Birding Essex, Suffolk & Norfolk with DDL

   On my most recent return trip from Paris I spent the afternoon and following morning birding with DDL around London and East Anglia. There were a few interesting species on offer for us to look for, and the weather was not too unpleasant so we had a very enjoyable session visiting a few sites.

  We started near the village of St Osyth in Essex, where there had been a group of four Dotterel in a field between the village and Colne Point. They did not take us too long to track down, as they are quite conspicuous in the open habitat. Still they were distant and we had some issues with heat haze in the late morning. Fortunately in the hour we spent there the birds decided to walk closer towards us and in the end we had truly excellent views. We decided that there were two males and to females, although the bird news services instead reported only one female. This is only the third time I have seen this very attractive species and the first time I have seen multiple individuals.

  Next we decided to continue up the East Anglia coast to Suffolk, where at least one Purple Heron had been utilising one of the reedbeds at North Warren RSPB. It took us a while to work out exactly where we needed to watch from, but we eventually worked it out. As we arrived a photographer/birder was present, who said that he had been present since 06:00 and had not seen the bird until 12:30. Given how elusive Purple Herons are known to be, I suspected that we might be in for a long afternoon. Fortunately that was not the case, as the bird came out of the reeds and looped around after less than hour and in the mean time we were entertained by six Hobbys. Sadly the heron did not stay airborne for long, dropping back in after only around 15 seconds. Still, Purple Heron is a British tick for me!

  Whilst we were waiting for the heron, news broke of the nomadic Booted Eagle being seen an hour away on the Norfolk/Suffolk border in an area we planned to visit anyway due to good numbers of Red-footed Falcons in the area. We headed up but despite spending the rest of the day there we had no joy tracking down the eagle, which had probably moved on by the time we reached the site anyway. Because we spent most of our time chasing dubious eagle sightings, we did not track down any Red-footed Falcons.

  The following morning we birded an area of Ancient Woodland on the outskirts of London. While there was nothing rare of the calibre of the previous day, we enjoyed some nice Garden Warblers and a family party of Treecreepers that were energetically feeding all around us. After this I headed back into central London on my way back north to Yorkshire. 

Species List:
St Osyth: Common Shelduck, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Swift, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Eurasian Dotterel, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Whimbrel, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, European Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Common Chiffchaff, Cetti's Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Western Yellow Wagtail, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,
RSPB North Warren: Greylag Goose, Mallard, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, Eurasian Coot, Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Egret, Purple Heron, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Common Reed Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common Chiffchaff, Cetti's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Blackbird, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch,
Burgh St Peter: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Common Pheasant, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Redshank, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Eurasian Jay, Western Jackdaw, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Common Chiffchaff, Cetti's Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Wren, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch,
Cely Woods: Common Pheasant, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Eurasian Coot, European Herring Gull, Great Cormorant, Great Spotted Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, 

Soil Hill

    A chilly and blustery morning on Soil Hill produced my fourth Ring Ouzel of the spring, with a smart female feeding in the horse paddocks behind the White Cottage on Perseverance Road. I had only just spotted it when it was flushed by a Crow and I had to nervously wait to see if it would reappear. Fortunately, it then sat up in the near hedgerow, showing well and calling before dropping back behind.

  At least eight Willow Warblers this morning, but no sign of the Whitethroat that has been present the last two days, although one was singing in Bradshaw this morning. An unexpected bonus was a late spring Common Gull that flew south over the North Slope, conveniently filling in an uncomfortable gap in my eBird bar charts. Other migrants were limited to a single Wheatear in the fields on Taylor Lane. 

-Ring Ouzel

-Common Gull

Soil Hill

    With sightings of Ring Ouzel across the Calderdale area this week, I was hopeful that Soil Hill might get to join the party at some point. And so it transpired today, with three individuals seen on the Hill.

  As I was walking up Taylor Lane early morning, my scans of the fields picked up two bright white gorgets glowing in the sunrise, from two male Ring Ouzels feeding together in one of the frosted fields. I could not find them again on my walk back, but could easily still be present in one of the other fields which are more difficult to view from the road.

  I completed my circuit and was walking back up the north slope when I heard the tacking call of another Ring Ouzel, and was delighted to spot a female perched up in the North Slope Tree-Line. Having already checked this area, the bird had presumably just dropped in. She was quite mobile, moving around the various bushes at the bottom of the North Slope.

