DAVID'S BLOG |

27^th December 2008

It was a lovely crisp, frosty morning as I set out along the Stort looking for photographic opportunities, although it was only a matter of time before the cloud rolled in to spoil which potentially anyway could have been an excellent days photography.

There wasn’t a lot to see anyway, although during a two and a half hour stroll along the Stort I was lucky enough to add three species of bird to my 2008 list of local sightings for Rushy Mead and Thorley Wash – namely, a small flock of seven Lapwings (overhead); a Woodcock (which was flushed from the north bank of the Stort into Rushy Mead, and is rather unusual for the site) and a lone Common Snipe at Thorley Wash. In addition the flock of Eurasian Siskin at Rushy Mead had grown to at least 52 individuals. A Kingfisher was also present at both sites – always a welcome sighting whenever I am there; and a Common Buzzard put in a brief appearance over Rushy Mead too. So, despite the lack of photographs, I was reasonably content with the mornings tally.

Eurasian Siskin - Rushy Mead

14^th December 2008

I have to say that I didn’t expect much from the day as it was dull and grey once the light got up around 8 o’clock; whereas we’d started out in total blackness at around 6.15 a.m. – though why we had to get up quite that early to go birding in Essex is beyond me. Luckily, although it was grey and cold for the rest of the day, the birding was a delight once we arrived at Mistley Quay after a brief foray at Catawade.

David Arch’s account on the Bishop's Stortford Bird Group website is self-explanatory, so here are some of the highlights in photographic form.

It has to be said that apart from the Autumn rarities bird-wise (which on the whole I’ve not had the opportunity to capitalise upon) there has been very little activity in my calendar to get the photographic juices flowing. But here is a flavour of what has been happening in recent weeks.

8 November

Quite by chance and completely out of the blue the opportunity arose to accompany three of the Bishop’s Stortford Bird Group ‘crowd’ on a trip to Kent to see a Green Heron which has been wowing the birding fraternity for the best part of the past couple of weeks or so. But there it was, a bird I thought I’d never get to the chance to see, cowering on the edge of reeds which flanked the northern bank of the Royal Military Canal at West Hythe.

Photographs of this bird posted on various birding web sites virtually guaranteed an excellent view; and really we couldn’t complain – although it is true to say that inclement weather transpired to interfere on this occasion with high winds and increasingly dull light. Yet the views were good enough to enjoy as the bird performed in front of a small crowd of birdwatchers gathered on the opposite i.e. southern, bank of the canal.

We didn’t even try for a Desert Wheatear reported from Sandwich Bay (both on the grounds that it was a tidy distance away and the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions) but instead opted for a quick detour to Dungeness before heading for Oare Marsh, in North Kent.

There was nothing on show at the RSPB reserve and we failed to connect with a Black-necked Grebe on the ARC pits. The weather was becoming fouler by the minute as we ventured forth to Dungeness where only two of us braved the 40 mph southerly squalls and were rewarded with an excellent close fly-past by a superb Great Skua which was clearly enjoying skimming the huge rolling waves as it sped by, absolutely in its element.

Later on, Oare Marsh proved very quiet bird-wise; and with the rain moving in again was soon a distant memory.

3 November

The official monthly Bishop’s Stortford Bird Group trip saw just the one car – with (eventually) four individuals – heading for Norfolk at 6.30a.m.

The trip began in bright morning sunlight, yet soon deteriorated into dull, misty, windy conditions once we reached the Norfolk approaches; and this remained with us for whole of the rest of the day.

The first port of call was Muckleburgh Hill, west of Weybourne, where a female Red-flanked Bluetail had been wowing the crowds of late. Unfortunately we timed our arrival to coincide with extremely poor views of the bird disappearing into woodland having been effectively ‘kicked-off’ by a couple of intolerant Robins – and all I got was a backside view as the bird hightailed it out of sight. An hour or so later, the bird was relocated nearby, but the viewing time was short-lived, before once again the bird disappeared before our eyes. Indeed, my views of this bird were really so poor that I had to be persuaded to even count it as a ‘new species’ on my Life List, though eventually I capitulated on the grounds that now that the species had actually ‘fallen’ so to speak – I’d get a better chance at some future date; though I’m not especially hopeful I must say.

A superb close view of a lone Snow Bunting at Salthouse did little to quell the disquiet concerning the lack of birds overall. We missed out on Cley for the same reason; and the reported Waxwings at Burhnam Overy also failed to materialise. Titchwell too, was remarkably quiet bird-wise - except for impressive numbers of Northern Pintail - with absolutely nothing on the sea other than a small flight of Eider that we could see.

27 October

Gary Raven (ideal name that in the circumstances) said he wanted to do some bird watching, so with Gary taking the day off from work we opted for Norfolk, with Titchwell a potentially good starting point.

However, we’d forgotten that the half-term school holiday had descended, with the consequence that the place was literally overflowing with families and some school parties. Unfortunately too, despite a strong easterly flow, and bright, cold conditions this part of Norfolk didn’t appear to hold a great deal on offer – the reserve and the coastal belt playing host to more humans than birds and as a consequence was largely devoid of any appreciable numbers of wildfowl and waders, and absolutely no raptors whatsoever!

Snettisham was a literal hive of activity however, with a truly spectacular aerial display of several thousand knot, set against a superb sunset, which warmed the veritable cockles despite an increasingly cold wind.

17 October

The offer of a lift to Abberton Reservoir, Essex from Colin Wills – a well known and respected Bishop’s Stortford birder - was not to be missed; the target bird on this occasion being an adult Great White Egret, with several Little Egrets and a juvenile Spoonbill thrown in for good measure, together with impressive numbers of Spotted Redshank approaching 40 individuals. This was my first trip with Colin, with hopefully more to come in future.

12 October

A visit to Epping Forest for a spot of fungi photography didn’t really pay off in that regard; but several half-decent forest shots of the forest generally, together with a smattering of insects and other materail were obtained nonetheless.

28th September 2008

The Autumn so far has been abysmal birdwise with very little to help qwell the zest that local birding can generate. Unfortunately, I missed the somewhat unusual plethora of raptor sightings in and around Bishop’s Stortford of late, but have found some sort of solace in my photography in recent days.

With the extra cash generated form part-time work, together with the sale of my previous camera and an un-used telephoto, I’ve been able to upgrade to the Canon EOS 450D, and I’ve been taking advantage of the good weather of the past couple of days to extend my limited photographic knowledge and in the process learn more about how the new camera operates. It’s proved to be a somewhat challenging learning curve because I simply hadn’t realised just how different the model is over the EOS 350D.

Among the first shots taken were at the Essex County Show (see 14^th September), and since then only an occasional chance to utilise the camera had materialised. But this weekend was different, and with super weather, I took the bull by the proverbial horns and took myself down to the Stort and Thorley Wash to hone my skills, and hopefully obtain some decent atmospheric shots through the heavy mist.

Birdwise, it was fairly disappointing once again with the highlights being a trio of Sparrowhawks soaring over the fields south of the Wash, and a tantalising glimpse of a probable female Whinchat near St. James Church, Thorley (my first in the locality for two whole years). But photographically I was pretty pleased with my efforts.

ESSEX COUNTY SHOW – BARLEYFIELDS, ESSEX 14^th SEPTEMBER 2008

Ever since I can remember (and these days the memory cells don’t exactly fire on all cylinders) I’ve craved a chance to go to a County Show; so when the opportunity came up I took the bait.

It all came about when Gary Raven asked me if I’d like to go to a traction engine show. They’ve never actually been my cup of tea previously, but I can see their attraction to enthusiasts, and I’ve tried to diversify in my photography this year, so once he’d received a nod in the affirmative, he began to search the internet for sites. So, that’s how we came to find our way to the Essex County Show at Barleyfields, Billericay, Essex – along with most of the rest of the world; or so it seemed.

I cut a long story short, it proved to be something of a disappointment photographically. The event was simply HUGE. Spread over seemingly acres of fields, the public was already there in its droves – indeed, the expected attendance over the two days the show was open to the public was in the region of 35,000 - and most it seemed were there on the day we’d chosen to visit!

And therein lies the problem – there was simply far too many people to make the Show a viable proposition photographically. There was a plethora of photographic opportunities of course; but the presence of PEOPLE made it an absolute nightmare to execute anything like a decent shot – they kept getting in the way!!

It was extremely disappointing, but I think I managed to salvage at least a few half decent photographs as hopefully, this small selection can demonstrate. And just to put it into perspective photographically, I took just 65 pictures in total, whereas I’d actually anticipated filling up my 2 GB SD card!

27 July 27 July 2008

It was just under a year ago that Gary and I tried to get down to Thursley Common in Surrey; but the vagaries of Foot and Mouth conspired to thwart us. Fortunately there was nothing to stop us this time round, so there we were, turning into the car park in just over an hour and a half from home. And this time too, the overcast skies and wind that greeted us at the entrance (along with the yellow and black ribbons and bright yellow warning signs on that occasion) were never going to be a problem now. It was warm and sunny, with a light breeze. Perfect.

The small lake next to the car park was sadly lacking in dragonflies; indeed there wasn’t a single one – hardly an insect at all even – skimming over the tranquil water. Not a good sign. But it was fairly early in the day, so we made off for the heath and the bogs hoping that the dragonflies for which the common was famous were actually on the wing in good numbers.

By that time, it was extremely warm, bordering on hot, and a shimmering haze was already over the boggy areas. Emperor Dragonflies were everywhere it seemed, hawking back and forth over their terrain like guards on duty – warning off the smaller intruders such as Keeled Skimmers and Black Darters, both of which were in profusion. Emerald Damselflies soon made their presence known, along with a small number of Small Red Damselflies (a speciality species here). It was good to get such good views of adult Black Darter since my last experience of the species at this location, back in 2006 (a week before virtually the entire heathland was destroyed by a terrible fire), when it was mainly newly emerging insects that we saw. But apart from these species, a smattering of Common Blue Damselfly; Blue-tailed Damselfly; Common Darter; Black-tailed Skimmer; a singleton female Broad-bodied Chaser; a Bog Bush Cricket and a probable Roesel's Bush Cricket, we saw no other species – which was really quite disappointing. And it was getting hotter by the minute.

