What a cracker!

On Sunday 25th October, an early start was in order as Rob H. had kindly offered to give me a lift up to Mundesley in North Norfolk for the Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is a denizen of Coniferous Pine forests and occasional irruptions occur due to a severe lack of food or because of population explosions. The last major one which led to multiple arrivals in the UK was way back in 1968! Typically they feed on Pine seeds and Hazels. The distribution of this intelligent member of the crow family is spread across the globe from in the west Scandinavia (where they are represented by the thick- billed race, across Europe, Siberia and even Japan. The irruptive ones are the Siberian slender billed ones, native to the Taiga forests of Siberia. Rob arrived at the house at 6am (GMT) following the hour change. As we were passing Ormesby St. Margaret, rather bizarrely, we saw a very young fawn Muntjac deer with spots on its back (meaning it was up to 2 months old) running around the middle of the road in circles. Rob stopped the car on hazard lights and ran out to rescue it but its strength meant it leapt out of his arms and continued to run in circles in the middle of the road. I popped out and managed with difficulty to herd it to the side of the road, Rob aided me and we finally managed to see it go onto the verge. This ultimately succeeded as we didn't see it as a road casualty when we drove back. We arrived at Mundesley just as the sun was starting to rise and the cars were all again parked along Trunch Road with the birders gathered by the garden we drove onto a side road and parked down there and walked the half mile back but Rob was jogging along and as we reached the garden nobody was there, Rob was disappearing into the distance, I had no signal on my phone to find out any updated BirdGuides message but obviously the bird had relocated elsewhere, by the school I bumped into another birder who said as he just drove in he saw all the birders running down another lane, Water Lane (Rob had kindly texted me this too) so I quickly walked down the lane and in a small wooded copse area, a group of birders were all looking in the same spot, half way up a horse chestnut tree perched the excellent Northern Slender- billed Nutcracker! As soon as I saw it, it instantly flew right. It flew into a meadow area and around 300 birders were here, it flew up into a tree and excellent views were obtained of the Nutcracker was seen here. Crow sized with chocolate brown plumage, with a longer dark bill. It sported a dark cap, with gorgeous chocolate brown plumage spangled with white pear drop sized spots all over its plumage. The lores between the eye and the base of the bill were white. It had a white vent with white undertail coverts and striking white rear crescents on the base of the long tail with black wings, a very striking bird! perched half way up, it then flew into a Pine and perched here too, before flying onto the ground and catching and devouring a wasp! It then flew to the trees by Water Lane and I had the bird barely 4 feet away but photos were too dark sadly, as I had adjusted the exposure too late, sadly. It then flew back to the trees by the meadow, catching the odd Wasp and feeding from the Pine cones. It then flew down to the ground and was feeding on another wasp on the ground. Before it then flew up to a house and perched on the wall, the fence, the roof top and side gable. It caught wasps from here too. Later on it flew back to the trees by the side of the meadow. To paraphrase the late great comedian Frank Carson, "it's a cracker!" and rarity of the year.

Kessingland Geese then a major dip

I started off early at Kessingland, no sign of the Shrike from the cliff top so I walked down the cliff northwards to the Coastwatch tower and went onto the beach from there. From the cliff there was initially no sign of the Geese but they had emerged from the reeds in a much expanded watery area, following all the wind and rain from the day before. I slowly made my way and set up on the beach on my knees and they were still quite happy feeding, the 2 immature White- fronted Geese accompanied by the immature Brent Goose and I was about to get some nice relaxed shots of them feeding as I had positiuoned myself beehing a large bit of seagrass but a dog walker crossed just north and quite close to them and started to spook them so they started walking south along the pool edge and I managed about 7 pics as they walked south with increasing urgency (just my luck!) before they disappeared from sight and then the trio of Geese then flew south. At the bottom of the steps I heard a Nutcracker had been seen at Mundesley I drove straight there picking up James W. on the way but we were 3 minutes too late 11.20am and I stayed until 3.50pm, no sign of it during that time, we saw a Grey Wagtail feeding on th ground to the right of us and it had flew over the bungalow cxalling several times earlier. Other than that 2 Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk, 7 Wood Pigeons and 2 Magpies seen. when the wind was picking up and it was raining, I drove to Happisburgh Lighthouse but didn't see the RCS either.