  In addition, there was a Fieldfare on Ned Hill Track, a Jack Snipe was flushed from a wet area on the summit, and at least nine Willow Warblers were present today.

-Male Ring Ouzels

-Female Ring Ouzel

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Owl, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, Ring Ouzel, European Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,

Undisclosed location

  Had a morning away from Soil Hill to check some of the other sites around Calderdale. I took some time to visit one of the Twite feeding stations high up on the moors. Given the catastrophic decline of this species on the Pennines it is always good to make sure to see them while I still can. Upon arrival I could only see Linnets enjoying the Nyjer seed, with up to 12 gorging themselves, but after a 20-minute wait three Twite dropped in and began to tuck in. I spent a short while watching them, and listening to their jangling calls, before I left them to it.

-Twite

Species List:
Undisclosed Location: Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Curlew, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark, Eurasian Wren, Northern Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Common Linnet, Twite, Common Reed Bunting, 

Soil Hill

    A lovely day for my first Soil Hill visit of the Spring, with a few migrants around and a few lingering winter species. The highlight was a new personal record count of five Jack Snipe which were all present in the same small area of marsh. My previous record was three individuals, which I have reached on several occasions. 

  In terms of spring migrants, five Willow Warblers were back on territory, with at least six Swallows blogging around and a single Sand Martin which flew southwards over the Hill. 

-Jack Snipe

-Willow Warbler

Species List:
Soil Hill: Canada Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Common Linnet, European Goldfinch, Common Reed Bunting,

India; Northwest - Day 24: Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary

   For our final day we explored an area of dry forest about twenty minutes from our lodging around the Mahuli Fort. Here we hoped to find our last remaining targets, end the trip on a high and then head to the airport in Mumbai for our flights home.

  The morning started well, as we quickly picked up a few nice male Vigors Sunbirds, a regional endemic we hoped to find here. They showed quite nicely at times. Additionally we had other nice species such as Tawny-bellied Babbler, but the other targets we had sadly eluded us despite our best efforts. We had hoped to find the White-naped Woodpecker here, but the best we could manage was a Black-rumped Flameback, the only woodpecker we have ever found when searching for White-naped.

  We were back at our hotel at 10:30, and after organising ourselves and have a slow breakfast we departed at 12:00. It took us three hours to drive to Mumbai, leaving us very early for our flights but sadly that was the best we could manage. We spent the rest of the afternoon in McDonald's enjoying some ice-cream before we boarded our respective flights back to Europe. 

India; Northwest - Day 23: Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary

   We spent the night at an airport hotel in Mumbai, and at 07:00 our drivers for the two days we were exploring the area came to pick us up and take us out of the city and to the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary where we would have an afternoon and a morning birding, looking for just a couple of key species. The journey was surprisingly short, as we arrived at the hotel just before 10:00 which included a stop for some breakfast. 

  Once we checked in to our hotel, Hidden Village, we settled in for what we presumed would be a long morning/afternoon relaxing before going out in the afternoon to find our main target; the Forest Owlet. However, we had barely been settled in to our room when the guide rushed in telling us that the main guide, his boss, was currently watching an Owlet in the sanctuary. We rushed to the car and after a solid 20-30 minute drive arrived at the spot where he was.

  Fortunately the Owl had stayed put, but it had now moved and was badly obscured so much so that you could only see its head peeking out of the tree. After a short while however it jumped onto a more open perch and from then on we could see the bird with only a few leaves obscuring it. We were also able to pick out another bird perched slightly further away. Having dedicated essentially two days to this species, we were pretty thrilled to have it wrapped up within the first hour. 

  After an afternoon rest, we set off back to the field at 16:30, this time into the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary itself, in search of the White-naped Woodpecker. Sadly we failed to find the bird in the time we had before dark and overall activity was quite limited. Still, we managed a few species of interest; Chestnut-tailed Starling, White-eyed Buzzard and some distant Cotton Pygmy Geese being the best of it. The highlight of the evening was a large, one metre long snake that we found near dusk in the tall grass. This was the first snake of our trip and my first snake in almost a year! 

