Arrival of Siberian waifs and strays & northern visitors too!

A look around Lound this morning failed to turn up any goodies save for 2 Bramblings flying up from the road by Fritton woods and a Pale Tussock Moth larvae on some Purple Asters which were hastily bought at Lound garden centre! The caterpillar was very striking, being very hairy green in colour with yellow/ black barring on the back; the rear end hosting an impressive pink "spike".
Having read the larvae feeds on Deciduous trees, I decide to re-patriate the caterpillar on our Mountain Ash tree, lets hope the local Blue/ Great Tits doesn't find it and wolf it down as a tasty morsal!
At Ness Point, I finally saw 2 Black Redstart, a fine male beneath some wooden planks and a pale female/ immature bird perched right on top just to the south of the wind turbine.
In a location in Lowestoft, I stumbled across a fine Fox asleep on some grass and cursing myself for not having my camera in hand, I admired this beautiful canine as it got up sleepily looked at me before strolling off left.
Later on, I saw Rob Wil and Josh in the Sparrow's Nest park and from high up in the Vireo Holm Oaks I heard a Yellow- browed Warbler call twice, but it wasn't seen, despite seaching through the Tit flock which included a Treecreeper. Walking across the Denes I enjoed further views of the superb immature Woodchat Shrike that favoured the bushes west and on the western edge of the car park.
At this point Nick B and I heard 2 Yellow- browed Warblers constantly calling from the Links Hill slope, one being nearer Links road, I ran up the slope but failed to see it as it stopped calling the second I reached the top!
I had better success at Corton Old Sewage works, where in the trees just to the west of here, amongst a Tit flock, a Yellow- browed Warbler stuck its head out of the foliage and showed of its cream supercilia briefly before disappearing from view.
A flock of Long- tailed Tits along Corton ORT revealed a single Chiff- Chaff.
Finally from the garden early evening I heard the pszzeee call of 3 Redwings flying up from Fallowfields and north, a further 6 single birds flew up minutes later one after another they all, the 9 Redwing, flew north too.

Lowestoft Woodchat

After an autumn which has been sadly lacking in scarce passerines on my local patch so far, today certainly delivered.
A brief vigil at Ness Point in the company of Andrew E and Rob M we saw up to 40 Red- throated Divers flying north, 12 Brent Geese flying north and 15 Gannet flying north with 12 Common Scoter and 1 Wigeon flying north also. 1 adult winter Mediterranean Gull flew south.
The Denes, Flycatcher Alley seemed quiet, I had to sit down for a while as I suffered a mild migraine which soon passed but always impairs your observation for up to 24 hours afterwards. As we approached Warren House wood we were joined by Robert Wil we looked at a passing flock of Long- tailed Tits and Rob M picked up an excellent Yellow- browed Warbler tagging along behind that showed briefly. It soon disappeared into the wood, but Andrew refound it by the eastern edge of the wood by the pillbox and we were treated to further glimpses of this enigmatic species. It also called once here, As usual olive- green plumage with a riot of cream supercilias and wing-bars.
A calling Redpoll flew over flying south.
By the northern edge of the wood, some "chop- chop calls revealed 8 excellent Crossbills flying south west over the wood.
Our luck didn't stop there, walking south out of the wood, we were approaching Links road, when Rob Wil said there's a Shrike on the bushes over there and there was, it was an excellent immature Woodchat Shrike!
Wow! I'm just not used to seeing so many quality birds especially on my local patch, usually i walk around and see absolutely nothing, this was incredible!

The bird then flew to a bush a few yards east of bordering the northen end of the car park and a passer-by flushed it onto the tall post on the northern edge of the sea wall before another walker flushed it back onto its original perch. It was feeding occasionally. We stood by the concrete blocks near the entrance and looked across to its perch first on a bramble and then a nearby post. It then flew south and perched on the small concrete water tap wall where it stayed for sometime making occasional forays on the ground catching Bees (including an Orange-tipped Bumble Bee), a Devil's Coach Horse and other insects. It even coughed up a pellet at one point that sadly blew off the wall a few minutes later. It would always return to the wall. Once or twice it flew right away over the seawall and the beach but it always returned. I left it to check the Gunton Dunes area, I didn't see much here but I did see the regular adult Yellow- legged Herring Gull on the groynes off Gunton beach. Returning to the Shrike it was seen on the large evergreen bush along the southern edge of the car park. It then returned to the concrete wall hunting from here and a small grey post nearby before some dog walkers flushed it to a post much closer to us where we had further good of this stunning bird.
new birder arrivals included OFB, Justin L, Derek B, Peter N, Chris M, James B, regular correspondent Paul W, Morris B, Nick B, Danny P & others.
James B spotted a Skua flying north, it was an excellent dark phase Arctic Skua flying north close in low over the sea, would have been very good views from the beach/ sea wall.
Walking back along the seawall south, a Grey Wagtail flew north over the Denes by the netposts and along the old broken up sea wall, I spotted 3 singleton Rock Pipits and on the grassy area within Birds Eye 2 Wheatear.

