Norfolk, October 2010 (1): Welney WWT & Lynford Arboretum

With some great birds around, good weather in store and the missus away with work, I took the opportunity for a few days exploring Norfolk and Suffolk. Being on my own, I decided to follow wherever the road, weather and birds took me, with no planning, just to make things a little more interesting...

Main lagoon, Welney WWT reserve

Leaving west London at 2.30pm, first stop was at WWT's Welney reserve, 26 miles (42km) north of Cambridge. A Wilson's Phalarope had been around for a few days and it made a perfect pit-stop en route to the north coast. Unfortunately, a road closure meant I only scraped into the reserve at last entry, 4.30pm, with just a half-hour to see the Wilson's...and he was nowhere in sight! A Pectoral Sandpiper was on the nearest spit and a male Sparrowhawk, perched inside some scrub, gave great views through the scope, but was scant consolation. After a rather glum walk back to the car, I decided to stay in the area overnight rather than head out to the coast, in the hope he would be back the following morning.

Foraging Hawfinch, photo by potarou under Creative Commons licence

With Welney not opening until 9.30am the next day, I thought a morning visit to Lynford Arboretum would give me a chance to catch up with a secretive and uncommon bird...the Hawfinch. I'd eaten at the Crown Hotel in Mundford before and luckily they had a room going spare; the bar was lively, the beer good and dinner delicious...breakfast was even better, with everything cooked to order, and this will definitely be somewhere I'll stay again.

Under a very overcast sky, I made it out to Lynford for 8.30am, a little later than intended. I've stopped off at the arboretum three or four times on the way to the coast and, whilst yet to bump into any Hawfinches, the trees and peaceful atmosphere of this former part of the Lynford Hall estate never fail to inspire, even on a grey day.


This day was no different...including the complete lack of any sight or sound of a Hawfinch! But the time of year wasn't perfect - Lynford remains one of the best sites in eastern England for this engaging species between late November and April, even if not in the same numbers as a few years ago. For the best viewing, walk south from the main car park (TL 822943) through the arboretum, cross the bridge over the lake and, keeping your ears open for the distinctive 'pix' call, carefully check the Hornbeams and Hawthorns in the large paddock on your right. You can do a circular walk around the paddock and back to the arboretum. In addition, it's a good site for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Firecrest.

Still, a party of Long-tailed Tits and some rattling Mistle Thrushes kept me entertained until a light rain sent me back to the car and onward to Welney.

Arches, Lynford Arboretum

Back at Welney, the first winter Wilson's Phalarope was playing nicely and showing well and I watched with a few other birders in the comfort of the main hide (see left). The bird was feeding frantically on the main lagoon, with great views through the scope, head going up and down like a knitting machine!

Welney has become one of my favourite sites over the last couple of years (see post on a previous visit) - it's a peacful spot with great views, a modern visitor centre and café, it doesn't have the captive bird collections of other WWT sites and the winter assemblage of birds is impressive to birders and non-birders alike. Despite somewhat wanting to get away to the coast, it was a pleasure to sit and watch the waders and wildfowl go about their morning business. And I was glad I did - after about an hour, a couple of Common Cranes dropped in and gave decent if distant views. This is an occasional occurrence at Welney and a welcome one for me - although I've watched cranes extensively in France, these were my first UK birds.

Wilson's Phalarope: first winter plumage (left) by Amy McAndrews and

summer pluamge (right) by Dominic Sherony, both under Creative Commons

With the Cranes regally surveying the reserve, the Phalarope still pecking away and a Little Stint showing well, I reluctantly tore myself away and headed for the north coast.

Purple patch at Farlington Marshes, September 2010

Purple Sandpiper

The lure of a Lapland Bunting took me to Farlington Marshes at the end of September. This Hampshire Wildlife Trust reserve on the north side of Langstone Harbour between Portsmouth and Havant is a great spot...and the site's first Purple Sandpipers definitely made it a memorable trip.

On arrival at the car park (located just off the A27 / A2030 junction), there were great views of Grey Plover, Dunlin and Lapwing on the mudflats and saltmarshes. There are also fantastic views of birds and the harbour from all around the seawall. Find a map here.

