Wrentham, Suffolk.

Still a good strong wind from the west but the sun is out.

Wrentham:  Although this bird has hung around for months I had never been out to see it as it is an escape from who knows where. But today I paid a visit to see the BLACK KITE. To my utter amazement it flew only 20 feet above my head and then settled nearby in a tree. It was not until I had scoped it that I realised what was going on. Because what ever this bird is or isn't it was building a nest. It has trigs and grasses a bough and was sorting them out with effort. So as I tweeted out you just never know. It has been known for them to breed with COMMON BUZZARD and today there were three in the vicinity. So we will see.
Several GOLDCREST calling in the church yard and one CHIFFCHAFF.

Also a lovely KESTREL at Sotterly but not much else, he was one of four today around that area. I also had CHAFFINCH, COAL TIT, SONG THRUSH, RED PARTRIDGE 5, and ROBIN.

 

I also had some other news in from France today who have picked up on the BLACK TAILED GODWIT I saw on Breydon. Rung in Moeze (Charente Maritime) a year ago. This is the first record of this bird in the UK.

 

 

 

 



Links Hill and Ness Point.

Well the wind has blown well today from the South West.

Links Hill:  Fed the gulls with some fish scraps, but they don't know what they are at the moment. But did gain a good view of a first winter diminutive MED GULL. Some really odd plumaged gulls about.
Ness Point:  Saw some 11 PURPLE SANDPIPER and 27 TURNSTONE. Before the hooly struck.

Carlton Marsh, Oulton,

Large clouds in a blue sky with light wind and still a chill in the air.

Best bird was single LITTLE RINGED PLOVER on the scrape with an associating GREEN SAND PIPER. also KINGFISHER and CETTI'S WARBLER about three birds. One COMMON BUZZARD and SPARROW HAWK as well as 2 KESTREL. Over Castle Marsh raptors assumed MARSH HARRIERS but also BUZZARD over Barnby. A few REED BUNTING calling with a nice female in the car park.
One CHINESE WATER DEER that kept having a look.

On return home the good old faithful PEREGRINE was soaring well up high with gulls. With the occasional stoop he circled for 10 minuets.

Ditchingham and Home.

Bright day and warmer with high Cumulus cloud.

Ditchingham:  Best bird for me was a single TREECREEPER. Not the best pic again but ok. As usual very difficult to pin down on as it was roving well. 2 CHIFFCHAFF and a 3 COMMON BUZZARD with two as a pair. I also had a Continental type LONG TAILED TIT. It was very white from mid chest and very little pink flush. The bird was a bit of a puff ball in real terms. Other stuff around included BLACKBIRD, CHAFINCH, ROBIN, WREN, DUNNOCK, CROW, ROOK, JACKDAW, TUFTED DUCK 9, MUTE SWAN 4, CANNADA GEESE 4, 2 GREAT CRESTED GREBE, MALLARD.
Hulver:  A pair of COMMON BUZZARD and a pair of RED LEGGED PARTRIDGE.
Home:  On arrival gulls kicking of and a pair of RED KITE flying South West.

Home

Overcast and drizzle and no car. So home it is, with the first CHIFFCHAFF of the year in the garden.  In fact I think there was more than one as one bird was trying to chiff and another had a Huwet call, as in the Autumn. You can see his little rhino horn above his beak as it is wet.

Meet Harry and Sally.

First came together on Feb 14th, very uncanny and have stuck with each other again. Last year was the first time they ever had young and this year we wait and see. His relationship is odd with her but has improved over the last 3 years. He now shows much more concern for her at feeding time and will defend her and make food available. They are fed in the morning and in the evening and after a feed they clear off. Harry and Sally defend the area and by keeping them the Lesser black back Gulls do not nest. So I am not a target for there aggression. You see Herring Gulls have there uses.

Home and Horsey

Started bright but weather again deteriorated to cloudy although still.

Home:  Had a flyover RED KITE first for the year. Bird was high and the only other comment to make is that it early for me here and it was flying due West which is again unusual as most raptors are flying North.
Horsey: Dipped out on the White tailed Eagle but the thinking is that there are two birds in the area. One was seen at Sizewell at around 13:00 hours and the other at Horsey all morning and into late afternoon. I however had one BARN OWL, and a single COMMON BUZZARD. GREY HERON, BLACK SWAN, GREY LAG GOOSE with orange neck ring. MARSH HARRIER with one bird well of sitting in tree which was very pale at top. If it was an assumed M,H, it was very light. A flock of 25 PINK FOOTED GEESE flew in and a flock of 50 LAPWING. I also had a single FIELDFARE.

Ness Point, Lowestoft.

