ORIOLE BIRDING TOUR REPORT NORFOLK 18TH 24TH MAY 2014

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Austen Johnston
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1 ORIOLE BIRDING TOUR REPORT NORFOLK 18 TH 24 TH MAY 2014

2 Sunday 18 th May After meeting up in Great Ryburgh this evening we travelled out to Sculthorpe for dinner before heading on to West Norfolk for an evening birding session to kick off our Complete Norfolk tour. With a warm day and the breeze dropping off at dusk, conditions were ideal for looking for EUROPEAN NIGHTJARS and we had a couple of good views of a female in flight plus lots of flight calling from two birds and a bit of churring from a male. Three sightings of EURASIAN WOODCOCK also made for an interesting evening all round and a good start to the trip. We arrived back in Great Ryburgh around Monday 19th May A really warm day today with temperatures topping 24C and hardly a cloud in the sky in the freshening South-easterly breeze. A Little Owl kicked us off in Great Ryburgh as we headed down to the coast at Holme, our destination for the morning. In the paddocks, a Spotted Flycatcher gave some good views and Common Chiffchaff was also noted, with Common Cuckoo calling and plenty of Common Whitethroat, Common Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Reed Bunting over the saltmarsh. A Common Greenshank in breeding plumage was nice, but a Grey Plover in similar dress was even smarter! Marsh Harriers soared over the grazing marsh where a Chinese Water Deer also put in an appearance, and butterflies on the wing included Orange Tip, Small Heath, Brown Argus and Wall Brown. The walk up towards Gore Point added four suspect Barnacle Geese flying out to see only to return five minutes later, and a few Sanderling and Common Ringed Plover were along the shore. The rest of the walk up to The Firs was quiet though, and after obtaining permits there we popped into the bird observatory to see what was happening. The group saw a Common Whitethroat in the hand and as we stood chatting a EURASIAN SPOONBILL flew west over the grazing marsh a nice bonus! Sedge Warbler, European Reed Warbler and a fleeting Lesser Whitethroat were in the scrub and from the NWT hides, two Common Sandpipers, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler and Little Grebe were noted. It felt very warm as we walked back to the van, with Green Hairstreak, all the whites, Red Admiral, Peacock, Common Blue and Small Copper added to our impressive butterfly list on the way. After a welcome drink, we popped into Redwell Marsh and after a short wait had superb views of a drake GARGANEY on the pool, close to the hide. From here we drove around back roads to Choseley, we had lunch in the company of Yellowhammers, Grey Partridge and a showy Corn Bunting which fed in the open for several minutes. The afternoon was spent down at Titchwell, Starting along Meadow Trail and Patsys Reedbed where we saw several species of odonata Azure, Blue-tailed and Large Red Damselfly and Hairy Dragonfly. As we walked out along West Bank path we added five Red Crested Pochards on Thornham Marsh and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk over the woods. The freshmarsh was a bit quiet today, though well over 100 Black-tailed Godwits included some smart birds in summer plumage. A single Bar-tailed Godwit, one Dunlin, four Ruddy Turnstone and Common Sandpiper were slim pickings on the wader front otherwise, and a single drake Northern Pintail was also seen with two Brent Geese on the saltmarsh. Towards the beach, three stunning Grey Plovers in summer plumage were on the tidal pool and a female Greenland Wheatear was near the old boardwalk, while the shore itself added a single female Common Scoter and a few more Bar-tailed Godwits. Back at Parrinder, we had excellent views of a pair of Little-ringed Plovers, a female Ruff and two drake Common Teal, as well as plenty of Common Terns and better views of some of the birds seen earlier from the path. A Sand Martin flew by as we walked back towards the Visitor Centre and unexpectedly we had stunning views of a singing CETTI S WARBLER near the West Bank/Meadow Trail junction, singing in the open in e Willow tree. Finally, we headed back via Choseley again and this time were successful in finding Turtle Dove, with a single bird flushed out of the barely field by a tractor it settled on the wires with Stock Doves and Woodpigeons. While watching the bird, a stunning Eurasian Hobby came across the field right in front of us and a Corn Bunting sat unmoved on the wore above brilliant stuff!