Black Darter

Emerald Damselfly

Common Blue Damselflies

Keeled Skimmer

Bog Bush Cricket

(probable) Roesel's Bush Cricket

Wilting in the heat, we ventured back to the car park for refreshments and on the way saw a Woodlark; heard a Dartford Warbler scowling at us from the vantage of a pine; a lone male Silver-studded Blue in the heather, and several Large White butterflies.

Back at the lake for a second try, and things had hardly improved, with merely a handful of Black-tailed Skimmers; Brown Hawkers; Common Blue Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly daring to venture out in the strength-sapping heat. I guess we were lucky to see a male Downy Emerald Dragonfly, as the species had largely ‘gone-over’ by now. And that was about it, apart from a male Holly Blue butterfly, which was mis-identified by one exstatic gentleman as a Silver-studded Blue; sadly, for him, I didn't get the chance to set him on the right track.

Holly Blue

We did attempt to go back out onto the heath but quite frankly it was far too hot out in the open, so we called it a day, since in any event Gary had to be back home by mid-afternoon due to family commitments.

It had been a brilliant morning really, with the slight disappointment at not seeing any Golden-ringed Dragonflies and more Silver-studded Blue butterflies – indeed, butterflies were hardly represented at all (a testimony to the way this year has transpired to disappoint on a national level perhaps). Chances were that had we had the time to go to Oaken Wood not too far away, we might not also have seen Silver-washed Fritillary or Marbled White butterflies; but that’s pure conjecture.

12 July 2008

The monthly Bishop’s Stortford Bird Group trip was upon us again. This time five people shared two cars for a ‘stint’ (no pun intended – though in fact we didn’t actually connect with one on this occasion) along the north Norfolk coast.

First port of call (unless one counts an all too fleeting encounter with a couple of fulmars at the usual Hunstanton site) was at Titchwell. The usual weekend masses were strangely absent here - whether this was weather related or a major ‘mega’ alert somewhere else wasn’t immediately obvious, though I think we got the answer soon enough courtesy of an exceptionally heavy shower and gale force winds virtually the moment we got out onto the reserve proper. Oh, it was good to be in Norfolk again!

Although the numbers of birds was somewhat disappointing, there were some compensations in the form of at least six second summer Little Gulls (always a delight to see), with a couple of Spotted Redshank; several Ruff, in their usual varying plumages; a singleton Greenshank; a pair of Little Egrets; and, along the dykes a couple of Bearded Tits showed well, along with several fairly confiding juvenile Reed Warblers. The coast was remarkably void of birds with the exception of some ‘dots’ on the sea which some claimed were either a Red-necked Grebe (which was known to be in the area) or an Eider/Scoter. Along the distant horizon a couple of Gannets and two Arctic Skuas were also seen. Along the beach a couple of summer plumaged Sanderling were of particular note.

At a very well known site not a million miles from Burnham Market (still on the official ‘secret’ list) two Ring-tailed Montague’s Harriers were seen at reasonably close range, before we sped off to Cley.

Cley, was very quiet (both in terms of the birds and human activity). Along the beach, many Little, Sandwich and Common Terns were patrolling the shore-line, whilst a touch further out a lone Razorbill ‘bobbed’ up and down between the waves. In the distance two more Arctic Skuas could be seen harassing terns. On Arnold’s Marsh from the North hide distant views could be had of at least six Spoonbills (the majority were in their usual ‘sleep’ mode). Several Arctic Terns were also seen (although as a novice to Tern ‘I.D.’ I had to work fairly hard to spot these amid the Sandwich and Common Terns), and a somewhat spurious claim of a Roseate from someone in the hide came to nothing. Marsh Harriers were active and gave good close views along the East Bank.

Marsh Harriers

Mark and Tony - two of the Birding Group at Cley

Oystercatcher

Yellow Horned-poppy

Last port of call was for an adult male Red-backed Shrike at Sea Palling along the coast. It was early evening - in bright, warm sunshine (a marked improvement on the morning) when we finally got to the site – a horse paddock along a tiny coastal road; but of course, the shrike wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and there were no birders around to seek info’ from. There was some sort of ‘organised’ rave going on in the adjacent field, though to be honest it seemed to us that the ‘partying’ masses weren’t exactly partying especially ‘hard’ and the music wasn’t especially loud; but that surely wasn’t the reason for the shrikes non-showing.

We waited around for quite some time - still ‘shrike-less’ - until the owner of the paddock arrived to feed his horses, apparently completely unaware that the birding multitudes had been seeing a shrike here for the best part of the past five weeks or so!! A local birder eventually arrived too, only too keen to impart the knowledge that it was he who first found the shrike at Waxham (a few miles away as the shrike flies) and he who located it here at Sea Palling; though regrettably, he was unable to impart the info as to where it could have disappeared to in the meantime. Undeterred, we waited around, hoping for a view, and it wasn’t until literally the last moment when two of our party had left to retrieve the cars from a nearby car park, when the shrike condescended to put in an appearance. And a lovely individual it was too, albeit somewhat distantly viewed it must be said – though scope views made that a mere inconvenience.

Finally, a brief and fruitless search for a reported Roseate Tern along the sea front - courtesy of the local birder we’d met at the paddock – netted several Kittiwakes, before we headed for home, reasonably content with the days birding.

9 June 2008

And so, on to Southwold, Suffolk where we’d planned a morning of general photography, followed by an afternoon of birdwatching, around Dunwich Heath and Minsmere. Well, it didn’t really work out like that because we found the area around Southwold so full of interesting subjects to photograph, that the birding had to take a back seat, with the result that we never made it to Minsmere until late afternoon.

I cannot readily explain why Southwold was so accommodating, but the weather - like the previous day in Norfolk - was absolutely superb. If anything, even by quite early in the day, it was really far too hot; but that in itself had its own compensations, because along the beach from the relatively newly reconstructed pier, right up to the river crossing for Walberswick, there were a myriad delights enough to sate one’s photographic appetite.

Those that know me already know my penchant for what is essentially candid photography; and whilst this doesn’t eclipse natural history in any way, shape or form, when I’m in the ‘candid’ mode so to speak, it is hard to detract me from it. And so it was that for most of the morning Gary and I were deeply immersed in finding new things to photograph. Yet Natural History subjects were still to be had, with the mainstay coming from the many gulls which inhabited not only the beach but also the riverine environment we found ourselves in along the coast at the Blythe estuary (opposite Walberswick) and where we ‘gorged’ ourselves on the array of boats, nets, boatsheds at our cameras’ disposal, which hopefully, the following selection of photographs will demonstrate.

Artist at work

Strolling along the beach

Rolling in the carcass of a gull

Southwold Beach

Anybody Home?

Boatshed (presenting a major problem exposure-wise).

Waiting for a catch

Black-headed Gull

Flat-coated Retriever enjoying a romp in the sea

Gary and me enjoying being non-birders for the day.

One photographic opportunity did however manage to elude us. We were having a nice cuppa and a piece of fruit cake – which of course attracted the usual hoards of gulls and starling quick to capitalise on the opportunity – when we were approached by a lady who asked us to identify a particular gull, she described as the ‘king of the gulls’ since it looked smarter than the usual Black-headed Gulls with its ‘jet black head’ and a ‘golden eye-ring’ as she put it, which she’d seen at this location recently. Well, it didn’t take a genius to realise that she was talking about a Mediterranean Gull! And lo and behold, suddenly there it was, as bold as brass, joining the throng of Black-headed Gulls waiting for a morsel or two to come their way. It wasn’t there for long, and unfortunately, although I got a stunning view of it perched on a nearby bollard, it was gone before I could train the camera on it! But what a stunning pristine individual it was, and it surely would have made a lovely shot had I been quick enough with the lens.

It was late afternoon when we ventured out from Southwold (after ending our time here walking through this extremely attractive Victorian township) and down to Dunwich and Minsmere. Regrettably, the Bee-eater which had been reported at Dunwich the previous afternoon, had long since disappeared; as had the Thrush Nightingale which had so blatantly gripped the birding fraternity the past few days with its fine song, despite sadly being extremely elusive to view – as only a handful of lucky observers can testify to. But at least I was kept busy trying to photograph the Little Terns – a colony of which had set up home on the beach behind Minsmere reserve. On the reserve itself, a Roseate Tern delighted with fairly close views - in simply appalling light into the sun (hopeless for photography) - from the East hide.

Little Tern

Roseate Tern

After returning to the coast at Aldburgh for a fish and chip supper, we headed for home, having enjoyed a super day out.

8 JUNE 2008

We were hoping beyond hope that the misty conditions would clear into the warm, sunny day that had been predicted; but as we made our way along the A14 in the direction of Upton Fen in Norfolk, it didn’t look good at all. Yet by 9.30 am suddenly here we were, in bright cloudy conditions, clearing rapidly into bright, warm sunshine; and our hearts lifted. We were after dragonflies and butterflies, and in particular Norfolk Hawker and Swallowtail butterfly which we were told were common here.

I could see the fen through the trees from the tiny car park (itself, tucked away very cunningly by the NWT) and right from the outset I knew I was going to like this fen; indeed it is very probably the most beautiful, serene reserve I have ever visited. As we entered the fen properly we were immediately faced with a dilemma as to which of the two trails we should take - we elected for the one to our right, though in fact both looked to be busy with literally scores of immature Four-Spot Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer, and an occasional Norfolk Hawker.

Upton Fen

Four-Spot Chaser

Black-tailed Skimmer

To be honest – apart from the impressive numbers of dragonflies – there didn’t seem to be an awful lot here – but the stark beauty of the place had to be seen to be believed. There is a woodland area mostly to the left as one passes along the right-hand trail – with extensive sedge and reed beds opposite, again flanked by what I call ‘loose’ woodland; a host of plants and flowers in the wetland areas; reed and sedge fringed dykes all simply alive with the aforementioned dragonfly species and a sprinkling of damselflies too – mostly Azure and Blue-tailed Damsels. And it is as peaceful as one would imagine Paradise to be – though I guess the fact that the trails were extremely soggy and in places downright impossible to negotiate without getting a booty or two – might lose it half a ‘star’ in the overall ratings! But in my book this place deserves an undisputed 10/10!!