Ness Point;  Not much about except for the usual 9 PURPLE SANDPIPER, until I was visited by the ROCK PIPIT below. This bird was different from the two that have been around the north wall as it was a duller come greyer bird. It was also very flighty. In real terms it was so difficult to photograph so hence the only picture is the one shown. I many respects it is just a rock pipit in winter plumage. But in others it shows signs of being of Scandinavian origin. At he time of viewing the bird was light in dull conditions. With a long super and beak looked longer than in the picture. You can just see the super from the angle in the picture and the streaking on its back is still odd to me. I would not be at all surprised if it could come out as a Litoralis.

The question this bird raises is why the grey under tail covers.

Strumpshaw Fen and Leathe's Ham

Spent several hours doing a circuit round the Fen, with little to show and nothing to add. Best of all was a PHEASANT but perhaps we get to used to watching stuff which in real terms are still very important. Altogether 27 species for the day and a SPARROW HAWK at Thorpe on the way home.

Leathe's Ham:  Best bird CHIFFCHAFF and also the female COMMON POCHARD that is still hanging in there as is the REDWING. 13 TUFTED and 11 SHOVELORE look good. With the added attraction of a KINGFISHER flying low over the water.

We won't speak about the fact that my son in law saw the WHITE TAILED SEA EAGLE as he flew into Norwich airport midday on Monday. It was being harried by Crows below the chopper. He couldn't believe the size of the bird.
Blackbird gathering mud to line nest

 
 

 
     Turnstone from Ness Point the other day, any ideas if the circle behind the eye is the ear.?

Kessingland Sewer Works and through to beach.

Overcast with light breeze from sea. In real terms cold from Siberia.

Best bird was what to all intents and purposes were two BLACK THROATED DIVER. offshore and on the water/. Only problem is the distance from shore. Both birds were darker than there compatriots with one at least showing the white end flash. The bill and head were enough to clinch the sighting as big was different and not held up and truly dark. Of course trying to take a picture at this distance is never easy but I think you can see from the one I have put up that the bird is there.
                The bird which shows a lower black and small big is the lower one of the pair.

At the sewer farm a flock of 20 PIED WAGTAIL and two REED BUNTING both male. Also single CHIFFCHAFF, a very yellow spring run bird. CHAFFINCH, WREN, RIBIN, BLACKBIRD, DUNNOCK, GREAT TIT, BLUE TIT, and LONG TAILED TIT.

Only one SKYLARK on levels.

I did come across a BLACKBIRD rung and also several GREENFINCH  as well as this MUNCJACK DEER.

              

To finish of the day a short trip to the Ness brought in a large flock of GANNET which had settled on the water just short of the Newcome Buoy. As an  estimate about 00 plus birds.

Ness Point and Home.

Took a stroll with a good friend down the Ness Point and picked up 7 PURPLE SANDPIPERS and 4 DUNLIN. But it was also good to see the two ROCK PIPIT flitting along the North Wall as well.

STARLINGS: No one takes much notice except when there are thousands of them about, but today was odd. I walked to the shop in Norwich Road just a few hundred yards and counted 35 birds in all. Some in pairs and others in small groups. All sitting behind chimney pots or on ledges of the same on the south side. This was only true however of stacks that were north and south facing on there broad side. The only reasonable explanation........The wind was from the North East and was bitter. It is the first time in month's that the wind has come from Siberia were a very large High is situated. So from my way of thinking they are hiding away from the wind and sitting in the sun.

Waveney Forest Mound

By the time I got there time was moving on and the sun was lightly covered. Wind was behind for viewing so not as cold as of sometimes.
About 100 meters before the viewing area an owl appeared very low and as usual not much warning. But the view was good enough for the first of the SHORT EARED OWLS. In all I saw three SEO bur most at great distance. But one was in LLL.

The only ROUGH LEGGED BUZZARD was well of. In fact he was nearer to Berney Arms than to me. I had to wait an hour for him to fly and gain a real id on him.

See what I mean by distant, but again it's there, or he was for short time. He was occasionally given grief by a SEO but most of the time it was on the ground and back up again. I also had a closer view on 2 COMMON BUZZARD, but the real good one was a ring tailed HEN HARRHIER which came of LLL and headed of across the river onto Haddiscoe Island. I also had a single BARN OWL from LLL which headed in the same direction. 2 KESTRELS and 4 EGYPTION GEESE as well as 2 OYSTERCATCHER and a single LITTLE EGERET. In the wood on the way back a small flock of GOLDFINCH, BLUE TIT and GREAT TIT as well as several BLACKBIRD which if you were to ask me are getting ready to clear, as were the 9 REDWING with only one viewable but what a bird. In the Paddocks at Redwings assume 300 plus FIELDFARE.



