Norfolk - 5th and 6th October 2024

 This weekend, Jayne and I went down to Norfolk, where we had a lovely walk around Wells-next-the-Sea and around RSPB Snettisham.

We were at Wells yesterday, in a very warm and sunny 17 degrees. We walked down from the town to the beach and back. Species seen were: Redshank, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Dark-bellied Brent Goose (c300), Red-throated Diver (1 breeding plumaged bird fishing in the channel), a tern species, Little Egret, Great Egret (2 flying over), Black-headed and Herring Gull and a juvenile/1st winter Wheatear - great spot Jayne! We also saw a couple of Wall Brown butterflies at Old Hunstanton Golf Course later in the day - my first of the year.

Wheatear (juvenile/1st winter - almost in focus!)

This morning, we had a walk around RSPB Snettisham. Unfortunately, there wasn't a very high tide, so we didn't get the flyover from the birds, but we still saw thousands of waders. Species seen were: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Dunlin, Avocet, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, and Knot ( year tick 193). we also had 20+ Little Egrets and 12 Spoonbills, including a darvic ringed bird; NF1U. A report has been sent off, and it appears to be a Dutch-ringed bird (see here). I'll update with full details, when I receive them.

Spoonbill NF1U

UPDATE: The Spoonbill had been ringed, as a pullus, at Ventjagersplaten, Lebret, The Netherlands, 294km away, on 28th May 2024. Before my sighting, it had been reported at Besthorpe Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire on 24th July 2024. It was next seen at Alkborough Flats, Lincolnshire, on 19th August, before spending the best part of September (1st to 29th) at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire. My sighting was the latest, so far.

Frampton Marsh - 3rd February 2024

 Last weekend, Jayne and I had a drive over to Willow Tree Fen and RSPB Frampton Marsh, clocking up an impressive 11 species for the Year List.

Our first stop was the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Willow Tree Fen, where we saw 6 Common Cranes (105), including a pair that were calling and displaying. Whilst there, we also saw 3 Marsh Harriers (106).

Common Crane

Moving on, we arrived at Frampton, where the 1st winter Lesser Yellowlegs (107) was putting on an amazing show, on the wetland, by the car park! This bird has now been present since last year (130+ days!) and it was great to see how its moult had progressed since we last saw it back in October (see here). These photos shows a few remaining brown, juvenile feathers.

Lesser Yellowlegs

We had a walk around the reserve, spotting the following birds: Mute and Whooper Swan (1), Canada, Greylag and Dark-bellied Brent Geese (108), Meadow Pipit (109), Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, Pochard (110), Pintail (111), Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew, Lapwing ('000s) and Golden Plover (000's). Up on the seawall, we spotted another couple of Marsh Harriers, and, after a lot of searching, a very distant, male Hen Harrier (112, yes!). Heading back down to the Visitors' Centre, we spotted Black-tailed Godwits (113), Avocets (114) and, perched up on the barn, a male and female Peregrine Falcon (115).

Year List Update - 7th October 2017

I haven't update  my 2017 "Year List" since August.  There haven't been too many additions since then, but I have added Short-eared Owl (1 spotted in the Peak District in August, at a potential breeding site), Ring-necked Parakeet (dozens seen in Vondel Park, Amsterdam in August) and Grey Phalarope ( at Worsborough Reservoir near Barnsley on 7th October, my first since 2008).

Ring-necked Parakeet

Grey Phalarope

Today, Jayne and I had a few hours at RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire and managed to spot a few new species, namely Little Stint (4+), Curlew Sandpiper (2), Pintail (5) and Dark-bellied Brent Goose (200+).  Other birds present were: Black-tailed Godwit (100+), Ruff (1 seen), Dunlin (20+), Redshank (10+), Golden Plover (20+), Little Egret (10+), Grey Heron (1), Teal (100s), Wigeon (100), Shelduck (5), Shoveler (4), Black-headed and Herring Gull, Mute Swan (5), Whooper Swan (1), Canada Goose (100+), House Martin (1), Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon (1 large female eating something on the ground from East Hide), Tree and House Sparrow, Starling (30+), Magpie, Linnet and Goldfinch.

Year List update:
185 – Short-eared Owl
186 – Ring-necked Parakeet
187 – Grey Phalarope
188 – Little Stint
189 – Curlew Sandpiper
190 – Pintail
191 – Brent Goose (Dark-bellied)

Yellow-browed Warbler!!

Unfortunately, this is not a Linacre report, but instead refers to 2 birds that I've seen today in Holkham Pines in Norfolk. This site is a much more usual spot for this species, but is still an excellent record for me. I tried hard to get a photo, but the only one I could manage was this lovely one of the tree the bird was flitting around in - enjoy!

