14th July 2022 – Summer 3-day Tour, Day 3

After a bright and sunny start it clouded over a bit more from late morning and there was a fresh breeze at times, which meant it thankfully didn’t get too hot today, maxing out at a pleasant 21C. We spent the day down in the Brecks and Fens.

Our first stop was Weeting, before it got to hot. We walked out to West Hide, and immediately found the Stone Curlews on the cultivated strip in front of the hide. They are back on eggs now, a second brood attempt, and their first brood young have been pushed out.

One of the adults was tucked down in the grass, sitting tight on the scrape. The other Stone Curlew was initially stood up behind, but sat down before we could get the scope on it and completely disappeared! We turned our attention to the first and could see its staring yellow eye. The second Stone Curlew then stood up again and let us get a good look now. Prehistoric-looking birds! A Green Woodpecker flew in over the heath and over the trees.

Stone Curlew – one of the adults

Having had a good look at the Stone Curlews, we went back outside. There was no sign of any Spotted Flycatchers by the hide – apparently their first nesting attempt has failed. We walked slowly down to the far end to see if there was anything in the trees, but it was rather quiet this morning.

We had a quick look from the hide at the end and there was lots of activity around the feeders in front – a selection of tits and finches coming in to the seed. A Marsh Tit appeared on one of the feeders briefly, and another came down to drink at the small pool in front. A smart male Yellowhammer was down in the grass below the feeders.

Yellowhammer – under the feeders

We walked back past the Visitor Centre and on to East Hide – but there was no sign of any Spotted Flycatchers down this end either, just a Jay high in the trees. There was nothing from the hide either, so we walked back. After a quick look at some of the scarcer speciality plants around the car park with the warden, James (including the rare naturalised tunic flower), we decided to move on.

Our next destination was Lakenheath Fen. As we walked out along the main track, there were still a few butterflies around the brambles – Small Tortoiseshells and a Comma. There were dragonflies too, several Ruddy Darters, Brown Hawkers, Common Blue and Azure Damselflies. A Southern Hawker was hanging on one of the poplars.

Southern Hawker – hanging on a poplar

We sat for a while on the benches at New Fen Viewpoint, looking out over the reeds. A juvenile Marsh Harrier circled up in the distance, before landing in a bush in the reeds. We got it in the scope and admired its burnt orange head. A little later it took off again and drifted much closer, eventually circling over the pool right in front of us, a great view. A female Marsh Harrier was perched on a bush further back, we could see its much paler head and pale markings on its wings.

Marsh Harrier – a juvenile

A Bittern appeared from the back of the reedbed, over in front of West Wood, and we watched it as it flew across towards the river. It passed right in front of a second Bittern going the other way! The first flew over the riverbank and disappeared, so we turned our attentions to the second and watched it fly out over the reeds and drop down at the back. A short while later, it flew up again – it turned and looked for a second like it might fly towards us but then dropped down again.

We heard a Kingfisher call but it didn’t appear. There were several Four-spotted Chasers and an Emperor Dragonfly hawking low over the water. There was no more sign of the Bitterns, so we decided to move on.

We walked down the path on the bank beside the reedbed. A family of Common Whitethroats was feeding in the hemlock, and flicked off ahead of us before flying across the path. We heard a Bearded Tit call and had a brief view as it skimmed over the top of the reeds. There were more dragonflies and butterflies along here, and we stopped to admire a mating pair of Ruddy Darters.

Ruddy Darter – a mating pair

We had just got in to Mere Hide when we heard a Kingfisher call and looked out through the window at the far end to see two flying across low over water. One landed briefly but out of view from where we were and unfortunately didn’t linger and flew off calling again.

