Silverfish

A weekend birding around Scotland and, erm, Suffolk - early May 2013

Icebow over Loch Garten, Abernethy, Highland, Scotland - Saturday 4th May 2013

It's May, and so it's time for my annual Spring birding trip to Scotland. I started on the afternoon of Thursday 2nd May, with some birding from the train between Leeds and Stirling. 24 species seen in all, including Red Kite between Leeds and York and nesting Kittiwakes on the Tyne Bridge. Not too shabby, but I reckon I can beat that next time.

5am on Friday morning and we’re already watching three male Black Grouse lekking. Not a bad start. We made our way to Loch of the Lowes nature reserve, picking up Raven, Common Sandpiper, Red Kite, Red Grouse and a pair of showy Yellowhammer on route. From the reserve tower hide, I could just make out the head of the Osprey sitting in the nest – we’d get some much better views. The highlight here was the gorgeous male Wood Warbler singing away by the car park. I could never tire of hearing that song.

We were picking up more birds as we went through the Cairngorms and up to Portsoy on the north coast of Aberdeenshire. We sea-watched from the harbour, soon picking up an adult summer-plumaged WHITE-BILLED DIVER, a lifer for me. A really dramatic looking bird, the plumage closely resembles the Great Northern Diver, but the huge bone-coloured bill, held at an angle resembling the smaller, slimmer Red-throated Diver, was a dead giveaway. Nearby was an adult Great Northern Diver, allowing for a nice comparison. Also present (at least, what I saw) out at sea were Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Gannet, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Shag, Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull, while three Sandwich Terns flew east. A few Bottle-nosed Dolphins were close in. The rocks below the harbour had Rock Pipit and Eider. Further west at Sandend we got great views of an adult male Long-tailed Duck.

We headed for Grantown-on-Spey for the night, first calling in a Avielochan for views of breeding Slavonian Grebe. The most talked about bird here was my House Martin among the Sand Martin flock, which no one else got on to and which led to me being branded a stringer! We returned the following evening, allowing me to pick out the HM again and make sure everyone saw it. Jeez.

 Slavonian Grebe, Aviemore - Friday 3rd May 2013

After a disastrous attempt at having a meal in the local Chinese (only about half the food we ordered actually arrived, meanwhile we got ever more drunk…), it was suddenly 5am Saturday morning, and we out birding again.

We trailed around Abernethy forest and the Loch Garten area getting some lovely views of the Crested Tit (and Red Squirrel) on feeders. Apparently, they don’t usually come to feeders during the breeding season, but the cold spring has meant their usual diet of seeds and nuts is in short supply. This explains why we could find any Crossbills (of any flavour), due the poor cone crop.

But, none of this matters when you come across views of Capercaillie like this…

 Capercaillie, Abernethy Forest, - Saturday 4th May 2013

 This male was seen from the roadside, about 50 metres away. When we drove by later, it was around 10 metres from the road!

While we were at Loch Garten, looking at a fantastic Osprey stood by its nest, none other than Mr Osprey himself, Roy Dennis, pointed out an icebow right over my head (picture at top).

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing two summer-plumaged Black-throated Diver on Loch Morlich – awesome. They have just the most beautiful plumage. No hanging around though - we were soon halfway up Ben Macdui watching cracking summer-plumged Ptarmigan at close range. Well, I was watching them – someone who will remain nameless flushed them over the ridge before the rest of our lot got to the site. No sure he should ever have bought a camera…

A lovely pair of Ring Ouzel in the car park and a male Snow Bunting and we were off. The day ended with another Osprey, many more Crested Tits and Slavonian Grebes, and a cracking male Redstart. Birding around here is a dream…

Someone’s got a beef with Heatherlea...

Sunday 5th May started at the more reasonable hour of 06:00. A female Capercaillie by the roadside on route to Tulloch Moor was nice. Tree Pipit, more distant Black Grouse, and my first Cuckoo of the year was a good haul before breakfast.

