31/10/09 Holme

A superb day of migration at Holme. On getting out of the car in the half-light it was clear there had been a substantial arrival of Blackbirds and the first Woodcocks of the day were soon flushed from around the NOA reserve. Overhead an excellent movement of Lapwings was noticeable and after the rain cleared away Starlings began pouring through. Blackbirds and smaller numbers of the other thrushes were not only flushing from every patch of cover but readily coming in of the sea or falling out of the sky and dropping into the pines. On walking towards Thornham I rounded the corner of the boardwalk just as a Short-eared Owl flopped onto the side of the path, presumably having just come in of the sea. I quickly backed away and called some other guys from the observatory and we were treated to exceptional views as it sat on the path at close range, before it flew of strongly into the dunes. In the afternoon another came in of the sea and both could be sen hunting the marsh in the afternoon. Eventually I did manage to make it towards Thornham and searched through the sueda for more migrants. Blackbirds were present in good numbers, with smaller numbers of Song Thrushes, Robins and a Goldcrest and a single Ring Ouzel came in of the sea with a group of Redwings. As I reached the end of the sueda 3 Bewick's Swans came in of the sea low, calling and they then flew over the observatory and west towards the Wash, while a Shorelark flew east along the beach towards Titchwell. A dog wandering across the saltmarsh out towards Thornham harbour flushed a Jack Snipe that then flew east. As the afternoon went on Starlings began coming through in even greater numbers, overhead passage began to pick up, particularly Skylarks and Chaffinches and thrushes continued to drop in, while a Goosander along the broadwater was unusual. Dusk came all too quickly, but watching the Short-eared Owls in flight and on the deck by the observatory capped of a spectacular day. Unlike the previous day there was no obvious westward movement of thrushes overhead, most birds were simply diving for cover, with some later moving of south or west through cover.

Grounded migrants (inc. birds in/of into cover and birds moving through cover): 916 Blackbirds, 330 Redwings, 2 Jays, 4 Woodcock, 40 Robins (inc. 1 dutch controlled bird - pic below), 2 Cetti's Warblers, 25 Fieldfares, 31 Song Thrushes, 2 Short-eared Owls, 1 Jack Snipe, 1 Shorelark, 2 Stonechats, 11 Goldcrests.

Overhead passage (all west or south in/of): 11724 Starlings, 73 Meadow Pipits, 1650 Lapwings, 20 Reed Buntings, 1 Redpoll sp, 1 Ring Ouzel, 102 Chaffinches, 144 Golden Plovers, 7 Rock Pipits, 66 Skylarks, 3 Bewick's Swans, 11 Snipe, 2 Siskins, 1 Brambling, 2 Grey Wagtails, 1 Goosander.

30/10/09 Holme

A solid autumn day at Holme, which started of brightly with a female Ring Ouzel in the area around the toliet block. It was clear from the outset that there had been a fresh arrival of thrushes, with Blackbirds in every patch of cover. Overhead passage was reasonable with a steady movement of Starlings and Skylarks. On reaching the NOA observatory I was delighted to discover that they had just caught a Bearded Tit, a species I have always wanted to see in the hand.

A quiet seawatch produced just 15 Gannets and 10 Wigeon. As the afternoon progressed more Blackbirds dropped in, with smaller numbers of Song Thrushes and Robins, while Redwings and a smaller number of Fieldfares passed overhead. I checked the Gore point plantations and although I couldn't spend as much time out there as I would have liked due to the incoming tide I did flush a Woodcock and there were more common migrants. The highlight of the day came in the afternoon when 3 Shorelarks were discovered on the beach by the golfcourse, one of which had remnents of horns.

Grounded migrants: 1 Ring Ouzel, 1 Woodcock, 3 Shorelarks, 250 Blackbirds, 2 Bearded Tits, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 9 Stonechats, 3 Mistle Thrushes, 37 Song Thrushes, 3 Goldcrests.

