Wednesday 17 September 2014

Back to Spurn ... Migfest revisited, tidal washovers and hordes of migrants


How disrupting to life is selling up and moving on! I'm now in the final flings of casting off for good my comfortable 3 bed semi in the suburbs of York for a more adventurous existence in the new motorhome for a few months before heading to Spain for a few more months this coming Winter. Sounds like fun, and I know it will be but my oh my its been a distraction!
 
Determined to keep this blog going though and without further ado here's a post from the 2nd annual Spurn Point Migfest earlier this month.
 
No better place to start than with this splendid and very confiding Wryneck, one of at least 4 seen on the point that w/e. It was a rather restricted shooting angle as the bird was nervously settled down in someone's back yard and I had to creep up and point the lens through a garden fence! I wasn't the only one either but he didn't seem that bothered. Unique birds, sadly not breeding here in the UK anymore but they're always a special sighting on migration.


Wryneck 'wrying its neck'!
 

Wryneck - shame about that grass stem!


Tidal surge, Dec 2013, Spurn Point (Hull Daily Mail)
 
I've posted on Spurn a few times and indeed on the last year's migfest here, so no need to dwell on the marvels of this place except to say that as many of you will know, Spurn Point suffered a significant breach in its historically flimsy defences last winter due to an unusually large tidal surge that affected the whole of the east coast of England. More info here

The road to the point swept away and unlikely to be restored, each high tide now cascades over the 'Narrows' (the thinnest point of the peninsular) making part of Spurn a temporary island, and there's many that believe this may well be a permanent reality in years to come.
 


Spurn Island



During the 4 days I was there I walked to the point and back twice and on the last occasion we timed it right to catch the high tide 'washover' and a chance to see some wader action! This it what we see now at high tide at the 'Narrows'
 


Warning, no vehicular access at high tide! (R.Marrs)
 


Spot the Knot amongst those Dunlin? (R.Marrs)
 
Brilliant for close wader shots if you don't mind getting your feet a bit wet!
 
 


Dunlin fly past
 


 


Dunlin close up, still in full summer kit!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here's a pic of that solitary Knot ...strange to just get one in the flock when there were  1000s elsewhere on the estuary.

Knot .. lovely 'margination' on those winter feathers!
 
 
 
This is a 'feet soaker' coming in!


Bar Tailed Godwits have the legs to cope the waves!

 
 

Constantly 'klacking' Oystercatchers all around us!
 
Whatever happens to Spurn in the future, for now this almost daily 'washover' is becoming quite an event in itself for visitors ... but as the warning signs clearly nag - 'you've got leave enough time to get back', otherwise you're stranded for an hour or two (not a bad place to be stranded though!)

 
Waders aside, the point was positively thronging with common passage migrants and the odd rarity all weekend and blessed as we were with predominantly good weather there was plenty to see and photograph. Whinchats were maybe the most obvious with small 'gangs' of up to 15 flying around together ...
 

Whinchat, juv. On a car tyre!
 
 
Wheatears were also 'getting around'
 
 
 
 
On one of the days there was an influx of Common Whitethroats with a few Lesser's mixed in and it seemed to me that there was one in nearly every bush
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 


















 
Plenty of Willow Warblers about of course and the juvs are so tricky but I'm going Chiff Chaff on this one ... sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is a far from perfect shot of one of the rarer warblers that were about ... a juvenile Barred Warbler. Skulky bloody things!!
 
 
  Some equally poor shots here I'm afraid but anytime you get to see Pied Flycatchers in decent numbers you have to have a go ....
 


and to round things off after a superb few days here's a nice Redstart in the last rays of the evening sun .. with luck this and all the other migrants will be well on their way to down towards Africa by now and who knows I may catch up with some of them early next year when I'm in Spain!

 

Friday 27 June 2014

Norfolk Road trip pt3 - unspoilt Wheatfen, stunning Marsh Harriers and oriental deers

So here's the final part of my road trip to Norfolk.

With just a few days to spare in this most wonderful part of the world and after out forays on the coast. it was important not to try and do too much and end up spending more time driving than out in the field, so we decided to concentrate our efforts around a small but habitat rich area around Surlingham and the Yare Valley. We took in 3 reserves - Wheatfen, Rockland Broad and Strumpshaw Fen.


Wheatfen
First port of call was the delightfully unspoilt nature reserve that is Wheatfen. The famous Norfolk naturalist and broadcaster Ted Ellis lived near here, revered the place and its wildlife, and after his death in 1986 the Ted Ellis Trust was founded to preserve this area of outstanding beauty.

I'd picked this place out as a likely place for the elusive Swallowtail Butterfly but although 1 had been seen the day before, predictably they remained elusive!

Lots of Cuckoos, several Marsh Harriers, Reed & Sedge Warblers, Common Terns flying down the River Yare and common butterflies, and yet with 2 cameras and 2 pairs of eyes we somehow conspired not to capture much! Terrific place if you're a fenland purist though.

Common Blue, Wheatfen

Wheatfen

Just across the river Yare is RSPB reserve Strumpshaw Fen. Its bigger and higher profile but in my opinion not necessarily better than unspoilt Wheatfen. It does however have raised hides and crucially some nearby birds to point the lens at! Marsh Harriers breed in good numbers here as they do right across Norfolk and this was a pleasing series of shots of a passing male.



Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw

Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw

Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw

Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw


Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw


Whinchat, Strumpshaw
Less obvious and something of a lucky sighting as I scanned across the lagoon was this Whinchat perched in the reeds. Fully expected it to be a Reed or Sedge Warbler ... goes to show its always worth scanning and checking every bird in such places!


