Good Call

Muntjac Deer

When I woke to a blanket of fog this morning I decided to do my chores first and then complete my usual Tuesday Brandon trip later in the afternoon, hoping things might improve.

Replenishing water, diesel, gas and emptying the toilet is no easy task when your iced in, but I was all complete by mid-morning and arrived at Brandon Marsh around 1pm, thankfully the fog had lifted.

I made my way straight to big hide to enjoy my packed lunch and on arrival met up with another of the Brandon team Ken Sherlock. Ken immediately told me of 6 Goosander out on the unfrozen part of East Marsh Pool. I only managed to locate 4 myself, 2♀ and 2♂ which flew off to the south just after my arrival. Good numbers of Tufted today with around 45, plus a good selection of Teal, Shoveler, 6 Gadwall and around 25 Wigeon. The long staying New Zealand Scaup (escapee) was also amongst them!)

Fieldfare @ Brandon

After tea in the Nature Centre and a catch up with the guys I decided to take a walk over to the top reed bed and Farm Field. I haven't completed this route for some time, an area which has been known to throw up the odd Stonechat on occasions.

During my walk I encountered 2 Bank Vole feeding out in the open and amazingly there are still berries to be had on some of the Hawthorn, here I found 11 Fieldfare making the most of them. A flock of around 20 Goldfinch along with 2 Linnet and 8 Chaffinch were also busy feeding. Buzzard, Kestrel, Song Thrush, Redwing and Green Woodpecker were also recorded. A quick check on the situation regarding invasive Willow and Birch threatening the reed bed inadvertently threw up a Woodcock, which settled back near the Hawthorn bushes after a brief flight.

A final vigil in Big Hide and Carlton Hide towards dusk was worth the effort, particularly with the temperature starting to plummet. A smaller looking Snipe on Wigeon Bank feeding near the waters edge turned out to be my first Jack Snipe of the year, easily identifiable in the scope, especially with its constant bobbing! This was followed shortly after by a Muntjac Deer which tentatively walked along the same bank.

Finally the Carlton Hide, where I recorded Treecreeper, Willow Tit, 2 Water Rail on the ice, a Kestrel using the barrel box over on Newlands and a Barn Owl, which emerged from one of the boxes around 4.45pm. A good call to wait until the afternoon and an excellent few hours birding. The birding day ended when I arrived back at the marina just as a stunning full moon was rising to the east!

BrandonApp

For those who regularly visit Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve its worth knowing that a brand new Iphone FREE App has been developed and is now available for download via iTunes. The BrandonApp features :- Reserve Map, History, Butterfly and Dragonfly Reserve List with ID info and photos, Reserve Guide and access to on-line sightings!

The BrandonApp is also available for Android.

Snowy Days

Goldcrest

Like a lot of the UK the marina was hit by around 4/5 inches of snow yesterday evening and overnight. With last years little motoring mishap at the back of my mind I took a slow and steady journey to Brandon Marsh first thing, sensibly using 'A' roads only!

I arrived safely despite very little evidence of road gritting at around 8am, and to my surprise wasn't the first to arrive. Our beloved Chairman Paul Norman, who only arrived back from Iceland yesterday evening, was already on site and probably got the feeling he was still on his winter jollies.

Beauty & The Beast

Brandon in the snow is a wonderland and so Paul and I decided to make the most of it and take a good tour of the reserve's less travelled areas, soon locating several Badger, Fox and Muntjac Deer tracks. Horsetail Glade was magical and despite hearing the tap tap of Nuthatch on numerous occasions we never did quite manage to make contact.

Brandon probably has the most friendliest Robins in the land and so it wasn't long before we were joined by several eagerly awaiting breakfast, Paul duly obliged. The Central Marsh Track seemed to be alive with birds feeding, Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tit, Song Thrush, Redwing, Bullfinch, Dunnock and several more Robin were also constantly on the go. Having heard Treecreepers call many times I can't remember ever hearing one singing, the individual pictured below was probably my first, what a happy little chap.

Singing Treecreeper

The pools are naturally all frozen, apart from a small area of East Marsh Pool which contained of note:- 41 Wigeon, 30 Tufted, 36 Teal, 61 Canada Geese, 42 Greylag, 10 Lapwing, 4 Snipe, 36 Shoveler and a lone Barnacle. After Paul departed, apparently to cook the pasta, I continued my walk alone recording Kestrel, Buzzard, Willow Tit, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest and Muntjac Deer. The highlight today was when I passed a flock of around 10 Long-tailed Tit as all hell broke loose, a Sparrowhawk came swooping in from nowhere only meters from where I was standing, fortunately for the Tits it left empty handed but for me I was simply awestruck!

