Abberton Reservoir :: 25 November 2023

There were two options today: potentially stand in the freezing cold and rain forecast on the Norfolk coast and hope for a seawatch to turn up something not already on our year list; head for sunny Essex and the canvasback that has been at Abberton Reservoir for a couple of weeks. Now it is true that Kev @kev07713 had already been to see this bird with his wife, his sister and her partner but being such a nice guy was happy to join me and go back for seconds. We didn't rush with sunrise so late at present, stopping for breakfast on the way and arriving about 9.10am.

There were a few birders on the Layer Breton causeway as we parked up and when we joined them, they said that they couldn’t put us on the bird – wasn’t to be found. Checking on Birdguides it had been reported on the water right in front of us just 30 minutes before, so we were a bit disappointed to find it had vanished from sight. The large raft of pochards was initially quite distant - both Kev and I then spent a long while working back and forth through the flock. On a couple of occasions, as the birds dived, we wondered if that had been our bird but as we could relocate it, probably not.

The canvasback is a large, big-headed diving duck with a gently sloping forehead and a stout neck. Its long bill meets the sloping forehead, creating a seamless look from the top of the crown to the tip of the bill. On the water it has an oval body and a short tail that gently slopes down into the water. Males have red eyes, and females have dark eyes. <[>It strongly resembles a pochard but is larger and with a white, not grey, back, this is an extremely rare visitor from North America. One distinguishing feature we were not aware of (until pointed out in the field) was that it has a grey / white patch on its tail which helps distinguish it when its head is down and sleeping amongst pochards.

The raft gradually spun closer, away, and closer again, but we were still unable to pick out our bird.

The pochard suddenly took to the air, circled, and then landed in the central pool of the three that make up the Reservoir. By the time we got down the slope, across the road and set up scopes again, almost all the ducks were asleep with heads tucked under their wings. We still couldn't pick it out. After a considerable time and no action to speak of, we looked at Birdguides only to find that the canvasback had been reported by the Wigborough Road causeway, at the other end of this middle pool.

We made our way there and parked up finding more than a dozen cars already in place. A line of birders on their scopes were already on the bird, and it was asleep - with some effort we were eventually on it - tick.

Eventually the bird woke and showed a little, often sleeping again. Nick @old_caley and Anne Truby @Dottydotterel also arrived - good to see them both on the mend after their recent illnesses.

The canvasback eventually cruised around a little at some distance but providing an opportunity for a photo.

Other species were available - a rather showy redshank, a single rock pipit and several goldeneyes joined the usual wildfowl around the water's edge and on the water.

On the other side of the causeway from the canvasback were many Egyptian geese, preening and splashing on the water's edge. One of the largest flocks of them that I've seen. It had been quite a long morning to eventually connect with the canvasback and we decided to finish with a visit to the watchpoint at St. Andrews Church, overlooking the dam and deeper water of the main reservoir.

We found a handful of birders waiting for three velvet scoters to reappear as they had floated out into the water but obscured against the low sun. After 5 or 10 minutes they cruised in from the sun to show at distance, before immediately cruising away again. As we scanned around (picking up goldeneye and goosanders amongst other ducks), three birds flew in and landed out in front of us - our scoters again - they were still distant and drifted off left again, back into the sun and out of view.

It seemed a long drive home, not made any easier with the M25 being partially blocked so we diverted up the M1 and back along the A43. A good day out again.

Year List:  278

Winterton-on-Sea & Wiveton :: 18 November 2023

The forecast for Saturday was for rain, arriving overnight and perhaps starting to subside by mid-afternoon, not ideal conditions for being outdoors and birding. Kev @kev07713 and I chatted and resolved to have a try for the pallid swift that had been present in Winterton-on-Sea for the last week - Kev had already visited mid-week with his wife Karen but was happy to visit again for seconds.

A pallid swift is quite difficult to distinguish from our common and is a rare visitor to the UK, perhaps due to it being a short-distance migrant breeding across the Mediterranean and wintering in the South Sahara. It has slightly paler plumage overall, a white throat patch, subtly blunter wings, and a less deeply forked tail - the underside of the body is dark brown with a pale brown scalloped effect, giving the impression of scales. As with our common swifts, pallids feed on the wing catching prey in their beaks, their diet consisting of a range of flying insects. At least at this time of year few common swifts remain, and Kev mentioned the pallid had an altogether different look in flight.

We arrived in the car park looking out over the village green and immediately read an update that the pallid had just been reported where we were watching. The rain was hammering down and no one else was to be seen. We watched from the car but eventually decamped to stand under a roof beside the cricket pavilion; from here we had a much better view.

After a while the rain relented becoming a drizzle after which there was some excitement as a sparrowhawk tore into a back garden beside the car park, nailing a starling. It carried the starling up and into a tree, but out of sight - the other birds were far from happy. In a minute or so the sparrowhawk burst from the tree carrying the starling in its talons but inexplicably the starling broke free - we expected the sparrowhawk to recapture the starling as it was right on its tail, but they broke apart and the starling was in the clear - quite a sight and very odd.

