Bird Counting

 I am very fortunate in being allowed to walk a large Breckland farm of which much lies within the STANTA army training area in Norfolk.  The farm I walk incorporates rolling arable land, floodplain, river valley, woodland and woodland carr, mature hedgerows, heathland and marshland.  This wonderful land and habitat provides me with excellent all year birding and each February I conduct bird counts for the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.

This year I was able to put in several hours of surveying which produced great birds and some great counts too.

Each February sees winter Thrush numbers building as they pass through on their return to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia.  Fieldfares especially featured during this count period with the best single count being a respectable 395+ birds on grassland.  Redwings did not seem so numerous but whilst on the subject of Thrushes I did record many singing Mistle Thrushes which was very pleasing.

Stonechat. Several pairs found

Several pairs of Stonechats were found, the male birds now beginning to show their stunning breeding plumages.  These remarkable little birds perch on fences and tall weeds from where they watch the ground for a small invertebrate meal.  Watching them closely you can make out a very fast nervous wing-flicking movement.  Female Stonechats lack the black heads of the male, however, they are equally a stunning little bird.

As one would expect in the winter farmland scene, the most numerous species found were Finches and Buntings.  Chaffinches were the most abundant bird with close to 700 birds counted with smaller numbers of Brambling.  My best Yellowhammer count was 55+ birds with many Chaffinches, on land with a scattering of seed spill and beets.  Linnets also featured in areas of game cover with over 300 counted.

Other common species counted included Great Spotted Woodpeckers, several Treecreepers, Nuthatch, and several good sized flocks of Starlings numbering hundreds of birds, their numbers totalling close to 3000 birds.  Beautiful Lapwings also seen with almost 500 birds counted.

This survey is a nationwide count and at the last check of the overall statistics I have recorded the only Woodlark, however, it's more numerous cousin the Skylark saw the best single count of 200+ birds.

Single figure counts included Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Snipe, Grey Wagtail, Little Egret, Chiffchaff,  Barn Owl and Raven.

Today, the 17th February was the last day I am able to count, and what an end with three flocks of Whooper Swans totalling 111+ birds. 

Friday 3 February 2023. A walk in the Little Cressingham area with Graham and Lynn Trimmer.

 At 0800 on Friday 3 February I was joined by my friends Graham and Lynn Trimmer for a walk along a beautiful lane in Little Cressingham on what was to be a very productive visit with a good range and numbers of birds seen.  Our walk would pass through mostly arable habitat with supplementary feeding in the form of game strips, hedgerows, temporary grassland, and floodplain.  This was a very mild morning at 11 degrees Celsius. 

The first part of our walk took us through a corridor of roadside hedgerows, here, we saw several Chaffinches, also Yellowhammers were present and we had nice views of a lovely female bird in a hedge. These species are attracted to the feed strips along the field margin.

Overhead, a small flock of Fieldfare headed N/E, these and other Fieldfares were undoubtedly those located in the valley.  Many fields are now holding winter Thrushes as they make their way back to their Northern Europe breeding grounds.

A little further along the road a Sparrowhawk flew from woodland and headed west. In the same woodland a Goldcrest called.

Fieldfare. A beautiful winter Thrush seen on this visit

We then stopped for a coffee break, it was at this time we had great views of many hundreds of Starlings feeding amongst grazing sheep, this large gathering was often joined by more birds arriving from the west. Many Fieldfare were also present and fed amongst the Starlings.  A small flock of Yellowhammers arrived in a Bramble patch close to us.  A singing Mistle Thrush was heard.  On a fence we saw both a male and female Stonechat, the male bird is clearly beginning to develop breeding plumage of Black head, white collar, and deep red breast.  These birds often to flew to the ground to find food and returning to the fence.  

On our return walk, Graham, Lynn, and myself reflected upon the birds we saw on the floodplain.

Stonechat. A stunning little bird

But we were not finished yet. Once returned back at our cars, we chatted much about the morning, it was here we saw several Buzzards, but the highlight here was the presence of 200+ Skylarks on and over temporary grasslands, a very notable count of this familiar songster. It was a timely reminder for us to talk about my favourite piece of classical music, Vaughan Williams 'The Lark Ascending'.  What an incredible man he was and what an ear for a bird and its song which he transcribed into music. I find this piece so beautiful and very moving.

