TheFinancialBirder

What a day! It was one of those ‘Red letter days’ which come along all too infrequently, but fantastic nonetheless. I had made arrangements yesterday to stay overnight in a B&B called The Manor House in a quaint village called Trunch! What a name! But after Becky and I got over our arguments about life, we made our way to this tiny village and arrived at nearly 9pm. We were both knackered and therefore didn’t hit the local pub and watched telly instead.
The next day, after a hearty cooked breakfast (naughty!), I had a blinder of a day. Not only did I see my first ever Common Rosefinch, but also I got 7 year ticks and a total of 20 month ticks in just one day!!
We kicked off at Holkham Pines for the Geese and arrived around 11am. The place was teeming with birders and dog walkers as we tried to find somewhere to park on Lady Ann’s Drive but eventually we found somewhere. I scanned the fields quickly for the Geese and came up trumps with a small flock of Pink-footed Geese distantly near the Washington Hide. A pair of Egyptian Geese flew from the field and disappeared into the distance. It’s the first time I have seen this hide though we never ventured into it as we first headed to the beach. Recently, good numbers of Yellow-browed Warblers have been seen near the hide including a possible Hume’s Warbler. A first winter Lesser Grey Shrike has been present for a few days here also but I’ll mention that later.
As we walked with the many others on the beach, I said to Becky that we would try the sea for ducks and grebes etc. But before we did, we joined a group of other birders present to see if they had anything unusual. They hadn’t. In fact, someone said they saw some Larks drop down on the salt marsh. True, there were plenty of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits flying around but at the time, little else. Then another large group of birders came over and said they had nothing at all on the sea. Bloody dudes!! Sometimes I wonder if they walk around with their bloody eyes shut! Undeterred, Becky and I then headed off to the dunes for a vantage point and then I scanned the sea.
The sea was teeming with birdlife with plenty to look at. The sea itself was millpond calm with visibility out at sea being excellent. What was to follow was truly amazing. Despite hardly a ripple on the sea, a Leach’s Petrel flew past in an easterly direction gliding and flapping low over the water. I was stunned to say the least. I expected to see one of these in a force 9 gale or stranded inland on a lake but never in these weather conditions. What a bonus! Also on the sea, good numbers of Gannets were offshore including one that nearly got my blood pressure rising. It had a strange plumage with a lot of dark on the upper parts, which I can only assume that it was oil. But it was definitely a Gannet though. Divers were well in evidence on the North Norfolk coast as I counted two Red-throated Divers, which flew past together in an easterly direction, one of which was in summer plumage still. A Black-throated Diver was found swimming on the sea also and clearly in winter plumage. A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers flew west low over the sea whilst I was watching the Diver and a small group of 5 Common Scoters were seen swimming together on the water. A small group of 5 Brent Geese were also seen flying west over the sea. So, nothing on the sea according to those dollops!!
Walking back to the car, I was told that a 1st winter Common Rosefinch had been found at a place called Warham Greens and so I told Becky that that was our next destination. On the way back, a pair of Snow Buntings flew overhead but unfortunately didn’t settle as they headed toward the beach then headed east. That was good enough but then a pair of Lapland Buntings flew past, their call giving away their identity as they flew down onto the salt marsh way in the distance. And it got even better!
As Becky was queuing up for something to eat and drink at a food van in Lady Ann’s Drive, I scanned the fields again for the Geese to photograph. A fellow birder came up to me and asked if I had seen the Lesser Grey Shrike today. I didn’t know if it was still around but he said that someone had saw it earlier this morning. I then scanned the likeliest areas where a Shrike would perch, the hedgerows, and unbelievably found the bird perched on a fence post. I told the fellow birder who promptly put down his food and we both admired the Shrike. He then had doubts and said that the bird was a Great Grey Shrike but I noticed the barring on the forehead and also the thinning black mask that ran to the bill. On checking carefully in someone’s field guide, the bird was indeed the Lesser Grey Shrike, a 1st winter bird and my second ever! Amazing. I kindly informed any passing birder of the Shrikes whereabouts then we both headed off to Warham Greens.

