30 Days Wild | Day 7 - Titchwell with the West Midland Bird Club

It's the 7th day of 30 Days Wild, and today I took a welcome (and deserved I think) day off from revision for the monthly trip with the West Midland Bird Club, this time to RSPB Titchwell. Although I did do another past exam paper on the coach....fortunately the journey is long enough to also include some snooze time!

Upon arriving at the reserve, our plan was to head straight down to the sea as high tide was at 11:15, then check out the pools, reedbed and marshes on the way back. However there was so much good stuff around our walk to the beach ended up taking rather longer than planned! Before we'd even got off the coach I saw my first Painted Lady butterfly of the year; at the start of the main path through the reserve some young children were feeding a very tame and friendly Song Thrush. Making our way along the path we saw Wall, Common Blue and Red Admiral butterflies on the warm grassy bank. In some bushes among the reedbed we heard, then saw, Reed and Cetti's Warblers and all the way along the path we saw Linnets, Avocets, Redshanks, Meadow Pipits, Little Egrets and Reed Buntings aplenty. 

Great spot for smashing Cetti's Warbler views.

The lagoon, with sleepy Avocets.

Little Egret.

On the first large lagoon was a smashing male Garganey, a lovely group of immature Little Gulls (cute!), some roosting Grey Plovers and a bunch of Black-tailed Godwits; over the reeds at the back a female Marsh Harrier was patrolling. I was on the lookout for new plants to try and learn as usual and there was plenty of this about:

I think it may be Shrubby Sea-blite (Suaeda vera).

We eventually reached the beach, more than ready for our lunches, but then some other members of our group told us they'd seen a Spoonbill on the marsh just where we'd come from...so we went back down the path and peered over to the spot where it had been seen, after a while it emerged and while it was distant and shimmering in the heat haze, there was no mistaking its cutlery-esque bill! Back on the beach we finally had our lunches, sharing them with this wily Black-headed Gull. 

Give me your lunch!

From the beach we had nice views of passing Sandwich and Little Terns, Fulmars and Oystercatchers, as well as a pair of House Martins which kept landing on the beach. As we got up to leave the beach a Curlew and a Kestrel flew over. 

The beach.

We stopped off at the Parrinder hide on our way back towards the visitor centre where we caught up with the Garganey and Little Gulls again, and found a couple of Little Ringed Plovers. Then it was onto the fen trail where there was plenty of Ragged Robin and an orchid of some kind in flower.

Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi).

Southern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa)?

At Patsy's pool we added both Red-Crested and standard Pochards to our lists, plus a pair of Little Grebes in fine breeding plumage. Upon reaching the end of the trail we decided to loiter awhile; this paid off as an awesome Hobby appeared, flying towards and over us before diving into the reeds and reemerging! It perched in clear view on a bare tree for a short while before disappearing off into the distance. We had great views of a fine Sedge Warbler too, singing out in the open atop the reeds, and also heard a Cuckoo but it was much too far away to track down. Finally on our walk back to the visitor centre we found a Red-Legged Partridge sitting on a fence in an adjacent field. Another super day out with the bird club and good break from exam revision!

Changeable weather at Weeting Heath and Lakenheath Fen

Yesterday I was off once again on the West Midland Bird Club coach, this time to Weeting Heath in Norfolk and Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk. The day proved to be one of highs and lows in terms of the weather, and consequently the birding!

We arrived at Weeting Heath mid-morning, and the rain started pretty much just as we stepped off the coach. However we were soon ensconced in the hide, enjoying up to 8 Stone Curlews running around on the heath, and a couple of their chicks too! We also saw 2 Stoats chasing each other around like crazy creatures, not great news if you're a Stone Curlew (or a Rabbit, of which we also saw many) but very fun to watch. Lapwings, Pied Wagtails and Stock Doves were also spotted on the heath. With the rain intensifying, we decided not to chance the woodland trail in search of Woodlarks, and instead dashed into the woodland hide. Sadly the feeders were completely empty so bird action was a bit thin on the ground, but we did see a nice Marsh Tit briefly come and check the feeders, and also Goldfinches, Chaffinches, a Great Tit family and a Green Woodpecker in the trees behind the feeders. By now the rain was getting torrential, and we whizzed back to the coach and set off for Lakenheath.

