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30th April - My first after-work twitch of the year, and the short run down to Abberton was rewarded with the adult Red-rumped Swallow showing from the Layer Breton causeway. The bird was initially rather distant and difficult to locate amongst a seething mass of hirundines which were feeding into the glaring sun! However, as the evening moved on, the bird became much easier as it moved closer and the dark storm clouds provided a much easier backdrop to locate the bird - which was a much brighter individual than some that I had seen, with a particularly distinct pinkish rump. Also noted in a couple of hours were a smart pair of summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebes, two Little Egrets, at least four Hobbys, two Greenshanks, two Common Sandpipers, an adult Arctic Tern, Kingfisher and a singing Cetti's Warbler. A flock of 35 Yellow Wagtails roving around the Causeway also contained this smart male Channel Wagtail,
29th April - An early morning search of the Chalk for Dotterel drew a blank, though fine views of an immature male Hen Harrier and a singing Grasshopper Warbler were ample rewards for the early start!
27th April - Earth-shattering!!! An early start on Coploe in overcast conditions with a light southerly, bucking southeasterly wind, felt good! I was hoping that my early start might help me jam an overhead wader, or perhaps even Little Gull or tern, but not on this morning it seemed as the first hour started blankly. Four Lesser Whitethroats were singing as I scanned the ridges waiting for something to appear, and then it did! A corking ringtail Montagu's Harrier circling lazily over the ridge being whacked crazily by one of the resident Kestrels. The bird flapped lazily over the adjacent fields, before flopping across the ridge and out of sight. A quick race around to the area in which it had disappeared and an hour and a half search revealed no further sign unfortunately, but a crippling bird nonetheless, and proof that local birding can have it's rewards! The rest of the morning was spent vainly looking for Dotterel and further raptors, but I didn't even really care that I drew a blank on that score! A Hobby, female Greenland Wheatear, ten Yellow Wagtails, four Lesser Whitethroats and my first Garden Warbler of the year being the best on the score cards. Back home, and another Hobby ploughed northwards through Newport early afternoon, whilst my first two Swifts of the year scythed through. 26th April - Opting to be good, I stayed local today and finished up a bunch of Atlas and BBS squares. Migrants were a struggle though birds were obviously moving. A Turtle Dove rocketing through Newport first thing got the ball rolling, before a late Siskin was found in the village. Off to Coploe via three rattling Lesser Whitethroats, but the raptor fest failed to appear. Scanning the fields for Dotterel drew a blank on that front, but did come back with seven smart Greenland Wheatears. A Hobby cruised through, before I headed back home, via just a single Barnacle Goose now at Audley End! Back on Atlasing in the afternoon, and I enjoyed a female Marsh Harrier and a Red Kite moving through, along with a total of four Hobby. Two more Greenland Wheatears and more Yellow Wagtails pushing through, a good day though not earth-shattering... 22nd April - A day off work, and I was up early to give the North-east Norfolk coast a bash. At dawn I arrived at Winterton North Dunes, where the previous 48hours excitement had completely died a death! Still it was a cracking morning to be out and about, and 4.5hrs working the dunes in the morning provided some nice migrants though nothing earth-shattering, with two Marsh Harriers, Hobby, four Whimbrels, a Short-eared Owl, Cuckoo, five Yellow Wagtails, a pair of Black Redstarts, two Wheatears, singing Grasshopper Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, two Bramblings and 24 Siskins the pick of the bunch. The viz-mig early on was quite spectacular, and I managed to rack up totals of 56 Swallows, 625 Meadow Pipits and 337 Linnets south, along with a good range of other species, including an interesting northward-bound corvid passage.
Still on the chance of migrants, I decided to head to Waxham, where I enjoyed the solitude! A singing male Firecrest near Shangri-la gave some breathtaking views, and though not a rare, was well worth the effort in itself! Walking down to the pipe dump produced single Whimbrel, Cuckoo, Tree Pipit and a female Redstart, but the monster stuff was not to be on this day!
