A Month Of Changes

 March 2nd Strumpshaw Fen

This was to be my final Wednesday shift at Strumpshaw as I will be changing to Mondays. I have a new job now at QD as a shelf filler and requires me to work Tuesdays to Fridays. This led to a rather emotional day for me as after 11 years of doing Wednesday mornings, I will no longer be doing them and leaving my long-time Reception Hide partner, Tricia.

My final Wednesday turned out to be a very eventful one. Not only did I arrive late due to my bus being late and forcing me to catch a much later train than usual, I had some great wildlife encounters too. First, there was a great white egret at Fen Hide. Then, in the woods, there were so many siskins that they made the place deafening with their calls with the sounds of bullfinches, mistle thrushes and my first chiffchaff of the year mixed in among them.

Greylags and gadwall dominated the view from Reception Hide as well as 2 shelducks, 2 Egyptian geese. The big highlights, though, was a bittern flying over the broad and was soon followed by an otter. The otter was highly entertaining as it at one point sneaked up under a swan and gave it a nip! The swan's reaction was priceless. It didn't like it much and quickly made the otter think twice and forced it to move on. It was an amazing way to end my final shift on a Wednesday.

Great White Egret (March 2nd), Red-breasted Goose (March 4th),
Wren & Clarke's Mining Bees (March 7th)

March 4th Cley

With my schedule about to change, this particular Friday was to be my last free week day that I could go on an outing with my mum. I managed to persuade her to take me out to Cley to try and find the red-breasted goose that I missed out a month before. This bird was hanging out with a flock of brent geese that was very mobile, constantly moving around between Cley and Salthouse and sometimes at Blakeney. It was a proper wild goose chase.

We stopped at the visitor centre after passing a packed car park at Iron Road, where we learned that was where the goose was. Instead of going back, we decided to check out the hides and then East Bank first. It was a very, dull, gloomy day with poor light and was a bit foggy. Not the best of days to visit Cley, but we still saw plenty of things including several snipe, avocets, black-tailed godwits, shelducks, ruff, dunlin, curlew, redshanks, wigeon, teal, shovelers, marsh harriers, a meadow pipit and heard some bearded tits.

The conditions were worsening by the time we returned to the car, but there was just enough time to seek out the goose, which was now on an arable field just back up the road towards Salthouse. I managed to locate the flock of brent and got Mum to stop the car at the gate at Babcock Hide. After a few scans of the flock, I finally found the bird I came to see. In the poor light, it blended well amongst the brent, but its white striped markings helped in giving itself away.

Red-breasted geese are from Eastern Europe and are possibly the most colourful geese in the world. They are fairly common in wildfowl collections, but I believe this one was likely a wild bird, a scarce visitor to the UK. I was so happy to finally see this individual the 2nd time of asking as everyone out of my birding friends appear to have seen it except for me. I've seen this species in zoos, etc, but never in the wild. A nice addition to my bucket list.

March 7th Strumpshaw Fen

My first Monday shift at Strumpshaw since changing jobs and it was kind of a weird experience. Though there was no difference to my usual Wednesday shift other being on a different day of the week, I still had to remind myself that it wasn't Wednesday.

I decided to walk down to Tower Hide after a disappointing visit to Fen Hide. The path along the river was drying out nicely and was able to get to Tower Hide with no problem. Along the way, I finally managed to tick off kingfisher at long last for 2022. In fact, there were three of them having a territorial dispute. There were also some other birds that I think were redwing but produced a sound I'm not familiar with. It sounded like an alarm call or contact call that was like a buzzy "tsweeeee!" I just couldn't put my finger on it. From Tower Hide, there wasn't much around other than common gulls amongst many black-headed gulls and very little else.

Back at Reception Hide, I saw the usual greylags, gadwall, mallards, a few teal, coot, a swan, a heron and a few sky dancing marsh harriers. It was a nice sunny day and there were surprisingly few visitors around, so I had a short walk in the woods finding 2 fighting treecreepers, a colony of Clarke's mining bees, goldcrests, siskins, some coltsfoot in bloom and heard some drumming woodpeckers.

