Trip Reports - 2004
September Birdseekers' Trip (19thSeptember 2004)
Field Trip to Bempton and Blacktoft Sands (6thJune 2004)
Report on Norfolk Trip (9th May 2004)
Report on Norfolk Trip (25th January 2004)
Write-up on David Parkin's Taxonomy Talk (23rdMarch 2004)
September Birdseekers' Trip
Sunday, September 19th 2004
Report by Neil Glenn
Photo of Great White Egret by Lynn Demaine
Report by Neil Glenn
Photo of Great White Egret by Lynn Demaine
It is Saturday evening and I am having to choose the next day's destination for the Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers' Birdseeker outing. There are three choices as far as I can see:
- Norfolk for Glossy Ibis, Lesser Yellowlegs and other waders. I discard this choice being as we have been to Norfolk twice already this year;
- Cornwall for Semipalmated Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Hoopoe and Wryneck. This is along way to go if any of the targets disappears but the seawatching should be good down there if all else fails. The Citrine Wagtail had also vanished a few days previously;
- Yorkshire for Great Egret, Green-winged Teal then a dash along the M62 for Leach's Petrels passing the coast of The Wirral.
After phoning around to gauge people's reactions to a long drive down to Cornwall, I decide to plump for the latter itinerary. I check the tide table and find high tide on The Wirral isn't until early afternoon so it looks like we are heading for Yorkshire first thing in the morning. Time for some sleep!
Sunday gets off to a good start when I see a Barn Owl on Barton Lane. Unfortunately, I haven't picked anyone else up yet! Everyone is on time at the pick-up points and we are heading north by 6.00am. First stop is Edderthorpe Flash for the teal but thanks to the leader bringing along an old map, we have difficulty finding the site. We park on a narrow track and walk along a setaside field to view the pool. The light is poor but we pick out an Egyptian Goose, Teal, Ruddy Duck and Pintail but no Green-winged. We can see a road across the other side of the flashes so head off to try and find it. Fortunately, Andy G sort of remembers how to get there and we are soon parked in a lay-by with excellent views of the flash. We meet a birder coming away from the site who tells us the teal is still present but as we approach the place a dog-walker flushes the ducks. Fortunately, they don't fly far and PJ and Andy soon pick out the Green-winged Teal. The vertical white flank line is obvious and everyone gets good 'scope views of this handsome bird. In fact, it is the only teal not in eclipse plumage so is relatively easy to pick out.
We next stop at Broomhill Flash but it obvious the Great Egret is not present. We see Little Egret, Snipe and a Common Sandpiper then move on to Wombwell Ings, another of the egret's favourite haunts. Just as we are getting out of the van, a message appears on my pager telling me that the Great White is at Old Moor RSPB. We pile back into the van and arrive a couple of minutes later. The trees around the visitor centre are covered in Tree Sparrows and Greenfinches but we have bigger fish to fry! It isn't long before we are all looking at the Great White Egret on the back of one of the reserve's ponds. This bird was ringed as a nestling in France this year and here it is looking bemused in the middle of Yorkshire!
After trying to ignore the Black Swan on the same pool we headed for the wader hide. Many Golden Plovers were sitting in front of us, then PJ and Steven located a couple of Curlew Sandpipers. While I was trying to get onto them, the flock flew. The sandpipers could easily be picked out from the Dunlin by size alone but the white rump was also obvious. The rest of the group got good 'scope views when the mixed flock landed again. Meanwhile, I was summoned to look at a couple of waders causing confusion from another window. The mystery was soon resolved: they were Green Sandpipers. Just for good luck we located another Common Sandpiper next to the Greens, allowing a good comparison of the two similar species.
The RSPB café was the next stop and everyone filled up with the second breakfast of the day. More Tree Sparrows were seen from the café balcony. Now that's my idea of birdwatching: bacon butty in one hand, birds being scanned with the other hand! It was 11.00am and time to move on.
Navigation by Frank and Richard meant we arrived at New Brighton with no hitches. There was a line of birdwatchers 'scoping the rough sea from the sea wall so we stopped and joined them. It wasn't long before someone managed to pick out a dark bird flying very low at some distance. It was our first Arctic Skua of the day. By this time, we were attracting much attention from bemused locals and many stopped to ask us what we were looking at
There were many Arctics flying out at sea then the shout we had wanted to hear went up, “Leach´s coming out of the river mouth!” Several of our group managed reasonable ´scope views as the petrel flew directly away from us out to sea. Not everyone connected though and many were asking when a closer one might appear! We didn´t have to wait very long as a Leach´s Petrel flew along the seawall at about 150 yards distance. It remained in view for over ten minutes and everyone was able to get superb views of the upperwing pattern. A thrilling bird!
Not long after this sighting, the wind dropped and so did the frequency of bird sightings. We decided to move a little further along the coast to Meols where a Sabine´s Gull had lingered yesterday. As we were leaving New Brighton we met a birder who had seen a Long-tailed Skua fly off out to sea, no doubt as we had all been engrossed with the Leach´s. Oh well.
Meols provided more sightings of Leach´s Petrels, Manx Shearwaters and many gulls and terns but no Sabine´s. Apparently, this handsome gull was showing well across The Mersey at Crosby but by the time we could get there it would no doubt have flown across to where we are now standing. Such are the dilemmas of birding! All eyes scanned the sea in case the Sabine´s came our way, but no luck. It was time to head home with 83 species on our list for the day, some participants with four lifers.