Upon arrival at Lakenheath, some brave souls decided to venture out into the wet conditions which by now could accurately be described as biblical. The rest of us stayed on the coach and ate our lunches, thinking that all the birds would be sheltering in this weather. After about 45 minutes and when the rain looked like it might be easing, we got as far as the visitor centre before it bucketed down again with renewed effort! We stayed in there for another 20 minutes or so, and managed at least to see a few birds on the feeders including Reed Bunting, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the trees.

View from the visitor centre. Please stop raining!

We finally set out when the rain again went from being torrential to merely heavy, hot-footing it to the first viewing shelter where we found most of the rest of our group. While we were here, the rain finally stopped, and the sun came out, along with ALL THE BIRDS!!

Before - rainy grey skies...

.....after - skies-a-clearing!

We saw 3 Kingfishers, which were very active - flying around a lot and perching prominently on reeds. A pair of Marsh Harriers appeared and chased each other around for a while, giving us a good chance to observe the difference in size and build between the male and the female. There were also plenty of Kestrels and a Hobby around, although we were to get much better views of many Hobbies later on! We saw 2 pairs of Common Tern and a few Reed Warblers hopping around in the reeds. A Bearded Tit, after pinging around for a bit hidden in the reeds, emerged out on top of a seedhead quite close by, giving us super views! This was particularly pleasing as the conditions immediately post-rain were quite calm, but the wind soon picked up so that later on, although we heard more Bearded Tits, we didn't see any venture up out of the reeds. Finally, after the rest of our group had moved on, Andy M spotted a Little Egret, and then a Bittern flying over the reeds, for quite a distance - awesome!

We headed off up to the next viewpoint, where we'd heard Cranes could hopefully be seen.... on the way, the sun brought out all the butterflies, and we saw Green-veined White, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown. Here are a few pictures:

Green-veined White (Pieris napi) on Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) on Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense).

Small White (Pieris Rapae).

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) on Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris). View large for the full 'being eyeballed by a Large Skipper' experience.

A rather pale Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) on Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense).

I also spotted a new plant to try and identify:

I think it is Black Horehound (Ballota nigra).

When we reached the next viewpoint, there were Marsh Harriers galore - at least 8 floating over the reedbed. A smashing Hobby also flew right over our heads! We didn't stay long however, as a passing couple told us where to see the Cranes from, just a bit further along the path on the river bank. We headed over and had soon located the Cranes, a pair in the field on the other side of the river. We had to keep moving around to maintain our view as the vegetation on the opposite river bank temporarily obscured the Cranes as they moved around, feeding in the field. However we all got excellent views and watched the Cranes for some time - this was only the second time seeing Cranes for me, and the first time was in rather poor light, although we did hear them trumpeting on that occasion :o) After that we all felt pretty pleased with the day, after its initially very unpromising beginning, and we set off back to the coach, enjoying more hunting Hobbies and butterfly action on the river banks as we went.

Weekend in Norfolk!

I didn't post any drawings over the weekend as I was away on the annual West Midland Bird Club jaunt to Norfolk, good times! We headed off very early from Birmingham and arrived at our first stop, RSPB Snettisham, by around 10ish. The weather was looking good and before we'd even left the car park we'd had Common Gull, Redwing, Fieldfare and Skylark fly over. A Kingfisher flew over our heads and off down the fishing pond as we entered the reserve, and a couple of sleepy rabbits were enjoying the sun just to one side of the path, seemingly unperturbed by our presence!

Zzzzz.

Walking down the first lagoon, the usual ubiquitous Greylags and Mallards were everywhere, plus a pair of Little Grebes, then towards the top end we noticed something else....a female Common Scoter, super-close and giving us smashing views!

Here's a dreadful record shot!

When we reached the mudflats, they were mostly covered but the tide was receding fast to reveal the vast muddy expanse. There was plenty of wader and goose action, with Brent and Pink-footed Geese, Golden and Grey Plover, Knot, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher and more. Lovely wintery vibes! Having said that, the weather was very pleasant, and we even saw a Red Admiral butterfly at one point!

Lovely mud.

In one of the hides I did some variable sketches of Wigeon:

Wigeon.

Wigeon sketches.

I also spotted a new flower to try and ID:

It looks like Sea Campion (Silene uniflora).

Here's a couple more photos.

Grazing Greylags.

A former Greylag (I think). Check out those teeth!

