The Juvenile Birder

Winter Waterfowl! We arrived at Swine Moor at around 7:40am, with Dave, in hopes of spotting two Snow Geese roosting with the Pink-footed Geese. Once we made our way onto the very windy and exposed bank, we scanned the wetland, only to find all the geese had already left their roost and flown off. Disappointed, we waited around for a while, spotting a few Greylag Geese flying in along with five white Domestic Greylag Geese . Eventually, we gave up and decided to head over to Tophill Low NR. As soon as we arrived at Tophill Low, we made our way over to the main hide and started scanning through the thousands of ducks. It wasn't long until we spotted our first target, a pair of Red-crested Pochards , which were quite close to the hide in amongst a large flock of mixed Aythya ducks. Further out on the reservoir, we spotted many Shovelers , Pochards , Gadwalls , Wigeons , Tufted Ducks , Goldeneyes , Coots , Teals , Great Crested Grebes  & Mallards . We then moved on to ...

Dragonfly Hunt! We arrived at 10:30am to meet the kind Eddie Urbanski in order for him to tour us round his patch. Once we arrived had arrived at his patch, which was Cors Geirch NNR, the first thing I spotted was a Painted Lady , followed by a moth which Kevin (Eddie's friend) identified as a Straw Dot . We then started wading through a marshy bit of the site and almost immediately, Eddie pointed out a male Keeled Skimmer . Unfortunately, it flew away instead of landing for a record shot, but little did I know, that this would be one of many to be seen that day. We continued walking through the marsh when Kevin said he had a Bog Hoverfly. I searched the area he saw it in and spotted a male Keeled Skimmer sitting right in front of me, waiting to be photographed. We then walked through a dryer area of the wetland where Kevin pointed out a Bog Hoverfly ( Sericomyia Silentis )   nectaring right besides us, allowing for a perfect record shot. We then started searching the pony dung in ...

 Temporary Tick! Image by @RobsBirding, not same bird We set off at 3.30am, picked up Dave and were taken to Fakenham by Keith. We arrived at around 9:00am. Our target bird was the Rustic Bunting, that had been seen here yesterday, however a Coues's Arctic Redpoll had been seen earlier in the morning, which would also be a lifer. Once we had arrived at the site, we scanned the crop cover at the far end of the field. The first thing that stood out to me was the large flock of Lesser Redpolls  feeding in the crop cover, as well as the numerous Meadow Pipits and Skylarks in the surrounding fields. We also noticed many Red-legged Partridges  in the fields. In the crop cover were a few beautiful male  Yellowhammers . There were also a few Bramblings . I was very happy to see them after only getting brief views of them in the past. Suddenly, someone spotted the Arctic Redpoll in their scope, and they let me have a look. The Coues's Arctic Redpoll was sat on a branch, ...

 Another 3 Bite the Dust! image from mentor Rob from 28/10 We set off at 1.30am in hopes of seeing an Alpine Accentor. We arrived in Slaughden at around 7:00am. When we arrived, it was quite dark, so we walked towards Martello Tower and waited with the many other birders. We met birders Matt and George who told us there was a lump on a pipe in a crack at the tower. They said it was the Alpine Accentor because it roosted there overnight. It was around 7:13am so the light was getting better, making it easier to make out the bird. They let us look through the scope and I managed to get a good view of it. It was definitely the Alpine Accentor , with multiple people saying that, because we could make out the yellow on the bill, chestnut flanks, and the white spots on the wing. After enjoying it, it flew onto the roof and just before 7:30am, took off flying high away from us. We then looked for it for 4 hours knowing that it did this yesterday. We met some great birders including Rob K, ...

 Knot in May and Nesting Arctic Terns! We first visited RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands at 12:00 in hopes of seeing some Spoonbills. We arrived only to hear that half an hour ago, the Spoonbill were chased of by some gulls at Border Hide, flying towards Wales. So, with our target Spoonbills gone, we then turned our attention to some Knot seen recently, also at Border Hide. We went straight there, meeting a birder who had written a book on the way. When we arrived at Centenary Pool, we spotted two Great White Egrets out on the pools outside the hide. When we walked in, we asked a man who let me look through his scope pointed at a Knot (a life tick). It was behind a huge flock of Black-Tailed Godwits along with three others. It was only in winter plumage, though the man said that the other day there was one in full breeding plumage. It at first was sleeping, then came woke up and waddled closer to the shore, and then finally went back to sleep. We also saw a female Marsh Harrier from Marsh...

