Stow Bedon 16 January 2025

At first light I drove to a friends farm at Stow Bedon, my plan was to leave the car at the farm, walk through some wonderful Breckland habitats at Breckles Heath and Cranberry Rough and walk back to the farm for a coffee and chat.  

The long off-road drive to the farm has seen significant changes to the landscape and habitat adjacent to the track, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust has purchased a large parcel of land which is being restored to heathland habitat.  Restoring this land to heathland is being helped along by grazing British White cattle, a beautiful looking animal which is in fact a rare breed.  The presence of these grazing cattle will benefit ground nesting wading birds by clearing and controlling invasive species such as Birch and scrub habitats.

Heathland is a very rare habitat sadly.  In recent times this extremely valuable habitat has been ploughed or developed upon, it therefore very encouraging to see this new heathland habitat being created.  Heathland is rarer than rain forests and here in Britain we hold 20 per cent of the worlds heaths, it is therefore vital that we protect what we have and indeed increase this with further heath restoration.

British White at Stow Bedon 16 January 2025.  Doing its important bit for heathland.

 My visit saw a mix of important Breckland habitats from heathland, farmland, wet meadows, swamp and woodland Carr, compartments of Pine woodland, deciduous woodland, and a beautiful farmhouse garden.

The drive along the long track to the farm saw many Fieldfare in the hedgerow and weedy margins and two Buzzards low over farmland.

I arrived at the farm with lots of species coming and going, these included 30+ Collared Dove, Tit species, Nuthatch, Greenfinch, a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker and a singing Mistle Thrush.

Ever present was the distant calling of Cranes.

My walk began through mature mixed woodland where the dominant species was Great, Blue Tits, and Coal Tit.

As the woodland ended I entered fairly open country with scattered Hawthorn and Birch, here I located a single female Stonechat in Hawthorns, I suspect this bird will breed close to in the spring, also, a single Goldcrest silently foraging within Hawthorns.

Continuing along the path I then heard the squealing call of a Water Rail on the edge of Cranberry Rough within woodland swamp habitat.

Water Rail, a secretive bird which is heard more than seen (from my archives)

The going through Cranberry Rough was very wet and muddy, the thick woodland swamp habitat has a very primeval feel to it.  Tit species dominated which included Marsh Tit.  I stopped for a coffee break by the small footbridge, close to where I used to see and hear Willow Tit, in fact where I had my break is where I once watched A Willow Tit excavate its nest in a rotten Birch stump.  Willow Tits are now very rare in Norfolk, so I chose my coffee break deliberately in the hope that I just might once again hear the buzzing call of this beautiful Tit species.

Marsh Tit

Continuing my walk to my planned turning point, I heard further Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming bringing my total to 7 birds.  Treecreepers gave their piercing shrill call.

Walking back to the farm I encountered several Redwings on a meadow and in the Hawthorn scrub along the path a least 4 Bullfinches seen along with another Marsh Tit.

The Farm

The previous night when arranging to visit the farm, my friend invited me for coffee and chat when I ended my walk.  I spent a very pleasant hour or so enjoying my coffee in the kitchen, which looks out into a wonderful wildlife garden comprising shrubs, an Orchard, and a large pond.  Birds were constantly coming and going, these included 50+ House Sparrows, Great, Blue, Coal, and a couple of Marsh Tits.  One Nuthatch briefly visited.  Several Blackbirds were on the ground between shrubs, these were joined by Chaffinches and Dunnock.  A pair of Stock Doves visited often.   

I left the farm just after midday.  I stopped briefly by one of the heaths under restoration, here I saw two Meadow Pipits and a single Pied Wagtail.  Finally, a slow drive along the track produced the distinctive white rump of a Bullfinch moving between cover. 

Little Cressingham 2nd January 2025

Not too many notes today, however, a memorable day nevertheless with a Hawfinch seen, a scarce bird in the Brecks.

Upon my arrival in the Watton Brook Valley I could see a number of Teal and a few Mallard on Watton Brook west of the bridge.  In the trees at the former Hopton Manor site, 11+ Fieldfare were “chacking” away. One Red Kite drifted over low, also two Buzzards seen.  

A very interesting first visit to the valley area this year with an overflying Hawfinch heading in a SW heading towards the Bodney camp area.

A single Cormorant flew west along the valley.

