Birding Farlington Marshes.

As a continuation to 'Geese Galore', which focused on the over-wintering migrant geese that take up residence in Langstone Harbour, this post will highlight just a few of the 53 species logged during last Sunday's visit to Farlington Marshes.

When I arrived at 9 am after a 56 mile drive the high tide was on the turn but there were still small groups of Brent Geese on the water.

Brent Geese (Branta bernicla ssp. bernicla).

Whilst most of the waders, including Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Avocet, Turnstone, Dunlin, Oystercatcher and Grey Plover were feeding way out in the harbour on the slowly expanding areas of mud I did manage to locate a lonesome (Common) Redshank close by the sea-wall.

Redshank (Tringa totanus).

Once the party of a dozen birders from the Surrey Bird Club were assembled we commenced our anti-clockwise circuit of the 153 hectares of Farlington Marshes by following the track around the seawall. 

After scanning the harbour and adding Mallard, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Pintail, Little Egret and the usual Gull species our attention turned to the nearby pool.


With typically high water levels at this time of year there weren't many waders present, just a few Godwit and Dunlin but we added Grey Heron, Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Gadwall and one of my favourite winter ducks the Northern Pintail with the males sporting their elegant breeding plumage. I also located a Snipe hiding in the grass, bobbing slightly as it moved, but it turned out to be just the common variety!

Northern Pintail (Anus acuta).

I have previously mentioned that this site is internationally important as it plays host to particularly large populations of the Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin.

Some of the Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits can be seen wearing coloured rings in various combinations on the tibia  (above the ‘knee’ joint) and the tarsus (below the ‘knee’ joint), and each scheme has one ring of a particular colour in a constant position. The Farlington Ringing Group plays an important role in this and you can find out more about the coding and schemes here. 

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa).

As you can see it can be difficult to clearly identify all the rings on some individuals especially when they are walking in the water but every sighting record submitted helps to build up a picture of each bird's location history. One of our group diligently documented our combined sightings.

During a visit here in January 2009 I digiscoped my first colour ringed BTG and you can see the images and some of its life its history in a previous post entitled 'Godwit Sighting History'.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta).

One of a handful of Little Egrets seen searching for a meal during our walk. Amazing to recall that any sighting 26 years ago was considered a rare event.

Herring Gull

After one full circuit my colleagues walked back to their vehicles for lunch but I decided to spend some time wandering along the stream to capture some flight shots and while scanning the extensive adjacent reed bed two Bearded Reedlings zipped in and out of view and a Cetti's Warbler called from a nearby shrub.

I also obtained a few shots of Gulls and Shelduck flying to and from the harbour.

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna).

Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).

Every now and then the flock of Lapwings took flight, probably disturbed by over-flying noisy helicopters, and so distinctive with their two tone wing pattern, shape and shrill 'pwaay-eech' call.

Very surprisingly the only raptor I spotted was a hovering Kestrel. 

Further round the circuit a small flock of Linnets passed overhead. Skylarks were heard and then two seen chasing one another. Stonechats popped into view at several spots.

With the tide receding further we had distant scoped views of Common Ringed Plover, Great Crested Grebe, Goldeneye and several pairs of Red-breasted Merganser.

The grazing marsh was, of course, littered with hundreds of Brent Geese (up to 4,000 recently recorded on site), 28 Barnacle Geese, and numerous Shelduck plus a few Tufted Ducks amoungst all the other duck species already logged.
 

Barnacle and Brent Geese.

After some six hours of glorious coastal birding under a chilly winter sun I had added a dozen species to my year list to take the total to 101. So with final views of the Barnacle and Brent Geese in flight it was time to wend my weary way home.  FAB.

Linking to:
Saturday's Critters 
I'D-Rather-B-Birdin' 
Wild Bird Wednesday 

Visit to Warnham L.N.R.

On Monday morning with no obvious threat of rain I decided to pay a return visit to Warnham L.N.R. Beneath the dull overcast sky the pond hosted hundreds of noisy Black-headed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls with three perched on the tern raft.

A small flotilla of Tufted Ducks drifted past the hide. After scanning around and spotting Moorhen, Coot, Cormorant fishing, Mallard lazing around and a Grey Heron carrying nesting material I headed to the hide overlooking the various feeders to check out the activity.

Lots of colourful Goldfinch using the feeders.

A female Great Spotted Woodpecker made a couple of appearances to obtain a snack from holes drilled into an old tree trunk that had been filled with fat.

A male Reed Bunting taking advantage of the seed larder.

In addition to this male Chaffinch I also watched Blue, Coal, Great and Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Dunnock, Bullfinch, Magpie, Pheasant, Moorhen, Blackbird, Robin plus Wren and Treecreeper elsewhere on the reserve. Fortunately the clouds dispersed and the sun eventually shined so after two hours plus I have a few images in reserve for future posts. FAB.

Linking to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY hosted by Stewart.

Wildlife around Heron Pond.

A very mixed week weather wise so here is a small selection of the wildlife seen during my visits to Heron Pond in Bushy Park.

As usual one of the very approachable Grey Heron was waiting near the car park.

Black-headed Gulls, in various stages of their winter plumage, waiting for a handout.

Ducks on the water included the bright eyed Tufted, Gadwall with its finely vermiculated grey body and a single (Northern) Shoveler all slowly changing into their full breeding plumage.

A surprising find this week was a juvenile Herring Gull in its mottled plumage resting on the remains of a floating nest.

 The pond also supports a small but healthy population of Red-crested Pochard.

Large numbers of Jackdaw frequent the park. They are fairly friendly and always willing to pose.

The local residents also include these two introduced species, Canada and Egyptian Geese. 