There were lots of damselflies on the islands of weed out on the water in front of the hide. Looking through them, we found both (Large) Red-eyed Damselflies and a Small Red-eyed Damselfly, the first time we have seen the latter here. A nice bonus. There was not much else going on in here, and it was nearly lunch time so we decided to press on. On our way back to the main path, a Black-tailed Skimmer was basking on the gravel in front of us and a female Common Blue butterfly was nectaring on the thistles.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly – on the blanket week

When we got to Joist Fen viewpoint, we stopped for lunch on the benches. It was rather quiet here today, the Bitterns probably having fledged already, and there was no sign of either pair of Cranes. The Cormorant was on its usual dead tree, drying its wings, and several Marsh Harriers circled over the reedbed in the distance. We did see a nice juvenile Bearded Tit feeding low down in the reeds in front of the viewpoint.

One of the wardens was cutting the grass paths with an ATV and having done the public paths drove out along the track across Joist Fen beyond the barrier. Everything flushed from the pools – and we looked over to see eight Great White Egrets in flight together, along with at least three Grey Herons and a selection of ducks. A Green Sandpiper appeared over the reeds closer to us briefly, but unfortunately dropped down again almost immediately.

After lunch, we walked back along the riverbank, and not surprisingly activity was subdued in the heat of the afternoon. A Grey Heron was standing motionless on the far bank and a few Banded Demoiselles fluttered over the river. We stopped for a quick scan of Hockwold Washes. There were lots of Lapwings, a large group of Black-tailed Godwits and two moulting male Ruff right at the back of the remaining water. Several Teal, a pair of Shoveler and a few Gadwall were swimming around in the middle.

When everything erupted from the water, we looked up to see a Peregrine flying over. It came over to our side of the river and circled slowly over towards East Wood. It looked rather tatty, a moulting young brid.

Peregrine – over Hockwold Washes

A Cetti’s Warbler shouted from the sallows as we made our way back to the Visitor Centre for a well-deserved ice cream and/or cold drink. The warden kindly showed us some nice trail cam video of one of the pairs of Cranes with their two young, from a couple of weeks ago, just before they fledged.

We hadn’t seen any Cranes ourselves so we decided to have a drive deeper into the Fens to see if we could find any. We didn’t have to go too far today. Scanning an overgrown meadow, we could see two heads sticking out of the long grass. We managed to get out and get them in the scope, a pair of Cranes.

Common Crane – one of the pair

A little further on, we noticed a Hobby hawking low over a set aside field beside the road. We watched as it caught and ate several dragonflies or butterflies.

Hobby – and discarded butterfly wing!

It was great to pick up both Crane and Hobby, as we hadn’t seen either at Lakenheath Fen today – a nice way to round things off. With long journeys ahead for some of the group, it was time to wrap things up now and head back. It had been a really exciting three days, with some really good birds and a nice selection of other summer wildlife.

13th July 2022 – Summer 3-day Tour, Day 2

After a cloudy start, it gradually brightened up through the morning and was then bright and mostly sunny, with the temperature topping out at 24C this afternoon. Our focus this morning was to be on catching up with some of our rarer summer visitors, and then maybe we would have some time to look for some of our other summer wildlife.

It was only a short drive over to Swanton Novers this morning. If was forecast to be sunny this morning but after a bright start it had clouded over, not ideal weather for raptors. We were possibly a bit early too so while we waited for the forecast to come good, we looked at some of the other birds in the Raptor Watchpoint car park. There were several Yellowhammers, with some smart males perched in the hedge and singing.

Yellowhammer – singing in the car park

A Reed Bunting perched up briefly to sing in the blackthorn scrub at one point too. There were lots of Linnets, including a couple of red-breasted males, in and out of the hedges. One or two Common Whitethroats flicked in and out of the bushes and a Blackcap was calling from the corner behind us.

The cloud gradually started to break up from the north, and it began to warm up. The first Common Buzzard circled up in the distance over the wood, always a good start when looking for raptors. A Kestrel appeared over the trees too, flying towards us and then hovering over the field in front of the watchpoint.

We didn’t have to wait too long before a Honey Buzzard appeared out of the wood and we watched as it circled up over the field in front. It drifted away, over to the forestry plantation along one side, and flew up and down over the trees a couple of times. We had a great view of it here in the scope as it circled, a male. This was what we were hoping to see here this morning.

