title
24th February - A day out 'gulling' Essex style! An early morning visit to Westcliff-on-sea found the tide well out, and as such 'the King of the Seafront' a.k.a Rossi the adult Ring-billed Gull was only showing pretty distantly out on the mud. A quick scan around produced at least nine Mediterranean Gulls including at least two pairs of adults in breeding plumage, and looking very smart. With the tide way out, I decided to head off for a bit with a view of returning to Westcliff later. Heading for Barling Tip, I took a long walk along the sea-wall in search of the first-winter Glaucous Gull present over the last couple of days. Unfortunately there was no sign, although four drake Red-breasted Mergansers, a male Peregrine hunting the waders, two Water Rails, a Green Sandpiper, first-winter Yellow-legged Gull, four Rock Pipits and a number of Corn Buntings were all notable and enlivened the walk. Heading back the way I had come, I checked out a flock of gulls loafing in the creek at the closest point to where I had parked the car, and lo and behold the Glaucous Gull was amongst them! I have a soft spot for 'White-wingers' and this was one absolute monster of a Glauc - completely dwarfing the Herring Gulls it was sat next too! Back to Westcliff and better views were had of Rossi as it loafed on the sea close to the beach. It was interesting to see a couple feeding a bag of chips to the gulls from the closest breakwater, the gaggle of Black-heads and Meds stood no chance as Rossi instantly pushed ahead and demolished every last chip that was offered! No wonder it rarely moves more than a few feet from this particular spot... Feeling on a roll with the Gulls, I decided to head to Rainham to see if my luck would hold with the wintering Iceland Gull. A stop at the Barges produced at least four Water Pipits stomping around, along with a couple of very deceptive Scandinavian Rock Pipits. A short walk produced three Stonechats, though much scanning of the gulls on the river failed to turn up anything of note. Round to the RSPB reserve proper, and a long walk produced no Iceland Gull! A first-winter Caspian Gull on the Target Pools was my first since the species was officially split, and was my 10th species of gull for the day! Otherwise, another couple of Water Pipits and two Grey Wagtails on the foreshore, and a flock of seven Corn Buntings on the sea-wall were about as good as I could muster at Rainham. Heading for home, I called in at Belhus Woods Country Park where a short-walk produced the wintering Black-necked Grebe showing well on the Back Lake. 
17th February - Rather worse for wear, I headed home from Norwich late afternoon. A short diversion on the way home took me to Wacton Common where the Dark-breasted Barn Owl was giving incredibly good views as it hunted over the rough land in the evening light. Only my second ever record of a 'guttata'-type bird in the UK, following a rather knackered migrant on the cliff-top at Weybourne in October 2004, so worth the diversion! 16th February - Due in Norwich late afternoon, I took an early run up through Norfolk for a bit of 'bird race prep' and some general idleness! First stop was at Santon Downham where a long wander along the river towards Brandon found Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers to be in near abundance! Much more importantly, I eventually (after 2.5hours searching) found a singing Willow Tit - my first in just under two years! A pair of Goosanders, a Woodcock, a number of singing Woodlarks and 25 Brambling were also of note amongst the more usual woodland fare. Onwards and upwards, and I made my way to Cley Village to have another look at the wintering male White-crowned Sparrow. My third visit to the site, and there is not much good that one can write about the experience! The bird is a stunner though, and is probably worth the grockle bashing that must be ensued to witness it! With time moving on, I headed down to the East Bank, where a large flock of Brent coming in from inland had me rushing towards the Visitor Centre, from where an adult Black Brant and a Pale-bellied Brent were noted as the flock settled. With little else happening, I dropped in to Salthouse, and saw a few Snow Buntings, but with a small army of photographers constantly flushing the birds, I decided it was not the place to be! After a short sojourn on Kelling Heath (with nout bar a couple of Stonechats of note), the highlight of the day came with a visit to Beeston Common, and the most obliging Bittern I have seen for many a year! The bird seemed entirely unconcerned by the small crowd as it actively fed on frogs along the edge of a tiny reed-edged pond. Quite simply staggering that such a bird could choose such a site for a winter territory, but then that is birding for you - the exceptional is what need be expected!!! 