The rain finally caught up with us about 10 minutes before we reached the car park, despite that I enjoyed a big flock of Long-tailed Tits in a Hawthorn bush by the path - I love how oblivious they are of people, never get tired of trying to get close to them. Although the weather had turned we decided to try our chances at a spot (whose name I've forgotten, doh) where we'd heard Barn Owl could be seen regularly, and luckily when we got there it was only drizzling very lightly, not enough to discourage the brilliant Barn Owl which we watched for some time hunting - I love owls! :o)

After that we decided to drop off quickly at Salthouse to see if we could find us some Snow Buntings. However when we arrived thoughts of Snow Buntings were quickly banished from our minds, as we bumped into some other WMBC members who were about to leave - they asked us if we were there for the Grey Phalarope. We were now! This would be a life tick for me, it was hard to contain my excitement! The light was fading fast so we sprinted (well, as much as you can sprint across thick shingle) over to the pool where the Phalarope had been loitering, and there it was, dibbling around in the water, feeding in a most distinctive fashion, fussily pecking at small insect prey on the water's surface. Brilliant! We watched it until the light became too poor to see much, and then headed on to our base for the weekend, the Cliftonville Hotel in Cromer, for dinner and an excellent night's sleep. What an awesome day!

The next morning we went to RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, where we enjoyed more great views of hunting Barn Owl over the grassland! The epic rain overnight must've prevented it from catching a meal the previous evening so it was out in the morning instead. Stonechat and Kestrel were also to be seen, and Chinese Water Deer grazing in the grass and reedbeds. We also saw a Black Swan, presumably an escapee. There were a lot of these attractive berries around, another identification to attempt:

Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus) I reckon.

We watched some interesting behaviour - a Jay landed on a gate and put two acorns down on top of the gate which it had been carrying in its crop. It picked them up and put them down a few times, and rolled one around a bit. Maybe it was deciding where to cache them, or was trying to dry them off if they were slightly damp? After a while it picked them both up again and flew off. Fascinating behaviour, if anyone knows what this Jay was up to I'd be very interested to hear.

I did a couple of sketches of Shoveler at Strumpshaw:

Shoveler sketches.

After that the plan was to go to Stubb Mill at Hickling Broad to watch the Cranes and Hen Harriers fly in to roost, however unfortunately disaster struck when we broke down a short (but too long to be walkable!) distance from our destination, argh! The AA arrived on the scene quickly but the problem turned out to be fairly serious - the car was eventually towed back to Birmingham and we got a taxi back to Cromer, a bit disappointed that we'd missed out on the Cranes, but at least we were all OK - the car engine and power steering had just cut out in a quite alarming manner and if we'd been on a busier road it could have been nasty.

The weather was pretty wild the next morning, with the wind and rain rattling against the windows as we ate breakfast. Undeterred we went to Salthouse and although it had just about stopped raining the high winds made it a bit grim! 

Windy!

We'd walked into the wind down to look at some of the pools, and decided to walk back along the shingle bank to look over the sea, with the wind at our backs. Out at sea a Razorbill flew past, then I spotted something high up, flying in from the sea, that was definitely not a seabird. It was an owl traveller, a roaming Short-eared Owl arriving from more northerly climes for the winter! Major excitement as I'd never seen one coming in from the sea before! It sailed over our heads and dropped down to land on the marsh, out of view behind a hummock. We started to rush over to see if we could find it again but before we got that far another WMBC member attracted our attention, he was photographing a flock of around 30 Snow Bunting on the shingle - we got a brilliant close up view for a minute or two before they flew off, flighty chaps that they are. We searched a bit more for the owl but couldn't find it, it was probably having a well-earned rest somewhere out of the wind. Pleased that our perseverance had paid off, we continued on to Titchwell.

Fortunately at Titchwell the weather was sunny and the wind much reduced. We decided to go to the beach first as high tide was just receding, however we inevitably got distracted by various bits and bobs on the way down such as Spotted Redshank and Curlew. On the beach plenty of Sanderlings were scuttling around, they are great!

Sanderlings.

Out at sea I saw a seal and a couple of Red-throated Divers but to be honest I possess neither the patience nor the kit (saving up for a decent scope!) for sustained periods of seawatching, and after a while I went for a walk down the beach, where I didn't see much of note but warmed up at least. We walked back through the reserve, stopping at the hides where we had great views of Pintail and distant Avocet, among others. I was just starting some sketches of Shelduck when Mike P had a call from Andy M (who'd gone to buy a new coat in the shop) to say a Short-eared Owl was flying around!