Double dip day then a few Kessingland goodies

On Thursday 22nd October, no luck at Winterton for the Isabelline Wheatear down the south valley and at Ashby there was no sign of the Great Grey Shrike at Ashby either but there were 20 Pink-footed Geese that flew south over brook/ Beech House. I then drove to kessingland as the Isabelline Shrike had been showing very well but from the cliff top it was very elusive. just north of the bushes, a Merlin flew in from the sea and flew south over the beach, By the North Pools, there were 2 immature White- fronted Geese joined by an immature Brent Goose. At 1.15pm a mid distance Lapland Bunting 'churr' call heard, but not seen. I then walked down the steps to the beach and the 1st winter Isabelline Shrike was almost constantly showing from the beach mainly hunting from exposed bare branches right on the cliff edge not viewable from the cliff side.

Isabelline success

On Wednesday 21st October, I was able to leave at 2.30pm so I drove stright to Kessingland Hollies, parked up and was fortunate to see Richard W., we met some other birders walking back giving us encouraging news that the bird was still showing and the sun had come out. We walked over to the weedy field and looked in the area by the 3 pillboxes, initially no sign but we were joined by 5 birders and immediately one of their number spotted the excellent 1st winter Isabelline Shrike perched up just north of the 3rd pillbox, It was perched at the very top of the bush. Typically pale sandy with russet tail. It was actively feeding and caught several wasps and dispatched them. The weather had changed and it was now very cloudy, I managed to get a few pics until a cliff top walker disturbed it and it flew right towards the 2nd pillbox. Literally a minute later it flew back to its original perch and continued hunting. We were joined by Dick W. However, a squally shower started and we decided to leave, I drove to Ashby to try for the GGS but the weather conditions were awful with squally showers and gale force winds so unsurprisingly no sign of the Shrike. 2 Magpies, a male Kestrel perched on the wires briefly whilst at the back 2 Red Kites jostled with each other and it was unusual to see a fine white male antlered Fallow Deer that walked along the hedge line before it disapeared. Finally, 2 Hares were seen in the field.

Isabelline dip

On Monday, Gavin found a Shrike along the northern cliffs of Kessingland, which was identified as an Isabelline Shrike, a first for the Lowestoft area. I was desperate to see it but could not go until after work. I drove straight there and arrived there at 5.35pm parking in the Hollies car park, walking straight to the beach and turning left or north (by the wooden steps), I walked a further 500 metres and was in a weedy field where I joined Matthew D. Unfortunately, the Shrike had not been seen since 4pm. I decided to check from the beach so we walked down the steps and walked where the pillbox jutted out of the cliffs. Matthew said he had it but the bird apparaently dropped down and didn't reappear. All I saw were 2 Song Thrushes flying around the bushes, by 6.10pm the light was going rapidly. Well done to matthew for seeing it, but I would now have to wait to try again. Tuesday the weather precluded another visit.

Ness Point seawatch

On Sunday 18th October, with a blustery north- east wind and trying to avoid the showers, I did a 90 minutes seawatch from Ness Point from 12.33pm to 2pm, I saw quite a few, 9 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 (12.33pm), 1 (12.58pm), a group of 4 (1.03pm), 3 (2+1 lagging behind 1.35pm) all flying north close to the horizon. All flap/ flap glide and arcing up on their soar. Groups of Brent Geese flew north, 5, 3, 3 (with a Cormorant), 2 and 1. Groups of Wigeon, 8 and 5, 3 Teal plus 3 Eider flew north (2 females leading with the adult male bring up the rear) plus a Porpoise seen going north at 1.35pm. No skuas or Petrels seen. Also a constant stream of Gannets heading north.