9th February - Something different on a rather sunny Saturday. When Mark suggested a day-trip to Northern France to cash in on the wintering Wallcreeper, I needed little persuasion! With Mike H and Tony both quickly on board, all was set for a relatively hassle-free trip...and indeed hassle-free was what it was, bar of course the prize muppet who managed to leave their passport safely on the wall unit at home! Oops... though at least I can now add travelling to France and back without a passport to the list of things I have accomplished in my life (!). Anyway on to the important things... our early start meant that we were parked on the clifftop at Wimereux, near Boulogne, well before dawn. The sun soon rose, and we were soon on our way down to the beach, via the 'treacherous death-defying steps of doom' (or whatever they had been christened on 'Birdforums')! Of greater concern were the rocks at the base of the steps which were covered in some ultra slippery seaweed, and it was fortunate that our quarry was not found as we slowly threaded our way across them! Once on the beach proper, we noticed a couple of Belgian birders fixated to the spot ahead of us, and a quick shuffle across the sifting sands found us in position and watching a simply superb Wallcreeper as it flicked around the cliff-face. Wallcreepers are surely one of the best birds that you will ever find, and this one was better that most, as it performed superbly over the next hour - flicking around at eye-level, jumping around the upper fortresses before dropping down to the boulders on the beach. The incessant wing-flicking and bouncy butterfly-flight kept the modestly small crowd completely entranced. When attention did wander, up to 28 Mediterranean Gulls and the odd Yellow-legged Gull could be noted on the beach, whilst a first-winter male Black Redstart foraged around the 'treacherous' rocks! Nearby, a distant Purple Sandpiper was of note, though not as much as the Egyptian Goose that came flying past and into the harbour! Certainly a bizarre note to finish on.... Having taken our fill of the Wallcreeper, we decided to head to some nearby forest sites. Firstly, slow moving traffic in Boulogne was for once a help, as the slow speed mean't a mass of gulls could be 'binned' from the moving car - allowing a superb second-winter Glaucous Gull to be instantly clocked. A real brute of a bird, and an impressive beast, it failed to get the respect it deserved from some of the less appreciative members of the party....(!). Nothing else doing amongst the rest of the gulls, we pressed on to our first woodland site. Black Woodpecker was the obvious target here, but was also the obvious omission, as try as we might, we just could not locate one! The woods were far from empty though, and there was plenty of discussion as to how different a woodland can be on the other side of the Channel, where flocks of Marsh Tits passed through the coniferous sections and Nuthatches echoed through every part of the forest. The odd Brambling and a large flock of Siskins were of note, whilst the headline birds gave us all a brush up on foreign calls. Once sorted, the 'chink' call and fluid song of Short-toed Treecreepers proved surprisingly regular, whilst the soft purring calls of Crested Tits were heard a few times. A couple of Firecrests tantalised in the undergrowth. Onwards to our second woodland locality and it was much of the same, though Firecrests proved more obliging at this site. With daylight failing, we headed back to Calais, probably just a tad too late in the day for any Crested Larks near the hovercraft buildings, with just a lone first-winter Mediterranean Gull on the beach of any note. A few slumbering 'aliens' were alarmingly suggestive of my fate should the UK Passport control be less accomodating than the French...but fortunately with a bit of negotiation, I was allowed on the Ferry with everyone else, and eventually we arrived home. A long and intense day, but an excellent one all the same!