Bird of the Day was voted Leach´s Petrel (9 votes), with five votes counted for the Great White Egret and one for the Green-winged Teal. And as for Cornwall, the Semi-P had gone and the Baird´s wasn´t seen after 11.00am. I think we made the right choice…
| Species Positively Identified on September 19th: | |
|---|---|
| Little Grebe | 1 or 2, Broomhill & Old Moor |
| Great Crested Grebe | 1, Old Moor; 1 or 2 New Brighton. |
| MANX SHEARWATER | 3 or 4, Meols |
| LEACH´S PETREL | 2, New Brighton; 4, Meols |
| Gannet | 1, Meols |
| Cormorant | Everywhere |
| LITTLE EGRET | Broomhill Flash |
| GREAT WHITE EGRET | Old Moor RSPB, leg-ringed juvenile |
| Grey Heron | |
| Mute Swan | |
| (Black Swan) | Old Moor RSPB |
| Greylag Goose | |
| Canada Goose | |
| Egyptian Goose | 1, Edderthorpe Flashes |
| Wigeon | |
| Gadwall | |
| Mallard | |
| Teal | |
| GREEN-WINGED TEAL | 1 drake, Edderthorpe Flashes |
| Pintail | Edderthorpe Flashes |
| Shoveler | |
| Pochard | |
| Tufted Duck | |
| Ruddy Duck | Several, Edderthorpe Flashes |
| Sparrowhawk | Old Moor RSPB |
| Kestrel | Travelling |
| Buzzard | 2, Travelling |
| Pheasant | |
| Moorhen | |
| Coot | |
| Oystercatcher | |
| Ringed Plover | 1, Old Moor |
| Golden Plover | approx 20, Broomhill Flash; ~ 200, Old Moor. |
| Lapwing | |
| CURLEW SANDPIPER | 2 juveniles, Old Moor RSPB |
| Dunlin | Old Moor RSPB |
| Snipe | 6, Broomhill Flash |
| Redshank | Lots, Meols |
| Green Sandpiper | 2, Old Moor RSPB |
| Common Sandpiper | 1, Broomhill Flash; 1, Old Moor |
| Turnstone | very close views of several, New Brighton. |
| ARCTIC SKUA | Several, New Brighton, mostly distant |
| Black-headed Gull | |
| Common Gull | |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | Broomhill Flash |
| Great Black-backed Gull | New Brighton. |
| Herring Gull | New Brighton. |
| Kittiwake | 1 or 2, New Brighton. |
| Sandwich tern | Several, New Brighton & Meols. |
| Common Tern | Several, New Brighton & Meols. |
| Guillemot | A few, New Brighton |
| Stock Dove | Old Moor |
| Woodpigeon | |
| (Feral Pigeon) | |
| Collared Dove | |
| BARN OWL | Barton Lane, 5.15am NG only. |
| Green Woodpecker | Edderthorpe Flash |
| Skylark | Edderthorpe Flash. |
| Swallow | |
| House Martin | |
| Meadow pipit | Edderthorpe Flash |
| Grey Wagtail | |
| Pied Wagtail | |
| Wren | |
| Dunnock | |
| Robin | |
| Blackbird | |
| Chiffchaff | (heard, Edderthorpe). |
| Long-tailed Tit | |
| Blue Tit | |
| Great Tit | |
| Jay | 1, Travelling |
| Magpie | |
| Jackdaw | |
| Carrion Crow | |
| Rook | |
| Starling | |
| House Sparrow | |
| TREE SPARROW | Several, Old Moor RSPB. |
| Greenfinch | |
| Goldfinch | |
| Yellowhammer | |
Field Trip to Bempton and Blacktoft Sands
Sunday, June 6th, 2004
Report by Neil Glenn
Photo of Common Roasefinch by Tony Collinson © (for copies ring 0113 588476).
The destinations for the trip were pretty standard fare, so I was hoping for one or two extra goodies to turn up as a bonus. The previous week had seen a Little Bittern, a White-throated Sparrow and a Temminck's Stint all turn up within striking distance, and a Bluethroat had been seen at Blacktoft Sands, but none remained long enough to be admired by the Notts Birders' trip. Our only hope of an extra was the Common Rosefinch near Filey.
Sunday got off to a bizarre start: as I was driving along the road between Gotham and Clifton, I saw a youth dash into some bushes. Bearing in mind this was only 5.30am, I knew he was up to no good. I slowed down to see what he was up to and the little darling catapulted a stone at the van! I thought about calling in at the Clifton Copshop to report it but decided against it for two reasons: a). there would be nobody there; and b). knowing Nottinghamshire rozzers they would have found something wrong with the van and booked me for a motoring offence instead of chasing a dangerous little brat with a lethal catapult (no doubt our valiant Boys in Blue will catch him when he is old enough to do 32mph in a 30mph limit).
All twelve of my fellow travellers were picked up in record time and we were on our way north before 7.00am. Jay and Corn Bunting were noted on the journey. As we neared Bempton, I stopped to check my pager for news of the Rosefinch. Nothing, so we headed straight to the RSPB reserve. While everyone disembarked, I checked the pager again and found the Rosefinch was showing well! We quickly got back in the bus and shot off, much to the bemusement of one or two onlookers.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at Hunmanby and saw a small crowd gathered in the churchyard. The Rosefinch was skulking in a bush but soon popped up and gave superb views. If you haven't seen one of these birds, I would describe it as a sort of blood-spattered House Sparrow! It then flew up onto the church steeple and began singing. A beautiful bird in a beautiful setting on a beautiful morning.
Here's the full photograph of the Common Rosefinch [124kb] taken by Tony Collinson© for prints please telephone 0113 588476. It will take a while to download through a modem.
