Snowdrops & Starlings

 Feb 5th Walsingham Abbey

The snowdrops at Walsingham Abbey were finally out and at their best. As seeing them was part of my displays and spectacles challenge, my parents and I were really looking forward to ticking this floral display off my list.

Snowdrops,
Hellebore & Mistletoe (Feb 5th),
Misty Morning & Reed Bunting (Feb 6th)

Snowdrops are one of the earliest flowers to bloom and though they had been popping up as early as mid-January. However, we decided to wait a little longer for the display to develop into something we expected to be something amazing before setting off to see them. So, when we finally visited on a beautiful sunny Sunday, the wait was completely worth it. The woodland trails around the abbey grounds were just breathtaking! It was like the place was covered in actual snow.

As well as the snowdrops, there were also the yellow flowers of winter aconites, some hellebores, clumps of mistletoe, the odd primrose and even one of the first daffodils of the year poking through.

Feb 6th Strumpshaw Fen

There was a chill in the air, but it was feeling rather spring-like as there was a pleasant warmth from the sun. The paths were actually drying out and I managed to get to Tower Hide without getting too muddy. While at the hide, I counted 130 greylags, 25 shelducks and smaller numbers of gadwall and shoveler.

Back at Reception Hide, there was to be a wildfowl bonanza here too with 60+ greylags, 25+ gadwall, a few mallards, 2-3 mute swans, 2 Canada geese, and the odd shoveler. Marsh harriers were also around (as was a sparrowhawk) and seemed to be sky dancing at times. 

Around the woods, the place was alive with hundreds of siskins and redpolls as well as the sound of drumming great spotted woodpeckers, trilling treecreepers and, for the first time I've seen at Strumpshaw for some time, a nuthatch! Scarlet elfcap fungi were looking vibrant on the woodland floor and snowdrops were now everywhere (though not as spectacular as the display at Walsingham), including in front of Reception Hide.

Feb 13th Strumpshaw Fen

An overcast morning, grey and rather quiet. I had to catch a later train than usual due to my bus having a alarm to go off and had to stop for a while for the engine to cool down. I couldn't wait, so I had to walk some way through the city to get to the station, bought a ticket, got on the platform just in time to see the usual timed train leave. I was so close! 

When I eventually arrived at the reserve, I still had time for a short visit to Fen Hide, seeing a Chinese water deer, 2 swans, a heron, 2 greylags and a marsh harrier. I then managed to squeeze in a quick walk in the woods where siskins continued to make a noise along with treecreepers, nuthatches and woodpeckers. 

The sun tried to come out during my shift at Reception Hide and the broad had a large number of greylags again as well as 2 shelducks, a few coots, and the odd gadwall and mallard. The marsh harriers were at their best and seems to be in full sky dancing mode.

Feb 15th Cley & Norwich

With Valentine's week off from work, Mum and I went out to Cley. It was a really good day for it and there was plenty of birds out on Pat's Pool. This included a whooper swan that sat in the middle of an island full of many lapwing before going on a tour around the pool.

Nuthatch & Scarlet Elfcaps (Feb 6th)
Siskin (Feb 13th), Whooper Swan,
Long-billed Dowitcher & Snow Buntings (Feb 15th)

Also at Pat's Pool were avocets, pintails, wigeon, teal, shelducks, black-tailed godwits and a marsh harrier. On the walk back to the visitor centre, a red kite flew over us and we had a stonechat perching on a bramble branch.

We then moved on to the East Bank. The long-staying long-billed dowitcher was here again and it was showing well. It was the closest I've ever gotten to this American wader and I finally got some decent photos of it. Many others crowded that one section of the bank to enjoy this  small godwit-like bird, though Mum lost interest fairly quickly and didn't know what all the hype was about.

We then made our way to the beach and joined another crowd. This time to see 20-30 snow buntings on the shingle mound. Unlike the dowitcher, Mum was showing a lot more interest this time. Who wouldn't? They are always a charm to watch.

After returning home, we spent some time at my flat before heading out again. While at Cley, we were given a tip-off that a mini murmuration of starlings has been occurring in the city. So this evening, Mum took me to an Asda store car park at Hall Road in Norwich to try and see it for ourselves so I could tick it off of my list.

It took a while until I saw the first 3 starlings arriving at around 5pm. Three became 20, which became 50 and so on until a ball of roughly a few thousand were swirling over us. It wasn't the biggest or the most impressive murmuration I've ever seen, but it was still quite an experience to have them whoosh over my head all the same. As a ball, they mainly went round and round the car park in the sky over and over. Sometimes a few would break off and rejoin, while other large groups would arrive from nowhere to join the main group to bolster the numbers. 

The sight of them circling many times did make me feel a little dizzy. Eventually, at about 5:50pm it was time to roost and they all suddenly poured into two tall larch trees near the supermarket's petrol station. And then it was all over. The trees was just filled with chattering starling noises. It was at this point that I noticed. They got me! Not only me, but also my mum and the car. There was a price to enjoying this marvel it seemed.

Feb 17th Minsmere

On my final day off that week, my parents (who both also had the day off) and I visited Minsmere. We began our walk to Island Mere Hide. From the packed hide, there were 3 snipe feeding in the stubble just by the front, several tufted ducks, a couple of mute swans, a few flying marsh harriers and curlews and a pair of goosanders (a male and a female). I don't see many male goosanders, so I was fairly happy.

Pintail & Starling Murmuration (Feb 15th),
Goosanders (Feb 17th) & Blossom (Feb 20th)

A walk in the woods produced marsh tits and the sounds of siskins and treecreepers. The Bittern Hide wasn't very interesting other than a couple more marsh harriers.

After lunch, we visited North Hide, seeing many, many curlew, wigeon, shovelers, a flock of goldfinches, lapwing and a little egret.