Viz-mig (all west): 2100 Starlings, 155 Chaffinches, 450 Redwings, 75 Fieldfares, 3 Snipe, 80 Skylarks, 1 Tree Sparrow, 65 Meadow Pipits, 4 Rock Pipits, 2 Brambling, 20 Reed Buntings. 60 Lapwings, 1 Crossbill, 5 Siskins, 40 Greenfinch, 30 Goldfinch.

28/10/09 Holme

A better day at Holme today. The highlight was a vocal Siberian Chiffchaff that was in the willows along the river Hun just east of the standing caravan, west of the NWT payhut and the Redwell Marsh footbridge. Although it was mobile and elusive reasonable views were obtained, with the bird showing all the characters consistent with tristis with the typical Dunnock-like 'hiiiiip' call. In the afternoon a Lapland Bunting flew east over the dunes in front of the observatory and R.R. and me located what was perhaps the same individual at Thornham Harbour in the evening before it carried on east. Overhead passage was pretty good although I missed the best of it by oversleeping. From 08:30hrs onwards totals (all west) were 153 Skylarks, 320 Chaffinches, 4 Bramblings, 1200 Starlings, 2 Siskins, 1 Redpoll sp, 75 Meadow Pipits, 5 Rock Pipits, 15 Reed Buntings, 30 Jackdaws and 6 Snipe. Thrushes were arriving and then leaving to the west, with day totals of 150 Blackbirds, 80 Fieldfares, 50 Redwings and 10 Song Thrushes. Other grounded migrants included 35 Robins, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker and 1 Jay. An afternoon seawatch produced 3 Goosanders west, as well as 9 Red-breasted Mergansers west. Also of note was a Clouded Yellow that showed well in front of the observatory.

Dad had a walk around Wells Wood during th afternoon, where he saw a Mealy Redpoll and a male Bullfinch.

27/10/09 Denver and Witcham, Cambs

A sleepover at a friends near the Cambs border meant I was able to nip over and see the RED-RUMPED SWALLOW at Witcham, near Ely. The bird was hawking insects over Silver Street in the village, showing it's diagnostic jet-black undertail coverts, unmarked white underparts and throat and pale orange rump. A smart bird and another British tick, my fourth in 17 days! A group of 100+ Fieldfares flew over.

Before this a walk at Denver produced 2 Redpolls, 450 Redwings, 20 Fieldfares and a Grey Wagtail.

25/10/09 Holme

After yesterdays exploits I wandered leisurely into Holme mid-morning. On my circuit around the west end of the recording area I heard the Yellow-browed Warbler a couple of times in the row of Sycamores by the standing caravan along the main track as it moved through west, presumably back towards the beach carpark, where it has been present since at least Thursday. Otherwise it was very quiet, with a Siskin and a Rock Pipit west the best of it! I left dad to walk up to the NOA reserve and he went to do the orchards at the back of the village, where he promptly found a Yellow-browed Warbler, although it was elusive and there was no sign of it later. Numbers of grounded migrants generally were extremely low, with 2 Blackcaps, 30 Blackbirds, 4 Redwings, 3 Goldcrests, 1 Stonechat, 8 Robins and 1 Song Thrush. Overhead passage was little better, with 15 Skylarks, 20 Meadow Pipits and 4 Pied Wagtails west. The day was concluded at Thornham Harbour, where a cracking sunset was the only thing of note apart from 3 Rock Pipits. Also, 4 Redwings flew over Dersingham village on the way back home. Good to see the forecast for next week looks so promising, not!

