Dartford Warbler + Cattle Egret & Minsmere visit.

Needed to get out birding but where to go as not to much about locally,so Jimmy & I decide on Minsmere & set off around 5 am.

First port of call is Iken in the hope of meeting up with the Cattle Egret at Hall Farm that we first saw last year & it had been reported as showing this week. After an hour we have no sign of the Egret 

& not wanting to waste to much time we shoot off to Dunwich Heath & park up & on a cold windy morning to set about finding a Dartford Warbler or two, once again no luck so we head back to the car but just as we are going to drive off we spot a couple of birds on the bushes at the side of the road & they are our target bird so we got lucky.

As we sit watching 5 more Dartford Warblers appear & fly back & fro across the road what a bonus & a great start to the day. A Sparrowhawk landed on the road looking for a meal just by the car but soon headed off as a car came along on that side of the road.

On to Minsmere & we head to Wildlife hide as a pair of Gargney have been seen there. People in the hide tell us that they are just behind a mound not far from the hide & they stay there for over an hour before a Raptor puts everything up & our birds fly right over the other side of the scrape. Before  we head round to North hide in the hope of seeing if they where showing there a couple of House Martin show in front off the hide & we are also entertained by a single Otter swimming about in the pool to the left of the hide. While walking round to North hide we hear a Cetti's Warbler for a belated tick.

Once in the North hide Jimmy soon gets everybody onto the Gargney as they stay in close to the bank but he found them, not a great view but but a tick is a tick. A quick walk round to get a tick with the Bearded Tits. On leaving Minsmere we make the decision to try once more for the Cattle Egret at Iken. It's only about 10 miles away & the Egret is showing in the first field when we arrive not far from Sandy Lane & we get great views as it feeds just away from the few brown cows.

I don't like driving to far but we had a good day as it got warmer & six ticks is not bad.

Dartford Warbler

Again

The Iken Cattle Egret

Again

The Sparrowhawk

Little Bunting at Great Barford.

Little Bunting

The three of us set of for the fairly short trip to Great Barford up the A1 for about 40 miles hoping to connect with the Little Bunting that has been around for some time.
After parking by the pub we walk over the road & see our first Sand Martin of the year as it flies around the bridge.It's a walk of  about half a mile up river until we come to a foot bridge, at first we go over the bridge but head back to the bushes just before the bridge & find the scattered seed that the bird has been feeding on. Hiding our selves away from the seed we wait for the target to show, not to long before Chaffinch, then Male & female Reed Buntings start to come in to feed on the seed, next in come a few Robins & a single Pheasant help themselves to the seed.
Then after 20 minutes or so the Little Bunting shows well as it pops on & off the trees & drops down into the channel of mud to feed, we are getting a little wet with a slight drizzle making it hard to keep the binoculars dry but we stick it out for about a couple of hours & get some really great views of it.
Another tick comes in the form of Chiffchaff as it calls away in the bushes next to us.
Not a big birding day as we head back home & are indoors by 12 o'clock but well pleased with the 3 ticks that we picked up.

Reed Bunting

8 Dips then a lifer Pallid Harrier at last.

Not sure about the weather we decide to head off to Norfolk anyway in the hope of getting me a lifer if we can find the Pallid Harrier at New Holkham.
We arrive at Blunts corner off the B1105 to find a few birders already here & the bird had been seen already so looking good, surely I can't dip again today after missing out at least 8 times over the last couple of years.
Only had to wait a few minutes before the Harrier flies across the field in front of us & gives us some really great views as it drops down to feed & then flies low back & fro in front of us for about two hours or so.With views like this well worth the wait for me to get a great lifer. Three Red Kite & a couple of Merlin are seen & have a bit of a go at the Harrier to add to the day.
We shoot off now to Holkham Gap for the flock of Shorelarks & get lucky when a local birder is on the way back & stops to give us the tip off as to where they are showing & within minutes we have a year tick as we spot them without having to walk to far to see them.
While here 2 Cranes fly over our head for tick 3 for the day.
A quick drive to Choseley gets us tick number 4 as we see a few Grey Partridge.
The real bonus of the day is the weather with a bit of sun not to much wind & no rain up till now.
A pop into Brancaster Staithe gets us Bar-tailed Godwit for tick number 5 for the day.
Cockley Cley is our last place to visit before heading off home, we have to find fire point 109 & once again get lucky when we spot the Great Grey Shrike just a few minutes after arrival, as shrikes do it sat out to give some really great views of the bird.
What a great day birding with the boys 6 ticks & the long awaited Pallid for a lifer for me to end the saga of dips & near misses.

Brian's photo of the Pallid Harrier

The Cranes flying over us.

Shrike

Glossy Ibis at Ely + Goshawk.