The chap at the entrance gate to Lady Ann’s Drive gave us directions to the location of Warham Greens as it wasn’t on my map and being just a few miles east of Wells, we found the bumpy dirt track leading to the location of the Rosefinch. Parking up, we then walked around half a mile or so down the track, which led to the salt marsh. From here, we then walked east for another hundred yards to join the birders present, which numbered around 50 people. But there was no sign of the bird for around 45 minutes.
The bird was frequenting a row of hedgerows and alders but it had disappeared. For our efforts, a Redwing, my first of the month, flew over and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew overhead also, again, another first for the month. But this was scant reward for driving and walking this distance. Disappointed, we then walked back to the car and headed off to Titchwell RSPB Reserve.

Titchwell never disappoints when it comes to birds, as there is so much variety here to look at. We had a quick coffee and a look in the gift shop and I gave the sightings board a quick look also. A Ross’s Goose, Red necked Grebe, Yellow browed Warbler and a Bittern had all been seen this morning so I was itching to find some stuff.
I was beginning to worry for Becky as her foot hurt and I also wondered if she was near suicidal yet with all this birding in one day!
On the first large pool we came to, I picked up Pochard and Gadwall as month ticks amongst the many Tufted Ducks, Mallard, Shoveler and Teal present, which was a good start. Waders included at least 20+ Ruff and a dozen or so Spotted Redshanks (both month ticks), good numbers of Redshank and Oystercatchers, with at least 3 Avocets, 4 Little Stints (all juveniles), a Bar-tailed Godwit, several Common Snipe, 20+ flyover Golden Plover and several Ringed Plovers. A large contingent of Grey Lag Geese contained the Ross’s Goose (which is presumed an escape from somewhere).
Out on the sea, at least 10+ Red throated Divers were on the water as well as 10+ Razorbills, 30+ Eiders and a single female Goldeneye (my first of the month). Again, the sea was dead calm and picking up the birds on the sea was very easy for a change. Several rafts of Common Scoter flew past though distant and too distant to check if there were any Velvets amongst them. On the beach, up to 20+ Sanderling fed along the tideline, with also Oystercatcher, Turnstone and a single Bar-tailed Godwit seen too.
The walk back produced a female Marsh Harrier, which flew high over the reserve then landed in the reedbed. Near the Centre, a group of three Siskins were seen on top of a tree then flew off north. Three Redwings flew high overhead and a Robin sang by the footpath literally just feet from where we stood, totally oblivious to anyone passing by. Fantastic.
Becky had to use the loo and so while I waited by the car in the car park, I heard that the Common Rosefinch had returned to Warham Greens. You can guess where we went next!

Time was getting on and at 4pm, I was literally preying the Rosefinch was still around but I wasn’t holding much hope. Not only did I drive down the wrong dirt track but also there didn’t seem to be many cars down the right dirt track. But nevertheless, I persevered, drove down to the bottom of the track, found some cars there and without having that awful long walk ahead of me, I joined around 30 other fellow birders who had their scopes and cameras trained on a small group of elders by the salt marsh. Asking the first birder I came to if the bird was still there, he said it was showing very well and sure enough, the 1st winter Common Rosefinch was feeding on elderberries in the centre of the elder trees.
The amount of twitches I have been on to see one of these birds I can’t recollect, but it was nearing double figures! Finally, I caught up with one and this bird was indeed very very showy. The frustration of years of not seeing one of these on countless twitches suddenly all went away as the bird showed from around 30 feet away totally oblivious to 30 fully appreciative birders. Though not as glamorous as an adult bird, it still had its attractive points with beady black eye, thick finch like bill, green overall plumage with two thin white bars on the wings being the most notable points. The bird was quiet all the time I was there so I filmed it as it gorged itself on the elderberries.
Unbelievably whilst watching the Rosefinch, someone shouted out that a possible Great White Egret was flying past in the distance. And sure enough, a Great White Egret was flying past heading west towards Holkham Pines where it was seen yesterday! Two rare birds virtually in the same field of view.
I was now left to reflect on what I had seen today and will long live in the memory for a long time. And to add icing on the cake, Pompey won 2-0 at Fulham this afternoon. It can’t get better than that.

Piczo