East Norfolk birding

On Friday 2nd January, a late start 10.30am might have proved disastrous as the only Kite I saw at Ludham Bridge Marshes was the Red Kite when I was driving up. I saw a Grey Heron and a female Marsh Harrier but that was all. After 2 hours still no sign of the BWK that had apparently flown off west out of roost at 9.30am. I saw Jon B. and he walked further down, but a lady walking back said the BWK had been seen hunting from St. Benet's Abbey so I walked back quickly jumped into the car and drove to St. Benet's, I was very lucky as there was 1 space remaining in the car park and I walked up to the Mill, some birders were watching it distantly as I walked up but as soon as I got there it disappeared. But fortunately, the bird was spotted again seen very distantly to the south low near a distant church flying low and right. It then wheeled up and started hovering, it was the excellent Black- winged Kite, seen at 1.05pm. It then flew on slim pakle grey wings and started hovering before it semi- circled up and left further up in the sky. As I had left Jon B. as Ludham Bridge Marshes I tried to contact him but failed dismally. Phil D. walked up from the river and said, amongst the Geese behind us, 15 Greylags, a fine Russian White- fronted Goose was sticking its neck up showing its white facial shield. Driving back along the road, good to see Jon driving to the Abbey car park ( I hope he saw the BWK at 2.40pm) 2 Cattle Egrets flew into the field left and c60 Lapwings and c80 Golden Plover flew over the field to the right before settling down. Next stop Filby broad, where walking past the bridge, I saw a close Great White Egret briefly in the reeds and Steve G. who siad the birds were now along the south end of the Broad. I joined Stve and Dot by the Boardwalk and directly opposite along the south edge of the Broad amongst Pochard, a nice group of around 50 seen included the fine male Ferruginous Duck. Rob Wil and James W. appeared and Rob picked out the excellent female Ring- necked Duck that was amongst this group (having just woken up and over to the left a female Eider seen too. Meanwhile I spotted around 6 Goldeneye, 4 male and 2 females, a close pair was just over to the left. Over to the right, a Great- crested Grebe seen. Meanwhile at Ormesby Little broad, around 45 Coot seen over to the left, 2 Great- crested Grebes, a male Goldeneye and 3 male Tufted Duck seen, walking back a Greater- spotted Woodpecker seen near the top of trees having flown from one tree to another.

Minsmere Bound

New Year meant a trip down to Minsmere as I was keen to see the Temminck's again. and to add to my Christmas break feast of avian goodies! I bumped into David B. and his wife (nice to see them both as I haven';t seen them for a while) in the car park who siad it could be seen distantly from North Hide plus Redpoll in with Siskins on the walk to West hide. I made my way to North Hide and at the pond I met Andrew E. Good to see him too. The sun was shining directly at us and it was clear we wouldn't see the bird this way so we walked to the West hide and no sooner had we entered a packed hide, the a chap announced the Temminck's was on the nearest island and so it proved! The fine Temminck's Stint was constantly walking around feeding and as soon as I got onto it walked around the back of the island out of sight! It then flew to an island further away where there were a bonus 2 Water Pipits. The bird then flew back onto an island close to the left hand side of the hide and I took a few pics of it here before it flew once more. A fine Water Pipit flew in reasonably close too. Andrew E. soon left and not long after I saw 4 Goosander straight out in front of island 191, a roosting Redhead and 3 male Goosander swimming right in front of the East hide. Looking around the scrape, Mallard, Teal, a Wigeon and some Pintail too. Walking back by the Alders I spotted a group of c10 Siskin feeding and about a foot down from the top on the left of the main trunk, a fine Redpoll fed too. Back at the Centre, the feeders were full of Blue and Great Tits feeding, joined by up to 2 Coal Tits, shyer than their brethern a wait of 15 minutes and I saw a fine Marsh Tit briefly feed on the more popular left hand feeder briefly. I drove back to Westleton Health car park, emptied my water bottle in the puddle. I walked east to the Archer's archery area and no sooner had I done so than 2 fine Crossbills calling "chip chip" flew over the track and settled just west in trees but I couldn't pick them out again. At Henham quarry over the grassy fields, I saw 6 Curlew and 1 Common Gull. A look around Mutford and Ellough (and College Road failed to reveal any Partidges (fields had a long grassy type crop) other 2 Red- legged Partridge running around in the Industrial Estate and a few flocks of c20, 30, 30 Lapwings around Mutford, plus a male Pheasant by the side of the road. When I arrived home a delightful family of 10 Long-tailed Tits flew in feeding on insects in the front garden bushes literally inches from me, wonderful!

Review of the Year 2025

2025 has been a really good year for scarce birds, particularly in Suffolk! January: The 4th January was my start to the birding year after appalling weather on the first. Henham weighed in with the now rapidly increasing continental coloniser, a Cattle Egret. Compare that with the rapidly decerasing Grey Partridge, a covey of 7 of these delights were seen at Ellough on the same day. Thorpeness Bound on the fifth revealed an American Ring- necked Duck, 2 'Rossicus' Bean Geese in cliff top fields and a Hoodie in fields in the Snape area.

