Breckland Birding

The mild weather continues, overcast yesterday but beautiful early spring sunshine today. Plenty of birdsong about, so ventured to Lynford Arboretum yesterday and finally hit the jackpot after several disappointing visits recently. Two hawfinches flew into the top of the tallest hornbeam soon after I arrived and sat there obligingly, and I could hear crossbills calling - soon found a group near the lake, probably half a dozen or so, perched up in the poplars but repeatedly dropping down, perhaps to drink in the stream near the small bridge. Two stunning brick-red males then posed briefly with a female on the top of a hawthorn, before the whole gang flew off towards the hall. Plenty of siskins, goldfinches and greenfinches about also, plus a jay hopping around in the paddock. Then headed off to Santon Downham, walked through Santon Warren and then under the railway line. Just to the left, on an area of newish clear-fell, was a cracking great grey shrike, perched right up on the top of the tallest remnant trunks and periodically dropping down and flying to a new vantage point. Quite flighty, it wouldn't let me get too close but sat up well and I got good views. Heard a woodlark singing here too. I then walked back along the river - saw a couple of bramblings, pair of nuthatches, more crossbills overhead, and 3 little grebes on the river, and heard a lesserspotted woodpecker drumming and calling once in the poplars near the road bridge. Couldn't see it though!

This afternoon I ran over to Swaffham Forest to try for goshawks. No luck with them, but did see three red kites! Circling together with a single buzzard, before drifting away. Migrating birds perhaps? Also several woodlarks singing very well, plus a curlew briefly and lapwings displaying over the fields. Spring feels close!

Hard Times for the Small People

A week of thick snow on the ground now, and some epic temperatures: minus 15 last night at RAF Marham, just down the road from here! Some epic bird feeding going on as well, with carpets of sunflower seed, winter mix and mealie worms spread each morning, and gargantuan supplies of peanuts and nyjer seed loaded into the feeders daily. All the usual chaps are here, although some not in the usual numbers, oddly - only a few house sparrows (up to 20 when it was milder) and fewer goldfinches than last year. Two great-spotted woodpeckers regularly coming, plus a pair of marsh tits., a lone pied wagtail, and several chaffinches. Also up to five blackbirds, including a male with albino splashes, and a group of winter-spangled starlings. Four dunnocks are usually picking about, plus the odd robin and a lone wren yesterday. Blue and great tits of course, and a welcome visit from a gang of long-tails a couple of days ago. Pheasants and red-legged partridges have been turning up too... But still no bramblings, siskins or redpolls!!! Where are they?

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.