Showing posts with label Glossy Ibis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glossy Ibis. Show all posts

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Autumn highlights from East Anglia - Part 3

 A final selection of photos from the autumn with these being from mid-October until I returned home in mid-December...

Incredible numbers of Red-flanked Bluetails turned up along the Norfolk coast with up to at one site alone. This one lurked in the undergrowth in Holkham Pines. 

Pallas's Warblers are always great to see. This individual was in Holkham Pines, while other late autumn highlights there included a putative Stejneger's Stonechat, Barred Warbler, Hawfinches, Yellow-browed Warblers and up to 17 Cattle Egrets


The rarest bird of the autumn and biggest surprise was the eastern-race Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin at Stiffkey. 

Another, more showy Pallas's Warbler was also at Stiffkey the same day as the Scrub Robin.

This Red-flanked Bluetail showed superbly at Holme Dunes. 

Two of the Hawfinches at Holkham.

A Lesser Yellowlegs showed down to a few metres at Cley late in October.

An influx of Caspian Gulls to Cley the same day as the Yellowlegs included this smart Dutch-ringed first-winter (phonescoped). 

During the lockdown these Glossy Ibis turned up at Horsham St Faith - within cycling distance of my Norwich house. 

I managed one post-lockdown trip to the coast before returning to Northumberland, with a juvenile Iceland Gull at Weybourne being the highlight and a Black Brant at Cley. 

Monday, 28 May 2018

More Holy Island...

Yesterday morning we visited the patch, and the coal road pools were still really good with the waders including Pectoral Sandpiper, Greenshank, Knot and Little Stint, and the Glossy Ibis and 2 Whooper Swans were also around still.

On the east edge of Druridge Bay Country Park, we discovered an unusual warbler singing from some thick scrub. Despite being there for around an hour, it never showed itself, and we were not sure of its identity. This morning I've had the chance to go through some of my recordings, and along with some advice from others, we are almost certain it was a Marsh Warbler, albeit not in full song.

After having some lunch, we decided to get back out and make the most of the good weather and good birding, so we headed back up to Holy Island, as a number of good birds had been reported from there.

The Vicar's Garden was the first place we looked, and eventually the Marsh Warbler there did show itself quite well, although wasn't singing. After seeing 3 Whimbrel fly over, we walked round to the Crooked Lonnen, and the male Red-backed Shrike was sat on bushes and fences to the north. A great looking bird and my first spring Red-backed Shrike in the county since 2013!

Next we walked up the Straight Lonnen, and our third Marsh Warbler of the day was singing in a hawthorn just to the north-east. Although harder to see than the one on the Vicar's Garden, this bird did show occasionally.

Just south of the Excavations we discovered a Whinchat and 3 Wheatears, and eventually located a female Red-backed Shrike sitting unobtrusively on some hawthorns.

With a Red-breasted Flycatcher, 2 Marsh Warblers, 2 Red-backed Shrikes, Icterine Warbler, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and a Whinchat, the last two days on the island have been really good, and reminded us just why the island is such a good place to go birding!




Marsh Warbler in the Vicar's Garden
Marsh Warbler singing north of the Straight Lonnen

Male Red-backed Shrike (phonescoped)
Female Red-backed Shrike
Whinchat
Skylark

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

Druridge on form...

We've had a couple of visits to Druridge recently with the new pools by the coal road providing some good birds, especially the summer plumage waders. Peak counts on the flash have been...

3 Curlew Sandpiper
2 Little Stint
1 Wood Sandpiper
1 Avocet
110 Ringed Plover
25 Dunlin
2 Sanderling
7 Turnstone

While other things there have included the long-staying Glossy Ibis, 4 Garganey, 2 Little Gull, 4 Yellow Wagtail and 2 Whooper Swans.

Little Stint
Curlew Sandpipers (phonescoped at Cresswell before they moved to Druridge)
Garganey

Sunday, 20 May 2018

Rosy Starling...

Yesterday morning on our way to Druridge we called in to Falston Crescent in Ashington to have a look at the adult Rose-coloured Starling. It was showing really well, although the light wasn't great. It was nice to hear it singing well too; a subtly different song to Common Starling, slightly slower and lower-pitched. 



We decided to have another look at it in the evening, hoping for better light, and sure enough it was still in the garden, providing some better photo opportunities...










Rose-coloured Starling
The garden also held a few other species...

Dunnock
Juvenile Blackbird
Druridge still held a good selection on the the coal road pools including a very brief adult summer Little Gull, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis, Garganey, Whooper Swan and a flyover Arctic Tern.

Monday, 7 May 2018

Another confiding scarcity!

After still being on a bit of a high from the Little Bittern, it was great to get some more amazing views of an unusual waterbird, with the Glossy Ibis showing superbly by the old coal road at Druridge this morning until it was flushed by the farmer on his quadbike... 

Other birds around Druridge Pools included a Wood Sandpiper, drake Garganey, 4 Black-tailed Godwits and a Roseate Tern and Puffin offshore...

East Chevington produced a Black-necked Grebe, while the Channel Wagtail still at Bell's Farm rounded off another good day.







Glossy Ibis

Wednesday, 2 May 2018

More Ibis...

A visit to Druridge this evening added the Glossy Ibis to the patch year list, and the views were awesome...





Sunday, 29 April 2018

Glossy Ibis...

It was nice to see this Glossy Ibis at Cresswell this evening, even if it was playing a bit hard to get...




Video should be viewed at 1080p