We then checked out the brand new boardwalk that bypasses the beach and takes you to East Hide. The walk seemed to be longer than it actually was as the path felt very open and exposed. It appeared to stretch on and on without much growing beside it to obscure the length of it. There was even a new elevated section that went round the old track that used to lead you up to the hide from the beach.

From the hide itself, there was a lot to see. I don't recall seeing so many pintail in one place in my life! Also seen here were; 3 avocets, a flock of dunlin, the odd turnstone, a pochard, gadwall, shovelers, teal, shelducks, herring gulls, lesser and great black-backed gulls and some distant marsh harriers.

Feb 20th Strumpshaw Fen

A beautiful sunny morning. I did a walk in the woods, to the pumphouse and to the sluice gates before heading back for my shift. I heard more than I saw with drumming woodpeckers, siskins, meadow pipits, a bullfinch, 5 buzzards soaring above my head, scarlet elfcaps, snowdrops and a single primrose that was in flower.

There was some excitement over the weekend it seems, as I read the sightings board for Sunday 19th. It stood out from the rest. Written there was; WHITE-TAILED EAGLE!!! Apparently, a tagged bird from the Isle of Wight reintroduction project had flown by the front of Reception Hide! I looked and looked and looked, but sadly I could not find it anywhere. The best I could muster was an otter, several displaying marsh harriers and buzzards, some fighting coot, around 60-70 greylags, 2 shelducks and a small tortoiseshell butterfly in which I rescued from inside the Reception Hide as it tried to escape but the window was closed.

Feb 27th Strumpshaw Fen

I woke up, boarded the bus and there was no rain. I got off the bus in the city and it was raining. Then it was sunny by the time I got off the train at Brundall. A very strange start to the morning. 

After a short visit to Fen Hide, seeing only a Chinese water deer, I decided to go to Tower Hide. Big mistake! The rain earlier must have dampened the way to the hide as it was very slippery and very muddy in places. It was awful. When I got to the Tower Hide, there wasn't anything too exciting other than 13 teal, 6 mallards, some greylags and a marsh harrier. Nothing worth treading through slippery mud there and back for.

On the way back to Reception Hide, I came across some siskins and heard bullfinches and drumming woodpeckers. During my shift, the broad was full of greylags, gadwall, coot, mallards, 2 shelducks, 2 mute swans and 2 Canada geese, while marsh harriers and buzzards were busy displaying. I watched one male harrier go up and down like a yo-yo. Other than that, it was fairly unexciting to end my final shift of the month.

A Brand New Challenge

Before I get started with my sightings from this month, I'd like to announce my brand new challenge. No, it isn't a bird list. This time it is something completely different. So for 2023, I want to see as many displays, spectacles and events as I can. That's as many flower displays, murmurations, roosts and other things I can think of that I can probably see in Norfolk. I may need some help on a few I'm not sure about, such as the Natterjack toad one, or maybe even give me a new idea to add for the checklist that I haven't thought of yet. Here's my checklist that I've made for this challenge. What do you think?

Jan 7th Cley

The first trip of the year 2023.After taking the rest of December off due to work and Christmas, I was itching to get back to birdwatching. Unfortunately, it was a very windy day at the coast with some rain. It was to be a rather rubbish visit to Cley, though Mum and I did see a buzzard, a hare and a red kite on the drive up.

Stonechat (Jan 7th), Otter (Jan 9th),
Rook Roost (Jan 14th) & Mallard x Shoveler Hybrid (Jan 16th)

There were skeins of pink-footed geese, golden plovers, many lapwing, a couple of marsh harriers, a curlew, shelducks, but no sign of the long-billed dowitcher that was still about from the last time I saw it, though it was distant and so well hidden that I couldn't find it while I was looking for it along the East Bank. I also had a nice encounter with a stonechat, but nothing really to make this outing that memorable other than cake and pasties at the café.

Jan 9th Strumpshaw Fen

My first shift at Strumpshaw. It started with siskins in the alders next to Reception Hide, which may have had a redpoll amongst them. I didn't really had the best light and they flew off before I could study the noisy large flock to verify. 

In the woods, I spooked a muntjac deer, while at Fen Hide, it was pretty empty other than 2 greylags and pink-footed geese. During my first shift of 2023, the main highlight was an otter right in front of the Reception Hide. It came as close as the measuring post. A great white egret arrived as soon as the otter left. There were also 32 greylags, 3 mute swans and a couple of marsh harriers along with many visitors at the reserve, the most I've seen in recent months.

Jan 14th Buckenham

I began my new challenge to see as many displays and spectacles during this year by visiting Buckenham to see the largest rook roost in the UK. Around 50,000 - 60,000+ rooks and jackdaws congregate to a set of trees near the church and have been recorded doing so since the Doomsday Book in 1086. I've seen it a few times before and it never ceases to amaze me.

Dad and I waited for dusk in the wind and the odd rainy spell by the edge of the field they normally gather at before heading for the trees to roost. However, they never arrived to the field. I guess the windy weather had put them off. We didn't get to see them perch along the wires either, in which their weight causes them to bend slightly.

They arrived at 4:20pm, at this point a large birding group joined us to watch them fly as the sun was setting. They swirled around the sky like a snow globe in the dark with black snowflakes. Thousands and thousands of them! Like a scene from Hitchcock's 'The Birds'! It was an incredible sight with an unbelievable sound as they cawed in unison. And then, before 5pm, they all slowly and gradually landed into the trees for the night. You couldn't have asked for a better way to start the new challenge off.

Jan 15th Norwich

The rook roost made me want to see another roost that's on my list. And the best thing was, I didn't have to travel miles to go see it either. All I had to do was walk into Norwich and wait at the bus station for dusk. You're probably wondering what I could possibly see at a bus station in the middle of a city. Well, I heard that hundreds of pied wagtails have been arriving here to roost most nights. Though not as large in number as the rooks at Buckenham, it will still be quite an interesting experience.