The Rosefinch flew off a short while later and we took the opportunity to return to Bempton, everyone most satisfied with the start to the trip! The first port of call at Bempton was the small dell in the car park to try and spot the Long-eared Owl. Many people were already looking but none had found it. We all strolled down to one of the viewpoints for our first sight of the magnificent bird-filled cliffs. The light was perfect to pick out Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Gannet and, of course, Puffin. This was a pleasant, leisurely appreciation of the sights, sounds and smells (!) of these amazing cliffs on an ideal day to be on the coast.
One or two of the group managed a glimpse of a Peregrine as it shot through. I could tell where it was because birds were streaming off the ledges in a mad panic but I just couldn't pick it out in the swirling mass. I also scanned the calm sea for skuas and shearwaters but failed again
After a short while, we moved along the cliff. Several of us exclaimed "Grasshopper Warbler" in unison as we picked up the diagnostic reeling song of this skulker. Determining where the noise was emanating from was a harder task, though. We finally pinned it down to a small group of bushes on the track up to the visitor centre. Try as we might, we just couldn't see the Gropper so most went back to the cliffs for another scan of the bustling sea and ledges. The place was heaving with birds, loafing on the sea, gliding above our heads or guarding nests below us. It was a case of forget about identifying everything, just stop and absorb the whole experience.
Barry rejoined the group with tales of the Gropper showing well. One or two of our members' patience had paid off with good views, not of our reeling bird but of another further up the track. Several lingered to see if it would show again while others headed for a cool drink at the recently refurbished visitor centre. I went to see if the owl had returned to its favoured spot, but no such luck.
It was midday, hot, and time to move on. We retraced our route south (managing to resist the heady delights of the Nafferton Truckfest) and arrived at Blacktoft Sands at 1.30pm. No sign of the Tree Sparrows in the car park (obviously their lunch break) so it was on to the reserve proper. The bus split into smaller sub-groups or went off singly to cover the reserve at their own pace.
Sedge and Reed Warblers were singing from every patch of available habitat. A small group of us settled into the Xerox hide and Cliff soon spotted a Barn Owl over the reeds. It was distant and viewing was hampered by a heat haze, but it soon flew closer with some hapless prey in it's talons. A pair of Marsh Harriers was also quartering the reeds but also at some distance. It was getting very hot in the hide and I was sweating as much as Greg Rusedski on drug-testing day so it was time to move out to catch a breeze.
Next stop was the Ousefleet hide for waders. Three weeks ago I had had nice views of a Curlew Sandpiper, Avocet and many Dunlin from here but not today: the flash was as dry as a bone! Not a bird in sight. No point in wasting time so I left immediately to look at some baby Tree Sparrows in a nest box, found by Barry. We could see three or four gaping mouths at the tiny entrance to the box jostling for pole position for when the parent returned with food. Jenny, Steven and PJ joined us with the odd question "did you see the Whooper Swan?" Bearing in mind that this is June, I thought the heat had begun to take effect, but they were adamant that the swan that had just flown by had got a yellow bill! We made our way back to the Marshland hide to see if the swan had dropped in in front of it. No such luck, but others had seen it from there. We did, however, catch up with a few Avocets and their very cute chicks from this hide.
We all got better views of Marsh Harrier and Tree Sparrow during the afternoon and I nearly trod on a Toad. As I tried to usher it off the path to save its little life, it inflated itself and reared up as if to say, "come on then if you think you're hard enough". What a character but probably as flat as a pancake by now!
With Blacktoft well and truly covered, we headed south. We stopped at a small garage to satiate Jenny's craving for an ice cream and found the world's slowest till operator in attendance. It took him twenty minutes to serve us: if it hadn't been so funny to watch him in (in)action it would have been intensely annoying!
With nothing else turning up to go for, I decided a quick call in at Budby might be worthwhile. If nothing else, it would be a nice stroll on a beautiful evening. Green Woodpecker was added to the list for the day and we also heard a Great Spotted. No sign of the Wood Larks, Crossbills or Tree Pipits but truth be told, we didn't search too hard. The day's heat had taken its toll and it was a tired bunch that returned home happy with a full day's birding.
Barry, the official record-keeper of the day, tallied 82 species, with Common Rosefinch unanimously voted as Bird of the Day (not surprising as this was a 'lifer' for seven out of the thirteen travellers and several others had only ever seen the dull autumn birds - or 'Rateyes'as they are disparagingly known - before). Many tried to persuade me that the Rock Doves at Bempton were real ones but I was having none of it. I would have loved to have ticked them because it was the only species I had missed out on in Scotland the previous week, but I couldn't be swayed! The only blot came later, as I reached home to find out that the Long-eared Owl had returned to its favourite tree in the evening. Never mind, one for another trip...