More Red-throated Diver pics

Here are some more Red- throated Diver pics from Wednesday.

Trio of Red- throated Divers still showing at Ness Point

On Wednesday 14th October, I was keen to see if the Divers were still at Ness Point, particularly as Nick B. had seen one close in the previous day. After work at just ater 3.30pm, I pulled up and looked out and could see one close Diver just north of the jetty. I drove slightly further north and made my way slowly to the lower ledge, I could see the fine partial summer plumaged Red- throated Diver swimming very close in swimming south and I was able to get into position without spooking the bird and gave some superlative views, the sun was rather hazy, I also noted a further 2 Red- throated Divers one more in winter plumage and one having just lost its Red- throat, the winter- plumaged bird came really close in just north of the Jetty whilst the partial summer plumage bird continued to show well. The winter plumage bird was constantly dving. Also 2 Turnstone seen too. Good to see Rob Win. who walked past with a brief greeting leaving me to the photography, cheers Rob! Checked the rest of the Point and the Net posts nothing further seen. POSTSCRIPT I measured the flower shoot of the garden old faithful Southern Marsh Orchid and it measured 68.5cm this year!

A trio of Red-throated Divers close in at Ness Point

Late afternoon on Sunday 11th October, (thanks to the tweet from Dale N.) I was delighted to see a trio of Red- throated Divers (2 partial summer plumaged birds and 1 winter plumaged bird) fishing very close close in by the jetty/ finger in the sea metres north of the rock (and just 5 metres from me!), the 2 partial summer-plumaged birds were the closest with the winter plumaged bird a little further out although it did come in close too. All 3 birds were regularly fishing/ diving for food although I didn't see any with fish in their mandibles! Good to see Jeremy G. seawatching from the Funnel. Nice to finally get pics of partially summer plumaged birds finally in sunshine rather than clody or overcast conditions.

Swamphen by the Power Station

On Thursday 8th October, in an utterly bizarre occurrance, a Grey- headed Swamphen had been discovered shared on social media apparently it had been seen and filmed in a compound with a suitable puddle by the junction of South Denes Road and Gate 6 of Hartmann Road. So without any optics, I travelled down, immediately after work, at 5.10pm I initially saw Jeremy G. by some rusty iron girders, this wasn't the right place, Jeremy was searching for the Black Redstarts nearby and I took Jeremy round the corner to the road immediately south of Great Yarmouth Power station and saw a gathering of people including Paul & Jane F., John H. Apparently Ferguson views had been seen at 5pm, as the Swamphen had been seen stalking around the grassy verge just by the road and both Jane and John had obtained some excellent pics (one reproduced below by kind permission of Jane) However, the bird was currently out of sight. Within 20 minutes returning to the Road, Paul picked up the bird in a fenced compound and the excellent Grey- headed Swamphen was seen just left of a pile of sticks, it then wandered left and the to the side of the compound, sometimes being partially obscured before it wandered a little closer before again disappearing back along the Road, Jeremy G. picked the bird up in the corner near a bush and this is where I had my closest views of the bird as it stood and carefully preened. Unlikely to be ever accepted, this resident of central Asia, in countries like India. This bird, most definitely, is not a long distance migrant and most previous sightings have been classed as escapees. But there were no rings on this bird and could it have been ship assisted possibly? Anyway a lovely bird to see, especially as it was only 10 minutes from work and a bizarre but amazing sighting, I always like seeing any birds or wildlife. Photo reproduced below by kind permission & copyright of J Ferguson.

Still elusive YBW

On Saturday 3rd October, walking to the Travel Lodge at Gants Hills, 3 Ring- necked Parakeets flew over my head calling and flying west. On Sunday 4th October, I went down to Flycatcher alley and the Oval, to try and see the YBW again, I saw Jane & Paul F. but despite their presence we did not see (or in my case) hear the Yellow- browed Warbler in the last tree north of the sycamore before the steps. Having just travelled back from London and having to endure an extra 90 minutes rail replacement service by bus from Ipswich rail station to Halesworth rail station. I had no desire ton travel again to see a GGS back at Halesworth, a shame as it was something I would normally be keen to do. Instead, I wet down to the Net posts and by the northern edge, I saw one of Rob Wil's female Red- veined Darter and a Small Copper butterfly.