The rain stopped. Kev was scanning towards the church while I viewed towards the wood - Kev called to say the swift was in view over the village beyond the church. In a minute or two I was on it and added another life tick - I took a couple of photos in case we lost the bird.

We decided to make our way round to the front of the church to see if we could get closer views and found there were quite a few people, apparently traveling in a couple of minibuses and on a NatureTrek tour - all RSPB Edinburgh members. They'd arrived just as the bird had started showing. The sky was still heavy and grey - the swift fed at distance working back and forth parallel to the road, as we watched from the church. Poor light but a cracking bird.

We spotted a chap that we'd met at Grafham Water the previous week (green-winged teal) but before we had a chance to talk to him, he wandered off. We enjoyed watching but the views never got any better - eventually the rain started again. We decided to make our way to Cley but enroute decided that we'd drop into Wiveton as 12 waxwings has been posted.

Pulling up and parking we found a handful of birders strolling around - the waxwings had recently departed down the valley after showing well in the trees and berry bushes behind the pub for at least half an hour. We waited and watched, eventually meeting a couple who said they'd see the birds at the other end of the village. We joined others strolling through the lanes and about 15 minutes later saw the waxwings fly back towards the pub - by the time we got back to the pub they'd landed briefly and taken off again - we saw them depart, left and passed the church.

The number of birders grew and although we saw numbers of red kites, small flocks of starlings and larger of goldfinches we were not afforded any further sights of the waxwings. Despite waiting an hour and a half we eventually left for home with only flight shots and views - nice regardless.

Year List:  277

Teesmouth NNR - North Gare Sands :: 16 November 2023

Released early from work meetings I found I had time to drop in early to North Gare Sands, Teesmouth. Last month I had been unable to locate any twite on my visit and so was keen to give it another go. I walked across the beach to the water's edge to see what might be out on the sea and immediately found small rafts of common scoter, a further small flock flying in to join them. Scanning through the birds there didn't appear to be anything else amongst them.

I walked south along the water's edge and tried to pick out something of note, seeing only a handful of great-crested grebes, a female red-breasted merganser, and very distant shag and red-throated divers. A few redshanks and turnstones flushed along the beach in front of me. I tried to give them space, but they were not for being in my space.

Turning at the end by the rocks a redshank dropped in and watched as I approached - less flighty than the others. It walked across the sand to the edge of the river where at least 42 knot were feeding amongst oystercatchers, redshank and a couple of dunlins.

I reached the corner of the beach where it is bordered by the fence separating the power station and fields from the dunes and sand, overlooking the river. This is apparently a good place to see twite. The twite is a small, brown finch with a yellow bill and pink rump is very much a bird of coastal fringes. The twite has a northerly breeding distribution in Britain & Ireland, and is often referred to as the ‘Linnet of the north’. It seeks out small seeds that can gather on the tideline of saltmarshes and dunes.

The twite has been red-listed in the UK since 1996 due to a reduction in its breeding population. Its small breeding population is supplemented in winter by birds arriving from elsewhere in Europe.

Out on the river I could see a red-necked grebe and a red-throated diver fishing, and a pair of red-breasted mergansers preening and then sleeping as they drifted out along the river.

I waited for a while before a flock of circa 120 twite flew in and landed by a large puddle in the field beyond the fence. I raised my bins and had a good look before going for my camera. Even before I could raise it, the twite were up and off - they swung out across the water - they would come back in, wouldn't they!?? They set off along the river to the dunes beyond and then crossed the river, dropping onto the far bank - too small to see from where I stood. Damn. A retired teacher and birder arrived, and we chatted as we waited for the twite to return - they didn't.

Eventually it was time I made tracks - I still had work to do back at the office and a 4-hour journey to get there. A year tick for the twite but disappointing not to have had a chance at a proper photo.

Year List:  276

Grafham Water :: 11 November 2023

Despite Kev @kev07713 having already ticked green-winged teal a couple of times this year, there wasn't much else about within reach so he agreed we would go to Grafham Water where an individual had been reported in recent days.

The green-winged teal is a reasonably rare vagrant to the UK, turning up occasionally but with increasing regularity. The vertical white line on the flanks of the drake makes it stand out from the eurasian teal. Although superficially similar, the green-winged teal is a distinct species and was officially split by the BOU from eurasian teal in 2001. DNA studies in the late 1990s had revealed the approximate division between the two is at the Bering Sea.

It breeds in North America and winters further south into Central America and the West Indies. Green-winged teals have closely spaced, comb-like projections called lamellae around the inner edge of the bill. They use them to filter tiny invertebrates from the water, allowing the birds to capture smaller food items than other dabbling ducks.

We had planned where to park on arrival but found the gate to be closed - should have checked that bit. We'd passed some cars parked off the road on the verge as we'd approached and turned round to join them. Once we'd booted up, we were soon on the water's edge and scanning through the ducks - there appeared to be more birds to our left but as luck would have it, a ping on the phone alerted us that it had just been reported to our right, off the dam.

