A SE Herts RSPB coach trip to Dungeness and we were greeted with mostly dry and some sunny weather, but a northerly wind hampered our chances of seeing lots of Spring visitors. Sea watching gave us lots of Great Crested Grebes, two Whimbrel, Sandwich Terns and a few Gannets. Turning inland we had amazing views of a pair of Peregrine going after a Pigeon. They narrowly missed it and returned to their vantage point on the Power Station. There were plenty of Linnets and Meadow Pipit flitting about, but no signs of expected birds such as Wheatear and Black Redstart. However, a group of Early Purple Orchids were a nice find. Next stop was the RSPB reserve where we had Common Tern and a distant Drake Garganey. This Ringed Plover was slightly more forthcoming. Even more obliging was this Little Egret. Continuing around the reserve you are never too far away from the Power Station! We had a full set of Hirundines and my first Swift of the year. Just a dodgy record shot sadly! Waders included Redshank, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Curlew and this distant Bar-Tailed Godwit. While we were watching Marsh Harriers, this Grey Heron was keeping an eye on us! But the best birds of the day were this flock of Whimbrel. The count kept going up as they moved around and we had a peak of 16. Certainly the most I have seen together and probably the closest views as well. A great way to end the day and these views clearly show the prominent eye stripe and much shorter bill than Curlew.
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Minsmere is always a great place to visit especially in Spring. The plan was to stop off at Westleton Heath beforehand for Dartford Warblers but the strong wind kept them hidden. We did manage to see a couple of Woodlarks, Sand Martin and heard at least three singing Nightingales. This Stonechat popped up with a spider snack. So on to Minsmere and first stop was the North hide where a Marsh Harrier came in fairly close hunting and being hassled by a Crow. I thought I would get some good shots but sadly the heat haze had other ideas. It was a strange day weather wise with sun, rain and a strong wind. Following a clockwise circuit of the scrape we had a good view up to Dunwich Heath. The East hide gave some closer birds including this Shelduck. As to be expected there were a few distant Mediterranean Gulls and Sandwich Terns, (pictured here) but Common and Little Terns had not yet returned. There were not too many wader species on show apart from the expected species such as Oystercatcher and Redshank. Most of the Black-Tailed Godwits were almost in full breeding plumage. A small flock of Knot were also frequently flying around. And I can't ignore the elegant Avocets! A quick walk south looking for Wheatear failed, but this shot gives an idea of the changing weather conditions. Some of the smaller birds were showing better out of the wind including this Dunnock. A pair of Linnets. And this lovely Wren in the Gorse. Heading back to the Visitor Centre we heard a number of booming Bitterns, but did not actually see one. Barnacle Geese were everywhere however. And a solitary Great Egret. A great day out and a need to return for some Dartford Warblers!
A morning walk with the RSPB SE Herts Group around Therfield Heath with the plan being yo look for possible Ring Ouzels and Wheatears and to see the Pasqueflowers, Hertfordshire's county flower. At the car park the Rook's were obviously used to people with this one coming very close and taking time to preen and clean its bill. Skylark's were everywhere, filling the sky with song. Up on Church Hill the Pasqueflowers were in full bloom. Such beautiful flowers! We headed back through the woods seeing some commoner birds including Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackcap and Greenfinch as well as this Chiffchaff. And on the golf course, a Mistle Thrush. A very pleasant walk! Following this, a few of us made the short trip to Deadman's Hill in search of Grey Partridge and were lucky to see four pairs in the fields. Eagle eyed Chris Gibson then spotted a bird in the distance flitting out from the hedgerow which turned out to be a female Redstart. A great find and a rather dodgy record shot! The Wallington Road was quiet, so a last stop just north of Ashwell at the enticing dungheaps! The field had been recently cut and a Red Kite was flying low and picking up grass. I am not sure if it was after prey or using it as nest material. Where's there's muck, there's brass and sure enough the dungheap came good with four beautiful Yellow Wagtails. A great end to the day.
Whilst it was always going to be a bit early for Hobbies and Cuckoo a trip to Lakenheath is always a good day out and today was no exception. A coffee at the visitor centre and a chance to watch some of the birds coming to the feeders including Goldfinch and Collared Dove. On the way up to the first viewpoint we had our first Common Whitethroat of the year and surprisingly this very early Little Grebe chick. And plenty of Greylag Geese! Lakenheath is always a good place to see Marsh Harriers and this male gave us a flypast. Joist Fen was fairly quiet, but good to see a single Sand Martin, so back along the river picking up Redshanks, Oystercatcher, Shelduck and Great Egret as well as this Stonechat. And on the opposite bank, a Roe Deer stag with three females. A pair of Garganey swam out from the edge of the inner Washland allowing a few shots. The next stop was Weeting Heath for Stone Curlew and we saw four birds but as usual, all fairly distant. The small pond is always good for some shots with this Pheasant and Robin visiting. The surprise visitor though was this male Brambling that came to the feeder. Thankfully it also posed in a Lilac bush. A nearby site gave us a pair of distant Woodlark and a Tree Pipit singing and doing its "parachute" display flight. Very distant and grey conditions so just a record shot here. A nice patch of Honesty on the way back to the car. It was starting to get cold, grey and windy, but a final stop near the airbase gave us a Nightingale singing and some great views of the F15 Strike Eagles coming in to land. A fitting end to a great day.