We parked up at the top end of Findhorn Valley and soon picked out a Merlin chasing a Kestrel low over the ground high up the hillside. Another Ring Ouzel was here too. The weather here was lovely and sunny, but very windy. Surprisingly there were some raptors up, though distant: three Golden Eagles, a Buzzard, and half a dozen Kestrels, plus a few Ravens.

Travelling through Nairn I got my only Hooded Crow of the trip – we didn’t travel far enough west to get lots of these. We headed for the east coast to get the much sought after male King Eider at Ythan Estuary. After starting at the bridge (too far upstream) and getting some good views of Whimbrel, Red-breasted Merganser and Long-tailed Duck, we headed down to the seal colony. And there is was, the stunning drake sat with the Common Eiders – my best views of this bird.

King Eider, Ythan Estuary, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire - Sunday 5th May 2013

We ended the night much further south at Mussleburgh, after calling in on the drake Blue-winged Teal in Clyde – again, my best views ever of this bird.

Monday morning we started early with Surf Scoter out among the Velvets on the Forth. Distant, but relatively easy to pick out the ID features. We all needed to end the day further south to get home, so we were soon heading to Northumberland where some good birds had been reported. Most of them had gone to ground when we got there, but watching Arctic Terns on Coquet Island and a nice drake Green-winged Teal at Ashlington were worth it.

We carried on south (actually, a bit too far south for me!), and spent some time watching seven Dotterel through the heat haze in Nottinghamshire. A Red-footed Falcon and Purple Heron were at Lakenheath Fen, so we decided to end our trip there. As you’d expect if you’ve ever visited this reserve, the Purple Heron was going to be very difficult to pick out from the deep, dense reed beds - and so it was. We concentrated on the Red-foot, which put on a great show in the end – a real stunner, but impossible to digiscope.

 Lakenheath Fen RSPB, Suffolk - Monday 6th May 2013

So, another slightly mad trip. Here’s to the next one … at the end of the month.

Harlequin Duck and other northern delights

The drake Harlequin Duck is familiar to all birders. Or rather, pictures of drake Harlequin Ducks are familiar to all birders. Every keen young birdwatcher, member of the YOC, and owner of The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain (or The Encyclopaedia of Birds magazine series, in my case), would have drooled over the images of the exotic Harlequin, wondering if they’d ever see one. Maybe a captive bird at Martin Mere WWT. Or Slimbridge perhaps? But in the wild in the UK...? Surely not...

The chance for me came when a drake was reported from North Uis on 18th February, and stuck around long enough for me to get my act together and go. This meant working my backside off to clear all my urgent jobs, getting my boss to let me have a day off, and getting my wife to agree to me disappear with our car for 48hrs.

I failed to hitch a lift with anyone else, and couldn’t persuade my friends to take sickies, so I set off just after midnight on Thursday 1st March. I enjoyed the night-time drive up, and the starry sky looked absolutely perfect - perfect for a duck wanting to migrate, I wondered…

I got my first Scottish year-tick (Hooded Crow) at Kyle of Lochalsh, before taking the ferry from Uig (Skye) to Lochmaddy. There was nothing of note in Uig harbour, but Eider, Shag, Common Guillemot, Black Guillemot, Kittiwake, and a around seven Harbour Porpoise on the way over were nice. There may well have been other delights, but I had to have a nap below decks before I drove any further.

We (the other 20 or so fellow ferry-passenger twitchers and I) arrived at Balranald RSPB by 12:00 and after a very brief pause to view a first winter Glaucous Gull, we got to the rocks and were immediately on to the Harlequin. 


It was obviously a drake, remembered from those dusty old books, but the muted colours of plumage confirmed the age as a first-winter. Beautiful nonetheless. The white sickle shape before the eye and the spot behind the ear coverts were clear with the naked eye. The striped head and lovely red/bronze/chestnut flanks looked great through the scope. Bizarrely, it seemed to struggle to keep on the rocks, getting washed off each time a big wave came and scrabbling back on in the most clumsily teenage manner.