Gathering of Martins

It was lovely to see around 25 House Martins flying very low over the Oval and Marine Parade as I parked the car at 7.50am this morning. The Martins were presumably feeding up on the proliferation of flies flying around before their long migration south to Africa and I counted around 30 flies resting on my car when I returned to it after my walk around the Oval and the Parks and "No Mr. Martin Hughes- Games!" re: from his opening comments of this evening's otherwise excellent edition of BBC Autumnwatch; all of the Swallows & Martins haven't left these shores yet! You should know better, especially given your first name!!
At lunchtime, I looked around Great Yarmouth Cemetary and again very little was seen save for a female Sparrowhawk flying away which had caught a brightly coloured luminous yellow- breasted bird which it clutched close to its chest and the prey could only have been an unfortunate escaped green and yellow plumaged Budgerigar!
This evening, a look around Corton sewage works (both old and new), Corton cliffs and sea revealed little save for 2 Wheatears on the grassy area to the east of Broadland Sands Holiday camp. Crouching beneath the height of the fence I was able to get quite close to one and photograph it albeit in poor light.

Finding the "Holy Grail": Twenty Years On!

With a fantastic super rare American vagrant in Suffolk at the moment, I am reminiscing back twenty years ago when I and a young and very promising young birder Rob Wilton (11 years old in 1991 I believe!), found another rare American. Only Suffolk's second ever record of the species at the time. Rob has gone on to be a representative on the Suffolk Record Committee & find/ jointly find Isabelline Wheatear and Pine Bunting amongst many other great finds).

Rob and I found another fantastic American vagrant, a Red- eyed Vireo right here in Lowestoft in Sparrow's Nest gardens on the hallowed day of Sunday 6th October 1991.
Prefacing this story, two years previously, I had dipped spectacularly, when I had missed out on the first Red- eyed Vireo found in Suffolk by David Bakewell found on the edge of the cliff by Warren House wood. How times have changed, I found out a day later with a note by Ricky F posted though the letterbox of my then parents home in Corton road! I was also at the time living and working in London and had returned home for the weekend.

On the morning in question, there had been an Icterine Warbler in Warren House wood and I met Rob and initially he was keen to look for the Warbler but I though it would be a good idea to check the Parks first, as it turned out it was an inspired choice!
We were walking south up the slope past the Museum towards the Bowling greens when we approached the row of mature Holm Oaks on our right and in the very last one on a large frond of Holm Oak hanging down, lit brightly by the golden glow of the early morning sun, 2 passerines were flitting about. The first, Robert pointed out as a Spotted Flycatcher, I then turned my attention to the lower bird (which we both saw at the same time) of the 2 and realised instantly, that it was a cracker, a Red- eyed Vireo!
I blurted out the words "Good grief! It's a Vireo, a Red- eyed Vireo!!" and in another sign of the times, a young Robert wanted to instantly rush off to the phone box at the top of the ravine and phone the news out to everyone (there were no mobile phones, pagers or the internet or Twitter around in those days!) I said best to get and look for everything on the bird, watch it note down all the ID features and its habits and then let everyone know. We watched the bird for several minutes before it disappeared, Rob went off to phone everyone and I tried to relocate the bird without success. The bird would "clonk" around the foliage and at one point it even caught a caterpillar; bashed it against a branch before swallowing it.
The bird was a large warbler-sized approxiamately Garden warbler- sized with a bulkier body and it sported a smart grey crown, a black sub- terminal crown stripe bordered the grey crown above and a striking white supercilia below, with a brown eye, it showed a faint dark eye- stripe. it had a thick grey hook tipped bill and bluey-grey legs. The upperparts, wings and tail were a beautiful olive- green colour with whitish underparts apart from lemon- yellow undertail coverts.
About an hour late Richard S refound the bird on the circular trail at the top of the Nest and visiting birders included the Ricky F, late Brian B, the late Jimmy R, Peter N, Derek B and Peter A, Peter C and John H from Norfolk amongst others.
I remember a great celebratory lunch with the family and going back and seeing the Red- eyed Vireo again in the afternoon when it had moved into Arnold's Walk.
Just two rare bird photographers were present that day, very much a rarity then (again how times have changed!), Rob Wilson and Robin Chittenden and both obtained great shots of the bird.
With all the excitement, we never did see the Icterine Warbler in Warren House wood!