Unfinished Shelduck sketches!

We hot-footed it out of the hide and soon spotted the owl hunting down towards the road. However it was coming our way! It was lit from one side by the low sun so that its wings glowed, embodying its binomial name Asio flammeus. We had awesome views as it flew right past us! Unfortunately for the owl it was being bothered by Black-headed Gulls and it shortly turned back, vocalising grumpily as it did so - another treat for me having never heard a Short-eared Owl before. So we had awesome views again as it flew past us back the other way! After that we heard that there was a White-fronted Goose with Greylags on the freshwater lagoon, some patient searching from Mike P soon located the bird and we were able to enjoy good views - when seen with Greylags the differences were obvious, its smaller size and daintier build, proportionally smaller head and bill and of course the white flash above its bill. It even obligingly got out of the water so we could see a couple of dark marks on its belly. The light was starting to go by this point so we headed back to the car - on the way we stopped as we heard Bearded Tits in the reedbed, but we didn't manage to see any. However I did get a great view of a Cetti's Warbler, its white throat was very bright in the low light! A great end to an excellent birding weekend, of which the owls were definitely the highlight :o)

Stone Curlews, Spotted Flycatchers and sad snakes at Weeting Heath & Lakenheath Fen

Time once more for the monthly West Midland Bird Club jaunt. Yesterday we went to Weeting Heath in Norfolk and Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk. At our usual stop en route at Cambridge services, I remembered watching the cheeky Rooks on a previous occasion eating scraps and jumping in the bins to look for food! So I thought I would share a bit of my sandwich with them this time:

Give me your food!

Rooks are cool.

We started at Weeting Heath first and with only just over an hour to look around, some serious prioritisation was in order. After a quick peer at the Stone Curlews, which fortunately were showing very well with several visible fairly close to the West Hide, I decided to try and address one of the gaping holes in my life list, Woodlark. We headed off up the woodland trail and I spotted a couple of new plants to try and learn:

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare).

White Campion (Silene latifolia).

The Viper's Bugloss was very popular with these butterflies which I think are Large Skippers (Ochlodes sylvanus), please correct me if I'm wrong though as I'm not too good on butterflies!

Large Skippers (Ochlodes sylvanus) on
Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare).

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) on
Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare).

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) on
Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare).

Alas, we didn't have any luck with the Woodlark, although we did find Yellowhammer, Garden Warbler and Whitethroat among others, and had an enjoyable walk. Back on the main reserve lovely nesting Spotted Flycatchers next to the path were a highlight of the day!

We headed off to Lakenheath Fen, and upon arrival a few of us decided to try for Turtle Dove (yet another shocking omission from my life list) back up around the bridge near the reserve entrance. This led to my first ever encounter with a Grass Snake, however I am afraid it is a sorry tale! Whilst walking up the road, we spotted something in the middle of it which soon turned out to be a sizeable but coiled up apparently dead Grass Snake, with quite fresh-looking blood and flies on it. We assumed that it had been run over although there was no sign of any specific injury.

A sorry sight :o(

However when Chris poked the snake, its head moved! It wasn't quite dead yet!

Not dead yet! Poor snake!

I couldn't bear to leave it to die in the middle of the road, it was too sad! Mike and Chris were too scared to pick it up, the pansies, so I wrapped it in some big leaves to avoid bloodying myself and moved it to the grass verge to die in peace. We headed off up the road but couldn't find any Turtle Doves so walked back down to the reserve. However when we got to where we'd left the snake, it had uncoiled and was looking considerably more active! Maybe its injuries weren't as bad as they seemed, or maybe they would finish it off eventually......we left the snake to its uncertain fate.

Godspeed, Grass Snake......

The wind had picked up considerably once we got onto the main reserve and as a result, many of the birds were keeping a low profile. We only heard but did not see Cuckoo and Bearded Tit which was a bit of a shame. There were however Marsh Harriers galore, and we saw a few more butterflies such as these Small Tortoiseshells (Aglais urticae) gamely clinging onto what I think might be Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) in the wind:

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) on Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense).

I didn't get a chance to do any drawing due to the wind, although with the scanner being out of action anyway I would have had to wait until we'd sorted that out to post this. Despite it being a bit quiet on the bird front it was great to be out in the sunshine (although I think I should have re-applied my sunscreen - ouch), and although it was in a sad context I think getting close to a Grass Snake was what I'll remember most about this day.