3 Dove fest at Choseley, 19 th May Tuesday 20th May Another warm sunny day with temperatures reaching 25C in the South-easterly wind. We decided to spend the whole day in the Brecks, starting at Lakenheath Fen which would be our destination for the whole morning. Common birds as we walked out were Reed Bunting, Common Whitethroat, European Reed and Sedge Warblers and we also saw Blackcap in the car park. From the first viewpoint, we spent an enjoyable half hour watching Bearded Tits flying back and forth, a pair of Common Kingfishers which perched obligingly and hearing GREAT BITTERN booming in the reeds. A female Common Cuckoo perched on a dead snag, Marsh Harriers gave superb views and two Eurasian Hobbies were seen hawking over the trees. As we walked down towards Joist Fen, one of the Hobbies came really close, catching dragonflies over the reeds right in front of us and giving stunning views, and two more Common Cuckoos flew over our heads calling. In the warm temperatures, bugs were well represented and we saw our first Four-spotted Chasers, Red-eyed Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles of the year as well as loads of Azure and Large Red Damselfly and Hairy Dragonflies. As we approached Joist Fen viewpoint, two adult COMMON CRANES drifted low over the reeds and landed out of sight, which was a stroke of luck! A CETTI S WARBLER sang in the open on the edge of an Elder and we had more great views of seven Hobbies in the air together. Two separate sightings of a GREAT BITTERN in flight over the reeds rounded off an excellent morning, and we walked back along the river bank via the washland noting Common Tern and Great Crested Grebes on the way. After lunch, we visited a site to look for Common Nightingale but only heard one singing briefly, though we did see both Willow and Garden Warblers and witness the impressive sight of a Stoat running across carrying a baby Rabbit! Lynford would be our next stop, and in the sultry conditions we enjoyed a superb spell here watching woodland birds around the entrance to the Arboretum, starting with a FIRECREST in the car park which showed briefly. COMMON CROSSBILLS were buzzing about all over the place and we had super views of males, females and several streaky juveniles, which was nice. Two Grey Wagtails and a few Eurasian Siskins came to drink and bathe in the big puddle, also favoured by the crossbills for drinking, and European Nuthatch, Goldcrest and Treecreeper were all seen too. Some more brief views were had of a second FIRECREST, and then we spotted a wingbarred Crossbill at the very top of one of the larches. Watching it against the light, it appeared to be the contentious bird with only a small white patch visible on each greater covert bar, and quite a heavy bill. Its flank plumage was so fluffed up though that we couldn t see it very clearly at all. On trying to get a better angle, we lost it but then found what we assumed was the same bird again with Common Crossbills in an adjacent tree. Training our scopes on the bird, we were all shocked to see a firstsummer male bird with two honking white wing bars, despite having two unmoulted juvenile outer greater coverts a clear TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL! The median and greater coverst both showed a big crescent shaped white bar and it was a beautiful raspberry red colour too a really smart bird. Pleased with this sighting, we spent a bit more time trying to get better views of one of the FIRECRESTS, with mixed success, before having a coffee and heading back towards base. We still had time for one more highlight though, as we watched a pair of STONE CURLEWS in a roadside field on the way home, giving great views in the better light under the now cloudy sky. The rain broke just as we reached Great Ryburgh around 1800.

Two-barred Crossbill, Lynford, 20 th May Wednesday 21st May A quieter day today but another dry and fine one, though a little cooler under the cloud and southwest then east breeze, 18C.

