Saturday 6 February 2010 - A 'fogfest' in North Norfolk - 06/02/2010

Saturday 6th February 2010

I really needed to get out of the West Midlands this weekend for a change of scenery so a meeting with Stevie Dunn (Nottinghamshire) and John Scullard (Norfolk) was organised.  The plan of attack was for a birding jaunt along the north Norfolk coast.

Wolferton

Before meeting the lads at Snettisham I decided to have a quick 'kerb crawl' around the Wolferton Triangle to see if there were any Golden Pheasants scratching about.  The first lap provided two Woodcock feeding unconcerned at the side of the road.  The second lap produced a calling Golden Pheasant (or hybrid) but no sightings of this elusive introduction.  On the third and lap I found Stevie Dunn stealthily working the area like Avram Grant in the 'massage parlour' district of Portsmouth.  During a brief stop at the side of the road a Muntjac Deer was spotted but once again there was no sign of any splendid category C's.  A couple of Bramblings (106) could be heard calling from within the dense woodland though.

Snettisham RSPB 

If you block out the horrible fishing pools, the concrete blocks left over from World War II and the shanty town along the beach then this reserve is one hell of a place.  A Barn Owl was a nice start along the approach road and from the car park thousands of Pink-footed Geese (107) could be seen flying in from The Wash, an incredible sight indeed.  Out on the muddy moonscape the shore birds were in good supply with a steady number of year ticks - Oystercatcher (108), Curlew (109), Avocet (110), Knot (111), Grey Plover (112) and Bar-tailed Godwit (114) and Turnstone (116) were all new species for 2010 as was Brent Goose (115).  The star species however was Shorelark (113).  Two rather confiding birds were located by Steve feeding amongst the shingle on the beach near gate to the private road.  As we left the reserve a blanket of mist rolled in off the sea.

Shorelark at a frosty Snettisham RSPB reserve - February 2010

Titchwell RSPB

Unfortunately the foggy conditions prevailed further east along the coast at Titchwell RSPB.  After a quick coffee and a scan around the feeding station we headed to the Fen Hide to try our luck with Bittern and Bearded Tit.  Unfortunately neither of these species were located but a male Marsh Harrier (117) could just be made out flapping around amongst the mist.  If you are visiting this reserve it is worth heading to this particular hide to check out the trial the RSPB are having with two different hide window systems.  Both options have to be seen to be believed and involve a series of wires, pulley systems and expensive panes of glass.  Please note RSPB - glass should never be involved when constructing a hide, it is just not practical.  The purpose of a hide is to conceal a birdwatcher in order that he or she can enjoy close-up views of birds without causing any disturbance to them.  It should not be a cosy piece of contemporary art for dudes to take shelter in!

Titchwell RSPB - Scullard and Dunn get to grips with the new window system in the Fen Hide.  Please note the condensation, the pulley system and the stools recycled from old photo booths.

PLEASE JOIN THE ASBO BIRDERS 'SAVE THE FLAPS' CAMPAIGN!

Out on the freshmarsh a number of wader species were enjoyed at relatively close range.  The highlights included 4 Spotted Redshank (118), 2 Ruff (119), 4 Black-tailed Godwits (120) and 10 Dunlin (121).  Wildfowl included good numbers of Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler and Northern Pintail amongst the more commoner species.  Along the newly created bund a stunning Water Pipit (123) was nice to see feeding along the recently excavated mud.  A couple of Little Egrets were spotted feeding on the saltmarsh and a pair of Egyptian Geese (122) dropped in.  With the fog getting thicker we then headed back up towards the visitor centre.  After some careful searching I eventually located a nice Mealy Redpoll feeding high up in the alders with a few European Goldfinch.

Choseley Drying Barns

A brief stop at this site eventually produced a pair of Corn Bunting (124) as well as a nice flock of around 26 Yellowhammer in the misty conditions.

Holkham

Around Holkham estate a single Goldcrest and a few Treecreeper (125) and Nuthatch were spotted amongst the array of common woodland species.  Down along Lady Anns Drive the frustrating weather conditions prevented us from seeing more than a couple of hundred yards either side of the road.  There were good numbers of Eurasian Wigeon noted as well as a few Brent Geese and a leucistic Pink-footed Goose was an interesting bird to see.

Salthouse

A late stop at the beach car park produced a flock of 25 Snow Buntings (126) without even leaving the car.  They all showed at point blank range feeding on seed that some kind soul had scattered around the area.  A hike up the shingle ridge for a spot of seawatching proved a complete waste of time with only the first fifty yards of seashore being visible.

