A weekend away...

Last weekend we visited a UEA open day, and stayed overnight in Kings Lynn. This allowed us to do a bit of birding the evening after at Titchwell as well as stopping at Frampton on the way home...

Titchwell held a great selection on Saturday evening, including 10 Spoonbills, Great White Egret, Little Stint, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, Bearded Tits, and best of all, 4 adult Turtle Doves sat together...

Turtle Doves

Bearded Tits - adult female and juvenile male (bottom).

Yellow-legged Gull

Curlew Sandpiper

A stop at RSPB Frampton on the way back on Sunday morning was also very enjoyable with highlights including the Long-billed Dowitcher, 16 Spotted Redshanks, Curlew Sandpiper, Spoonbill, Black-necked Grebe and an impressive 1500+ Black-tailed Godwits. 3 Willow Emerald Damselfly were an odonata tick for me.

Black-tailed Godwit

Spotted Redshank

Black-necked Grebe

Willow Emerald Damselfly

Mallorca - Birding around our villa & Pollensa

Last Sunday (the 9th) we arrived on the island of Mallorca for a weeks break. We stayed in a villa on the north side of Pollensa, overlooking the mountains and ridges to the north of the town. Within just a few minutes of arriving I had my first lifer of the trip - Black Vulture. These huge birds were seen daily from the villa, the first of nine species of birds of prey.

On the 15th, a superb evening scanning the ridges produced a smart Egyptian Vulture, along with a Golden Eagle, which I understand is an escapee that has been on the island for a while now. While on our penultimate day a Griffon Vulture put in an appearance.

Other raptors seen regularly from the garden were Booted Eagles, Red Kite, Peregrine and Kestrel.

During the night we could stand outside the villa to watch and listen to Stone Curlews flying around. Two Night Herons also flew over on the 11th, while at least two Scops Owls were calling down the road into Pollensa, and on the 12th, we were able to see one calling from a hole in a tree at twilight.

Flocks of Bee-eaters were regularly seen in the area, including a flock of 40+ low over the garden on the 13th, and Hoopoes appeared twice.

Passerines seen around the garden included Serins, Sardinian Warblers and a single Pied Flycatcher and Cirl Bunting.

Lots more photos from other sites on our holiday to come soon on more blog posts...

Serin

Sardinian Warbler

Booted Eagle

Black Vulture

Griffon Vulture

Can you see the Scops Owl!? Photo handheld at 1 second shutter speed!

Bee-eaters - stunning birds!

Yellow-legged Gulls on a nearby beach

Moorish Gecko

Catch up...

On Wednesday we spent the morning on Holy Island hoping that the easterlies and drizzle might have brought some migrants to the island. Sure enough it had, with impressive numbers of thrushes and Bramblings, but unfortunately the day just lacked something rare...

1645 Redwing
504 Fieldfare
648 Blackbird
8 Song Thrush
1 Ring Ouzel
120 Brambling
5 Woodcock
9 Goldcrest
2 Black Redstart - around the Lindisfarne Hotel.
15 Long-tailed Tit
2 Blackcap
1 Short-eared Owl

Later in the day another Black Redstart was mobile around the compound on Newton Point, while the day before a Jack Snipe had been sleeping in front of the south hide on the north pool at Chevington.

Down in North Yorkshire on Thursday the gull roost at Lingham Lake held 2 Caspian Gulls (distinctive first and third-winters), an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a leucistic Black-headed Gull among the thousands of other gulls.

This morning we managed good views of a male Bearded Tit in front of the north hide on the north pool at Chevington (only my second on patch and a much better view than the first) along with 2 Otters there and a Short-eared Owl at Druridge Pools.

PWC 15
Species: 169
Points: 229 

All my photos recently have been pretty poor and my excuse is that the weather hasn't been great!

Bearded Tit

Caspian Gulls - at maximum ISO and one second shutter speeds!

