NORTH COVE BRAMBLING

   Today I drove over to North cove via Mutford in an effort to photograph the Golden Plovers but as I expected there was no sign of them only Lapwings. Anyway I continued to North cove and made my way round to the woodland hide and topped up the feeders there. Sitting in the hide there were all the usual birds in residence but after a while I noticed a different bird in the thick bushes; eventually it made its way into view and I could see that it was a Brambling. Although quite common these winter visitors are not often seen and usually occur in flocks mixing with Chaffinches and indeed this bird seemed to be with the Chaffinches around the feeders. It did not however use the feeders while I observed it and seemed to prefer feeding from the ground.

On my way home I did catch up with the Golden Plovers in Mutford but by this time the light wasn't the best and the birds were some 70 yards away so the pictures were not very good. There were about 100 birds in total but after a few minutes the flock was disturbed by a tractor in the field, took off and flew over me to a distant field.

Some of the 100 Golden Plovers

 

DUCKS, RAILS AND STARTS

   Yesterday (thursday 28th) I visited Minsmere on a cold breezy day with the intention of trying to get pictures of the Smew before they departed to mainland Europe but when I reached Island mere hide I could immediately see a pair of Garganey ducks which diverted my attention for the remainder of the morning.

   Garganey ducks are not all that common and when they are seen it is usually at a distance so it was rare to get such close views and get some good photographs. These are the only real migratory ducks we have where they spend their winters in Africa, pair up and then make their way northwards to breed. The female is nothing special to look at but the drake is quite striking in its plumage as can be seen from these pictures.

 

After spending some time with the ducks my attention was taken by several Water rails which apppeared close to the hide giving me further opportunity for photographing this elusive bird that is more often heard than seen. Once you hear this bird you are not likely to mistake it again as it sounds a bit like a squeeling pig but if you are lucky enough to see it you can't help but be impressed by its plumage as well as it's eyes and bill.

 

 

Also amongst the vegetation I spotted a Snipe which is so well camaflaged in the dead brown reeds that you normally only see them as they are flying off when you get too close.

 

 

It was getting late in the afternoon so I made my round to the sea wall where a Black Redstart had been reported earlier. After 10 minutes of looking in the gorse and scrub I spotted the bird but it was flitting around so much that it was difficult to photograph so I decided to sit and wait and sure enough when some other people came along they spooked the bird and it came close enough for me to grab a few images. The bird turned out to be a female which are as you can see predominately grey apart from the orange/red tail feathers, the male is also mainly grey but has a darker head and is much more striking.

FED UP WITH THE COLD!

   I'm getting fed up with the weather, every time I think spring has sprung the cold seems to come back with a vengeance. The last couple of weeks have been terrible for photography with really bad light which only seems to improve when I'm at work, typical!
   Yesterday was the best forecast for the next few days so had a drive around in the car to see what could be seen. Firstly popped over to Sotterly to see if I could catch up with the Hawfinches which have managed to elude me all winter but as usual there was no sign of them so I carried on to Wrentham to check at the Great grey shrike site near the church. There was also no sign of the shrike but a Barn owl was hunting in the distance so I stayed around and eventually it made its way over in my direction.

Barn owl hunting with lowered talons
 

   I watched the owl hunting over the rough grassland and repeatedly dive to the ground but each time it would rise up again with empty talons and carry on hunting. Finally after a successful dive I could see it had caught a vole and took a couple of pictures although it was a good way off so the quality wasn't up to much.

Daytime meal for the owl
 

   As evening was approaching I made my way over to Aldeby to try and photograph the Barn owls in the woodland and meadows there but the only owls a saw were a long way off. I did notice on my walk five owl nest boxes in an area of about one square mile which were easy to spot in the leafless trees so there were plenty of options for any breeding owls to choose from but I will not be taking pictures of them doing this as I don't have the category 1 license required. Still I never tire of seeing these beautiful birds who without fail manage to brighten up the dullest day.

NORTH COVE NATURE RESERVE

   I popped along to North cove nature reserve for a couple of hours on Tuesday and as usual I never saw another person while I was there. This is a fantastic little reserve covering a fairly small area consisting of alder carr and wetland meadow that is entirely maintained by a group of dedicated volunteers. There are several small hides on the reserve enabling good viewing of various species depending on the seasons. In the spring and summer the meadow is full of flower and supports a wide range of insect life which I will try to photograph and include in later blogs. In the winter this is an excellent place to watch and photograph the more common woodland species but there is usually also a good chance of seeing Siskins and Lesser redpolls as well as Bullfinches.

Great tit

Blue tit

  On Tuesday I made my way round to the woodland hide complete with its feeders which had been topped up by the volunteer work party that had been there in the morning. Behind the hide was a dead female Bullfinch found by the work party that was completely unmarked so was unlikely to be the result of a Sparrowhawk attack from the resident pair in the woods. Settling down in the hide I could immediately observe Blue tits and Great tits on the feeders and in the surrounding trees resplendent in their spring plumage. Some 20 or so so Chaffinches were in the area feeding mainly on the ground but I could not spot a Brambling which sometimes make winter appearances here. Several Marsh tits kept returning to the feeders including one that had pure white tail feathers which made it very distinctive but there was a lack of Coal tits with only 1 observed in the time I was there.


Chaffinch
 

  A small group of Long tailed tits appeared which are always a delight to see flitting amongst the trees and bushes looking for insects and calling to each other with a high pitched 'see, see, see' voice.  The sun appeared with them rapidly followed by a Treecreeper which looked great in the light.

  Two Muncjak deer emerged from the undergrowth and approached as I sat quietly and took a few pictures, one adult and a juvenile. They are regularly seen here and if you remain quiet  you stand a good chance of some close views.

  Finally a small flock of Siskin appeared feeding in the trees but unfortunately I could not see any Lesser redpoll which often accompany them in the winter. Along with Robins, Dunnock, Wren and a passing Sparrowhawk not a bad result for peaceful and relaxing couple of hours; definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. 

ROOKS AND HARES

  Lovely afternoon for a walk at Aldeby where you could really hear the birds singing in earnest for the first time this year. The hedgerows were full of Chaffinches, Robins, Blackbirds and various tits all singing and looking glorious in their spring plumage whilst out in the crop fields Skylarks could be heard. Also out in the fields I could see several Hares in groups of two or three who although not boxing were chasing each other around in the low spring afternoon sunshine. They were too far away for any decent pictures but I will endeavour to remedy that in the coming weeks.
   Up by the woods the Rooks were up in their nests making repairs for the coming weeks use. As I walked past is was nice to hear their raucous calls once again, another sure sign that spring is almost upon us. A multitude of Pigeons were also calling and as I paused to watch and listen a Treecreeper landed close to me and began to climb a tree looking for insects to feed on getting to a height of 20 feet or so before flying to the base of another tree to start the process again.

  Further on I passed a pair of  Mallards in a ditch close to the road and thought about how tolerant they become of human disturbance at this time of the year when they are pairing up and looking for nest sites, indeed my mum has a pair in her pond only 6 feet from her kitchen window most years now. A pair of Kestrels and a Wren which unusually paused long enough for a picture to be taken completed a very pleasant stroll.