An afternoon in the Broads...

Yesterday morning we were planning on heading to the Broads to look for waders, but when news came through of a Caspian Tern at Hickling Broad we changed our plans and set off quickly. I have had several near misses with Caspian Terns over the last few years so it was a relief when the smart adult individual was still present on Rush Hill Scrape when we arrived. 

We enjoyed some good scope views through the heat haze, and it was sometimes viewable in the same field of view as a Little Stint. A Great White Egret and several Marsh Harriers were flying around too. 

We left mid-afternoon and I picked up an interesting looking raptor while walking back towards Potter Heigham Village. I suspected that it was a Honey Buzzard, and it soon flew right over heads giving us a really good view and confirming the ID. The views didn't stop there as it started circling over the fields and was mobbed by a Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard before it drifted off north-east. A really nice way to end a great afternoon of birding in the sun.

Adult female Honey Buzzard

Caspian Tern through the heat haze

Great Egret

Back in the north...

This weekend I'm back at home from UEA, so today me and my dad decided to have a full day's birding on the coast. We chose (perhaps wrongly!) not to start in the Druridge area, and instead head north to look for seabirds.

Stag Rocks was quiet with just a single Great Northern Diver offshore and then a Red-necked Grebe just before we left. Budle Bay and Fenham-le-Moor were both busy with birds although we couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

We continued north, ending up at Cheswick. Here we quickly picked up the drake Black Scoter, while a single drake Long-tailed Duck and a group of six Velvet Scoters were nice to see.

On the way back home we called in at Cresswell Pond to take a look at the smart juvenile/1st-winter Long-billed Dowitcher found earlier in the day. We had decent scope views of the bird but unfortunately it didn't land on the mud in front of the hide. The pond had a good selection of other birds too including a Little Stint, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, 5 Scaup and 5 Ruff.

Tomorrow I'll be heading back to uni and I hope to round up any bird sightings I have while there on my blog soon...

Black Scoter

Distant Long-billed Dowitcher at Cresswell - please view at 1080p

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

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

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.

Druridge delivers... again!

After dipping it last night we were really pleased to get some good views of the Spotted Crake at Druridge Pools this morning. It takes me to within just one point of my final Patchwork Challenge score from last year...

Other birds at Druridge Pools recently have included the White-rumped Sandpiper (until a couple of days ago), Green Sandpiper, 90+ Black-tailed Godwits, a few Ruff and lots of Dunlin.

Spotted Crake

Little Stint - photographed at Cresswell and seen at Druridge Pools the same day

Juvenile Garganey

Great White hat-trick

The highlight of this morning's birding was a Great White Egret at Druridge Pools which was our third of the year. Other birds here included a Little Stint, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, a Greenshank and Bar-tailed Godwit as well as 3 Little Egrets.

A further 14 Little Egrets were at Cresswell along with 3 at Amble and 6 at Castle Island. Other birds at Cresswell Pond included 4 Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and 2 Black-tailed Godwits. 5 more Black-tailed Godwits came in off the sea here and continued west. While Castle Island held 3 Ruff and 20 Black-tailed Godwits.

A flock of 12 Ruff were stood ankle deep in water at the south end of the north pool at Chevington so hopefully some mud may appear there soon. 4 Pintail were also here.

The water level at Bothal Pond is starting to look good and it had attracted a juvenile Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Green Sandpiper as well as 5 Dunlin and 5 Black-tailed Godwits when we visited today.

Great White Egret

Saltholme

We were visiting relatives on Teesside this afternoon so decided to leave a bit early and stop at RSPB Saltholme on the way. Before we arrived a Marsh Harrier flew west over our car on the A689 near Wynyard.

On reaching the reserve we headed to the Saltholme Pools Hide where 3 Little Stints were feeding in front of the hide, however two of these birds flew off. At least 15 Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Ruff and 10 Little Egrets were also visible from here along with 2 Pintail and a juvenile Garganey.

Someone strimming in front of the Phil Stead Hide meant that no birds were on show from here, however 2 Greenshank were on the Fire Station Fields along with 2 Green Sandpipers which flew towards the visitor centre.

Our final stop was the hide at Dorman's Pool. A further 6 juvenile Little Stints were here along with 4 juvenile Little Ringed Plovers, 7 Ruff and 2 Black Swan.

Another good morning...

We suspected that the juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was still around Amble so headed there this morning...

On the way we called in at QEII where the juvenile Black Tern was showing really well, however the poor light prevented any really good photos. We arrived at Amble where an adult Curlew Sandpiper was feeding in the seaweed and the returning adult Caspian Gull dropped in.

It was a while before my Dad picked up an interesting gull sat on one of the staithes. We walked to the marina to get a better look and when we got there it was quickly apparent this was the bird. Whether it is a Yellow-legged or not we're not sure about.

While watching the gull the adult White-rumped Sandpiper which I found yesterday was spotted which also gave great views near the lifeboat station before flying upstream. A really good looking bird and my dad even managed to photograph it's white rump in one of three photos he took of it!

On the way back we called in at Druridge Pools for an hour. 5 Curlew Sandpipers and 2 Little Stints remained on the Budge Fields and 2 Spotted Flycatchers were in the pine plantation by the entrance along with a number of Willow Warblers and a few Goldcrests. A Redstart was also feeding along the fence on the east side of the farm building.

Just as we were driving home to get some lunch we spotted an Osprey flying low over the road between Druridge Pools and Widdrington village. It headed off in a south-west direction. A patch tick and an excellent end to a decent day!

PWC 2016
Species: 105
Points: 203

The Amble gull

Caspian Gull

White-rumped Sandpiper

Black Tern

Osprey