On the whole a pretty good day of birding interspersed with the usual comedy.  It could have been a bit better if the fog had lifted but hey that's birding.  Thanks to Stevie Dunn and John Scullard for the company.

Monday 1 February 2010 - The World's Biggest Birdwatch! - 31/01/2010

Sunday 31st January 2010

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

With the rest of my mates out in the field doing some proper birding tracking down Shrikes in the sticks or knocking around landfill sites perving over Gulls, old muggins here could be found taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch with his daughter.  It's become an annual tradition in the Archer household with even 'her indoors' getting involved in some capacity.  Basically you spend just 60 minutes (or one hour in old money) counting the birds in your garden.  You then submit the results to the RSPB who then use the data to keep tabs on the status of our common garden birds..... quite useful really AND it helps to get the Nintendo DS generation looking out the window for a while for a brief connection with nature.

During the survey India asked me why the male Pheasant was so different to the female.  I then attempted to explain the science behind sexual dichromatism to an 8 year-old.  She seemed to grasp the theory behind it without any problem but after a few minutes asked "If the boy and the girl look exactly the same then why would they fancy each other?"  A very good point I suppose. 

Anyway here are our sightings for 2010:

Common Pheasant (6), Great Spotted Woodpecker (1 male), Woodpigeon (1), Dunnock (3), Robin (3), Blackbird (4), Long-tailed Tit (11), Blue Tit (6), Great Tit (4), Coal Tit (1), House Sparrow (2), Magpie (1), Goldfinch (6), Greenfinch (14), Chaffinch (10).

It was pretty disappointing this year with no Siskin for the first time ever as well as no Collared Dove, no Starling and no Bullfinch.

Saturday 30 January 2010 - ICELAND GULL in the West Midlands - 30/01/2010

Saturday 30th January 2010

Stubbers Green, Walsall, West Midlands

It was a late start this morning due to a few family commitments.  The main target species of the day was an Iceland Gull that originally turned up when we were away watching Kites in Wales last Sunday.  I therefore made my way over to the Laridae hot-spot of the West Midland region,  Stubbers Green for the second time in a week.  Unfortunately by the time I got there the 'white-winger' had flew off back to the nearby tip.  Despite the sunshine it was a bitterly cold morning but the constant checking through the Gulls managed to take my mind off my frost bite slightly.  The 3rd winter Caspian Gull was still present loafing around in her favourite place on the sailing club end of the lake whilst hundreds of Herring Gulls commuted back and forth between Stubbers Green and the landfill site.  Amongst the large numbers of Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls there were a scattering of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a dozen or so Great Black-backed Gulls and the odd Common Gull.  I then received a tip off (no pun intended) from fellow birding blogger Martyn Yapp to say that the Iceland Gull was being seen in flight occasionally over nearby Highfield Landfill Site....so off I went...... 

The ASBO Phantom ridding Stubbers Green of those pesky category C's

Highfield Landfill Site, Walsall, West Midlands

Please note that this site is strictly private, the Gulls are pretty flighty and you have to view the action from the wrong side of a wire mesh fence.  I would therefore recommend that any birder with an ounce of patience sticks to the site at Stubbers Green in order to see the Gulls.  Anyway I did manage to see the 2nd winter Iceland Gull (100) briefly along with a very smart 1st winter Caspian Gull in amongst the refuse.  Another highlight was a pair of Common Raven who were also attracted to the tasty morsals the site has to offer.

Middleton Lakes RSPB, Staffordshire/Warwickshire

I then made my way back towards home, stopping off in the Tame Valley for a while.  Viewing from along the canal I spotted my second year tick of the day, a male Northern Pintail (101) and a redhead Smew amongst the usual wildfowl.  Further along around the northern section of the pits I bumped into Jules Allen.  The highlights here were 14 Common Shelduck, another male Northern Pintail, 6 Common Snipe, 7 Common Redshank (101) and 3 Green Sandpipers (102).  On the way back to Fisher's Mill a single Little Egret (103) dropped in, 2 Common Raven flew west and a female Northern Pintail was spotted.  To top off a rather enjoyable afternoon a gorgeous Barn Owl hunted around the Richard's Meadow area of Kingsbury Water Park at dusk and as darkness descended a Tawny Owl called from Fisher's Mill Wood.