2019 Bird Year List updated 19.03.19

Following several local walks for my Bishop's Stortford Independent fortnightly column and a trip to a very cold North Norfolk I thought it was time to kickstart my 2019 year list of all the birds I have seen this year.

Bullfinch: Wells Next The Sea harbour, feeding on sea buckthorn

Black headed gull: Brancaster harbour

1. Red throated diver: Holkham beach
2. Black throated diver: Titchwell
3. Great Northern Diver: Holkham beach
4. Black necked grebe: Holkham beach
5. Little Grebe: Bishop's Stortford
6. Great crested grebe: Cambridge/Waterbeach
7. Gannet: Cley beach
8. Cormorant: Cley beach
9. Little egret: Cley NWT
10. Grey heron: Holkham
11. Mute swan: River Stort
12. Whooper swan: near Ely in fields
13. Pink footed goose: Holkham
14. Greylag goose: Trimms Green
15. Canada goose: Holkham
16. Brent goose: Warham Greens
17. Shelduck: Titchwell
18. Egyptian goose: Holkham
19. Mallard: River Stort
20. Gadwall: Titchwell
21. Pintail: Titchwell
22. Shoveler: Titchwell
23. Wigeon: Holkham
24. Teal: Titchwell
25. Pochard: Titchwell
26. Tufted duck: Fuller's End
27. Eider: Titchwell
28. Common scoter: Titchwell
29. Velvet scoter: Cley beach
30. Red kite: Little Hadham 
31. Marsh harrier: Cley

    

    Red kite: Holkham

32. Common buzzard: Little Hadham
33. Sparrowhawk: Thorley Wash
34. Kestrel: Little Hadham
35. Red legged partridge: Little Hadham
36. Grey partridge: Little Hadham
37. pheasant: garden
38. Water rail: Titchwell
39. Moorhen: River Stort
40. Coot: Titchwell
41. Oystercatcher: Titchwell
42. Avocet: Titchwell
43. Ringed plover: Titchwell
44. Grey plover: Titchwell
45. Golden plover: Titchwell
46. Lapwing: Amwell
47. Sanderling: Titchwell
48. Turnstone: Titchwell
49. Dunlin: Cley NWT
50. Redshank: Titchwell
51. Black tailed godwit: Titchwell
52. Bar tailed godwit: Titchwell
53. Curlew: Titchwell
54. Woodcock: Millennium Wood
55. Black headed gull: Little Hadham
56. Common gull: Sheringham
57. Herring gull: Little Hadham
58. Lesser black backed gull: Little Hadham
59. Great black backed gull: Cley
60. Guillemot: Cley beach 

    

    Curlew: Thornham harbour

61. Wood pigeon: Little Hadham
62. Collared dove: Little Hadham
63. Tawny owl: Much Hadham
64. Barn Owl: Little Hadham
65. Little Owl: Green Tye
66. Kingfisher: River Stort
67. Green woodpecker: Little Hadham
68. Great spotted woodpecker: Little Hadham
69. Skylark: Tye Green
70. Shore lark: Holkham beach

    

    Shore lark: Holkham beach 

71. Water pipit: Titchwell
72. Meadow pipit: Cley
73. Pied Wagtail: Bishop's Storford
74. Grey wagtail: Little Hadham
75. Wren: Garden
76. Dunnock: garden
77. Robin: garden
78. Song Thrush: Bishop's Stortford
79. Mistle Thrush: Bishop's Storford
80. Redwing: Little Hadham
81. Fieldfare: Little Hadham
82. Blackbird: Garden
83. Chiffchaff: River Stort
84. Goldcrest: Hadham Hall
85. Great tit: Garden
86. Blue Tit: Garden
87. Coal Tit: Garden
88. Marsh Tit: Fuller's End
89. Long tailed tit: Garden
90. Nuthatch: Turner's Spring EWT Reserve
91. Treecreeper: Little Hadham
92. Magpie: Garden
93. Jay: Little Hadham
94. Jackdaw: Garden
95. Rook: Little Hadham
96. Carrion Crow: Little Hadham
97. Starling: garden
98. House sparrow: Little Hadham
99. Chaffinch: garden
100. Brambling: Titchwell
101. Linnet: Thornham harbour
102. Twite: Thornham Harbour
103. Goldfinch: Garden
104. Greenfinch: Fuller's End
105. Siskin: River Stort
106. Bullfinch: Wells Next the Sea
107. Reed bunting: Thorley Wash HMWT
108. Snow bunting: Holkham beach
109. Raven: Little Hadham
110. Peregrine falcon: Bishop's Stortford
111. Smew: Amwell
112. Siskin: Bishop's Stortford
113. Goldeneye: Amwell
114. Mediterranean Gull (Titchwell)
115. Wheatear (Cley, Eye Field)
116. Rock pipit (Cley, East Bank)

