Waders and terns in North Norfolk

Had a good outing to Cley and Titchwell today. The return passage of waders has started already, with non/failed breeding Black-tailed Godwits, Spotted Redshanks, Ruffs, and a Lesser Yellowlegs all putting on a show.
Along with 3 Spoonbills, there was a Lesser Yellowlegs was at Cley which showed constantly from Dauke's Hide.







On Arnold's Marsh was a couple of adult Roseate Terns (below) and some Arctic Terns. I took some video of the Roseates which is embedded below from YouTube.



Roseate Tern video (nearest bird)















On to Titchwell and there was plenty to look at, but nothing too rare. Many birds have young now, like Avocets and the Black-headed Gulls below.




There was a nice montage of adult Ruffs, having returned from their leks and now starting to moult. There were 3 together, which showed much of the variation between them, namely, white, black, and chestnut individuals.


A black male Ruff



A black and a white Ruff together



A white Ruff



Chestnut Ruff (above and below)

Shrike-tastic!

A morning out around East Norfolk on Sunday 22 June was quite good. I popped round to see a Lesser Grey Shrike, just south of Hickling village, near Stubs Mill. It was feeding around a sheep paddock.






Also, at nearby Sea Palling, a long staying male Red-backed Shrike showed well for all. There was also a Marsh Warbler singing quite close to the site, but I had to shoot off to pick Angela up, so I'll have to save that one for another day (or year).

Saved by the Queens Birthday

Well, the winds dropped and finally some birds showed their faces. Tuesday was an additional day off for me, so I spent the afternoon trespassing at the Nelson Head cattle drinking pool bushes. Redstart, 2+ Spotted Flys, 6 Northern Wheatears, Garden Warbler and 5+ Willow Warblers wasn't a bad haul I suppose (especially when compared to the previous few days). A bunch of Iccy's and Red-backed Shrikes have been turning up along the east coast, there was a Citrine Wag at Titchwell and Mark Golley found a Red-throated Pipit on Blakeney Point, but nothing so exciting for me unfortunately.

Late May Bank Holiday Weekend - what a let down!

It was all looking great for the weekend - easterly winds with fronts moving up from the continent bringing rain to ground those tired migrants. In reality it turned out to be as dull as the water flooding through the ditches from the opening heavens above. The highlight of the weekend was actually found in raptors. At Cley I witnessed a female Marsh Harrier take an adult Black-tailed Godwit. It grabbed hold of it on Simonds Scrape and carried it off to devour in the reedbeds. Also a rather close Barn Owl hunted close to the road at Lessingham (see below) at 10am in the morning.
Migrant-wise, a couple of Spotted Flycatchers and Lesser Whitethroats were all I managed to muster up.

Black Lark

What a perfect end to the weekend! Saturday finished well with Stoke City's win over Bristol City, to go 3 points clear, but Sunday ended with a Black Lark at Winterton Dunes. It was singing some of the time, a bit like a Skylark but without the flutty bits.
Took a few photos of the birds and birders:

12 April 08 - North Norfolk

Spent over an hour this morning looking for the Cattle Egret at Stiffkey. It's got to be the most elusive Cattle Egret I've ever come across (or technically, not come across, as I didn't see it). Wandering around in a field of cattle is too good for this bird, which insists on skulking in willows and ditches, only showing (badly) a few times a day.
The day was rescued by a lovely adult Great Grey Shrike at Great Walsingham, which I had to myself for about 20 minutes in the afternoon.

Hong Kong Trip

Hong Kong - 24 Mar - 3 Apr 08

I've been off to Hong Kong for the Easter break. Here are some photos from my stay.
Mai Po 31 Mar

Osprey



Nordmann's Greenshank (front) with Common Greenshank



Mainly Greater Sand Plovers and Curlew Sandpipers.



Saunder's Gulls - 1st summer, left and adult, right of the foremost 3 Gull-billed Terns.




Grey-headed Lapwing



Avocets



Black-faced Spoonbills, mutual preening.


Tai Mo Shan

Upland Pipit photos:









Yellow-crested Cockatoo photos:

Med Gulls

If you're interested in seeing some nice Med Gull shots of all ages, check out my pics on Surfbirds:





1st-winter in flight



1st-winter standing



2nd-winter in flight



2nd-winter standing



Adult in flight



Adult 2 in flight



Adult standing



Feeding frenzy of a all ages