Teal

One of the lovely dabbling ducks that multiply in numbers during the autumn and winter months is the Teal. The male has a lovely chestnut head and green eye patches, while the female is a little less exciting with a mottled brown colouration. Always a pleasure to see, although be warned they are quite flighty, so getting close is difficult.

 

Glossy Ibis

A few weeks ago there was a bit of an influx of Glossy Ibis into the country, and of particular interest to me were four birds that had made themselves at home close to the Horwich moors.
I'd managed to see my first Glossy Ibis last year at Sandbach, but it stayed distant. This time, these guys made it very easy to see them and they seemed almost oblivious to mine and the other birders present. I thought my luck was out at first, as I'd gone to High Rid reservoir first, where they had been the previous day, only for them to not be there. Fortunately, the wonders of modern technology alerted me to them being in a field less than a mile away. Fantastic birds to see.

Lesser Scaup

Last Sunday I managed to continue my Manchester rarities catch up. Another of the long stayers was at Pennington Flash in the form of a drake Lesser Scaup. The day I caught up with it, was it's 5th week on the Flash. Having seen photos of it in severe moult, it is no wonder it has stayed around. It was going nowhere without the ability to fly. The Lesser Scaup is from North America and tends to stay within America, migrating further South but rarely across the Atlantic to Britain. This bird must have blown off course by quite some distance. Still, it's great to see a bird like this at such close proximity. Yet another lifer for me, in a very productive few weeks.

Great Skua

I managed to get out at the weekend with the intention of going to see some Manchester rarities, that luckily for me have stayed around for a while. The first to go and see was a Great Skua that had managed to find it's way inland and to a reservoir and seemed to have made itself comfortable. I'd been put off twice, as weather and traffic had meant I'd arrived too late to see anything. So, out early on Saturday, and as luck would have it, the sun was shining too.
A cracking bird to see, and not one I'm likely to ever get this close to again.

Cley - Norfolk

When I visit Norfolk, Cley is a must as a place to visit. In fact you can't really go to Norfolk and not go to Cley. It is like a Mecca to British birders. Freshwater marsh, saltwater marsh, pools, reed beds, plus the North Sea and a shingle beach. So much to attract a whole variety of birds, and it does. Quite regularly they are birds they are not often seen here in the UK. Or if they are, it's exactly in this place that they do turn up. Having said all that, there was nothing really out of the ordinary when we went a few weeks ago. Still it's always a lovely place to spend a few hours. I can also recommend the cake selection in the visitor centre.

 

The iconic Cley windmill, that was such a feature of my childhood summer holidays.

Black-tailed Godwits on the move.

The lovely looking Wigeon were building in numbers.

Little Stint - Titchwell, Norfolk

One of my life time first birds seen in Norfolk was the Little Stint. At first it was seen with the aid of another kind birders scope, but a little later it was seen very close with the naked eye, and then my camera. A lovely little wading bird one that I won't forget in a hurry.

Also seen at Titchwell were a Ruff, Grey Plover and Common Redshank. Some pictures of these below.

Ruff

 

Grey Plover in lovely breeding plumage.

 

A Grey Plover as you would see outside of breeding season.

 

Common Redshank

 

 

Spoonbill - Titchwell Norfolk

A bird that seems to be around the Norfolk coast more and more frequently is the Spoonbill. That being said, I'd only ever seen one before, and that was quite distant and I didn't even get to see it's bill as it was asleep with it's back to me. So I didn't actually count this one.
This time however, I had a lovely flyby on a couple of occasions. At first I thought it was a Little Egret, but it was a bit chunkier. I was thrilled to watch as it came back the second time almost directly overhead. And this time it's spoon bill was there for all to see.

The Snipe - Titchwell Norfolk

I managed to get some decent shots of one of my favourite wading birds, the Snipe. I've found it very difficult to get close enough in good light without too much vegetation to take anything worth while so far. At Titchwell though I found one very obliging bird just outside one of the hides. The sun came out too, to make it even better. I love the markings on these birds, the head shape, the length of the bill, everything. Add to that the fact that they are hard to spot sometimes and it all adds up to something very interesting for me.
Here are a few shots that I got.

Norfolk

I spent a lovely weekend with my parents in Snettisham on the North West coast of Norfolk, in what is starting to become a nice tradition and a nice break from the humdrum of everyday life.
Once again, we were blessed with dry weather. Not particularly warm, but none of us really do the wet stuff, so it was smiles all round.
The birds never fail to show up in Norfolk (unless its a Stone Curlew, but that's for another day). Three more lifers for me this time, in the form of Whimbrel, Little Stint and Pectoral Sandpiper. Always great to see new birds and tick a few off.
Here are some shots from our visit to Titchwell. (There will be plenty more for me to post in the coming days)

Black-tailed Godwit, which seemed to be everywhere I looked.

Dunlin

Robin