On 27 September 2024 I found a Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe on the hardstand at the south-west end of Old Runway Lane on the former Deopham Green airfield. This bird was still present on the morning of 29 September.
27
September
The previous night saw heavy
rain, this was followed at dawn with full cloud and frequent heavy
showers and a fresh to strong NNW wind veering later N. Light was
poor and visibility was fair.
I had a lengthy work break
that morning so I visited the vast open landscape of the former
Deopham Green airfield with the hardstand along with its muck heaps
at the SW end of Old Runway Lane being my destination. There are
currently two tall heaps on the hardstand, one typically a muck heap,
the other, a white mound of a chalky like material. This location
has over the years produced a good range of migrant birds with
passage waders being most memorable. Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail
have also been recorded here. Having arrived at the
hardstand I noticed Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails. Checking the
muck heap I saw the very obvious form of a Wheatear on top of the
heap. I only had binoculars and scope with me. I had thoughts of
this bird probably arriving here during the previous rough night. It was clear through my binoculars that this Wheatear was a 1st
winter bird, given the buff fringes to the wing feathers.
28
September
A totally different day with
bright and sunny conditions giving excellent light quality and
visibility. On this visit I remembered to take my camera and
obtained some lovely shots of the Wheatear and was able to see
clearly identification features relevant to a 1st
winter bird. Also of interest was a small
flock of 14+ Golden Plover over.
29 September
A dry day, however, the variable light due to passing clouds affected the quality of light compared to the previous day.
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear at Stalland Common 28 September 2024 |
Identification
Ageing of the Wheatear was quite straight forward, the above picture shows plumage features identifying this as a 1st winter bird.
Of the three days the bird was seen the 28 September provided the best light quality and as such the Wheatear appeared quite a pale sandy-brown bird, although on other dates the bird did appear darker due to the effects of the light.
The picture above shows a bird with an upright, confident looking carriage, although at times a horizontal carriage was seen.
The crown, nape, and mantle is grey-brown and the supercillium is white, however, there is a small buff area forward of the eye, a feature of the 1st winter bird. The ear coverts are buff and the loral area is blackish. The bill is black. In some lights the neck sides and breast are a rich buff and can look clearly demarcated from the paler buff/white underparts. The dark brown wing feathers are distinctly fringed buff (another feature of a young bird). The very distinctive black and white tail pattern was seen when the bird was in flight, this appears an black inverted T with a snow white tail base, rump, and undertail coverts. The legs are black.
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear at Stalland Common 28 September 2024 (Note the buff fringes to the wing feathers and tertials - a feature of the young Wheatear) |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear on Stalland Common (An elegant bird) |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear (Searching for food) |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear (An upright carriage giving a proud appearance) |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear on Stalland Common |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear (Seen here with an insect larva for food) |
Feeding
This passage Northern Wheatear, along with millions of other migrants in the country, are focussed on feeding to provide the resources needed to migrate south into Africa. Feeding was the most observed activity. The picture above shows the Wheatear with an insect larva, the bird was also seen to take and eat a small winged insect. Wheatears will make flycatching sallies for passing winged insects, this behaviour was seen on one occasion but was a failed attempt.
The Northern Wheatear breeds in the upland areas of Britain and is known on my patch as both a spring and autumn passage migrant. This is a very rare breeding bird in Norfolk with most historic records coming from the Breckland heaths of Norfolk and Suffolk. Sadly, the species probably no longer breeds here in Norfolk.
Thank you yet again Paul for another fantastic, informative post. You have a gift for writing in a most engaging style, making your informative nuggets much more interesting than can be gleaned from any bird guide. I learn so much from you about birding, bird identification and behaviour as well as flora and fauna.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Dave, thank you so very much for your kind comments. I always think of your emails regarding the restarting of my blog and I must say these inspired me to carry on. I thank you Dave.
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