| SPECIES POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED ON THE TRIP: | |
|---|---|
| Capital letters indicate a rare/scarce national bird or a good local species. Your opinions may differ! | |
| Little Grebe: | 1, Blacktoft. |
| FULMAR: | Lots, Bempton. |
| GANNET | Lots, Bempton |
| Shag: | Only 2, Bempton. |
| Grey Heron | Blacktoft. |
| Mute Swan: | Blacktoft. |
| WHOOPER SWAN: | 1, Blacktoft (obviously an injured bird). |
| Greylag Goose: | 7, Blacktoft. |
| Canada Goose: | Buckton Pond, with chicks. |
| Shelduck: | Several, Blacktoft. |
| Mallard: | Everywhere. |
| Gadwall: | Blacktoft. |
| Shoveler: | Blacktoft. |
| Teal: | Blacktoft. |
| Pochard: | 3M, 1F, Blacktoft. |
| Tufted duck: | 1 pair, Blacktoft. |
| Ruddy Duck: | 2M, Blacktoft. |
| MARSH HARRIER: | At least 1 pair, Blacktoft |
| Sparrowhawk: | 1, travelling. |
| Kestrel: | Several, travelling. |
| PEREGRINE: | 1, briefly, Bempton. |
| Red-legged partridge: | Travelling. |
| Grey Partridge: | Travelling. |
| Pheasant: | Blacktoft, Budby, travelling. |
| Moorhen: | Blacktoft. |
| Coot: | Blacktoft. |
| Oystercatcher: | 1, Blacktoft. |
| AVOCET: | A few + 6 chicks, Blacktoft. |
| Lapwing: | Blacktoft. |
| Redshank: | 3, Blacktoft. |
| Black-headed Gull: | Lots, Blacktoft. |
| Herring Gull: | Lots, Bempton. |
| Great Black-backed Gull: | Several, Bempton. |
| Kittiwake: | Thousands, Bempton. |
| Sandwich Tern: | Heard, Bempton. |
| Common Tern: | Travelling. |
| PUFFIN: | Several, Bempton. |
| GUILLEMOT: | Thousands, Bempton (inc 1 in a cat carrying box!). |
| RAZORBILL: | Thousands, Bempton. |
| (Feral Pigeon: | Bempton, posing as Rock Doves). |
| Woodpigeon: | Eveywhere. |
| Stock Dove: | 2, Blacktoft. |
| Collared Dove: | Travelling. |
| BARN OWL: | 1, hunting + with prey, Blacktoft. |
| Swift: | Everywhere. |
| Green Woodpecker: | 2 or 3, Budby. |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker: | 1 heard, Budby. |
| Skylark: | Bempton & Blacktoft. |
| Swallow: | Everywhere. |
| House Martin: | A few, travelling. |
| Meadow Pipit: | Bempton. |
| Yellow Wagtail: | 1, Blacktoft. |
| Pied Wagtail: | Blacktoft. |
| Wren: | Blacktoft. |
| Dunnock: | Blacktoft. |
| Robin: | Blacktoft. |
| Song Thrush: | Heard, Vale Pub when picking up PJ. |
| Mistle Thrush: | 1, travelling. |
| Blackbird: | Everywhere. |
| Blackcap: | Blacktoft. |
| Whitethroat: | Bempton & Blacktoft. |
| Sedge Warbler: | 2, Bempton; lots, Blacktoft. |
| GRASSHOPPER WARBLER: | 1 seen well + 1 heard, Bempton. |
| Reed Warbler: | A few seen + many heard, Blacktoft. |
| Willow Warbler: | Heard, Blacktoft. |
| Chiffchaff: | Heard, Budby. |
| Blue Tit: | Budby. |
| BEARDED TIT: | 1 or 2, Blacktoft. |
| Magpie: | Travelling. |
| Jay: | 1, travelling; 1, Budby. |
| Jackdaw: | Bempton, travelling. |
| Rook: | Travelling. |
| Carrion Crow: | Bempton, Blacktoft. |
| Starling: | Everywhere. |
| House Sparrow: | Travelling. |
| Tree Sparrow: | A few + chicks in nest box, Blacktoft. |
| Chaffinch: | Travelling. |
| Linnet: | A few, Budby. |
| Goldfinch: | Budby. |
| Greenfinch: | Hunmanby. |
| COMMON ROSEFINCH: | 1 singing male, Hunmanby. |
| Reed Bunting: | Bempton, Blacktoft. |
| Yellowhammer: | Budby. |
| Corn Bunting: | 3, travelling. |
| Mammals | |
|---|---|
| Grey Squirrel: | Travelling. |
| Rabbit: | Travelling. |
| Insects | |
|---|---|
| Cinnabar moth: | 1, Bempton. |
| Comma butterfly: | 1, Blacktoft. |
| Green-veined White: | Blacktoft. |
| Red Admiral: | Blacktoft. |
| Peacock butterfly: | Blacktoft. |
| Small Tortoishell: | Blacktoft. |
| Amphibians | |
|---|---|
| Common Toad: | 1, Blacktoft. |
| Smooth Newt: | 4, Blacktoft. |
May Birdseekers Trip to Norfolk
Sunday, May 9th 2004
Report by Neil Glenn
Photos by Lynne Demaine
The first problem was to decide where this trip would be going! The previous week's bird news had produced a dodgy Chiffchaff and a 'plastic' White Stork in Cheshire (obvious non-starters), a good number of Pomarine Skuas off the west coast (very tempting but the winds were about to change direction) and a few goodies in Norfolk (the favourite choice, with a back-up of good birds in case the rarities departed). The forecast was for rain in the east of the country coupled with easterly winds, perfect conditions for something 'big' to turn up to join the few good birds already present (hopefully!). A brief scare came at 9.00pm on Saturday night when my pager bleeped with news of a Greater Sandplover in West Sussex, but it flew off soon after being found (thankfully!?). And so I decided that we would be making the trek to Norfolk on Sunday morning...
True to forecast, it was a rainy start to the day. Further bad luck struck when one of the participants failed to arrive at the rendezvous on time, leaving just nine on the minibus. Spirits were high though as I revealed the tentative itinerary.
Less than three hours later, we were scanning over Martham Broad to see if any Cranes could be seen. One or two members got a glimpse of two as they dropped into fields out of view: most unsatisfactory! We disembarked at Winterton for toilets and a quick glance on the beach to see if the Little Terns had returned. There was very little activity so we quickly headed north to Waxham. Three people were already 'scoping the female Dotterel in a bare field next to the road and our party soon joined them. We got superb views of this beauty plus a couple of Wheatears and a Yellow Wagtail. We were informed that just before we arrived, a Crane had flown over the field and dropped behind a bank out of view. So near yet so far...