Honey Buzzard – a male

Even better, the male Honey Buzzard now started displaying – flying up in a gentle climb, stalling at the top and lifting its wings high above its back before quivering them very rapidly. Having lost height, it would then repeat the process, flying up and wing quivering again at the top, several times in succession. Great to watch.

Someone else who was watching shouted – and drew our attention to another Honey Buzzard coming in right behind us, directly over the watchpoint. A female this time, it started displaying too, wing quivering right above us. Wow!

Honey Buzzard – the female wing-quivering

The two Honey Buzzards then circled together, drifting back over the watchpoint before gaining height, and then dropping back down towards the wood. When they disappeared into the trees, we decided it was a good moment for us to move on. Mission accomplished – and not too long to wait this morning.

Our next destination was over in NE Norfolk. We arrived in the RSPB car park at Trimingham to be told that the Bee-eaters had just returned from a feeding trip. They hadn’t, but we didn’t have to wait long before one of the locals picked up four of them coming back in over the trees to the south. Two flew in and landed on the wires, where we had a great view of them in the scopes.

Bee-eaters – two on the wires

The Bee-eaters flew down into the quarry to the nest hole and one went in. Presumably it was change over time, and it was a different bird which flew out shortly after. They flew back up to the wires. More Bee-eaters appeared, and we had up to five together now. We watched them for a time, making occasional sallies to catch bees and other flying insects, taking them back to the wires to bash them into submission before eating them. Periodically, birds would fly round calling.

This is only the eighth time that Bee-eaters have attempted to nest in the UK, although with a warming climate it is a species we might expect to reach here more often. Formerly mainly a Mediterranean species, they have already expanded their range north through Europe. There have been up to eight birds seen here in the last few weeks and there are two pairs nesting – hopefully they will be successful.

There were other birds here too – a family of Kestrels, mostly perched on the wires too. A Red Kite drifted over and several Sand Martins flew in and out of the quarry, but the Bee-eaters were the main reason we had come here today.

After a while, the Bee-eaters took off again and flew round calling. Two flew back down into the quarry and we had great views of them circling below us, their bright colours dazzling in the bright sunshine. We watched as one went into one of the nest holes. When one came out again, that was the cue for the whole group to fly off again to feed.

That was the cue for us to move on too. We drove back up to Cley next, cutting across inland to avoid the traffic, arriving in perfect time for lunch. Looking out over the reserve while we sat at the picnic tables, there were several Marsh Harriers up, adult males and female hunting beyond and a juvenile hanging around the reedbed. At one point, the juvenile Marsh Harrier drifted over the scrape and flushed everything – as they gradually flew back in, we could see Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwits and a little group of Teal. A Spoonbill flew over and disappeared off west.

Checking at the Visitor Centre, there was not much reported on the reserve today, so we decided to try something else and headed back inland up to the heath. As we walked up from the car park, there were lots of Essex Skippers on the brambles, along with Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers. There were lots of Red Solider Beetles on the hogweed and a conopid fly, a Bee-grabber (Sicus ferrugineus) lurking on the ragwort, waiting to grab a bee to parasitise.

Gatekeeper – on the heath

There has been a pair of Stonechats with several juveniles nearby, so we walked on further to check up on them. We quickly found them, the adult male plus three streaky juveniles – presumably the female is now incubating a second brood clutch.

The Stonechats are occasionally followed around by warblers, presumably as they are good lookouts for approaching danger. At first we found a Common Whitethroat feeding in the gorse near two of the juveniles. Then we noticed a juvenile Dartford Warbler low down in the heather nearby. Positioning ourselves, we had a good view of it on the edge of the vegetation as it picked round looking for food. We managed to follow it for a while, before it disappeared deeper in.

Dartford Warbler – a juvenile

Eventually the Stonechats flew further back out of view. We walked round on the path to where they had gone. A smart male Linnet perched up on the gorse as we passed. We found the Stonechats again, further over, and the Whitethroat was still with them but despite watching for a few minutes there was no further sign of the Dartford Warbler. The Dartford Warbler was our main target here and we had found it much quicker than we had anticipated, particularly given that it was hot and typically a lull in the middle of afternoon. So we decided to try something else.