Snow bunting: Salthouse beach/Gramborough Hill 2018

Teal: Titchwell RSPB Reserve

Barn owl at Holkham

Water rail: Titchwell

117. Sand martin (Amwell)
118. Little ringed plover (Amwell)
119. Willow warbler (Amwell)
120. Blackcap (Sawbridgeworth Marsh)
121. House martin (Amwell)
122. Swallow (Rushy Mead)

Blackcap singing at Amwell

Willow warbler (Amwell)

123. Common tern (Oare Marshes)
124. Whitethroat (Dungeness)
125. Sedge warbler (Dungeness)
126. Common crane (Denge Marsh)
127. Great skua (Dungeness)
128. Arctic skua (Dungeness)
129. Whimbrel (Dungeness)
130. Lesser whitethroat (AVGC)
131. Spotted flycatcher (Westland Green)
132 Garden Warbler (Cradle End)
133. Sandwich tern (Titchwell)
134. Stone curlew (Weeting Heath)
135. Swift (Little Hadham)
136 Cuckoo (Holme NWT Reserve)
137. Red crested pochard (Titchwell)
138. Hobby (Titchwell)

Little Ringed plover

Juvenile Marsh tit

pair of Stone curlew

Holkham Beach, Titchwell and Thornham Harbour

Another morning set off for North Norfolk. Today, first stop was to be Holkham Beach. En-route I recorded various birds: red kite, kestrel, common buzzard along with regular sightings of corvids and gulls etc. A huge, 300+ flock of fieldfare were noted near Swaffham.
Having parked in Lady Anne's Drive, I checked the Freshmarsh, large number of wigeon and brent geese whilst a water rail, scurrying across the road was a pleasant surprise. I got on to the beach and headed towards Holkham Gap to the East. A sign told me Northern Lark were present. What is it with the usage of American birds names in the UK? They are shore lark!! Anyway, the area was roped off, pleasing to see as last year, when 13 were present, photographers were perpetually trying to get too close and this meant the birds were constantly being moved on, using up valuable energy. Basically, if you stayed quiet and still there was the chance the birds would come close enough for a photo and, in poor morning light, indeed they did. In total, I counted 24 present along with a large flock of 90+ snow buntings which were constantly on the move.

Injured brent goose

Sign on the beach, right message, wrong name!

Distant snow bunting, heavily cropped

another snow bunting

distant shore lark

enhanced colour

another shore lark

I then headed off for a spot of sea watching. Several cormorant on the water but after checking backwards and forwards came across a great northern diver and a slavonian grebe, both fairly far out and viewed through the scope. On a spit of sand, oystercatchers, common, herring and black headed gulls and a few sanderling. At 6C and a good breeze, it was not a time to spend sitting in the dunes for too long, so I headed back to the car. By now the clouds had lifted and the sun was making an effort to climb into the sky.

Holkham Beach, low tide

A brief stop at Burnham Overy Staithe, then Burnham Deepdale to buy lunch. I took this to Brancaster Staithe where I watched waders on the mud. A particularly menacing herring gull gave me the eye, probably expecting my ham sandwich! AsI left, a rock pipit popped up on one of the boats moored on the mud.
Then off to Titchwell, arriving at 1.45, with the sun already on a downward path. The island hide gave views of regular species (black tailed godwits, avocets, shoveler, wigeon etc) so off to the Parrinder Hide where a water pipit settled briefly, too briefly, in front of the hide along with a large flock of linnet. Several dunlin, hundreds of golden plover and lapwings as well as shelduck and more teal and wigeon.
Then, off to check the Volunteer Marsh and then the Tidal Marsh: grey plover and pintail were added but by now the sun was very low and getting dark, so I returned to the car. As I did, all the plovers went up as one, something had spooked them. A quick check of the sky gave up the answer: a peregrine.
With little light left I headed to Thornham Harbour. I was greeted by a mixed flock of finches, containing mainly goldfinch, several redpolls and 5 twite. Pleasing to see as my last visit here a week last Monday had concluded in only hearing them as they flew high in a bright sky.