Feeling slightly twitchy, I headed to Rollesby to see the male Hawfinch present for the last week. I had been told that this bird was worth seeing, but hadn't expected to find it dropping down out of the trees to feed at my feet! An absolutely corker of a bird, and completely unlike any Hawfinch I had ever previously witnessed. As a bonus, an even more corking male Ring Ouzel was noted in the paddocks opposite, and also showed superbly well in the afternoon sunshine.
Heading for home, I made a brief call in at Lackford where it was very evident that spring was really here to stay as a mass of Reed Warblers chuntered from the reed-beds as Sedgies sang wildly nearby, a Nightingale sang in the car-park, whilst a purring Turtle Dove contended with a couple of noisy Cuckoos as vocal competition. Roll on the rest of the summer!
21st April - A Red Kite over the car near Bury Lodge on the way home from work was nice, whilst a visit to the Sewage Works in the evening produced a spanking male Blue-headed Wagtail on the Filter Beds along with three of it's Yellow relatives, all of which were keeping a close eye on a cracking Hobby chasing the hirundines overhead.
20th April - Started very unremarkably. Out at the crack of dawn I wandered around all my local sites in the gloom, finding very little, with each site visited coming up blank on the migrant front. A singing Lesser Whitethroat on Coploe elevated some slight optimism, before I headed to SAL in improving weather conditions, to do a Bird Atlas tetrad and twitch the Common Sandpiper found by Mike earlier! With Rouzels still pretty much hogging the pager headlines, I took a pioneering wander over to Little Canfield tip on the off chance. No Rouzel but a cracking male Whinchat was the first bird I binned in the field south of the Church! Three Wheatears helped my mood somewhat as well. With the weather still improving it was back to Coploe late afternoon. A male Wheatear was new in on the ridge, as I scanned around for a Rouzel. Shortly after 17:30 my phone suddenly beeped at me...half reading the text I wondered why Mike was texting me about a Black Kite at Winterton...until I clocked the MEGA alert and the dawning fact that I was missing something very big 90miles away. There was no thinking...just running back to the car as fast as I could, and then some very un-Sunday like driving saw me racing northwards as fast as my rather battered car could go! A stop at Barton Mills for petrol, and a call from Willsy alerting me to the fact that the bird was still showing fastened my pace, and at 19:00 I dumped the car on the side of Beach Road at Winterton. Returning birders reported that it was a twenty minute walk to the site, and knowing I was against the clock (jn the guise of the rapidly setting sun!), I hurtled over the first dune and ran to the site. Ten minutes later, I was joining the throng of birders on the crest of the dunes staring down into the marram on the dune ridge opposite. The bird had disappeared five minutes previously. Would fate be unkind to me on this day? Fortuitously not, as scoping the sandy area where the bird had been, I suddenly noticed a movement and the Black Lark shuffled out from behind the Marram. BLACK LARK!!!! Expletives wouldn't do it justice!!!! I had always kicked myself that I had never seen the Anglesey bird, and I had always been pretty confident that this was one of the very few species where a second bite of the cherry would not present itself. It's nice to be proved wrong!!! The bird shuffled around the sandy ridge for a short while - showing what a hulking lark it was, as well as providing nice views of the straw-coloured bill and pale fringing to the mantle, before disappearing back into the marram. A short while later and it flew from it's position, landing on an area of heather and showing in full view for several minutes, before it flew yet again - this time rapidly towards the sea. The crowd held it's breath, but the bird banked at the last minute and flopped back into the next dune. It showed again briefly in flight after that, but the light was gone and I headed for home (somewhat more leisurely!) somewhat ecstatic, and thinking just how great the unpredictability of birding is...
15th April - A wander around after work produced a few bits and pieces at several local sites, highlights being a couple of Black-tailed Godwits through SAL and the continuing drake Garganey on Sheering Lower Road Scrape.
13th April - Local birding this morning, with the highlight going to my first local Red Kite of the year over Coploe mid-morning. Otherwise, the highlight went to my first Yellow Wag of the year also over Coploe this morning.