A trip to Grafham Water in the hope of some Spring migrants. Sadly, the whole of the country seemed to have a fairly quiet day. The dam area held nothing but a single Redshank, Yellowhammer and Linnets so off to the main reserve. We were instantly rewarded with a stunning male Bullfinch perched up briefly. Blackcaps were singing and plentiful in numbers. As were Chiffchaffs. Scanning Dudney Creek, this chap came up to investigate. A couple of Redshank came very close to the hide allowing some good photo opportunities. Keeping a wary eye out for predators. Surprisingly, only the one Little Egret. But plenty of Cormorants! So not a great day for anything special (though an Osprey was seen later in the day), however, a real treat was watching this pair of Great Crested Grebes. After some head shaking the male dived down and came up with a small piece of weed and swam towards the female. Weed is obviously in short supply at Grafham! They then proceeded to do part of their courtship ritual. What fantastic birds and behaviour! And an Easter Bunny to end!
Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs can be hard to separate until they sing! I was lucky to get some good shots of a Chiffchaff at Amwell the previous day so let's start there. This bird was doing the standard Chiffchaff song but note the dark legs, shorter wings, and lack of a bright supercilium. A few more shots below. The Willow Warbler gave itself away with its song at Stanstead Innings, though it did start with a bit of a Chiffchaff like note. A much brighter bird with the clear supercilium and much longer wings than Chiffchaff. The legs were lighter in colour but still fairly dark. Thanks to Jane Free for her local knowledge of Stanstead Innings.
A few visits to Amwell to look for Spring migrants but so far it has been very slow with the star bird this Avocet which stayed for a few hours on the 31st. Really good to see some of the residents looking in fine condition and singing! And some great views of this female Reed Bunting from the Gladwin hide. A walk into Easneye Woods was alive with bird song and a patch of Wood Anemone was a lovely find. And to round it off, a confiding Nuthatch. Another week or two and Spring will truly have arrived.
An un-ringed White Stork was reported at Amwell, but by the time I got there it was a distant speck over Rye Meads. However, a Cattle Eagle was excellent compensation, though somewhat distant. And another good find was this Adult Mediterranean Gull. And for comparison, here with Common and Black-Headed Gulls. News filtered through of other good birds at Rye Meads so a short drive south gave distant views of 6 Black-Tailed Godwits. And a very brazen Muntjac! And ridiculous close-up of an Egyptian Goose. A female Marsh Harrier was present and gave some good views from the Draper Hide. And to round things off - a couple of Garganey! What a cracking day!
A Great Grey Shrike has been present just outside of Weeting village in Norfolk for a few weeks now and for various reasons I had not been able to make it up there. However, some slightly better weather heralded an opportunity. Initially, however there was no sign of the bird despite a number of people searching for it. Whilst waiting, a Goshawk and a couple of Woodlark were good consolation. As the light improved slightly and the wind dropped a bit, the Shrike was spotted and I manged to get some distant shots. It would move around the clearing, perching up and watching the ground for prey. I managed to get a couple of shots of it diving down. At one point it came slightly nearer so I was able to get some better quality images, but still heavily cropped. A wonderful bird and my third ever in the UK. On the way home, time to pop into Cavenham Heath and add Linnet, Stonechat and this Meadow Pipit to the day list. But the highlight here was two very distant, early retuning Stone Curlews. Just the one record shot here! A day in the Brecks is always rewarding and we had some fantastic birds today as well as bumping into a few friendly faces from the RSPB SE Herts Group and the Braughing Birders.
Little Gulls tend not to stay long in one place. They are passage birds, wintering in Western Europe and the Med and then heading to Northern Europe to breed. We tend to get smallish numbers passing through in Spring and Autumn. One was reported in the morning in Stevenage, and it lingered still so a quick trip up to see if it was still there. It was, but disappeared after I had been there for just under an hour. A very small, fast and tricky bird to photograph! They are about 2/3 the size of Black-Headed Gulls and they did not take kindly to the visitor! A really beautiful bird in a very unusual location!
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