Apart from the dragonflies, the only species of real interest were a singleton Swallowtail (it transpires that the species is not in fact as common here as were we led to believe; indeed I now understand that it is apparently quite a rare sight); a pair of Wall Brown butterflies, and a weasel. But that didn’t matter an iota, because this place is an utter GEM, and is worthy of a visit even if one didn’t get to see a great deal in terms of its general flora and fauna. I was very glad we made the effort.

Strumpshaw Fen, by contrast was a real enigma, but mainly because of the surprising lack of dragonflies and damselflies (when usually it is so good). They were present of course, but not in any great numbers – and certainly nothing like the numbers seen at Upton Fen. The only saving grace on this occasion was that the Hairy Dragonfly was relatively common. But we didn’t see a single Norfolk Hawker (though I understand one immature was seen by one lucky individual), when normally the species would be locally common here at this time of the year. In addition Swallowtails actually on the fen were noticeable by their absence; the saving grace in this respect were the three or four adults seen at very close quarters, feeding on Delphinium and Sweet William in a private garden just outside the main fen complex, where the owner kindly allows public access......... for free! A Green Hairstreak and a couple of Brimstones were also seen here. In addition, a few Bee Orchids were of particular interest near the entrance to the reserve; and an adult Spotted Flycatcher was seen collecting insects (clearly, a breeding bird) at nearby farm buildings (used as an overflow car park) where we were initially told to park.

Swallowtail Butterfly

Spotted Flycatcher

Thankfully, the crowds weren't there especially to see the Swallowtails and/or Norfolk Hawkers, since the vast majority were attending a special 'Childrens' Day' organised by the RSPB - otherwise, I'm pretty certain we would have fled - probably back to Upton Fen!! But a return journey later in the year is definitley on the cards.

30 May 2008

Gary and I had decided to visit Woodwalton Fen in Huntingdonshire - a National Nature Reserve site managed by Natural England, known for its dragonflies and in particular one of the best sites for Scarce Chaser which is locally common there.

The weather was predicted to lift into sunny intervals, but was very grey and cloudy when we set off shortly after 10.15 a.m. It was till grey and cloudy when we arrived shortly before midday, with a hint of brightness in the sky, which boded well for the afternoon ahead.

A ‘brief’ chat with two other enthusiasts we met at the entrance set our pulses racing because they’d apparently seen many Scarce Chasers (a species which I’d seen for the first time just a week before at Fen Drayton) which were said to be very accessible and especially accommodating for photographic purposes, as well as several Hairy Dragonflies and a few Four Spot Chasers. So we set off with renewed vigour.

The reserve is an exceptionally attractive site, comprising huge areas of fen with interconnecting dykes and grassland and attendant reed, sedge and marshland flora. There are some areas of deciduous woodland, with small lakes. To the north-east is another huge wetland area – which currently is restricted access due to ‘sensitive species’ being present.

We started on a positive note with an immediate opportunity to observe and photograph a fairly newly-emerged Hairy Dragonfly; and it slowly degenerated from there, since - for at least the first hour or so - we didn’t even get a sniff of ANY other dragonfly species, let alone a Scarce Chaser. But by then the weather just wasn’t playing ball - the wind had got up and we had only intermittent sunshine - just not the optimum conditions for viewing dragonflies, or any insect species for that matter. It was very disappointing.

Hairy Dragonfly

And then suddenly, a glimpse of a couple of Four Spot Chasers, followed by a rapid fly-past by a singleton Scarce Chaser, its overall bright orange appearance suggesting an immature male. From then on it was all go, with immature males emerging from deep within the vegetation - mainly comprising reeds and sedge, with comfrey and similar plants - and tantalised by settling too far away for close observation; I thought they were supposed to be accommodating!

It has to be said that in order to get anywhere near them, we had to wade into the vegetation and as a consequence endured the ignominy of more than the odd booty or two. But needs must as they say!! Yet we hadn’t expected to have to do that, though we’d been warned by the two enthusiasts we’d met earlier that waders were an essential requisite! Nevertheless, it was worth it, because the Scarce Chaser – and the immature male in particular – is an exceptionally attractive insect.

Scarce Chaser - immature male

I guess we’d got it right after all, with sightings of between 20 and 30 individuals, almost all emerging from deep within the vegetation as we neared, and almost never allowing us especially close views. But we did feel kind of privileged despite failing to achieve little in the way of really close-up photographs; maybe that will be left to another occasion.

PS Having a closer look at the photograph of the Scarce Chaser it would appear to be missing part of one set of legs (the middle pair)!! But since these were the better shots, one hopes that the reader can ignore this fact. Assurances that they are genuine shots taken in the wild and NOT in any way of a captive insect, which might otherwise have been suggested.

29 May 2008

Every now and then something occurs on ones local patch which just stands out as being just a cut above the average. This morning was one of those occasions.

We all know that this spring hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, and even now local birding, butterfly(ing) and dragonfly(ing) just hasn’t taken off in the way one would have expected. And, Thorley Wash just hasn’t been the exception of late – although there are those amongst us that take the view that in fact it never has.

I’d been doing my usual rounds, in search of dragonflies/damselflies, and butterflies and was having a simply dreadful time – the only saving grace were two male Four Spot Chasers present at Rushy Mead, where I hadn’t seen the species at all for the past three years.

Four Spot Chaser

At Thorley Wash there were very few Banded Demoiselles; just three Red-eyed Damsels; two Large Red Damsels; a couple of Blue-tailed Damsels and Azure Damsels; absolutely no Common Blues; with butterflies being represented by singleton Speckled Wood; Small White; and a Red Admiral, with a smattering of Peacock and Orange-tip – hardly inspiring, it must be said.

Large Red Damselfly

Things improved marginally when I heard the faint reeling of a Grasshopper Warbler, although it was a very half-hearted affair and it didn’t last long. So I was feeling a tiny little bit dejected, when I crossed the bridge and took the footpath which divides the Wash. I’d gone no more than a few steps into the ‘open’ area halfway along the path, when my roving eyes (always conscious of a photographic opportunity) settled upon something in the grass, which to all intents and purposes looked like a withered leaf; and yet didn’t – if you get my drift. So I took a closer look.

This was a magic moment indeed, for I was staring at a species that was totally new to me…………….. a Eyed Hawk Moth – and this was a copulating pair!!

Now, I’m the first to admit that this wasn’t exactly earth-shattering in the scheme of things, because the Eyed Hawk Moth enjoys a pretty common distribution generally – though I’d bet my last dollar that not many of has actually observed the species………. certainly not a mating pair! So, as far as I was concerned, this was indeed a special occasion, which warranted the excitement welling up in me.

Having taken the time to actually observe the moths, I then turned my attention to photographing them – which wasn’t as easy as it might seem. For a start I had to be really careful not to disturb the surrounding vegetation …………… the moths were situated about a foot off the ground, in quite dense, long grass – which presented me with my second problem ………….actually getting down to photograph them (with my advancing years bending low to photograph anything was extremely difficult, if not downright painful). That done, there was the question of setting the right exposure for the subject ………… it goes without saying that the weather was closing in fairly rapidly and I’d already lost what little sunshine I’d enjoyed thus far. Luckily there was only a very light breeze, which was going to help considerably.

Eyed Hawk Moths

Eyed Hawk Moth

Eyed Hawk Moths in the grass

Given the conditions I didn’t do too badly; yet even then I made the wrong decision to set the camera for “automatic” exposure/speed – because with my particular camera, I would lose the “RAW” ability, thus restricting my options for making certain adjustments later on. Oh damn! Nevertheless, the resulting pictures were reasonable I guess. Hopefully, I would learn by this mistake ……………… though somehow, I doubt it!

24 May 2008

To be frank, the trip could so easily have been cancelled due to lack of interest …………………. not so much on the part of the participants (David A, our driver for the day; Tony, and myself - virtually the same as for last months trip, minus one who was nursing a sore knee) but by the birds themselves; it was THAT disappointing. But of course we weren’t to know that until later.

We began by making a visit to Fen Drayton in Cambridgeshire on the lookout for a female Red-footed Falcon which had been reported as being present the previous day (and for several days on and off prior to that); as well as a Black Tern. The whole area comprises of a series of gravel pits which is managed by the RSPB, and in particular favours water birds; butterflies; dragonflies and damselflies.

The presence of other birders right from the outset gave us some hope that the falcon was still around; yet interaction soon made it abundantly clear that nobody had connected with the bird today (nor indeed the Black Tern) since nearly everyone (barring the anglers of course) was walking around like headless chickens - looking this way, then that - waiting for the ‘call’ that just wasn’t destined to materialise. Most took a positive stance by actively looking, whereas one individual - who was there with his family - was being annoyingly overzealous to the ‘nth degree’ wanting to know precisely when and where the falcon was last seen (on what tree; branch even!) effectively wanting the bird delivered on a plate, which of course is just plain crazy! Yet, with all this enthusiasm, the falcon remained elusive, and in fact was not reported as being present all day.

There was arguably adequate compensation however in the form of damselflies and dragonflies, the former of which in particular were markedly obvious, along the nettle lined ditches and tracks. Not all were easy to identify however, and this was especially so with regard to the Variable Damselfly, which was present in some numbers, though which to the layman (we three included) were almost indistinguishable from the Azure Blues and Common Blues which literally poured from the vegetation as one passed. Luckily for us then that one particular birder who also displayed an extensive knowledge of Odonata, took time to appraise us of the differences – though it has to be said that even so one really needed a magnifying glass to hand to aid proper identification, unless one was an ‘expert’ at damselfly ‘jizz’ etc!! Large numbers of Blue-tailed Damselfly and small numbers of Large Red Damselfly were also seen, although we missed Red-eyed Damselflies and Banded Demoiselle which were apparently also present in good numbers.

Variable Damselfly - note the 'wineglass' marking on Segment 2 at the top of

the abdomen.

We were unlikely to face a similar dilemma with the dragonflies, since in reality we were only likely to see Hairy Dragonfly; Four-spotted Dragonfly and possibly Broad-bodied Chaser; yet we only connected with a few Hairy Dragonflies. But news from another birder that Scarce Chasers were also on the wing, galvanized me into action, and whilst two of my companions looked further for the Red-footed Falcon, I back-tracked a little and eventually managed to connect with two immature male Scarce Chasers, which were a new UK species for me. Regrettably, due mainly to time constraints and the fact that the chasers were very active, I wasn’t able to photograph the species. But I was delighted nevertheless.