 A crap, digiscoped shot of the Harlequin Duck - Balranald, North Uist, Friday 1st March 2013

After an hour or so the fog rolled in. It took about 30 minutes to clear by which time many of the virders had moved on. Under cover of the fog the Harlequin had moved to feed in the floating kelp near some rocks offshore. The plumage made sense now – it really was not easy to pick it out as is turned the kelp, ducking underneath and emerging a few feet away. I really enjoyed watching it feed, and shot possibly the worst video of this duck in an attempt to share the experience.

Waiting for the fog to clear

Ah well. A bit of a relief that the bird was still there in all honesty. Nothing to worry about, this long-distance twithing eh? Well, err, read this great account of twitcher’s recent woes.

After a brief with the Outer Hebs Bird Recorder, Brian Rabbit, I got chatting with some birders from Leicestershire. I took up their generous offer of tagging along with them for the rest of the day, and we were soon at Goular watching an Otter on the kelp-strewn rocks.

We scanned the Barnacle Goose flocks for the reported Richardson’s Canada Goose, to no avail. Each of the small water bodies around here had Whopper Swans, Icelandic Greylag Goose, plenty of Lapwing. The larger Loch Sanndaraigh at Paibeil had a female Ring-necked Duck – a great learning experience for me, having only seen males previously. A pair of Greenland White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons flavirostris) were on the far bank – another new taxon for me, having only seen European (A. a. albifrons) previously. The flavirostris looked noticeably darker than the albifrons I see in Norfolk each winter, and the black belly marks contrasted less with the darker belly.

We spent the remainder of the glorious afternoon scanning the machair. It was great to see the geese in large flocks, and to hear their evocative calls as they fly overhead. We had Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard, but the raptor of the day was Hen Harrier. A female quartering the road-side fields gave great views, with a cracking male a little further away on the machair.

I had a fantastic 11-hour sleep in a nice Lochmaddy B&B, and woke to another lovely morning on Saturday.

My main plan was find the errant geese I’d missed yesterday. I headed for the Paibeil area and checked in on Loch Sanndaraigh. The female Ring-necked Duck was still with the Tufties, and the two Greenland White-fronts. Two hours of looking through various Barnacle Goose flocks followed – not an unpleasant way to pass the time. By then I couldn’t resist another look at the Harlequin. It was still in the same area, this time on the slack water just off shore. Still couldn’t a get a decent photo of it. I did manage to relocate the Glaucous Gull though – and get some acceptable (no better then that!) video.

First-winter Glaucous Gull - Balranald, North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Friday 1st March 2013

Before getting heading for the ferry I checked around Baile Mor and fianally got the two Snow Goose, hanging out with some Greylags. I had a good chat with the owner of the farm. He told me of the Snowy Owl and Golden Eagles (Napoleon and Josephine!) he gets on his land, and the Corncrakes in his garden. He invited me to visit anytime and I may well be back there in May looking for Corncrake. Top bloke.

Snow Goose - Baile Mor, North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Saturday 2nd March 2013

Someone got me on to a couple of distant Golden Eagles from Lochmaddy ferry car park (cheers fellas) and we were all treated to excellent views of an adult White-tailed Sea Eagle as it flew almost over the boat. A first-winter Iceland Gull circled the boat a few times not far off North Uist, and I got a Red-throated Diver near to Uig harbour as the sun set.

Sunset over Vaternish Point, Skye - Saturday 2nd March 2013

Phew. Great trip. Just the small matter of driving home (allowing me a few listens to the MBV album before their Manchester gig the following week). Home at 1am, relax, Pot Noodle, then bed. Like I said, great trip.

Norfolk, 18th-20th January 2013

Black-headed Gull - Titchwell, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

You can’t beat Norfolk in winter – I reckon it offers the most compressive winter birding experience in the UK. I spent three January days birding there, and apart from dipping/misidentifying some geese, a terrible few hours worrying about my lost phone, and a couple of terrible hangovers, I had a great time!

Friday 18/01/13

The snow and ice wasn’t as bad as first predicted, but I’d taken it easy on the journey from West Yorkshire, and didn’t arrive at Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalen until nearly 9am. I was hoping to find the Smew reported from the bridge over the relief channel, but with no luck. Egyptian Geese among the common ducks was a nice year tick to get the trip under way, as were the groups Red-legged Partridge in the surrounding fields.

