05/12/09 Time for the usual Christmas ‘A’ team reunion, which saw myself, Gary Howard, Mike Cotterell and John Tilbrook heading down to Dungeness for the day – a day filled with flatulence and swearing!!!! Here's the aftermath of one of John's 'episodes' as Mike laughs and Ray Turley gasps for air in the Makepeace hide!!!Our first stop was Boulderwell farm and great views of the 2 Glossy Ibises was order of the day. Tree Sparrows were present in the farm garden. Onto the fishing boats and stunning views of 2 Snow Buntings were had as they shuffled across the shingle – we joked to be careful not to tread on them!!! Enjoy the stunning scenery of the power station as the paparazzi go in for the kill!!! ( Gary, Denis Willet, Guy Bailey and JT) Onto Lade for a Black-Necked Grebe and Marsh Harrier, then back into Dungeness. The afternoon was spent at the RSPB reserve – several Goldeneyes opened the account, followed by 2 redhead Smew. As we walked towards the Denge Marsh hide, the Great White Egret could be seen roosting on an island and then went on to give a good display as we watched from the hide. 3 Black-Necked Grebes were also seen from here. We chose the Hanson hide for dusk, but very poor for gulls tonight – highlights were Kingfisher and 2 Bewick’s swans – a great day out and good to get the old team together again!!!
29/11/09 - A windy day spent at Dungeness – who would have thought it was possible??!!. An earlyish start saw myself and Andy Lawson sat in the Hanson hide overlooking the ARC pit at 7:30 am. A couple of Goldeneyes were present, but no sign of any of the Penduline tits that had been around for the last few weeks – we were surprised how small the reedbed was in front of the hide!!. At 8am I noticed seeds flying out of the reedmace heads – and there it was…..a superb Penduline Tit!!, looking like a minature Red-Backed Shrike as it flitted from reed head to reed head, extracting seeds as it went. Much photography ensued, although it was windy and grey…….. The bird stayed in view for at least 30 minutes before moving back along the willow trail - an excellent start!!! Heading across the road to the RSPB reserve, we quickly located the 2 Glossy Ibises on a tiny pool very close to the farm, so quality views were the order of the day – it was nice to get prolonged views today. Next we spent just under an hour on the sea, sheltering behind the fishing boats – 1 superb adult Little Gull, complete with pink flush, made a couple of fly passess and other fare included lots of gannets and Kittiwakes, 3 Red-Breasted Mergansers, 4 Common Scoters and a few Guillemots. We battled against the wind when walking back to the car!! A look at Lade produced a Black-Necked Grebe and great looks at a female Sparrowhawk powering across the pit. Back to the RSPB for more Glossy action ( this time with a Little Egret ), no sign of the Great White Egret, a Yellow Legged Gull near Brett’s marina then a spin around the marshes. At Belgar farm we found at least 6 Tree Sparrows and a Common Buzzard, and another Common Buzzard was along Caldicott Lane. Walland marsh produced a few Fieldfares but little else, so we headed back to the Hanson hide to look through the gull roost – it was a good night tonight with several hundred birds present. 4+ Yellow-Legged Gulls and a superb adult Caspian Gull found by Andy, showing beady eye and long thin bill – another great day out!!Yellow-Legged Gull............Caspian Gull - note the spindly legs and the beady black eye.....
17/11/09News of the Leonid meteor shower coupled with reports of a clearish night sky had me quite excited at the prospect of witnessing some ‘shooting stars’. The Leonid meteor shower is a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle and radiate from the Leo constellation. In lay-man terms, find some clear night sky and look east!To avoid light pollution I headed out of Dartford and onto the North-Kent marshes – apart from bumping into some poachers at Cliffe and wondering if I was going to end up in the Kent version of ‘Deliverance’ I had no meteors, though the views of the various star constellations were pretty impressive.I took my search home and sat out in the garden in a deck chair – around midnight I had seen 3 shooting stars, one bright enough to have the ‘wow’!! factor! A lot of effort!! Let’s hope the meteors in December are a bit more plentiful!!!21/11/09 – 22/11/09A few weeks ago Team Hunter decided to visit the Norfolk seal colony at Horsey to see the newly born pups, so we booked a Travelodge and prayed the weather wouldn’t be as grim as our last trip 2 years’ ago!! Watching the forecasts during the week it looked like we were on for a very wet and windy repeat, but on Friday this changed and we looked like we might just blag it!!A Spotted Sandpiper had turned up at Abberton reservoir, but access was restricted to permit holders and Essex Wildlife Trust members, of which I am neither. However, I do have a good contact up at Abberton and he kindly arranged to take me on Saturday morning. The only downside was that due to waterboard restrictions no-one under 16 can enter the reservoir, so it was tick denied for the boys – they apparently ran amok in the info centre whilst I was visiting the private areas of the reservoir!!. It was good to catch up with a few people here including Tony Wells, who I hadn’t seen in a long time so we had plenty to talk about as we walked out to the sandpiper’s favoured bay.Spotted Sandpiper:15 minutes later we were in position and scanning the edges and the water – Black Swan ( they bred this year at Abberton), 3 Bewick’s Swans, Slavonian Grebe and 10+ Goosanders warmed things up nicely for the main event. Over the next hour we got good views of the 1st winter Spotted Sandpiper, though it was a wary bird that did not allow close approach – so that’s why my photos are so crap!!!! The legs were bright yellowish, plain tertials and well barred wing coverts were all noted – cheers for the access!!Picking up the family from the centre we paused on the causeway for more Goosanders and a smart Spoonbill feeding about half way out – a quality couple of hours at Abberton!!Our lunch stop was at Minsmere and it was warm enough to tempt a few late Common Darters to zip about in the bright sunlight!!We had a wander around the wooded part of the reserve, seeing plenty of Marsh Harriers over the reed-beds and I relocated the Great White Egret from Island Mere as it flew about at the back of the mere.Time was marching on, so it was time to head to Acle and our accommodation for a well earned rest!!A quick search of Wroxham broad failed to produce the Ring-Necked Duck, but a couple of Egyptian geese sullied the weekend list!!!Heading on to Waxham, the area the Common Cranes had been frequenting the last few days now had 2 scarecrows in the field – D’oH!!! The local farmer popped out and told us he had up to 26 cranes eating his newly planted seed so he had to erect the scarecrows. We left him to carry on with whatever he was up to – building a wicker man would be my guess.Anyway, less than half a mile south on the B1158 I spotted some likey looking grey blobs in a roadside field – 11 adult common cranes!!! These were enjoyed by all, though the strong wind made photography tricky.Pleased with the weekend so far we then took the track out from the Nelson’s Head pub and to the sand dunes to view the Grey Seal colony here. The notice board said the day before 27 live and 5 dead pups were counted in the southern section. We enjoyed some great views and so did the boys until Owen jabbed himself in the eye with a piece of Marram grass!!Here's a selection.....Here's a cub suckling: mmmmmmmm!! bitty!!!..This is what happens when you ask a 4 year old to pose for a photo....And then that was that – a great trip in not so bad weather, though I drove through heavy rain on the way home, it had been a good short break enjoyed by all!!