Meagre returns

A look around the Parks, the Oval, North Denes & Corton revealed little after work on Thursday 1st October. On Friday 2nd October, a briefly tame female Blackbird with white spots on her head was very tame by the entrance road to Corton OSW, but disappeared when I was retrieving the camera. On the Static caravan site immediately north of OSW were 5 Blackbirds, a dark continental Song Thrush and 2 Robins, almost certainly continental migrants. I tried looking in Broadland Sands camp site but could find neither a brown hut or a wooded copse, all I saw were lines of trees and certianly no YBWs revealed themselves to be either visually or verbally.

Poor views of the Vireo

On Wednesday 30th September, I travelled to Minsmere North bushes for the REV that had been spotted there the previous afternoon. It had been seen at 9.37am, I arrived there and in the middle of the bushes, I was joined by Carl B, Paul & Jane F. and at 1.35pm a mad scramble and a shout saying there it is and I spotted a bulky passerine, with olive green above and silky white underparts of the Red- eyed Vireo fly into a bush, the light was poor and I saw the shape of the Vireo but it was partially obscured and then it hopped out of view. Other people the other side had a much better view. Later on when we were joined by John H. and Mick we walked along the path to the beach and the bushes just east of the North bushes, Mick spotted it in a small Oak and we saw the shape of the bird very briefly before it flew low and left never to be seen again. Walking back I heard the brief 'tsuip' of a Yellow- browed Warbler and on the path to the North hide, I also heard a Marsh Tit, neither of these birds were seen though. I stayed until 4.30pm in the hope I would obtain better views but it was not be, I must have used up all my Vireo luck almost 35 years ago.

Grey Phalarope at Shingle Street

On Saturday 26th September, a Ring- necked Parakeet flew across the road from a park on the 30 m inutes walk from Ilford Tube to Gants Hill Travel Lodge. On the walk back on the 27th September, another Ring- necked Parakeet flew back across to the park. On the train just past and before M5, a flock of Fallow Deer were seen in a field. On the way down to Shingle Street, my first trip here since a Pied Wheatear was here on 19 October 2009 [see blogpost 20 Oct 2009!]. It's been too long since I last visited and I did an unecessary loop around Butley but I eventually arrived and parked up by the Shingle Street parking sign. Immediately ahead were the Battery Cottages and Coastguards cottage but I was very unsure where to go to locate the Pool where the Phalarope was, I am grtaeful to Jane F. and a local lady who gave precise direcxtions where to find it. The pool was not on the beach but heading south up to a Martello tower type home just before that was a wooded copse area and a public footpath was to the right marked going straight through the wooded copse, you were walking down and then turned left along the path, a raised bank and walking around 3/4 of a mile from where I parked the car I arrived at the Pool and instantly saw an immature Grey Phalarope. It was down a dyke and actively feeding barely 10-12 metres away.

Tarzan Diver!

Just after 12.30pm on Wed 23rd September, a tweet from Dale that he had a BT Diver close in by the caravan park, had me driving down to the Lowestoft North Denes/ North Beach, parking at the Swimming Pool Road car park opposite the Sparrow's Nest and walking down to the sea wall. An initial sweep of the sea revealed nothing, but a couple I met said that the Diver had swum north, so we; Rob H. and I walked north as we did so we met up with Paul & Jane. Jane spotted a reasonably close Red- throated Diver which flew south. Just before we got to the Link's Road car park, we saw a Diver close in on the sea, not a Black- throated, but a nice summer plumaged Red- throated Diver. I went onto the beach and only moved into position when the bird had dived. I managed a few pics but the bird was regularly feeding and diving regularly resurfacing tens of metres away at first swimming north and then south where it had swum really fast, even faster than the Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller who had been a multiple Gold medal winner at both the 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam Olympics! Running on the sandy beach, (completely laden with old 500mm lens on my back and a scope and tripod, whilst trying to avoid obstacles such as with shards of rock from the old seawall, was both an exhausting hot and hazardous business, I was trying to keep up with fast swimming Diver! A look at Ness Point afterwards the sea was quiet and it only revealed an Oystercatcher, 2 Turnstone on the Jetty/finger.