Having caught up with my companions, we completed the walk around Elney Lake, where several Hobbies gave us false hope of connecting with the Red-footed Falcon, before we finally gave up the ghost and moved on to our next port of call.

Wicken Fen is a similar, though arguably more attractive environment, to Fen Drayton, and is also managed by the RSPB. It is remarkably peaceful too, and on a good day could be just the ticket to ease ones troubled mind from the stresses of modern day living. Yet, this too was to all intents and purposes extremely disappointing bird-wise (insect-wise too it has to be said) with only Little Egret and Hobby ‘saving the day’ so to speak.

The last part of the day was spent at Fowlmere - another RSPB managed reserve, also in Cambridgeshire - where we hoped to connect with good views of Turtle Dove, and maybe an Owl or two (though in reality, we were extremely unlikely to do so as we’d not planned to sufficiently late to capitalise on such species). But yet again, we were to be disappointed, since Turtle Dove - according to the volunteer warden on duty at the time - had not arrived in numbers; indeed I was the only member of our party to connect with the species (one particular ‘purring’ individual was extremely close, yet only gave me a tantalising glimpse as it flew off as soon as it saw us approaching). A perched-up Hobby was virtually the only other bird of interest here.

A Hairy Dragonfly and a probable Four-Spotted Chaser were surprisingly the only Odonata to be observed here; with evidence of breeding noted in the form of a couple of exuviae (the spent outer case remaining after emergence of the adult insect) which possibly suggested a ‘chaser’ sp had emerged recently; one such exuviae being retrieved from the reeds and packed carefully away in a suitable container, for later identification from published guides.

Finally, on the way home - and following a brief foray onto 'the chalk' where we successfully connected with Corn Bunting - we dared to venture into ‘hallowed’ ground as one of us was introduced to the sewage treatment works at Newport, where the ‘infamous’ Stephen Patmore (one of the Bird Group members, who was absent on this auspicious occasion, and whose ‘local patch’ this was part of) had previously recorded Siberian Chiffchaff; Firecrest and other goodies; and where several more common species were added to the day’s (rather disappointing) tally of species seen (something in the region of 75 in total). Hopefully, next month’s trip would be more rewarding.

Stop Press

Tony has established that the exuviae was that of Four-Spotted Chaser; easy really!!

15^th May 2008

The day after the Black Tern was found Stephen called with news of a Red-footed Falcon at Fishers Green in the Lee Valley Park, and excellent views were obtained as the bird - a first summer female – hawked for insects (presumably newly emerging damselflies and dragonflies) – along with up to 12 Hobbies at varying times.

It wasn’t without some confusion however. Many years ago, I did some of my birding at Fishers Green (recalling my first ever Long-eared Owl, which I’d ‘twitched’ by rail from my home in Romford); but then the part of the Lee Valley we were watching the Red-footed Falcon now in was apparently in Hertfordshire. Unbeknown to me, the boundaries had been altered (several times it seems); but NOW we were in Essex (which okay for Stephen since that was his home county)!! Yet I couldn’t be bothered to move a few hundred yards (or possibly more, depending on who you were!) just to get it on my Hertfordshire list! Don’t suppose the falcon differentiated in quite the same way thankfully!

There was another summer plumaged Black Tern here too (didn’t think it was ‘my’ bird though, as it looked slightly different plumage-wise to me).

14^th May 2008

I suspected that nothing much would come my way today, yet made the decision to at least try. So setting my course for Thorley Wash I took off shortly after 9.00 a.m. hoping for Small Heath butterfly or some Azure/Common Blue Damselflies; yet the breezy conditions made it abundantly clear that nothing like that was coming my way today.

I did Thorley Wash half-heartedly I must admit – the only bird of note (which probably demonstrates how desperate things were getting) was a drake Gadwall (!!) and eventually found myself at Spellbrook lock – with not a sign of a Grey Wagtail anywhere near. It was at this stage that I made the decision to try and get Yellow Wagtail on my local list for the year ………. to put right the lack of same the previous day when I was thwarted in my efforts following Stephen’s call to go for a Red-necked Phalarope (not that I am complaining about that of course).

Half an hour later - when the sun had finally given up the ghost for the morning and disappeared behind a large mass of cloud coming up from the south - I found myself at Trims Green, where, almost immediately, I was watching a pair of Turtle Doves, a species that I didn’t think I’d recorded locally in spring (and only once in the autumn) since moving to Bishop’s Stortford in 2002; magic!! Yet my Yellow Wagtails were proving markedly more difficult – which was surprising indeed, since they had been a relatively common breeding bird in the area over the past 5 years or so.

Deciding to take a footpath south towards Allens Green, I almost immediately connected with a pair of Grey Partridges, a species which is just about hanging on in these parts; then 3 Yellow Wagtails (at last!) and a Hare or two. A little further on – after attempting some pictures of the hares (one of which was very obliging), two male Corn Buntings were eventually seen after catching their jangling songs. Turning back northwards, a Common Buzzard could be seen circling over Matham’s Wood, as two Corvids harried it aggressively.

Corn Bunting

Hare

Now, for me, this was beginning to approach something of a ‘purple patch’ and although fatigue was beginning to set in (my Diabetes was having it’s effect and since I hadn’t actually planned to be out in the field too long, I hadn’t brought sufficient fruit with me to effectively ward off rapidly approaching tiredness) I was actually feeling a somewhat rejuvenated. It’s simply amazing just what a boost some good birds and mammals can provide!

Because of the tiredness, I very nearly decided to miss out looking at Mathams Pit, simply on the grounds that nothing had been there on my previous three recent visits. I’m very glad I didn’t though, because virtually as soon as the lake came into view I could see a tern of some sort wheeling around in the distance, and as I put the binoculars to my eyes I could see that it was a stunning, summer plumaged Black Tern!!

Now I realise that a Black Tern is hardly a rarity; but for me it really WAS something special because not only was it going to give me my best views EVER, but it was a goodie on MY local patch and I had found it; that is always guaranteed to give one a boost; and a boost is most definitely what I needed. And, it worked; I was very much rejuvenated!

Obviously I had to approach the lake with some caution because I was certainly aware that public access was unfortunately no longer tolerated here; but I was careful not to stray too far and kept to what I assumed was a public road (apparently that is not in fact the case – as Stephen found out to his cost when he viewed the bird later in the afternoon). Luckily the tern was more or less keeping to the western fringes of the lake, thus ensuring the best possible vantage for my viewing.

The tern was in super summer finery – gorgeous black head, neck and throat; dark grey wings; white rump, and was working its way back and forth north to south and back again, only occasionally dipping down to feed.

I was immediately on the mobile to Stephen and he in turn let the local birders know. Yet it wasn’t altogether surprising a record since there had been the usual spate of spring records nationally in recent weeks, and the lake was in a prime location; what was surprising perhaps was that someone hadn’t connected with one here – almost certainly however due to the lack of coverage as anything else. But I wasn't overly concerned with that as I primed my camera. I knew I wasn’t going to get any cripplingly good photos, since I only had a 70-300 mm zoom lens – but I didn’t let that put me off.

A great end to a petty good day for me; and hopefully others got to see the tern too.

13 May 2008

I had intended to trek over to Trims Green in the hope of seeing a Yellow Wagtail or two (a species which somehow had managed to elude me thus far this year), and possibly get a few damselflies and butterflies under my belt for the year.

I’d managed to see a Reed Warbler at St. Michael’s Mead – my first for the year on my local ‘patch’ – and was well on my way to Trims Green when the mobile reverberated into action. It was Stephen, with news of a Red-necked Phalarope at Hythe in Colchester………… and would I be interested in going for it?

End of local trip ……………….. the Yellow Wagtails would have to wait!

It was shortly after midday when we arrived at Hythe – a collection of shallow lagoons – virtually in the shadow of the Essex University complex; the phalarope – a female in full summer plumage (unlike the majority of species the female has a much more colourful plumage than the male) was nonchalantly ‘paddling’ in small circles in company with several Shelduck and a couple of Avocets – and a dainty bird it was too.

Initial views were against the light, so were not especially good, but a change of position to the rear of the pool gave us much better viewing conditions, and we were able to enjoy this enigmatic little wader – we had it to ourselves most of the time – for about an hour or so, before we were suitably sated.

8 MAY 2008

Gary fancied a day off from the traumas of work and suggested an outing to Aldeburgh, Suffolk where we could sate our appetites for whatever photographic opportunities were available, and finish the day off with some birdwatching at Minsmere.

Aldeburgh has its history steeped in fishing and boatbuilding, but like most communities of that ilk is a shadow of its former self – the ancient Tudor town having been lost to the sea centuries ago. Nevertheless, it still retains its ‘olde world’ charm, and is as picturesque a fishing and boatbuilding community as one is likely to find on the East Anglian coast, with a plethora of photographic opportunities.

So, a few pleasant hours were spent taking photographs of fishing boats, complete with a plethora of fishing requisites and a conglomeration of paraphernalia – which just about sums up the condition of some of the boats I guess; still, some interesting shots could be had here – assuming one has an eye for a photograph …………. and a an active imagination!

Also on show were flocks of gulls (mainly Herring and Lesser Black-backs) feeding on discarded cod (and the like); a variety of fishing vessels, some (well most actually) in varying degrees of dilapidation, and of course the interesting architectural delights of some of Aldeburgh’s buildings, a good proportion of which were exceptionally colourful in the dazzling morning sunlight, helped in no small way by the use of a polarizing filter.

After morning coffee with a slice of toasted fruit loaf, it was off to Minsmere, and hopefully some interesting birds, given that the spring migration was in full swing.

Regrettably, our visit had coincided with a ‘Big Watch’ – which was an event largely centred on schoolchildren (of which copious numbers were only too obvious) whereby interested parties could join ‘wardens’ on a hill behind the visitors’ centre in a mass bird watch. Needless to say, it wasn’t something that caught our particular fancy; so taking a hasty detour away from the hubbub, we made our way around the reserve, trying to avoid the school parties which occasionally fractured the often frenetic sounds of breeding birds.