As we walked back down towards the car park, a small wasp on the path caught our attention. It was struggling to carry something, which we eventually managed to see was a shieldbug nymph. The wasp, sometimes known as the Shieldbug Stalker, more formerly as Astata boops, catches the shieldbug nymphs to put in its nest burrows for its young. This one was having a great deal of difficulty carrying off the one it had caught!

Shieldbug Stalker Astata boops – with shieldbug nymph

We drove over to Stonepit Heath next. As we walked in through the gate, there were lots of butterflies on the buddleia in the old car park, lots of Peacocks at first, and then several very smart Silver-washed Fritillaries which flew in and out to feed. A Small Skipper landed briefly.

Silver-washed Fritillary – on the buddleia

We made our way down through the kissing gate to check the brambles. We found a White Admiral here, which showed very well, although it was a bit worn. There were more Silver-washed Fritillaries here too and a couple of Purple Hairstreaks around the top of the small oaks, but they were showing no signs of coming down to feed.

White Admiral – on the brambles

We walked on through the trees to another patch of brambles where there were more butterflies feeding. A very large and striking red and yellow hoverfly was doing a very good impression of a hornet – a Hornet Hoverfly, Volucella zonaria.

Hornet Hoverfly – Volucella zonaria

There was no sign of any White-letter Hairstreaks on the brambles but someone else who had joined us to look found two up in the top of a very small elm nearby. We could see one silhouetted through a leaf, and another flew round over the top. A Nuthatch was calling in the trees.

With an excellent selection of butterflies, and other insects, seen in just a brief visit, we made our way back out to the minibus. As we got out onto the road, we could hear a flock of Long-tailed Tits calling and looked over to see several crossing the road just beyond the minibus. We stood and looked and found a Marsh Tit with them. We heard it call first, then it came back out onto the front edge of the hedge, and we watched it picking caterpillars from the leaves of a small briar. A couple of Chiffchaffs flicked across with the tits too.

We needed to finish in good time today and it was too hot to walk far now, so we drove back down to Cley for a quick look at the sea. It looked pretty quiet at first, apart from lots of people swimming, but as we stood and scanned a succession of Sandwich Terns flew past, a trickle of Gannets passed by further out and an adult Kittiwake flew east close in. A large Grey Seal surfaced just offshore, looked at the people on the beach for a minute or so, then swam off west.

Then it was time to head back, to have a chance to catch up and get something to eat.

Nightjar Evening

We met again in the evening, after a rest and something to eat. It was still a bit early for Nightjars, so we headed down towards the coast first.

On our way, we stopped to look for our regular Little Owl. It was in its usual place on the end of the barn roof tonight. Once again, using the minibus as a hide we repositioned a couple of times to let everyone get a good look at it. Most of this complex of barns has already been stripped for redevelopment – it will probably not be around much longer.

Little Owl – in its usual place, still for now

We had a quick drive round to see if we could find any Barn Owls next, stopping again where we had seen one hunting the other night, but there was no sign of any tonight. A Spoonbill flew over the grazing marshes and lots of Swifts and Swallows were hawking around in the evening sky. When the hirundines all started alarm calling, we looked over to see a Hobby zoom into them. It didn’t catch anything and disappeared off west as quickly as it had appeared. We didn’t have much time to wait though – as we needed to get up onto the heath in good time.

Out on the heath, we didn’t have to wait too long before we heard the first Nightjar churring from the trees behind us. It was quickly followed by a second which churred from out in middle. When the second Nightjar called, we looked over to see flying across over the heather, and had a great view of it as it broke the skyline, a male flashing white in wings and tail.

It flew towards where the first Nightjar had been churring and disappeared into the trees. Then we heard more calling, and could see the two of them chasing through the trees. The first then landed on a branch, just long enough to get the scope on it, before it was off again.

