Wildlife

James Lowen

There were plenty of Brown Hares around as well.

To finish off an enjoyable morning, I caught up with the Olive-backed Pipit briefly at Wells and jammed a Rough-legged Buzzard flying over the car at Stiffkey.

Perhaps the problem was that there were too many common migrants. Groups of Robin were everywhere, and plenty of thrushes darting around. Chiffchaff and Blackcap were common, and Brambling wheezed from many trees. Don't get me wrong, it was exciting birding - but I still feel somewhat robbed that the only decent image I got all day was of a Robin...

16 October 2014

Work got in the way of continuing the fall birding on the 15th. My mate Stu Butchart, however, headed out - and found himself an Isabelline Shrike at Warham Green. It wasn't a particularly hard decision to arrive at dawn on the East Anglian coast for the third time in four days, particularly as overnight south-easterlies and heavy rain promised a further arrival of migrants.

But this hope was also foiled. Although plenty of Song Thrushes streamed up from the hedgerows lining the track down to the salt marsh, it was quickly apparent that migrants were way down: perhaps just 10% of numbers on 14th. This didn't deter me, however, and with only a morning available, I walked the hedge, thrashed the fields and pushed the copses. I bumped into a couple of Great Grey Shrikes, which were nice but didn't pose for photos. I relocated the Isabelline Shrike (my first since 1988!) so the masses could enjoy it. Views were relatively distant, and the light was poor, but this did look quite an interesting bird, with a quite heavily marked rump that hints at Turkestan Shrike, whereas the rest more placidly suggests Daurian. Here's a raft of photos so you can judge for yourself.

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13-16 October 2014 Fallout

I find no birding more exciting than a 'fall'. Clear skies over Scandinavia prompt birds to depart en masse. Bad weather in the North Sea forces them to land, en masse, on the British coast. Conditions overnight on 12/13 October suggested that a fall could well happen on the afternoon of 13th.

13 October 2014

I arrived at Lowestoft just after dawn. There was no point in looking for landbirds: strong easterlies and driving rain would keep any early arrivals well hidden. Instead, I seawatched. As a teenager, I loved staring out across the waves, hoping for a diver or skua to fly through my telescope field of view. Nowadays, I hate it. Today, I lasted only an hour until work beckoned. But I still knocked up a Leach's Petrel, 2 Velvet Scoters and a Bonxie.

By mid-afternoon, the rain had turned from constant downpour to frequent squall. That was enough to prompt me to take a belated lunch break. Two Goldcrests in a single tree in the office car park were a good sign. Driving to Gunton Warren, it was quickly clear that a major avian arrival was underway. Flocks of Redwing streamed overhead. I kicked up Song Thrushes every few metres. Goldcrests were calling constantly; ditto Brambling. Three Snow Bunting flew south, calling. And what looked very much like a Barred Warbler flew up from one bramble before diving into another, where it stayed hidden and unidentified. This was exciting stuff - and a real shame that work called me back.

14 October 2014

Rising before dawn revealed the Norwich skies to be full of Redwings and Song Thrushes. Boy, was today going to be good! I picked up another recent Norwich arrival, top Israeli birder Yoav Perlman, and headed to Warham Green.

There was clearly plenty of migrant action about. Oodles of Goldcrest, Robin, Brambling (see below) and Chiffchaff. Floods of Song Thrush and Redwing. Perhaps not the carpet of birds that characterised the October 2012 fall, but enough to keep the adrenalin flowing. We were sure to find a cracking bird...

That, at least, was the plan. The reality was rather different. Indeed, while exciting birding and despite a day list packed with quality, our hours scouring Warham Green, Stiffkey, Wells and Holkham was actually underwhelming. We (well, I), didn't find a decent scarce, let alone a BB rarity. And the scarce and BB we did see typically gave fleeting views. And despite the gorgeous light, I barely took a snap all day.

Yoav did OK, though. He found a Little Bunting at Warham. I just about got on the bird before it dropped down. It didn't re-emerge - until it was found an hour later, a mile to the east. A Warham Woodcock was fun: in the very same field where I saw my last, two years ago. We had 2-3 Yellow-browed Warblers here, another at Stiffkey campsite wood, 6-8 at Wells and 1-2 at Holkham. I think this is the first time I have had double figures of this sexy sprite in a single day. We twitched a Red-flanked Bluetail at Stiffkey, but it gave only fleeting views in the canopy - clearly deterred from descending to the ground by the throng of loud, jostling birders below it. Unpleasant. At Wells, a Radde's Warbler was slightly more co-operative but again suffered from encroaching twitchers. It was within 50m of where I saw my last Radde's in Britain, back in 2003. That coincidence didn't make up for our inability to find our own, however. What were we doing wrong?