2nd February - A retro-style birding day! Having become somewhat fed up with doing the major coastal localities, courtesy of the burgeoning plague of mindless masses and robin-strokers that frequent them, I opted to head to Northeast Essex for some proper birding. Out early, a Barn Owl over the A120 just east of SAL was a bonus. Arriving at the Layer Breton Causeway for dawn, I was unable to find any sign of the wintering Bitterns. A party of six Eurasian White-fronted Geese showed well, as did 23 Goosanders and 42 Ruddy Ducks (DEFRA obviously aren't that good!). The roost of over 1200 Jackdaws was impressive, though was eclipsed by a fine drake Red-crested Pochard slinking away at the edge of the reeds, a species I managed to go the whole of 2007 without seeing! Opting to head somewhere a bit more remote, I tried to pinpoint some inprecise gen as to the location of some wintering Short-eared Owls near West Mersea. After a short-walk, and finding a very rough-looking field in the area where I presumed them to be, I was disappointed at not being able to find a single one! A ringtail Hen Harrier patrolling the area, and being sporadically mobbed by a Merlin, eased any continued disappointment, whilst four Marsh Harriers and three Rock Pipits were noted. Back to the car, and a chance glance to my right and I spied something perched on the sunny side of a hedge just a few feet away - a Short-eared Owl. Right area afterall! Even more impressive was that there were five birds present in the very same small hedge which was obviously being used as a communal roost - a sight that I had never personally seen, and also (presumably) the reason why people had been somewhat cagey about the information! A Green Sandpiper in an adjacent puddle was also of note. With my Owl quest a success, I headed down to Dabchicks Marina in West Mersea to see what was in the creeks. Not a lot as it turned out! Two Shags and five Red-breasted Mergansers being the best offering. Picking a better vantage point off Kingsland Beach, I checked the outer estuary, noting a single Red-throated Diver, two Great Northern Divers and an extremely smart Slavonian Grebe. A small gull flock on the beach itself held a resplendant adult Mediterranean Gull which was virtually in full-summer plumage already! Heading off Mersea, I made my way to Tollesbury, where a wander along the sea-wall produced very little on the distinctly 'manicured' marshes. An adult Pale-bellied Brent Goose amongst a large flock of Brent was the best I could muster, with a single Ruff and a flock of 136 Avocets also going down in the notebook. Heading for home, I called back in at Abberton, where a stop on the Layer-de-la-Haye Causeway produced the regular wintering adult Red-necked Grebe with no difficulties. A quick stop in the Visitor Centre revealed the first muppets of the day, so I promptly left! A quick check back-in at the Layer Breton with still no Bittern, but a redhead Smew to finish off an excellent day! Nothing outrageous, but some solid winter birding without the crowds! Joy! 
26th-27th January - A quiet weekend spent locally, largely to get the last of my seven winter atlas squares cleaned up. A few highlights on Sunday started with a very obliging male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker by the dam in Hatfield Forest. Heading back home, I trekked out to my atlas square at Debden, being stopped en route by a Firecrest calling incessantly from some ivy-covered trees. Presumably the same bird that was present back in the same area in November! Atlased-out, I headed to SLRS where the very smart first-winter Little Gull was showing very well on the scrape and over the adjacent fields. Finally, I saw the day out at Amwell where seven Smew (five drakes) were the sole highlight, with no sign of the wintering Bittern before dusk.