Nice to get out birding again after 4 weeks since we last got out together. We head up to Ely & find Kiln Lane & after a short walk we find the water that the Glossy Ibis had been reported as being seen on.
It takes us about 20 minutes & a walk around the other side of the water to locate the bird.
Once we find it it shows really well for the hour that we spend watching it feeding very well, also seen a couple of Snipe to add another year tick for Jimmy & I.
Now we shoot off to Santon Dowham & park up & walk about half a mile down by the side of the river in the hope of seeing a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker that people had been seeing here over the last few days.
On the walk down we meet up with Mr Bradnum senior, funny how we have never crossed paths before but we spend the next three hours in his company looking & listening for the the Lesser but all we get are a couple of short bursts of drilling but not a single sighting of one.
The disappointment is offset when a Goshawk flies into view for a year tick. Brian also gets a tick as a Sparrowhawk flies by.
Siskin, Brambling,Nuthatch & the odd Treecreeper are also spotted before we head off home.

The Glossy Ibis

Ely's crowning glory

Pine Bunting + rose-coloured starling.

A bit later start to the day as it's only 50 odd miles to Murston NR in the hope of finding the Pine Bunting that has been seen over the last few days.

A bit of a problem to park but we do well & manage to get parked down the lane leading to the sea wall, that is only a 10 minute walk along the wall to where the bird has been seen.

Only a few birders are here as we start to scan over the shooters pool. As the morning goes on a lot more people arrive up to a hundred are present when after 3 hours a fellow gets the target bird in his scope, I was lucky enough to be right next to him & he got me on the bird,it's a long way off & not a long view but it is sitting out on top of a tree so a nice clear if short view.

So the first lifer of the new year for all three of us,it's a dull damp morning so once we have seen the bird we head of to Beachy Road Broadfield, it's a bit of a detour but it turns out to be worth it when we see the Rose-coloured Starling that has been hanging about here for ages.

As we leave the car the bird is seen in a tree behind a large wall in a garden & it is a very easy tick.

Brian turns his nose up at the three hour wait

The Rose-coloured Starling

Lapland Bunting & Bean Geese at Scotney.

On a freezing cold morning the boys & I head off to Dungeness, a quick drive around to see if there are any Black Redstart about, but none seen on the short time we give it.
As we drive back we see 9 Great white Egrets on a small island just off the road.A drive round to Camber gets us the Red-necked Grebe on a frozen lake & that keeps the Grebe right over the back of the lake so no photos & the the light was very poor as well.
Off now to Scotney in search of the Black-necked Grebe, a few people were looking for it but for the second time of trying it's a no show.
The car is parked & we head off to walk round the back of the farm to scan the flock of Geese seen over the back of the fields.
The 2 bean Geese are soon picked out amongst the Pink-footed, Barnacles, Greylags, Brents & a couple of Egyptian Geese,we all needed the Bean for a year tick.
While watching the geese a small flock of Lapland Buntings fly over head calling & they fly around again to give us good views for one more tick, a pair of Peregrines flew across the back of the trees putting everything up in the air for a while.
One more drive back to Dunge & a quick stop to watch the Tree Sparrows feeding by the farm, a look for the Ring-bill Duck was a waste of time with the pond completely frozen over so nothing on it.
Before heading home we drive to Hythe as Purple Sandpiper has been reported & I never got one last year so best to pick up a nice early tick this year.
Parking by the Imperial Hotel we are soon onto another year tick before heading off home, it is now a nice bright day but still very very cold but nice.

Lynford & Thetford Hawfinch,Crossbill,Iceland Gull.

Just had to get out birding today, Jimmy & I just had to make up our minds where to go, we make our choice & head the 80 odd miles to Lynford.
We arrive just before eight o'clock & head for the Paddock to start our search, we are joined by a couple of other birders but see nothing for the first hour,I then see another birder down the track & decide to walk down to see if he had any better luck than us & it turns out that he had 2 Hawfinch in his scope & I got a look at them before phoning Jimmy to tell him that we had them but it turns out that he was already on them, so a good year tick for both of us.
Then we first of all hear & then get a flight view of a Crossbill & get to hear another one just after that .
A walk down to the bridge gets us one more year tick when we see Marsh Tit come to feed on the seed we put down. The seed attracted some Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit,Chaffinch.
On the way back to the car we spot a flock of Siskin feeding on the ground.
Three ticks so not a bad start to the day but we hope to add one more as we head to Thetford & we pick out the Iceland Gull within minutes of arrival as it sit on the roof just off the road.
Glaucous Gull also here but not needed by us for a tick also a Caspian Gull & yellow-legged had been reported & seen by some people but not by us.
A great little trip a bit on the cold side with a bit of frost & mist that took it's time to burn off, we left home at 6 am & was back indoors by 1 o'clock with 4 good ticks.

Marsh Tit

Hawfinch

Iceland Gull