Short-eared Owls & Rough-legged buzzards: just like buses...

....wait ages for one and then lots come together!

An unpromising start at Strumpshaw with just a Goldcrest to show for a short, muddy walk round became much more interesting after I bumped into Brian and we decided to move to the rail bridge at Halvergate.

En route I noticed the first of two Little Owls - one at Hassingham, another at Strumpshaw on the way home!

Hardly had we climbed out of the van when I picked up a Short-eared Owl circling towards Brian & me from the west. It got near enough for a few  distant (but pleasing) record shots before dropping down into the grass. Scanning back the way it had come, I noticed a Rough-legged Buzzard perched on a gate post: again, very distant, but totally distinctive, particularly when it flew eastwards, hovering every now and again. Last birds of note here were eight or so Bewick Swans that flew overhead towards Acle.

 

 

Beans, Buntings, Beardies, Barnie, Brant & Rough-legs!

A terrific day on the north coast with Linda, which started with the amazing sight of a Polecat between Salhouse & Wroxham: it looked entirely good for a genuinely wild example!

First stop was the East Bank, which held several entertaining parties of Bearded Tits, while the shingle ridge to the east provided a flock of around 60 Snow Buntings.

After coffee at the reserve centre, we headed out to the centre hides for distant - but gratifying - views of three Tundra Bean Geese, as well as a couple of White-fronts.

As we headed westwards an obliging Barn Owl hunted across a rough meadow before perching in a tree: terrific daylight views!

Last stop was Burnham Overy dunes, where a walk down the muddy path failed to deliver Short-eared Owl, but some interest came in the form of a family group of a female Black Brant hybrid and her young! Distant Common & Rough-legged Buzzards added to the raptor tally before we headed homewards. As we approached Wells a Rough-legged Buzzard flew westwards reasonably close to the road, adding an excellent finale to a great day out!

(Postscript: I'm removed the photos of the Polecat and the exact details of its location because of the volume of offensive and abusive 'comments' it attracted....)

 

The past is a foreign country....

...they do things differently there!

So starts one of my favourite books, 'The Go-between' by
LP Hartley: and, as I rush towards pension age, how true that sentiment seems! This morning, I was having a sort-out and glanced at my bird logs and field books: these go back to the 70s and are - to me, at least - a fascinating record of changing attitudes and an apparent decline in Norfolk birding.

Reading through my logs, what seems obvious is that we just don't get the numbers of migrants we used to: many of us old timers can remember sueda clumps or straggly bushes heaving with Pied & Spotted Flies, Bluethroats, Redstarts and tantalising LBJs. Autumn passage seemed always to produce good waders and a few genuine rarities: I recall small flocks of Buff-breasted, Baird's and Marsh Sandpipers and all three Pratincoles visiting the county. Great-spotted Cuckoos were annual, as were Rustic Buntings, Black Storks, Squaccos and Night Herons....

On the other hand, I remember travelling long distances to twitch birds that wouldn't raise an eyebrow these days: my first Norfolk Little Egret required a drive out to Welney, while adding Cattle Egret to my life-list involved a frantic scorch from Nancy's Café to Lincoln!

Some birds seem to be real blockers for younger birders: Sociable Plover, Nutcracker, Greater Sandplover, Little Whimbrel.... don't hold your breath!

A major change in my approach to the hobby has been the fact I record my sightings here on this blog rather in meticulously-kept field books and illustrated 'big logs'. And I can't remember the last time I sat down to paint or draw a bird: back in the day, Martin & I used to compete to see who could get the most pen & ink sketches in the Norfolk Bird & Mammal report!

 

Kesgrave Waxwings and Orford Short-eared Owls: a Suffolk fill-up!

A great day down in Suffolk with Brian Tubby, mopping up some decent year ticks in surprisingly sunny (if cold!) weather.

First stop was Orford Quay, where several Black-tailed Godwits waded around just inches from the path. We slithered southwards along the muddy paths, until we bumped into super-imager John Richardson. He'd found a Short-eared Owl huddled down on the saltings and, despite it being somewhat distant, we all managed some reasonable photos. Also on the saltings and reed fringes were at least two pairs of Stonechats, some well-marked Mipits and a continental race Cormorant with large white flank patches.

A twenty minute drive south saw us in Kesgrave, where our second target - a flock of at least ten Waxwings - were feeding on  buds high in an Oak tree. Lighting conditions were far from perfect, but we managed some images of these beautiful visitors from the northern forests.

Last stop was Ellough, where a short search gave us both good flight views - but no usable photos - of a juvenile Glaucous gull.

A rare event!

To see the full Moon and Jupiter - the largest planet in our Solar System - so close together in the night sky is pretty amazing! You can witness this event all night, but just before dawn in the West is probably the most spectacular!

Hen Harrier at Strumpshaw!

Following a frosty night that brought a hooting Tawny Owl into the garden, I enjoyed a surprisingly productive couple of hours at the Fen with Brian.

Despite having to spend half an hour scraping ice from the van, the paths were muddy and slippery, but nevertheless we walked the full loop to Lackford Run and the riverside circuit, picking up some worthwhile birds en route.

I suppose the 'best' bird was a ring-tailed Hen Harrier that came up to play with a pair of displaying Marsh Harriers opposite Tower Hide: too far for photography, but a Strump tick for me!

Most enjoyable bird, without doubt, was a cute and ridiculously confiding Goldcrest amongst a flock of Long-tailed Tits along the riverside.

Other notables included a couple of Chinese Water Deer, a Kingfisher flying downstream and the usual Nuthatches, Coal Tits and Marsh Tits at 'the stump'.

Last stop was Buckenham, where I 'enjoyed' distant views of the two remaining Taiga Beans

In which I wrap up warmly and offer a word of advice!

A visit to 'Go Outdoors' in Norwich provided Linda & me with new cold weather gear: I went for a 'Jack Pyke' oak woods camo jacket. It's absolutely incredible, being warm, lighter than it looks, breathable and waterproof! Thoroughly recommended and on offer at the moment. (Of course, it reinforces the public apprehension of birders / photographers as a paramilitary group! This is honestly true: I opened the crossing gate at Strumpshaw for an elderly couple recently and the lady asked if all RSPB reserves had armed security! I realised she thought my monopod was a weapon of some sort!)

If anyone is a regular viewer of this little blog, you may have noticed the occasional hint of disappointment at some of the images I have managed since I bought my Sigma 150 - 500. I have tried everything to reproduce the online claimed results for my Pentax/Sigma combo, but remained frustrated at the lack of sharp focus at more than around 30m. A couple of weeks ago I was glancing through a Pentax forum and came across a thread on exactly this topic. The suggested solution was breath-takingly simple: remove the UV filter! Like most people, I have always used a filter to protect the objectives of my lenses, but - unless you spend decent money - it seems the extra glass can reduce sharpness. I've been really happy with results since I took mine off!