I moved on to Wolferton, the traditional site for Golden Pheasant. I wasn’t disappointed, getting great views of a male feeding alongside male Common Pheasant under the crossroads sign on the north side of the famous triangle.

It was a lovely clear morning now and I popped onto Hunstanton cliffs for a seawatch. Unfortunately, the bitter cold got the better of me and after seeing only the usual gulls, an Eider and several Great Crested Grebe, I decided some birding from the car at Thornham harbour was a better idea. Yep, I am a lightweight.

I first visited Thornham harbour to see the Northern Harrier that over-wintered there in 2010-11, and then again on last year’s big trip. A quiet place in winter, but allowing for good views of the creeks and lowes and over the marsh towards Titchwell. A nice surprise was a Red Kite quartering the marsh to right as I approached the car park. A female Marsh Harrier was hunting further out over the marsh. Before long, group of nine Whooper Swan flew low west over the car. A group of Skylark swirled around, landing occasionally grassy fringes of the track, allowing me to pick out a female Reed Bunting with them.

Plenty of waders in the creeks: Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, and Grey Plover; and ducks on the shallows: Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shelduck, and a lovely pair of Pintail. A Little Grebe and my first Little Egret of the year made up the list.

On to Titchwell, where I bumped into a fellow Rodley Nature Reserve volunteer. He was just coming off the reserve, and warned me about the fierceness of the cold further out. He was right – by the time I’d reached the beach and come back, I realised I was the only birder on the reserve!

The feeders were busy: at least four Brambling (I heard there were many more), Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Wood Pigeon, Moorhen… There was a nice group of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll by the wooded path behind the VC, with a showy Water Rail pip-pip-pipping along the ditch.

 Freshmarsh, Titchwell, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

Once beyond the shelter of the trees, an icy breeze blasted me square in the face. The water in the reedbeds and freshmarsh was completely frozen. A group of ducks and gulls had formed around the small island in the freshmarsh, and amongst them was a lone Fieldfare. The ducks were all Mallards, the other duck species obviously preferring not to stand around on solid ice in a sharp wind. A few Meadow Pipits skated around on the ice close to the path - unfortunately I couldn’t pick out any Water Pipits.

The Volunteer marsh had some open water, and so had some waders, the most notable being the four Spotted Redshank feeding in the wide channel close to the path. Such dashing, elegant birds, even when compared to their relatively graceful cousins - the Common Redshank. A couple of Pintail were sheltering on the tidal marsh.

To the west of the path, just as the boardwalk starts, was the group of Skylark containing a male Lapland Bunting. I needn’t have bothered wondering how difficult it might be pick out; the bird stuck out like a sore thumb, and was one of the closest birds feeding near the path. In a way, the Skylarks were a more interesting ID: they had their feathers so puffed out, making their faces appear flat and their bills seem tiny, I had to double-check they weren’t Twite (they weren’t).

 Lapland Bunting - Titchwell, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

Birding on the frozen beach wasn’t pleasant, but there were plenty of things about: Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Golden Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Sanderling. The walk back brought a flyover Little Egret, a couple of very confiding birds: a lovely male Stonechat and a Song Thrush hoping along the gravel in front of me.

I headed to Salthouse in the hope of catching some Snow Buntings, but found only Turnstones eating the seeds put out by the photographers.

 Turnstones - Salthouse, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

Salthouse, looking towards Cley, Norfolk, Friday 18th January 2013

The light was already fading, and the temperature falling, I decided the last call would be on Cley Marsh for hunting Barn Owl. I parked on beach road and watched five Marsh Harriers have a final hunt before going to roost. Then, right on cue, a Barn Owl flew out over the sluice gate towards Wiverton, and gradually made its way towards me. Few more iconic sites in British birding than a dusk Barn Owl hunting over the reeds with a backdrop of Cley windmill.

