Long-eared Owl & Short-eared Owl in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire

Jimmy's Birthday so a day's birding is on the cards to celebrate with him. We decide on Frampton as it is one of our favorite reserves.

As we drive into Lincolnshire a quick call in at Deeping Lakes in the hope of seeing the Long-eared Owl that has been seen here.

A short walk round to the hide overlooking the main lake, where we start scanning the bushes to the right of the hide, it takes a long time before the Owl is spotted fairly deep in the bush but we kept the scopes on the bird and got rewarded when it moved a little bit and turned it's head to show the ear's and eyes.

Off now for a very windy Frampton Marsh, not to be the best day we have had here the wind was hard to fight against on the walk around the reserve, we do pick up a year tick when a few Ruff are seen mingling with a large flock of Golden plover.

The only other highlight was a nice female Peregrine on the floor by a fence post and a few Whooper Swans at a distance, a Kestrel rounded off the visit as it showed well as it finished off a nice mouse dinner.

In the car heading back towards home, we pop into Eldernell hoping to round the day off with more Owls.

We do just that when we see 3 Short-eared Owls within minutes of arrival only yards from the car park.

A Glossy Ibis has been seen further down the track so, of course, we set off to find it and get lucky when a birder was already on the Ibis, so a good year tick for us.

Before setting off for home we wait in the hope the Cranes will come in to roost.

It's about 40 minutes before the first 4 Cranes fly in along the tree line followed by another group to round off a good day. Happy birthday Jim and lovely to have Robert with us today.

                                                                                                                   

Short-eared Owl

Long-eared Owl

Glossy Ibis

Red-breasted Goose at South Woodham Ferrers .

A short trip of around 40 miles gets the 3 of us a good year tick at South Woodham Ferrers.

The target was a Red-breasted Goose, we had missed the bird when we were at Wallasea Island some days ago.

Once parked up it is only a short walk of about 400 yards along the bank of the River Crouch.

We meet up with a small group of birders who were all looking over a field that had hundreds of Brent Geese. they were only 60 yards away and looked well settled.

The Red-breasted was found easy as it was at the front of the group.

This is the third Red-breasted that we have seen now but we spend a couple of hours watching the bird and scanning the flock to find  2 Black Brant among them.

While here I pick up a couple of year ticks when I see a Rock Pipit on the banks of the River Crouch and watch a Sparrow Hawk as it flew along the field on the way to see the Goose.

                                                

Red-breasted Goose

Black Brant

Back over Lee Valley pair of Smew.

After searching for a few hours for the Smew over Lee Valley yesterday, not to be defeated we try again today.  

I had to go to Harlow Hospital early for my brother-in-law to have a blood test and while there Brian heads back over the Valley to search for the Smew.

I'm back around 10 o'clock and pick Jimmy up and head over to join him, on route Brian phones to tell us he has found the Smews.

We join him within 10 minutes and get great views of the Redhead Smew and the male is spotted not far away for a cracking-looking bird.

That makes up for yesterday's disappointment. On the way back we get a nice bonus when a Kingfisher flies up the river and lands on a branch a few yards away from us and hangs about for a while, you never get tired of watching these lovely colourful birds.

Walking back to the car we spot a Jay at last for a tick. So a nice little walk on a lovely bright morning and 3-year ticks.

                                                                       

The friendly Kingfisher.

                                                                             

                                                                                    

Male Smew

                                                                                  

Hawfinch at Bramfield Church.

We get an early call to see if we fancied a short trip to Bramfield for the Hawfinch. It's only 20  odd miles from home so 20 minutes later we are on the way.

Once at the church, we find only one other fellow looking for the Hawfinch and he had not seen any yet, we don't have to wait long before the birds start to arrive just the one along with Redwing. Fieldfare, Greenfinch, Nuthatch, and the odd Mistle Thrush.

Later on, a few more Hawfinch come to the trees and we see at least six maybe seven that give us some really good views.

Only a short quick visit but gets 3 more year ticks for Jimmy and me and 2 for Brian as we spot a few Goldcrest that he needed before we leave.

One of the Hawfinch

                                                                

A year tick Mistle Thrush

                                                            

Trip to Dungeness & surrounding area.

 We decide it's about time we pay our first visit of the new year to Dungeness for a day's birding.

On arrival at first light, it's straight up to the beach to be greeted with the sight of thousand's

of Cormorants flying past, what a spectacle.

A walk up to the patch and it's alive with Gulls and we find a first-year Little Gull for a nice tick. Loads of Red-throated Diver along with Guillemont and Razorbill plus a few Gannets for more year ticks.

After a couple of hours looking out to sea it's back to the car but on the way, we have another tick as we spot a pair of Black Redstart on the wall of the power station. A Raven is ticked when spotted on a pylon.

A quick run down to the visitor bird feeders gets us 2 Greenfinch. A search now for the Whooper Swans that have been reported in a nearby field. 

The first sighting of Swans only gets us Bewicks, 34 of them but although nice we need to find the Whooper for a year tick, and that we do after a short search when 5 of them are found with some more Bewick's and Mute Swans.  