While everyone were more interested in catching a bus, I watched these small birds fly up onto the station's roof and up onto the surrounding buildings one by one, then in smaller groups. I was expecting the bus station roof was to be the final destination, but it wasn't.

They eventually moved away from the roof and I followed them down an alley behind the YMCA building and into a buddleia bush. They continued to arrive, decorating the bush like black and white baubles, possibly a few hundred of them. At first, there was a chorus of 'chessick' calls, but then as they settled down in the bush, I could hear strange click-y chattering noise. Was this their way of talking to each other? Just like the rooks, it was all over by 5pm.

Jan 16th Strumpshaw Fen

It was starting to spit with rain as I got to Strumpshaw this morning. By the time I got to Fen Hide, it was tipping it down! There was nothing but a soggy marsh harrier for quite some time. Then the rain temporarily stopped and a buzzard and a Chinese water deer appeared just before I made a dash for it between showers.

At Reception Hide, the weather was temperamental as it changed from rain to sunshine to rain accompanied strong winds. The wildlife was also very changeable. There was a great white egret one moment, then 32 mallards, 7 gadwall, 6 teal and 23 greylags the next and then an otter to spook them all off. Amongst the mallards was a mallard x shoveler hybrid, which had the head of a mallard and the body of a shoveler. I also saw a little egret and a great spotted woodpecker.

Jan 18th Sculthorpe Moor

I had 3 days off from work and what better way to spend the first day than with a trip out to Sculthorpe. Mum also had the day off, so it was like old times. Though, it was rather cold and icy as the reserve was still covered in frost and sheets of ice. It was like the Arctic!

We had a great haul with bullfinches, greenfinches, chaffinches, blue, great, coal, marsh and long-tailed tits, siskins, nuthatches, pheasants, a brambling, redwings, several muntjacs and a tawny owl that was snoozing at the front of an owl nest box in the woods (my 2nd ever in broad daylight!).

However, the real highlight was to be something I've always wanted to photograph and my first time seeing one in the day. We were making our way to the new lake hide, but a lady in a Hawk & Owl Trust uniform stopped us. 

"We've got a woodcock out at the moment. Do you want to see?" 

My heart skipped a beat! Of course I wanted to see it! So, she took us round the corner, walked up the ramp of the tower hide a little way, stopped a bench on a bend in the ramp, peered over the side and pointed down at the woodland floor below. And there, like some magical beast from mythology was the woodcock staring right back at me with one large black marble of an eye. It was very active, probing the ground for worms. I couldn't believe what an amazing view I was getting, seeing all its beautiful camouflage in great detail. I was blown away! Just wow! Eventually, the woodcock wandered back into the woods away from the ramp. 

Brambling, Tawny Owl,
Woodcock (Jan 18th), Fox,
Barn Owl & Sunset (Jan 19th)

After a slightly uneventful visit to the tower hide itself (other than goldfinches), we went to the lake hide (where beavers were introduced a year ago as part of a re-introduction project). It was so cold! The lake was frozen over. A great white egret stopped by, standing on the ice was the only thing to be seen. We had lunch, before feeling so cold that we decided to end the visit and head for the warmth of home.

Jan 19th St Benet's Abbey & Hickling Broad

For my 2nd day off and my 3rd tick for my challenge, I took my scope and a train and met up with former Reception Hide colleague, Tricia, at Brundall station to eventually see the harrier roost at Hickling. First though, she and her friend, Christine, took me to St Benet's Abbey near Ludham to kill some time. We were hoping to see the short-eared owls that had been visiting this place that I've never been to on a daily basis. Sadly, there were no short-eared owls in sight. However, we did see barn owls. Two of them. Not only that, but also 2 foxes hunting in the frosty long grass, a crane on the other side of the river, 2-3 kestrels, a buzzard, a pair of stonechats and some distant Bewick's swans in a distant field in the horizon.

It was getting towards sunset, so we made our way to Hickling. We navigated down a long, ice-covered path to Stubb's Mill. The platform there was already attracting an audience and the show was already unfolding in the field in front of us with a barn owl and a hen harrier (which I missed). The raptor roost was good but not as good as when I last here last year. However, we did roughly count around 25+ marsh harriers, 2-3 hen harriers (one being a male, which was the one out of three I did actually see myself swooping around like a pale ghost with black wingtips alongside the marsh harriers) and roughly 15+ cranes coming in for the night. Everything was very far away. Good job I brought my scope!

We also had a kingfisher perched above the ditch behind us and heard a bullfinch. It was all rounded off with a fantastic red sunset. The perfect way to end the night, even if we did have to navigate the same icy path again, this time in the dark!

Jan 23rd Strumpshaw Fen

The temperature dropped to -4°C and was absolutely freezing! However, it lead to the perfect conditions for my next challenge objective; hoar frost. Strumpshaw was transformed into a winter wonderland with every vegetation decorated in spikes of ice. Every leaf, branch, berry, reed head and even moss became crystallised, beautiful, temporary jewels. I marvelled at them all. Absolutely breathtaking!

Frosty Scenes,
Redpoll (Jan 23rd) & Fieldfare (Jan 30th)

All though the frost only lasted for a short while, there was another captivating sight (and also sound in this case) that lasted far longer. A flock of siskins were making a racket in the alders, hundreds of them! And within their flock, I managed to spot some redpoll. They almost blended in so well that I could have dismissed them as siskins as they appear very similar. Thankfully, the red patch on their foreheads gave them away. I enjoyed this flock so much, I revisited them a couple more times throughout the morning.

Also seen were; bullfinches, marsh harriers, fieldfares, water rail, Chinese water deer, scarlet elfcap fungi and lots of ice as all the broads, ponds and ditches were all frozen solid.

Jan 29th Norwich

It was the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch weekend and I went to my parent's house yet again to do it. Last year, my parents were out and I had to do the one hour survey alone. This time, Dad and my niece, Ava, was here to watch the birds with me. 