20th January - Having to be at the Relatives first thing, and later in the day, I took the opportunity to have another day birding in Norfolk. First stop at Lynford produced at least nine Hawfinches around the paddocks first thing. Thinking that everyone would have seen the Cley Sparrow by now, I decided to head there next to see if I could get some pictures of the beast. A flock of Brambling were drinking from puddles at the roadside just south of Cockley Cley Warren. Onwards to Cley, and it was soon apparent that not everyone had seen the White-crowned Sparrow yet as a large crowd welcomed me on my arrival in Cley Village (parking in the village hall car-park and following pager instructions unlike most it seems!). The sprog was showing very well on and off, but the poor light and difficult viewing conditions mean't photos weren't going to happen...so much for best laid plans! Nearby, a Water Pipit was noted in the flooded fields just south of the village. Heading back south, I stopped for a short while near Saxlingham, where the adult white-morph Lesser Snow Goose was showing well, though somewhat distant, with a large flock of Pink-feet. Heading for Sculthorpe Moor, I tried the new feeding station for the reported Willow Tit, but drew a complete blank! An excellent spot though, with six Bramblings feeding at close range, along with a couple of posy Water Rails and several Field Voles beneath the feeders! Heading towards King's Lynn, bird of the day came just west of Harpley Dams, where I was amazed to see a Woodcock running between traffic on the A148! Spinning the car round proved a good option, as the bird showed superbly well on the roadside verge as it watched the traffic passing-by! Final stop of the day was at Welney, where a single Tundra Bean Goose was in the fields near the Visitor Centre, along with c.400 Whooper Swans and c.300 Bewick's Swans. No sign of the Great White Egret in a quick look around the dykes near Pymoor, but a delightful party of 40 Corn Buntings along Ten Mile Bank to round off a good day! 13th January - An uneventful day courtesy of an uninspiring weather forecast! An early morning visit to Hatfield Forest Lake proved worthwhile with the resident drake Mandarin showing well on the Decoy Pond, and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calling from the tall trees behind the Shell House. A brief call-in at SAL revealed little more than the Redshank present for the last week. Heading for home, a slight glimmer of sunshine saw me drop in to the Sewage Works where battling the dog-walking hordes produced a couple of Chiffchaffs in the usual area. One of these appeared to be a new bird, and it's dull grey/brown plumage and lack of any olive tones in the upper-parts and on the rump suggested it was probably of the Scandinavian race abientus.
12th January - A day out in Norfolk with the mob! As tradition dictated, we started at Wolferton where in contrast to the last few years, there were no Golden Pheasants to be seen. A Woodcock on the roadside at dawn would have been nice if it had not been for the dozy muppet parked on the verge with his lights on full-beam, ensuring that our retinas would remain scorched for the rest of the day! Cheers… Waiting for the pheasants (or lack of..), a Tawny Owl was noted calling whilst the trees around resonated to the calls of wheezing Bramblings, along with the odd Lesser Redpoll.
With the Pheasants a no show, and with the wind biting, we decided to forego the ‘pleasure’ that is Snettisham and instead headed for Hunstanton. Birding on the exposed cliff-top was ‘chilling’ to say the least, but some notable birds made it worthwhile. The choppy conditions out to sea made grilling offshore difficult, but a delightful party of nine Scaup close-in and six (somewhat distant!) Long-tailed Ducks were worth the effort. More obliging were a party of six Snow Buntings that landed in the puddles in the car-park next to where we were positioned, and a menacing female Peregrine that was cruising along the cliffs at ‘eye-level’. Round the coast, and a brief stop at the car-park in Brancaster Staithe produced a single Twite bouncing around overhead, with a couple of unseasonable Greenshanks dozing out in the creek.
No winter day in Norfolk is complete without a bit of goose chasing, so we headed to Wells (via a Barn Owl over fields at Burnham Deepdale), where the regular returning adult Black Brant was eventually located amongst a small flock of Brent on the pitch and putt course. At least one hybrid was also noted, whilst a first-winter Shag bobbed around in the adjacent channel. Moving inland, we headed for Egmere along with half the rest of the world, and soon the white-morph adult Lesser Snow Goose was being watched distantly from the minor road to South Creake.
Hybrid adult Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose. (Note the giveaway Brent like belly, and less contrasting white flank patch than on a ‘good’ Brant).