Yellow-browed Warbler tree (honestly!)

The warblers, were seen on a walk from Wells-next-the-Sea to Holkham, that Jayne and I did today. We set off in Wells, walked down to the beach and along to Holkham Gap. We then walked up through the pines, watched the Yellow-brows, and visited Joe Jordan Hide. Along the way, we also recorded Redshank, Turnstone, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Wheatear (4 by Holkham Gap), Marsh Harrier (2 over Holkham Marsh), Grey Heron, Gannet, Pink-footed Goose Redwing (c.20 over - first of the winter), 1 Grey Partridge (year tick) and a Red Admiral feeding in the sunshine on ivy.

In Wells itself, we also saw House Sparrows, Herring, Common and Black-headed Gulls, Dark-bellied Brent Geese (first of the year), Mallard and Starlings.

Starling

Year List update:

175: Yellow-browed Warbler

176: Grey Partridge

Dark-bellied Brent Goose.

Year List update

This weekend has been very good for birdwatching, with 3 new species added to the Year List, in addition to the Black-necked Grebe mentioned in my last post. The first new species was a gorgeous male Brambling that appeared in the garden on Saturday morning.

Brambling

The next 2 species were seen on a trip with the Chesterfield RSPB Group to RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire on Sunday. in total, we saw 43 species of birds, with Brent Goose and Goldeneye being the new species.

Year list update:
175 - Brambling
176 - Dark-bellied Brent Goose
177 - Goldeneye

Norfolk Highlights

It's been half term this week, so I spent a couple of days in Norfolk with Jayne. We were based in Wells-next-the Sea, and whilst there, we spotted a few nice birds, including a couple of "year ticks".

On arrival in Wells we walked down the estuary to the beach. Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls were present all along the river. There were dozens of Dark-bellied Brent Geese  present on the river, including this family party of 2 adults and 4 juveniles.

Brent Goose

 

When we arrived on the beach there were dozens of Redwings and a few Fieldfares flying "in-off" the sea.

Next morning we drove down to Holkham Hall, and parked up on St Ann's Drive where we saw Pink-footed Geese grazing in the surrounding fields. We then walked down through the woods, and out on to the beach to scan the sea. We spotted 4 Red-throated Divers, half a dozen Common Scoters, and the two "year ticks"; Velvet Scoter and a winter-plumaged Razorbill. A couple of Oystercatchers and 5 Sanderlings were also seen feeding along the edge of the water. On our way back to the car we spotted a couple of Redwings and this Blackbird feeding on berries in the dunes. I think the white scalloping on the back of this bird points to it being a "continental" bird.

Blackbird

Our last stop in Norfolk was RSPB Titchwell. We only had an hour or so here, but we did get some great views of this winter-plumaged Black-tailed Godwit, along with hundreds of  Golden Plover, a few Dunlin, Teal, Shoveler, a Little Egret and a calling Cetti's Warbler.

Black-tailed Godwit

Year List update:
175 -Velvet Scoter
176 - Razorbill

RSPB Frampton Marsh and 3 Year Ticks

A couple of times a year I help lead a walk for the Chesterfield RSPB Group. Today's walk took us to the RSPB's reserve of Frampton Marsh in search of waders and winter visitors. In total we recorded 48 species of birds, including a year tick for me; Pectoral Sandpiper. Here's a heavily cropped photo showing all the relevant identification features (the sharp cut off between the dark breast feathers and the white belly, yellowish legs and the white supercilium.)

Pectoral Sandpiper

First up the waders. In total we spotted 13 species of wader on the reserve today. The highlights for me were 2 Little Stints and the Pectoral Sandpiper, but the sight of a few hundred Black-tailed Godwit, 30+ Snipe, Golden Plover, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Avocet (c.15), Redshank,
Ringed Plover, Ruff and Curlew were all very as well.

Waterbirds were much in evidence today with 100s of Brent Geese flying between the saltmarsh and the lagoons, 100s of Teal and Wigeon on the scrapes, along with Mallards, Pintail, Gadwall, Shoveler, Moorhen, Coot, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Canada and Greylag Geese across the site.

Finally, several gull species were seen (Great and Lesser Black-backed, Common, Black-headed and Herring), along with a couple of Marsh Harriers, a Kestrel and several smaller bird species (Starling, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Skylark, Redwing, Crow, Meadow Pipit, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Magpie and Pheasant).

Year List update:
177 - Bar-tailed Godwit
178 -Pectoral Sandpiper
179 - Brent Goose