While in the area we pop round to Scotney GP and get an easy tick as we see some Barnacle Geese. 

Now we set off to find the Hume's Leaf Warbler, it's reported as being seen at St Margaret's at Cliffe. Told to park at the monument then walk down to the Brookhill farm wood to look for the Warbler. The walk is not too long and we find a birder already looking and he has had a sighting of the bird and we hear it many times before Jimmy spots it flicking about high in the ivory, to give lots of quick views of the bird, this is the third one seen and a really nice little bird to watch. Never managed any photo as it never came right out in the open for long enough to focus on it. Unfourtunly we head off to tick the White Stork seen at Worth Marsh over the last week or so for an easy tick but somebody forgot to tell the Stork and after spending over an hour looking at an empty field we give up and head off home after a brilliant day out.

Little Bunting at Bexley.

Brian ring's us to see if we wanted to go to Bexley in Kent for the Little Bunting that has been around for a few days.

It's only 24 miles and we do the trip in under an hour. after we park the car we head to the kissing gate to head up the hill, Geoff K is on the way back from seeing the Bunting and stop's to give us directions and have a little catch-up, always so nice to meet up with Geoff.

Off now to find the bird and after a short but wet underfoot walk we find  a small group of 3

watching the target bird.

It's on the mud path only a few feet away but was hard to pick out, but once we got on it feeding on the path we have great really close views.

Over an hour is spent watching this cracking little Bunting going about his business without any fear about us being close by.

A walk around the trees and bushes only gets Jimmy & me one other tick for the day a Green Woodpecker. Brian picked up a tick when he got Siskin but we never saw them.

The Bexley Little Bunting

Again

Lee Valley & Epping Forest +Eagle pond

 Jim and I give Brian a call to see if he wants to come with us over Lee Valley and we know the answer to that. so 20 minutes later we are picking him up and we are soon parked up and walking down to the farm.

A scan of the bushes soon gets us 3 ticks when in with a flock of Chaffinch, 5 Bramling are spotted and in the same group of bushes, we see a flock of Redwing and Fieldfare that we needed for a tick. A walk around the site is very pleasant but we only get 1 more tick when we get a  Water Rail. We hear about a Silver Wood Duck on the river so as it is here why not see it, it's an easy find and really nice to watch for a while.

Next, it's off to Strawberry pond in Epping Forest as we know a tick will be there, and after parking, on a muddy strip that we have done every year since I have been birding for free we now have to pay as is the case all over the forest now, the walk to the pond is only short and we have another tick when many Mandarin duck show well.

While in the forest I get 2 ticks first a Treecreeper and then a Coal tit shows well.

The next day I have to go to Whipps cross to pick a parcel up for my son so I ask the boys if they want to come along as it means we can divert to the Eagle pond in Snaresbrook to try to find the returning Caspian Gull.

This is now a yearly trip to get this bird and we find it as soon as we arrive and it gives us great entertainment as it battles all the other Gulls for the food on offer.

Back home I get a tick when a Goldcrest is on the bush in my garden.

Caspian Gull at Eagle pond

Mandarin at Strawberry pond

 

The Wood Duck at Lee Valley

 

New year birding. off we go 2022.

With Brian unable to join us for our usual first day of the year trip to Kent or Norfolk due to a family hospital visit, Jimmy and I head to the local KGV reservoir.

Big numbers of birds are never on the cards but it gets us out and a couple of fairly rare birds for here have been hanging about for some days now, so off we go and over the next few hours we find the Great Northern Diver and the Red-necked Grebe without to much trouble along with 5 Little Grebes, some Great-crested Grebes, Pied and Grey Wagtail plus all the usual stuff. On the river running alongside we spot 2 Goosander and a Little Egret plus some Goldeneye.

So up and running for the new year and along with birds spotted on the way to the reservoir and my garden the first day total gives us 37 ticks, not a lot but better than nothing and we are looking forward to heading to the coast with Brian tomorrow.

We meet up with Brian on the second day and head to Norfolk for a full day's birding.

The first stop of the trip is a gamble as it is still fairly dark but we give it a try and head to a place called Southery and after a drive down a long road we get no sight of the Bewick Swans. They had been seen the day before. we turn round and on the way back towards the top of the lane we spot 4 Swans and once we get the scope on them we have a tick as they are the Bewicks, so a good start to the trip.

Off now to Twitchwell RSPB. On the way, we stop off at Hunstanton to tick a Fulmar.

Over the few hours, we spent at Titchwell a total of 50 or so ticks are seen.

Great White Egret, Water Pipit, plus many Sanderling, Turnstone, and Oystercatcher up on the beach are good to watch.

Next up we are off to Holkham. Stopping off for a quick tick at Wells, where we see a Cattle Egret that had been reported.

Lady Anne's drive at Holkham was packed full of people all out for a nice new year stroll and it was hard to find a parking space. I find it a long walk to the roped-off area on the beach where we find the 4 Shorelark and on the saltmarsh over 50 Snow Bunting show.

A quick look out to sea gets us 3 Velvet Scoter followed by a large flock of Common which gets us a couple of more ticks to round off a great day's birding that took my total up to 88.