One really sad note in looking back is the fact there are 4 really good friends who were there that day who are no longer with us; firstly Peter Gill (a really great fellow and local "patch" worker who would always let you know what he'd seen), Brian Brown- (the "father" of Lowestoft birding who taught me the value of doing your birding "apprenticeship"), Ian Smith (wonderful chap and fellow finder of a Pratincole in Lowestoft!) and Jimmy Read (another skilled Lowestoft birder who was great company and found many goodies in Suffolk including a Blue- Cheeked Bee-eater!).

Boyton Marshes Sandhill Crane Success

Taking a half day's leave from work, I had a second chance at trying for the Sandhill Crane, that had taken up residence in the Boyton Marshes/ Boyton Hall farm area. The Crane having first been seen by Chris D flying south from Kessingland Levels. Chris has got the Suffolk BINS cup in the bag for the second year running! Parking at the car park by the village hall in the Boyton village, initially the signs were ominous (no BINS message since midday, it was now 4pm) and the lady at the car park had said the bird hadn't been seen recently.
But as I walked/ ran the 3/4 mile walk along Mill road heading east out of the village and then over to the track running left of a wood going out onto the marshes, via some crop fields, encouragingly birders were saying the bird had been relocated on a marsh viewed from furrther along and south the seawall, a further 1/4 mile along and I met 4 birders who had it in the field!
Scanning right and directed onto a small pond a ditch that ran just right of here concealed the bird, an excellent adult Sandhill Crane with just its head and neck visible. What a wonderful bird! It had a light grey neck and vivid red forehead.
Noting there were further people along the seawall, I decided to walk around another 1/2 mile walk along to get a better side on view.
So walking under the seawall, I reached a throng of some 30 birders and leaning against the bank looked over and saw the whole bird standing in the field!
The bird was a big Crane sized bird with long paler grey neck and legs. It had grey plumage with bright red forehead. On the body it showed more scaling than a Crane. It was walking around the field. It seemed slightly agitated by the presence of a Little Egret. It walked around the field for some twenty minutes before it suddenly took to flight and flew north around 3/4 mile. walking back the bird was relocated in the tiled field just north of the track by the wood.
The Sandhill Crane was busy feeding in the middle of the field with its head down feeding on either potatoes or sugar beet. It walked close to the edge of an area of green shoots and was constantly feeding, it would occasionally look straight up and around if alerted from calls from other birds or the firing shots of a mechanical bird scarer in the field opposite. It continued to feed as the light started to go and well satisfied I decided to leave at 6.45pm.

Crane Dip

On Sunday 2nd October, What happens when I go away? Rare birds turn up in their droves, this weekend was no exception with 4 Yellow- browed Warblers in Lowestoft and a Sandhill Crane first spotted by Chris D flying south past Kessingland sewage works, it then landed at North Warren before eventually settling at Boyton marshes. Drving back from Buxton in NE Derbyshire, I managed to get to Boyton marshes but was 12 minutes too late at 6.52pm as the Crane had already flown.
A Pipistrelle bat flew around the wood on the way back.

Buxton Blues

Just back from a very enjoyable 3 days in North- east Derbyshire Peak Distict.
On the way up,on friday 30th September, Jenny and I called in at Haddon hall where several dramatisations of Jane Eyre have been filmed including the version out at the cinemas now. A bit of avian interest was provided by a very confiding Dipper seen feeding directly underneath the bridge the only problem photographically was one was looking right down on the bird.
On Saturday, at Buxton, a very picturesque Edwardian Spa town, in the main park of the town a Grey wagtail flew down by the water.