Then it was off to the excellent Providence Place for the night…

Saturday 19/01/13 

My host Chris made me possibly the best breakfast ever, and I wouldn’t need feeding again for around seven hours! [Note, this is ones of those birding blogs where the breakfasts get a mention].
Chris joined me for a full day’s birding in the east of Norfolk, with the first stop being Whitlingham County park. A couple of Bittern been seen here over the last few days, but we (and the many other birders there) could find any this morning. Fortunately, a Slavonian Grebe was on the far end of the Great Broad, and we got some great views of this beauty. A Goldcrest, low down in the brambles with its bright crest blazing against the snowy backdrop, was a great sight. As was the large flock of Siskin over our heads. While scanning for the elusive Bittern and Ring-necked Duck, I came across a Water Rail running along the far bank. Before leaving, I inevitably crossed paths again with Pete, the Rodley Nature Reserve volunteer.

On to Buckenham for (Taiga) Bean Goose. I’d seen them here last year so thought it wise to go there again. I didn’t want a repeat of the two-mile hike through mud from Cantley that I did in in 2011. Well, I wish I’d gone to Cantley now. We walked out from Buckenham Station across the pristine snow-covered grazing meadows. Loads of Fieldfare about, and the odd Lapwing. The most numerous bird was the Wigeon. Everywhere. Tens of thousands I reckon (one birder we met said he felt he’d seen “about a billion!”). The only geese appeared to be a flock of feral, Cat C, Barnacle Geese way off south. Not easy to pick up in the snow.

 Buckenham, looking towards Cantley, Norfolk, Saturday 19th January 2013

Wigeon - Buckenham, Norfolk, Saturday 19th January 2013

Chris then found some grey geese off the south west. I got my scope on them and started ticking off the Taiga Bean ID points. Dark head and long-ish neck, a decent-sized bill with a noticeable amount of orange, orange legs (I thought…) and no black lines on the belly. Surely the Beans… The distance, the wind shaking the scope, the weird light of the bright snow with a dark sky, the temperature, my watery eyes, combined with my over-confidence, ending up with me saying, “yep, that’s them”. But by the time I’m got back to the car, I was doubting myself. I hadn’t got a good enough view to be certain they were Bean Goose. I wasn’t sure I’d seen the legs properly at all. Chris, on the other hand, was full of misplaced confidence in my skills (bless him).

After pushing another birder’s car up the track, and skidding like crazy ourselves, we drove to Great Yarmouth. Loads of Pinkfeet around as we passed Berney Marshes (I can ID these at 1000 paces, while driving …I think), and plenty of Med Gulls by the pier. While sat having a coffee I realised I’d lost my phone. No, it wasn’t in my pocket, it wasn’t in the car, it wasn’t by the pier… erm. By the time we set off to Horsey (to look for raptors and cranes) I’d forgotten about the geese ID, and was in panic mode about my phone. Then our friends rang to ask where the Bean Goose flock was, and Chris answered saying the indiebirder “is certain he saw them at Buckenham, so don’t go to Cantley”. He hung up before acknowledging my protestations, “I’m not sure they were Bean Geese!”, I shouted…

A half-hour later we received the call: “I can see a flock of Greylag; where are these Beans then…?” Groan… My goose was cooked, my gossamer-thin reputation in tatters.

On a brighter note, someone had found my phone and rung my wife with their address! We stopped to turn round, and watched a beautiful ringtail Hen Harrier hunt by the roadside. Things were looking up.

Stubb Mill is the place to see Common Crane coming in to roost in winter (even my friend from Rodley was there), and despite arriving late I saw two come in from the east. A great view of a Woodcock in front of the car too. Our friends, who had refound the Bean Goose flock at Cantley, arrived later still and just about got some Crane action in the dark, and joined us in the pub for a meal and a few drinks later. I kept my head down. The shame…

We called into a petrol station on the way back, and Chris took the opportunity in the shop to help me identify some beans…

Taiga or Tundra?

Sunday 20/01/2013

We were at Salthouse beach car park at dawn (after another great breakfast – mustn’t forget to mention that). There had been fresh snow overnight, and the biting wind meant this was the coldest morning. In the poor light I picked out two Snow Buntings, a male and female. It was too dark and blustery to try to take a photo. The weather didn’t bode well for us birding along the coast, so we headed inland to Sculthorpe Moor.