12th April - Another succinct day of madness courtesy of the arrival of a showy male Little Crake in Devon. This was one bird that I was determined not to miss, and regardless of the fact that it was a perfect candidate for a flyday Friday flit, I decided to take the chance, and along with Dave S, headed south to Devon at 3am on a showery Saturday morning. Arriving at Exminster Marshes several hours later in sunshine, we wandered down to the area where the bird had been frequenting, and found a small number of other observers looking blankly with no sign of the bird! Memories of the Audouin's Gull of last year came flooding back, as over the next forty minutes or so, we looked vainly along the various ditches for any sign of our quarry. Fortunately, a small flurry of activity further down the path focused our attention to the fact that we were in luck, and we quickly joined the throng squinting through the vegetation to gain a view of the Crake as it crept around in a ditch adjacent to the path. Good views were had, and eventually the bird moved into a more accessible area of the marsh, from where it gave prolonged views, although typically always slightly obsucred as it hugged the reedy fringes. A quality bird, and well worth the early start and long drive! Nearby, an adult Peregrine feeding on a fresh kill on a pylon provided some awesome views, whilst a couple of Bar-headed Geese feeding in the adjacent fields were perhaps of note....!
With the crowd at the Crake growing, we opted to head off to a number of other local sites. First off to some nearby fields, where we managed to find a single male Cirl Bunting in a roadside hedge. A couple of singing male Woodlarks at this site confused us as to why they were holding territory over what appeared to be very unsuitable stubble fields, whilst a very pallid-looking Buzzard was also noted.
Back towards Exeter, and with the showers having resumed with a vengeance, we stopped at Countess Weir, where a short walk along the riverside took us to the Sewage Works Pool where the adult drake Falcated Duck was showing distantly on the reed-fringed pool. A very smart bird, regardless of it's origins, though presumably the same individual that first appeared at Bowling Green Marsh in December 2006, and which is safely sat on many people's lists....
Moving on, we decided to head to Dawlish, first for a quick look off the seafront to pay homage to the bay which held the Long-billed Murrelet a few years ago. Not much to see today though, with just a distant Peregrine for our troubles. Heading round to the Warren itself, and being cheapskate birders, I left Dave to guard the car from potential ticket inspectors, whilst I wandered over to the sea-wall to have a look for the wintering female Surf Scoter. Somewhat incredibly, it was the first bird I picked up, and after a quick look, I wandered back to collect Dave for a look. Heading back no less than two minutes later, I was rather perplexed to find no sign of the bird whatsoever! Serious doubts about my state of mind set in, as we searched vainly for the bird, coming back with nothing! We wandered a fair way along the wall checking the sea as we went, until after we had walked a fair distance, I 'scoped back to the original area, and lo and behold the female Surfy was sat there again! And after a quick about turn, we had fairly good, if distant views as it loafed offshore...sanity (or sense of!) restored!
With the sun now fully out again, and with the wind having dropped, we decided that we would head back to Exminster and have another look at the Crake. This turned out to be an exceptionally wise decision, as not only had the crowd reduced in size considerably, but the bird had moved into a ditch by the road. Even better, it was showing exceptionally well and at very close range, giving absolutely mindblowing views! An absolute belter of a bird, and more than deserving of 'bird of the year' status (thus far anyhow!).
Deciding to head for home, we made one other stop en route, off the M4 at Dynham. This was a rather bizarre stop as we had no idea what we were looking for... having overheard a conversation at Exminster and listening to the directions given, I couldn't resist going along to see what was being 'kept quiet', thinking something along the lines of a Cattle Egret or similar. Unfortunately, despite finding the place, and matching the pieces together, we never did find anything there... though found out later that the news referred to a Hoopoe! Why it was being hushed up who knows, but it was a fun game nevertheless!
8th April - I was just leaving work when my phone started ringing, seeing Mike's name flash up on the display panel I knew it was going to be a goodie! And indeed it was, a cracking drake Garganey on Sheering Lower Road Scrape. Twenty minutes later, and I was enjoying the bird along with (most) of the locals, as it preened and fed in the middle of the sunlit scrape. It was my first local Garganey since a drake at SAL in June 2002, and a corking bird to see on the scrape. This site seems to be having an excellent run of late - long may it continue!
