Started the day with a casual couple of hours vis migging from the Little Paxton balcony, 26 Waxwings which flew over east calling were the highlight otherwise a trickle of Redwings over, 8 Reed Buntings NE and 3 Curlew NW were the best of it then heavy rain set in until very late afternoon.
Spent the last two hours of gloomy daylight at Grafham scanning the gull roost from the Dam and along the north shore. 3 adult Yellow-legged Gulls and at least 2 adult Kittiwakes were in the roost, an adult Mediterranean Gull came in over the Dam with a group of Black-headed Gulls, a Turnstone was on the dam as were 2 Oystercatchers and 8 Common Snipe dropped into the flooded stubble field north of the Dam at dusk. A lone Chiffchaff was at the north end of the Dam as were c.30 Redwings and 8 Fieldfares.
Grafham - 16 March 2013
Covered the Dam and adjacent areas followed by a shortish scan from the Yacht Club until 10.30 ish...
4 windblown adult Kittiwakes were the highlight with 5 Yellow-legged Gulls, the Slavonian Grebe, a Rock Pipit (race littoralis) and a flock of 300+ Fieldfares over being the other notable sightings.
4 windblown adult Kittiwakes were the highlight with 5 Yellow-legged Gulls, the Slavonian Grebe, a Rock Pipit (race littoralis) and a flock of 300+ Fieldfares over being the other notable sightings.
Grafham 14 March 2013
Following a lone Swallow north along the Ouse late morning, a late afternoon visit to Grafham in relatively benign conditions....
The Slavonian Grebe was still off the Dam as was the male Common Scoter, the gull roost was split so rather awkward to sift through; 6 Yellow-Legged Gulls, 2 second calendar year (first-winter) Caspian Gulls and a single juvenile Iceland Gull (a pale one) were the pick.
A couple of other sightings locally in the last few days are worthy of mention; a total of 8 Brent Geese flew north along the Ouse Valley on 9 March on a day when they were on the move across south-east England; a female Merlin at Toseland has, I suspect, been in the general area all winter but who really knows(?).
The Slavonian Grebe was still off the Dam as was the male Common Scoter, the gull roost was split so rather awkward to sift through; 6 Yellow-Legged Gulls, 2 second calendar year (first-winter) Caspian Gulls and a single juvenile Iceland Gull (a pale one) were the pick.
A couple of other sightings locally in the last few days are worthy of mention; a total of 8 Brent Geese flew north along the Ouse Valley on 9 March on a day when they were on the move across south-east England; a female Merlin at Toseland has, I suspect, been in the general area all winter but who really knows(?).
Grafham Water - 22 February 2013
With a air temperatures just above zero and an extreme wind chill factor from a biting easterly, the five hours walking was real graft this morning, fortunately there was sufficient variety of birdlife around to make the walk worthwhile.
Although wildfowl numbers have been very low in recent weeks there were 120 + Goldeneye, 2 Goosanders, the first-winter male Scaup off the yacht club, a redhead Smew in Littless Creek. The Slavonian Grebe that has been around for a while was off the dam. A Turnstone was just west of the Mander CP, 6 Redshanks, 2 Green Sandpipers were in this area also and c.60 Black-tailed Godwits flew through north-east despite the fierce wind. A walk around the west end of the reservoir afforded shelter and a few passerine sightings which included 2 male Blackcaps, 10 Siskins, 4 Lesser Redpolls and 7 + Nuthatches in Littless Wood.
Although wildfowl numbers have been very low in recent weeks there were 120 + Goldeneye, 2 Goosanders, the first-winter male Scaup off the yacht club, a redhead Smew in Littless Creek. The Slavonian Grebe that has been around for a while was off the dam. A Turnstone was just west of the Mander CP, 6 Redshanks, 2 Green Sandpipers were in this area also and c.60 Black-tailed Godwits flew through north-east despite the fierce wind. A walk around the west end of the reservoir afforded shelter and a few passerine sightings which included 2 male Blackcaps, 10 Siskins, 4 Lesser Redpolls and 7 + Nuthatches in Littless Wood.
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| Scaup - first-winter drake |
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| Marsh Tit |
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| Nuthatch |
Ouse Washes - 16 February 2013
Clear blue skies, a gentle south-westerly breeze and higher temperatures than of late tempted me out to the Ouse Washes for most of the day with a nice long walk from Welches Dam along the Old Bedford River bank northwards past the railway bridge to the pumping station.
There were good numbers of wild Swans around though most were distant apart from a few close flybys, as expected there were masses of Wigeon though very few Pintail with just 20 counted, c40 Goldeneye, a pair of Goosanders and a pair of Smew were all north of the railway bridge. Waders were restricted to c 280 Golden Plovers in the adjacent fields and a flyover flock of c 200 some with shades of black appearing on their bellies; several Redshank and 2 Ruff. 2 cream crown Marsh Harriers were quartering the reed swamp along the railway embankment and a Short-eared Owl hunted along the farmland edge north of the railway bridge late afternoon. Very few Gulls were noted though a juvenuile Glaucous Gull which flew south along the wash late afternoon was impressive as always.