Winter Walk

Bank Vole

After a slightly late night my alarm went off as normal this morning at 6:30am, but I think it was the reminder of last nights red wine and a temperature of -9C outside that persuaded me to have a little lie in.

Once recovered I decided to head for Brandon Marsh for a winter walk before the afternoons forecasted snow sets in and arrived around 9.30am. One reason for my visit was to have a good look around Horsetail Glade in search of a possible Lesser Spotted Woodpecker I'm sure I caught a brief glimpse of on Thursday morning. Despite spending a good 45 minute trawl of the area I came up with a blank but did manage Willow Tit, Treecreeper, Nuthatch and 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker, one of which was drumming.

From here and in the knowledge that the pools were thoroughly frozen I thought a brisk walk of the paths would be best. Not surprisingly only a few hardy souls were about, one guy telling me he'd sighted a Woodcock in flight over Central Marsh. Three Raptors during my walk, a very vocal Common Buzzard, plus Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.

Song Thrush

One thing I did notice today were good numbers of Song Thrush, Redwing and Dunnock all foraging in the wooded areas for wind fall, particularly now that the berry stocks have been completely depleted. Also, with the ground frozen solid and an eerie calm I could here lots of movement at ground level, mostly Grey Squirrel, which seem to have exploded in population over recent months, but I was rewarded with 3 Bank Vole and a Wood Mouse for my patience.

Two small flocks of Lesser Redpoll and Siskin were busy feeding in the Alders and several Jays were having a set-to in New Hare Covert when I came through. Also seen of note during my walk: Long-tailed Tit (6), Goldcrest (2), ♂♀Bullfinch and 3 Snipe in flight over Newlands!

Winter Delights

Waxwing @ Cubbington, Warwickshire

It's seems that mother nature has suddenly woken up and realised that spring is approaching fast, up to this week we've managed to escape without a single wintry blast. Of course we're all aware that this has changed over the last few days, the weekend is certainly looking interesting.

Once again the marina is frozen in, the heating is permanently on, and the water to the pontoons has been switched off! Ah memories of 2010, but will we beat last years record temperature of -11.3C recorded by my on-board weather station here at Wigram's?

Over the past few days I decided to stay local, visiting Napton Hill, Napton Reservoir and of course Brandon Marsh, where on Tuesday morning I inadvertently flushed my first Woodcock of the year.

Before arriving at Brandon on Tuesday I took a second look at a local area, where a few weeks ago Dee and I had located 3 Short-eared Owls. The weather was appalling, with low cloud, a bitterly cold easterly and occasional light snow. Therefore, it was no surprise to me that I drew a complete blank on the Owls. However, the early visit wasn't all bad, recording ♂♀Roe Deer, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Buzzard, plus a decent flock of around 20 Meadow Pipit, 15 Linnet and several Yellowhammer!

2 of 5 Waxwing @ Cubbington

This morning I made my first visit of the year to Napton Hill, the weather although bitterly cold was stunning, unfortunately the birding quite the opposite. The hill was extremely quiet and the best of the visit was a calling Nuthatch, several Fieldfare and Redwing, plus 2 Buzzard.

Napton Reservoir was equally as quiet with most of the waterfowl sheltering in the reeds towards the north end of the water. Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan and Pochard were all represented and as I walked to the southern end and back, 3 Snipe in flight and 3 Bullfinch were the best I could muster. Worth a mention that Common Gull were in good numbers, I counted 52 but sadly no surprises within!

With the current weather conditions It's no surprise to me that over the past few days sightings of Waxwings have increased locally, with more venturing inland and I predict even more sightings nationally over the coming weeks. To this end, when a bird-guides alert came up at around mid-morning that Waxwings had once again been sighted locally, I aborted my plans for lunch at the Brandon Nature Centre and headed over to Cubbington, only 6 miles away.

Fieldfare (love the eye colour!)

I arrived at the indicated location and thanks to Kevin Groocock for his excellent direction, I was soon parked opposite a medium sized Hawthorn Tree, and strangely enough so was Geoff Haynes, another local photographer. As you can see from the posted pictures all went according to plan, the only downer was that the sun was directly behind the birds, but I'm still delighted with the results! God knows what the residents of the Old Peoples Home thought, who's windows look directly at the tree!!