A glance at the pager told me that the Red-footed Falcon was showing well just around the next bend, so we high-tailed it while the going was good. Within five minutes, the whole group was getting superb views of this absolute stunner. The first-summer male falcon was sitting under the canopy of a Hawthorn bush, sheltering from the fine drizzle, not a hundred yards away. Our attention was also drawn to a Cuckoo sitting out in the open a couple of bushes away from the star bird. Everyone had their fill of the falcon, Lynne even managing to obtain great digishots of the bird for posterity.
View the full photograph of the Red footed Falcon It will take a while to download through a modem - [288kb].
A quick scan of the surrounding fields failed to locate any Ring Ouzels so we decided to have a bit of a sea watch. Another bare sea revealed a solitary Little Tern and a Grey Seal. This was disappointing as conditions were perfect for birds to be passing; sea mist at about a mile's range and onshore winds. Very disappointing.
The pager bleeped to tell me that the Red-backed Shrike was showing again at Titchwell, quite a drive from our current position. A decision had to be made as to whether we went for this bird and other delights along the north Norfolk coast or head inland to The Brecks for Stone Curlew, Golden Oriole, etc. I surmised that because of the weather, the orioles would be difficult to see, so a majority voted for the North coast.
As we were leaving the falcon site, I remembered the Cranes. I couldn't let the day slip by without another chance of seeing one, even if this is the worst time of year to locate them. I drove the group down a track where I had seen them before, and sure enough there were four birds feeding in a field, oblivious to our presence. What a stroke of luck as persistence paid off again!
On the way to Titchwell, I decided a leg-stretch would be welcome so we stopped off at Cley. It seemed that quite a few of our group had visited here recently but it is always worth a walk along the East Bank, no matter how often you have been. The decision was vindicated when everyone got superb views of Whimbrel, Bearded Tit (very entertaining!) and Avocet. The sea was even more deserted than at Waxham: very strange.
Just outside Holkham, I unintentionally managed to reduce the Grey Squirrel population by one. The poor mite just couldn't decide which way to get off the road and it chose the wrong one. The Grey Squirrel was now a Red one, adding a new mammal species to the trip list. We finally arrived at Titchwell around lunchtime with shrike, toilets and food the priorities (in that order). The Red-backed Shrike was on show in the car park. It was a striking male bird, showing down to about thirty yards. Everyone had great views before it dropped out of sight.
View the full photograph of the Red backed Shike It will take a while to download through a modem - [251kb].
The group mostly split up to cover the reserve on their own or in smaller parties. Everyone had good views of several Little Gulls, Marsh Harriers, Avocets and (of course) Sammy the Stilt.
It was now mid afternoon: I was hoping that something else would have been found by now but no such luck. Actually, my prediction that a goodie would turn up on the east coast today had proved correct. Unfortunately, that goodie was in south Suffolk in the form of a Citrine Wagtail, a nice bird but too far from where we were.
Another decision had to be made: head home or linger in Norfolk at Holme/Flitcham hoping to find something for ourselves or for someone else to turn up a biggie. To delay the decision, I made a hopeful stop at Wolferton for the Golden Pheasants that had eluded us on the January trip. No Such luck but it gave me time to ponder over the alternatives. It was time to head homewards, but with a slight diversion to Rutland Water on the way. Time passed quickly as the bus managed to complete their quiz for the day (guess the eight British species with only four letters in their name - ignoring those new-fangled names) in record time. PUT THAT BOOK AWAY TONY!
We arrived at the dam end of the reservoir at about 5:45pm. Very few birds were on the water. Fortunately, the Great Northern Diver (still in winter plumage) and the Red-necked Grebe (summer-plumaged) were easily located, though somewhat distant. Mosquitoes were also much in evidence so we beat a hasty retreat to the minibus. Unfortunately, I had left the doors and windows open so several of the nasty insects were waiting for us!
The final stop of the day was at Tim's cottage, further along the reservoir. No sign of the Ospreys though I had seen four here earlier in the week. A Greylag Goose was in the nest, looking strangely out of place! We managed to add Tree Sparrow to the day's tally, bringing the total for the trip to 103 species.
A great day out, with one member adding five species to his Life List! Bird of the Day was a relatively straightforward choice; Red-footed Falcon gained seven votes, Red-backed Shrike and Bearded Tit one vote each. It was a good job we had seen some good birds on the coast as five Golden Orioles had been showing well in The Brecks: so much for my prediction!