On this beautiful sunny lunchtime there were over 300 Oystercatchers, 200 Redshank and 100 Black-tailed Godwits on the western lagoon, plus Curlew, Greenshank, Snipe and Turnstone - quite a wader fest!

Round at 'The Deeps', a pool and creeks behind the seawall, a few of us spent time searching the Mippits and Linnets on the pool fringe in the vain hope of one being the Lapland Bunt. An Osprey overfly distracted for a while.

Eventually, an eagle-eyed birder spotted the Lapland Bunting sat shivering in the lee of a small hummock and I managed a shaky capture through the telescope with the Nikon Coolpix 4500 I was testing.





Rather unwilling to leave, the slow walk back still had some great views and birds to offer. A Wheatear showed well on the fringe of The Deeps and fifty or so Starlings were going to town on the ripe blackberries. But the best was saved for last: two Purple Sandpipers - the first recorded on the reserve - landed on the western seaswall and were quite happy to be watched and photographed at just a couple of metres range. It was a privilege to watch them and I did so for a good half hour before tearing myself away...but definitely a spot to return to. Check out the Trust's Langstone Harbour blog for what is about.

Purple Sandpipers

A Great Park at Windsor, September 2010

How have I managed to live 15 miles away for four and a half years and not visit Windsor Great Park? Maybe it's the part of me that prefers to find my own new places rather than visit well-know spots! Luckily, Heather has been horseriding there over the last few months and persuaded me to make a couple of trips...and it's well worth the visit.

North along the Long Walk to Windsor Castle, September 2010

Covering 5000 acres, the park - which was, for many centuries, the private hunting reserve of the Royals at Windsor Castle - in any case provides plenty of scope for getting away from everyone else, although it's a little more busy in the south, around The Royal Landscape of Virginia Water, Savill Gardens and Valley Garden (map here). My first two visits have concentrated on exploring the western central area of the park from Bishopsgate (OS grid ref. SU 977722), as far east as Snow Hill - a tremendous viewpoint - and the start of the Long Walk up to the Castle and also south to the Cow Pond.

Fly Agarics, in woodland south of Bishopsgate

Bonus: it's fungi season. The park is stuffed full of bright and brown mushrooms; I must admit to some ignoring of the latter these days, they just take too long to identify! Out in the deer pasture towards Snow Hill, delicious Parasol Mushrooms the size of dinner plates hover above the grass. Walking south from Bishopsgate towards the Cow Pond, my planned walk takes a nosedive as I spend way too much time photographing Fly Agarics, Blushers, Blackening Russulas, White Saddles and Common Puffballs amongst others.

Common Puffballs

Eventually, with the sun setting behind the trees, I made it to Cow Pond - a sea of pink waterlillies that must look stunning at the right time of day - too late to get a decent photo (left)!

Heading back to the gate, I snapped a few shots of the sun filtering through the park's amazing trees (like the grove of birches above) and also stumbled across a hidden cache of Blushers in the undergrowth (below). A swift half in the Fox and Hounds pub later, I took the 15 mile journey home, a route I will be retreading back to the park very soon.

Colourful day at Dungeness, July 2010

Looking west along Dungeness' shingle beach

Dungeness has become one of my very favourite spots to visit over the last couple of years: the various elements - the RSPB reserve, Denge Beach, and the wooden shanties dwarfed by the nuclear power station - are a unique environment - it feels like a foreign shore, forty years in the past.

Purple Heron over reedbed by Jean-Jacques Boujot,

under Creative Commons licence

The birds are great too. Dungeness has brought me three 'firsts' over my last two visits and, on a Sunday morning in July, I spent a couple of hours on the Dengemarsh Road hoping for the Purple Herons - the first to breed in the UK - and a Great White Egret to show. It was a beautifully sunny morning and it was extremely pleasant to simply lean against the car and scan the reedbed, meadow and pool; even the soundtrack of machine gun fire from the adjacent MOD range was not an irritation. In the couple of hours that I watched, an adult Purple Heron came in just once to where the nest was presumed to be, flying low over the reeds, and the Egret also only showed briefly, wheeling up into sight above the reeds as he moved along the pool to a more likely spot to fish. But it was one of those days when it didn't matter; a couple of Corn Buntings sang and three Yellow Wagtails bobbed arund the meadow.