24/10/09 Trow Quarry, County Durham

Now normally I try and make a point of sticking to Norfolk, or at a stretch East Anglia. However, the discovery of Britain's first Eastern Crowned Warbler in County Durham seriously weakened my resolve - a stripy warbler sheltering from a blustery wind on a drizzly October morning on the east coast sounded so ideal, especially being such a dream vagrant! Although I did not really expect it to still be there today I knew I would kick myself if it was and so, having secured a lift, it was with some trepidation that I set off north with Andy Wilkinson, Penny Clarke and Ray Roche at 03:30 hrs. On arrival at Trow Quarry and indeed throughout the morning the rain wasn't as heavy as expected, but after 20 minutes from first light with no sign I was getting just a little edgy. Thankfully the shout soon went up that the bird was still present in this small patch of Sycamore, Ash and Elder trees just 50 yards from the coast, and soon I had clapped eyes on Britain's first EASTERN CROWNED WARBLER. Quickly I had managed several decent looks at it through bins but it took longer to get it in the scope. After a couple of hours however I managed superb scope views as it perched out in the open in the bare twigs of one of the elders and then in top of one of the smaller Sycamores, before even more views were obtained as it flew into a smaller patch of cover even closer to the coast. The birds appearance would change remarkably in the light, although undoubtedly the most striking features were the 'capped' appearance and striking supercilium, the rather faded wing bars, the crown-stripe, the ivy-green upperparts and the clean white underparts with a yellowish wash to the undertail coverts. Also, the structure of the bird was notably robust. It really was a cracker, a very smart bird indeed. A single, rather vocal, Yellow-browed Warbler was also present in the quarry and it regularly and rather aggressively chased the Easter Crowned Warbler around until it moved to the other patch of scrub. With the weather worsening the decision was made to head straight back to Norfolk. A fantastic day, a particular thanks to Andy for driving and for the excellent company provided by Andy, Penny and Ray.

The site where the Eastern Crowned Warbler roosted overnight and showed well during the morning.

The lower part of the crowd looking into this small patch of trees.

The small group of trees the bird frequented during the afternoon, with the assembled crowd.

Their have been 4 previous Western Paleartic records:

GERMANY (Heligoland on 4 October 1843)

NORWAY (trapped and ringed at Jaeren, Rogaland, on 30 September 2002)

FINLAND (at Harrbada, Kokkola, on 23 October 2004

THE NETHERLANDS (at Katwijk aan Zee, Zuid-Holland, on 5 October 2007)

16/10/09 and 17/10/09 Holme and north coast

On the afternoon of the 16th dad did a seawatch off Holme. From 15:00-17:00hrs he recorded 2 Pomarine Skuas (including one with full tail spoons), 29 Great Skuas, 5 Arctic Skuas, 5 Little Gulls, 40 Kittiwakes, 3 Arctic Terns and 1 Fulmar.

Today we seawatched together with some other regulars from 07:15-10:45hrs. Totals were as follows: 3 Pomarine Skuas west, 25 Great Skuas (24 west, 1 east), 43 Kittiwakes (24 west, 19 east), 6 Little Gulls (4 west, 2 east), 24 Red-breasted Mergansers (3 west, 21 east), 1 Velvet Scoter east, 24 Razorbills, 4 Arctic Skuas west, 300 Gannets, 6 Red-throated Divers (3 west, 3 east), 2 Manx Shearwaters west, 2 shearwater sps. west, 1 summer-plumaged Great-northern Diver east, 3 Goldeneye west, 3 skua sps. west, 4 auk sps. west, 2 Pintail west, 3 Great-crested Grebes, 2 Sandwich Terns, 4 Shelduck, 80 Brent Geese, 100 Common Scoters, 8 Wigeon and 2 Eider east. The Great-northern Diver in particular was a cracker, flying east through the surf just offshore and being in stunning full summer plumage.

After this solid start the day continued to improve! First of all I located a Firecrest in with a mixed tit flock on the NOA reserve which briefly showed well. Chris Mills then found a well-marked Yellow-browed Warbler in the corner of the NWT carpark which eventually showed well despite being generally very elusive, partly because it was calling frequently, meaning it was possible to pin it down. While standing in the carpark chatting to Chris and Simeon a flock of Starlings moved through. Loosely associating with these was a small bird, roughly following the broadwater, which we initially took as a wader before it became apparant it was a Little Auk! Thankfully it doubled back and circled over the carpark (!) before carrying on west, giving the most incredible views to those lucky enough to be in the carpark - a great bonus! Visible migration was solid throughout the morning and I logged 6 Bramblings west then in the pines, 3 Siskins west, 1 Yellowhammer west, 20 Skylarks west, 65 Meadow Pipits west, 200+ Greenfinches, 35 Goldfinches, 20 Chaffinches and 9000+ Starlings west. Other grounded bits and pieces included 25 Blackbirds, 1 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush and 1 Cetti's Warbler.