4 Two-barred Crossbill, Lynford, 20 th May Wednesday 21st May A quieter day today but another dry and fine one, though a little cooler under the cloud and southwest then east breeze, 18C. We planned to spend the morning at Burnham Overy, though a super Little Owl on the way perched on the side of a telegraph pole was a nice start. As we parked up, we picked up two EURASIAN SPOONBILLS flying west and scoped them as they flew along the dunes, later seeing them again heading out past Scolt Head. The walk down the track towards the dunes produced nice views of Grey Partridge, two Egyptian Geese, a perched Lesser Whitethroat and several singing Sedge Warblers, as well as the usual Marsh Harriers. A Common Cuckoo dashed right past us, and presumably the same bird, a female, was seen several times during the morning prospecting around the reedbeds with a male also calling in the distance. Reed Buntings and European Reed Warbler, Little Egret, Common Pochard and Little Grebe were among the other common species noted. A single Pink-footed Goose on the grazing marsh was a new species for the list and a Common Greenshank flew east over the bank. The rest of the walk to Gun Hill was quiet, apart from close views of singing Willow Warbler and the usual plethora of Meadow Pipit and Common Linnet. A cracking male Greenland Wheatear was in the dunes, with a female at the point and another Willow Warbler was in the main scrub. Little Terns were seen well, a few Common Terns were noted and three Northern Gannet flew east offshore. As over the past few days, large numbers of Wall Brown were noted, along with several Small Heath, a Common Blue and our first Painted Lady of the year. The walk back was relatively uneventful, though a couple of Bearded Tits were seen over the reeds and the female Cuckoo was seen again. After a coffee we headed east, making a stop to view nesting gulls and terns which allowed us to add seven superb MEDITERRANEAN GULLS to the list, including the stunning sight of a pair displaying. Lunch at Morston at high tide produced a Brent Goose and a few Common Terns, plus one probable Arctic Tern very distantly fishing one of the channels. Cley was our destination for the afternoon, and we started at Bishop s Hide though disappointingly the water levels were back up and the scrapes had lost their appeal to the small waders seen in good numbers in recent days only two brief Dunlin and about six Tundra Ringed Plover could be seen on Pat s Pool, plus a Little-ringed Plover, two Common Teal and a Common Sandpiper. A male Bearded Tit flew across the path on the way out with two more seen in flight as we wandered along the boardwalk to the central hides. From here the best wader was a single breeding plumaged Red Knot! A Bar-tailed Godwit allowed comparison with about twenty Black-tailed Godwit and we saw another Common Sandpiper and a slightly odd looking female duck which we thought was perhaps a Wigeon x Pintail. Finally, we walked along the beach to the site of the old North Hide, picking up a few Sandwich Terns along the way. Another Little-ringed Plover, drake Northern Pintail and an assortment of large gulls were about the pick of the bunch though so we headed back to the car park and made for home. Thursday 22 nd May

5 A very good day today with a breezy start after a wet night giving way to warm sunny spells and temperatures up to 19C. We started the day down on the coast at Stiffkey Fen, where we enjoyed great views of a EURASIAN SPOONBILL first feeding in one of the channels and then twice in flight over the saltmarsh. On the fen we saw a Little-ringed Plover and single Black-tailed Godwit but otherwise a total dearth of waders, which seemed odd given the good conditions of the scrape and overnight rain. Three MEDITERRANEAN GULLS drifted over calling and we also saw Brent Goose, Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, Sand Martin and Marsh Harrier. Checking the flood by the main road, we almost gave up empty handed until we spotted a Barn Owl roosting in a Willow our first on the tours since early March due to the very low population in the county at present. Moving on, we spent some time on the heaths and enjoyed success with our main target species, DARTFORD WARBLER, noting an adult pair and at least one fledgling which showed on and off for about half an hour allowing everyone scoped views. A WOODLARK was a lucky find, as it was spotted by one of the group perched on a dead stick and then in a dead tree, again allowing us to get a scope on it for everyone before it flew off and disappeared from view. A Green Hairstreak butterfly and Common Lizard were other wildlife highlights. From here we drove out to East Norfolk, lunching at Horsey where two Dotterel had been seen over recent days we couldn t find the birds but a solitary European Golden Plover which had been associating with them was still present and was at least a new trip bird for the week. We had to be at Hickling NWT centre for 1500 to join a specially arranged boat trip onto the broad to visit the scrapes and the tree tower. Always a pleasant experience, it was made all the more enjoyable today by the combination of great weather and top wildlife sightings! Marsh Harriers and Common Terns were easy to see as we made our way out across the broad, and once at Rush Hills the first Bearded Tit was seen. The scrape was looking in fantastic condition and subsequently was awash with waders fifty Tundra Ringed Plovers were right outside the hide and amongst about ten Dunlin were four cracking LITTLE STINTS in summer plumage and an equally impressive Red Knot. Two Sanderling, two Ruddy Turnstone, nine Common Greenshank and three Common Sandpipers were also present and a fine drake GARGANEY showed really well amongst Common Teal and Eurasian Wigeon. Back in the boat, a juvenile Bearded Tit perched in the reeds and gave great views, and then a SWALLOWTAIL drifted past over the reeds, pausing to drink from a Yellow Flag Iris so we could all get great views. Two more were seen before we reached the next mooring point where the first Eurasian Hobby flashed over. Up the tree tower, we had fabulous views across the broads and could see three Eurasian Hobbies over the reeds, a distant adult COMMON CRANE in the fields and a Common Cuckoo which perched up for us nicely. On the way back to the boat, we stumbled across a real bonus as a NORFOLK HAWKER dragonfly appeared, and landed in a Hawthorn long enough for us to put a scope on it and see the fine detail such as the yellow isosceles triangle at the top of the abdomen which gives it its latin name! A brilliant couple of hours, rounded off by a booming GREAT BITTERN on the walk back from White Slea and another SWALLOWTAIL feeding at flowers in the car park at the end of the day. Swallowtail, Hickling 22 nd May

