A lot to live up to!

1/4/06 Minsmere RSPB Leaders: Simeon and Connor.
After the amazing Alpine Swift at Lowestoft, Minsmere had a lot to live up to. We got out of the car to hear a singing Chiffchaff. All was going well so far. Between the visitor and the East hide, we had 5 Chiffchaffs, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 12 Sand Martins, 1 Swallow and several Stonechats and Meadow Pipits! From the East hide we got 14 Med. Gulls and 30+ nesting Avocets. We then walked to Sizewell Power Station to try and get the other Alpine Swift that had been there the previous day. Unfortunately we didn't see it, but on the way there and back we got 3 Kestrels, 2 female Garganeys, plenty more Stonechats, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks and a possible Woodlark. We were heading back to the visitor centre when Connor's dad spotted a Water Pipit in a field of chopped down reeds. That was a yearer for us all! We then decided to go for the male Ring Ouzel on the hill behind Island Mere Hide. We eventually got brilliant views of it when it hopped out of the Gorse bushes. Connor managed to get a couple of decent shots of the bird (see gallery). We also got a late Whooper Swan from Island Mere Hide. Finally we returned to the visitor centre and after having lunch Connor got some beautiful shots of the Black Redstart that came up to five metres away behind the centre in the Gorse bushes. The final Warbler counts were Chiffchaff - 15+ and Cetti's Warbler - 12+.
It had been a superb day in which I got five more yearers making my list a total of 133!

A stunning bird!

1/4/06 Lowestoft, Leaders: Simeon and Connor.
We got up at 4:00 to be able to try and view the Alpine Swift leaving its roost at the Grain Silo in Lowestoft. We went to the Grain Silo first, but there were only Feral Pigeons and two Kestrels. Someone drove up to us in his car and said that the best available place to view Lowestost was the multi-story car park. Everyone rushed over there and started searching the skies for the bird. After an hour, the sun came out. Ten minutes later someone shouts "There it is! Just to the left of the Grain Silo!" Everyone swivelled their scopes round and surely enough, there it was! It disappeared behind the building, but came out the other side giving prolonged views of the white underside and brown back. Although it was distant, it was a stunning bird, and a lifer for both of us! Then it was off to Minsmere!

Part 2 coming soon.

First Migrants (Part 3)

28/3/06 Holme NOA, Redwell Marsh NOA and Holme Golf Course leaders: Simeon, Connor

A trip to Holme concluded Simeon and my (Connor) first look for migrants around north-west Norfolk. Redwell Marsh provided 14 Sand Martins, a Swallow, two Chiffchaffs, a Redpoll, 4 Snipe and a Woodcock while a walk in the Holme NWT Dunes saw a Black Redstart, 2 Chiffchaffs, Rock Pipit, 2 Little Egrets and a Swallow. Other birds of note seen during the day included 9 Wheatears, 3 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest at Holme Golf Course as well as a Siskin at Holme NOA. It was a nice way to finish a couple of days birding and roll on the rest of spring migration; who knows what it will bring?