There was quite a good turnout this year as we even had a flock of gulls circling for the bread that Dad put out on the lawn. Only one black-headed gull was brave enough for me to count it in the garden. We started at 9:06am and during the hour we counted; 1 magpie, 2 blackbirds, 2 woodpigeons, 1 blue tit, 2 greenfinches, 2 robins and 1 dunnock. Our best haul in quite some time!

Jan 30th Strumpshaw Fen

A fairly quiet morning, except in the woods, where the many siskins and redpolls were making a lot of twittering. I also encountered a fieldfare and a muntjac deer, while at the Reception Hide were 3 swans, 6 greylags, several mallards and marsh harriers and buzzards very briefly before all of them disappeared and left me with a very empty scene for most of the morning. It was a bit windy out on the broad and 3-4 bearded tits braving the strong gusts to feed on the reed heads from the reedy islands, riding them like a rodeo horse, was the last thing I expected to see. 

My Bird List 2022

 Here's a list of all the birds I've seen this year. I did one last year, so I've decided to do one for 2022 as well. Bucket list birds (birds that I'm trying to photograph as part of my challenge) will be marked as (BL). Those on my bucket list that I've seen but failed to photograph will be marked as (X). Other highlights will be marked as (H). All birds that I've only seen from Spain in May are marked as (ES).

1. Mute Swan
2. Bewick's Swan
3. Whooper Swan
4. Canada Goose
5. Brent Goose
6. Red-breasted Goose (BL)
7. Barnacle Goose
8. Greylag Goose
9. Russian White-fronted Goose
10. Pink-footed Goose
11. Shelduck
12. Egyptian Goose
13. Wigeon
14. Mallard
15. Shoveler
16. Gadwall
17. Pintail
18. Teal
19. Garganey
20. Goosander
21. Mandarin Duck
22. Pochard
23. Red-crested Pochard (H)
24. Tufted Duck
25. Scaup
26. Goldeneye
27. Eider
28. Common Scoter (H)
29. Shag (H)
30. Cormorant
31. Red-throated Diver
32. Great Northern Diver (H)
33. Great Crested Grebe
34. Little Grebe
35. Gannet
36. Little Gull
37. Black-headed Gull
38. Mediterranean Gull
39. Common Gull
40. Herring Gull
41. Lesser Black-backed Gull
42. Great Black-backed Gull
43. Iceland Gull (BL)
44. Common Tern
45. Sandwich Tern
46. Little Tern
47. Guillemot
48. Razorbill
49. Oystercatcher
50. Turnstone
51. Avocet
52. Black-winged Stilt (H)
53. Little Ringed Plover
54. Ringed Plover
55. Lapwing
56. Dotterel (BL)
57. Grey Plover
58. Golden Plover
59. Sanderling
60. Knot
61. Dunlin
62. Little Stint
63. Temminck's Stint (BL)
64. Ruff
65. Redshank
66. Greenshank
67. Spotted Redshank
68. Wood Sandpiper (H)
69. Common Sandpiper
70. Green Sandpiper
71. Curlew Sandpiper
72. Purple Sandpiper (H)
73. Black-tailed Godwit
74. Bar-tailed Godwit
75. Long-billed Dowitcher (BL)
76. Curlew
77. Snipe
78. Jack Snipe (H)
79. Grey Heron
80. Bittern
81. Little Egret
82. Great White Egret
83. Cattle Egret (H)
84. Glossy Ibis (H)
85. Crane (H)
86. Spoonbill
87. Moorhen
88. Coot
89. Water Rail
90. Red-legged Partridge
91. Grey Partridge (H)
92. Pheasant
93. Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon
94. Woodpigeon
95. Stock Dove
96. Collared Dove
97. Tawny Owl
98. Little Owl (H)
99. Barn Owl (H)
100. Nightjar (H)
101. Osprey (H)
102. Buzzard
103. Red Kite
104. Marsh Harrier
105. Hen Harrier (X)
106. Sparrowhawk
107. Kestrel
108. Hobby
109. Peregrine
110. Kingfisher
111. Bee-eater (H)
112. Cuckoo
113. Green Woodpecker
114. Great Spotted Woodpecker
115. Wryneck (H)
116. Swift
117. Swallow
118. House Martin
119. Sand Martin
120. Skylark
121. Meadow Pipit
122. Rock Pipit
123. Pied Wagtail
124. Grey Wagtail
125. Yellow Wagtail
126. Dunnock
127. Wren
128. Starling
129. Ring Ouzel (BL)
130. Blackbird
131. Song Thrush
132. Mistle Thrush
133. Fieldfare
134. Redwing
135. Robin
136. Stonechat
137. Whinchat
138. Black Redstart (H)
139. Wheatear
140. Cetti's Warbler
141. Sedge Warbler
142. Reed Warbler
143. Grasshopper Warbler
144. Blackcap
145. Garden Warbler
146. Whitethroat
147. Lesser Whitethroat (X)
148. Chiffchaff
149. Willow Warbler
150. Dusky Warbler (X)
151. Goldcrest
152. Spotted Flycatcher
153. Bearded Tit
154. Long-tailed Tit
155. Blue Tit
156. Great Tit
157. Coal Tit
158. Marsh Tit
159. Nuthatch
160. Treecreeper
161. Jackdaw
162. Carrion Crow
163. Raven (BL)
164. Rook
165. Jay
166. Magpie
167. House Sparrow
168. Bullfinch
169. Brambling
170. Chaffinch
171. Goldfinch
172. Greenfinch
173. Siskin
174. Linnet
175. Yellowhammer
176. Reed Bunting
177. Snow Bunting
178. White Stork (ES)
179. Purple Heron (ES)
180. Lammergeier (ES)
181. Egyptian Vulture (ES)
182. Griffon Vulture (ES)
183. Short-toed Eagle (ES)
184. Booted Eagle (ES)
185. Golden Eagle (ES)
186. Montagu's Harrier (ES)
187. Black Kite (ES) (BL)
188. Yellow-legged Gull (ES)
189. Turtle Dove (ES)
190. Alpine Swift (ES)
191. Hoopoe (ES)
192. Iberian Green Woodpecker (ES)
193. Red-backed Shrike (ES)
194. Woodchat Shrike (ES) (BL)
195. Golden Oriole (ES)
196. Red-billed Chough (ES)
197. Alpine Chough (ES)
198. Crested Tit (ES)
199. Woodlark (ES)
200. Crested Lark (ES)
201. Crag Martin (ES)
202. Western Bonelli's Warbler (ES) (BL)
203. Melodious Warbler (ES) (BL)
204. Western Orphean Warbler (ES)
205. Subalpine Warbler (ES) (BL)
206. Sardinian Warbler (ES) (BL)
207. Firecrest (ES) (BL)
208. Short-toed Treecreeper (ES)
209. Spotless Starling (ES)
210. Nightingale (ES) (BL)
211. Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (ES) (BL)
212. Blue Rock Thrush (ES) (BL)
213. Rock Sparrow (ES) (BL)
214. Water Pipit (ES) (BL)
215. Crossbill (ES)
216. Citril Finch (ES) (BL)
217. Serin (ES) (BL)
218. Corn Bunting (ES)
219. Rock Bunting (ES) (BL)
220. Ciril Bunting (ES)

