Love it when a plan comes together.

Well actually never planned anything today but all the birds I looked for I managed to get, these are the days I love. Started on the patch but half way round a Turtle Dove was found a great record for the area and the winter so walked back home picked up the van and drove up to Lowestoft and Hubbard's Loke football pitch to great views of the Dove. Shame the Sun was in our face and the bird was 500 yards from the patch boundary.

Picked Rach and the dogs up and made our way to Oulton Broad where I was hoping to see Kingfisher. 1 Brief flyby at first but then we managed to find one sat by the bridge for a couple of minutes. Don't ya just love Kingfishers.

We decided to head for Beccles hoping for Scaup but firstly stopped in at North Cove hopping the Little Owl would show for us, it only flaming well did but again briefly as someone was working in the garden just after we arrived I did manage to rattle of a few shots first luckily.

Arrived at Beccles only for the message Scaup Flushed by Rowers. Ah well cnt win em all I guess so sat and had lunch by the Quay. Finished lunch drinking coffee when the 2 Scaup flew over high looking to land the other side of the bridge, its a good job too because o wouldn't have looked down there. So went on a hunt and found the 2 Scaup showing really nicely. Rattled of a few more pictures and decided to call it a day and what a day its been. Thank you birding Gods :-).

Med Gulls

We took the dogs for a good walk today leaving the car at home again, that's what I love about Corton you can just walk for miles in any direction. Today though we took a route through Corton Wood along Gunton Cliffs, Lowestoft Promenade to Ness Point then back along the beach home.
A nice chilly walk in the beautiful sunshine. The morning produced 14 Med Gulls with 3 ringed birds, 8 Adults, 4 First winters and 2 Second Winters.

 

8 Purple Sandpipers were roosting up at Ness Point, there could have been more as they were all roosting on the seaward side of the rocks and could only been seen occasionally as they moved.

On the return lots the Med Gulls showed nicely.

A Great Crested Grebe flew South giving a Red throated Diver head cock, and 3 Red Throated divers passed distantly. A Kittiwake was a year tick as were the Med Gulls. An Adult Lesser Black Backed Gull posed for me.

Back in Corton Woods I finally found a really nice Firecrest in the Holly in the North end, although im pretty sure I had a second one too. A Tree Creeper was the last bird of the morning.

Lovely walk from the house.

Smew

Patch was once again quiet so the only birds of note today were a Woodcock and 3 Snipe. 100 up for thee year.

So in the afternoon had a walk to Covehithe hoping for Shorelark but it was way too busy and all the birders I spoke to hadn't seen them. I did see the long staying Red Headed Smew though.

Oh and a few Goldeneye.

17th January

Well what a crap day, spent the morning wasting my time looking for the Richards Pipit again still at Breydon Water, again failing F...ing bird....only other thing that's worth mentioning was an Avocet.
I eventually gave up and headed to Carlton Marsh. I wanted to look at Popes Marsh and see it full of water and hope to see the 2 Glaucous Gulls that had been reported. The area was impressive full of water and hundreds of gulls including 1 1st Winter glauc but nothing else worth mentioning. Waste of my day really.

upate

Its been a quiet couple of weeks, last weekend I dipped on a Richards pipit at Breydon Water, and the patch was dead.
Come to yesterday and as I was driving to a job I stopped to check a mass of gulls at Ellough only to find a cracking 1st Winter Glaucous Gull.  Then today on the way to work this morning no less than 3 Barn Owls, with one sat lovely on a fence post next to the road.  Hopefully things are looking up.

Burgh Castle

Nowt on patch of note this morning so moved onto Burgh Castle just to sit n relax before being back at work tomorrow.
Anyway scanned the Ducks and Waders mainly Teal Wigeon Mallard and Gadwall. Waders were Dunlin, Redshank and a nice winter Spotted Redshank.
On the marsh it was Awesome picked up my first Short Eared Owls if the year finally counted a minimum of 7 birds 4 in scope at once. Crap pics I know.

Then a nice Rough Legged Buzzard flew in and landed on a post.
Its a bird honest, on right hand post..

A cracking Male Hen Harrier was a stonking bonus and plenty of Marsh Harriers and common Buzzards. A Peregrine, a few Kestrels and a Merlin topped off a great day for Raptors.  The Bearded Tit were very active pinking and flying back n forth and the final decent bird of the day were a small group of distant White fronted Geese. The distance was too far to count and im sure there were Bean geese mixed in with the pinks but just too far to confirm em.
Final tick of the day a nice Fieldfare.

Marsh Harrier top right, Shortie bottom left.

 

Ah well that's it back to work......



North Norfolk

I know I know Norfolk Again, oh I do so love the area though and the birding's soo easy. So Rach a friend of hers and I headed for North Norfolk travelling through Horsey picking up 2 easy Cranes on the side of the road.

It was a new year list so anything I saw today was gonna be a tick :-). Marsh Harriers, Golden Plovers and Pinkfooted Goose were all ticks. ;-)
We carried on checking through any geese flocks and there were plenty but nothing special only pinks.

We carried on to The Causeway, where id found Bewick and Whoopers just before new year, luckily they were still here infact there seemed a few more had joined them 12 Bewicks, 7 Whoopers and 4 Mute Swans.

 

Bewicks

Whoopers

Also another year tick just in the corner of the bottom picture, Red legged partridge ;-).
Did a bit of other stuff before having lunch at the 3 Swallows pub in Cley, then headed to East Bank for a quick look at the Brent Geese and the Black Brant again.
Carried onto Holkham where 30+ Euro White-fronted Geese were still present with hundreds and hundreds of pinks.

Moved onto Burham Overy and viewed the dunes from the road, a line of birders were looking for the Rough legged buzzards and were struggling. I picked up 4 Bean Geese so that amused for a while until I spotted the Rough legged Buzzard sat in a post. If flew towards the pine plantation and was then joined by the second and an air battle commenced giving nice distant scope views.
I carried on getting birders onto the Beans and Buzzards whilst searching for other stuff but that seemed it for anything good and no Owls which was a shame. Rach was getting bored and cold now so we left for Stiffkey where a quick flyby of a ring-tailed Hen Harrier was a bonus and lots of Little Egrets but again no Owls. Well I say no Owls no Shorties at least but 3 Barn Owls on the way back.
It was dark now so time to leave for home. what a great great day and I think the girls enjoyed it.

 Got home and took a couple of shots of the very bright Moon.