The best of the passerines were two Water Pipits which were feeding in an area of mud and vegetation near the railway bridge and flew off high towards the flooded fields on the west side of the river, a male Stonechat, 4 Kingfishers added a splash of colour to the afternoon and 6 Corn Buntings blended well into the buff/brown tones of the arable landscape.
There were good numbers of wild Swans around though most were distant apart from a few close flybys, as expected there were masses of Wigeon though very few Pintail with just 20 counted, c40 Goldeneye, a pair of Goosanders and a pair of Smew were all north of the railway bridge. Waders were restricted to c 280 Golden Plovers in the adjacent fields and a flyover flock of c 200 some with shades of black appearing on their bellies; several Redshank and 2 Ruff. 2 cream crown Marsh Harriers were quartering the reed swamp along the railway embankment and a Short-eared Owl hunted along the farmland edge north of the railway bridge late afternoon. Very few Gulls were noted though a juvenuile Glaucous Gull which flew south along the wash late afternoon was impressive as always.
The best of the passerines were two Water Pipits which were feeding in an area of mud and vegetation near the railway bridge and flew off high towards the flooded fields on the west side of the river, a male Stonechat, 4 Kingfishers added a splash of colour to the afternoon and 6 Corn Buntings blended well into the buff/brown tones of the arable landscape.
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| a typically distant flock of Swans - these were mostly Bewick's |
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| a flight of Wigeon |
Grafham Water 9 February 2013
Spent the morning covering the area near the dam and the west end of the reservoir from 0800 to 11.30 am; a pleasant sunny bright morning with a light south-westerly breeze.
A modest selection: 4 Bewick's Swans were still at the west end, the female Red-breasted Merganser and first-winter male Scaup were off the the dam, 6 Goosanders (2 males) off the Yacht Club, a lone redhead Smew was in Littless Creek, 5 Yellow-legged Gulls (2 ads, 2 2nd calendar year and 1 4th calendar year; 6 Redshanks, 2 Green Sandpipers, c.30 Siskins and
c. 40 Lesser Redpolls.
c. 40 Lesser Redpolls.
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| Lesser Redpoll (male) |
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| Red-breasted Merganser (female) |
A Norfolk weekend 1-3 February 2013
The traditional February weekend away now re-located to Norfolk during which we encountered some spectacular north sea sleet squalls brought in by a bitingly fierce northerly wind.
The weekend kicked off on Friday with an en-route visit to the Ouse Washes at Welches Dam where in addition to rather distant views of wild swans a flock of c.200 Golden Plovers allowed closer scrutiny but were eclipsed by a series of impressive large overflying flocks of Goldies totaling c 2000, 5 Ruff (all males) were around and a couple of Goosander were just about it..
Saturday morning dawned with massive storm clouds coming in over the north sea and a light dusting of snow as we walked along the Wash bank at Snettisham. The crystalline clarity and fiercely bright light enhanced the high tide wader roost spectacle. In addition to the anticipated large numbers of Knot, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwits etc the numbers of Pintail, Wigeon and Brent Geese were impressive; three Long-tailed Ducks which flew north close inshore were an added bonus.
We then headed for Holkham for the afternoon, several skeins of Pinkfeet flew overhead en-route. The weather deteriorated with massive rain and sleet storms sweeping in limiting our visit to a couple of hours, the best sightings were an adult Black Brant or hybrid with a small flock of bernicla Brent Geese which also held a single adult hrota; some decent sized flocks of Pinkfeet were around with flocks arriving from the south and engaging in some frisky flight displays; just 4 White-fronted Geese and 2 Barnacle Geese.
A strong westerly wind for the Sunday morning walk from Cley to Salthouse and back made birding hard work with 3 Red-throated Divers, a single adult Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Marsh Harriers and an impressive grazing flock of c.900 Brents being the best sightings.
A final stop off at Woodwalton Fen was too late for any roosting Harriers but we did manage a single Woodcock at dusk and a couple of heard only Long-eared Owls.
The weekend kicked off on Friday with an en-route visit to the Ouse Washes at Welches Dam where in addition to rather distant views of wild swans a flock of c.200 Golden Plovers allowed closer scrutiny but were eclipsed by a series of impressive large overflying flocks of Goldies totaling c 2000, 5 Ruff (all males) were around and a couple of Goosander were just about it..
Saturday morning dawned with massive storm clouds coming in over the north sea and a light dusting of snow as we walked along the Wash bank at Snettisham. The crystalline clarity and fiercely bright light enhanced the high tide wader roost spectacle. In addition to the anticipated large numbers of Knot, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwits etc the numbers of Pintail, Wigeon and Brent Geese were impressive; three Long-tailed Ducks which flew north close inshore were an added bonus.
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Oystercatchers Knot and a lone Turnstone |
A strong westerly wind for the Sunday morning walk from Cley to Salthouse and back made birding hard work with 3 Red-throated Divers, a single adult Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Marsh Harriers and an impressive grazing flock of c.900 Brents being the best sightings.
A final stop off at Woodwalton Fen was too late for any roosting Harriers but we did manage a single Woodcock at dusk and a couple of heard only Long-eared Owls.
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