Ice & Rainbows

 Dec 5th Strumpshaw Fen & Buckenham Marshes

A very changeable day as it kept changing from rain, sunny spells and some very colourful rainbows, but mostly rain. I arrived early enough to see the starlings leave the Reception Hide, just a few thousand flying over my head without anything fancy. At Fen Hide I saw a little egret, Chinese water deer, marsh harriers and bearded tits. A quick walk to the river was cut short by another rain shower, but I did encounter a few fieldfares.

During my shift at Reception Hide, an otter made a couple of visits and we actually had ducks on the broad for the first time in what seems like some time ago (plenty of them, mostly mallards and some gadwall), marsh harriers, a sparrowhawk and a buzzard, 4 mute swans (a pair with a near-fully grown cygnet that had territorial disputes against the 4th) and a couple of brightly coloured rainbows arching across the reserve.

After my shift, I was invited to a walk at Buckenham as I missed out on the annual Christmas get-together due to work. I joined with my group of 3 others on what was an afternoon of mixed fortune. We enjoyed views of many wigeon, lapwings, several Chinese water deer, marsh harriers, a single pink-footed goose, greylags, Canada geese, some barnacle geese, 4 white pheasants and my final new addition to my bird list, white-fronted geese. However, the weather was awful. It kept raining on and off, but the worst of it happened as we decided to head back to our cars. We were all soaked to the bone!

Little Egret, Rainbow,
Wigeon (Dec 5th), Icy Scene,
Frozen Rosehips & Water Rail (Dec 12th)

Dec 12th Strumpshaw Fen

The temperature dropped below zero and to say it wasn't a bit cold was a bit of an understatement. I brought my hiking stick to help navigate through the slipperiest of paths as I made my journey to Strumpshaw on foot. The reserve itself was mostly frozen over and very quiet. Before my shift started, my morning walk produced fieldfares, bullfinches, herons, marsh harriers, 3 swans on ice and a Chinese water deer.

From Reception Hide, the broad was just ice and nothing much on it. At least there was a large flock of bearded tits (about 10+) feeding on reed heads at the reedy islands and a water rail showing well close to the hide to give me something to look at.

Dec 19th Strumpshaw Fen

It was a much warmer day, but the ice still remained on the broad outside the Reception Hide, though it was hard to notice unless you looked closely enough. There wasn't too much about either. Two great white egrets, marsh harriers, 3 mute swans, herons, buzzards, the odd bearded tit and, on the feeders, a great spotted woodpecker.

This was to be my last outing of the year as I spent Christmas with my family, Strumpshaw was closed on Boxing Day and work took up my week days. It was a year that had started well, but kind of slowed towards the end of it. I've seen plenty of great birds, especially when I went to Spain in May. If you want to see my full bird list of the year, I will post it in full later. As for next year, who knows. I may have a challenge in mind. However, I still haven't planned it out fully yet, so watch this space. For now, I hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you all a happy new year. Here's to 2023!

8 Years On

 It has been 8 years since I started this blog. It has been one of those years where it has been a mixed bag. Half the year, I've been out and about, seeing some incredible birds, accumulating a good sized list. I even been to the Spanish Pyrenees on quite the adventure. However, the second half of the year, I've been stuck, unable to travel that often and the new bird species for my list petered out. 

Despite that, I did add some amazing birds, some I've never seen before. So, to celebrate my 8th year, I thought I look back at my top 10 highlights so far. Counting down from number 10, here are my favourite new species that I've seen in 2022...

10. Lammegeier - Yes, I know. This should be number one. However, because I didn't get a decent photo and the views were so fleeting, I just can't put it any higher than 10. This is a large and impressive bird of prey also known as a bearded vulture and eats bones by carrying them to the air and dropping them onto the rocks below to eat the marrow inside. It is an endangered species that was very high on my list when I went to the Spanish Pyrenees. On day 3 of the trip, I finally got to see one fly over us while we were at the pretty mountain town of Anso, having a drinks break sitting outside a café. It was such a fleeting glimpse and was so unexpecting, that I wasn't able to pick up my camera quick enough. I then had to use the toilet inside the café. In that time, it appeared again. I couldn't believe it! We did see a couple of others, but they were much further away. The views weren't as good as that first encounter.