Great place, Sculthorpe Moor. A nice place to wander around in summer, and excellent in winter. The target bird here was Marsh Tit, and the easiest place to connect with them is at the information point and bird feeding stations at the start of the track on the reserve proper, just along the rack from the reserve. We saw a couple here (as I did last winter too), and we picked up more sightings and calls throughout the woods. It was a quiet morning, we didn’t see anyone else for an hour, and the whole place was draped in snow like a winter wonderland. The woods were filled with Nuthatch calls, and occasionally big flocks of tits would move through the trees around us. The Bullfinches looked stunning against the snow-white backdrop.

 Sculthorpe Moor, Norfolk, Sunday 20th January 2013

We sat for a while in the Whitley Hide overlooking the reed bed and a feeding station. Plenty of action on the bird table, including maybe 20 Long-tailed Tits, which all started to call tighter then suddenly quieten and disappear. A Sparrowhawk dashed through, possibly catching one of the slower birds. It stayed quiet around the table for a while. A Little Egret flew high over the reeds, Jays swooped between the stands of trees. Slowly the numbers of Chaffinches built up, and with them the odd Brambling. Then more Brambling, until the table, ground and tree were filled with them: at least 50 of them.

We looked in vain for the reported Bittern, and then it was time for Chris get home, and I had to decide where to go now. A Shore Lark had been reported at Cley, so I decided to take a punt. I went via the Burnham Market road, and stopped at the pull-in on the rise half a mile south of the town. Always worth checking for birds here, and I soon got on to both Red-legged and Grey Partridge over by the hedge to the west. Heading past Holkham, I pulled over to check out the geese I’d spotted. Great views of 30+ White-fronted Goose (probably a whole lot more out of view) feeding in the snow assuaged some of the discomfort from the Bean Goose failure.

 White-fronted Goose - Holkham, Norfolk, Sunday 20th January 2013

The walk out along the icy East Bank at Cley was a thrill. Nearly ended up in the marsh the wind was so strong. Goldfinches and Skylarks were on the shingle, but neither I nor the two other hardy birders out there could locate a Shore Lark. I took some time to enjoy the bracing wind off the sea, and the spray from the roiling waves, picking out Kittiwakes among the Black-headed Gulls.

I set off home before the forecast snow storm. Another great trip to this wonderful county. Norfolk never fails.

So, at the end of the trip, the year list stands at 111. After achieving a 2012 year-list total of 272 – a massive increase on the 216 in 2011 – I’d like to keep up the momentum and get somewhere over 225 in 2013. That’s the plan anyway, but I know I won’t be busting a gut to achieve it.

Secret Twitches

Hoopoe - Sand Point, Somerset, Monday 29th October 2012

I’ve been a bit quiet in the blogosphere recently, and as 2012 was drawing to a close, I figured I should tie up a few loose ends on the blog. I’ve been wanting to write up the last couple of birding trips I did for a couple of months now – not least because I saw some fantastic birds, learned loads of new things, and had a few japes. Both trips were with my friend Joel, otherwise know as the Secret Twitcher.

The first trip was a proper planned, four-day, whole-of-the UK job. Setting off from West Yorkshire at stupid o’clock on Saturday 27th October, we were at Kilminning, Fife before dawn. It was large site, and while I was stumbling around a large patch of wild rose, Joel picked out the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler we’d come looking for. A cracking bird, with a big bill, really pale throat, long tail, feeding low down and calling frequently. We were on a mission so we didn’t hang around too long – just long enough for me to string a potential Common Rosefinch. A drab bird with a plain face and streaky body, it had what looked like the remains of red fruit around its bill – difficult to fully see in the foliage. I suspect it was really a poorly young Greenfinch or some such, possibly with this new strain of avian pox, which would explain why it was so moribund.