At last a decent seawatch!

On Sunday 20th September, just after 5pm I drove to Ness Point, Andrew E., Rob H., and Jon B. were by the funnel seawatching, over the course of a near 2 hour watch I saw a total of 15 Sooty Shearwaters, some singles but groups of 3, 4 and 3 also seen. Also a fine Razorbill was seen half way out on the sea, then a second more distant Razorbill. A fine but distant black/ white Manx Shearwater also sheared over the sea and north, my first since 2021. A couple of Gannets flew north an adult and an immature. Also several Mediterranean Gulls, 2 adults and an immature plus 3 Sandwich Tern flying south. No sign of the Redstart for me.

Benacre bound again!

On Sunday 20th September, I made my way down to the Broad, no Clouded Yellows were seen on the way down, but Rob H. had beaten me to it and already seen the Pec. By the time I got into the hide, Rob was there with Carl B. The Pec was again out of view and again the Scaup wasn't being seen but we made our way down to the Beach. Quickly we saw both the Pectoral Sandpiper and a Curlew Sandpiper on a small island with Gull and the odd Duck (Teal) on it. Meanwhile, we looked north and saw the fine female Scaup just beyond 2 Tufted Duck and a couple of Canada Geese. Carl went back to the Hide and Rob walked south, whilst I remained on the beach, 2 Sandwich Tern flew past over the beach and out to sea whilst 1 Sandwich Tern was on the far muddy bank, left of the hide. 2 Ruff were seen at the far west back of the Broad. I also saw the female Pintail and an eclipse male Pintail too. As I walked back in the grassy area just south of the Broad 2 Clouded Yellows were flying mostly constantly on the move. 1 would often disrupt the other more restful one and I eventually located this fine Butterfly and managed a few pics, albeit with the shadow of a grass stem on it. It was quite tatty on closer inspection.

Very humid at Benacre

I then drove to Benacre as a Scaup had been seen on the Braod. I joined Paul & Jane F. in the walk down, immediately by the top cliff we saw a Clouded Yellow. Walking further down by the grassy area just before the Broad which the path down dissects. We saw an incredible 3 Clouded Yellows, on the grassy area and we managed to get a few pics with the Nikon lens. In the hide, we saw Neville L. who had seen the Scaup and found a Pectoral Sand. but it had flown onto the closer bank, totally obscured by the reeds so it couldn't be seen. The humidity meant it was incredibly humid and very difficult to view anything. Chasing after the Clouded Yellows meant I was already hot & all I could see were around 300 Black- tailed Godwits and a female Pintail. Paul did well to pick up 2 Garganey which he kindly let me see through his scope. I had to leave to cool down and because I had to prepare to see the band King King at thge waterfront at Norwich.

Glossy Ibis at Peto's

On Saturday 19th September, I drove to Carlton Marshes and walked down and past the Moorings Hide, I saw Paul & Jane F. at the end, all I had seen so far was a Great White Egret by the pool. Suddenly Paul said the Glossy Ibis as flying and I soon spotted the Glossy Ibis flying left and it settled on the far muddy bank of the pool. It fed here for a while before flying slightly left and then out of sight.

Westleton Heath bound

I had heard that Westleton Heath the walk to the quarry had reopened at the weekend, so on Wednesday after leaving work at 1.15pm, I left it too late to visit as there were a lot of people about and unsurprisingly no Juvenile Cuckoos were seen despite a thorough search. A few Small Heath butterflies and several Graylings seen plus a reasonably obliging Grasshopper. A male Stonechat also seen.