East Wretham Heath 1st January 2025

The first day of the New Year was a particularly rough one with a very strong SW wind and frequent rain of which one was very heavy and squally for a while. There was a complete cloud cover which coupled with the rain significantly reduced light quality.

My birding year began with a visit to East Wretham Heath where particular attention was given to Langmere and Ringmere.  I visited Langmere first where the water level was very high, this expanse of water had attracted hundreds of Gulls and many species of Duck.  Ringmere also had high water and as expected there was less numbers of birds seen, however, there was still a good variety of species seen.

The walk over the heath from the car park revealed few birds due to the very strong wind, it was however dry to begin with but this changed about an hour following my arrival with frequent rain.

As I approached the hide overlooking Langmere I found a large caterpillar on the heath, not knowing the species I sent a picture onto a social media site and it was confirmed as being the caterpillar of the Fox Moth.

Once in the hide it was clear that Gulls were the dominant group present, the most numerous was Black-headed Gull (800+) with a good showing of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (150+).  Ducks were well represented with Shelduck (10+), Teal (50+), Shoveler (17+), Gadwall (25+), also present was Tufted Duck and Mallard.    5 Mute Swans and 10+ Egyptian Geese also present.

Good numbers of Coot (120+) were present along with a few Moorhen.  Two Little Grebes were on the water.

Walking through the magnificent Scots Pine wood, known as Waterloo Plantation, it was evident that due to the wind strength, few birds were seen.

I arrived at Ringmere with the onset of a particularly heavy and prolonged period of rain, the hide here is effectively a screen, therefore it was a case of sitting out the rain before checking the site.

Ringmere held fewer birds than Langmere, nevertheless, a good species variety was seen.  Gadwall (25+) were seen with several Teal around the fringes of the mere.  A single male Pochard was on the mere.   26+ Coot and 2 Mute Swans were present.

Collectively between Langmere and Ringmere the following counts were made:-

50+ Gadwall

100+ Teal

9 Mute Swans

150+ Coot

Finally, my walk back over open heath revealed 2 Stonechats in typical in open and exposed country.  Despite the wind strength the Stonechats chose tall grasses and weeds to perch on whilst looking to the ground for food

December 2024 - A summary

December 2024 began very mild, wet, and windy, some rainfall totals causing flooding in many parts of the country, here in Breckland the heavy rain would cause river courses to run high and low lying areas like the Watton Brook Valley would be under much flood water.

Frequent heavy rain on the 2nd eventually relented after dark, much to the benefit of a Barn Owl seen along The Street at Scoulton where it had good opportunity to hunt.

On the 5th I walked a 3 mile route from Great Cressingham beginning at the village hall, along Priory Drove, the Peddars Way, and the Watton Road back to Great Cressingham.  The morning began with a south-westerly movement of 200+ Black-headed Gulls in a tight flock over the village.

Leaving Great Cressingham along Priory Drove it was evident there was several Blackbirds present, a single Song Thrush, and a mobile flock of 19+ Long-tailed Tits.

To the north of Priory Drove lies a large undisturbed meadow, very rolling with lots of peaks and troughs and a distant marshy habitat and copse.  The meadow is flanked both sides by mature tree-lined hedgerows.  A distant Great Spotted Woodpecker seen in damp woodland habitat.  A number of Blackbirds were seen including a fine male in an Elder.  Nearby, the distinctive song of a Mistle Thrush was heard. 

Priory Drove is long narrow lane with quite an ascent on the approach to the junction with the Peddars Way footpath.  The large rolling fields to the south of the lane held at least 10 Egyptian Geese and the hedgerows leading up to the junction held 3 Redwings and a noisily departing Song Thrush.  At least 2 Bullfinches were heard.

The Peddars Way between the Priory Drove and Watton Road junction held 5+ Bullfinches, this section of the path has always been reliable for this beautiful Finch.  A weedy corner of a field held 30+ Goldfinches, some of which drank from puddles in vehicle tracks.  Approaching Watton Road a flock of 44+ Golden Plover drifted west.

The last section of this walk was along Watton Road, a long road with some wonderful and well stocked hedgerows either side.  A further 3+ Bullfinches were present bringing the total seen on this walk to 10+ birds.  My third Song Thrush of the morning was present in the hedgerow close to Great Cressingham.

