Whitlingham Lane: surprisingly productive!

I've walked around Whitlingham Lane Country Park on many occasions: often just for a Winter's stroll, sometimes for an unusual bird - Black-necked Grebe, Coues's Redpoll, Smew and Scaup spring to mind. However, I've always avoided the site at weekends and during holiday periods, because I'm not keen on sharing my birding with pond-yacht sailors, wind surfers, kayakers, dog walkers and hundreds of cyclists! Nevertheless, knowing how highly the Lansdells and James Emerson think of the place (and lured by reports of a few lingering Black Terns) Linda and I took a walk all the way around the Great Broad this morning.

Even just after eight the car park was nearly full, but, despite the crowds, we managed to see Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers, Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Garden Warblers, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers and a Nuthatch. No Black Terns, but several Common Terns, a Marsh Harrier and my first Common Sandpiper of the year. Plenty of all three Hirundines skimmed the surface, while overhead around twenty Swifts were hawking for insects.

First Swifts of the year, but no Black Terns...

Linda and I took a 'swift' run out to Barton Broad, in the hope that some of yesterday's flock of Black Terns had hung around. Despite arriving nice and early, there was no sign, sadly. However, a Kingfisher, lots of Common Terns and a small crowd of Swifts was compensation, and it was pleasant to meet (and chat with) local birder Stu Buck.

Strumpshaw Fen in the good old days!

Just came across this newspaper photo while searching for a picture for a school reunion website. The slim, bearded teacher is me, when I was Head of KS2 at Acle Primary School thirty years ago! I took over from Bill Urwin, a birder who had taken part in a televised birdrace with Bill Oddie among others. The other adult is Mike Blackburn, then Warden at Strumpshaw Fen: the children are members of the YOC group I started. At one time it was the largest school group in Eastern England, holding twice-weekly meetings as well as field trips to local reserves.

Mike often came to talk to the school children: in return we'd have annual sponsored birdwatches (all the rage then!) The cheque for £350 was the proceeds from one of these. Mike was a great guy: under his stewardship the Fen developed into a glorious reserve, where Lesser Spots, Willow Tits and Nuthatches were everyday species: the winter raptor roost often contained more Hen Harriers than Marsh Harriers. Happy days....

Buckenham and Strumpshaw

In anticipation of a wet late morning (which didn't materialise!) I took an early walk around Buckenham Marsh, before meeting Brian at Strumpshaw.

In truth there was quite a lot to see, but (as is frequently the case at these twin reserves) everything was so far away! I'd love to see some islands in front of Tower Hide, or have the public hide at Buckenham moved 100m west! One little niggle: why is it OK for someone with a clip-board to wander across the Marsh, continually putting up the nesting waders? I sometimes think the justification for nestling and adult ringing and for nest-site surveying doesn't stand up to close scrutiny...

Best birds at the Marsh were several Cuckoos, ten Avocets, Sedge, Reed and Cetti's Warblers and dozens of Whitethroats. A large Peregrine chased away Marsh Harriers from one of the favoured gate perches, while a few Buzzards drifted over.

Strumpshaw added two more Cuckoos, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Treecreeper and the usual two acros, as well as a very distant Spotted Redshank: lots of Marsh Harrier activity and two booming Bitterns also.

Urban birding: lots to see and hear in Norwich!

Linda and I spent a couple of hours in Norwich before the crowds arrived (and before a decent breakfast at Bill's Restaurant) The very first bird we saw and heard was a male Black Redstart that flew up from the wall just behind the car in Bond's carpark! It moved on to the roof, but flew off before I could get the camera from my bag... We heard it (or another) several times around the Castle Mall, Surrey Street and the Woolpack.

We took a look at the Wensum from Elm Hill carpark: no Kingfisher today, but a distant Grey Wagtail under the Art School bridge. Also present were Egyptian and Greylag Geese and a couple of Feral Pigeons having a wash in the river! Goldfinches were everywhere, while Lesser Black-backed Gulls were feeding noisy young on many rooftops.

Last stop was the Cathedral: the female Peregrine was huddled down on her three chicks, while the male was off on his travels somewhere!

Red-footed Falcon: the video!

Just two more photos and a short video of yesterday's RFF

Red-footed Falcon at Woodbridge

What could be better than to combine two of my core interests: birding and Ufology? Today Linda and I dodged the showers to spend a few hours at the end of the main runway at RAF Woodbridge, just a few yards from the famous East Gate (of Rendlesham Forest UFO fame!) In fact, thanks to the present owners, all our better photos were taken from the garden of legendary Folly House...

The target bird was a beautiful male Red-footed Falcon that ranged up and down along the runway lights, occasionally coming within thirty or so metres: unfortunately we had to shoot through a chain-link fence, so the images are not as crisp as they might have been. (Nice to spend an hour or two with ace 'togger John Richardson and his friends Debbie and Ken!)

Other 'goodies included numerous singing Woodlarks and a Stone Curlew. With fish and chips in Woodbridge and coffee at Snape Maltings it was a thoroughly enjoyable day out!

Spoonbill

Delightfully confiding Spoonbill feeding on the Serpentine at Cley yesterday: you have to wonder whether all that 'bling' might perhaps affect its balance in flight.

Purple day on the North Coast

In what seemed, with hindsight, a good move, Brian, Norman and I decided to start the day at Burnham Overy Staithe, walking out to the meadows and reedbeds in unexpectedly warm, bright sunshine. A scan all the way along to where the path splits revealed some delightful Sedge Warblers and a distant Spoonbill but little else. Then I noticed a couple of guys with scopes and big lenses along the path up to the coast road: a ten minute trot saw us joining them for distant but prolonged views of the target Purple Heron. As always, a fascinating bird to watch, with its long, serpentine neck and long, dagger-like beak. In the same field was a Whimbrel: again, always good to see.

On the way back eastward we stopped at the new Wells Scrapes: just a few gulls and a Little Egret, but a site of obvious potential. (Lots of Whitethroats here!)

After coffee at Cley we headed up onto Kelling Heath: no Dartfords or Woodlarks seen, but Brian and I enjoyed unusually prolonged views of a Garden Warbler. Then back to Cley, to finish the day with a stroll along the East Bank. Finally some Bearded Tits allowed a few photos, and a multi-ringed Spoonbill fed along the Serpentine. Big surprise was a somewhat distant Whinchat out in the reedbeds.