News obtained via the internet previously as to which species were actually present here, suggested that we might see Black Tern; Wood Sandpiper; Curlew Sandpiper; Ruff; Knot; Bar-tailed Godwit, and a lone drake Garganey – but all except the latter eluded us; though we did have close views of Avocet; 70 plus Black-tailed Godwits; and four Whimbrel together with several more common waders; gulls, and terns. It was good to see so many Little Terns - one of my favourite birds (we saw at least 8 individuals), though a stunning adult Mediterranean Gull and the Garganey were markedly less conspicuous, but were nevertheless a very welcome sight (eventually!).

Avocet

A lovely Little Egret was seen as we traipsed towards the East Hide; fortunately the photograph belies the fact that it was partially hidden through the reeds. Later, the songs of Garden Warbler and Blackcaps reverberated all around the woodland areas, whilst an obliging male Nightingale sang his little heart out in the course of giving me at least an absolutely gripping view (and the chance of a reasonable photograph to boot).

Little Egret

Common Tern

Nightingale

The ‘booming’ call of at least one Bittern (though I thought there might have been two) was all the incentive we needed to climb into the clouds in the Bittern hide, where eventually we were rewarded with a brief flypast of one adult, albeit at some distance; and as we waited patiently we were entertained by several Marsh Harriers which glided occasionally tantalisingly near, whilst in the woods below (and back at ground level), a Muntjac was scurrying around allowing reasonably good views to those who, like me, ventured close.

Marsh Harrier

Reeves Muntjac

Despite missing out on some of Minsmere’s speciality species – such as Common Redstart; Spotted Flycatcher; Marsh Tit; Bearded Tit etc it was enjoyable afternoon’s birdwatching, with a total species count of 75.

We ended the day back at Aldeburgh and a tasty fish and chip ‘supper’ in quieter surroundings on the beach, before heading for home.

26 April 2008

April’s bird trip was an early spring outing (somewhat later than in previous years) with just three participants, Tony (our driver for the day); David A, and me.

Although there was a sprinkling of good quality general migrants there was nothing which (apparently) really warranted even a semi-long journey; and since Tony and David had only returned from a birding trip to Portugal the previous day, we plumped for Lackford, Norfolk as the first port of call and, we would take it from there.

In fact we began the days birding at nearby West Stow, but failed to connect with ‘Common’ Crossbill; only a distant heard cuckoo and the purring of a male Turtle Dove was of real interest here.

Regrettably, we didn’t fare a great deal better at Lackford with views of a singleton Little Ringed Plover and a lovely male Garden Warbler being the major highlights. Singing Nightingales and Reed Warblers failed to show themselves, despite being frustratingly obvious; but a few Sedge Warblers were marginally more obliging. A possible call for Wood Sandpiper gave us some consternation initially, but logic prevailed as we eventually settled on Green Sandpiper (I guess we should have known better really). A superb male Sparrowhawk briefly caused panic over Jason’s Pool and the Slough but relative peace was soon restored.

Garden Warbler

Then a text from Stephen (who was at home in Newport, carrying out Bird Census work on his local patch) soon got us twitching – as news reached us of 13 Dotterel currently present in a field in Acle, Norfolk. Energetic debate soon saw us on our way, and an hour or so later we’d arrived at the appropriate location ……………… only to see all 13 immediately take to the air and away to the north west and out of sight!!

What amazingly bad luck. But on a more positive note, at least we’d gained a glimpse – a carload of birders arriving shortly afterwards all the way from Titchwell were much less fortunate!! Regrettably, the flock - of Dotterel I mean - failed to return even while we stayed in situ for ‘lunch’. But that’s birdwatching for you; undeniably brilliant at times, and occasionally disappointing on others. This was one of the latter I suppose.

Not too far away a plethora of goodies could apparently be seen at Waxham, including a Black Kite; a Wryneck; a couple of Ring Ouzels, and a Blue-headed Wagtail. Yet our destiny lay in an entirely different direction. So, given that the decision was that we were returning to the Brecks, I suggested Santon Downham for Tree Pipit and Willow Tit. An hour and a half later, said Tree Pipits duly obliged with excellent views – two males displaying their prowess for a spiffing good tune, with in-flight parachuting thrown in for good measure. Willow Tits failed to materialise - well to be frank were never even considered - whilst a smart male Siskin was arguably a reasonable substitute. An immature Adder was seen briefly here also, but was too quick for my camera!

The RSPB reserve at Lakenheath was our final destination on this trip; and in fact certainly turned up trumps on this occasion.

The pair of Garganey, apparently present of late, eluded us; and even the promised show of Sedge Warblers failed to materialise (despite the bushes literally heaving with singing males earlier in the day, according to a keen photographer we’d met at Lackford). Suddenly, the faint song of a reeling Grasshopper Warbler could be heard – but of course, it remained unseen. Things began to look up again when a Hobby flew past, followed briefly by a Turtle Dove which ‘whizzed’ by without being seen by two of our party; whilst a stunning male Marsh Harrier gave very good views in exceptional evening light as it hawked over the reedbed. A pair of Stonechats; several Common Terns, and a Kingfisher were also seen.

We didn’t really have hopes of seeing one of the three Cranes said to be in the area, since we initially thought that involved an extremely long trek; but a passing couple of birdwatchers gave us positive news that one or two were showing periodically from one of the viewpoints over the reeds, so we set off with renewed vigour.

Immediately prior to our arrival at said viewpoint, some inner sense made me turn around, in time to see a bird in undulating flight coming in over one of the poplar plantations. Training my binoculars on it, my heart immediately started pumping heavily, as an excited shout emanated from within my lungs………………… ‘Oriole’!!

It was indeed a stunning male Golden Oriole – the birds canary yellow head, breast and belly, and jet black wings standing out in the evening sunlight as it flew directly in front of us - at poplar tree height (a rather tall one it has to be said) - and away to the north-west. What a bonus! Later, I reported the facts to one of the wardens who duly announced that it was the earliest ever record of the species at Lakenheath, although I have since learned that it has in fact equalled the previous earlier record of a male on 26 April 2004.

A young student waiting patiently at the Crane ‘viewpoint’ reported that he’d had three sightings on different parts of the marsh within the past 15 minutes, and this gave us renewed hope. But 40 minutes later or so only Dave A. had been lucky enough to witness a millisecond’s worth of activity as one Crane took to flight at reed height. Several Bearded Tits teased with fleeting glimpses as they flitted back and forth over a channel in the reeds, whilst Marsh Harrier activity was markedly more productive - and as the evening began to fade into dusk at least six, comprising two males and four females, could be seen hawking over the reedbed, with the occasional altercation with crows. A Bar-headed Goose came in from nowhere and was soon a fading memory, as several Grey Herons emerged from the reeds, initially recalling Crane, where our hopes were dashed somewhat.

We set ourselves a 7 o’clock deadline; and it was cutting it fine indeed, but as we were about to depart we all enjoyed a super view as a bona-fide Crane suddenly took to flight just above the reeds, and was in view for all of 20 seconds, which of course was sufficiently long to get the salient features. Whether that was one of the longest views enjoyed by birdwatchers that day we never got to find out, but it was good enough for us, given that the light by then was fading fast.

Daylight begins to fade over the Crane 'viewpoint' at Lakenheath

There was a final burst of song from a reeling Grasshopper Warbler, and the sighting of a Fieldfare before we gave up on the day. But I guess Lakenheath gave us the best spell of birding we’d enjoyed all day, with the highlight being one of the earliest recorded Golden Orioles. One surely couldn’t complain at that.

26 April 2008

April’s bird trip was an early spring outing (somewhat later than in previous years) with just three participants, Tony (our driver for the day); David A, and me.

Regrettably, we didn’t fare a great deal better at Lackford with views of a singleton Little Ringed Plover and a lovely male Garden Warbler being the major highlights. Singing Nightingales and Reed Warblers failed to show themselves, despite being frustratingly obvious; but a few Sedge Warblers were marginally more obliging. A possible call for Wood Sandpiper gave us some consternation initially, but logic prevailed as we eventually settled on Green Sandpiper (and I guess we should have known better really). A superb male Sparrowhawk briefly caused panic over Jason’s Pool and the Slough but relative peace was soon restored.

The RSPB reserve at Lakenheath was our final destination on this trip; and in fact certainly turned up trumps on this occasion.

We set ourselves a 7 o’clock deadline; and it was cutting it fine indeed, but as we were about to depart we all enjoyed a super view as a Crane suddenly took to flight just above the reeds, and was in view for all of 30 seconds, which of course was sufficiently long to get the salient features. Whether that was one of the longest views enjoyed by birdwatchers that day we never got to find out, but it was good enough for us, given that the light by then was fading fast.

There was a final burst of song from a reeling Grasshopper Warbler, and the sighting of a Fieldfare before we gave up on the day. But I guess Lakenheath gave us the best spell of birding we’d enjoyed all day, with the highlight being the earliest recorded Golden Oriole. One surely couldn’t complain at that.

12 April 2008

An invite from Stephen to join him on a foray to Devon was too good an opportunity to miss, especially since the prime reason for going manifested itself in the form of an adult male Little Crake!

Whilst a Little Crake was a new bird for Stephen, it wasn’t for me, having seen one – admittedly a female – way back in 1985. Yet with the prospect of seeing not only an adult male Little Crake, but a new species (at least for me) in the form of a Falcated Teal (its origins have yet to be established but is believed to be a wild bird), together with several other goodies, I wasn’t going to let this get away.

An early start (2.50 a.m. from my house) and a smidgen over 4 hours later saw us at Exminster Marshes, near Exeter waiting for the crake to appear. It didn’t look good to begin with, but within the hour the bird had been located in a different part of the marsh, and soon fifty or so pairs of eyes were staring through thick brambles and into the sun to see it. Luckily, better views - occasionally restricted by reeds - were soon obtained by all when the bird eventually appeared in a more open part of the marsh.

A decision to return later on in the day was right on the ball, as excellent views were obtained at close quarters. By that time the crowds had dwindled somewhat – down to less than twenty – and the bird had moved to a much more accessible area next to the road. And what a stunner it proved to be, as hopefully these few pictures will illustrate.

Nearby, a male Peregrine was observed plucking at some unfortunate passerine from the vantage of the top of a pylon, which made a change from cliff-face views more traditionally associated with the species.

A brief foray - in heavy rain showers - to a sewage treatment works (?) at Countess Wear netted us the Falcated Teal, an extraordinarily attractive duck, which is believed to be of wild origin, and is thought to be the same individual seen at Topsham the previous year. Well, it’s appeared on most birders’ tick list by now, so why shouldn’t I do likewise!