Following a period of heavy rain low lying land along the Watton Brook valley was under much flood water, therefore, on the 9th it was time to visit to check for wildfowl.  A small section of the valley was checked at Little Cressingham and I was rewarded with the presence of 135+ Teal, 24+ Mallard, one Little Grebe, and a male Stonechat on fences alongside Watton Brook.

The 16th of December saw me confined to home with a nasty throat infection, so needing a little fresh air I popped into the garden, looked up, and rather fortuitously, a Peregrine drifted over at height in a NW heading.  

Siskin (female)

Alder woods are always a great habitat to search for Finches in the winter months and on the morning of the 19th I visited a small Alder wood in the Watton Brook valley at Little Cressingham and almost immediately  I encountered a flock of 100+ Siskins wandering the treetops, often alighting in the canopy to feed upon seeds taken from Alder cones.  I find Siskins are tolerant of human presence, these beautiful little Finches often feed in the lower branches of trees, sometimes within a few feet.

Siskins do breed in the Brecks in small numbers, however, the vast majority are winter visitors from Northern Europe.  These small Finches are often associated with damp Alder and Birch woods where they will mix with other Finch species such as Goldfinches and Redpolls.

Siskin (male)

Also here on the 19th a mobile flock of 100+ Fieldfare were feeding on fields and wet meadows and then moved west along the valley.  Just a single Redwing was seen here.

Early morning on the 24th I visited Thompson to check upon duck numbers, the most numerous species was Mallard (96+), with smaller numbers of other species including Gadwall (20+), Wigeon (22), Shoveler (9), Pochard (7+), Tufted Duck (12+), and a few Teal.  I paid close attention to the Wigeon which spent most of the time roosting amongst surface weeds, occasionally the birds stirred from their roost and in unison gave their so sweet "weeoooo" call.

Also noted was 53+ Coot and high overhead a female Sparrowhawk passed over with a slow wing action.

Wigeon at Thompson Water 24 December 2024

..........And finally for 2024

I would like to wish all my followers a very happy new year.  Thanks to everyone who have sent me emails, stopped me in the street for a chat, submitted a comment on my blog, and who have posted supportive comments on Facebook regarding 'The Breckland Birder' blog.

I look forward to continuing with my blog in 2025....and beyond

Paul

 

           Happy Christmas and a very happy New Year

Thank you so much for following my blog and giving me the encouragement to restart The Breckland Birder

Kindest regards, love, best wishes, and happy Birding

Paul  

November 2024 - A summary

 Calm, settled overcast and grey conditions (some may call depressing) often accompanies the month of November and the thoughts of a Great Grey Shrike sitting like a sentinel on a bush top in the vast openness of a bleak Breckland landscape, is always at the forefront of my mind when watching suitable landscapes for this solitary species.

The 1^st day of the month I was working in the evening and being in isolated surroundings in almost complete darkness my focus was on listening for Tawny Owls, I was in luck with birds present at two locations in the small village of Carleton Rode. The first was a calling ♀ on Rode Lane in the village, the second bird was one seen flying in a small wooded area on the Old Buckenham Road.

A target habitat for me in autumn and winter are those large game strips and plots of wild seed mixes, so early morning on the 2^nd I visited one such large habitat at Little Cressingham traditionally used annually for the purpose of providing game cover, these habitats also benefit our Finches and Buntings.

Having positioned my self where I had good views of the game strip/seed mix plot, it was apparent that Finches were present in good numbers alongside the roadside by the game strip. Highlights seen included 100+ Linnets 100+ Chaffinches, a few Greenfinches, and also my target species for the morning, a beautiful ♂ Brambling with Chaffinches. Bramblings are winter visitors from Scandinavia in varying numbers. Although just the single Brambling seen this morning I am confident numbers will increase. Numbers are variable year to year, in particularly good years I have seen three-figure numbers of Bramblings. Although now in their winter plumages ♂ Bramblings are still distinguishable from ♀♀ from their brighter orange breast and scapulars and dark heads. Bramblings will remain with us until late March by which time ♂♂ begin developing their breeding plumages, their solid black heads and bright oranges make this a very attractive Finch species.

Sparrowhawk - Often seen where good numbers of Finches occur (from archives)

Inevitably, with high numbers of Finches present, Sparrowhawk is always at the forefront of my mind and as expected a mass ‘putting up’ of Finches announced the arrival of a ♀ Sparrowhawk in a small tree close to me, but rapidly departed as soon as it arrived.