As the light started to fade, the churring activity increased – we could hear at least three different male Nightjars now, from where we were standing. From time to time, one would fly round, hard to see low down against the heather and gorse, but great views when it broke the skyline. At one point, one came hawking for insects right over our heads!

When a male Nightjar flew across in front of us, it landed in the top of a young pine tree not far out. We got it in the scope now and had a great view, balanced on the pine, churring.

Nightjar – landed in a young pine

We stood and listened for a while, taking it all in. What a great way to spend a summer’s evening, out on the heath listening to Nightjars churring all around. Heaven! It was getting harder to see the birds flying round now so we decided to call it a night. We had another busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

12th July 2022 – Summer 3-day Tour, Day 1

It was an odd day weather wise – cloudy, with a moderate breeze in the morning, but very hot and muggy, topping out at 27C on the coast, and spits of light rain briefly a couple of times. Thankfully, it didn’t stop us from getting out and having a good day’s birding. We spent the day in NW Norfolk.

On our way up to the coast this morning, we dropped down via Choseley. A rather chunky bird on the wires by the road was a Corn Bunting. We stopped and had a look – we could see it was singing, but we couldn’t hear it from where we were. Then it dropped down into the field. A nice bird to start with.

Our destination for the morning was Titchwell. As we got out of the minibus in the car park, a family of Kestrels circled overhead calling. A Blackcap was singing in the trees.

As we made our way in, we stopped to look at the feeders by the Visitor Centre. It was a hive of activity today – Blue Tits and Great Tits coming and going, several yellowy juveniles, Chaffinches and Greenfinches, a Dunnock, Robin and Blackbird. A family of Jays moved through the alders just beyond, and one came out and landed on top of one of the birdtables.

Jay – on the birdtable

The Jays disappeared through the trees and as we walked down the main path out onto the reserve they flicked back and forth across ahead of us. There were rhythmic Reed Warblers singing here now, and two Sedge Warblers clambering up and down in the reeds. We stopped to look through all the butterflies on the thistles – Green-veined and Small White, Comma and Peacock.

A large flock of hirundines came in over the reeds towards us, and continued on west towards Thornham – mostly Swallows, but we picked up a couple of Sand Martins in with them. There have been lots of hirundines on the move the last few days. Autumn migration, they are leaving us already!

We could hear Bearded Tits calling now and looked down to see several tawny-coloured juveniles climbing up the reeds just in front of us. Great views. They called again and we followed them as they flew further along. A male Bearded Tit appeared too briefly, with its powder blue head and black moustache.

Bearded Tit – one of the juveniles

Further up, we stopped to scan the channel by the new bund through the reedbed. There were lots of ducks loafing about on the bank, Mallard, Gadwall and Shoveler, the drakes all now in dull eclipse plumage and not looking their smartest. A Muntjac walking down the bund spooked them and they all dived for the water. A couple of Little Grebes were in the channel too.

A Red Kite was hanging in the air over Willow Wood at the back of the reedbed and a male Marsh Harrier circled up out of the reeds. Then a dark chocolate juvenile Marsh Harrier came up closer and landed in a bush where we could get it in the scope and admire its burnt orange head. A Greenshank flew in from the saltmarsh behind us but disappeared out over the reserve without stopping.

A Bittern came up behind us, from the reeds out towards Thornham. It crossed over the bank and flew out over the reedbed, before dropping down in the middle. It was in the air for a long time giving us a really good chance to get a look at it.

Bittern – flew in over the bank

Three Spoonbills circled round over the saltmarsh and dropped down out of view in one of the channels. A little while later, a shout from one of the volunteers alerted us that they were in the air again and we watched as they flew in over the path ahead of us and out over the reserve, an adult and two juveniles. Another Spoonbill was still out on the saltmarsh, but again disappeared into one of the channels where we couldn’t see it.