From the reserve, I did my usual and drove down to the beach for a stroll - although without enough time for my normal lunch stop at the Light Railway Café.

Looking north from the beach,

near Dungeness A power station

I spent 15 minutes watching The Patch (left) - the bubbling hot water outfall from the power station that enriches the biological productivity of the seabed and attracts seabirds from miles around - trying to turn the Black-headed Gulls into Med Gulls without success.




The trip finished with a few flypast photos of gulls whilst strolling back. For those who haven't been, I can heartily recommend a visit to this unique and wild corner of Kent.

Herring Gull

Birdwatching in west Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, June 2010

A trip out through Suffolk and Cambs in mid-June was aimed at seeing two or three unusual bird species. I pitched up early at the Lakenheath RSPB reserve in Suffolk - just north of the town on the B1112 - in hope of seeing Golden Oriole in the UK for the first time, but the weather proved less than ideal and there was no sign or sound of the little blighters in overcast and slightly damp conditions. I spent a couple of pleasant hours walking along the Little Ouse River and the droves around West Wood, with Marsh Harriers active (photo, above), a Grasshopper Warbler reeling and pairs of Cuckoo perched both in the open and the birch woodland, before the sun peeped through and a few bars of that flute-like Oriole voice floated through West Wood...but that was it! Still, an enjoyable first visit to this reserve and I look forward to visiting again at other seasons. There is a good visitor centre and some great viewpoints over the fen.

Pied Wagtail, Welney WWT

Things went less well at Welney WWT centre, with no Bluethroat on show and just three hours sunburn and a Pied Wagtail (above) to show for the effort! Naturally, it turned up about twenty minutes after I left and sang its heart out... Actually, despite Bluey's no-show, Welney was great - a friendly bunch of folks waiting, baby Sedge Warblers (below) getting fed within a few metres and Black-tailed Godwits and Avocets flying overhead.

Best was saved for last. Under the evening sun in a beautiful blue sky, I stopped off at Berry Fen, near Bluntisham - a newly restored area in the Hanson-RSPB wetland project to create Ouse Fen nature reserve.

Berry Fen RSPB, June 2010

It wasn't easy to find but eventually parked up just west of Earith and walked south-west along the Ouse Valley Way. The habitat looked superb and enjoying it, freshly arrived from nearby Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB, was a Blue-winged Teal. It was a little distant for the camera and directly into the sun, but there are some great pictures of this individual on the Back in Birdland blog by Mike Lawrence. I will definitely call in again when in the area.

 Blue-winged Teal, under Creative Commons licence

  

The slight struggle to find Berry Fen was worthwhile, however. I stumbled across pretty St Mary's in Bluntisham and spent a half hour exploring the churchyard, which is a beautiful mixture of managed and wild areas.

St Mary's Church, Bluntisham, Cambs 

Isle of Skye (3): Small Isles & seabirds, June 2010

If you've made it as far as Skye, it's a must to go a little further and take a trip out amongst the Small Isles - Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna.

Isle of Rum from Camasunary

We took a trip in a rigid inflatable boat (rib) with Aquaexplore (part of Bella Jane) out to the waters off Soay, Canna and Rum and thoroughly enjoyed it; there are also a couple of other comapanies offering different trips. All outer clothing was provided (although some a little large!) and you can wear your own if you have good waterproofs. Do wrap up warm though, whatever the weather.

First stop was the islets of An Coileach and A' Charc (left) off the coast of Soay, where Grey Seals and Shags loaf and sunbathe. The seals can be quite inquisitive and we got good views as a couple bobbed around the boat.

Under the towering cliffs of Canna

After a 15 minute blast across the water, with a Great Northern Diver, Guillemot and Arctic Skua lifting off from our path, we reached the northern coast of the Isle of Canna. The towering 400ft granite cliffs are home to thousands of nesting seabirds. Guillemots and Razorbills sat packed on ledges whilst Puffins took leaps of faith from their grassy burrows and whistled past our ears as they tried to flap hard enough to get airborne. Fulmars and Kittiwakes were also on the cliffs in smaller numbers. An eagle - Golden or Sea, I couldn't tell - soared high overhead.