6 Friday 23 rd May Another pleasantly warm day with temperatures around 18C though a bit more cloud around and an occasionally cool Southerly wind. We started with a visit to Dersingham Bog NR, with two target species for our trip list. The first was TREE PIPIT, and we had excellent views of a displaying bird parachuting up and down from a solitary Oak tree. Another two were noted more distantly, along with our second target, Common Stonechat. Otherwise we noted Willow Warbler, Blackcap and a few common woodland species on the walk. At Snettisham, we took a wander through the coastal park picking up plenty of singing warblers Common Chiffchaff, Willow, Sedge & European Reed Warblers, Blackcap, Common and Lesser Whitethroat were all seen, though other highlights were few and included four Pink-footed Geese and a brief Green Woodpecker. After a break for coffee we parked at the RSPB car park and walked out towards the reserve to view the estuary on the rising tide. A Turtle Dove flew south at the beach, a Common Cuckoo showed well and a Common Sandpiper was at the edge of the first pool. Thirty Brent Geese were resting on the mud and the first of at least eight adult MEDITERRANEAN GULLS was seen resting on the flats. Some great views were had of these super birds, all looking stunning in breeding plumage two flying past against the dark sky in tandem flight, giving their distinctive call, was a highlight. Large numbers of nesting Common Terns were observed and we also saw a small roost of about 300 Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 Red Knot. A Marsh Harrier was over the saltmarsh and as the tide began to push in, masses of waders could be seen on the estuary including some more sizeable flocks of Bar-tailed Godwits which flew low over our heads. At least 300 Grey Plover, all in fabulous breeding plumage, were a real sight and we also saw plenty of Dunlin, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone and Common Ringed Plover. Many hundreds of Common Shelducks were also present, and on the walk back we had two excellent views of Lesser Whitethroats, which is always a bonus. From here we took the coast road via Hunstanton Cliffs to add Northern Fulmar, which we did, before calling in at Titchwell. We had hoped that an earlier reported Little Gull might still be present or perhaps yesterdays Wood Sandpiper, but we didn t manage to add anything to the list. Four Red Crested Pochards, Little Tern, Black and Bar-tailed Godwits in a mixed flock with two Red Knot, two Little-ringed Plovers, Common Greenshank, five Ruddy Turnstone and two Common Sandpipers were the pick of the bunch. A superb adult EURASIAN SPOONBILL which flew low east over the main path, was the highlight. On our way back to base we took a detour to look for Red Kite, and saw two birds including one drifting slowly over allowing for decent views. A green wing-tagged Marsh Harrier was also noted, but sadly a bit too quick to read the lettering on the tag. We returned to base about 1800 after another long day in the field. Saturday 24 th May A terribly wet morning with heavy thundery rain in the initially light east then fresh southerly wind. We had high hopes that the weather might drop some interesting migrants, but the problem would be finding them in the conditions! We couldn t complain though, as this was the first rain we had been out in all week. Kelling Water Meadows seemed the logical place to start, as there had been up to four Wood Sandpipers present at the site. They had all departed today though, and we couldn t find a single wader here. Common Stonechat, Common Whitethroat, Sedge and European Reed Warblers, Little Egret and a single female Northern Wheatear were the only species of note. We got thoroughly soaked on the walk back to the van, so decided to divert to Cley Visitor Centre to dry out for a bit! A CURLEW SANDPIPER was visible very distantly on Simmond s Scrape, among Black-tailed Godwits and a couple of Dunlin, but not the best of views! The sun came out though so we headed to the heaths to have a quick look for COMMON NIGHTINGALE, and spent some time listening to a bird singing in a Hawthorn above us. We did have the briefest of flight views of this and a second bird, but nothing concrete. A Garden Warbler was equally elusive, though provided a nice comparison of its song with the more numerous Blackcaps. We decided to try Warham Greens, given the east wind and clearing rain, and so we headed down Garden Drove and parked at the concrete pad. The walk down to the small copse and on to the pit and back was disappointing, with virtually nothing of note other than a calling Common Cuckoo. We lunched back at the van, and then travelled over to Kings Lynn station to drop John off before heading back to Great Ryburgh where we wrapped things up about Systematic List Birds 1. Great Crested Grebe 2. Little Grebe 3. Northern Fulmar 4. Northern Gannet

