Notes from the valley

I will need to review my targets for the year shortly, but I can safely say Jack Snipe would have been one of them, for it has been a target species ever since I took up this South Yare patch I now call home. Historical reports came from Church Marsh, the ditch alongside the gun club was apparently decent for them. On the afternoon of the 21st I went with this in mind, paying closer attention to the ditches and patches of open fen. I flushed 23 Common Snipe, which surprised me as I expected to find fewer, what with the mild weather. I almost trod on it, one way of telling you have a Jack Snipe on your hands. As it got up, it showed the mustard stripes along its back, and a short bill. It didn't fly that far before landing again, another signal that says Jack rather than Common. Bingo! Confirmed- this secretive, diminutive Wader is indeed a winter visitor here at Church Marsh. Yesterday morning, I had the QA checks to do at Rockland Broad.The broad itself was quiet, save for a few...

In contrast to my last post, the weather has turned mild and wet, rather than crisp and dry. Weekends away haven't allowed for much birding, but recent Saturdays and Sundays have almost been written off with high winds and rain dominating. Saturday the 5th was little different, although the rain held off as I walked round some marshes closer to home. A Woodcock was flushed, almost flying vertically once it had lift-off. I expect many of these birds are present in the damp woodland and scurb around the village, although seeing one has more to do with luck than anything else. A small number of Siskin were just about heard over the wind, their social calls carrying a short distance on the blow before dissipating. Yesterday, it was a pleasure to help lead the South Yare Wildlife Group annual Winter walk round Church Marsh. Just under 30 people had booked up, so we split into 2 groups, my group initially heading away from the river and taking the track via the gun club towards the chu...

Awoke this morning to find a fine covering of snow over the land, and the ice-grey sky promised more. I headed out towards the river and encountered a feeding frenzy on route to The Yare. Goldfinch, Chaffinch and calling Bullfinch were all stocking up on fat reserves. Overhead, Fieldfare and Redwing restlessly broke cover before joining the Starlings out on the grazing marsh. Sleet fell, and any chance of Raptors hunting diminished, although I did observe a Buzzard making for cover. At the river, the usual carpet of Wigeon. A few Teal were in the dykes and flushed easily. Back on the marsh, a buff female Stonechat perched atop a gate. I think I have finally pinned down these species here, and thankfully they seem to be present year-round. Back home, and the feeders in the garden are finally getting some attention, with Great, Blue and Coal tits all enjoying the sunflower seeds. Last weekend I completed the WeBs counts at Church Marsh and Rockland Broad, which were rubbish. I f...

I'll start with the obligatory Siberian Stonechat photo, this from the 22nd. Needless to say this was both a stunning and educational bird. Completely different to the extra-pale looking male I had seen here the previous weekend, and I was able to watch and observe the full suite of features despite a couple of nuggets (one a very famous nugget) stalking the barbed wire fence.  Siberian Stonechat On the 24th, I met up with 'The Breckland Birder' Paul Newport, a true gent and birding pal with whom I share many values out in the field. Paul was keen to get to grips with some of the Mid-Yare reserves so that he could plan a small tour he was leading early November. We began at Church Marsh in Surlingham, and I was pleased that my local reserve was on good form. Redwing, Fieldfare, Redpoll and Siskin all passed through, the Redwing infact were encountered feeding on berries close to the river. A couple of Kingfisher blazed upstream just where I hoped they would, and...

An excellent weekend on the east coast. My better half was quick to veto any talk of going to the north coast, and looking back I am glad she did considering the heaving crowds of camo. On saturday afternoon, the 2 of us attempted to dissect Great Yarmouth cemetery. Upon arrival the calls of Goldcrest almost echoed round the churchyard, every tree dripping with these tiny birds. 3 Brambling flew over and alighted somewhere within, and at least 50 Redwing were in amongst the cover. Best bird was probably a Woodcock I inadvertently flushed but the spectacle of migration was something to savour; continental Robins, Blackbirds, Thrushes and crests all arriving en masse, tired and desperate for cover and food. Debs had never seen Great-grey Shrike in the UK so we popped for a look at the bird in Lowestoft North Denes. The bird was surprisngly elusive for a Shrike, and was eventually picked up taking shelter from the confines of a fir tree. On the Sunday, I met with Joe Harkness in C...

I am finding with the day length shortening I am often walking the patch in near darkness on a weekday after work. The movements of Finches and crests on the coast do not seem to have filtered inland, at least not down into the Yare Valley. Signs of change have been heralded by the arrival of Pink-footed Geese though, a couple of skeins have gone over the house in the past week. Perhaps there are more Blackbirds around, but with temperatures slowly dropping the residents could just be more obvious as they stock up on food. Very little to report from Church Marsh and Rockland, although it will not be long until the Winter Thrushes arrive and hopefully the Redpoll stick around in greater number this period. On Sunday, with the wind from the east I had an afternoon on the coast planned. I began at Caister, encountering plenty of Goldcrest in the dunes and scrub but nothing much else. As news filtered through of a few rares on the north coast, I continued onto Hemsby hoping for the big o...

I toyed with heading to the coast this morning, but with conditions looking almost too good (and impending house move) I instead visited the patch this morning, allowing me to crack on with some packing and some school stuff over the rest of the day. I arrived at Church Marsh around 8am as the sun was burning off any mist and dew that still lingered. The bushes looked beautiful, spider webs framed by the sun and the damp. Walking along the river bank, a Wagtail called and I knew this was one to put my bins to. A lovely Grey Wagtail it was, heading east down river. This is only more 3rd record on the patch and of course a year tick, a record-equalling one at that. 120 species now for the year equals last year's total and I am optimistic I can break this tally with some more Autumn birding before we have to move away. I am still missing Hen Harrier, Yellowhammer, Brambling and Lesser Whitethroat from the year list. Even better would be a new bird for the patch, and perhaps with coa...