More Winter Thrushes & please feed the birds

As I was replenishing the bird feeders in the garden this morning at 7.50am I heard the tell tale "psst" call of Redwings and a trio of these lovely small Scandinavian Thrushes flew up from the hedgerow borders and over the garden fence. I also heard the "chuk chuk chuk" call of 3 excellent Fieldfares flying overhead that flew low south west over the garden and towards Fallowfields. As I was filling up the one of sunflower holders, a Redwing flew and briefly perched in the tree above me before seeing me and flying off.

As I retreated to the house, 3 Dunnocks, 3 Great Tits, a Blue Tit, 3 Blackbirds and fed in the garden as did a Magpie briefly and a Song Thrush perched up in a bush just beyond the garden.

A Redwing then perched up in a tree, I took some pictures in poor light it was snowing! It then flew to the lawn where it stood momentarily before it flew to the berry laden holly near the house sadly out of view from the bedroom window.

Jenny later told me she saw 2 Redwings feeding on the berries on the holly this afternoon at 2.58pm.

Please, please don't forget to feed your garden birds; they desperately need all the food and water (unfrozen!) they can get in this hard weather. The food you put out, such as sunflower seeds, unsalted peanuts, wild bird mix, fatballs, fat, cake etc are vital to their survival. Put food out on different levels (on the ground, on a bird table and hanging from trees etc) and put out nestboxes for roost sites too.

You could save several birds lives and they will reward you with good views and hopefully good pics, if you are a keen photographer and the light is OK!

Winter Thrushes

During a quick whistle stop tour of Horsey & Waxham during my lunch break many winter Thrushes were seen. The harsh weather has forced them nearer to human habitation in order to seek food. Around 10 Fieldfare and 10 Redwing were in trees near west Somerton, 3 Song Thrushes were in a bush near the pub at west Somerton, 5 Redwing were in a bush opposite Alder farm. At Alder farm itself 5 Golden Plover and 40 Lapwing seen. Opposite Brograve Farm, a Chinese Water Deer fed in a field of winter wheat. About 10 Fieldfare seen in a nearby field.

7 Red- legged partridges were opposite the Barn at Waxham. 2 Marsh harriers were seen, interestingly both males one at Horsey & 1 at Waxham.

Travelling back through Repps with Bastwick some 40 Redwing and 15 Fieldfare could be seen feeding on berry laden bushes opposite the garage.

I also noticed most of Ormesby Broad was frozen over save for one area on the west side of the road which was crowded with wildfowl but sadly I had no time to stop, work beckons again!

Goodies galore!

Waking up this morning, with an inch of snow providing a wintry scene, it was only fitting that I should visit the flock of Snow Buntings on Kessingland North Beach. Parking at the end of Rider Haggard Lane I walked onto the beach and soon picked up the excellent flock of 50+ Snow Buntings which showed well and included several very white and very smart males. There was no sign initially of the Shore Lark, but I spied a lone Brent Goose which was amazingly not the usual dark- bellied form but the much rarer pale-bellied variety feeding on the distant dune near the cliff face.

Making my way quickly over there and being joined by Chris D, Chris alone managed a few shots before it was flushed, but it only flew 100 yards south and was feeding on the middle of the beach. Chris and I then crept up very carefully and the bird became very confiding showing down to just 3 feet at one point! We naturally took advantage and filled up our memory cards within our cameras with dozens of cracking shots! The Pale-bellied Brent Goose is of the race "hrota" the Greenland variety, I have only seen this scarely seen variety twice before (a flock of at Langham in North Norfolk and 3 at Benacre in the mid 1980's!).

We left the bird as it was obviously exhausted and was constantly feeding to regain its strength.

Bumping into Pete M and gang he said they had just seen the Shore Lark and we ventured over to the beach near the pool and had some good views of this bird, it was on its own and the Shore Lark fed by the beach adjacent to the pool, where we were eventually joined by Dick W, who was somewhat put out as he had failed to photograph the Goose, because it had been flushed by an out of control dog.

Whilst driving along the A12 approaching Pakefield by the Focus DIY store, I happened to glance down by a damp ditch by the side of the road and was amazed to see a Jack Snipe standing by the ditch side! I turned the car around and parked up and as I walked over to the ditch the Jack Snipe unfortunately took flight and flew over east over to the old Gunnery range.