March 12th Minsmere

As I was working during my 36th birthday (March 11th), my parents decided to take me out to Minsmere as my birthday outing. It was a warm, sunny day and the visit started well with a few adders basking in front of the sand martin cliff. There was someone there to point them out to us and a group of other visitors, but it was so tricky to locate them amongst the vegetation. In the end, I managed to locate two of them. One was a rare black adder, which instantly got me humming the old sitcom's theme tune and wondering where Baldrick was with one of his cunning plans.

Black Adder & Glossy Ibis (March 12th)
Siskin & Bearded Tit (March 14th)

The hides around the scrapes provided views of displaying lapwings, black-tailed godwits, marsh harriers, pintails, wigeon, teal, shovelers, shelducks, avocets, dunlin and Mediterranean gulls. The walk to and along the beach had some interesting encounters including a toad, bearded tits, Cetti's warblers and a wheatear, which was hopping on the ground close behind some WW2 tank traps (or dragon teeth as they are also known as).

At the sluice gate, Mum decided to continue onwards to the visitor centre, while Dad and I went to look for two scarce birds in the area. First was a glossy ibis that was feeding in a pool near the pony paddock. Many people were watching from the gate on the reserve, but Dad and I followed a different path to the side of this pool and got really close views of the bird. I got a few good photos of it before it flew off, which I hope wasn't our doing. 

The other bird I wanted to see was the lesser yellowlegs, which was further up the beach towards Sizewell nuclear plant in a few pools known as the 'Lucky Pools'. They weren't so lucky for me as I wasn't able to find this American equivalent of a redshank but with yellow legs. I wish I brought my scope, as you really needed one to look for it and even then, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, I did see some barnacle geese flying in and some stonechats sitting on the gorse bushes around me.

After meeting up with Mum for a late lunch at the visitor centre, we walked over to Island Mere Hide via the hill Springwatch was once based years ago. The hide was full of people, but was able to find a seat in time to see 2 bitterns fly around together before looping back round and landing into the reeds. I also saw a sleeping snipe, marsh harriers, and two great crested grebes. Feeling tired and my back killing me, we decided to skip Bittern Hide and head back to the car, where we had a send off from a muntjac deer, rabbits, pheasants and magpies.

March 14th Strumpshaw Fen

A really sunny second Monday shift at Strumpshaw and the place was alive with bird song, which included chiffchaffs, bullfinches and siskins. Fen Hide was a bit uneventful other than a heron, a Chinese water deer and marsh harriers being there. I did hear bearded tits pinging from the hide, but moving on to the top of Sandy Wall, I actually had quite an encounter with seven of these small birds and managed to get a few amazing photos of them posing atop of the reed heads in the brilliant sunlight.

Reception Hide was very quiet with barely anything to look at on the broad. Low flying marsh harriers was as good as it got. So I went for a quick walk around the woods and found treecreepers, the colony of Clarke's mining bees again, a brimstone and some queen bumblebees. Sadly, I missed out on a woodcock that apparently flew pass the Reception Hide before I arrived back from my pre-shift walk due to being spooked from the chainsaw work going on by the reserve's entrance that morning.

March 19th Strumpshaw Fen

It was a Saturday and I really wanted to go to Strumpshaw to see a duck. Garganey have returned from their migration from Africa and at least two were at the reserve. From my experience, they usually hang around a few days before moving off. So here I was at Strumpshaw just in case they disappeared by my latest shift on Monday. 

On arrival, I went straight to Tower Hide. They were still there! A male and a female. However, they were fast asleep with heads under wing. They did wake up briefly after being startled by something, but the photos were distant and a bit rubbish.

After returning for a lunch and toilet break, I decided to give the garganey another chance and walked all the way back to Tower Hide. This time, they were fully awake AND close to the front of the hide! Both together! I couldn't ask for anything better. The male was utterly stunning and the female, while no where near as showy, was subtly beautiful in her own way. The male was even croaking, a sound he uses to impress her and something I haven't heard in ages.

