A Winter of Harriers

It really has become a winter full of harriers! Yesterday went to the Nene Washes and managed to see the cranes again - six of them this time, in more or less the same area - plus buzzards, a couple of marsh harriers, plenty of whooper swans, a large flock of golden plovers constantly whirring about in the sky, and a hedgerow bristling with the "chack chack" of fieldfares... Some good ducks too on the pit on the left, including some smart pochard. Plenty of pied wagtails dancing about on the grass alongside the dyke. Then off to Wicken Fen, such a favourite place and with that wonderful special oasis-style feel. We tramped around the nature trail - buzzard, green woodpecker, longtailed tits - and then got into position in the Tower Hide and waited for the birds to come to us... First up was the most exquisitely plumaged barn owl, a beautiful  cinnamon on its upperparts, sailing right past the hide and over the Lode towards the cormorant colony. Then a mature female marsh harrier, again passing very close, with a bright golden crown. Next a female hen harrier, wafting in from the left, quartering the fen before dropping down at the back. Then a superb male, his pale grey feathers gleaming in the fading light and showing off beautifully before he went down, followed by another ringtail, which came very close to us and fanned her tail for us to see those wonderful horizontal stripes. Another male, then another female, and we were still seeing them as we walked back towards the visitor centre. Probably two males and five females in total, at least. Wonderful.

Lazy Winter Afternoon on the Fen

At last! A calm sunny day after the gales and cloud of the previous two, so off to Lakenheath Fen hoping for raptors and maybe even a bittern... Fantastic light, very sharp and clear, and great visibility. First up were a couple of redpolls on the visitor centre feeders, followed by a marsh harrier spooking the gulls on the washland and then a flock of 30 or so teal whirring about. I walked down to the Joist Fen viewpoint along the track – the poplars in the oriole plantations were looking superb against the winter sky.

A short-eared owl was hunting on the other side of the river near the viewpoint, looking great in the low sunlight. It dropped down at least four or five times, but no luck - seems their success rate is not that high, as the one I saw a while back down Ferry Road dropped down at least ten times and came up empty-footed! From the viewpoint itself there were several distant marsh harriers sailing about in beautifully golden light.

I then walked back along the riverbank, where had brief views of a couple of bearded tits "pinging" away along the reedy ditch there and then heard the "krok krok" of a bittern, catching it in the bins as it flew over the reedbed and then dropped down, those gangly green legs extended for landing. Great first sighting for 2012! Just afterwards flushed a snipe, saw two little egrets and then spotted a group of birds in the top of one of the hawthorns, getting them in view just before they flew off and joined another group flying overhead: corn buntings! 14 in total. Not an easy bird to see around here these days, although there's a regular winter roost on the reserve apparently. Lots of gulls massing on the washland and then a flock of 60 lapwings overhead, a great afternoon's birding!

A New Year's Pilgrimage

Mild and still, and so perfect for a walk on the heath... First bird of the new year was, amazingly a buzzard, mewing as it flew low over the meadow at home. Ten years ago that would have been cause for mild hysteria, but in the last few years buzzards have become commonplace around here. Great to see, though. We headed off on the back road to Weeting, parking at the entrance to drive 58 and walking into the plantations there to try and find the Pilgrim's Cross. Anne Mason and I found this medieval wayside cross a couple of years ago, but I hadn't been back since. Carved from Barnack stone and dating from the 1300s, it once stood 12 feet high and had a decorative cross on the top. Access to it used to be via a greenway - once called Walsingham Way - which led north from Weeting and stretches of which still survive, although the way peters out near the cross and it's now unclear exactly where it went. The shrine at Walsingham was destroyed in 1538 and the cross was probably removed from the shaft either then or possibly in 1643, when parliament ordered that all such crosses be pulled down.

The area around the remnant shaft and plinth is planted with broadleaved trees - mostly beech (saw a flock of bramblings feeding on the mast there) and with stands of rampant box - the vestiges of some Victorian planting? The area is known as Mount Ephraim, after the hills of Palestine referred to in the Bible. There are several tumuli nearby, and there's a decidedly ancient feel to the area - quite unlike much of the 'newer' forest nearby. Also scattered nearby are some vintage Scots pines, some of which cannot be far off 100 years old.

One of the veteran pines near Mount Ephraim plantation

We headed north through conifer stands until emerging onto an open expanse of grass heath under the management of some Norfolk Wildlife Trust ponies. This is part of the Tomorrow's Heathland Heritage programme and must be great for classic Breckland plants and invertebrates in the summer - also woodlark and nightjar. We saw some good stands of carline thistle and a pair of bullfinches. We eventually found our way back to the ride parallel to where we had left the car - nothing corresponded to our map, but it sort of worked itself out! A great 2.5 hour walk in total.

Heathland restoration in action...

Harrier Fest

Lucky days with the harriers continued today, with a visit to Roydon Common. It was virtually birdless, just a few meadow pipits, a hovering kestrel and the usual corvids until a fine ringtail harrier appeared briefly over the main bog. We carried on walking up to the military tower and then retraced our steps. The ringtail reappeared and then a superb pale grey male bird, standing out nicely against the trees behind, quartered to and fro, flushing a 2nd ringtail in the process. Then, just as it was too dark to see properly - that'll be about 4.15pm then! - a pale raptor with long blunt wings appeared briefly in the distance, probably a short-eared owl. Great afternoon walk!

Down the Okavango

Had a quick walk around Foulden Common last week, much transformed by what one hopes is officially sanctioned management work in what was once the impenetrable swampy centre – now mown and with rides cut across it, which will hopefully restore botanical diversity and perhaps help former breeding birds like snipe to return. Saw a buzzard and a sparrowhawk, flushed a single woodcock and at least two snipe. Several hares enjoying the new rides, too.

 New-style Foulden Okavango - now possible to walk across the middle of the bog...

The clearance has opened up watercourses that were probably choked before by overgrown vegetation. Snipe were busy feeding alongside this stretch.

Gone with The Wind

No sign of the Pallid Harrier on two subsequent visits to Ferry Road (although the Short-eared Owl was out hunting and gave great views), so perhaps it was just passing through... Very strong winds yesterday and today will have undoubtedly helped it on its way. Meanwhile, had a brief glimpse of a Water Rail swimming across the Gadder at the bridge yesterday morning. Only the second time I've seen one in Oxborough, but they're so elusive that it's hard to believe there aren't more lurking out there.

Raptor Fest at Oxborough Hythe

A bright late afternoon and so off down Ferry Road in search of a short-eared owl with SP... Haven't been down there for months, possibly a year or more, but nothing much has changed. On the way down I thought I saw a short-eared owl quartering the meadow around where I saw the crane two years ago, but it disappeared out of sight and then a surprisingly dark barn owl popped out much closer, and flew across. The track along the river was passable but no birds on the river itself, only a kestrel flushed out of the trees there. Set off then across the meadow towards the pumping station (still standing!), putting up a couple of snipe and then a beautiful shortie appeared, busy hunting up and down, perching on a post and heading straight towards us on a couple of occasions. On one swoop it seemed to catch a mole. Great to see, and let's hope it stays for the winter! As we walked back, a possibly second barn owl appeared - this one seemed paler than the bird we'd seen earlier - and then a ringtail harrier, its white rump gleaming in the gloom. As it came closer, its very ginger-coloured underparts became clear, and the noticeably sooty underside of its secondaries.... Pallid??? Need to go back tomorrow and try and see the diagnostic collar that the books tell me is required for a conclusive ID.