A touch of the Med !

7 March 2010
While off to dump a load of garden rubbish at the Abbey and pick up some well rotted cow manure a quick stop at The Lakes provided me with a real bonus and a Pentney tick ! Two Mediterranean Gulls were on the water and then flying around. Rubbish photo below of them at long distance, but you can make out what they are, all white upper wing, stubbier bill than Black-headed, and that distinctive drooping head appearance. Also the flight action was stiffer than the accompanying Black-headed Gulls

a less rounded head than the Black-head Gull. This one here is an adult summer bird

and this one (below) still to get it's full black hood, no sign of black on the wing (apart from outer primary) so I guess an adult winter coming into adult summer, rather than a second winter bird. Crikey I really do dislike ageing Gulls - find them really difficult.

Med Gulls have been reported at the lakes before, but I've never caught up with them so this was a right result as they say.

Salthouse revisited

6 March 2010
With a couple of hours spare before a rather tedious trip planned to Ikea in Milton Keynes a decision had to be made. A walk round the village and to the old barn, or an hour at Pentney lakes ? So straight into the car and off to the coast ! Snow Buntings here we come (again). Glorious morning and on arrival there they were, feeding away on a little mound of grass.

These little birds really are fantastic and I make no apologies for my ramblings, both verbal and in distance to see these, so to that end more pictures..........

Ok that's enough. Other birds included a feeding group of Turnstones

a Ringed Plover

and a Common Gull

Time was ticking on so after about forty minutes I left calling in briefly at Walsey Hills car park to look at the Brent Geese.

and while doing so an elderly couple told me there was a Crane flying overhead, or was it a Stork !
I tactfully pointed out the main id criteria and we then agreed it probably wasn't. In fact as it flew right past us I was able to convince them as to it's real identity. They thanked me and left to see if they could find the Black Brant at Wells. Now some people would have been quite critical of their approach but I was happy to chat with them and I feel that such interactions are all too few with modern birding. Those who have good id knowledge can often be all too condescending and treat others in a very off hand manner. These two people were a lovely old couple that spent their time out bird watching. Great stuff really.

Not a Crane, not a Stork, but a Heron

British Rail

4 March 2010

The weather forecast last night was good for the morning so I left home early to do a pre work walk at Titchwell RSPB reseve. I arrived in glorious sunshine to an empty carpark. Onto the reserve and not a sole to be seen. Where was everyone ? this is supposed to be the most heavily visited reserve in Britain now and I couldn''t see anyone, empty hide and only one person further down the path. This place is normally heaving, even first thing. looking onto the lagoon and here was my first clue - no birds, well not by Titchwell standards. Then I remembered that site management was taking place. So I had to be content with this Reed Bunting, basking in the sunshine. A few Ruff a long way off but other than that not a lot.

Then as quickly as it came out the sun disappeared and the temperature dropped. That combined with a ticking clock had me heading back to the car. As I neared the fisherman's car pull in, a small movement caught my eye in the ditch and out crept a Water Rail. It was well hidden for the first couple of minutes but slowly edged out of the gloom into a little less gloom, poking about for worms. It stayed in the shadows feeding quite actively. then rushed off into the undergrowth (as they do). Given the dark conditions I was lucky to get these shots.

A boootiful morning......

2 March 2010
...as we say in Norfolk. So nice to wake up to a day without rain and by 7.30am the sun was breaking through. And a very alert Robin making sure any other intruders were put down.

A quick check of the feeders, the usual suspects plus now frequently Long tailed Tits

And then in among the Blue and Great Tits someone was playing peekaboo, and that someone turned out to be

Yup a Marsh Tit, there for a few seconds and then gone. I await it's return...eagerly !

I look out over the field and see something larger moving slowly along the hedge.

...a Muntjac

and then overhead a flock of birds that weren't corvids, now this is a surprise and what's more they were not Woodpigeons,  instead quite a rare sight, a group of about fifty Lapwings, part of the flock here

and finally around the front of the house, another mammal but smaller this time as the Harvestile Bank Vole made another appearance, albeit at high speed ! I am sure it's getting smaller.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it.....

Wednesday 24 February 2010
An early morning "wandering" to the coast at Salthouse and the chance to catch up with some Snow Buntings. As I drove into the beach car park a few small birds flew up and I thought, excellent about twenty birds and still around......well there were more

in all about a hundred and twenty birds in all different stages of plumage, from dull females to bright males. Actually, they all looked superb, but rather fast moving and with dull light it wasn't easy. Here however is a medly, or should I say flurry of some Snow Buntings........

So a car park full of these great little birds and only me taking photographs, bitingly cold north east wind and just about to really get to grips with it when several more cars and birders arrived, so I left. Apparently these birds have been there a while and are used to being fed, another visit would be great if they hang on a bit longer.

Ruddy birds

12 February 2010

A drive back past Pentney Lakes allowed for a brief stop and scan, all the usual suspects...

. and then a couple of ginger suspects. Two Ruddy Shelducks, which at the right time of year and accompanied by the right mix of wild birds, could have been quite exciting. But as ever these somewhat dubious sightings are all too often escaped captive birds. They may have been in the wild for some years, but today they just didn't fire up the binoculars. A female Goosander was however a nice diversion. And as per last few trips the Common Gulls well outnumbered the Black-headed Gulls.

Back home for a coffee and looking into the garden and the field behind a small blob by one of the flooded ares. It wasn't an Egyptian Goose as usual so mega alert. A Sandpiper, I could hardly believe my eyes,

camera in hand and dashing out the door, but sadly not quick enough to beat the black and white cat that put the bird up the instance I got to the garden, a quick fire shot or two of a dark underwing and blindingly white rump confirmed it as a Green Sandpiper. After consultation with the oracle (Lammergeier Bedford)  it appears a few do overwinter. Cracking record for Pentney and the garden fields. And here it is....just !

So back to the cooling coffee, still not be drunk as the garden was invaded by Long tailed Tits.

Polish ramblings.......

Friday 29 January 2010
and it's off to Stansted to zip over to Poland for a short weekend break. Ok so it's cold over there but a quick visit to see how the house is going and maybe a few birds....

or some mammals, like these Roe Deer. Birds well ? hardly a thing moving. Perhaps the previous weeks'
 - 26 degres had something to do with it. Ravens and Rooks, that was it, plus a tantalising flock of small passerines, gone all too quick. House fine. temperatures falling and snow coming in again, back to Poznan

pictured here at 3.45pm

followed here pictured at 3.50pm - snow wipe out. The normal one and three quarter hours trip took three and a half hours.

More importantly no birds and I realised how much this made the trip feel a bit lacking. Still hopefully as the seasons progress and more than a few hours allow, the next trip will be better. That said the evening in Poznan we had was great.