At a hilly location above Exminster we saw a singing Woodlark (Stephen also heard a second) – I have to admit that a large stubble field is a most unusual site for the species; and a lone male Cirl Bunting – a species which is known to have bred in there previously. Several Buzzards were also seen, including one exceptionally pale individual, which from its plumage alone might have caused some to think initially of an Osprey.

Down at Dawlish, a scan of the bay from a hill overlooking the town failed to net the Surf Scoter which had been in the location for some months – only several Shags and another Peregrine (at the more traditional clifftop location) were seen from here. So it was down to Dawlish Warren to try and locate the Scoter from the seafront.

Whilst I sat in the car snatching at a sandwich, Stephen took himself down to the front, and within a minute or two he’d returned with positive news. But when we got down to the seafront the Scoter was nowhere to be seen. Now I don’t recall Stephen actually partaking of anything that might cause him to hallucinate; and although he might have been tired from the long drive down, he was as alert as ever; so I had to dismiss a hallucination from the outset. And knowing Stephen, he just wouldn’t jest – as he takes his birding extremely seriously. It could have been merely a case of mistaken identity, but those of us who know Stephen also know that this was extremely unlikely. And anyway, there was nothing around that he could have mistaken it for. A Great Crested Grebe; an Auk maybe? Absolutely not!

I guess he was thinking that his sanity - to say nothing of his reputation - was in question; and maybe - despite my absolute faith in his birding ability - I could have been forgiven for thinking the same. But luckily for him – although a longish walk along the seafront failed to net the scoter (a knot of Common Scoters; Common and Sandwich Terns; a Gannet or two; a pair of Mergansers; several Razorbills and a Guillemot were all that we could find) another scan from the initial viewpoint eventually allowed Stephen the sanctity of knowing that his skills had not in fact deserted him. His sense of relief was palpable; though I’m not entirely sure that distant views of a female Surf Scoter against the light were really worth all the hassle and worry!

During our first spell with the crake, Stephen was ear-wigging to the extent that he gleaned some news that something (we knew not what at the time) had been seen at a place called Dryham – which was a short excursion off junction 18 of the M4. Consequently an R.T.A. between junctions 17-15 on the way home was all the incentive we needed to make the said excursion.

We found Dryham village with no difficulty; as well as the telephone kiosk, and the relevant farm, but apart from a trio of cars parked off road, there was nothing to indicate that there was anything unusual around at all. We’d initially anticipated a possible breeding site for Cattle Egrets (the distinct lack of ‘open’ news leading us to believe that some sort of suppression was afoot), but the environment about Dryham just wasn’t consistent with that. Maybe it was a site for Red Kites; or maybe a White Stork had been seen. A brief walk along an established public pathway failed to produce any clue; and we remained clueless for the remainder of our time there. The only consolation was that the excursion had allowed sufficient time for the accident on the M4 to clear. It wasn’t until much later that evening that the news was ‘released’; but why should the presence of a Hoopoe and a Black Redstart warrant such secrecy? I guess we may never know the answer.

Despite our lack of connection with the Hoopoe - as was the case with several other west country specialities such as Raven and Dipper (although it was true that we hadn't actually tried for those as we'd initially anticipated) - it had been an excellent day – the undoubted highlight being that stunning male Little Crake ……………… and of course the case of that ‘missing’ Surf Scoter - Stephen’s reputation unscathed and in tact, much to his relief I’m sure!

30 March 2008

Gary suggested a visit to The Raptor Foundation near St. Ives, Cambridgeshire; and it proved to be an inspired choice – well worth the (almost) £5.00 entrance charge.

I guess one could be forgiven for thinking that this is a glorified zoo; but in fact the Foundation undertakes environmental/conservation research as well as giving lectures/flying displays, and in particular acts as a raptor sanctuary/hospital where many injured birds of prey are treated and – where possible – released back into the wild again after recovery.

Walking around the collection one can see over 40 species of raptor, including eagles; hawks; falcons and owls all housed in substantial well-protected cages; whilst others can be viewed at relatively close quarters on perches located immediately outside the cages. Flying displays are given three times daily in the summer months (weather permitting) and it is these which in my opinion are the most enjoyable aspect of the Foundations public facilities.

We stayed for two flying displays – one shortly after midday and the other at 4.00 p.m. Here are a few photographs to (hopefully) whet your appetite.

29 March 2008

A telephone call received mid-morning gave me all the incentive I needed to get myself out into the big wide world; a White Spotted Bluethroat apparently showing very well at Minsmere.

It was shortly after midday when we arrived – the news that the Bluethroat was showing very well between the West Hide and the Sluice gate was extremely encouraging. What wasn’t so encouraging was the news that to get there, one was going to get very wet indeed – according to the jeers of a laughter which accompanied said news. And so, feet duly anointed (the footpath was of course flooded ankle deep in places – though it was unclear whether this was due to the weather or sluice management, or rather, mismanagement) we arrived at the appropriate spot along the path where a small crowd – facing southwards - was gathered. A somewhat larger crowd was gathered – facing northwards – approximately 100 yards or so further along; the space in the middle, we assumed was where the said Bluethroat was supposed to be showing ‘very well’.

But it seems we were about 10 minutes too late, for the ‘show’ was well and truly over. At least that remained the case for quite some time, as we stood waiting for the next performance to begin. About 90 minutes later, the crowd slowly began to disperse as hearts grew heavier and the wind grew stronger. We decided to look elsewhere nearby just in case the thing had moved to a different location. But it wasn’t looking at all promising. Thinking that looking for an earlier reported Firecrest along the coastal path might reap rewards, we were suddenly stopped in our tracks from a distance as we noticed ‘fevered’ activity back at the original site………… the Bluethroat was out again.

It was possible to view the bird from where the crowd (looking Northwards); yet it was incredibly frustrating in the knowledge that had we stayed put at the first viewpoint (looking Southwards) the Bluethroat would have been no further than about 30 feet away (almost at their feet) as opposed to about 100 feet; and so it was that once we were sure that the ‘Northern’ crowd had had their fill, us ‘Southern’ crowd were seen to inch forward in order that better views could be obtained. It didn’t really aid my situation with regard to getting better photographs, but at least we were able to see the bird more clearly, away from the grass verge and some of the overhanging reeds which occasionally had got in the way. Nevertheless, the important thing was that we managed to see the Bluethroat at all, which of course had always been our goal.

For what remained of the afternoon we wandered around parts of the reserve, but with very little real reward; the highlights being several adult Mediterranean Gulls in stunning Summer plumage; an early House Martin and several Sand Martins at the Island Mere, and somewhat unusually, a female Common Scoter also at the Island Mere.

The photographs here show how attractive Black-headed Gulls are in Summer plumage.

1 March 2008

It was hard to decide where to go which would give us the best options for a bit of birding and a bit of photography; so in the end we plumped for Mersea, Essex.

Gary had only ever seen one Short-eared Owl before, so jumped at the opportunity of possibly seeing another. A site on the way to Mersea threw up three owls earlier in the year, so we gave it another try. It didn’t look hopeful when we arrived, for although the light was excellent, the wind was something else – it was hardly possible to stand upright at times! But we persevered and took up our places adjacent to the hedge where the owls had been seen previously; but there was no sign. Not surprising given the conditions.

But rescue came in the guise of two women with respective terriers, who obviously had access to the relevant piece of land. Virtually the moment the dogs set foot in the field, a Short-eared Owl took to flight along the hedge, alighting on a fence post some distance away. All the salient features were on view for the minute or so the bird was perched; but of course as soon as the dogs approached, the bird took off across the field, and down into a small gully and shelter amongst the hawthorns.

This didn’t however, prevent the women from trying to gain a closer view, and as the dogs progressed a Green Sandpiper was disturbed from long grass, and then a second owl, and this gave the best views for us as it flew - with some difficulty in the wind - back in the direction the first owl came from, alighting once again on a (different) fence post, where it perched for several minutes, all the while being buffeted by the wind.

So, even though the owls were somewhat distance, the bright conditions allowed Gary and I excellent views, until both owls were eventually lost in the hedgerows.

So, on to East Mersea where, because of the windy conditions, Gary suggested we try photographing windsurfers who often gather at the site to tame the wind. It was a good choice, and the opportunity was rife to take many shots as several windsurfers took on the wind and the waves, with many a contra-jour opportunity for a rather more artistic approach to sport photography. Later, we were approached by one of the windsurfers who evidently saw the chance of some freebee pictures for the Club’s website; but it may well be that time will show this to have been a slightly lucrative opportunity for Gary and me to ply our art.

Along the beach I noticed small flocks of Sanderling and Turnstone, so turning away from the windsurfing (which in any case was winding down as the wind was slowly easing) I attempted some telephoto shots at quite close quarters, with hopefully, some success.

Sanderling

Turnstone

Sanderling

17 February 2008

A photographic opportunity came about when Gary and I, along with Lionel (a fellow Bishop’s Stortford Camera Club member) took a trip down to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex.

Lionel was born and was brought up in and around Leigh in the mid 1940’s so was entirely familiar with the area, and so knew where to go to make the best of the photographic opportunities on offer. We made straight for the cockle sheds and surrounding area as a good starting point.

Regrettably, although the weather was beautiful to the man on the everyday omnibus so to speak – being bright, cold and misty – the light was in fact far too harsh for photographic purposes. In addition, the tide was on the ebb, so the creeks were already largely waterless. It didn’t look that hopeful.

Earlier in the day I’d indicated that it would be silly to miss the opportunity of a spot of birdwatching to start the day off. Leigh, and neighbouring Southend and Shoebury, were excellent places to observe gulls and waders in particular. Leigh, was famous in birding circles as a site to see a ‘Rossi’ - a Ring-billed Gull (an American species of gull) which had returned each year for at least the past seven years to spend the winter to all intents and purposes ensconced in the exposed mud opposite ‘Rossis’ ice cream parlour. Southend and Shoebury were places to see occasionally large numbers of (mainly) wintering Mediterranean Gulls. Unfortunately, despite some fevered searching, neither species was observed. I was especially surprised that I wasn’t able to connect with even one Med’ Gull since it was entirely possible to see in excess of 100 individuals. But, it wasn’t to be; so I just had to make do with the usual suspects in the form of Sanderling; Turnstone; Knot; Dunlin; Oystercatcher; Curlew, as well as a sprinkling of the more common gull species and a Little Egret or two. Yet I was pleased with some of my photographic endeavours nevertheless.