After drifting along the cliffs watching the birds, we landed at the island's harbour for a quick explore and restroom stop. The scenery was stunning and I hope we can return for a longer stay in future. We had only a quarter of an hour but reached the tiny St Columba's church (see photo).




Just as we were boarding the rib to leave for Rum, the island doctor landed and let us know that a couple of Basking Sharks had been seen in the area. With excitement, we headed out into Canna Sound and quartered the sea in hope of seeing one.

Just as we were on the verge of giving up, we spotted one of these fantastic fish dead ahead. It was feeding back and forth in the sound and, besides its unmistakeable dorsal fin, its nose could just be seen peeking through the waves, allowing us to estimate its length at about 20ft.

Sadly leaving the Basking Shark, we passed by the Isle of Rum where Red Deer are regularly seen along the shore on our way back to Elgol to complete a memorable trip.

Elgol harbour from the water

Isle of Skye (2): Loch Scavaig coast & the Bad Step, June 2010

One of the best parts of our holiday on Skye in June was exploring the beautiful Loch Scavaig coast around Elgol on the Strathaird peninsula. It offers the sea coast, Camasunary beach, the infamous Bad Step and Loch Coruisk - or as much of this as you desire, depending on how far you want to walk - all with the backdrop of Blaven and the Black Cuillin.

Looking north to Blaven and Camasunary beach on Loch Scavaig

There are a few ways of tackling this area. We split it over two trips: one on foot from Elgol to Camasunary and then up the track north of Beinn Leacach to the B8083 near Kirkibost (if you have two cars you can drop one at the layby here to shorten the route, or walk back along the road to Elgol like we did); and the second was from the layby over the Beinn Leacach track to Camasunary and up to the Bad Step and Loch Coruisk, then back by the same route. However, there are also boats that sail directly from Elgol to Loch Coriusk so you just have to stroll back along the coast - and looking back, I wish we'd done this! The track isn't that enjoyable...although there are some good views:

 

East from the Beinn Leacach track across Loch Slapin

photo by Heather

North from Elgol, the path peters out into a sheep track along this gorgeous stretch of coast. Although mostly easy, there are a few short vertigo-inducing bits! Initially, birds were slow...Meadow Pipits, singing Willow Warbler and flypast gulls and Shags.

One odd shape on the sea caught my attention though...maybe it was a seal? After a while, Jago refound it...it was a rich brown, dove often and had four legs and a tail - Otter! We sat and watched it gradually work its way closer to the shore...and then another...and then another!



The three worked their way slowly up the beach and under a large rock which we guessed was the holt. Wow!

 An otter crunches into a crab whilst a Hooded Crow waits for scraps

With a good idea of where to find the family again, we slipped back on our last night. After an hour with no sign, we were just starting back when Jago spotted a lone otter coming into shore, with a huge crab for dinner! We spent ages watching him take it apart...alive! A Hooded Crow kept close attendance in case of a chance for leftovers. I managed to grab a few shots through the telescope with Heather's Canon Ixus 50.

 

The coast has the best views into the heart of the Black Cuillin

By now, we were getting great views across the loch to the Black Cuillin. A ten second glimpse of a White-tailed Eagle got pulses racing! After lunch at Cladach a' Ghlinne, we pressed on to Camasunary beach (probably took us 3 hours in total) and bathed in the afternoon sunlight. A pair of Shelduck with an amazing 12 chicks swam along the beach and Arctic Terns posed on the rocks offshore.

 

 The author on the Bad Step
(photo by Heather)

From Camasunary beach, it is still another hour and a half to the Bad Step - a rocky slab of gabbro that blocks the path with just a crack to work yourself along - with no way round other than to swim! Its bark is worse than its bite, but you still need a bit of a head for heights...there's a fifteen foot drop to the waves below!

Heather and I ran out of time a little, so Jago was the only one in our group to get all the way to Loch Coriusk...but it gives us yet another reason to go back. This area is absolutely fantastic...but I do recommend doing one-way by boat!

 

The view up Loch Coriusk

Photo by Ylvas, under Creative Commons licence