Grafham Water is England's third largest reservoir and has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for over 30 years. The western end features a 280-acre nature reserve and is home to ancient woodlands and reed beds. The nature reserve is managed in partnership with Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust and several nature trails give access to seven bird hides.

It only took five minutes before we joined a couple of birders already in position, including the chap who'd posted the Birdguides update. We joined them in watching this small duck dabbling along the water's edge and on the side closest to us - what a change! The sun had still not cleared the trees or the dam wall and so our initial views were in shade/shadow. Gradually the sun climbed higher, and we could see the bird in its full glory. It was interesting to see the two teal species side by side.

The teal stuck close to shore and was occasionally caught by the waves as they grew in shallow water. There was supposed to be a great northern diver somewhere on site but scanning around it wasn't anywhere near us - we wouldn't go searching as there are easier birds to see, and we'd ticked some already this year. Alongside the teal on the water's edge was a common sandpiper, working up and down, in and out of the shadows. It was surprising to see how small it was compared to the ducks and black-headed gulls as it passed by.

There was little more to be gained by stopping here and so we started to make our way back to the car, meeting Nick @old_caley and Anne Truby @Dottydotterel on the way. We chatted for a while but eventually parted allowing them to go and tick the teal while we decided what to do next.

With nothing of note being reported nearby we decided to visit a Northamptonshire site that we often see mentioned on the WhatsApp Groups - Harrington Airfield. I drove passed the lane to the parking spot and had to turn round and come at it from the opposite direction. As we approached the gate and concrete parking area, we could see an tractor parked over the gate and we had to stop on the road verge until it left - Kev jumped out and talked with the driver to make sure we'd be OK parking where we planned.

As we put on our boots and coats, we heard a plane engine that we recognised - Rolls Royce Merlin - and looked up to watch a spitfire doing a loop-the-loop. Presumably this is a plane operating out of Sywell Aerodrome. Sywell Aerodrome dates back to 1928 and played a key role during the Second World War as an RAF flying training facility and an important centre for the repair of nearly 2,000 Wellington bombers during the war period. Sywell’s rich aviation history is still evident around the Aerodrome and displayed within the Sywell Aviation Museum which is located onsite and open to the general public.

The Grace Spitfire ML407 we’d seen was originally built at Castle Bromwich in early 1944 as a Mark IX single seat fighter and served in the front line of battle throughout the last twelve months of World War II with six different allied Squadrons of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force. ML407 flew a total of 176 operational combat sorties amassing an impressive total 319 combat hours. ML407 was delivered to 485 New Zealand Squadron on the 29th April 1944 by Jackie Moggridge, one of the top lady pilots of the Air Transport Auxilllary (ATA), where it became the ‘mount’ of Flying Officer Johnnie Houlton DFC who was accredited, whilst flying ML407, with the first enemy aircraft shot down over the Normandy beachhead on 6th June D-Day.

A select team of pilots fly the Grace Spitfire for various displays, Airshows and passenger flights. Ultimate Warbird Flights operate a business operating experience flights with vintage aircraft, including this spitfire.

Onto the path through some trees, and up the slope we went. We had so many dunnocks, starlings and then a group of 10 red-legged partridge. Fieldfares dropped from the trees into the fields and red kites plus buzzards cruised and circled in the thermals, one buzzard being quite vocal. We reached some hay bales stacked high, wide, and long - in the distance we spotted a peregrine on top of another hay structure - as I took some photos it took to the wing and flew and landed on a straw cube closer in front - such a stunning bird. In just a minute or two it was off.

We saw a raptor land ahead on the hay and largely out of sight and assumed it was the peregrine again. As we approached the bird it took to the wing, and we found it was actually a kestrel. Quite a number of birds using these structures.

We wandered around the area and the concrete pads and bunkers but found nothing of particular note - perhaps the wrong time of day too. We eventually returned back down the hill to the car having investigated the site and now armed with layout should anything be reported here soon.

We decided to finish our day at Hanging Houghton - harriers, short-eared owl and merlin are reported in the area from time to time, and I wanted Kev to know where this was - I'd been a few years back to see the long-staying great grey shrike. We parked up and scanned the fields seeing flocks of linnets, jays, red kites, buzzards, amongst others.

We waited and another couple of cars arrived with one containing Stuart Munday @MundyStuart. We had a long chat to Stuart as we hadn't seen him in person since we met at Summer Leys for the purple heron. Amongst other birds we could see in the fields and hedgerows, we picked out a kestrel and peregrine in a very distant tree. We had views through Kev's scope and eventually Kev convinced me to take a photo – very much a record shot.

We waited past sunset hoping perhaps for an owl, but nothing came into view. We said our goodbyes and called it a day. An unusual birding day compared to those of late but enjoyable, nonetheless.

Year List:  275