Black-headed Gull

Sanderling

Little Egret

A coffee and pub ‘lunch’ sitting out in the lovely sunny atmosphere, provided a welcome respite, as the masses continued to ‘mass’ along the promenade, replete in all their ‘photographic’ finery; but that’s another story.

The cockle sheds and surrounding areas of Leigh yielded some interesting photographic material despite the harsh lighting conditions (though it was obvious that the vast majority of patrons crowding into Leigh and Southend in particular were in fact enjoying the bright sunshine, as they were here in absolute hordes – which actually provided me with more photographic fodder…………. and a dilemma of its own - how to photograph people without causing a major riot, given the country's occupation with Paedophila and/or terrorism! For the time being I’m going to try no to let this get in the way of MY photography, but I'm fully aware that this is a delicate subject and us discerning photographers need some guidance, pretty damned quick. Hopefully the photographic media and indeed the various photographic federations and associations, together with the Home Office (whose domain this largely falls within) will be able to come up with something workable in the near future.

For the moment then – and taking cognisance of warnings from my two companions for the day – I took it upon myself to continue in my ‘people’ mode where the opportunity arose; which it did on several occasions throughout the day. I’ve included several shots here, just to give the reader examples of the kind of opportunities that might be lost should we ever get to a situation where photography in public places is banned!

The cyclists

The onlooker

Bridging the Generation gap

And here are several general shots taken on the day.

Bouncing Schnauzer

Tidelines

Silhouette

Gary

Lionel

Apart from the candid people and birdlife, boats and boats, and mud and boats, were the mainstay of my photographic output, and some of the results were very pleasing to me. So, despite the sunshine being our ‘enemy’ photographically, it was largely a successful and rewarding day for all of us.

10 February 2008

Having had a whole day birding the previous day, I took Gary up on his suggestion to go for a few hours potential photography in Thaxted, Essex.

I’d never actually visited Thaxted before, so was only too keen; although Gary had apparently visited several times. The draw on this occasion was the old renovated windmill, which he said was especially photogenic.

It was another beautifully crisp clear day; and although the early morning had been frosty and slightly misty, the day ahead promised exceptionally mild temperatures for February. Gary called to collect me at 10.00 a.m. with the intention of us spending a few hours in and around the town enjoying the interesting architecture which could be seen, and hopefully taking some decent photographs.

The countryside on the approaches was exceptionally attractive – even more so in the sunshine which accentuated the true beauty of the landscape. But it was Thaxted’s windmill which caught our particular, as it could be seen effectively isolated on a hill on the western periphery of the town, against a pristine pale cobalt blue sky; and this was our first port of call once we parked the car.

It would have been great to have been able to photograph Thaxted’s famous Guildhall – built in 1390 and used as a museum now – but quite honestly one couldn’t do it justice with all the cars parked in the street which to all intents and purposes spoilt the view. So we gave up on that and made straight for the windmill.

I wasn’t expecting such a superb example, but the windmill – known as John Webb’s windmill, built in 1804 – had obviously been completely renovated in recent years, since it appeared to be in pristine condition, standing proud on the north western periphery of the town, its sails gleaming white in the bright sunlight. It goes without saying that numerous photographs were taken of this exceptionally good example of a fully working windmill. Of course, we both tried (and probably failed) to produce a photograph (or two) that was something slightly different from the norm. Yet I was very pleased with what I managed to achieve, although it is doubtful that none of my photographs will prove of sufficiently high standard to do well in photographic competition, which was what I suspect both of us had secretly aspired to.

A load of old Bollards!!

Next up – after a brief foray amongst nearby cottages for more photographic delights – was the church of St. John the Baptist Our Lady & St. Lawrence, which with a spire of some 180 feet can be seen for miles around. The church was constructed between 1340 and 1510, and was an impressively large structure for what is in reality a somewhat small community. We were greeted at the entrance by the verger, who kindly allowed us entry despite our muddy footwear; the familiar aroma of incense, and an exceptionally warm welcome by two members of the Sunday Congregation, who promptly gave us a brief tour, before letting us both loose with our cameras.

Strong sunlight filtered through the huge stained glass windows on the west side of the impressively huge nave, forming attractive patterns on the cold hard paving stones that formed the floor of the church, providing all the inspiration we needed for the purposes in hand. Hopefully, the following pictures will convey something of the wonderful ethereal atmosphere inside the church that morning.

Thaxted main street

I would like to think that we would to return some time soon to get some more photographs of the church interior in particular, but the architecture of the houses and other buildings too will need better scrutiny, which time on this occasion would not accommodate.

9 February 2008

Another Bird Group outing, with just five participants in one car; something of a squeeze for those of us ensconced in the back seat, but at least we didn’t intend going too far on this occasion – Essex being the chosen county.

There are some advantages to a 6.30 a.m. start – on this occasion seeing the dawn come up on what promised to be a beautiful sunny day, with hardly a breath of wind. This was demonstrated only too well once we reached our first venue for the day – Abberton Reservoir. Layer Breton causeway greeted us with waters which were too all intents and purposes more tranquil than a mill pond even, and where the still infant sunrise could be seen as a glassy reflection, in simply stunning Technicolor.

Pity then the same couldn’t be said for the birds; at least for the first hour or so. Yet that was destined to change after patient anticipation. We’d already seen several Goosander, and observed – albeit at a distance - the preamble to the mating ritual which saw at least one female take the lead; though regrettably, I turned away in the precise moment the drake mounted her, so missed that part of the courtship. The courtship display was something I’d never witnessed before, so it was with some surprise – and not a little excitement – that a female Goldeneye was seen to go through precisely the same ritual in the preamble to her courtship of a drake. The familiar ‘head rocking’ of at least three drakes after the same female was also observed, with a few ‘distant’ photographs obtained for my records. There was a good aerial display too as several Goosander took to flight over and around us.

Then one of our party saw a Bittern flying low into some reeds some distance away; following which I took the initiative and ensconced myself down by the sluice, whereupon a few minutes later I was treated to some pretty good views of the Bittern as it emerged from the reeds for a few minutes then to flight in two brief bursts into another (nearer) reedbed, where it stayed out of view for the remainder of our time there.

Bittern astride reeds.

Bittern

Shortly afterwards, a female Red-crested Pochard (possibly of dubious origin, though it was virtually impossible to tell) was seen amongst the mallards and tufted ducks; then a lone female Smew or Redhead was discovered, followed by a couple of Ruddy Ducks, and a party of six White-fronted Geese which alighted on the reservoir from adjacent fields. Later, from the Layer de la Haye causeway, a Red-necked Grebe was found. So, all in all, a good spell at the reservoir for a change.

We’d spent longer that we’d planned at Abberton, so deciding to move on, we found a site near Mersea Island where we were told a roost of up to five Short-eared Owls was located. The instructions for finding the exact location were specific and accurate down to the nearest hedge, but the birds (we saw only three) were spooked before most of us had had a chance to view them through scopes, so only distant flight views were obtained by most. Nothing other of note was seen in the vicinity, but later in the afternoon a lone Short-eared Owl was found roosting in a hedge behind the original site, and this could readily be scoped from the roadside.

A 'Spooked' Short-eared Owl flies to safety in distant hedges.

Later still at Tollesbury Marshes, a walk along the estuarine defences in the direction of Old Hall Marsh as another exceptionally high tide flowed over Tollesbury Fleet, gave us reasonable views of a plethora of waders, ducks and geese, before we headed for Hanningfield Reservoir, where we ended the day without any sightings of the Long-tailed Ducks which had been reported of late.

A total of 77 species was recorded for the day.

27 January 2008

Gary Raven and I decided on a trip to Tollesbury, mainly to check out the birdlife there, but also to look for photographic subjects amongst the boatsheds and other marine paraphernalia on the approaches to Tollesbury Wick Marshes.

It was a wonderfully clear, crisp day, with a moderate westerly breeze; in stark contrast to the extremely wet and windy conditions of late. High tide was apparently due for around 4.00 pm - although conditions when we arrived at the boatsheds suggested that the high tide recently passed was an exceptionally high one (a Neap tide perhaps?) at something like 5 metres – as was evidenced by the pools of water along the roads behind the boatsheds. It could mean a potentially good photographic opportunity if we timed it right for the next high tide later in the day.

The first couple of hours or so were spent amongst the boats and boatsheds around the marina, and then getting close and personal amongst some of the dilapidated and discarded boats in the many creeks which straddled the coastal path around the initial parts of the reserve, which I found very satisfying since it was forcing us to search out photographic subjects which were arguably different and unusual. And this was what I was looking for ………….an opportunity to stretch my photographic skills which had been sadly latent of late, mainly because natural history subjects – which I’d been concentrating on of late – just didn’t provide that opportunity to the same degree.

Of course, whilst one had to first seek out the subject matter, and then execute ones skills, it isn’t until one gets the images home and into the computer that the full potential can hopefully be realised. I can only hope that the images shown here give the reader some idea as to what I was trying to achieve.

Once we’d sated our appetites photographically speaking, we were back on the main track which formed the boundary path of the reserve. It was pretty evident from the outset that there were many waders and waterfowl drifting down the estuary on the ebb tide - waders such as Golden Plover; Lapwing; Knot; Dunlin in large concentrations; with good numbers of Avocet; Shelduck; Wigeon; Brent Goose, and Mallard, together with lesser numbers of Grey Plover; Ringed Plover; Little Grebe; Little Egret, and a lone Red-breasted Merganser. On the reserve there were two quite separate flocks of Brent Geese – numbering around 300 and 200 respectively; and a flock of Wigeon of about 200 in number. None of these however, were especially close, so only the odd flypast could be captured. In the estuary five Grey Seals bobbed up and down in playful abandon.

Occasionally, a female Marsh Harrier ‘harried’ the Brents, causing them to take flight momentarily; and a lone Common Buzzard crossed high over from Mersea. Later in the afternoon, a singleton female Merlin was seen to attempt to take a skylark before alighting on a grassy ridge amongst the sheep on the reserve, presumably to reconsider a strategy for catching it’s next meal.