By early afternoon it had become quiet so we headed round to West Runton. Here good flight views were obtained of the SHORT-TOED LARK. We were actually very lucky as fairly quickly we managed to pin down the bird on the deck and obtained good views of it running across a couple of furrows and feeding. Another British tick! An adult Mediterranean Gull was floating around the fields as well. Muckleburgh Hill produced very little, with just 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Song Thrushes, 3 Jays and 2 Goldcrests, as did a seawatch at Cley NWT, with just 3 Red-throated Divers and 10 Gannets.

13/10/09 Holme dunes

A walk along towards Gore point in the evening produced nice views of the Great Grey Shrike found by Ray R. mid-afternoon, this being only the second Great Grey Shrike I have seen at Holme. Also 15+ Song Thrushes, 10+ Robins, 2 Skylarks west and 10 Redwings west were noted, while 1500+ Starlings roosted.

11/10/09 Choseley Drying Barns

After finishing my homework in the morning the plan was to do a nice local walk, but this was quickly scuppered with a report of a Rose-coloured Starling at Choseley. We quickly dashed there but unfortunately it had flown. After a short wait with the crowd I decided to spread my wings and search further afield. About halfway down the road towards Titchwell I kept on thinking I should probably turn back and then I realised I didn't have any phone signal! However, I kept on going as I could see a small flock of Starlings wheeling around. It was fortunate that at this moment David and a friend drove past and told me it had been seen again up at the barns and they kindly said I could jump in. On getting to the barns (with everyone I had left behind celebrating) there was further frustration as it had skilfully hidden itself behind the dish on the ariel mast. Eventually dad manged to get the right angle and on looking through his scope, there it was, the juvenile ROSE-COLOURED STARLING and a (perhaps a little shockingly) tick for yours truly. It showed well for a rather short while before it flew east with a group of Starlings. I found it quite surprising how easy it was, even in flight, to pick up and although I would hardly call it a smart bird it was pleasantly distinctive and so the weekend was salvaged! A Grey Wagtail and 10 Skylarks flew west, as did a Common Buzzard. A particularly big thanks to David!

10/10/09 Holme Dunes

An fairly eventful morning at Holme, with enough bits and pieces to keep everyone occupied. From first light thrushes were particularly obvious and during the day I recorded 143 Redwings, 42 Song Thrushes and 30 Blackbirds. Other grounded bits and pieces included 2 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Jays and 30 Robins. Overhead passage included 2580 Starlings (including 2000 in paddocks then west) 185 Meadow Pipits, 9 Rock Pipits, 1 Redpoll, 3 Siskins, 36 Skylarks, 2 Pied Wagtails, 4 Reed Buntings, 40 Goldfinches, 20 Greenfinches, 3 Swallows, 2 House Martins and 2 Snipe. Seawatching 7:10-9:10am produced a good wildfowl movement, with 387 Wigeon, 68 Teal, 4 Pintail, 1 Shoveler, 88 Shelducks, 4 Eider, 8 Common Scoter and 1 Red-breasted Merganser west, as well as 1 Arctic Tern west, 1 Razorbill east, 1 auk sp. east, 2 Red-throated Divers east, 46 Gannets and 14 Brent Geese east. Unfortunately I had to leave around midday due to a prior appointment at Titchwell RSPB, meaning I missed the Yellow-browed Warbler found by M. Br and later trapped and ringed, although at Titchwell I had a Brambling west, as well as 5 Redwings and 4 Song Thrushes.