Back home in Norfolk!

A four-day trip south to Maidenhead was enjoyable, relaxing and bird-filled. The numbers of both Red Kites and Ring-necked Parakeets seem to have increased recently: there were never less than three Kites loafing around over Mum-in-Law's house, and everywhere we went we saw plenty of them. This was even more the case with Ring-necked Parakeets: we heard / saw flocks of them at Boulter's Lock, Maidenhead, Savill Gardens, Virginia Water, Bray and Slough.

Highlight of the trip was, of course, the adult drake Ring-necked Duck that took a bit of locating at Bray: I finally found a reference to its whereabouts on a Berks birding blog and connected with it at a range of perhaps a hundred metres. It's been around for at least two Christmases!

The weather all Christmas was overcast and drizzly, necessitating high ISOs and slower exposures than desirable: many of the photos below were taken in near-dark, hence the grainy results!

Virginia Water

A walk around Virginia Water and lunch at Savill Gardens gave Linda, M-I-L Mary and I lots more views of Kites, Parakeets and Buzzards. No Mandarins on the various lakes today, and the whole place was crowded with small children trying out their scooters / skateboards / bikes etc: still - a pleasant walk followed by an enjoyable lunch: I recommend  the chestnut soup!

 

Ring-necked Duck at Bray

Being in the area and fancying a pre-prandial stroll, I drove the short distance to Bray, where a Ring-necked Duck has been present for a few days.

After a few false starts, I found the 'Quiet Lake' by the side of the M4 and was soon grabbing some distant shots of this fine drake, diving among a raft of Tufted Ducks.

To complete the Ring-necked theme: a small flock of Parakeets squawked from a tree by the sailing club...

 

Parakeet roost!

With much gratitude to Jimi and Marsha (who allegedly first released a pair into the wilds of west London!) Linda, Mum-in-Law and I waited patiently in the car park at ASDA, Slough (on Thames!) for a vast roost of Ring-necked Parakeets to form. By the time it grew dark and the flock dropped down from the  'interim roost' onto bushes by the M4, I reckon around a couple of thousands had gathered.

I still find the sight and sound of these exotic birds an enjoyable experience, especially when Windsor Castle is on view in the opposite direction!

 

Occultation of Aldebaran

The Moon and the giant star Aldebaran came close together in the east just after sunset...
At 6.50ish the Moon occulted Aldebaran, re-emerging at around 7.10.

Quite a fascinating thing to watch: nice halo around the Moon, too.

Soggy Strumpshaw and a massive accipiter...

As I mentioned, I was keen to try for a photo of the elusive Sibe Chiffy, so I arrived at the Fen nice and early: Ben mentioned that the riverside path was flooding but still passable, so I squelched up to the Sluice for a half-hour vigil, Lots of Dunnocks, Robins and Cetti's, but no sight (nor sound!) of the Chiffchaff (Although I did see a regular chiffy along Sandy Path)

Very few other birds around, so I walked along the river bank, intending to stroll round to Buckenham to look for Reeve's Pheasants. On the way I watched a pair of Buzzards rise out of the woods, being harried by a third large raptor, which was clearly an accipiter. As this turned towards me, it seemed at first to have many of the characteristics of a Goshawk: rounded tail, less well-marked striping and orange-reddish eye, but subsequent reflection (and input from Ben L) confirm it as a really large Sparrowhawk.

The artillery barrage by the back gate of the reserve meant there was little point continuing, although one of the beaters did confirm that several Reeve's had been released (and were never shot at!)

Other birds seen included Red Kite (over Buckenham Woods) and a few Mistle Thrushes.

 

Siberian Chiffchaff!

Having read Ben's blog, I now realise that Brian and I both heard and glimpsed the Siberian Chiffchaff in the tangled scrub by the sluice on the 18th.

We spent a while listening to the bird's distinctive call, but couldn't put a name to it. Several times we had fleeting views of a greyish warbler flitting across gaps in the scrub, but didn't manage a photo. Alerted by Ben's posting, I listened to the call online and it was an exact fit: I'll try for a photo today...

Pre-Christmas run around the mid-Yare Valley

Last chance for Brian T and I to get out together before Christmas so (despite the high winds and constant threat of rain) we took a walk around Strumpshaw, Cantley and Buckenham.

To be honest, there wasn't a lot to point the cameras at, but a Water Rail at Fen Hide was (briefly) good to see, while huge flocks of Wigeon and wild geese at Cantley were atmospheric. We picked out a few White-fronted and Bean Geese, but the majority were Pink-footed Geese.

The year-list stalled at 237 a few weeks back, but that's not bad considering that 300 used to be a good life list when I started in birding! And, of course, I haven't done much twitching this year, so I missed a lot of expected birds - I didn't see a single Skua in 2015!

 

 

 

 

Aurora!

Quite a bright Aurora tonight! Drove to Hemblington Church on top of the Heath for dark horizons: the photos were taken on a monopod at 26,500 ISO: wish I'd taken my tripod!
(The reddish blob on the horizon is Ranworth Church!)

 

Linda!