| Species positively identified on the trip: | |
|---|---|
| Birds in CAPITALS indicate rarities, target birds or good local birds. Your choices may differ! | |
| GREAT NORTHERN DIVER: | 1, Rutland Water |
| Little Grebe: | 1, Titchwell. |
| Great Crested Grebe: | Rutland Water |
| RED-NECKED GREBE: | 1, Rutland Water. |
| Cormorant: | Waxham, Titchwell, Cley, Rutland Water. |
| LITTLE EGRET: | 1 in flight, Titchwell. |
| Grey Heron: | 2, Rutland Water. |
| Mute Swan: | Cley, Rutland Water. |
| Greylag Goose: | Waxham, Cley, Titchwell. |
| Canada Goose: | Cley. |
| BRENT GOOSE (Dark-bellied): | ~10, Titchwell. |
| EGYPTIAN GOOSE: | Cley, + flock of ~20 near Holme. |
| Shelduck: | Waxham, Cley, Titchwell, Rutland Water. |
| Gadwall: | Cley, Titchwell. |
| Teal: | 1 or 2, Cley. |
| Mallard: | Everywhere! |
| PINTAIL: | 2 males, Titchwell. |
| Shoveler: | Cley, Titchwell. |
| Pochard: | 1 in flight, Titchwell. |
| Tufted Duck: | 1, Cley; several, Rutland Water. |
| Marsh Harrier: | 2, Waxham; 2M 1F, Cley; 1 pair, Titchwell. |
| Sparrowhawk: | 1M, Waxham; 1F Titchwell. |
| Kestrel: | Waxham, Titchwell + travelling. |
| RED-FOOTED FALCON: | 1st-summer male, Waxham. |
| Red-legged Partridge: | Waxham + travelling. |
| Grey Partridge: | Waxham. |
| Pheasant: | Everywhere. |
| Moorhen: | Cley, Titchwell, Rutland Water. |
| Coot: | Cley, Titchwell, Rutland Water. |
| COMMON CRANE: | 4, Waxham. |
| Oystercatcher: | Cley, Titchwell. |
| BLACK-WINGED STILT: | 1M, Titchwell. |
| AVOCET: | Cley, Titchwell. |
| Little Ringed Plover: | 1, Titchwell. |
| Ringed Plover: | Cley, Titchwell. |
| DOTTEREL: | 1F, Waxham. |
| Grey Plover: | Breeding-plumaged M&F, Titchwell. |
| Lapwing: | Everywhere. |
| Knot: | 1, Cley. |
| Sanderling: | Several, Titchwell, inc breeding plumage. |
| Dunlin: | Cley, Titchwell. |
| Ruff: | 1, Cley. |
| Black-tailed Godwit: | ~30, Cley; several, Titchwell. |
| WHIMBREL: | At least 20, Cley. |
| Curlew: | 1, Cley. |
| Spotted Redshank: | 1, Titchwell. |
| Redshank: | Several, Cley & Titchwell. |
| Turnstone: | Several, Titchwell. |
| LITTLE GULL: | 6 immatures, Titchwell. |
| Black-headed Gull: | Everywhere. |
| Common Gull: | 1, in field on A47 near Wisbech. |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull: | Titchwell. |
| Greater Black-backed Gull: | Cley, Titchwell. |
| Herring Gull: | Titchwell. |
| Sandwich Tern: | Several, Cley. |
| Common Tern: | 3, Cley; a few, Titchwell; many, Rutland Water. |
| LITTLE TERN: | 1, Waxham. |
| Stock Dove: | Waxham + travelling. |
| Woodpigeon: | Everywhere. |
| Collared Dove: | Everywhere. |
| TURTLE DOVE: | 2, Waxham; 2, Titchwell ? all in flight. |
| Cuckoo: | 1 in full view, Waxham + 2 calling. |
| Swift: | Hundreds, Titchwell. |
| Green Woodpecker: | 1, Rutland Water. |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker: | 1, Rutland Water. |
| Skylark: | Waxham, Cley. |
| Sand Martin: | 1, Titchwell. |
| Swallow: | Everywhere. |
| House Martin: | Hundreds, Titchwell. |
| Meadow Pipit: | 1, Waxham; 2 or 3, Titchwell. |
| Yellow Wagtail: | 2 or 3, Waxham; 1 heard, Rutland Water. |
| Pied Wagtail: | Everywhere. |
| Wren: | 1 or 2, Titchwell. |
| Dunnock: | Waxham, Titchwell. |
| Robin: | Titchwell. |
| Wheatear: | 2, Waxham. |
| Blackbird: | Everywhere. |
| Song Thrush: | 2, travelling. |
| Mistle Thrush: | 1, Waxham. |
| Sedge Warbler: | Cley. |
| Reed Warbler: | Heard, Cley; 1 seen, Titchwell + others singing. |
| Lesser Whitethroat: | 1 heard, Rutland Water. |
| Whitethroat: | Waxham, Titchwell. |
| Blackcap: | 1M, Titchwell. |
| Chiffchaff: | Heard, Cley & Rutland Water. |
| Goldcrest: | Wolferton. |
| BEARDED TIT: | Excellent views of 3 or 4, Cley. |
| Long-tailed Tit: | Waxham, Titchwell, Rutland Water. |
| Blue Tit: | Titchwell. |
| Great Tit: | Rutland Water. |
| RED-BACKED SHRIKE: | 1M, Titchwell. |
| Magpie: | Everywhere. |
| Jackdaw: | Everywhere. |
| Rook: | Everywhere. |
| Carrion Crow: | Travelling. |
| Starling: | Everywhere. |
| House Sparrow: | In villages, travelling. |
| TREE SPARROW: | 6, Rutland Water. |
| Chaffinch: | Everywhere. |
| Greenfinch: | Everywhere. |
| Goldfinch: | Everywhere. |
| Linnet: | Several, Titchwell. |
| Yellowhammer: | 1 Heard, Rutland Water. |
| Reed Bunting: | 1 or 2, Titchwell. |
| Other Species | |
|---|---|
| Grey Seal: | 1, Waxham. |
| Red Fox: | 1, somewhere in Lincs. |
| Rabbit: | Everywhere. |
| Grey Squirrel: | 1, Holkham; 1, Rutland Water. |
Field Trip to Norfolk
Sunday, January 25th
Courtesy of major overnight roadworks on every road in Nottingham, I was twenty minutes late collecting Steven from Lowdham. My guilt was eased when I found out he had heard four Tawny Owls, the only records of the trip!