Also seen on this productive morning was a single Goshawk drifting in a slow glide towards woodland, this raptor would not be interested in Finches, its quarry would be larger species like Pigeons, Crows, Pheasant, and duck species.

On the 3^rd I visited the vast expanses of arable habitats and dense field boundary hedgerows in the Great Cressingham area. Highlights once again saw good numbers of Finch species (100+ Linnets) and Chaffinches. In excess of 30 Blackbirds were seen with some feeding upon Hawthorn berries, also a small flock of 17+ Fieldfares dropped into a dense hedgerow where a Bullfinch was seen. Also in the hedgerow was a small flock of 12+ Tree Sparrows, a very scarce species now. Overhead a small flock of 13 Golden Plovers circled.

The main highlight of the morning was seeing 3 Ravens passing overhead calling. I initially heard Ravens calling to the west of my position, not too long after 2 Ravens flew east calling, these were shortly followed by a single Raven following.

 A short work break on the 5^th was spent overlooking Seamere Marsh at Hingham. Thrush species were the highlight with 8+ Blackbirds in a broken hedgerow and in a young Ash tree a small flock of 12+ Fieldfares were seen along with a single Song Thrush which was a probable migrant.

A flock of 8+ Stock Doves arrived and a large number of Wood Pigeons (1000+) were ‘put up’ by a possible passing raptor.

 Early morning of the 7^th I visited a beautiful Alder and Willow Carr in the River Wissey valley at Bodney. The old Alders within the Carr held good numbers of feeding Finches, most notably, a large flock of 150+ Goldfinches which wandered the canopy and settling to feed upon cones. A few Siskins were also present. At least 70 Skylarks were wandering the fields and a similar number of Fieldfares (of which 50+ NW) were noted. A small southerly movement of 14 Lapwings passed over.

On a nearby wet meadow, a single Great White Egret looked very stately.

Great White Egret at Bodney.  Increasing in numbers

The morning of the 11^th was particularly notable for movements of birds. I paid an early morning visit to Little Cressingham to check for Finches and Buntings at a large game strip, this was productive with good numbers of Chaffinches and Linnets present, also a single ♀ Brambling was seen. Two Song Thrushes in treetops were probably migrants.

Whilst watching the Finches and Thrushes I could hear to the distant SW approaching Geese, within a few minutes a skein of 126+ Pink-footed Geese came into view, they passed directly overhead and off in a NE heading in a long and strung out V formation. Later, as I was preparing to leave, a flock of 100+ Lapwings passed directly overhead in a NE heading, these birds approached and departed along the same path as the earlier seen Pink-footed Geese.

A short afternoon visit to Watton churchyard on the 14^th was intended to check for winter Thrushes in the Yew trees, of which there are some fine examples. 32+ Redwings and a few Blackbirds were seen, a good visit.

Redwing - A common winter visitor often seen in Yew trees in churchyard settings

The 14^th was a bright but cold morning with excellent light. I visited Little Cressingham to once again check on Finch numbers at a traditional game strip habitat. Chaffinches and Linnets were the most numerous species, also one Brambling seen.

A large Goshawk was seen flying quite leisurely along woodland edge then chased a Pigeon into woodland. A few minutes later I saw large numbers of Pheasants in a panic flying fast and low over the land, the Goshawk reappeared and was seen to give a half-hearted attempt at chasing another Pigeon. On the last occasion the light was particularly good, this showed off the Goshawks all grey upperparts, which showed this as an adult ♀ bird.

Thompson Water on the 21^st was to prove very productive as the day was to provide me with my highest ever count of Mallard on the water. Several species of ducks were on the water including a couple of sawbills.

I arrived at Thompson Water at 0640, some 50 minutes prior to sunrise and the first birds heard was ♂ and ♀ Tawny Owls in the dawn woodland.

It was clear a high number of ducks were on the water, however, those seen were silhouetted against light of the dawn sky, so in order to wait for light to improve my attention was given to the very noisy chatter of Starlings in their roost habitat of reedbed and Willow Carr. The incessant chatter went on for some time, then at 0712, some 18 minutes prior to sunrise, a noise likened to thunder was followed by the mass departure of 5000+ Starlings, initially a spectacular murmuration was seen before the birds rapidly departed Thompson Water for the day.

