New Camera

Bought a second hand Canon camera and lens (400mm f5.6) second-hand. Took a few snaps in the garden in rather dim conditions to test it. This was the best one, a young Blue Tit on the feeders.

Spotted Flycatcher

New for Foxton! A Spotted Flycatcher found on wires along Fowlmere road just outside of Foxton.

Titchwell to Stockers Lake (Night Heron)

To walk off and awful hangover before driving home, I went with Tom and Sam to a very wet Tichwell. A Marsh Harrier was seen on the way, but Titchwell was very quiet until an adult Spoonbill flew in (ringed FJ18). Other birds seen included a good number of Black-tailed Godwits and a juvenile Bearded Tit, though the best was probably two first summer Little Gulls.

Feeling better we had some lunch before beginning the journey home mid-afternoon. I then heard about a juvenile Night Heron that had been found at Stockers Lake early in the morning but the news had been withheld. Dropping the boys off at home I dashed down to Stockers where I managed reasonable views. A Red Kite was seen on the way, near Therfield Heath.

Stiffkey and Holkham

Camping at Stiffkey for two nights with the Foxton lot (arrived in the rain last night.) Went for a walk on my own mid morning to Stiffkey Fen. Usual stuff: Lesser Whitethroats, Little Egrets etc. But also managed a Little Tern and saw about thirty distant Grey Seals on Blakeney Point.

Went with Tom latter to Holkham for Creeping Lady's Tresses. Failed again! We had good views of a Tawny Owl which flew in mobbed by Jays and then Goldcrests and a Willow Warbler. Also found this Garden Tiger caterpillar before we retired to the Victoria.

 

Fowlmere Photography

Went to Fowlmere late afternoon with a non-birding friend Shaun Lipscombe so that we could compare his prime lens with my zoom. The results were obvious.

Only bird of note was a Hobby.

The Linnet was fairly distant, the Moorhen much closer.

Foxton

No birding but decided to start a Foxton list! It’s embarrassingly small despite help from Marcus Kohler and BirdGuides. Inspired by my idea I took a walk with Michelle to Foxton Woods. Several pairs of Yellowhammers were noted as well as a singing Corn Bunting and Willow Warbler. A couple of Grey Partridges were also flushed.

Marsh Harrier

A male Marsh Harrier was the only bird of note in a brief visit to Fowlmere. As I said in an e-mail…
“I think the bird was 3cy. It was very much like plate 184 in Forsman. I know this is 2cy, but it is taken in Sep. It was in heavy moult and suspect it will appear more adult like as the summer goes on. Of course, it's not necessarily one of the birds that have been hanging around recently. I guess there could be quite a few wanderers (failed breeders) at this time of year.”

White-throated Robin

In London for a conference. A Red-flanked Bluetail at Hartlepool Headland (yuk!) turns out to be a White-throated Robin! A few hours later I was on the train home before the drive up north. Pulling into Hartlepool just after 6pm, I heard the news that there had been no sign for several hours since it disappeared into the high-walled “Doctor’s Garden”. So I casually got my stuff together and walked to the garden expecting to wait around for an hour or so before driving home. When I got there it was mayhem as the bird had just been re-found with the help of local traders renting their ladders and vans to stand on!

 

Edit (07/06/2011):  I guess this was what it was like before the mayhem! Oh no I’ve just found a terrible picture of me!

Noisy

Blue Tits, Great Tits (from the Apple tree?), Chaffinches, and Robins all feeding young in the garden Cherry tree.

Frustrating Fowlmere

With Tom, I went to Fowlmere for an hour in the evening, principally so he could try out his new binoculars. I managed to miss (and Tom see) both a Water Shrew (lifer!) and Grey Wagtail (a good bird for Fowlmere, particularly at the time of year) which I only heard. A single Lapwing was without chicks as far as I could see.

The first Southern Marsh Orchids were out and a Barn Owl was seen.

At home, the Great Tits hopefully seem to have fledged whilst I’ve been away as there is no sign.