India; Northwest - Day 22: Gir National Park

   We had one more game drive in the Gir National Park, but this one was an early morning drive starting at 06:00 in the dark and then finishing at 09:00. For a change this morning we were driving on route three, as opposed to route two of the previous two days. If we were to find a rare mammal then today would be our best chance. Unfortunately that is not how it transpired in the end, as we did not even see any Lions today, only picking up common mammal species like Chital, Bengal Sacred Langur, Sambar and Wild Boar. It was disappointing, but that is the way of wildlife.

  The birding was nice, but it was all commoner species from the previous day. We spent some time looking at Tree Pipits at a watering hole, and had two cracking male Common Iora but there was nothing different. Two Indian Cuckooshike that flew past would have been notable, but the views I got were far from tickable, leaving them frustratingly as the ones that got away. The highlight of the morning was probably a large Muggar Crocodile in the reservoir in the middle of the park

  At 11:00 we left our lodge in Gir and drove the four hours to the airport in Rajkot. Here we said goodbye to Pawan and Jaipal, our drivers for the last three weeks, and boarded an internal flight to Mumbai where we would have two more days birding before heading back to Europe.

-Greater Flamingo

-Bengal Sacred Langur

-Chital

Species List:
Gir National Park: Indian Peafowl, Feral Pigeon, Spotted Dove, Greater Coucal, Crested Treeswift, Red-wattled Lapwing, River Tern, Greater Flamingo, Red-naped Ibis, Eastern Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Black-winged Kite, Crested Honey Buzzard, Asian Green Bee-eater, White-throated Kingfisher, Coppersmith Barbet, Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Black-rumped Flameback, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Small Minivet, Common Woodshrike, Common Iora, White-browed Fantail, Ashy Drongo, Rufous Treepie, Indian Jungle Crow, Dusky Crag Martin, Red-vented Bulbul, Indian White-eye, Jungle Babbler, Brahminy Starling, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Black Redstart, Purple Sunbird, Yellow-throated Sparrow, White-browed Wagtail, Tree Pipit, 

India; Northwest - Day 21: Gir National Park

   Despite being in the area of the Gir National Park for the whole day, we only had a single game drive booked which was at the rather inconvenient time of 09:00 in the morning. Once we had finally got through all the bureaucracy involved with entering the park it was already 09:30, but we set off on our way anyway. We were a bit confused as we ended up doing the same route as the previous day which meant for the most part we would see the same birds and animals, but nature does always change so we were still excited for what we might find.

  Doing the drive in the heat of the day meant much less chance for rarer mammals, but the main attractions were still very much on the cards. Not far into our drive we had our first Lioness, basking in the shade before coming to drink right next to us and then walking straight past the car, giving even better views than the previous day. We also saw the same female with two cubs as the previous day, but they were not doing much. Otherwise it was the same large mammal species with the addition of Wild Boar.

  The birds were a bit more interesting. While we had the same Brown Fish Owl and Indian Thick Knee, as well as a different nest of Mottled Wood Owl, there were a few different birds around. In the morning before we set off I had a lifer with Thick-billed Flowerpecker, and once in the park we had a few trip ticks for this section with Indian Vulture, Tickells Blue Flycatcher and Black-naped Monarch. Despite being hot and late morning, there were a few spots that were still quite birdy and it wasn’t at disappointing as I had expected, going so late in the morning.

  In the afternoon, with no game drive, I was at something of a loose end, so went for a walk around the hotel Mango plantations. That did not yield much in half an hour so I spent the rest of the afternoon, around two hours, watching over the back wall into the national park hoping for something to walk past. In the two hours I saw my two favourite things in the park; relaxed looking Chital and relaxed looking Peacocks. There were no other mammals. However, there were a few nice birds such as Common Rosefinch and some dust bathing Grey Francolins. For lack of any other options, it was not a bad way to spend the afternoon. 