As we neared Norfolk, I urged the group to keep an eye open for Barn Owls as I usually see at least one on my travels in these parts. They seemed sceptical, but I had the last laugh when one popped up from the verge of the A148, the first of eight sightings on the day! We reached Holkham at 8.45am.
We managed to park on Lady Anne's Drive without the little man parting us of some hard-earned; always a good start. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and there was a frost on the ground, perfect conditions for a day on the Norfolk coast. A quick scan of the fields revealed the third Barn Owl of the day, plenty of Wigeon but no sign of their American counterpart. The geese were against the sun so we opted to go onto the marsh first.
We could see three people watching something on the marsh, so trudged across getting wet feet on the way. Those with wellington boots looked very smug though! We reached the birders, expecting them to have either Shore Lark or Snow Bunting in their sights, but they only had a flock of Mipits. Not to worry, a flock of about 80 Snow Buntings were soon being 'scoped by the group on the beach. The flock of Shore Larks landed across the wide creek from us, somewhat against the light, but all had reasonable 'scope views.
The Snow Bunts flew inland so we took the opportunity to gain higher ground in the dunes for a seawatch. The birds were quite distant but most people had views of Red-breasted Merganser, Common Scoter and a couple of divers flying east, too distant to positively identify but almost certainly Red-throated.
While we were concentrating on the sea, the flock of Snow Bunts landed within fifteen yards of us. I urged everyone to stay very still as we were silhouetted against the skyline. The Buntings put on a show for us for about ten minutes before heading inland straight over our heads: fantastic!
We were now on a roll, so I decided to head back to the road to try and pick out the American Wigeon, or preferably we would get back to find someone already 'on it'! No such luck, but we managed a poorish view of some White-fronted and Pink-footed Geese. When they took flight, however, they were a spectacular sight and sound.
Andy returned to the group after his solo wanderings but had failed to find the Firecrests or the Wigeon either. We left Holkham at about 11.00am, and I had a surprise stop in mind. I knew a good Owl field on the main road where I had had close encounters with Barns and Short-eareds last year. Sure enough, three of the former performed for us but no sign of the latter.
Titchwell provided much needed toilets and food, although the recorded message as you entered the toilets advising you to "protect your valuables, lock them out of sight" was a little disconcerting
The group split up to cover the reserve at their own pace, but the walk along the main path was eventful. A Little Egret was seen in flight in the distance, a female Marsh Harrier glided over our heads and the plethora of ducks positively shone in the perfect light. (Dark-bellied) Brent Geese flew over our heads at regular intervals, then one of the target birds of the day was located on the brackish marsh: Sammy the Black-winged Stilt lives! On the Saltwater Marsh, Spotted Redshank could be compared to the ordinary Redshanks but the regular Water Rail was nowhere to be seen.
We noticed a large group of birders standing on the boardwalk near to the dunes, which meant only one thing: Twite, a species we had not seen at Holkham. Unfortunately, they were mainly hidden in long grass but briefly laneded on the short greenery by the boadwalk. Because of the number of people on the path, they didn't stay long enough to be 'scoped, much to the chagrin of Hilary who particularly wanted better views. They did, however, give a nice rendition of their call as they flew over our heads.
Some of the group were already on the beach, scanning the sea for goodies. There were many hundreds of Common Scoters in the distance, being harassed by Herring Gulls. Ainslie and Ian informed me that there were several Velvet Scoters within the flock, but try as I might, couldn't pick one out.
My hunt was interrupted by a shout from Steven (I think) that he might have a Purple Sandpiper on the beach. I clambered up the dune to look through his 'scope, and sure enough, there was a Purple Sand plodding around the shingle. Most of the group managed a quick view, but it kept disappearing around the back of the island. Meanwhile, many of the group managed a lesson in wader ID as they looked for the Purple Sand, as also on the island were several Bar-tailed Godwits, Knot, Turnstones, Sanderlings, Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers.
Another scan of the sea revealed a male Velvet Scoter flashing its wing-patches briefly, a few Red-breasted Mergansers and Goldeneye. I wanted the whole group to see a Velvet Scoter, though it wasn't going to be easy, Finally, I managed to pick out two birds on their own and most managed a 'scope view. Although they were distant, the white-wing patch on one female was very obvious.
The walk back to the van gave us all a chance to catch up on species not seen on the way out to the beach, and one Little Egret was seen on the marsh close to the path. No Bearded Tits were seen and neither was the Water Rail, but Titchwell had done us proud as usual.
I decided there was time to pull in a quick, unscheduled stop at Holme. Luckily, we managed to find a place to park the van and we were soon scanning the sea towards Gore Point for Long-tailed Duck. We managed to find three males, and all had reasonable 'scope views of this unmistakable species. Just to prove our luck was in, another flock of 59 (thanks Andy!) Snow Buntings flew past us, giving their distinctive call as they went.
It was now time for another target bird of the day: Golden Pheasant. We spent about thirty minutes driving around the Wolferton Triangle, peering into the dense vegetation, with only a Squirrel and a 'normal' Pheasant for reward. You could tell the tension was high as the minibus windows kept steaming up. One member of the party (who shall remain nameless) kept us amused with his snoring noises!
I decided to call a halt to the search in order to leave us enough time to get the full benefit at the raptor roost site. We arrived at Roydon Common at about 4.00pm, a bit apprehensive about leaving the bus in the car park as break-ins regularly occur at this site. I decided to park on the track, a choice that proved correct as a Barn Owl was seen over the common as soon as we disembarked! This was followed by a superb ring-tail Hen Harrier drifting past, complete with orangey breast.