At this point, the majority of the mob headed into Cley village to look for the Yank Sparrow. As Mark and I had both bought the t-shirt the week before, we opted to go seeking the other delights of the Cley area. Stopping at Salthouse, we joined the throng of photographers and had outstanding views of a single Lapland Bunting coming down to seed amongst the flock of 65 Snow Buntings. A few Red-throated Divers were the only interest out to sea, so we headed to Walsey Hills where the elusive Firecrest refused to play-ball for us. A Barn Owl hunting over the back of Snipe’s Marsh was notable, as was a single Water Pipit bombing around in the field behind the old visitor centre. With daylight rapidly fading, we headed to Holkham. A Kingfisher perched on a gatepost and a hunting Barn Owl along Lady Anne’s Drive had our attention, until we noticed 30 odd birders intently scoping something ahead of us. Moving closer, we gathered the ‘excitement’ was due to a very badly-strung Stonechat-Linnet. Oh dear! Moving swiftly-on, we took up position at the Washington Hide, but the perfect conditions had inspired a late roost and it was virtually pitch-black before the geese to decided to come-in! A total of 72 Little Egrets were counted in to roost, and a trio of Marsh Harriers and a calling Cetti’s Warbler finished off an excellent day!
06th January - An early morning wander to do one of my tetrads proved rather more eventful than I had imagined with the discovery of a rather nice Jack Snipe feeding along the edge of the local disused fishing pit. With the usual views of a Jack involving a two-second flight view, it was nice to be able to watch one for a good twenty minutes or so as it ‘bounced’ it’s way along the edge of the pit…though frustratingly it had disappeared into cover when I returned with the camera an hour or so later! A quick look at the wintering Chiffchaffs at the Sewage Works, and then home with no plans for doing anything for the rest of the day. That was the plan, until a timely text from Mike arrived with news of a White-crowned Sparrow at Cley! A few profanities shouted randomly, and five minutes later I was in the car! Knowing that I was chasing daylight, I somehow managed to reach Cley in just over an hour-and-a-half from home, which can not be legal! Arriving with plenty of time, I joined the bustling throng clambering for a view down the very limited driveway where the Sparrow was feeding. After what seemed an eternity (though in reality was about thirty minutes!), the Sparrow appeared and fed for a couple of minutes on the drive. Fortunately, the mob were well-behaved, and those in the front moved to enable those of us behind pole position for when the Sparrow reappeared for a second time. At close range and in good light, excellent views were obtained, before I opted to make room for more arriving birders, and left for home! A cracking bird to start the year…and my second Yank sparrow in Norfolk in six months…so not dodgy in the slightest!
01st January - A new day, a new year! An insomniac Robin singing at some stupid hour kicked the year off to a start. Deciding to head to Norfolk for the day, I made my way to Wolferton, where it was muppet central! Deciding that the scissors were not the place I wanted to be, I made my way round to the back of the village and listened to both a Tawny Owl and a Little Owl calling by the church. A short circuit of Dersingham Bog produced all the standard woodland dross to pad the year-list, with large numbers of Brambling of note. Retracing my steps, I headed back south and made my way to Terrington Marsh, where the foggy conditions made seeing anything somewhat difficult! A random stop for a passerine in a roadside hedge proved fortuitous as my first Tree Sparrow of the year was noted. Walking out from Ongar Hill, I eventually arrived at the area where the Richard’s Pipit had been frequenting, and it was not longer before I was enjoying excellent views as the bird fed in the long grass on the lower slopes of the embankment.
With my first scarcity of the year under the belt, I opted for another, and so headed straight to Roydon Common where the wintering Northern Grey Shrike was showing very well on arrival. A calling Grey Partridge was also of note. A brief stop at Snettisham produced all the usual waders, but little else, so it was off to Hunstanton. Despite the poor visibility, the sea was like glass so I quickly managed to find single Black-throated Diver and Red-necked Grebe just offshore. A couple of Shags were noted, although there was no sign of any Scaup or Long-tailed Ducks. Keen to see Long-tailed Duck, I stopped at Holme, but there was no sign of any in a quick scan from the golf course. Finally, ending the day at Titchwell, where offshore conditions were difficults but at least enabled me to finally catch up with a female Long-tailed Duck! A Slavonian Grebe was also of note, whilst highlights on the reserve included two female Marsh Harriers, two Peregrines, an obliging Water Rail, 43 Ruff, three Spotted Redshanks, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, two Barn Owls and a couple of Cetti's Warblers.