In total we’d covered approximately 8km – the ‘round’ trip taking around 4 hours taking account of ‘stoppage time’ allowing for photographs and general viewing. And whilst we’d been exposed to the biting wind, the bright conditions helped to make the excursion worthwhile, despite the lack of ‘quality’ birds, e.g. Hen Harrier; Peregrine; Short-eared Owl etc.

13^th January 2008

A relatively local trip to East Mersea, Essex was marred by cloudy conditions and exceptionally strong winds, which kept everything down. As a consequence, no divers or grebes were seen on the estuary, and very few waders barring a few dunlin and turnstone. However, we did get very close to a small flock of seven Snow Buntings, which allowed me an opportunity to capitalise on their close vicinity and get reasonably good photographs, despite the difficult conditions.

Snow Bunting

Later, in very much brighter yet still windy conditions, Abberton Reservoir produced two drake Smew with attendant Red-heads; a lone Ruddy Duck (which had obviously gained a brief stay of execution, assuming that it escaped the cull), and good numbers of Pochard; Wigeon; Gadwall, and Goldeneye. Unfortunately, the reported Red-necked Grebe wasn’t playing ball; and we were too early for the Bitterns (there had been up to three seen to flit from one reedbed to another regularly at around 4.00 p.m. for the past couple of days). On the way to the Centre a quick look through the reported finch flock in a newish plantation netted two male Brambling, and a Corn Bunting.

Smew

12^th January 2008

The first Bird Group outing of the year was hardly an auspicious occasion, though almost wholly due to the fact that for a large percentage of time, the Group was arguably more fragmented than it has ever been. Five cars were used to ferry eleven passengers. One came from as far away as Hereford (that was eventually left near Wolferton, as the usual occupant – a past member of the Bird Group now residing on the borders - was due to share a car with one coming from Bedford (a current member of the BS Group who was on this occasion travelling from outside ‘home ground’ so to speak); one car contained three; whilst the remaining three cars held two each – one of which was due to meet up with the rest of the Group at Wolferton; one at Snettisham. Confused? Well, join the Club!!

No Golden Pheasants were seen at Wolferton this time round; hardly any birds in any sizeable flocks were seen at Snettisham either – the tide was well up, the wind very strong and very raw. Due to being a witness to an RTA, the member coming from Bedford didn’t arrive until the rest of us had made it to Hunstanton, the next port of call.

Luckily, two members had already surveyed the sea from the cliffs; so, as the rest arrived (in dribs and drabs), some goodies had already been bagged and were awaiting bagging by the remaining members to arrive. The goodies on this occasion, included Peregrine; Long-tailed Duck (two white dots below the horizon and regrettably far too distant for those of us without scopes to include on their personal lists); 9 Scaup; quite a few Eider; Red-throated Diver; Razorbill; several Fulmar; a small flock of Snow Buntings, and a smidgen of waders, gulls etc.

The next port of call was to Brancaster Staithes, where a ‘promised’ flock of Twite turned into a disappointing singleton. A selection of waders including two Greenshank; a female Merganser, and a pair of Turnstones comically turning over crates of discarded mussels and other refuse, made up the balance of birds here. Later, the pitch and putt at Wells produced a Black Brant, accompanied by flock of its Brent Goose cousins, and a Shag.

Turnstones

Turnstone

Snow Buntings

A sort of ‘wild goose chase’ then ensued, which saw our fragmented Group of cars (somehow, by then one had managed to follow a different routine and wasn’t seen until we managed to hitch up with them at Cley later that afternoon) take a circuitous route – TWICE! - through Wells, Walsingham, and Wighton, only to end up along a tight lane alive with other birders’ cars near Egmere where in a large muddy field, against the sunlight, we caught up with a distant Snow Goose amid a large flock of Pickfeet (maybe 5000 or so in number).

It was a hard decision to make, but we eventually decided on visiting Cley, where hopefully, the crowds had died down somewhat to allow us sufficiently decent views of the White-crowned Sparrow which had been wowing the birding fraternity since the previous Sunday. Fortunately, only 60 or so people were actually ensconced opposite a resident’s pebbled driveway (viewed from across the road), so we didn’t have the ignominy of queueing for ‘ten-minute intervals’ to view the bird – as had been necessary earlier in the week; and within the space of a mere 15 minutes or so, most of the Group – including the two remaining members we hadn’t seen since Brancaster – had the said ‘Mega’ on their respective lists. But in fact it had been a worthwhile excursion, for the sparrow was a real corker, sporting a stunning black and white ‘crown’. Regrettably, my pictures didn’t do it the justice it so richly deserved, so they don't appear here.

The Visitor Centre at Cley failed to produce the reported Water Pipit for some of the Group (others had earlier success with same), but over the reserve a flock of Avocet and a (Western) Marsh Harrier might have proved adequate compensation for some; whilst at nearby Walsey Hills a Firecrest which for some (though none from our Group) tantalised with only occasional glimpses.

At this point the Group had fragmented again; so it was only a trio of cars that made it to Salthouse where an impressive flock of ‘jittery’ Snow Buntings and a lone Lapland took the honours.

Finally, Warham Green for the ‘last post’ failed to produce hoped-for raptors, with just a lone male Hen (or Northern) Harrier in the very murky distance (to be frank it wasn’t actually worth counting, the views were that poor), so for this member at least, the species remains ‘unseen’ for two years! For others, Holkham failed to produce the Ross’s Goose, though probably more due to the fact that the usual massive influx of geese materialised well after the light had gone as anything else.

An interesting day – though hardly inspiring birding it must be said. The highlight, well it had to be the White-crowned Sparrow – which had not even been on the list of quarry birds at the start of the day. But the day was undoubtedly let down by the fragmented nature of the flotilla of cars which had meant to provide the wherewithal for the Group as an entity – and which in the final analysis, failed to materialise as envisaged at the beginning. Let’s hope next months outing proves less ‘taxing’ from that point of view.

Whilst the occupants of one of the cars notched up an impressive 97 species, it might eventually transpire that over 100 were seen by the Group as a whole, which would be very good indeed, and an excellent start to the new birding year.

6^th January 2008

Gary, my Camera Club colleague and friend, wanted to get away for a spell of birdwatching early in the New year, so we planned a trip to Snettisham with a view to seeing something of the spectacle that is the huge concentration of waders normally present in the Wash. Regrettably, his willpower had deserted him on the eve of our visit, with the result that we didn’t actually set off until 08.00 hours, as opposed to being firmly in situ at our intended destination at that time!!

I’d warned him however, to be prepared for NOT seeing the huge numbers of Knot; Oystercatchers, and other waders that Natural History programmes on TV depict as being seen on the pits at Snettisham RSPB Reserve, since they were almost invariably shown at times of Spring (or Neap) tides; and the tide on this occasion was not in that state. But, it was still entirely possible that we would indeed see many waders in huge flocks.

But we’d committed an almost a cardinal sin by not properly checking the tide tables (which in fact I had done for our initial planned visit which was abandoned due to poor weather) and as a consequence, we missed the early high tide by same considerable way; in fact the tide was as far out as I can ever remember ……. the huge flocks of waders and ducks were simply ‘miles’ out. Okay, there were some concentrations of mainly Knot; Oystercatchers and Shelduck at fairly close range, but not in the numbers usually associated with the Wash at this time of the year. It was very disappointing; not made any better I guess by a biting westerly.

At this point we decided to cut our losses, with a view to going elsewhere and maybe return later in the afternoon, when hopefully, the tide would be more accommodating.

A quick call in at Hunstanton netted the usual Fulmars along the cliff-top, but there was virtually nothing on the sea worthy of note other than a lone Red-throated Diver; a few Cormorant, and the usual Gull species.

Titchwell was the next venue, but that too was surprisingly devoid of meaningful numbers of birds; indeed, waders were almost totally unrepresented on the main pools were it not for the ubiquitous Redshank; a singleton Black-tailed Godwit; three Bar-tailed Godwits, and a Ruff. Maybe the lack of birds here was due to the relatively high water level, although possibly more likely that the afternoon ‘shift’ hadn’t yet begun to gather. Some compensation (though not much I admit) came in the form of a close encounter with a drake Shoveler and a drake Teal from a hide, allowing some close photography, though the light was rather harsh.

Drake Teal

Drake Shoveler

But in fact the general numbers of birds along the coastal stretch was likewise very disappointing. All the usual species were represented of course, yet not in the numbers normally seen, even at low tide. Near the Visitors’ Centre, a Water Rail allowed reasonably close views before I capitulated in favour of a cup of tea and a hot sausage roll at the on-site café – something I wouldn’t even begin to contemplate had I been with the usual Bishop’s Stortford Bird Group crowd. But it was my turn to pay, so I’d already promised Gary his sausage roll earlier on!!

Water Rail

On the way back to Snettisham, a large flock of Pinkfeet drew our attention along the roadside out of Hunstanton, and of course I had to use the camera which thus far had been sadly under-utilised.

Pinkfeet

So, by 2.00 p.m. it was back to Snettisham where hopefully things would be improving a touch. But we were to be disappointed once again, since although the tide was clearly on the turn, the exposed mud was still seemingly halfway across to Lincolnshire! Yet, within half an hour or so the situation was rapidly changing, as one could literally see the tide rolling in at an alarming rate; the consequence being that hordes of waders and waterfowl were moving closer and closer by the minute. In addition, along the tide-line, a flock of 50 or so Snow Buntings gave Gary his very first view of these attractive Buntings, and me an opportunity of photographing the species for the very first time.

Snow Buntings

I guess by that time wader concentrations had recovered somewhat with possibly between 3000 and 4000 Oystercatchers; a similar number of Golden Plover; with sporadic large flocks of Bar-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Dunlin and to a much lesser extent, Grey Plover and Sanderling. Huge numbers of Shelduck and Mallard, could be seen as well as surprisingly large numbers of Pintail, estimated at something approaching 2000 strong. And what made the overall scene that much more appealing were the meandering, wheeling flocks of Knot and Golden Plover against a gorgeous sky as the sun began to sink to the horizon.

Golden Plover

Knot

It really was a hugely impressive vista, and made the journey well worth while despite the overall lack of species for the day – a somewhat disappointing 77 in total.