Lowestoft Cemetery and Leathe's Ham

Bright day and car in for MOT, means a walk through to get some birding in for the day.
Home:  Had six MAGPIE in the garden CARRION CROW, DUNOCK, BLACKBIRD, WOODPIGEON, COLLARD DOVE, GREAT TIT, B;UE TIT, and a fly over SPARROW HAWK which has something odd with it's primaries on the right side. It was flying high with the gulls and enjoying there company and upsetting them.
Lowestoft Cemetery:  Best bird here was a spring migrant in the shape of a CHIFFCHAFF first one for the year for me which now brings in a total of 115 all self found except for the dickie. Also had one GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER did not show well so pic not worth seeing. But I also had a  GREEN WOODPECKER and 11 MAGPIE sorting themselves out in one tree. As usual the bird at the top had a very long tail. So I wonder who was the boss man. CHAFFINCH, WRERN ROBIN, BLACKBIRD, DUNOCK, GREENFINCH and CARRION CROW.
Leathe's Ham: The female POCHARD is still about and four DABCHICK look like they are getting ready to nest. TUFTED DUCK, PINTAIL, MALLARD MUTE SWAN and a female WIGEON make the rest of the crew.

Ness Point and Loathingland Lake.

Yesterday went fro a walk along Green Lane, Somerlyton and near to Park Farm again a single YELLOWHAMMER. There were also some CHAFFINCH , BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT, 2 COAL TIT1 STOCK DOVE. 3 GREEN WOODPECKER. A scattering of PIED WAG and 2 SKYLARK.
Ness Point:  9 GANNET with 7 south and 7 RED THROATED DIVER north.. Also keeping up with 7  was PURPLE SANDPIPER and 2 TURNSTONE.
Silo Loathingland lake: Both PERI'S in position with her in nest box and he lower down.

 

So here we are with the new Nikon, pleased with this set up.

 

Somerlyton Estate.

Made a new purchase yesterday of a small 20 meg digi camera. After the demise of my good old faithful Samsung. Sorry but I must admit to a failure in purchasing a 20meg Nikon Coolpix.. Choose for yourself what you think from the first picture from the garden to the LESSER BLACK BACKED just over a 100 meters away. Not bad for the first one.

Best bird today was a YELLOW HAMMER from the side of the road on the Somerlyton Estate. Bird was very sociable as it sat behind a telegraph pole. Moved of when 20 feet away but still a lovely male bird calling.
I also had 40 CORMORANTS over head at Gorlston obviously heading in the direction of Fritton Lake.
Lound Lakes: Several SHOVELORE and  about 20 MOORHENS. The JACKDAWS had taken a fancy to the owl box again I see. There was also a flock of 10 BARNACLE GEESE there which must have come in as I have not seen them there this year.

First pic with new camera.



Leathe's Ham, Loathingland Lake and Links Hill.

All the L's........ with increasing signs of spring.
Leathe's Ham:   8 GRRENFINCH with 3 WREN 4 GOLDFINCH, 4 HOUSE SPARROW 2 BLACKBIRD.
Loathingland Lake:  3 DABCHICK
Links Hill:  Common Gull 4 with about 50 BLACK HEADED GULL. I also had a hunting KESTREL which set about small stuff on far side. But closer to hand was a flock of 30 LINNET.

Invested in a new Nikon 20 meg digi camera today. See how this performs on the scope once I get it all set up. Until then still in action with my Cannon.

Rather a job to spot the little critters but some Linnets are there.

Leathe's Ham, Lowestoft.

Leathe's Ham:  Spent only 30 minuets  here today with the best bird being a single KINGFISHER. Also 7 SHOVLORE, GADWALL, PINTAIL, TUFTED DUCK, MALLARD, I also had the REDWING again that has hung around all winter. Still no migrant yet but it is rather early but a fly over flock of CROWS was numbered in at 8 which was not appreciated by the gulls fraternity. One surprise was a single JAY which seems to be well away from it's normal haunt.

Benacre Broad. Suffolk.

Strong wind from the west with cold nip in the air.

Nothing out of the ordinary but with hardly any water in the broad it did bring in some waders. SANDERLING, DUNLIN, RINGED PLOVER, LAPWING, REDSHANK and plenty of gulls with a few L.B.B.GULLS and G.B.B.GULLS. Altogether the interesting feature was the SONG THRUSHES about which must be getting ready to move on as they have been few and far between. There was also a single LITTLE EGERET over the far side sheltering from the wind and a few duck including TEAL, MALLARD and several SHELLDUCK.
                                                         Look what the tide turned up.

Horsey Gap. Norfolk.

My daughter and family spent the weekend at a local cottage so we went over  and paid a visit.
Best bird was undoubtedly a single ROUGH LEGGED BUZZARD well of a half a mile and heading away but was still a steal of a bird. It was being harried by about 20 CROWS who had taken a serious delight in gaining some enjoyment from there activities. Also two SANDERLING were feeding in and out of the seals which I have never seen before. I also picked up on two SNIPE flying up and off as well as 100's of GANNETS offshore.
                                                          Seals about 50 along the beach.