At Asda overlooking the River Waveney, 2 Shags could be seen looking west and at Ness Point, 1 solitary Purple Sandpiper frequented the rocks 50 yards north of the Point along the seawall edge.

Taking the very long walk mid afternoon out to Haddiscoe Marshes, the snowed up frozen landscape was the perfect setting for a host of cracking raptors seen, (thanks for the tip off Andrew E and Robert W & thanks to James W for helping me find my wayward mobile!) first up were 2 female Marsh Harriers quartering the marshes. From a viewpoint 300 yards past the big Pylon to the right, a crowd of the great and good of Norfolk/ Suffolk birding, the aforementioned Andrew & Rob, Dave H, Baz H, Jeremy G and others scanned the distant fields to the north- east and our hoped for quarry, a magnificent Rough-legged Buzzard was eventually seen perched on a distant gate. It would make frequent short flights to the east of the gate landing in the field and presumably catching various prey. During its regular flights the white tail with dark terminal band noted and when it perched back on the gate facing us we noted the pale head and contrasting dark lower belly patch. Up to 2 excellent Short- eared Owls flapped languidly over the fields. These wonderful birds even crossed over each other in flight. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew east, sadly an all too rare sight these days and the newly arrived eagle-eyed Lee G quickly picked out a female Merlin that sat on a gate in the foreground. 2 Chinese Water Deer were also seen, 1 feeding in front of the gate and also 1 to the side too. Singleton Linnet and Snipe were also seen in flight. A Little Egret flew into a field beside a gate.

Several (3) skeins of 100 or so Pink- footed Geese flew east, one flock landed in distant fields. Up to 2 Barn Owls patrolled the ditches. The Ringtail was seen again flying strongly east late in the day and this excellent day concluded with a small Peregrine (presumably a male) mobbing a Short- eared Owl!

Whitlingham Wonders!

A day of mixed fortunes yet again.

An early morning Green Woodpecker perched up in one of the trees at the back of the garden framed by frosted and dusting of snow landscape was a good start.

On the journey along the Acle Straight just west of the "Cadillac Roadhouse" AKA Stracey Arms about 300 Lapwing and 100 Golden Plover huddled in the field to the north of the road.

A foray into Norfolk was initially spectacularly unsuccessful with the hoped for Ring- necked & Ferruginous Ducks well and truly dipped at the Wroxham Broad. More than a gaggle of Geese, nearer 300 Greylags continually calling and flying close in, a meagre 30 Tufted duck, 10 Pochard, A Jay rooting around in the wood and singleton Redwing & Fieldfare failed to lift the spirits. 

I then visited the Great Broad at Whitlingham Lane and saw just about a who's who of Norfolk/ Suffolk birders. Birder sightings included the ever sharp and helpful boys from Dereham who quickly pointed out a Black- necked Grebe by the posts on the opposite side of the broad. These boys, in my opinion, should be invited onto the Norfolk rarities committee. The Grebe was a super bird in black/ white winter plumage and red eye, but constantly diving.

On the far western side of the broad they also pointed out a redhead Smew seen briefly at the back of the broad near the reeds on the far bank and a smart redhead female Goosander seen more in the middle of the back of the Northern section of the Broad through Ian's scope, cheers Ian!

After they left seeking the Diver, I also picked out a brief sighting of a female Ruddy duck.

I then bumped into Robin C who just seen a Shag but it dived just as I raised my bins and it completely disappeared, this was to be my only dip here. 

Another rare sighting was Morris B accompanied by Roger C who told me they'd seen the Diver earlier by the yacht club end.

Walking over to the southern section of the Broad by the yacht club end, the far section was iced over but another excellent redhead Goosander hugged the reed fringed far bank diving frequently and disappearing for long periods. But the master of this game was the Diver who could not be seen and hadn't been seen for some time. It took me an hour and a half, before I saw the bird. Following up a report from a birder who had just seen it, 10 minutes earlier, on the Northern section of the Broad, I finally, at last, had a brief glimpse of the excellent immature Great Northern Diver.

A large bird with large steely grey upturned bill and obvious scalloping on its back providing proof of its age. 

It was seen at the far northern end diving between a pink buoy and in front of an isolated tree,the last of a stand of trees.

