My first proper outing of October had to wait until the 12th, when I visited the North Norfolk coast. Winds had been blowing from the west throughout the month, so vagrant rarities were virtually non-existent. However, I had hoped to see black-throated diver (birds reported from a number of locations) and the hooded crow that had taken up residence at Warham Greens. Of course, there was always the photography to look forward to!
I started at Holkham, walking down Lady Anne's drive to the beach. There were plenty of pink-footed geese around, both in the fields and flying overhead, and I spotted a couple of grey partridge close to the car parking area. The usual area of the beach had been cordoned off, but there was no sign yet of wintering shorelarks or snow buntings. A few common scoters and great crested grebes were on the sea and a couple of razorbills flew west. More distant birds (I didn't have my 'scope with me) could have been divers. However, there was one diver close inshore, which allowed me to take some photographs. This was probably a sick bird, which made no attempt to fly or swim away (hopefully not bird flu). My images indicated that this was an adult red-throated diver, moulting into winter plumage.
Red-throated Diver, Holkham Gap, 12 October
Moving on to Warham Greens, a vigorous 35-minute walk from the eastern edge of Wells took me to the pig farm where the hooded crow had been hanging out. Not a single crow could be seen here so, with a touch of disappointment, I set off back. I had earlier passed another bird watcher - I saw him again shortly after setting off way back, looking intently across the saltmarsh through his telescope. I decided to spend a little time looking in the same direction across the saltmarsh at the various waders, egrets and marsh harriers that were in the area. A few corvids were also on the saltmarsh and one of them was - you've guessed it - the 'hoodie'!
I finished the day at RSPB Titchwell, photographing waders in flight. Just before I left, I spied another diver not far from the shore and close enough to photograph. Although the markings were different, I think that this was another moulting adult red-throated diver (image below, together with a couple of photos of godwits in flight). Red-throated diver is by far the commonest diver species to be seen in the North Sea during the winter months, but it can be difficult to separate from black-throated diver when seen distantly. The following day, two black-throated divers were reported on the sea at Titchwell...
Red-throated Diver, RSPB Titchwell, 12 October
Black-tailed Godwit in Flight over the Freshmarsh, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 12 October
Bar-tailed Godwit in Flight over the sea, RSPB Titchwell, 12 October
Two visits to Grafham Water, on the afternoons of the 18th and 27th, were unsuccessful in locating the long-tailed duck and American wigeon that had been reported there on several occasions both before and after my visits. I wasn't alone: others failed to find the birds whilst I was there. However, I had better luck on the 19th when I visited Holkham and Wells on a reconnaissance trip for an RSPB walk that I was due to lead on the 23rd. Having walked from Holkham to Wells harbour and back on a pleasant, calm day without seeing anything too exciting, I decided to pop into to the 'Lookout' cafe for a reviving cup of coffee. Several bird watchers were there, and I found out that a Pallas's warbler had been found a few hours beforehand and was still showing near the Washington Hide, about half a mile west of Holkham. I rushed off to see the bird and was lucky to not only see the warbler (a 'lifer' for me) but also get some 'record shot' photos (image below). In fact, several of these very pretty, tiny little warblers were found along the east coast over the next couple of days, having flown in from the Continent during a rare break in the dominant westerly winds. Pallas's warblers mostly nest in Siberia - very small numbers reach the UK each year at about this time of year as passage migrants. They are nowhere near as common in the autumn as their close relatives, yellow-browed warblers.
Pallas's Warbler, Holkham, 19 October
By the time of the RSPB visit on the 23rd the Pallas's warblers had moved on. However, one or two of our members were lucky to see another very rare drift migrant, pallid swift! Apparently, the unseasonably warm weather had resulted in quite a few of these swifts being seen along the East Coast during the last nine days of October. On a very wet day I missed the swift and had to settle for good views of rutting fallow deer stags in Holkham Park.
Fallow Deer Stags Not Seeing Eye to Eye, Holkham Park, 23 October
My next visit to the East Coast was, by way of a change, to Suffolk. I have seen Alpine accentors in the Alps and the Pyrenees, but never in the UK, so when the first 'twitchable' bird for 20 years turned up at Slaughden, near Aldeburgh, on the 27th, I was keen to see it. The bird was still present the following day, so I decided to look for it. I arrived to find the bird feeding on a narrow causeway between two large groups of bird watchers and bird photographers. I have to say that I felt rather sorry for it, in much the same way as I would feel sorry for a cheetah tucking into prey, surrounded by jeep loads of tourists on the Masai Mara. After getting a few sightings of the bird as it plodded away in light vegetation, it flew over our heads and landed close by, so I was able to get a few photos of a quite attractive bird (images below). I had hoped to also see a dusky warbler nearby at Southwold, but the bird had flown overnight. The Alpine accentor stayed for another night, but then flew off at dawn, not to be seen again.
Alpine Accentor, Slaughden, 28 October
Alpine Accentor, Slaughden, 28 October
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