Just as we were to leave for home, a single Raven left a nearby woodland, a species I am seeing quite frequently on my Breckland patch. 

To finish, I wish to than both Graham and Lynn for joining me on our walk. A wonderful morning.

Peddars Way (Thompson and Stow Bedon) 30 January 2023

 I had a most enjoyable early morning walk along the Peddars Way footpath between Thompson and Stow Bedon early on the morning of 30 January.  It was made even more pleasurable by meeting my friend Matthew Clements.  What a lovely young man Matthew is, we enjoyed a thoroughly good chat as we treaded this ancient pathway.  And what a fantastic early morning it was with clear blue sky and stunning light and visibility. 

It seemed like birds were responding to the beautiful morning with several common species engaged in singing in order to defend their territory for the forthcoming breeding season.  The habitat along the way comprised mature pine and deciduous woodland and Breckland heath, much of which was within the army training area. 

One of the first singing birds was a Marsh Tit.  This beautiful bird is quite noisy for its small size, it has a loud sneezing like "pitchou" call, this morning however I heard the song, a rapidly repeated "chip chip chip chip chip chip chip".

Marsh Tit.  A fairly common bird of broadleaved woodland

As I continued my walk I passed an area of dense reedbed and swamp habitat, within the reeds two Water Rails called, a very distinctive pig-like squeal, possibly unnerving for those who are not aware of the source of this noise.

A few Nuthatches were present in typical broadleaved habitat, one bird was heard singing its delightful, repeated "wee wee wee wee wee wee".  Other woodland residents seen and heard today included 'drumming' Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a couple of calling Treecreepers.

Black Rabbit Warren was one location visited this morning, this beautiful Breckland heath lies within the army training area.  The light was simply stunning.  On this visit a Mistle Thrush was singing in pine woodland

Black Rabbit Warren (and Yes, I did see a Black Rabbit here some years ago!!!!)

Mistle Thrushes, our largest Thrush species, is always an early songster, and indeed an early breeder. This large Thrush is colloquially known as 'Stormcock' as it sings early in the year from high in a tree and in stormy conditions.

Once home from ths productive walk, I was once again rewarded with a very respectable 40+ House Sparrows feeding in my garden, how lovely is that. 

The Great Eastern Pingo trail at Stow Bedon 29 January 2023

 Another familiar themed day of weather with full cloud cover giving poor light.  It was clear and visibility was quite good. The day began with a temperature of 5 degrees Celsius. 

This morning I walked through very typical Breckland habitat of pine forest, swamp, and arable farmland. Some of these habitats visited have a very real primeval look and feel about them, it can appear bleak and lonely, the way I love it.

A few Red Deer were seen in relatively open landscape at dawn, these beautiful beasts would soon retire to cover for the day.  Red Deer is our largest native land mammal and is in fact the worlds third largest Deer, they have a fantastic profile, are powerful, and are easily separated from other Deer species, not only by their size, but also the way they elegantly trot effortlessly when on the move. 

A good gathering of records of common Bird species seen this morning with a mobile flock of 80+ Redwings in treetops giving their "seeep" and "chuk" calls.  It is later in the year, usually October, when I like to stand outside during the hours of darkness on a clear night and hear the "seeep" contact calls of newly arrived Redwings from Scandinavia, passing overhead.

A couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were 'drumming' and both Nuthatch and Treecreepers were seen.  Nuthatches are tree dwellers, but this morning I saw one in a Bramble patch and Bracken searching for food.

I found a quiet spot in swamp-like habitat to watch a single Marsh Tit quietly moving around in tree roots and branches close to water.  This bird was seen to dip its bill in water and bathe and preen without entering the water.   I have been passionate about birds seen the mid 1960's and this preening behaviour is new to me.  It is wonderful to witness something new in birding, I never tire of it.

Lynford Water 17 December 2022

 The week prior to Christmas 2022 was a particularly cold one with some severe frosts seen.  As the temperatures were low and with the early wintry weather being a dominant feature I decided upon a visit to Lynford Water to check for signs of any Duck species associated with cold weather such as sawbills or Goldeneye.