The Diver continued to be elusive showing only occasionally until later (after the sky had clouded over, darkening considerably) I viewed the Great Northern with Andrew H and it showed well in the middle of the Northern section of the broad. behavioural posture noted included a "crouching" very low in the water and on another occasion it caught a couple of fish and its neck was positively bulging with its prey, a fine bird indeed and always nice to see.

 

Woodcock & Diver

An early morning foray at Fallowfields led to me flushing a Woodcock near the Parkhill hotel fence half way down, it flew south at 9.15am.

A close Oystercatcher stood on the wooden jetty in Hamilton Dock, whilst a Rock pipit flew over. At Ness Point 20 Turnstone were seen but not the hoped for Purple Sands.

Looking from Asda, looking west up the River Waveney I saw the excellent Black- throated Diver, it's rear flank patch was really distinctive. Initially, it was diving frequently but then it became more settled as it started preening. If you'd like to see a picture of a Black- throated Diver look above this blog entry as this is the bird pictured above, although I'm sure most who read would know this anyway! A Grey Wagtail flew over the river and settled on the roof of a commercial building. Whilst 2 Egyptian Geese flew down the river.

At Carlton Marshes, a female Marsh Harrier quartered the fields, 10 Herons stood above a frozen dyke area,  a Barn owl perched on a gate and then flew and started actively hunting being instantly successful on it's first swoop down into the field where it caught and fed from it's prey a vole caught in a field, a male Yellowhammer also perched at the apex of a tree, a Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed from a nearby tree.

Concluding a mixed day of fortunes on this, the first day of the year.

A Festive Treat

A Christmas Day visit "over the fence" on the Fallowfields site revealed an excellent Woodcock 9.45am that flew from the north-west corner over towards the the houses just north of the Parkhill hotel.

A great start to Christmas Day birding which was enhanced further with the calls of 2 Bullfinch coming from the Hotel grounds.

This afternoon a walk around Oulton Marshes/ Fisher Row revealed some excellent wetland habitat constructed parallel to the river. A Barn Owl quartered the fields north of the site. 42 Linnet flew to a bush just over the river. A Little Egret flew north over Peto's Marsh and landed briefly in the field before continuing its journey to the north- west.

A Barn Owl flew south over the marshes and 20 Goldfinch flew into a tree opposite the stables.

Christmas Eve Local Patch Birding

The Christmas break started in fine style with me seeing several avian goodies around the local patch area today with quartets seen of both Woodcock & Firecrest! This afternoon, a walk around the Fallowfields waste ground just east of Parkhill hotel, revealed a brace of Woodcock, firstly one was flushed at 3.20pm in the middle of the area and it flew west towards Parkhill Hotel grounds. The second bird (& 4th of the day!) was flushed five minutes later close to the wall and simply flew over to the Hotel grounds. Finally, a Redwing flew from Parkhill hotel onto Fallowfields.

This morning, starting behind the Oval & the N. Denes and initially seeing very little save for the usual flock of Black- headed Gulls on Link's Rd car park. The flock was over 100 strong with 4 Common Gulls and 5 Herring Gulls. At first, Warren House Wood was disappointing but a second look revealed the hoarser call of a Firecrest roughly in the middle of the wood which betrayed the presence of 3 birds, but they were very, very elusive. After an hour I had only seen brief glimpses of shapes in the foliage and had it not been for the calls I wouldn't have been able to ID them at all.

Walking up the bank just south of the Wood, on a hunch it might be a good area to explore and no sooner was I peering down into the back garden of 100A Corton Road, than an excellent Woodcock at 10.05am flew up suddenly from the ground and flew over and down towards WH Wood.

Retracing my steps I then clambered up the bank to the old Toilet block bordering Link's Rd itself and again flushed another excellent Woodcock at 10.15am which flew low wheeling round over the green area and then again flying over and down into WH Wood.

In Sparrow's Nest at the top, near the steps a Firecrest (also 4th of the day!) showed very well briefly and in the trees and bushes at the top of the bowling green a Redwing perched up briefly.  

In Arnold's Walk, a Goldcrest, surprisingly a rare sight this autumn flew south over the path near the apple tree.

Back at the Oval on the grass in the south-west corner a female Green Woodpecker flew out and spent some time probing the lawn here.