Garganey (March 19th)
Sanderling, Brambling 
& Meadow Pipit (March 27th) & dewy spider web (March 28th)

Also seen that day included; 5 redshanks, shelducks, 2 low flying buzzards soaring above my head, marsh harriers, a little grebe, a lizard, small tortoiseshells, red admirals, commas, peacocks and bee-fly.

March 21st Strumpshaw Fen

I returned to Strumpshaw, this time for my shift, my 3rd for a Monday and I went straight to Tower Hide. It was a frosty start, but that made the view that much more spectacular. And, I was happy to say that the garganey were still here, though sleeping once again. A goose did wake them up to move, but they went back to sleep almost instantly. As I waited for them to stir again, sound of a booming bittern shook the sleepy, misty atmosphere of the scene only slightly for a brief moment. 

Back at Reception Hide, it was much warmer and became a very nice day. On the wildlife side, the broad outside the hide wasn't producing much, a fairly quiet scene. But then, it suddenly erupted into life as three cranes circled high above the reserve, announcing themselves with their loud bugling calls. As soon as the cranes left, a grass snake was seen swimming in front of the hide, but I wasn't quick enough and missed it as it vanished into a reedbed.

March 27th Titchwell

It was Mother's Day in the UK and what better place to spend the day with Mum (and Dad) than at Titchwell. It was a really nice day, though there were some misty spells. There were plenty of birds around too, starting with a flock of brambling on the bird tables behind the visitor centre.

Out on the reserve, I felt like a bird guide as I not only pointed out the many species out on the reserve to my parents but also to two other visitors and their dog. Throughout my walk, the list of bird names grew and grew. Marsh harriers, red kite, avocets, brent geese, Canada geese, greylags, teal, shovelers, shelducks, gadwall, pochards, golden plover, displaying meadow pipits performing their parachuting song flights, Mediterranean gulls, tufted ducks, linnets, little egrets, wigeon, black-tailed godwits, little grebe, oystercatchers, skylarks, turnstones, redshanks and buzzards. An impressive bird haul, but I also added a toad as well, which sat by the side of the main path as we made our way towards the beach.

While I was here, I wanted to boost my own bird list that I've been doing since January. So far I had 115 before our visit here and I really wanted 5 more before the end of the month. I've already got all the birds mentioned above and I didn't get to add anything new until I reached the beach. The tide was in, so my hope of any exposure to the rich smorgasbord that the seaweed covered rocks provide for many hungry waders was dashed. However, I still managed to tick off sanderlings that were trotting along the shoreline like little wind-up toys. As we made our way back, I spotted some knot and then, from the Parrinder Hide, a pair of little ringed plovers and a rock pipit. I ended my visit with 119, just one bird short of my monthly target!

March 28th Strumpshaw Fen

It was feeling like it was changing back to winter. It wasn't as warm as it has been all month and it was very murky with a thick mist covering the landscape. First thing on my agenda was to go check if the garganey were still around at Tower Hide. I started to make my way there, however, as I reached as far as the sluice gates when I heard a familiar croaking sound. I looked over the Accidental Broad and there they were! Two males and one female! Seeing them here saved me the journey, so I turned back without going any further. As I turned the corner back onto the Sandy Wall, I encountered a small flock of bearded tits close to the path. I also had some in front of Reception Hide with the sun burning its way through the mist revealing bluer skies and warm sunshine.

With no other free days to birdwatch, this was realistically my last chance to really get my 120th bird before March ended. And I'm pleased to say that I reached my goal. In the woods, by Basecamp, I heard my first blackcap of the year. It didn't show itself very well, only glimpses, but it was better than nothing. Just hearing it was enough for me.

There was a moment of excitement as I was about to leave for home as news arrived of a white-tailed eagle was seen flying over Surlingham and was heading this way to Strumpshaw! Alas, there was no sign of it and I had to leave. What a tick for my 121st bird that would have been!