Broadland morsels

After work on Wednesday 19th February, after I left work at 3pm initially looked promising with the golden hues of sunshine but as I drew up to the carpark, it had clouded over and a cold stiff breeze had developed which put a kybosh on owl & raptor watching/ photography. Somewhat surreal scenes with a digger widening the dyke by the south side of the entrance road and 5 Cattle Egrets and a Grey Heron close by feeding made for a good start, but that was as good as it got. I was informed 2 SEOs by a birder in the car park had been in the field in front of us but 2 photographers had gone off in pursuit and flushed them, not to be seen again that day & 2 Cranes had flown by 5 minutes previously, as always a case of I should have been there earlier! In the field behind the car park up to 7 Cattle Egrets feeding around the Black cattle and 8 Fieldfare, 5 Lapwing and a female Stonechat plus at sunset 2 Marsh Harriers flying over distant reeds. Somewhat disappointing.

Benacre and Kessingland

On Monday 17th February, I drove down to Covehithe and walked down to Benacre Broad, there were a lot of Swans but there were all Mute, no sign of the Whoopers. Whilst scanning the ducks, at first I thought there were 3 female Scaup but on closer inspection 2 were female Scaup and 1 was a female Scaup-like Tufted Duck. As I walked back I bumped into Carl B who had just checked Covehithe Broad. I then drove to the euphemistically called Beach car Park at Kessingland and walked the 3/4 mile to the beach. I couldn't find the Shore lark so I decided to check the Sluice and I saw Carl B walking towards me again, he said there was a Grey Wag there and was quite close and would be a good one to photo. I walked up there and immediately I saw a female winter- plumaged Grey Wagtail feeding along the edge and walking quite close before she flew out and towards the River Hundred compound. I then had a phone call from Carl, who had relocated the Shore Lark on the sandy area opposite the final static caravan. So I retraced my steps and walked up and down 3X before I spotted it, the fine Shore Lark, exactly where Carl described. I spent some time with it, it was reasonably confiding but always on the move feeding and not quite as confiding as some recent birds seen over the past 3 years at Minsmere and Kessingland North Pool.

Ness Point and Hamilton Dock

On Sunday 16th February, in the morning I made my way down to Ness Point, it was a very bitter day with a strong east wind causing the waves were crashing against the seawall, 34 Turnstones were in the Birds Eye car park. I switched my attention to Hamilton Dock, as I drove down Hamilton Road, I immediately saw a duck, a suspected Scoter in the north- west part of the Dock. I got out and it was a fine female Common Scoter, she swam by the western edge of the dock, generally sticking to the north- western corner, one time she dived and caught a crab that immediately attracted the attention of an immature Herring Gull that tried to grab it but the Scoter just dived with her catch and the Gull was unsuccessful. As I was walking down Hamilton Road, I saw female type Black Redstart perched on some rusty iron fencing near the Seatrium building and walking into the car park successfully using the fence as cover, I managed some shots without disturbing the bird, she flew left a little and fed by the middle northern edge of the car park, for a while. I walked back to the Dock and this time the Scoter was swimming over to the middle of Hamilton Dock.

Kessingland North Beach

On Saturday 15th February, it was bitterly cold and a a very light in frequent drizzle but I drove down to Kessingland parked by the cottages walked down with just bins and the Nikon camera, which was a lot easier especially negitiating the steep steps down the cliff face. Nothing on the pools save for 1 Mute Swan and I tried the reedbed and the farside but nearer the drier bit, I saw an excellent Jack Snipe immediately fly up and settle in the north part of the reedbed. I walked back and tried Heathlands woods where I saw Snowdrops, a Robin low down in cover and 3 Blackbirds flew out of a nearly dumped garden waste area.

Valentines Day twitch

On Friday 14th February, after an appointment at the dump to dispose of an old garage door and gate. By 9.30am I was parking up at Carlton Marshes and walking down to Peto's Marsh, I met Jon W who said a Harrier had spooked it and it hadn't been seen since it swum back to the reeds at the back, I saw Gavin too and he passed on the same message. As I passed by the old Scrape a calling male Bearded Tit was perched high up in the reeds but disappeared as soon as I got the camera set up but a male Stonechat briefly posed for the camera on the nearby fence. Looking over the old Scrape, I saw the 2 Black Swans. Lying down by a grassy bank, one got up and walked left and the other Black Swan followed it. Rather fortuitously, as I walked down to the Mooring hide, I could see around 34 Coot all gathered and bunced together on a distant pool and the excellent winter plumaged Red- necked Grebe was loosely associating with them being just right of them! Typically mid-sized between Little Grebe & GC Grebe with a long neck yellow bill and blackish white plumage being dark black on the crown, whitish cheeks, darkish smudged sides of the neck dark back with a noticable greyish white rear fland flaring out at the back, The bird swam up the Coots, intermingled but as soon as a female Marsh Harrier came over it swam for the near reeds for cover, when the Harrier came really low the Coot scrambled out of the way and flew off. 20 minute later they were back again joined just to the right of them, the Red- necked Grebe, but a further sortie of the Harrier put paid to that and the RNG swam to the far reeds for cover. I left and walked round to the main bund path, seeing a yellow- billed Great White Egret flying left and away and 3/4 of the way down amongst some Greylag geese 2 White- fronted Geese initially sat and then they stood up and walked left feeding. I went back to the hide and saw Jane, Nick, Chris D who spotted a Peregrine soaring high up in the sky. The Red- necked Grebe again showed for a further 5 minutes this time I was able to get some distant record shots of the bird, before once again a Harrier had it once again lunging for cover amongst the reeds. A great trip, a first for Carlton Marshes and a very longtime since I last saw a RNG at Lowestoft (Mutford Lock 1980s?) which I saw with Ricky. TBC

Blast from the past: first for Suffolk finally accepted!