Full-Day

♀Smew

After a pretty lazy Saturday I managed to complete a full days birding today with Brandon Marsh first thing, followed by a trip with Dee across to Rutland Water in Leicestershire!

A foggy start when I left the marina at around 7am this morning for Brandon and as I walked to the car I could clearly hear one or two Skylarks in the adjacent field, several Fieldfare were also calling nearby.

When I arrived at Brandon the early fog had thankfully risen sufficiently to check out Newlands reed bed and East Marsh Pool. I've not personally had any sightings this year of our wintering Bittern, in fact Derek Bennett another member of the Brandon team, is the only person who's made contact with the bird thus far with a brief view last Thursday, just nice to know its still around.

Bewick Swan

The pool itself had the usual good numbers of Lapwing, Teal, Shoveler and Tufted Duck, and this mornings count also included 4 Pochard, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Wigeon, 5 Snipe and a pair of Goldeneye. Also recorded of note during my brief stay were ♂♀Bullfinch, Cetti's Warbler, 3 singing Song Thrush, 2 Siskin and 4 Lesser Redpoll.

After picking Dee up back at the marina we set off for Rutland Water arriving just before midday, a highlight on route was our first Red Kite of the year when one floated over us at Caldecott just prior to our arrival. The first species of note at Rutland were 4 Bewick Swans, visible from the Birdwatching Centre. From here we set off North towards lagoons 3 and 4, picking up Siskin, Green Woodpecker and a small flock of Long-tailed Tit on route.

Lagoon 4 itself was remarkably quiet, with the exception of a good number of Mute Swans and Greylag Geese, but the hide was quiet so we enjoyed some of our packed lunch and coffee before moving on, registering of note Little Grebe, Kestrel and Great Black-backed Gull. When we arrived at Lagoon 3 the heavens opened and so we settled down for a good scan coming up with: Water Rail, 2 Redhead and 1 ♂Smew, ♂Scaup, 3 Little Egret, 8 Snipe and 15 Pintail amongst the many Goldeneye, Wigeon, Teal, Shelduck, Shoveler and exceptional numbers of Gadwall.

Little Egret

During a visit to Lapwing Hide, which overlooks the vast South Arm of the reserve, we failed to connect with a reported Slavonian Grebe, but did manage some excellent numbers of ♂♀Goldeneye. A hot chocolate back at the centre overlooking Lagoon 1 from the raised seating area produced 5♂4♀Goosander and our 4th year-first of the day, when a ♂Stonechat made a brief appearance on top of one of the Bulrushes ending a decent session.

Despite the poor light I've posted a few distant images of the day, hope you enjoy!

Norfolk Day 2 (Sunday)

Black-tailed Godwit @ Titchwell

Day two of my Norfolk weekend and after a Full-English at the hotel in Hunstanton to set me up for the day I decided to make my way back along the A149 towards Salthouse. My first stop was the Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Holme Dunes.

If anything, the wind today had actually increased in strength and as I joined the perimeter path overlooking the sea shore it was apparent that once again the birding would be difficult. Dodging the early morning showers I managed a great selection of shore birds including Spotted Redshank, Sanderling, Knot, Ruff, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Redshank and both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit. I continued North and a scan of the fields produced both ♂♀Marsh Harrier, the usual selection of Geese which included a single Ross's, probably the same one recently seen at Holkham, plus Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Short-eared Owl were also recorded. A sea-watch gave up Goldeneye, Red-Necked Grebe and passing low over the beach, 3 Snow Bunting.

Snow Bunting @ Salthouse

A visit to RSPB Titchwell next for a better look at the Coues Arctic Redpoll, and after achieving some much improved views of this long stayer a walk to the seafront. This proved to be harder than it sounded and I was battered and bruised from the unrelenting gale by the time I reached the sea. Having said that it was completely worth it recording 2 Long-tailed Duck and Great-northern Diver. The usual shore birds were on offer and deciding not to visit the busy hides I'd further added Water Rail, Bittern, Little Egret, and a brave Marsh Harrier mastering the wind.

Another stop at Burnham Overy where the Laplands were showing occasionally and this time a walk down to the shore, which was hard work in the ever present gale. The surrounding fields held around 250 Golden Plover, 500+ Wigeon and endless counts of Curlew, plus Yellowhammer, Brent, Pink-footed, European White-fronted and Egyptian Geese.