Upon my arrival at Lynford Water the dawn temperature was -6 degrees celsius and with a severe frost. Following sunrise the day was very bright with very good visibility and light.  Lynford Water was largely frozen with just a small area of open water where wildfowl were gathered.  The surrounding woodland was cloaked in frost and looked incredibly beautiful.

 The small area of unfrozen water held most interest with good numbers of Mallard, Gadwall (33+), Tufted Duck (26+),  a few Shoveler, Egyptian Geese (2), Mute Swan, Little Grebe (4), and Great Crested Grebe (2).  In the peripheral woodland at least 33 Cormorant stood motionless in the trees.

At least 4 Water Rails were present with two together seen on the ice and as is typical with this species, calls only were heard, the familiar pig-like squeal.  Water Rails are usually very secretive as they live within the cover of dense reedbeds, however, the species will venture away from cover in very cold weather and can occasionally be seen running between cover on ice.  This particular visit saw two Water Rails together in light reed cover where calling, however, both were seen running for deeper cover

Water Rail at Lynford Water 17 December 2022

Much of this visit to Lynford Water was spent taking photographs of the incredibly beautiful wintry scenes.  

  

New beginnings

 To those of you who have followed my Breckland Birder site, it has been obvious to you I am sure that my blogging has been absent for some time.  I apologise for my idleness.

Today (Friday 27/1/23), I met with my friends Graham and Lynn Trimmer for a coffee and an overdue catch up.  I had a thoroughly great visit with Graham and Lynn, we chatted about many things including current affairs, but also, we talked about my Breckland Birder site and for the need for me to restart my birding experiences.  Graham inspired me engage with you through my blog and it is my intention to use my birding experiences as an educational tool.  I thank Graham and Lynn for giving me the lift I needed. I am pleased to say that I will be joined by Graham and Lynn soon for a local walk to discover and learn about our wonderful birds and other wildlife.

Birding has been a lifelong passion of mine and despite first showing an interest in birds back in the 1960's, my desire to learn has never faltered.  Bird migration never ceases to amaze me and it is this fascinating area of birding I would especially like to share with you, I will let you know where and when to 'look up' to watch migrant birds on the move.

To begin with I will let you know about a recent observation of Fieldfare interested me.  It was early one morning when a single Fieldfare was perched high in a Poplar and calling its "shack shack" contact call, this bird continued to call this behaviour for several minutes when I then saw its head on one side to look up.  Checking the sky above the bird I saw a small flock of Fieldfare approaching very high overhead and calling, the Fieldfare in the tree on cue flew off and climbed high and away with the passing birds. Amazing!!

 

   

European Bee-eaters, Norfolk, 2nd July 2022

 On a sunny and quite windy morning, I was joined by my good friend, Bill Noble, for a birding trip to the North Norfolk Coast to watch European Bee-eaters.  We arrived at about 0730 to the site which was well managed and organised by the RSPB.

As soon as Bill and I got out of the car I could hear calling Bee-eaters, a hark back to visits to Cyprus and Turkey in previous years.  Good strong light, very good visibility, but noticeably windy conditions from our arrival with some cloud bubbling up as the morning went on.

Three Bee-eaters were showing well upon arrival, either perched on a sun drenched bank, or on overhead wires.  Calling was frequently heard.  Despite windy conditions, the Bee-eaters showed great agility on the wing as they swept and swooped for insect prey.

In the summer of 2021 a flock of Bee-eaters were touring the North Norfolk Coast, these were undoubtedly pioneering birds prospecting for future nesting sites.  Away from the coast, one Bee-eater passed over my garden in Watton, Norfolk.  With Bee-eaters moving north, expanding their range, and the effects of global warning, I think the presence of this stunningly beautiful bird will become more and more assured.   

Other species seen or heard on this visit included several Sand Martins, Swallows, a few Swifts, and in the scrub habitat Blackcap and Whitethroat were heard singing.

Three raptor species were seen, these were a hunting Kestrel, Hobby which was seen on a couple of occasions passing overhead, and a Sparrowhawk which passed through carrying prey in its talons. 

Overhead wires were often chosen by the Bee-eaters to watch and hunt from, at their perch their splendid exotic plumage was breathtaking in the strong sunlight.

In this picture, a Bee-eater is sharing overhead wires with a Linnet and offers a good size comparison between the species.

This was a very special mornings birding and I thank my dear friend Bill Noble for joining me.