Spoonbills – flew in over the path

We stopped to look at the reedbed pool. Three Common Terns were flying round over the water, two adults and a juvenile. The two adults flew over the bank and disappeared out over the saltmarsh, presumably to get some food for the hungry youngsters. A Coot and a Teal on the water were both additions to the trip list.

The Bittern came up again, out in the middle of the reedbed. It flew back further and dropped down again. Just a minute or so later, it was back up again and the this time gained height, flew round in a wide circle over the reeds, then turned towards us. It flew in and went right over our heads – we nearly fell over trying to watch it! We followed it as it disappeared out towards Thornham, and dropped down into the reeds in the distance. Wow!

Bittern – flew right over our heads

Just before Island Hide, we stopped to look at a rather tatty male Ruff, it’s neck looking rather scrawny as it has already lost its ornate ruff. It is ‘autumn’ already for these males, which play no part in raising the young once the lekking season is over, so fly here and start to moult. Another Ruff flew in and landed near the first, noticeably differently coloured – no two Ruffs are the same! The second Ruff was chased off by the first, and an Avocet then chased off the first.

We went into Island Hide, where we had a great view of the Avocets, including several well-grown juveniles with brown-tinged backs. There was a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits feeding in front of the hide too, mostly still in breeding plumage, back from Iceland already. They were chased by one or two of the Avocets too! We had a better view of a Ruff here too, on the edge island, yet another different variation.

Black-tailed Godwit – still in breeding plumage

There was a lone Spoonbill on the Freshmarsh now, doing what Spoonbills like to do best, asleep on the bund at the back of the water. It did wake up briefly. Two Great White Egrets flew in over the east bank with a Little Egret, circled round and dropped down into the reeds.

There were a couple of Common Terns on one of the islands, so we got the scope on them for a better look. Lots of small gulls were loafing on the bank behind, and we had a nice comparison of adult Mediterranean Gulls with their black heads and Black-headed Gulls with their brown heads! A Sandwich Tern was in with them too, showing off its spiky crest and yellow-tipped black bill.

We had an even better view of the gulls and terns, side-on rather than head-on, from back out on the main path. We could see several Sandwich Terns now and one was looking as it it might be unwell – not unlikely as avian flu is currently decimating the nearby breeding colony on Scolt Head. Very sad.

Mediterranean Gulls – with Black-headed Gulls & Sandwich Tern

Continuing on round to Parrinder Hide, we found three juvenile Little Ringed Plovers on the bund in front of the hide and an adult further back. A single Ringed Plover was feeding on the end of one of the islands further back too. Five Spotted Redshanks were roosting over towards the East Bank. A Dunlin and one of the juvenile Little Ringed Plovers then appeared on the mud right down at the front.

A Little Gull landed on one of the islands, but was chased off by a Black-headed Gull, and took off again. It flew round, but disappeared behind one of the bigger islands and didn’t come out again. A Grey Heron was lurking right over in the far corner on the edge of the reeds.

There were several Pied Wagtails feeding on the short grass on the islands and two Yellow Wagtails appeared with them briefly, around the pile of bricks, an adult and a juvenile. There were a couple of Meadow Pipits too.

From here, we made our way out to the beach next. There were just a few Common Redshanks on Volunteer Marsh and next to nothing on the Tidal Pools today. We figured everything would be feeding out on the beach, as the tide was out, but when we got there we found a couple down on the shore walking through the mussel beds with their dog, throwing the ball for it to fetch. Needless to say there were a lot fewer birds than there had apparently been earlier!

We could still see some waders on the far end of the mussel beds but the couple were walking that way and the birds not surprisingly flushed. Some seemed to fly off east but thankfully a good number flew and landed back closer to us, so we walked down the beach for a closer look. We had some good views of Bar-tailed Godwit now, all in sandy non-breeding plumage. We compared it to the Black-tailed Godwits on the mussel beds too. Most of the Knot had flown off, but we found one still with the godwits, in grey non-breeding plumage.