Sleeping Jack Snipe

Norfolk - Days 5 & 6

On the morning of day five (12th) we were just planning to have a family day out at Hindringham Hall, but in the end I stayed around the Medieval Fish Ponds in the gardens because of the number of dragonflies there. The most numerous species was the Small Red-eyed Damselfly, with at least 40 on the ponds. Male Emperors patrolled the water's edge where there was a few females ovipositing. Common Blue Damselflies and Common Darters were also there.

Afterwards we went to RSPB Titchwell. The number of birds was impressive! We saw 21 different waders around the reserve and there was 17 Spoonbills altogether. Here's the highlights...

17 Spoonbill
6 Spotted Redshank - one in summer-plumage.
6+ Bearded Tit
1 Wood Sandpiper
150+ Ruff
50+ Black-tailed Godwit
125+ Bar-tailed Godwit
200+ Avocet
1 Little Ringed Plover
1 Whimbrel
1 Greenshank
9 Grey Plover
3 Yellow-legged Gull
1 Mediterranean Gull
2 Little Egret


 A walk from Morston to Cley the next day resulted in a flock of 9 Greenshank, a Whimbrel and 8 Little Egret. A Hobby flew over Weybourne.

That night we had our final look at the Cley gull roost. Our fifth Caspian Gull of the week was a distinctive third-summer, and 15+ Yellow-legged Gulls were there along with a Little Gull. A summer-plumage Spotted Redshank was our first at that site as was a Wood Sandpiper and 2 Egyptian Geese.

Small Red-eyed Dasmelfly

Emperor with a Common Blue Damselfly

Caspian Gull

Ruff

Avocet

Wood Sandpiper

Norfolk - Days 3 & 4

On our third day (10th) we decided to spend some time at Cley. The number of waders was spectacular, especially as there appeared to have been an influx of Black-tailed Godwits that day...

350+ 'Icelandic' Black-tailed Godwit - only 3 juveniles!
1 'Continental' Black-tailed Godwit - a distinctive colour-ringed juvenile.
40+ Ruff
1 Curlew Sandpiper
3+ Common Sandpiper
1 Yellow-legged Gull - adult.
1 Marsh Harrier
1 Little Gull

1 Small Red-eyed Damselfly
1 Brown Hawker
1 Emperor
1 Holly Blue

Another look at the Cley roost on the 10th failed to produce any Caspians, but 7+ Yellow-legged Gulls and 2 Little Gulls were there. 2 Green Sandpipers were the first we saw that week, and a Barn Owl hunted in front of the hide later on. Several low passes from some RAF Tornadoes also kept me amused!

'Continental' Black-tailed Godwit

Curlew Sandpiper

Norfolk - Days 1 & 2

Last week we had a family break in Norfolk and managed to fit in some decent trips birding!

On day one we had our first look at the Cley gull roost. An adult Caspian Gull was present and a stunning first-summer appeared later on. The number of Yellow-legged Gulls was impressive (compared to what we get in the north-east!), with at least 12 present.

A good forecast for the next day persuaded us to go to Kelling Water Meadows to look for the Red-veined Darters which had been seen there recently. Sure enough they were present along with a host of other dragonflies some of which we don't often get to see in Northumberland...

7+ Red-veined Darter

10+ Emperor

10+ Black-tailed Skimmer

1 Banded Demoiselle

1 Migrant Hawker

2 Southern Hawker

Common Darter
Common Blue Damselfly
Blue-tailed Damselfly

1 Holly Blue
5+ Gatekeeper
10+ Common Blue

A Red Kite flew over Holkham Pines in the afternoon, before we had another luck at the Cley gull roost. Today there was 3 Caspian Gulls (yesterday's first-summer and 2 adults, looking at my photos I think they were both different to yesterday's bird). Slightly fewer Yellow-legged Gulls this evening with 7+, and a single adult Mediterranean Gull.

Back at our cabin in the forest I saw my first Perseid meteor of the year.

First-summer Caspian Gull on the first evening.

One of day two's adult Caspians.

Adult Yellow-legged Gull

Red-veined Darters - the last photo's pretty poor but it shows the 'classic' Red-veined Darter pose quite well.

Migrant Hawker

Southern Hawker

Emperor