Norfolk Weekend

Snettisham RSPB reserve over high tide got the holiday off to a flier, so to speak, with tens of thousands of wintering Red Knot doing their thing over the Wash at daybreak. But whilst the huge flocks of waders provided the spectacle, it was a goose species that received the nomination for individual star turn.

Bar-headed Goose is a native species of Asia and holds the avian altitude record, with birds witnessed over the Himalayas during migration. In Britain a feral breeding population is slowly establishing itself whilst birds from the larger continental stock arrive regularly on our east coast in autumn. Surely it's only a matter of time before this handsome high-flier is officially added to the UK's list of wild fauna.

Holkham Hall is a must visit site at this time of year especially if the dawn breaks cold and clear. With the rut having just come to an end, stags of both Fallow & Red Deer begin to recover their strength and the views during sunrise can be quite stunning.

Another quality early morning walk can be had at Warham Greens just to the east of Holkham & Wells. Here the marshes provide fabulous encounters with Barn Owls and Little Egrets as they quarter the vast expanses in search of a meal.

The work to protect the fresh water lagoons at Titchwell is well under way with an enormous bank having been created this summer. As a consequence the Parrinder Hide has had to be demolished, though a replacement will be built once the sea defences are completed some time late next year.

This year's wild goose chase drew to a close with our number one target collecting all three points in a hard fought battle of cunning versus stamina. Despite putting in the hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were out-witted by north Norfolk's wintering Snow Goose which under normal circumstances would have been a bitter pill - but the beautiful weather this weekend was the real saviour. In fact just being able to get out and walk from dawn till dusk was reward enough, besides I'm sure the furtive fowl will still be about when we visit again next month.

Bretton Update

After a couple of weeks of chasing up and down the country, it was great to be back at Bretton this morning. The weather was stunning - in fact classical for autumn, with beautiful light and colour - though unfortunately there was little in the way of non- arboreal subjects to 'tog'. Not that I was particularly bothered 'cos I've had a brilliant October, and whilst the pics have been - shall we say - not great, the experience did provide me with some flashbacks to those glorious twitchy days in the 90s when life was so much sweeter!

Black-headed Gulls occasionally make it down to Upper Lake, but whenever they do, it usually means trouble. This bird though seemed like it was practicing for a local gurning competition in the 'mirror'! It's not often they get anywhere near the hide but I'm so glad to have captured this jaw-stretching performance which actually lasted several minutes so wasn't just an impromptu yawn.


It's becoming apparent that the resident Dabchicks (all two of them) have adopted an unfathomable fascination for camera noise. The moment my (rather embarrassing) 20D gets firing, the little monkeys make a bee-line for the hide and won't leave until I'm spent. My theory is that being responsible for some of the daftest noises on the lake, they can't resist an even sillier sound! I wish the same applied to some of the more photogenic species at Bretton - but alas this female Teal was the best of the rest today!

Red-flanked Bluetail at Bempton Cliffs RSPB

Definitely not the best day to catch up with the latest in a seemingly endless stream of Flankers on the east coast of Britain. Having missed two at Spurn last week I was determined to add this latter-day mega to my stagnating Yorkshire list, but after celebrating Friday's ECW a little over-zealously (I always accompany a new tick with a soda or two), Saturday became something of a non-starter!

Saturday was the day though, despite the wind and rain. The little multi-coloured Asiatic tart had been dancing on lens hoods all afternoon but unfortunately wasn't in the mood for a repeat performance this morning. After going missing shortly before our arrival the bird was finally relocated three and a half wet and windy hours later in the bottom of a hedge two hundred yards back down the approach. This caused some rather typical twitching naughtiness on the very narrow road with some visiting puffin-botherers getting particularly riled (even more so when they found out all the puffins had disappeared - chased off no doubt by the rabid hordes!... :o/).

Anyways, to cut to the chase, the result is possibly the worst likeness of the critter you'll see - so bad in fact that I felt compeled to included a picture I made earlier (precisely twelve months earlier in fact) in north Norfolk, even though I didn't manage to capture the blue tail then either.

Never mind, the season will soon be over and I'll be back to stroking kingfishers before you know it!

Eastern Crowned Warbler in Co. Durham

Having finally recovered from the excitement of last weekend I was anticipating a quiet stroll around Bretton today and getting back to a little underwhelming nuts and bolts patch-work. Never in a month of monkeys did I expect this! A first for Britain from my favourite genus and less than two hours drive away - the birding gods are certainly smiling on me right now, and it's about bloody time!


Identified only after the finder's photos were analysed, it was late last night before news of the UK's first recorded Eastern Crowned Warbler was released, giving birders planning the early morning dash to the north east plenty of organisational headaches. There were hundreds on site by the time we arrived early afternoon though and sunny conditions meant fantastic views of this stunning Asian sprite as it ceaselessly flitted around the Sycamores and Elders in a disused quarry on the outskirts of South Shields.


With another Red-flanked Bluetail at Bempton today and Dusky Warbler at Flamborough, what price a Siberian Rubythroat at Filey tomorrow - just to round off a truly remarkable week? Not that I'm greedy you understand!