9. Long-billed dowitcher -  This is another that I saw, but couldn't get a decent photo. It was a bit of a wild goose chase to find as I didn't know where it was. After a lot of walking back and forth and searching between Cley and Salthouse, I eventually found it. The light wasn't the best and the bird was fairly distant, but I did have a good look at it. This American wader was more or less like a dark snipe to me, but roughly the size between a snipe and a godwit. It was rewarding after the day I had, however, I really wish I had a better photo of it.

8. Great northern diver - Sea watching is one of my weakest side when it comes to birding. Everything is distant and unable to fully identify things well enough without an expert there to confirm what I'm seeing. Unfortunately, no one was around the day I decided to do a spot of sea watching at Sheringham in November. However, I did manage to find a bird that sat on the sea long enough for me to decide on its identity. In the end, I decided that it was a great northern diver. It looked big enough even from the distance I was seeing it. I've never seen one before and I was confident that it was one. Sadly, I have no photo for my collection, but it was still great to finally see one at long last.

7. Red-breasted goose - In March, I managed to see my first red-fronted goose out in the wild. Of course, it could have been just an escapee, but as far as I know, it was a wild one. I've seen plenty of captive individuals of this colourful species, but this was the first time I've seen one mingling with a flock of wild brent geese at Cley. 

6. Temminck's stint - Not the most attractive of my highlights as it was just a non-descript, tiny brown wader. But it was something I never had seen before and despite its size, it was actually a very charming bird and full of character. I watched it move along the edge of the pools in front of the Parminder Hide at Titchwell, swaying its head from side to side.

5. Dusky warbler - This one gave me and my friend, Trish, on a bit of a run around. We were at Stiffkey, walking up and down this ditch by the main path and I heard a strange 'tssk' call and caught a glimpse of it. We found a group of birders in the wrong spot and we took them to the area and we kept getting glimpses as well as hearing the call occasionally. At one point, it was right in front of me for a brief second. I couldn't get a photo, it was just too quick, but it was a fun experience all the same.

4. Sardinian warbler - This has to be the bird that has provided me with my favourite photo that I took this year. While I was at the Pinnacles of Riglas, these charming little warblers were everywhere. However, they were tricky to photograph. They kept moving out of shot and it took several attempts until I got what I wanted. 

3. Nightingale - Though I have glimpsed one a long time ago and have heard them a few times, I've never had a decent view of one. While out in Spain, I made it my mission to find and photograph one. I didn't need to go far from where I was staying as one was singing from outside my room's window. It took until my 3rd day to actually get what I wanted. I finally got my photo of one of Europe's best songsters. This was a day after losing my phone up a mountain and I was feeling rather down because of it. It was an emotional moment that lifted my mood and left me in tears.

2. Blue rock thrush & Rufous-tailed rock thrush - Taking joint 2nd place, the blue rock thrush was probably the best bird I saw while I was in Spain. We found it sitting on a wall of a dam with a bill full of worms. An absolute stunner! Bright blue! A couple of days later, I also managed to spot a rufous-tailed rock thrush poking behind a rock. Though not quite as stunning as the blue rock thrush, I'm putting it as joint 2nd because I was the one who spotted it and it was quite a hidden and even my group leaders couldn't believe how I even found it.

1. Bee-eater - For the first time, I got to see a colony of bee-eaters in the UK. I did see one in the past in Spain and I saw a colony by a river in the Pyrenees in May as well, but this was the first time they were breeding in Norfolk. This made them very special and were very successful. These rainbow birds at Trimingham provided me with some of the best views I've ever had. They were magical! I watched them catch bees and hit them against a wire to remove the sting. A bird well deserving of No.1 spot!

Dead Ends & Distractions

 Nov 14th Strumpshaw Fen

On November 7th, it was just another Monday at first. I woke up early, caught my early bus into the city and boarded the train to Brundall and was making my way to Strumpshaw. But I never got there. I got as far as the railway bridge at Brundall only to discover that the road underneath it was flooded. I could not go any further. All I could do was watch a man wade through the water up to his upper thighs with his electric scooter held above his head. Yeah, there was no way I wanted to do the same thing, so I walked back to Brundall station and ended up catching the same train that brought me here back into Norwich.

A week later and the flood had gone and I was able to get to Strumpshaw just fine. So to make up for lost time, I decided to stay on until dusk . It was a very misty start that I couldn't see much out of Reception and Fen hides, but at Tower Hide, there were many wildfowl here than any other part of the reserve. Mallards, gadwall, shovelers, teal, a couple of shelducks, a few wigeon and many greylags all just barley visible in the mist. On the way back, there were many tits, finches and thrushes feeding on fallen fruit, including several fieldfares and redwings.

At Reception Hide, it was another fairly quiet shift with hardly much to see. Though there was a brief bittern and a kingfisher as well as marsh harriers, buzzards, a heron, a great white egret and 3 swans, but other than that it was just a lot of staring at a near empty broad.

After my shift, I went for a walk around the woods before entering Fen Hide to wait for the sun to set. As I waited with some visitors with their cameras snapping like machine guns at everything that moved, we watched the marsh harriers, stonechats, fieldfares, a little egret and a Chinese water deer.

Little Egret, Sun Set,
Starling Murmuration
& Common Darter (Nov 14th)

The sun was setting by 3:30pm and starlings were starting to arrive in small flocks. Minute by minute, more flocks of starlings were turning up. Small balls of these birds were merging into a larger group of at least a couple thousand strong and was growing. A mini murmuration swirled across the sky that was partly glowing and partly dimming as the sun slowly sank behind a tree. Eventually, the main bulk of starlings poured into the reeds somewhere near towards the Tower Hide by the riverside to my left. Smaller flocks continued to appear after they went down, but I estimated that the main total was still roughly around 4-6 thousand starlings. 

Before leaving, a kingfisher made an appearance in the near darkness and, at Reception Hide, Dorbenton's bats were skimming over the broad and the wildfowl had arrived for the night.