Rough-legged Buzzard

I continued working my way along the A149, deciding to stay local and not venturing further afield for such gems as Great Grey Shrike at Fakenham, or Waxwings in Norwich. I paused for an hour at Holkham Freshwater sheltering behind some large Hawthorn, picking up Marsh Harrier and finally getting yesterdays bogey bird Rough-legged Buzzard, as one finally drifted by!

Stiffkey and Wells were next, no sign of the reported Glaucous Gull, but I did manage the Black Brant on the playing fields at Wells. I continued on for a second look for the Arctic Redpolls at Kelling, in a street aptly named 'The Street'. I must say that this is not my kind of birding and after finally being able to get a sniff of a view in-between the photographers and birders I came away with both Mealy and Arctic ticks!!

Another stop at Salthouse for coffee on route back to the hotel and I ended my weekend at Burnham Overy once more, in the hope of Owls in the fading light. I was rewarded with 2 Barn Owls which drifted across the fields, a pleasant end to the trip!

*I've uploaded a few of my images of the weekend to my Flickr Site!

Norfolk Day 1 (Saturday)

Tundra Bean Goose (Holkham)

Having dropped Dee off at Luton Airport for her early morning flight up to Scotland I made my way across to Norfolk for a weekends solo birding.

My first stop was Holkham and another shot at the reported Shore Larks, something that myself and a few of the Brandon team had failed to pick up on a few weeks early. As I drove up St Anne's Lane towards the car park the usual congregation of Pink-footed Geese were on site and by the time I entered the pine wood on route to the sea shore, I'd recorded several Grey Partridge, plus Marsh Harrier and Peregrine. At least 2 Goldcrest in the pines before I emerged on to the salt flats and it was immediately apparent that the birding was going to be extremely difficult in a very strong north-westerly.

Battling my way across the flats towards the beach area I recorded many Skylark, mingled in with the odd Meadow Pipit, but alas, another blow out on the Shore Larks. A brief sea-watch produced Red-breasted Merganser and Razorbill, the beach held Sanderling, Redshank and Oystercatcher, but to be honest I was glad to get back to the comfort of the car having even battled to keep the tripod upright!

**Greenland White fronted

My next stop was a few miles further up the A149 at Holkham Freshwater Marsh, where I met up with a couple of Hertfordshire birders already on site, they'd already done the hard work and within minutes I'd recorded 200+ Brent Geese, around 75 White-fronted, along with 2 Greenland White-fronted, 27 Barnacle Geese and 4 Egyptian. A scan for the local Rough-legged Buzzard came up a blank but during the search a Common Buzzard and a second Marsh Harrier of the day were recorded.

A little further on and a stop at Burnham Overy for a shot at the Lapland Buntings, which from my observations today are mingled in with a large flock of Linnet, Meadow Pipit and Skylark. I'm not sure that the bird-guides report of at least 64 is that accurate. Myself and several other birders did manage to pick out at least 8 birds but it's extremely hard work and when the birds return to the stubble field they completely disappear from view! The local Rough-legged Buzzard, often seen from this vantage point, and indeed seen earlier, still remained absent from my list. Other birds of note during my 60 minute observation were 4 Grey Partridge, 2 Yellowhammer and a solitary day hunting Barn Owl.

My intention from here was to move on to Titchwell but having been given a few tip offs from birders I'd met earlier I decided to back track to Holkham, where a Tundra Bean Goose was now showing well. The guys also told me of a remarkable situation further up the coast at Kelling, where apparently 2 Coues Arctic Redpoll were showing in someones garden!

Snow Buntings at Salthouse

Tundra duly recorded and photographed I made the drive across to Kelling, with a brief stop at Cley, great timing, recording my first UK Glaucous Gull (Juv) for some time, Water Pipit and taking a second peak of the month at the Western Sandpiper.

What greeted me at Kelling was surreal to say the least, a group of birders, with the owners permission, staring from the road at his garden feeders, where apparently 2 Arctic and several Mealy are regular visitors, sadly not during my brief stay!

With light fading a stop off at Salthouse and the company of at least 15 or so Snow Buntings and an excellent Latte from the white van man, pure bliss!

**Greenland Image taken by Tony Collins just prior to my arrival

Stick To Birding!