Thompson Water

With improving light, it became apparent I was faced with high numbers of Mallard on the water along with several other duck species. With my clicker counter in hand I went through the birds on the water and reached a count of 322+ Mallard on the water, my highest ever count of this species here. Without doubt many more Mallard would have been present but out of sight in reeds, reedbed inlets, and channels.

Other ducks present were 8+ Shoveler, 20+ Gadwall, 37+ Teal, 10+ Pochard, 5+ Tufted Duck, and 2 Goosander, a scarce winter visitor.

Also on the water was 60+ Coot, Great Crested and Little Grebes, and in the surrounding woodland was Marsh Tit, Redwing and Song Thrush.

During a work break on the morning of the 23^rd I visited the wide open and vast expanses of land at Deopham at the site of the former wartime bomber base. It can appear quite bleak here, especially so on this visit when there was fast moving cloud, frequent heavy rain, and poor light due to the cloud cover and reduced visibility due to the rain, but as I have written before, I love bleak. I was parked on the former runway which used to have some fine scrubby cover and Willows, however, in recent years this was grubbed out by the greedy landowner. This former habitat provided good shelter within vast arable land for farmland birds as well as breeding habitat for Warblers, for me, this was tantamount to criminal behaviour.

The wide open expanses of land holds good numbers of Golden Plover and winter Thrushes, I have also seen Merlin here on a couple of occasions, a bird well suited to this bleak landscape.

The visit here today produced little, however, it was just good to be there. 1 Red Kite was seen in awful conditions over the land and clearly demonstrated its mastery of the air in such conditions. A couple of Stock Doves passed by too.

A return to Thompson Water on the 26^th saw less Mallard than the 21^st, however, a pleasant surprise came in the form of a ♀ Goldeneye, a very attractive little diving duck. A Marsh Harrier was briefly seen. 

Thompson Water 21 November 2024 (0640-0900)

I arrived at Thompson Water some 50 minutes prior to sunrise, it was great to be enveloped in the early morning darkness without the effects of manmade light pollution, the only light was from the approaching dawn.

My visit to this beautiful Breckland mere was two fold, to witness Starlings departing their reedbed roost and to see if we have any sawbill duck species.

The first birds of the day was both male and female Tawny Owls calling from mature woodland habitat, I stood still for a few minutes to try and catch the silhouetted Owls through the upper branches against the dim dawn sky, but not seen, it was nevertheless just wonderful to appreciate the differences in calls between the sexes.

Walking along the icy Peddars Way towards Thompson Water I could hear chanting Blackbirds in the dark woodland as well as a few Redwings.

Thompson Water at dawn 21 November 2024

I arrived to overlook Thompson Water at about 0650 with the sound of several duck species, little did I know I would have my highest ever count of Mallard on the water.  At about 0700 I began to hear the incessant chatter of Starlings in the reedbeds, then, at 0712 (18 minutes prior to sunrise) I heard what appeared to be the sound of rolling thunder, this was quickly followed by thousands of Starlings departing their roost, initially, the birds formed tight murmurations to confuse potential raptors and then departed in various directions.   As a rough estimate there was 5000+ Starlings involved in this behaviour, later in the winter months this number may increase up to four fold.

Luckily, much of Thompson Water was free from ice (it does freeze easily following a few frosty nights).  I saw lots of silhouetted views of duck species at dawn, however, as light improved I became aware of hundreds of ducks on the water.  Once light was improved I began a count of each species (which I later record along with other species on BTO's BirdTrack). The counts were as follows:

4 Mute Swans

4 Egyptian Geese

322+ Mallard

2 Goosander

37+ Teal

20+ Gadwall

8+ Shoveler

10+ Pochard

60+ Coot

1 Little Grebe

1 Great Crested Grebe

As can be seen from the above list I counted a high number of 322+ Mallard, this for me is a record count of this species at this locality.  With a number of inlets, channels, and deep reedbeds, it is likely there was many more Mallard present.

Also present was two Goosanders, this species is one of four 'sawbills' which occur in Britain.  There are only six 'sawbill' species worldwide.  The Goosander is a strange looking but beautiful duck, its categorised 'sawbill' name comes from the thin bill which has serrations for catching fish underwater.

In southern Britain Goosanders are scarce winter visitors.  It is a scarce breeder in Northern Britain.