Turnstone, Brancaster Staithe

winter plumaged herring gull expecting my lunch!

drake teal

duck teal

Inquisitive lapwing

Plovers put up by the peregrine

drake shoveler

Brent geese awaiting permission to land

Permission granted

Dusk time dunlin and 2 wigeon

over the Freshmarsh

Species list:

1. Great northern diver (new for year)
2. Slavonian grebe
3. Cormorant
4. Little egret
5. mute swan
6. pink footed goose
7. greylag goose
8. canada goose
9. brent goose
10. egyptian goose
11. shelduck
12. mallard
13. pintail
14. shoveler
15. wigeon
16. teal
17. red kite
18. common buzzard
19. marsh harrier
20. peregrine falcon
21. kestrel
22. pheasant
23. water rail
24. moorhen
25. coot
26. oystercatcher
27. avocet
28. grey plover
29. golden plover
30. lapwing
31. sanderling
32. turnstone
33. dunlin
34. edshank
35. black tailed godwit
36. bar tailed godwit
37. curlew
38. snipe
39. black headed gull
40. herring gull
41. common gull
42. wood pigeon
43. green woodpecker
44. shore lark
45. water pipit (new for year)
46. rock pipit
47. pied wagtail
48. wren
49. dunnock
50. robin
51. redwing
52. fieldfare
53. blackbird
54. great tit
55. blue tit
56. coal tit
57. magpie
58. jackdaw
59. carrion crow
60. rook
61. starling
62. chaffinch
63. linnet
64. goldfinch
65. twite
66. lesser redpoll
67. reed bunting
68. snow bunting

Looking over Thornham Marsh towards Titchwell

Pink foot geese coming in to roost near Holme

Thornham Harbour

Tricky to get depth of field right here!

Moon rising

Titchwell and Thornham Harbour

A last minute decision found me heading for Titchwell Reserve this morning, arriving 10am at Holkham, but little about as estate workers were in the fields. A quick check along the track to Burnham Overy dunes gave up usual finch and tit fare but little else, so off to Titchwell.
Bright light yet chilly made photography non too easy and by 2pm it had clouded over and the light was poor.
Year listers for the day were Pintail, 3 on the Fresh Marsh and a pair of eider, firstly hauled up on the beach and then feeding in the surf. Good numbers of birds, especially on the beach.
A few early photos in what was a very blue light for most of the morning and early afternoon.

shoveler

redshank

skulking grey plover

feeding black tailed godwit

 I then wandered from the Island Hide to the beach, checking the fresh marsh and tidal marsh. Not too much on the latter.

Drake Eider hauled up on the beach

Black tailed godwit

another BlTG

pLENTY OF BIRDS TO CHECK HERE: HERRING, BLACK HEADED AND LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS, OYSTERCATCHERS, GODWITS, TURNSTONES, GOLDEN PLOVER, DUNLIN etc

flyby Oystercatcher

menancing looking herring gull

bright light on the beach

pair of eider

turnstone

Back to the Reserve and some views from the Parrinder Hide.

redshank and little egret helping each other find food

blue lit Little egret

dunlin

pair of wigeon in poor light

Finally I popped along to Thornham Harbour. Heard twite overhead but too bright to locate them. Groups of finches were checked but just gave up goldfinch, lesser redpoll along with a pair of reed buntings.

curlew

redshank

flyover curlew

species list:

1. red throated diver
2. slavonian grebe
3. cormorant
4. littleegret
5. mute swan
6. pink footed goose
7. greylag goose
8. brent geese
9. shelducl
10. egyptian goose
11. mallard
12. pintail
13. shoveler
14. wigeon
15. teal
16. eider
17. common scoter
18. marsh harrier
19. common buzzard
20. kestrel
21. red legged partridge
22. pheasant
23. water rail (heard)
24. moorhen
25. oystercatcher
26. avocet
27. ringed plover
28. grey plover
29. golden plover
30. lapwing
31. sanderling
32. turnstone
33. dunlin
34. redshank
35. black tailed godwit
36. curlew
37. black headed gull
38. herring gull
39. lesser black backed gull
40. wood pigeon
41. barn owl
42. green woodpecker
43. skylark (heard)
44. meadow pipit
45. pied wagtail
46. wren
47. dunnock
48. robin
49. fieldfare
50. redwing
51. blackbird
52. great tit
53. blue tit
54. long tailed tit
55. magpie
56. jay
57. carrion crow
58. rook
59. jackdaw
60. starling
61. chaffinch
62. goldfinch
63. lesser redpoll
64. twite (heard)
65. reed bunting