Nov 19th Whitlingham Broad

Mum and I went for a walk around Whitlingham Broad this morning. There had been a few interesting birds here recently. This included a Slavonian grebe, which sadly wasn't any where to be seen during our outing. However, there were a selection of ducks that were new to my list.

First, there were two goosanders near the boat house before flying off. Then, at the other end of the broad, 2 scaup and a common scoter, the latter being a fairly unusual find as it is normally found on the sea. Also around were many tufted ducks and coots, Egyptian geese, great crested grebes and a buzzard. I also encountered the goosanders again flying by me along the river.

Goosanders
Common Scoter & Scaup (Nov 19th),
Turnstone & Purple Sandpiper (Nov 26th)

Nov 21st Strumpshaw Fen

A bit of a strange day as it seemed empty and quiet, but in the end had some good highlights. There was nothing at Fen Hide (except one marsh harrier) and it was empty at Tower Hide, but between hides, along the muddy path by the river were many fieldfares, redwings and other common woodland tit and finch species, including bullfinches which I only heard calling. I also saw a sparrowhawk on the walk back.

An otter was around on and off at Reception all morning and was close to the hide as far as the measuring post at one point. I also had a large flock of bearded tits in the reeds at the front of the hide, 2-4 marsh harriers, a buzzard, a water rail, but I missed the 3 bitterns fly over, with one landing close by.

It was an ok morning, but my mind was distracted as the World Cup had started and England were about to play Iran while I was waiting for the train home. By the time I got home, they were already 3-0 up. It finished 6-2!

Nov 26th Sheringham

I managed to stray myself away from the football to spend a morning out at Sheringham to sea watch. Could I find anything new over the waves? Well, the sea was actually calm and flat. It wasn't looking like there was going to be anything about.

However, there were some bits and bobs. Mostly red-throated divers, but there were also a flock of 10-20 scoter (where they belong), cormorants, a gannet or two, the usual gull species and a seal. But there was one highlight floating on the sea in the distance that had me puzzling over. It was definitely a diver, but seemed bigger than a red-throated diver and was very dark. The head appeared to be mostly black, the bill seemed to be thicker and every now and then it would lift to flap relatively large wings to reveal a bright white underside. I was more than convinced that this was a great northern diver! Not just new to my list, but new to me as well! Unfortunately, it was too far to photograph.

Mum eventually met up with me after she went into town to kill some time and we had a short stroll along the front hoping to find a purple sandpiper. There were plenty of turnstones and gulls, but it took some searching on the rocks until we finally found one. Unlike the great northern diver, it was more than obliging to pose for a few photos. With this beautiful bird, it takes my 2022 British species total to 176 and 217 overall.

A day later, I heard news of a flock of waxwings was discovered in Sheringham. I was a day early and so I didn't get to see them. What a shame. Just my luck.

Nov 28th Strumpshaw Fen

A very murky, dull day with a lot of mist. I visited Fen Hide, seeing a bittern, 5 marsh harriers, a Chinese water deer and a water rail. Then, as I couldn't make my way to Tower Hide as the path was closed, I made my way along the river to the pumphouse (which was equally muddy in my opinion) and into the woods instead. During the walk, I encountered fieldfares, 2 muntjac deer and at least a hundred siskins spooked out of the trees by a passing train.

It continued to be murky for the rest of the day. The Reception Hide provided distant views of an otter on the far side of the broad in the thick mist and a glimpse of a wing of a bittern as I caught the bird plunging into the reedy islands just a little bit late. Other than that, there reserve seemed very empty and very quiet. 

Strumpshaw has been like that for some time just lately. For a good majority of my visits, there's not even a single duck on the broad. Usually, the broad is full of them by now. It is kind of concerning and a trend that was the same as last year. It feels as if the magic of this place isn't here as much anymore, at least not during the winter and during my shifts especially. It has been a rather forgettable November despite the bitterns, otters and the other things I've seen here throughout this month. At least the World Cup has been exciting.

The Boost

 Oct 2nd Cley

I went to Cley to try and boost my list up again. I started with a spot of sea watching and managed to add only one bird; an eider. Four eiders in fact. But it was mostly red-throated divers (with one close to the shore), 4 brent geese and a wigeon following behind them, great black-backed gulls, 2 dunlin and a seal.

From the main hides, it was largely just lapwing, wigeon, 2 ruffs and 2-3 marsh harriers and heard some pinging bearded tits. Nothing out of the unusual. After that, Dad and I popped over to Walsey Hills to look for a yellow-browed warbler, but found nothing other than goldfinches, greenfinches, etc.

Oct 3rd Strumpshaw Fen

It was a nice clear day and a good one for bearded tits and bitterns. The bearded tits were extremely lively from Fen and Reception hides as they formed large flocks of 10-30 and were constantly flying from reedbed to reedbed in a cacophony of pinging.

From Fen Hide, I saw a bittern flying in the distance heading towards the Reception and when I got there, I found it at the edge of the reedy islands. It then climbed to the top of the reeds, poking its head out with bearded tits surrounding it. A second bittern also appeared and landed in the reedbed behind the first. Eventually, both left their hiding spots, though the first returned sometime later.

Also seen this morning, which started very misty, was a skein of pink-footed geese, a fleeting glimpse of a kingfisher, 6 meadow pipits, a flying snipe, herons, marsh harriers, swans, cormorants, a kestrel, a sparrowhawk and a Chinese water deer.

Bittern, Sparrowhawk 
 & Spider Web (Oct 3rd), Great White Egret &
Marsh Tit (Oct 10th) & Migrant Hawker (Oct 15th)

Oct 10th Strumpshaw Fen

A horrible start of the day as it rained heavily. I walked in the woods looking for fungi, but I just got really wet. I did find a fly agaric, but not much else. Absolutely soaked, I made my way to Fen Hide to shelter. Once I got there though, the rain stopped!