6th April - Out during the snow showers first thing did little to improve my migrant tally for the year! As the weather improved early afternoon, I decided to head up to Coploe where Kites and Ospreys were again on the agenda. No score on that front, but a little movement of Lesser Black-backed Gulls gave me something to count at least. Focusing in on a group of 14 birds coming up from the south, I was astounded to note that the lead bird was a juvenile/first-winter Iceland Gull!! A typically plumaged biscuity coloured thing, it carried on directly overhead and continued north, until I lost it as it moved deep into Cambridgeshire. Probably the best bird I have had on the hill, and proof that constant counting of common birds can have it's rewards!
With little else happening, I headed for home and checked the local sites for another shot at a good raptor, but came back with little other than a couple of White Wagtails fresh in on the Sewage Work Filter beds.
5th April - A very cold morning on Coploe with very little to show for my efforts. A single male White Wagtail being perhaps of note. A tazz around the various other local sites during the late morning and early afternoon also offered up very little, with the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker again in the same part of Cabbage Wood and the five distinctly plastic Barnacle Geese on Audley End still.
3rd April - A quick jaunt out after work to Sawbridgeworth Marsh for what will probably be my last Jack Snipe of the first-winter, though there was little else of note, with no roost to speak of.
30th March - I spent virtually the whole morning on Coploe checking for raptors. With dozens of Ospreys and Kites around, I was expecting one or the other, but in the end had to 'make do' with a huge female Goshawk that appeared overhead with a couple of Buzzards, before heading off west. A quality Coploe tick!
29th March - An early morning wander around several local sites looking for migrants was rather dire, with just my first two Wheatears of the year on Coploe Hill of any real interest. With so little happening, I decided to shoot up to the coast to Minsmere to see if the male White-spotted Bluethroat would oblige. Arriving at just before Midday, we headed straight to the west side of the reserve, passing Jim and various others who gave the 'thumbs up' and said that the bird was performing exceptionally well. Arriving at the spot (and following a good foot soaking courtesy of the VERY flooded footpath!), we found no sign of the bird! Apparently it had disappeared off into the reeds to the right of the footpath a few minutes before our arrival, but had been feeding on the path for the past hour, so we safely assumed that it would repeat the trick and show again shortly. Needless to say, an hour or so later, and there was still no sign! Rather unimpressed, we decided to have a wander to see if it had disappeared over towards the Levels, but came up with a blank! Heading towards the sluice and a sudden burst of activity south of the sluice, and we knew our quarry had been relocated!! A quick stumble back to the crowd and the bird was in the bag as it posed delightfully at the edge of the path ahead of us. Unfortunately, after taking three (very) ropey record shots, the batteries on my camera died, so (very!) ropey record shots were all that were achieved! No major loss though as it was a stunning bird, and it proceeded to show very well for the next twenty minutes or so. This was only my second UK Bluethroat, following the male in Gunner's Park way back in 2001.
A casual wander around the rest of the reserve in the late afternoon revealed very little else of interest in strong winds. A female Common Scoter was on Island Mere, whilst the scrape came up with eight Mediterrean Gulls and the odd Yellow-legged Gull. A single House Martin feeding with Sand Martins over Island Mere was perhaps the most notable bird, and a clear sign that spring is clearly just around the corner...even if the weather isn't!!!
23rd March - A day of utter madness as having done virtually no (apart from very local) birding recently, and after lots of indecision, I decided to bite the bullet and go to see the Black Duck in Wales. Now Black Ducks are hardly the most inspirational of birds in the world, but one of my few rules of twitching is that I will only travel a long distance if it is unlikely the bird will crop up somewhere closer at sometime in the near future. Black Ducks are notorious for cropping up only in the South-west and Scotland, so it would be unlikely that one would pitch up in Norfolk anytime soon! Plus given how amazingly cyclical some american birds can be (look at the glut of Forster's Terns and Pied-billed Grebes in the 90's, but none since!), I decided it was best to take the opportunity to see one whilst the opportunity was there to be had. Since I had finally paid homage to the Black Scoter in Wales on Easter Sunday last year, it seemed somewhat fitting that the tradition be kept this year...