I have just received an e-mail and spoken to Nick M about a Ross's Goose that I saw way back in January 2008 along Market Lane, Somerleyton. This bird has just been accepted and was the first for Suffolk and the Suffolk Ornithological Records Committee has me down as the finder! I'm not sure if that is correct, So gazing back through the mists of time here are my recollections of this momentous event. Fortunately I have my field notes taken at the time, and a good memory of seeing the bird, however my memory of who found the bird in particular is hazy, if I had found it, I feel sure I would have remembered that! If anyone has any recollection of seeing this bird, who found it and has any pictures of it I'd love to hear from you. Way back in 2008, in an era when Birdlines had to be rung up in order to receive news and there were no smart phones, I had heard about a Ross's Goose [Anser Rossii] which had been seen in the Yare Valley by news from our good friend Peter A, a well known Yarmouth birder who found many stunning rarities along the Breydon shores, the news had been disseminated and circulated by Robert Wil to local birders, Peter A who had kindly informed us it has flown south- east and heading our way. The weather the preceding week had been stormy with a series of fast flowing low pressure systems sweeping across the country direct from the United States, perfect weather to bring our star visitor! On Sunday 13th January 2008, I drove to Market Lane, Somerleyton and was delighted to meet my great friend of then 29 years standing, the late Ricky Fairhead, another well known local birder, a great field birder like Peter A, who again had found many rarities in the local area. We knew there had been a then recent remarkable concentration of Pink- footed Geese at Somerleyton, which then was a recent phenomenon as there had been previously quite scarce in Suffolk during the late twentieth and early 21st century. I parked up my Vauxhall Corsa carefully at the side of the road and Ricky and I used the hedge to shield ourselves from the masses of the Pink- footed Geese assembled in the fields right in front of us. Very carefully we set our scopes up and it was then that Ricky and I concurrently both spotted the Ross's Goose straight away, it was at the back of the flock but it stood out like a gleaming white beacon! It was a very striking white- phase adult bird. In size and shape, it was a small stocky Goose being around 2/3 the size of the Pink-feet with striking white plumage, a pure white squarish head, a stocky, short thick white neck being noticably shorter in proportion than the longer thinner necks of the Pink- feet. It had black wing tips- primaries with crucially a greyish alula seen in flight (another difference with adult Snow Goose). It also had a small 'petite' tiny pink bill (proportinately smaller than the larger more substantial bill of a Snow Goose [Anser caerulescens]), with a little grey around the base (another difference to the similar Snow Goose), too. Other bare parts included short pink legs and black eye. It was seen amongst the swathes of Pink- footed Geese. When a group of birds took to flihght it flew a short way showing the greyish alula and emphasising its small size and short thick neck broadening as it met the main body of the bird. The weather was grey and overcast and slightly misty, and had been for sometime over the preceding period, following a period of westerly winds. The Ross's Goose was walking amongst the flock occasionally pecking at the ground and both Ricky and I spent a little while looking at this Goose. It was a textbook example, its small size, greyish alula, shorter thick neck and dainty bill eliminated the possibility of it being a Snow Goose, the only species it could be conceivably confused with. I heard that subsequently, just a day later, that Brian S and Richard D had seen this bird again plus in addition, the added bonus of a wild Snow Goose that had also previously been in Norfolk and again flown across the border into Suffolk. Sadly the larger Anser didn't hang around to be twitched by other local birders or myself. Ross's Geese is a vagrant from North America and its status like that of the Snow Goose is often tainted with the possibility of them being escapes from collections. What elevated the chances of this and both Brian's Snow Geese being wild birds is that they were with large flocks of known carrier species, the Pink- footed Geese and they had also been previously seen in Norfolk which had hosted more record of wild birds of both species. POSTSCRIPT: It's likely that Andrew E found this bird.

Ness Point wander

In the early afternoon of Sunday 9th February, I drove down to Ness Point, there were 16 Turnstones feeding on the finger promentary. I walked 500 metres further north along the seawall, to the sea ledge just opposite the south end of the Ting Dene static caravan park, on the seaweed encrusted ledge by the sea, I first saw 2 Oystercatchers and a Rock Pipit which stood facing the sea, momentarily frozen, before it suddenly walked back actively feeding before flying into a hole half way up and along the seawall. Slightly further back, were 4 then 5 Purple Sandpipers, actively feeding their number totalling 9 birds. Walking back, I saw the resident male Kestrel flying back from the seawall towards the Netposts. There was nothing in Hamilton Dock and no sign either of the BRs, despite checking their regular haunts.