Whinchat, Strumpshaw

Somewhat more 'showy' this Common Tern was one of several pairs on the reserve.
Common Tern, Strumpshaw

Rockland Broad is a fairly typical area of wet meadow / fenland but we didn't get much here ... good pub next to the nature reserve though and a free berth for the van in the car park!

Great Crested Grebe, Rockland Broad
 Not sure how common these are in Norfolk but this is the first Chinese Water Deer I've ever seen
Chinese Water Deer, Rockland Broad



 
 
 


Wednesday 4 June 2014

Norfolk road trip pt2 - Dashing Hobbies, feisty Avocets and a new Bog!

Cley Marshes




















I saw my first ever Avocets at Cley Marshes, back in the 1980s when they were still a relatively rare sight in the UK. Thrilled as I was to see these, at the time, exotic looking waders actually nesting on these shores, my strongest memories of that time were of the place itself. Along with Titchwell and Blakeney Point this stretch of Norfolk coastline, a watery land of reedbed, dune and shingle had a remote and timeless feel then that thankfully still persists today.

The Avocets are still there of course and in much bigger numbers, back in the late 70s a nesting Avocet in the UK was big news - now there are 1500 pairs and increasing still. Climate change has undoubtedly propelled this dainty wader northwards as a breeding bird but let's not forget the role played by the RSPB in creating and managing the habitat they like.

I say 'dainty' but Avocets are feisty too. We saw several 'mobbing' episodes during our time at Cley and nearly all of them involved Avocets!




Avocets, nest prospecting, Cley.


 




Avocets mobbing a Grey Heron, Cley

 
 
 


Avocet mobbing a Marsh Harrier
Both Marsh Harrier and Grey Heron will gladly pluck a young Avocet from the ground so the attacks are worthy ones, though sometimes the harried fights back and we almost had feathers flying at the end of this one!


We spent an evening and an early morning here ...thus avoiding having to pay Norfolk Wildlife Trust and a little protest to NWT about them being the only county that charges Wildlife Trust members for visiting their reserves (come on Norfolk ... get with the programme!)


Reed Bunting - lovely singing male, great early morning sunlight!
 
Every picture tells a story so they say, and I do believe that - there's a tale to be had behind just about every picture I take. As I mentioned last time though, with so many pictures taken between the two of us, in the main the raconteur in me will have to take a back seat to make this a digestible post! So here's a few Cley highlights. As you will see we were blessed with some good early morning and evening sunshine ......



Male Linnet - same gorgeous light and beautifully posed! 
 
Sedge Warbler - so many chattering in the reeds I would have gutted if I didn't get a half decent shot!


Reed Warbler - distant shot across one of the lagoons; just as many around but I was disappointed not to get a better shot.

 

Male Shoveller - caught in that 'golden light' evening sunshine

That's me probably photographing that Shoveller!

The viewing at Cley is second to none, several good hides and of course the boardwalks themselves often provide discreet photo opportunities.
 
Me again - taking advantage of another man's equipment and seeing what a Wood Sandpiper looks like through £1500 worth of telescope!
 
Sadly the Wood Sandpiper (best bird of the day!) flew off before anyone had a chance to photograph it but I did get a distant shot of some of the Little Stints that were also present from this hide. 
Grainy old zoom crop but enough to id them as Little Stints!
Very 'bird laden' this post I know but Cley is after all a mecca for birdwatchers and has been for decades and still is. The same tidal surge that hit Spurn Point and various other coastal spots on the east coast last December also did a fair amount of damage here, but nothing irreversible, its looking great and as wetland sites go this has to rank up there with the UK finest.
 
Here's the rest of the Cley pics ....

Black Headed Gull in tip top breeding condition!

Black Tailed Godwit

Grey Heron stalking something or other - out of one of the hides

Goldfinch in the last few rays of sunlight - never appreciated that pink bill before!!

Lapwing - the light was almost too bright to catch that lovely green/blue sheen on its wing feathers

 
A couple of Cley landscapes taken with the Samsung during a lovely 'golden light' moment during an evening stroll around the boardwalks. The first is looking back towards the delightful village of Cley itself.
 


 

Hobby, one of two circling above the beach at Cley

and here's my Cley finale ... walking along the coastal shingle that borders the reserve and a chance look up in the sky revealed not one but 2 Hobbies circling on high. All of a sudden one of them put back its wings and pelted hell for leather out to sea, the other one followed and although in a matter of seconds they were mere specks against the sea, we could clearly see them through binoculars harrying a smaller bird. There was a lot of swooping and twisting as they worked as a pair and whether they got their bird I don't know, they faded out of sight but it was certainly a moment!











Dersingham Bog




Just inland and a few miles south west of Cley we found a nice little heathland reserve called Dersingham Bog. Very close to the Sandringham estate, it was just a destination berth for the evening but it turned out to be a little gem of a place.













We had another Hobby here and heard a Nightjar churring briefly, in the drier areas there were several Stonechats, Tree Pipits and Cuckoo whilst in the boggier parts there were 4 Spotted Chaser dragonflies and many damselflies of both red and blue variety.




4 Spotted Chaser, Dersingham

Large Red Damselflies, Dersingham. One of Rob's and a smashing picture.

 
Male Stonechat with what appear to be colour rings on both legs.

Male Stonechat, Dersingham

Singing Tree Pipit
 
Dersingham Bog is a designated SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and managed by Natural England. It wasn't surprising to hear a Nightjar there - the site is of  national importance with currently around 20 churring males recorded there. There are also many scarce bog loving plants here including Round & Oblong leaved Sundew, Cranberry and Bog Myrtle. For more info click here, its a great little spot to visit if you're ever down there.