Mid-week update

Male Stonechat – Water Lane, West Runton – yesterday

Cley on Monday produced few surprises. The Long-billed Dowitcher was still present – spending most of the morning on Pat’s Pool and the afternoon on Simmond’s Scrape. The flock of Snow Bunting along the shingle ridge – hunkered down out of the wind – was down to about 25. Two Water Pipit showed well in the afternoon on Pat’s. Tuesday morning was my first sea-watch in nearly a month. A reasonably selection of stuff including: my first Eider of the year, Great Crested Grebe, a late flock of Pink-feet, a few auks and the usual miscellany of other species. We did manage a few speed checks of Eider, Cormorant and Scoter. Yesterday afternoon, in a break from the computer, I managed to track down the small flock of Snow Bunting, associating with Skylark and Linnet in cliff-top stubble at West Runton – an NENBC year tick for me. There was a pair of obliging Stonechat along Water Lane. This mornings sea-watch was predictably cold – with a moderate on-shore wind – but surprisingly quiet. A pair of Pintail west – speed-checked ay Cley – was the highlight.

A mobile mixed flock of Linnet, Skylark and Snow Bunting – cliff-top stubble fields – West Runton

Felbrigg duck debate

Mediterranean Gull – found in the flock of 275 Common Gull on the sheep pastures – Felbrigg

It was ‘duck count’ day at Felbrigg yesterday. The only wildfowl surprise was the general lack of any ducks! February is often a peak month but with only two dozen Gadwall (a quarter of the usual number) less than twenty Teal (peak counts have reached 400), and no Wigeon, Pochard, etc it makes you wonder what is going on. The impact of the late autumn dam wall work should have gone by now, but there were a couple of Otter reported on the water meadows about a week ago – perhaps this is the reason? Numbers of wildfowl were generally higher mid-week, on the NENBC monthly walk, so they are obviously commuting between Felbrigg and other local water bodies. There were over a dozen Tufted on Wednesday and two Ferruginous hybrids, with only three Tufties yesterday for example . The purpose of the monthly coordinated count is of course to even out the effects of these local movements – so hopefully they are picked up on someone else’s count. Snipe numbers remain good for this time of the year – there were still fourteen yesterday – and I heard Water Rail which, although they are now probably resident in Felbrigg, I don’t get them on every count. The final bit of Wildfowl interest (on Wednesday – so I assume yesterday) was that one of the adult Mute Swans is ‘Polish’ -we’ll see what their off-spring look like this year. The only non wildfowl highlights were the pair of wintering Stonechat, a group of 50 Redwing near the carpark and a 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull in the flock of 275 Common Gull on the sheep pastures.

Wintering male Stonechat

National Nest-box Week

Cromer Green Spaces volunteer installing nest-boxes in the grounds of Halsey House

This week has been the BTO Nest-box Week. Felbeck Trust supported this annual initiative at its work-party on Thursday when we erected ten boxes at Hindolveston, one of our new Surveyors Allotment sites. Yesterday morning, Cromer Green Spaces followed suit by installing nest-boxes in the private grounds of Halsey House (British Legion) – for the benefit of wildlife and the residents. It remains ‘all quiet’ on the birding front with my only mid-week highlight being a nice flock of wintering Brambling. ‘Best of the rest’, in wildlife terms, came in the form of a live Polecat – seen from the car as we headed for our annual Tripartite North Norfolk bird & wildlife groups talk at Cley on Thursday, with Nigel Collar giving us an excellent talk on Bustards. Today it’s WeBS at Felbrigg.

Mid-week birding interest – a wintering flock of Brambling

Nigel Collar’s talk on Bustards – screen image is of a charter airliner full of Bustard-hunting falcons!

Waders & Warbler

iPhone shot of Jack Snipe – a Norfolk year tick

It was waders that stole the show yesterday at Cley. There were hundreds of Lapwing and Golden Plover roosting on the main scrapes, with two dozen Avocet, a few Black-wit, Dunlin, Turnstone and Snipe. In the afternoon along East Bank the Long-billed Dowitcher showed to perfection, with a handful of Ruff making interesting comparison. Careful scrutiny of the birds on Serpentine turned up the Jack Snipe – a welcome year tick. On our way home we called in at Sheringham for the Lesser Whitethroat, which some observers are punting as one of the central Asian races – which seems likely. We didn’t get long enough views to either photograph or form a view of race. Meanwhile the Black Redstart performed nicely on the nearby scaffolding. My morning started with supervising the installation of a Barn Owl box on our Sustead reserve – we’re hoping for early occupation (and not by Jackdaws!)

iPhone shot of one of the two dozen Pintail on the main scrapes

The Long-billed Dowitcher at Cley – one day it won’t be there!

Barn Owl box installed at Felbeck Trust’s Sustead reserve

Site affinity

Female Black Redstart on the garages behind the Esplanade, Sheringham

Yesterday I managed to find a natural break in several accumulated computer-based tasks to pop out for the Black Redstart which has been showing, on and off, around the flats on the Esplanade at Sheringham. What is it about this particular plot of seaside suburbia which is so attractive to this species. Over the years I must have seen nearly ten in this general location. On the way back I stopped off at the Carnival Field – one un-ringed adult winter Mediterranean Gull in the roost.

Winter Med Gull on Carnival Field

Catching up after a dot week

iPhone record shot of the Long-billed Dowitcher on Serpentine

I was decidedly under the weather last week, so virtually no birding to speak of. We did manage to get to Cley on Monday where a few of the long-stayers provided some interest. The Long-billed Dowitcher showed exceptionally well on Serpentine for an hour in the morning, whilst the Snow Bunting flock was flitting along the shingle ridge. In the afternoon Dauke’s hide produced a nice group of Pintail on Pat’s, with a dozen or so Ruff on the islands. An obliging Water Pipit showed itself along the ‘shore’ of Simmond’s Scrape for an all-to-brief spell. Whilst scrutinising the flock of Pink-feet which landed on Eye Field I noticed a large, upright, pipit running and stopping in the grass near the Main Drain bridge. It was way too far away to get enough detail but it had more than a whiff of Richard’s about it! Later we drove down Beach Road but failed to relocate it.