So at some ungodly hour, I hit the road and made good time to Marloes Mere in West Pembrokeshire, arriving sometime just after dawn. A short stumble down to the hide and the female American Black Duck was soon 'under the belt'! I had not really envisaged that it would have disappeared overnight, but stranger things have happened, so seeing it was a relief! It gave reasonable views over the next few hours, though was often not visible for large periods, or was asleep tucked into the reeds! Perhaps not the most amazing of creatures, but quite attractive in it's own right - the black-bordered violet speculum and flashy white underwings being particularly nifty features! A couple of Choughs were noted nearby, whilst Ravens cronked overhead.
Having spent a little bit longer with the duck than I had imagined, I knew I would struggle to do all the sites I had intended, so instead took things more leisurely. Heading away from Marloes, I couldn't resist a quick look for the Ring-billed Gull at Dale, although I had no idea of where it had been seen from! No problems it would seem, as I pulled up at a small group of gulls on the estuary next to the road and the Ringer was sat right in the middle of 'em! I was glad to have made the effort for this bird, as it was an interesting individual - being such a petite bird, i'm sure that it could be very easy to overlook this! Also here, single first and second-year Mediterranean Gulls were noted.
Heading to Haverfordwest, I stopped in the least scenic place possible to look for the male Rose-coloured Starling present recently. After a fair bit of searching, the bird was eventually picked up in the gardens behind the betting shop, but it only showed briefly a couple of times before dropping out of sight. A bit disappointing really, this was only the second 'pink' Rosy Pastor I had seen, and was quite a greasy and unimpressive looking bird! With it proving elusive, I decided not to linger for long, and so soon headed back the way I had come, noting a solitary roadside Red Kite near Camarthen en route back down the A48.
Next port of call was at Lisvane Reservoir on the outskirts of Cardiff, which I eventually found after much difficulty courtesy of the complete lack of sign posts in Cardiff! Fortuitously the wintering first-winter Spotted Sandpiper was much easier to locate, as it pottered around the edge of it's favoured concrete basin. For not the first time today, I had the bird completely to myself and it proved to be the most incredibly obliging Yank wader I have ever come across. Having located it feeding along one side of the reservoir, I sat on the concrete wall and watched as the Spot Sand just happily strolled past below my feet, feeding contently all the while! Despite being my fifth Spotted Sand in the UK, and the third consecutive year in a row that I have seen the species, it was still an excellent opportunity to reaquaint myself with the finer features of this species.
With daylight running out, I felt I only had enough decent light to make one further stop, so headed back across the Severn Bridge and made my way to Cheddar Reservoir. A few birders were leaving as I arrived, but yet again I had the bird to myself, as another superbly obliging Yank - this time the first-summer Bonaparte's Gull - opted to show down to a few feet. The bird was feeding in the 'surf' breaking the headwall of the reservoir and gave incredibly good views. This is one of those species which it is easy to look up in a fieldguide and wonder how it is that different to a Black-headed Gull, but the reality of picking one up in the field is so much easier! Deciding to make the most of the bird, and take some dodgy photos, I decided to stay till late, rather than chasing off after the Lesser Scaup. A flock of six Scaup and c.100 Sand Martins were also notable during my visit. Unfortunately, I hadn't quite realised how close the Lesser Scaup at Barrow Gurney was to Cheddar, and as soon as I left for home, I realised I would be passing the site! Unfortunately at 18:45, it was a bit impossible to pick out anything remotely Lesser Scaup-like, though four Goosanders and eight Goldeneyes were noted!
1st March - Following a heavy night out the previous night, I hadn't planned to do much today, and so therefore didn't! Driving home mid-morning, I dropped in at Abberton to pick up a copy of the latest Essex Bird Report. It would have been rude not to have had a look from the Causeways, but the very strong wind made it a bit of a challenge! A mixed flock of grey geese comprised a single Tundra Bean and 16 Eurasian White-fronts amongst the usual Greylags, whilst a bog-standard selection of quacks included 45 Goldeneye, three Smew (adult drake, first-winter drake and redhead), 11 Goosanders and 25 Ruddy Ducks.