Local Patch birding disturbance x3

On Wednesday 31st December, I started at Mutford Lock, but unfortunately the RT Diver seen by Richard earlier had gone, a child climbing over the railings didn't help. 4 Little Grebes seen and a Redshank seen. Walking along Lake Lothing, I saw 2 well developed Bee Orchid rosettes in the usual place. Checking Ness Point and Hamilton Dock, an Oystercatcher was seen on the finger promontary. Walking along the seawall to Ting Dene static caravan park, I saw a Rock Pipit (unringed) perched on the other side of the seawall but a couple just ahead of me kept flushing it further along 3X it flew back perched up again and then it flew down not to be seen again. As I drew level with the south end of the Ting Dene site, I saw 5 Purple Sandpipers flying in a tight group towards Ness Point but they didn't settle here and they flew back to where I stood and settled on a part of the old seawall before eventually flew up and settled on seaward side of the seawall where they roosted until a dog walker peered over and looked exactly where they were and flushed them as they all flew out to sea.

Black- winged Kite at Ludham Bridge

On Tuesday 30th December I drove and arrived at Ludham Bridge at first light, I parked up and could hear Cranes calling to the west of the road. Instead I walked east to where the BWK had supposedly roosted the previous night. After 2 hours no sign but I did see 3 fine Cranes in flight then they crossed over and flew north. Later on a further 2 Cranes did the same thing. Amazingly, they are my first of the year. 2 fine Bewick's Swans calling flew north behind us, smaller swans with shorter necks and yellow just at the base of the bill. Especially nice to see. Also a Red Kite flew in from the south. Just after 10, the chap I stood next to said the Kite had just flown in and it had settled in a large tree amongst a group of trees amongst some Wood Pigeons and initially it was surprisingly hard to pick up, especially with a main horizontal branch of a tree obscuring its head! But sure enough it was there, the fine adult Black- winged Kite and perched back on for some 10 minutes before it flew to a line of trees where it was very heavily obscured but just about viewable with the white breast feathers blowing in the wind, occasionally the grey back and black shoulders could be seen and even the head too. It then flew again and settled in a bush by a marsh where it could be seen clearly, if distantly. After 15 minutes it flew back hovering then dropping into a field where it caught a bird. It was then seen flying over the river to the north, hunting, hovering and then finally flying to a large tree on my walk back to the car. All seen almost constantly over a 2 hour span. Butr always distant and never close. A fine Jack Snipe flew up and over from one of the dykes, I was the only one to notice it!

No show Shearwater and drake Smew

On Saturday 27th December, I was shopping at the sales in town with Jenny & Matthew at Marks in the town when I heard of a drake Smew at Carlton Marshes and eventually I arrived at Carlton Marshes carpark, I then looked on the phone and it said a Great Shearwater seen earlier at North Norfolk had been seen going south from Winterton and if it continued on its current trajectory it would with great luck be seen shearing south off Ness Point at 12.10pm, with the hardened seawatchers assembling at Ness Point, I immediately diverted and reached there at about 11.40am. Despite a concentrated seawatch until 1.05pm no sign of the hoped for Shearwater, Scroby sands probably forced it further out to sea. Great Shearwater is a big bogey bird for me having missed them off the Scillies on a Pelagic years ago, I will have to try again! The only birds seen was a Diver on the sea and several c10 Divers flying past and c5 large Auks flying past too. Also seen on the sea were around c50 Wigeon, a group was on the sea together. After I left I drove back to carlton Marshes and a large group assembled just beyond the Moorings Hide revealed the fine male Smew at the back of the lagoon due west of where we stood. In the same area as the RN Grebe earlier in the year. The bird was a fine 'white nun' with white plumage black 'cracking lines' on its plumage, black on the top of the back and a black face patch, a stunning bird as always (but they are never close, I would dearly love to get a nice pic of this bird). The bird swam left and the gradually right until out of view. Also seen was a Great White Egret flying left, a female Marsh Harrier quartering the reeds and a Buzzard that flew low over the marsh.

Aberrant Stonechat still at Netposts

On Boxing Day Friday 26th December, late morning I checked Hamilton Dock, Ness Point area and very little was seen. A keen east wind and very high tide provided very bracing conditions. At the Netposts, the newly cut Denes area east of the Netposts a dog was running around and flushed, 4 Meadow Pipits, they were joined by another quartet of Pipits and settle in the northern section of the southern netposts. Resigned to a poor walk around, I was loading the camera in the car and the Pipits flew up joined by a Chat and the latter bird settled on the exterme south=east corner post of the nortern netposts, it was the fine aberrant Stonechat. Another pair of dog walkers were walking up to it but I consoled myself by the just admiring for a minute before it flew and totally disappeared, I didn't see it again, despite a thorough search. Later on 10 Meadow Pipts were on this part of the Denes. A look at Links Road car park revealed around 30 immature Herring Gulls, c10 adults, 20 BH Gulls and 1 adult unringed Mediterranean Gull plus an assortment of Carrion Crows with one showing white bar on its secondaries on both side of its wings.