-Lion

Species List:
Gir National Park: Indian Peafowl, Grey Francolin, Feral Pigeon, Spotted Dove, Laughing Dove, Greater Coucal, Asian Koel, Savanna Nightjar, Little Swift, Crested Treeswift, White-breasted Waterhen, Indian Stone-curlew, Red-wattled Lapwing, River Tern, Red-naped Ibis, Indian Pond Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Medium Egret, Crested Honey Buzzard, Indian Vulture, Shikra, Brown Fish Owl, Spotted Owlet, Mottled Wood Owl, Asian Green Bee-eater, Common Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Coppersmith Barbet, Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Black-rumped Flameback, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Plum-headed Parakeet, Small Minivet, Common Iora, White-browed Fantail, Black Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Rufous Treepie, Large-billed Crow, Cinereous Tit, Common Tailorbird, Grey-breasted Prinia, Dusky Crag Martin, Wire-tailed Swallow, Red-vented Bulbul, Indian White-eye, Jungle Babbler, Brahminy Starling, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Black Redstart, Thick-billed Flowerpecker, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Purple Sunbird, Yellow-throated Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Common Rosefinch, 

India; Northwest - Day 20: Jamnagar & Gir National Park

   Today was the day of the Hindu Holi festival, and as such our driver was keen to get moving nice and early to try and avoid any potential issues on the road that we might encounter, since we needed to be at the Gir National Park for 16:00 for our first game drive in the national park. However, since we had dipped the Indian Skimmer the previous evening, we decided to have a quick check of the various sites in the morning in the vain hope that we might be able to find them.

  In the end it took us about an hour to check the various salt pans and the lake where we had birded the previous day. We did more birding of the lake since there were a few more species to check through but overall a quick scan was all we needed to confirm that the skimmers were still not present despite our best efforts. The only new species for the trip of the morning were four Comb Ducks that were sitting on a spit on the lake, a nice addition to our overall species list for our time in India.

  We started our drive at 15:20, only so that we could have all the paperwork done for our entry time at 16:00. Even then we were only able to enter the park a little later than that, and whilst waiting in the office area we could see that the park was rammed with weekend visitors enjoying the holiday. Whilst we were nervous about what this might mean, we were pleased that our visit inside the park was very peaceful and we had no issues with other vehicles for the most part. The only time that happened was when we found the parks main attractions: the Lions!

  In the end we saw eight Lions, a female with two three-month-old cubs and a group of five. Apparently they were all from the same family. The female and cubs didn’t do much, simply lying by the side of the road dozing. But the other group was a bit more interesting, as they were drinking before crossing the road right in front of us at very close range. Considering that I expected to see them lying down and doing nothing, it was quite an encounter.

  Most of the other mammals were already familiar to us, with Bengal Sacred Langur, Nilgi, Axis Deer and Sambar Deer. But we had two bonus right at the end with first a Ruddy Mongoose, which was a species I had been trying to pick out from our various mongooses throughout the trip, and then a nice Indian Grey Mongoose right at the end. In addition there were two Muggar Crocodiles in a small stream at the furthest point along our drive.

  In terms of birds we knew that we were not expecting much of interest but had some nice owl action with a roosting Mottled Wood Owl by the side of the road, and then a fantastic Brown Fish Owl. While the latter was excellent, it was improved even more when we saw two medium sized chicks in a hole in the tree behind, their small heads poking out and looking at us. Otherwise it was mostly commoner species from the region that we had got used to seeing over the past few days. 

-Lion

Species List:
Jamnagar: Knob-billed Duck, Ruddy Shelduck, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Common Pochard, Eurasian Collared Dove, Greater Coucal, Eurasian Coot, Grey-headed Swamphen, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Red-wattled Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Ruff, Little Stint, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern, River Tern, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, Little Grebe, Asian Openbill, Painted Stork, Oriental Darter, Little Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Eurasian Spoonbill, Western Reef Heron, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Eurasian Hoopoe, Red-vented Bulbul, Common Babbler, Rosy Starling, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Purple Sunbird, House Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail,
Gir National Park: Indian Peafowl, Grey Francolin, Feral Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Spotted Dove, Laughing Dove, Asian Koel, Little Swift, White-breasted Waterhen, Indian Stone-curlew, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Red-wattled Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Cormorant, Indian Pond Heron, Medium Egret, Crested Honey Buzzard, Crested Serpent Eagle, Brown Fish Owl, Spotted Owlet, Mottled Wood Owl, Asian Green Bee-eater, White-throated Kingfisher, Coppersmith Barbet, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Plum-headed Parakeet, Small Minivet, White-browed Fantail, Black Drongo, Bay-backed Shrike, House Crow, Cinereous Tit, Common Tailorbird, Red-vented Bulbul, Indian White-eye, Jungle Babbler, Brahminy Starling, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Black Redstart, Yellow-throated Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Tree Pipit,