A couple of Spoonbills appeared on one of the pools in the mussel beds, an adult and a juvenile. The latter was walking behind the adult bobbing its head up and down and flapping its wings, demanding to be fed – the little beggar! We lost sight of them and didn’t see what happened, but presumably the adult eventually gave in and fed it as we saw the juvenile take off and fly in up the beach and over the dunes. The adult Spoonbill resumed feeding in the pool.

There was a seal hauled out on the beach in the distance, up towards Thornham Point, and more waders up that way too. Most of the Knot which had earlier been on the mussel beds had gone up there, and we could see a big flock feeding on the wet sand. Looking through the scope, we could see several orange ones, still in breeding plumage. There were more Bar-tailed Godwits too – we could see two of those still in summer plumage too. Looking out to sea, we couldn’t see much today – a Gannet flew past out towards the wind turbines and a trickle of Sandwich Terns headed in towards Scolt.

Stomachs were starting to rumble, so we turned to head back. On the way, we stopped to look at a female Pochard with at least four or five well grown ducklings on one of the pools by the path. A Cetti’s Warbler flew up out of the vegetation on the bank and back past us, disappearing down into the reeds. A little further along, a second Cetti’s Warbler flew up from the reeds and disappeared into a sallow, where we could hear it calling.

A Comma was basking on the nettles near the visitor centre. It was time for lunch so we made good use of the tables in the picnic area. A couple of Speckled Woods were additions to the butterfly list.

Comma – basking on the nettles

After lunch, we drove round to Snettisham. There were several Egyptian Geese on the pits on our way out. When we got up onto the seawall and looked across over the Wash the tide was still out – though it was starting to come in. There was lots of bare mud, but it was quite dry and just a scattering of Oystercatcher mostly asleep. As we walked down towards the hides, several large flocks of Dunlin flew in past us and dropped down towards the pits, along with a few Knot too.

We stopped in Rotary Hide and set up the scopes to scan through the hordes of Dunlin roosting on the islands. There had been a White-rumped Sandpiper with them here the last two afternoons, but we couldn’t see it at first. We did find a Turnstone and a Sanderling in with the Dunlin, and some nice red Red Knot (to give them their full name!), still in bright breeding plumage. More flocks of Dunlin were arriving in from the Wash all the time.

Another couple of people came in to the hide. They had apparently been here yesterday and not seen the White-rumped Sandpiper, but said it favoured the spit opposite where most of the Dunlin were roosting. There were a few Dunlin on there now and we hadn’t checked through them yet. We looked across – and there it was!

The White-rumped Sandpiper was asleep, but it was noticeably different, lacking the black belly patch which most of the Dunlin were still sporting. It was hard to pick out at first, not helped by a bit of heat haze, but after a while it was disturbed by an Egyptian Goose walking across the island and at that point became a bit easier to see. Eventually everyone got a good look through the scope.

White-rumped Sandpiper – in the middle of the Dunlin

Mission accomplished, we could relax a bit now and see what else we could find. We walked on down to Shore Hide and as we went in a Common Sandpiper flew across in front calling, and landed briefly on the shingle on the near edge of the water out to one side.

There were seven Spotted Redshanks roosting in among the Cormorants out on the rocks in the middle, one still almost in full breeding plumage, black with just a few small white patches. Another Spotted Redshank on one of the islands further up the pit made eight in total, which is what had been reported here earlier.

Spotted Redshank – still largely in breeding plumage

Lots of Black-tailed Godwits were roosting on the shingle bank at the back and there were two feral Barnacle Geese on the pit too. Several pairs of Mediterranean Gulls nest here, and scanning the islands we found several smart scaly juveniles of various sizes and ages.

We made our way down to South Hide next. A pair of Stonechats were perched on the small suaeda bushes, dropping down to the short turf to look for food. A Skylark flew up from the ground and landed on a teasel head in front of us, so we got the scope on that too.

Skylark – on teasel

Form the hide, we could see lots of Dunlin roosting on the islands right in front, giving us some really nice views. There were several small groups of Knot in among them and a few Black-tailed Godwits, giving us a good size comparison. A single Turnstone appeared with them too. A juvenile Redshank was feeding on the edge of the water just below us.