At this time of year one is never far away from a Red Stag wandering through the bracken on the lookout for hinds or protecting his existing harem often resting and hidden deep in the vegetation.

During the rut the general advice is to keep at least 50 metres from any of the deer, especially the stags but sometimes they just appear and let everyone know their intentions!

And then he sauntered away to be camouflaged once again by the autumnal hues of the ferny landscape.

All these three images are cropped so I wasn't that close and always respect the boundaries when photographing any wildlife. FAB.

Linking to Camera Critters, Saturday's Critters and I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'.

Norfolk Review (Part 1).

For those who may have wondered about my recent blogging absence I can assure you that all is well in the Early Birder household. A mixture of family commitments, poor weather and hence a lack of photo opportunities plus a great deal of laziness on my part (early winter blues maybe!) led me to take an break from posting so regularly.

A week ago we travelled to the North Norfolk Coast to spend three days birdwatching with two of our closest friends. We initially meet up at Welney WWT and spent a cosy hour watching the wildlife from the heated observatory with masses of Wigeon, Teal, Pochard and Lapwings; a few Whooper Swans plus  distant views of 2 Marsh Harriers, Pintail, Shovellers and Black-tailed Godwits. Kestrel and Peregrine were also observed but regretfully no sign of the Glossy Ibis that had been present for a few days which had probably relocated somewhere nearby after everything was flushed earlier in the day by the Peregrine.   

Continuing our journey we headed to the Titchwell RSPB reserve and as usual the first encounter was a very friendly Robin waiting for a handout along the pathway to the reserve centre. 

The new Parrinder Hide is still under construction (completion due by the end of this month hopefully). Apart from Avocet, Lapwing, a few Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank and Ruff plus a single Snipe there were very few waders to be found on the main pools. I did however locate a single Spotted Redshank on a tiny pool on the grazing marsh together with Little Egret and Curlew. A flock of Golden Plover flew over but didn't stop for a rest. During a subsequent visit we did locate a single Smew (Red-head) and a sizeable flock of Twite. With just an hour of daylight left we headed towards the beach.     

 Brent Geese flying off towards Thornham.

 Black-headed Gull.

 Herring Gull lazing about on the brackish lagoon.

A quick scan across the sea produced a number of small flotillas of Common Scoter a long way offshore. Along the retreating tideline we watched Oystercatchers, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwits, Turnstones and Dunlin feeding but too far away for any photos.

Just before we decided to head inland I did manage to capture a couple of images of Sanderling feeding hide up on the sandy beach.

I actually walked nearly a 100 yards to get ahead of a small group as they stopped briefly to search for a meal but every time I settled down to take aim their little legs went into overdrive as they skitted on past me!

The final highlight after logging 7 Marsh Harriers coming into roost was the gathering waves of Starlings wheeling back and forth over the reedbed; the numbers growing minute by minute until eventually they all dropped out of the sky and disappeared into their night-time home.

With the light fading fast and the temperature dropping to nearly freezing point we headed back to the cars for the short journey to our local hotel. The forecast for the next day was better than expected so during our tasty evening meal we decided on a visit to Cley ..... to be continued.    FAB.  

Seaside Walk.

Yesterday (Monday) Anita expressed a desire to take a walk at the coast so with a blue sky we drove southwards to West Wittering and took a leisurely stroll from East Head towards Ella Nore. With a very strong wind there was the constant noise from the rigging on the boats twanging against the empty masts. The tide was rushing in but we did manage to spot a few species; Little Egrets, Grey Plover, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Dunlin before they headed further up the harbour. We also counted 200 Brent Geese on the water plus 4 Red-breasted Mergansers.   

 At a number of places there were good numbers of Red Admirals flitting around.

A chance sweep overhead with the bins and we spotted an Osprey (first sighting this year) heading away from us so just a fleeting opportunity to bang off a distant shot. (Original cropped).

 This Herring Gull had clearly marked its domain!

 Rusted links.

On our return to the car we we fortunate to get another chance to watch the Osprey again. It flew in high with the sun behind it and in the blustery conditions I struggled to maintain a decent focus but I'm happy to have got a few record shots.

As it dived lower it was mobbed by Crows and Lapwings but still managed to grab a meal and once again disappear way over the other side of the harbour. Unfortunately my view of the capture was blocked by shrubbery so I didn't witness the event!   FAB.

Walberswick Revisited (Part 1).

A copy of an engraving depicting WALBERSWICK FERRY has hung on the dining room wall for over 25 years so the opportunity to revisit during our recent holiday was a special treat and I was intrigued to see what if anything had changed.

Walberswick, a quaint Suffolk coastal village is just a stones throw across the River Blyth from the more developed town of Southwold. Its name is thought to have derived from the amalgamation of the Saxon 'Waldbert' or 'Walbert' (probably a landowner) and 'wyc' meaning shelter or harbour. From the 13th century up until World War 1 Walberswick was a thriving trading port but is now a popular tourist attraction, during the summer months, not least as it is famous for holding the annual British Open Crabbing Championships every August which attracts participants from all around the globe.

Well....some things haven't changed...the Ferry Hut 

The jetty....albeit refurbished...

...and the only way across the river at this point is by taking the ferry.....

...unless you are a Herring Gull, for whom it's only a few flaps to the other side.

So with the onset of another rain shower we left the holiday homes behind and headed upstream listening to the sounds of Meadow Pipits, Redshanks, Lapwing and Oystercatcher while soaking up the atmosphere of the old and new.

Laid up or of no further use?

Crofter heads out to sea.

Every fishing boat has its own 'named' shack...Bounty, Boy Butta and Caroline.

Even a seat to watch the world go by. More images to come in future posts.  FAB.