Twilight birding

On Tuesday 22nd October, after work with the light fading I visited Corton ORT and was immediately apparent there were a lot of Goldcrests present and I must have seen 50+ Also seen were 5 Robins and 5 Song Thrushes and in one small group of Crests and intriguing white bellied bird seen very briefly (Firecrest/ Ybw?) Also seen was a Chiff- Chaff. Nothing really seen at Corton Old Sewage works, but the light was fading rapidly with the sun setting at 5.50pm, maybe my last after work (5pm) birding for the year. Pity because the prospects of saving what has been a dire autumn seem slim.

Benacre Bound

On Saturday 19th October, I drove to Benacre, ostensively to get some landscape pictures on the initially sunny morning for an upcoming talk for the Lowestoft RSPB. Pics of Church taken. A walk down the track to the end of Covehithe cliff, I heard a Brambling and then pics of the crumbling cliff taken. At the hide pics of the beach, Broad and trees on the beach and view north taken. A close Stonechat showed well by the tree just east of the hide before being quickly scared by dog walkers, nothing of note on the Broad at all. A walk back and a Chiff- Chaff seen and heard by the cottage. At Ness Point, in the SLP yard just south of Orbis Energy centre, first a female Black Redstart seen by the fence then the smart male Black Redstart seen and flew up to the horizontal beam. Really good to see Robert Win and catch up.

Sparrowhawk & Pied Wag

On Thursday 17th October, a particularly fine and very black- backed male Pied Wagtail seen as I walked outside the James Paget Hospital towards the Dermatology department, later on (just after lunch) a female Sparrowhawk flew over the main building of the Hospital.

Redwings arrive!

On Monday 14th October as I was leaving for work at 8.10am, 5 low flying Redwings called and flew low and west over the house viewed from the front. On Tuesday 15th October at 1.30pm a flock of around 105 Redwings calling flew over the James Paget Hospital as I walked from the Burrage Centre to the main Hospital building. At 5.20pm around 43 strong calling Redwings were again seen flying west and inland over the Burrage Centre as I left work for home.

A very, very elusive Two- barred Greenish Warbler at Orford

On Sunday 13th October, first stop was Ness Point where the Shore Lark showed initially before disappearing then pandemonium as a BINS message went round of a probable Two- barred Greenish Warbler was at Orford, once Richard had tweeted it was one, I took Maurice B down and we parked at the Meadow car park. Lots of people around 100 gathered around the path overlooking some tall trees. In the vegetation I found a fine bronze Beetle Chrysolina bankii, which is locally scarce, but initially no sign of the bird but within half an hour people were running and we followed and gathered in front of a very large Buddlea where people said the bird was. Imagine the frustration as I couldn't see it latching onto 2 Goldcrests and then checking the bush and still not seeing it. I was only one of handful of people missing it here, which was so frustrating in the extreme. I have missed several major birds. A bird flew out left from the Buddlea which people said was it, but I couldn't positively ID it, later it was seen at the side of a field and again I missed it but heading back to Buddlea bushes 10 minutes later, I saw a Chiff- Chaff sized bird fly out from the Buddlea at very close range showing pure green upper parts, a large wing bar, a stout flesh coloured bill, whitish underparts which were more yellowy- olive by the face but by far the most prominent feature was a very thick yellow supercilium which was very obvious and the supercilia was kinked up at the back and the bird was fairly longer tailed (noticeably bigger and longer tailed than YBW). Seen for around 10 seconds in flight in all, at the time I didn't want to call it out in front of the assembled crowd. We all turned our attention to the bush but it didn't appear and a bird flew back to the Buddlea not (seen nearly as well) this time. On seeing the tweeted pics later on, I realised that this was indeed the superb but all too brief view of a Two- barred Greenish Warbler which had saved me from a horrendous dip, but pity I didn't see better and more prolonged views of such a fabulous bird. I have some experience with the species seeing several in China in 1999. Later on at 4.30pm, I went back to Ness Point and eventually saw the Shore Lark fly back and feed on the concrete car park.

All quiet at Benacre but birds on the way back home

A report of a possible RN Grebe on Benacre Broad had me driving in light rain to Covehithe, on Saturday 12th October I walked down to the Broad in the fields just south a group of Gulls included an adult Yellow- legged Gull, a real brute of a bird with a very white head, slightly darker slate grey back yellow legs. By the Broad nothing really seen but the Tit flock moving past the hide revealed a Treecreeper scaling up the trunk of a tree. walking back past the wood, I heard the rattling of an unseen Mistle Thrush. Back at the Covehithe path walk, I heard the rasping of a Brambling 3 birds flew off one was definitely the Brambling. Walking back by the path to Covehithe Broad in the large tree, I had a good view of a Chiff- Chaff in the light rain. Hearing of a BR at Heritage Green, Kessingland, I met David B and the female Black Redstart seen in gardens opposite with it briefly seen on the fence then it flew back and settled on the left hand corner of a roof for 10 seconds before it flew down and out of sight. Going onto the North Denes, after Andrew E had tweeted a Dartford had been seen following Stonechat around. I saw James B and I could see a male Stonechat but no sign of the Dartford. James left and I walked along the inland path to check some brambles when I heard some cracking and a silver winged chocolate brown female Ring Ouzel with pale cream on the upper breast flew past and perched in the pines and then out of sight. As I was searching for this bird. I turned and saw the male Stonechat, perched on the brambles but even better around 10 metres behind it the Dartford Warbler flew up and perched for 20 seconds on one of the tall Alexanders before flying down, my first sighting on the North Denes. Despite phoning James B, who had only just reached home and him returning, we failed to see either the Dartford or the Ouzel again.

Stunning views of the Shore Lark today

On Wednesday 9th October leaving work at 1.30pm I went straight down to Ness Point and drove up to the old Coastguards car park at the southern end of Ness Point. Another car was already there and really good to see Tim B photographing the Shore Lark posing on the wall. I crawled round the back of Tim's car and fired off a few shots before I got back in the car and we both got some great shots from our cars with the bird still on the sea wall even giving a brief snatch of song, it sat down and rested for some 20 minutes before flying down to the car park and feeding before a walker disturbed as it flew to the seawall north of the coastguards, the bird then flew back and gave superlative views feeding in the car park as we both stayed in our cars and perched on the wall again. I saw Peter No and later Gus H, as I saw a Black Redstart briefly on the fence and Gus indicated it was perched on the dark vertical beam of the SLP building at the southern end of the SLP yard. A really enjoyable trip this time with great company and optimal conditions for photography made me very happy! A walk around the Netposts revealed little save for 3 Linnets in the weedy area. I decided to visit Gunton Wood and no sooner had I walked to the usual area that I heard first Siskin, then another, then the rasping of a Brambling then the strident "tsuip" call of a YBW. Hearing the YBW call around 5 times I finally pinned it down to the bush next to the Holm Oaks, west side of the path, it called a further 3X and I spotted it, a fine Yellow-browed Warbler, flitting about near the top and saw the cream super cilia and wing bars for all of 30 seconds before it disappeared again. A really enjoyable afternoon's birding!