After a brief stop to check out some Black-throated Diver and Velvet Scoter on the Forth, we headed for Whitburn Country Park, Country Durham. The target bird here was a Dusky Warbler. We spent a few hours staring into bushes before Joel could no longer ignore the reports of Little Auk passage, so he went off sea-watching (and got his tick – nice one). I went a refound the Barred Warbler which had been around earlier in the week, then re-joined the Dusky search.

By this time the light was fading and there was only me and a young birder looking. She heard the call and saw it low down. Thankfully she called me over (very grateful for that) and we soon found it higher up in the branches. I really wasn’t expecting it to be 4 metres up, but it looked so different than anything I’d seen before. Like a dark chocolate Chiffchaff, with milky coffee under parts, and a long, milky supercilium. It was slim and active – often hanging upside down to feed on the underside of leaves. Was that the Dusky? The (re)finder was pretty certain, but I wasn’t so sure – I’d never seen one before and couldn’t remember all the salient ID points (yes, the shame).

Anyway, it was dark by now, and we had to decide where to go. There weren’t any more “good” birds in the north of east, so after a bag of chips we headed south west and spent the night in… Bristol. Good grief, I was tired after that drive. I shouldn’t talk about my driving on this trip – it was shocking. I don’t think I ever recovered from the lack of sleep I had at the start. Fortunately Joel did the lion’s share. Before finally falling asleep I looked up Dusky Warbler in the books we’d brought, and checked out some You Tube videos. Oh yes, it was Dusky Warbler alright – nailed on. Happy as I was to have seen one, got the tick, learned something new, etc., I was pretty gutted that I’d gone looking for one without doing enough research first. D’oh! Note to self for next time...

On Sunday 28th we spend a rainy day on Portland Bill in Dorset, looking for the Isabelline (Durian) Shrike, which had obviously left (or died) over night. Fascinating place though, despite the big dip. Regardless, we still had time to head up to Sand Point near Weston-Super-Mare and see the Hoopoe on the beach, didn’t we? Plenty of time, even though it was getting very dark before we even arrived… Must be the bad weather… Oh wait, didn’t the clocks had gone back the night before? D’oh! So anyway we got really wet running around the beach in the dark in the vain hope of seeing a Hoopoe. Fail.

Our luck was in on Monday – the Hoopoe showed nicely first thing. Result.

Hoopoe - Sand Point, Somerset, Monday 29th October 2012

A European Bee-eater was reported at Swanage, back in Dorset – another UK lifer for us both – so we headed off. It was a long journey, and the lack of reports made us decide to head elsewhere, when it was suddenly reported again. Thanks to the satnav and some very helpful people on Twitter, we got to the right place just in time. I sprinted (which soon became jogged, then crawled – need some exercise) up the hill while Joel paid the parking (sorry I ran off mate – I didn’t think). We managed some decent views of the juvenile in a tall copper Beech tree, before it flew. Some more views around the top of some Scots Pines and it was off. Brief, but worth it.

There was still time for a dash west to Bolt Head, Devon for Siberian Stonechat. Bit off an odd one this. We arrived at Mid Soar in a hailstorm, and as the weather cleared a pale stonechat showed itself around the field. The other newcomers were happy with the ID, and the locals and others already there didn’t disagree. But I for one was not happy with the ID – it looked like a pale Stonechat, similar to many I’d seen before. The rump didn’t seem pale or unstreaked either…

So, after everyone bar one other birder had left, the Siberian Stonechat eventually showed. No problems with the ID here. A lovely young bird which positively shone, with a striking rump too. A lifer for us both.

We spent the night in Torquay, which looked like the Côte d’Azur in the dawn sun on Tuesday. We were off to Broadsands for the Cirl Buntings (a lifer for the Secret Twitcher), which weren’t too difficult to find (although a scope is recommended if you don’t fancy walking up into the fields – may be easier in winter).

Next stop Dawlish Warren, for sunshine, sand, sea, and a Bonaparte’s Gull. This took some finding, and some other birders found it first. I think I had it in flight about five minutes earlier – flying away from us along the groyes. A smaller bird than the Black-headed Gulls, with a more tern-like flight. We did get a great view in the end, as it came right at us – thin black bill, thin black trailing edge to the wing, grey extending up the neck. Lovely. We also picked out a Mediterranean Gull too. Another Secret tick.