The finale was provided by a stunning male Hen Harrier showing off for twenty minutes, bringing gasps of admiration from all watchers. I must admit that I have never seen harriers come in so early at this site; it is normally virtually dark when they arrive. What an end to the day: our eighth Barn Owl and a pristine, ghostly male Hen Harrier performing in perfect light conditions.
On the journey home, a vote was taken on the bird of the day. After much agonising by most (someone had managed thirteen 'lifers' on this trip!), Snow Bunting narrowly won the day over (my choice) of Hen Harrier, Barn Owl and one vote for Shoveler (those males did look super-smart in the sun at Titchwell). A total of 87 species were seen on the trip (not including the diver spp at Holkham), unless anyone can remember DEFINITELY seeing Rook, Water Rail, Stock Dove, or anything else you think I may have missed.
Neil Glenn
An indoor meeting - The BOU Taxonomy Committee
A talk by David Parkin - 23rd March 2004
The evening talk started off with a slight hitch because the CD with which Professor Parkin had hope to show graphs and photos proved incompatable with the projector, but this was a minor handicap as David Parkin proved himself an able speaker, with an ability to explain his subject with a ease with which even I was able to understand most of it !!
Professor Parkin started off by saying that we must define what a species is. The attributes that define the species must be recognisable by humans, otherwise we are going to have great difficulty!! There must be at least two differentiating factors before a group of birds can be called a species. These include behaviour (song, breeding etc), mitochondrial DNA (preferably at least 4% difference), plumage, moult and migratory pattern (if any).
For a long while now the most popular method of defining a species has been the Biological Species Concert whereby a group of organisms is considered a separate species if they breed within their own group and not with any other group. The way most present-day scientists think of evolutional development is in terms of lineage:, whereby a species shares a common ancestor with other species. The newer species become split-off from the originating species because of feeding specialisation, habitat fragmentation, etc.. Both species may then continue their own evolutionary development along differing paths. These species may be able to hybridise with their distant cousins, but do not because of geographic or behaviour differences.
Professor Parkin then went on to discuss Crows of the Carrion and Hooded variety. Points mentioned were the narrowness of the hybrid zones in Scotland, Italy and other adjoining places where the two "races" met. This was attributable, he said to the fact that the "black" crows preferred the "black" crows and the "grey" (Hooded) crows preferred "grey" crows. Another factor in limiting the hybrids spread was the eggs of hybrids were smaller than either of the "same colour" pairs of crows, giving the hybrid chicks a worse chance of survival than "same colour" young. The position of the hybrid zone was in part determined by the preferred habitat of the two species. Black Crows preferred rich meadow grass, whereas Grey Crows preferred unriched poorer pastures and as the grasslands in Scotland have been "improved" the hybrid zone has moved north.
On Pied (west Europe), Collared (east Europe), and Semi-Collared (south Europe) Flycatchers, Professor Parkin said that a lot of research had gone into these three species, especially Pied and Collared in Sweden and Germany. These were beautiful species to investigate, he went on to say, because they were hole nesters, which can quite easily be persuaded to accept artificial nest boxes, and that means that the researchers can monitor the birds quite easily by camera and the chicks were easily ringed. These birds again preferred to mate with their own "colours" but hybrid pairs occur and produced fertile eggs which have a successful rearing percentage. However the the hybrid genes are not allowed to propgate too far. The hybrid females are sterile and for some reason the returning ratio of hybrid birds to their natal grounds is low, compared to the "pure" breed birds. Do they breed somewhere else? not likely when both the Pied Flycatchers and the Collared Flycatchers return to their natal ground, or do they just not cope with life as well as the pure breed birds.
Another group of birds mentioned were Red-breasted(west euro-Asia) and Red-throated (eastern Asia) Flycatchers. These two species have been classed as one species for many years despite having differing plumages, different structure and different migration routes. There is even an area of Asia in which both species are more or less absent.
The Yellow Wagtails (and Citrine Wagtail) were touched upon. Much work still remains to be done for this complex group. There is little DNA separation between the Yellow Wagtails (despite the obvious plumage differences in the males), but the East of the Urals and West of the Urals look the best bet for a possible split. Citrine wagtails may be good for a three-way split (I can't remember the reasons for this --geographical ?)
Chiffchaffs -- now sorted (til next time) . The Iberian (P. brehmii), Canary Islands (P. canariensis), Mountain ( P.sindianus) Chiffchaffs stand on their own, but the Common Chiffchaff (abietinus, brevirostris, tristis etc) don't warrent being split because the plumage is more of a cline and the lack of DNA divergence, less than 2% if I remember correctly.
Two more interesting topics followed. The first was about the Bonelli's Warbler being split into two-- the Western and the Eastern. The other was the Eurasian/Green-winged/Speckled Teal group. Both of thesehave been widely covered in the birding press.
Finally Crossbills. They could be divided into two groups in western Europe, small billed (Common) which feed on Spruce cones and large billed (Parrot) which feed on Pine cones. The Scottish Crossbill comes somewhere inbetween the two. But recent research has shown that the size of bills of Crossbills in Scotland varied, cyclicly. This is thought to be because an eruption of Parrot Crossbills occurs every few years, interbreeds with the resident smaller billed birds, increasing the size of bills of many of the birds (becoming Scottish Crossbills), which then over the next few years revert to becoming smaller. -- I often wondered where all the Scottish Crossbills went when I was in Scotland.
All-in-all an enjoyable and illuminating talk, the lack of audio-visual aids wasn't noticed. Perhaps another talk next winter. Shrikes, Corn Buntings, Herring Gull complex (will they ever be sorted ?).
Derek Huskisson