There were lots of Common Terns on the islands further back and repeatedly got spooked and erupted calling. They kept taking most of the waders up with them. We scanned to see if we could find any raptors which might have provoked them, but it seemed to be a false alarm.

Dunlin – and Knot

It started spitting with rain, so we waited for it to stop, which it did fairly quickly. It was time to start making out way back. Out on the edge of the Wash, there were a couple of Linnets with the Stonechats now, including a nice red-breasted male. We flushed several Meadow Pipits from the grass ahead of us. We had a quick look in Rotary Hide as we passed – there were a couple of people in there looking, but there was no sign of the White-rumped Sandpiper now. We had been lucky!

A little further up, we heard a Turtle Dove purring in the distance. We walked up the entrance track a short way and scanned the trees, and picked it up perched on the edge of a large willow on the other side of the pit. Through the scope, we had a good view of its rusty scaled back. It took off and launched into a display flight, flying up, then gliding round in a wide arc over the pit, before flying off inland. As we made our way back, another Turtle Dove flew off over the pit and disappeared off back towards the car park.

A nice way to wrap up a very successful first day. More tomorrow!

8th July 2022 – Nightjar Evening

A standalone group Nightjar Evening tonight. It was a bright evening with some hazy high cloud, and pleasantly warm although there was a fresher breeze on the coast.

We met in the evening, and as we had a little time before we had to be up on the heath, we had a quick look for owls first. As we drove up towards the coast, we stopped to admire a Little Owl on the roof of some barns. It was perched right on the ridge today, but once again we got some great views of it using the minibus as a mobile hide.

Little Owl – perched on the ridge

After a while, the Little Owl flew round the end of the barn. We weren’t sure where it had gone but we drove past and looked back. It was perched now in an old round window in the gable end. A very photogenic location!

Little Owl – in the round window

As we have said before, these barns are in the process of being developed for housing (presumably more weekend homes and holiday lets!), so the Little Owls are shortly going to be evicted. Very sad.

We drove round via some fields where Barn Owls sometimes like to hunt, but there were none in view so we parked and got out to scan the grazing marshes. Our luck was in here, as a Barn Owl was out patrolling back and forth over the grass. It was distant at first but turned and came steadily towards us. Suddenly it banked sharply and dropped down into the grass. When it came back up, we could see it had caught a vole, and it flew determinedly past us and disappeared, presumably to feed some hungry owlets somewhere.

Barn Owl – dropped sharply

While we stood and scanned, a Spoonbill flew over the back of the marshes. A few minutes later, the Barn Owl was back out again hunting. It did a quick circuit of the marshes and then we watched it disappear off towards Cley. We got back in the minibus and drove through the village to find it hunting out the other side. There had been a Night Heron in North Foreland plantation earlier, and we thought we might be able to see it quickly on our way past, but it had disappeared into the wood by the time we got there. We had other things we needed to do, so we didn’t stop.

Barn Owl – flew past us

We made our way up to the heath and walked out into the middle. The first Nightjar started churring behind us, bang on time tonight. Almost immediately, we heard one call in front of us and turned to see it flying in towards us, low over the heather. It flew straight past us, and disappeared into the trees.

There was clearly a bit of a territorial dispute, as the two Nightjars then emerged from the trees and chased round after each other, both males, flashing the white patches in their wings and tails. We had great views as they came out over the heath past us.

After a minute or so, one of the male Nightjars flew back round behind us, and a female came up from the ground below and joined it. We could see the female lacked the white patches. They flew round over the bushes together briefly, then dropped down into the gorse. The first broods have fledged already, so the females should be getting on with second broods now.

We could hear two males churring now, stereo Nightjars! We stood and listened. Over the course of the next hour or so, we watched and listened. Either males were churring or Nightjars were flying round over the heath in front of or above us.

Nightjar – flying round above us

What a way to spend a summer’s evening! As it started to get too dark to see the Nightjars, we made our way back to the minibus. Time for bed!