 Bats and Rare Ducks! We arrived at 4:20pm, after a visit​ to RSPB Burton Mere, in hopes of seeing some Garganey. Yesterday, there were at least two pairs reported. We got info that a pair had been seen a quarter  of an hour ago at Grisedale Hide. We headed straight towards the hide. When we arrived, a few people were there. One of them let us use their scope pointed at a female. They then moved it on a drake duck. They were stunning. The ducks foraged in the lake. A Grey Heron, a Little Egret and a Great White Egret were also there. We then went to the Skytower to view the murmurations. We saw bits of the murmuration but it wasn't as good as the others. We also saw a Peregrine, a Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Western Marsh Harriers and a few Soprano and Common Pipistrelles at 7:20pm to end the day.

  Otters Finally! We arrived at 7:25 in the morning in hopes of catching a glimpse of the elusive, sinuous European Otter. When we arrived, we were welcomed by a dawn chorus, loads of songbirds singing in the morning, and we heard Eurasian Green Woodpeckers, Marsh Tits, Great Tits and many other species. We went straight along the Causeway and straight through the Causeway Hide. Only one other birder was there that early. We went straight through the woodland part and arrived at the Lower Hide, the furthest hide, at 7:40. The other person in the hide had only seen Giant Otters in South America. This was their third and final attempt before she headed back to her home, as she was living in a van for 3 days since this place was far. We soon met two more people who said that they'd seen 2 juvenile European Otters at a bridge along the Causeway that crosses a channel. We soon left unsuccessful but had to return to grab the phone that we forgot at the hide. When we entered the Lowe...

  Winter Waterfowl and Finches We arrived at 9:40am in hopes of spotting a rare Green-Winged Teal. We walked in and headed straight for the Ron Barker Hide where it had been seen. We arrived with no luck. We only saw the usual Eurasian Teals, Common Moorhens and Western Marsh Harriers. We then headed to the Discovery Hide where we saw Common Pochard, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Ruff, Black-Tailed Godwits, Northern Pintails, Greylag Geese and Whooper Swans. We then went the opposite direction to the Janet Kea Hide in hopes of seeing Bramblings. At first, the hide was quiet until one Brambling went out to feed on the feeders, then it hopped back into a bush. European Goldfinch & Greenfinches, Eurasian Blue Tits, Great Tits, Common Chaffinches and Eurasian Tree Sparrow where also there. We saw Rooks and a Common Kestrel on our journey home.

 The Last 2021 Has to Offer! We arrived at around midday on the last day of 2021 (aka New Year's Eve). We first came to the Discovery Hide where we saw lots of winter waterfowl like Black-Tailed Godwits, Mallards, Common Pochards, Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Lapwings, Northern Pintails and Whooper Swans. I talked to someone who said they'd seen a Smew on the mere ​earlier this morning. He said it was the first time he'd seen a Smew in this country. We then moved to the Janet Kea Hide and met someone along the way. He said that he'd just seen some Peregrine Falcons, a Merlin and lots of Western Marsh Harriers in the United Utilities Hide and he also said that he'd seen a Slavonian Grebe, around 30 minutes ago, from the screens that overlooked the mere. We took a look at the screens to try and spot the grebe but had no luck. We then came across somebody who pointed it out at the very back near some Northern Shovelers. I looked through my binoculars and, L...

  First Sight of a Kingfisher! The first hide we entered was in the reedbed walk. The hide was called the Gordon​ Taylor Hide. A Carrion Crow and a Common Redshank greeted us on the roof of the hide. As we entered, we noticed that the Northern Lapwings were foraging along the bank. Two Pied Avocets were roosting in the muddy banks along the pond as well. Presently, a flock of Black-Headed Gulls got spooked by a Common Raven as it tried to attack their young. The majestic Grey Heron also gave a nice flyover as it landed in the distant pools. We continued our adventure by trekking in the opposite direction to the Ron Barker Hide. When we arrived, I was thrilled to hear that someone had a Common Kingfisher through the scope. I looked through it I couldn't believe my eyes. The blue gem showed brilliantly as it bobbed up and down on a post that was to the  right of the bridge that crossed the ditch in front of the hide. Shortly after, it flew off but was then spotted much closer on...