Then, the last bird – a tick for me this one – Lesser Yellowlegs at Ernesettle Creek, near Plymouth. Took a bit of finding too, but really stuck out as soon as I saw it (after pushing noisily through a hedge – great field skills eh?). A little cracker – had dirty legs when we first go it (still obvious what it was), but then had a quick wash and - bang – the yellowest yellow you’ll ever see.

A great few days, with a great birder. And we didn’t die while I was driving. Phew.

The next trip was a long one-dayer on Saturday 15th December. We were hoping to get as many of possible from Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll (Suffolk), Penduline Tit (Cambridgeshire), Buff-bellied Pipit (Berkshire), and Falcated Duck (Oxfordshire). Starting from West Yorkshire, we needed an early start…

The Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni hornemanni) had been proving very popular for a few days, and there seemed little chance of that abating. The Hornemann’s is the definitive Arctic Redpoll – a big snowball of a bird, as opposed to Coues's Arctic Redpoll (C. h. exilipes), which is more difficult to separate from Mealy Redpoll. I’d seen the latter, and although the Hornemann’s is not recognised as a separate species, this bird looked too good to miss.

We arrived at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, around half-an-hour after dawn, and already there were birders on the beach. The bird showed beautifully, down to three metres, in good light. Annoyingly, my camera battery ran out before I could take any shots of the bird – grrrr. It was large for a Redpoll, with a smaller-looking bill, a large buffy head, a big white barrel chest, some soft flank streaks, a massive white rump, and a long tail. Google “Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll Aldeburgh” or just take my word for it: this was a stunning bird. It was great to see it so close and take so much in - a great start.

 Spot the Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll

Off to Ouse Fen RSPB in Cambs to try for that most elusive of birds, Penduline Tit. We learned something here too: Reed Warblers can make a call that’s not dissimilar to Penduline Tit. Two birds flew over (against the sun) and made a down-slurred call, and me and Joel were on them straight away – sounded just right for Pendulines! An hour grilling the reeds where they’d landed came to nothing, and we were eventually called over to another area where the Pendulines had just been seen – yes, our birds were Reedies… The Pendulines didn’t show to us, so we left, mindful of the bigger prize of Buff-bellied Pipit…

There had been only negative reports of the (probably-plastic) Falcated Duck (formerly) at Farmoor Reservoir in Oxon, so we gave over the rest of the day to the pipit. Queen Mother Res is just inside Berkshire, just outside the M25 west of Heathrow Airport – although London birders still call this London (a bit like claiming sightings from Saltholme in Cleveland on your Yorkshire list I guess).

The reservoir is a big, typically concrete-sided thing, and the pipit was (when we arrived) about a kilometre away form the car park. We walked briskly to the bird - the walk back was much slower, as the pipit was steadily making its way towards the car parks, and we just followed it! This was one obliging creature, allowing some great views (I spent a few minutes cursing my dodgy camera again, and could only take shots with my phone).

 Spot the Buff-bellied Pipit

I’d seen a Buff-bellied Pipit (or American Pipit as the Yanks call it) once before: in California the previous December. That bird looked paler and more clearly marked than this one, possibly because of the sub-species and the massive difference in light quality. Buff-bellied Pipit is most similar to Rock Pipit. I’d done my research this time, and could pick out a few differences. The outer tail feathers were bright white – we got great views of these – whereas they are greyish on Rock Pipit. There was no hint of a dark eye stripe and the slightly off-white eye ring was a complete circle (not two semicircles as on Rock Pipit). There was little or no colour contrast between the mantle and wings, and the head, nape and mantle markings were feint. I’m sure there are more ID clues, but that was good enough for me. British tick number 334 (and number 272 for the year).

Big thanks to the generous Berkshire birder who arranged access at this normally permit-only site, and stayed out in all weather making sure everyone got to see the bird – nice one.

Another very satisfactory day’s birding. Hopefully have a few more good twitches like this in 2013 (plus some self-finds, patch ticks and garden ticks).