It was a fairly quiet day wildlife wise, though the highlights was a great white egret hanging by the reedy islands by Reception Hide, a sparrowhawk mobbed by crows, a kestrel being mobbed by meadow pipits, redwings with fieldfares, marsh harriers, bearded tits and a pair of tufted ducks.

Oct 15th Titchwell

Mum and I spent the morning at Titchwell. It was a nice yet windy day out and on the way there, we had several red kites and 2 kestrels flying by the roadside.

At the pools, large flocks of golden plovers and godwits huddled together in separate groups with the plovers forming golden carpets on the strips of land and the godwits sleeping together close to the main path. There were also small numbers of avocets, dunlin and brent geese.

On the saltmarshes left of the main path, we could see curlews, redshanks, little egrets, a Chinese water deer, starlings, lapwings, a snipe and a couple of bearded tits.

The main highlight of the day, however, was a flock of 10-15 snow buntings on the beach. They were foraging on the dunes and by the strandline. Amongst them were a pair of turnstones, but out at sea, nothing much at all.

Black-tailed Godwits, Golden Plovers
& Snow Buntings (Oct 15th),
Death Cap (Oct 17th), Black Bulgar & Treecreeper (Oct 24th)

After lunch, we had a quick walk to Patsy's reedbed, seeing 5 or so tufted ducks, a pochard, a little grebe, gadwall, a marsh harrier and a pair of kestrels. On the way home, we passed by a few more red kites and another kestrel.

Oct 17th Strumpshaw Fen

Another wet start to a Monday morning and I got a lift in. By the time I got to Strumpshaw, however, the rain stopped and was just dull and grey. I had a quick look around the woods for fungi, finding a deathcap and not much else. The broad was rather empty other than 3 swans, a cormorant and an otter that I saw making a lap around the broad as soon as I opened a window to the Reception Hide. Other than that, it was kind of uneventful by the time the otter left.

Oct 24th Strumpshaw Fen

Yet another rainy start. Thankfully, after getting an early lift in, it had stopped and was sunny though a bit windy. Despite the improvement in the weather, it was a bit quiet with very little to see, only a couple of marsh harriers, a cormorant, 3 swans, a distant kestrel, a treecreeper in the woods and heard a kingfisher and that was about as exciting as it got.

The real enjoyment of the day was admiring all the fungi in the woods. There were many and I don't know what they all are, but I still enjoyed discovering all the shapes and colours. It really felt like I was walking in a kingdom of fungi today as they were everywhere. One of the highlights was being shown a stump full of strange black buttons on a stump, which I believe were black bulgar. I don't think I've ever seen it here before.

Oct 30th Salthouse & Cley

The weather was awful to begin with, but I really wanted to find a rare bird and there just happened to be one at Cley. A long-billed dowitcher had been seen switching between Cley and Salthouse for the past week and a half and I really wanted to see this rare American wader. 

First, we stopped at Salthouse in the pouring rain. No sign, but I did get to add razorbill to my list, two in fact with about 3 red-throated divers out at sea close to the shore. 

Next, I was dropped off at Iron Road car park. This was where it was seen the previous day. I met a group of birders and they told me it was just seen further up the road towards Cley at the Babcock Hide. I followed them there, but only to find dunlin, one black-tailed godwit and meadow pipits. The dowitcher was gone. But at least the rain had stopped.

News was spreading of a desert wheatear had just appeared on the beach at Cley. So I gave up on the dowitcher and began the long walk to East Bank. I had a quick detour on the way to the pool next to Walsey Hill where a birding group was looking at a jack snipe bouncing in the middle of it. My 170th British bird!

Red-throated Diver, Razorbill,
Jack Snipe
& Long-billed Dowitcher

Back along East Bank, Dad joined me for the walk to where the huge group of twitchers were. I also missed out by a fraction of a pallid harrier swooping over the reserve! Another rare bird missed!!

Eventually, we arrived at the crowd and annoyingly the wheatear had disappeared into hiding. It was nowhere to be seen. Frustrated, I joined Dad who was sitting behind the crowd for lunch. While munching on a sandwich, a familiar face came up to me. Rachel, an ex-Strumpshaw staff, recognised me on the beach and was asking me if I had seen the wheatear and pallid harrier and apparently, while I was eating, they were seen again apparently. I scanned and scanned, but nothing. I was starting to feel like I was cursed. 

However, I wasn't going to give up on seeing the dowitcher and I decided to give it one more try. Dad went back to the car while I made my way to Babcock Hide. On the way, I met a man who had just seen the bird and it was at a pool along Iron Road where I was dropped off at from the get go! So, I skipped Babcock Hide and made the long return walk to Iron Road car park. Another group of birders marked the spot, overlooking the pool. After scanning the dunlin, godwits, snipe, teal and wigeon, I finally found the bird I wanted to see! It looked like a dark snipe with no markings. It was a bit distant though on the far side of the pool, but I didn't care. My curse felt like it was lifted for at least until the next rare bird shows up. This takes my British list to 171 and 214 for my overall list now.

Oct 31st Strumpshaw Fen

Halloween at Strumpshaw had a few treats in store. At Fen Hide, there were marsh harriers, a flock of fieldfares and redwings in a couple of trees and a couple of stonechats. Further along the Sandy Wall, I got close to 4-5 bearded tits. At Reception Hide, a kingfisher circling the broad three times.

Pheasants fighting, Bearded Tit,
Upright Coral & Green Elfcap

At the end of the shift, though, I was shown a couple of beautiful fungi in the woods. First, some upright coral between the pond-dipping pond and the Gnarly Oak. I've been looking for it in the Dell area, where I've seen it several years ago now, but I've clearly been walking past it many times without noticing it this whole time. Then, I was shown something really colourful on a log in the Dell area itself. This log had specks of bright turquoise. These were green elfcaps. Absolutely beautiful.