7 5. Great Cormorant 6. Grey Heron 7. Great Bittern 8. Little Egret 9. Eurasian Spoonbill 10. Mute Swan 11. Greylag Goose 12. Canada Goose 13. Egyptian Goose 14. Brent Goose 15. Pink-footed Goose 16. Barnacle Goose 17. Common Shelduck 18. Mallard 19. Gadwall 20. Northern Shoveler 21. Common Teal 22. Garganey 23. Northern Pintail 24. Eurasian Wigeon 25. Tufted Duck 26. Common Pochard 27. Red Crested Pochard 28. Common Scoter 29. Grey Partridge 30. Red-legged Partridge 31. Common Pheasant 32. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 33. Common Kestrel 34. Marsh Harrier 35. Common Buzzard 36. Red Kite 37. Eurasian Hobby 38. Common Moorhen 39. Common Coot 40. Common Crane 41. Stone Curlew 42. Pied Avocet 43. European Oystercatcher 44. Common Ringed Plover 45. Little-ringed Plover 46. Grey Plover 47. European Golden Plover 48. Northern Lapwing 49. Dunlin 50. Curlew Sandpiper 51. Little Stint 52. Common Sandpiper 53. Sanderling 54. Red Knot 55. Ruddy Turnstone 56. Common Redshank 57. Common Greenshank 58. Eurasian Curlew 59. Black-tailed Godwit

8 60. Bar-tailed Godwit 61. Eurasian Woodcock 62. Black-headed Gull 63. Common Gull 64. Herring Gull 65. Lesser Black-backed Gull 66. Great Black-backed Gull 67. Mediterranean Gull 68. Sandwich Tern 69. Common Tern 70. Little Tern 71. Common Cuckoo 72. Tawny Owl [H] 73. Barn Owl 74. Little Owl 75. Great-spotted Woodpecker 76. Green Woodpecker 77. Common Swift 78. European Nightjar 79. Common Kingfisher 80. Woodpigeon 81. Collared Dove 82. Stock Dove 83. Turtle Dove 84. Skylark 85. Woodlark 86. Meadow Pipit 87. Tree Pipit 88. Pied Wagtail 89. Grey Wagtail 90. Yellow Wagtail 91. Sand Martin 92. Barn Swallow 93. House Martin 94. Winter Wren 95. European Robin 96. Common Nightingale 97. Dunnock 98. Stonechat 99. Northern Wheatear 100. Common Blackbird 101. Song Thrush 102. Mistle Thrush 103. Dartford Warbler 104. Blackcap 105. Garden Warbler 106. Common Whitethroat 107. Lesser Whitethroat 108. Sedge Warbler 109. European Reed Warbler 110. Cetti s Warbler 111. Common Chiffchaff 112. Willow Warbler 113. Spotted Flycatcher 114. Firecrest

9 115. Goldcrest 116. Blue Tit 117. Great Tit 118. Coal Tit 119. Marsh Tit 120. Long-tailed Tit 121. Bearded Tit 122. European Nuthatch 123. Common Treecreeper 124. Rook 125. Carrion Crow 126. Western Jackdaw 127. Magpie 128. Eurasian Jay 129. Common Starling 130. House Sparrow 131. Chaffinch 132. Greenfinch 133. Goldfinch 134. Linnet 135. Eurasian Siskin 136. Common Crossbill 137. Two-barred Crossbill 138. Reed Bunting 139. Yellowhammer 140. Corn Bunting

TOM BEDFORD S OXFORDSHIRE LIST [IOC 2017] UPDATED

TOM BEDFORD S OXFORDSHIRE LIST [IOC 2017] UPDATED 1 Canada Goose 2 Barnacle Goose 3 Greylag Goose 4 Pink-footed Goose 5 Tundra Bean Goose 6 Greater White-fronted Goose 7 Mute Swan 8 Tundra Swan 9 Whooper Swan 10 Egyptian Goose 11 Common Shelduck 12 Gadwall