Our Dedicated Leader!

Knowing full well that the pools at Brandon Marsh were likely to be frozen after last nights -6C I decided to take a tour of the reserve with the sole aim of giving my camera the priority over birding for a change.

I arrived a little later than normal and had completely forgotten that JR had chosen this morning to complete a check of the three Tawny Owl boxes located on site. A perfect opportunity for some close up Tawny photographs of JR checking and ringing any new arrivals. Unfortunately luck was not on our side as all three boxes were vacant, with the exception of some Stock Dove leftovers! A small bonus was that during the walk 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard drumming, my first of the year!

Best Of The Day

Notwithstanding I decided to continue my tour of the remainder of the reserve, which I have to say had very little movement during my whole visit. The path leading away from Wright Hide had a small number of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll, far too high in the canopy for any decent shots and directly in the sun. Big Hide and Carlton Hide had little to offer on the photographic side but a small unfrozen area held the usual waterfowl, including 15 Wigeon. I did manage a distant Kestrel, a low flying Sparrowhawk and around 20 or so Golden Plover at Carlton, but they didn't bother stopping and continued on overhead.

The best of the day was at Steetley Hide on the west marsh. A Buzzard perched in a tree opposite on arrival and then Peter and I enjoyed a hive of activity, when a flock of around 40+ Siskin dropped in accompanied by several Lesser Redpoll and Goldfinch. During our short halcyon period we also recorded 3 Treecreepers and a small Long-tailed Tit flock, I also managed a very brief view of Goldcrest but as for pictures, well the light had gone and most of the birds were playing hide and seek. I think I'll stick to my birding as a priority!!

How Obvious Can It Be!

Finally, a quick thank you to those of you who've emailed me regarding the idiots at Brandon on Sunday taking photographs from a restricted conservation area. Your outrage at their behaviour is evident and I would also ask that anyone who may know these individuals, or indeed have any photographs of them, should contact me via email. We visited the area this morning and could clearly see it had been breached!

Long Day!

Brief Video Of Phase 3

I watched the sun rise at Brandon Marsh on Sunday morning and then I watched it set over the Grandborough valley later, while watching Short-eared Owls!

A few of the team decided to have a dawn walk around the new phase 3 reed bed area at Brandon, which is now looking brilliant, with all ditches full of water and the base work for the new hide and osprey pole now in place. The back-breaking job of planting the new reeds will take place in the spring. Access to a new observation point overlooking the area will be available at a future date, by a path leading beyond the Carlton Hide.

As we made our way back to the public area a Peregrine arrived, perching in the 'big dead tree', before making off north towards New Hare Covert. A single Barnacle Goose was also in amongst the Canada flock as around 60 or so passed overhead. Most of the pools were frozen after a few nights hard frost but the recent 3 Shelduck were still on site, plus around 15 Wigeon, 9 Snipe and good numbers of Teal and Shoveler.

The majority of Fieldfare and Redwing have now moved on to the surrounding fields, having completely exhausted the berry stock on site, and are now feeding on windfall, worms and anything else they can get their beaks in to, and this probably explains not a single Redwing sighting at Brandon today! However, of note: Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and 22 Cormorant were all recorded, plus various numbers of Lesser Redpoll and Siskin in the surrounding Alder.

Back aboard and in the late afternoon Dee and I decided to check out an area only 10 minutes from the marina, where Short-eared Owls had been reported, and thank you to RM for the information. We enjoyed a lovely walk and were rewarded with 3 birds, sadly not in flight but roosting atop the hedgerow, still an awesome sight nevertheless. Also recorded on our walk were: 6 Yellowhammer, 4 Linnet, 2 Tree Sparrow and a single Golden Plover. In the distance 2 huge roosts of Jackdaw and Starling could be seen. The starlings giving their usual stunning display!

Finally, I received some bitter sweet news from Brandon Marsh Birding sightings update! The good news: It appears we now have 2 Bittern on site thanks to Gary Hobbs observations. The bad news: More irresponsible behaviour from a mindless minority of idiot photographers who occasionally frequent the site. When two individuals were seen actually standing at the Sand Martin structure taking photographs, and of course scattering everything on East Marsh Pool, much to the annoyance of everyone in the surounding hides.

In answer to the many Tweets and Emails I've already had on the incident, yes, they would have to pass a barrier to get across to this area which absolutely states 'Conservation Area No Entry' How hard can it be!