Day 1 of a four day Autumn Migration tour. It was a bright start, clouding over in the afternoon, but staying dry with a blustery SW wind all day.
To start the day, we headed to the pools just east of Wells. As we got out on the minibus, we could see a Great White Egret on the back of the pools to the west of the track. Through the scope, we could see its long, dagger-shaped yellow bill. It was heading for the corner by the track, but by the time we were ready to head down there, it was flushed and flew back out to the middle, before working its way the other way down towards the back corner.
There were lots of Greylags in the grass around the pools the other side, and a good number of Egyptian Geese with them. Further back, we could see plenty of Wigeon and Teal too. There was no sign of the Little Stint here this morning unfortunately, but a Common Snipe flew round in front of us.
Walking through the bushes beyond the pools, we stopped to look at several Greenfinches feeding in the brambles – an uncommon bird these days. Then we made our way up onto the seawall beyond, where we could see several Brent Geese, Redshanks and Curlews out in the muddy channels in the harbour. A paler wader, its whiter underparts catching the sunlight, caught our attention. Through the scope we could see it was a Greenshank, a nice early addition to the list.
There seemed to be quite a few birds on the western pool, so we walked over for a closer look. There were more ducks on here, plus a few waders, notably two winter adult Ruff (one with a limp) and two Common Snipe busily probing in the mud. When all the birds spooked we looked across to see a Sparrowhawk coming through low, flushing everything.
While we were standing on the seawall, several Blue Tits and three Dunnocks came up out of the bushes in front of us. The way they circled up high into the sky before heading off strongly west suggested they were migrants on the move. Looking out over the saltmarsh, we saw several small groups of Carrion Crows heading west too. Migration in action.
As we walked back along the seawall, a smart male Yellowhammer flew in high and dropped down into the bushes. It disappeared in, but after a few minutes it flew out again and landed in the top of one of the larger hawthorns where we could get a good look at it. There were several Reed Buntings in the bushes here too. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew high over calling and disappeared off towards Wells – possibly another bird on the move.
We carried on east along the Coastal Path – there had been a Dusky Warbler further down at Warham Greens for the last few days, although it hadn’t been seen this morning as far as we could tell. We decided to have a look ourselves anyway. A flock of Long-tailed Tits made its way quickly along the hedge past us, but we couldn’t see anything with it as it did so. A couple of Song Thrushes flushed from the hedge and flew off inland, presumably freshly arrived migrants which had been taking a break. Two Kingfishers flew in across the saltmarsh and disappeared off behind us.
There were a few people looking and they confirmed there had been no sign of the Dusky Warbler. While we stood for a few minutes and listened, we looked out over the saltmarsh. There were good numbers of Pink-footed Geese coming in today – we saw some flocks arriving from distantly out beyond the beach, over the sea, while others came in from the east across the saltmarsh, presumably having made landfall already earlier. As they got closer, we could hear their distinctive yelping calls. A Marsh Harrier was hunting along the edge of the dunes. A flock of Golden Plovers circled up in the distance.
Somebody walking in from the other way told us they had just seen a Whinchat beyond the pit, so we decided to head over that way to see if we could find it. As we were walking past the pit, several Reed Buntings and Goldfinches were in the bushes and then we heard a distinctive chacking call. A Ring Ouzel! We had a couple of glimpses as it flew between the bushes before it disappeared out the back. We walked round the other side and it flew up out of the suaeda, calling. We watched as it flew out over the saltmarsh and disappeared off to the east. Another migrant.
We found the Whinchat, feeding distantly out on the saltmarsh. We could see its pale sandy colouration and distinctive pale superciliun through the scope. There were two Stonechats too, a pair. And we could now see some of the Golden Plovers tucked down in the vegetation in the distance, amazingly well camouflaged.
We walked back to the pools at Wells, but there was still no sign of the Little Stint. Four more Ruff had dropped in on the pools by the track now. We watched as a Marsh Harrier over the field beyond, flushed lots of Skylarks and Linnets from the stubble.
It was getting on for lunchtime now, so we made our way back to the minibus and headed round to Wells beach car park. A Common Buzzard flew low over the car park and several Jays flew back and forth from the pines.
After lunch, we walked up onto the seawall and had a look out over the harbour. There were lots of Brent Geese and Oystercatchers on the mud across from the lifeboat station.
Looking out the other side, towards the sea, we could see a Grey Plover down on the edge of the channel. On the sand the other side, we found several Bar-tailed Godwits roosting in with the Oystercatchers and a few Turnstones in amongst the Redshanks. Further out, a Great Black-backed Gull was feeding on a dead seal on the sand in the distance and a single Sanderling was running around it. A Rock Pipit flew over calling.
From the harbour, we made our way into the woods. As we passed the boating lake, we could see several Little Grebes diving, out on the water. Juts beyond, as we headed for the trees, we heard a Bullfinch calling from the bushes by the path, and had a quick glimpse as it shot past.
It felt like the wind had picked up this afternoon, and it was blustery in the trees – not ideal conditions. We walked in through the birches and round the Dell, finding very little. Only on the far side, did we finally find a tit flock. We tried to follow them, but they were moving very quickly, not stopping for long in the branches which were being blown around by the wind.
Eventually the flock stopped in the bushes by the main path – we walked round the corner and found ourselves surrounded by Long-tailed Tits. We could hear Chiffchaffs calling and saw one or two flitting around in the branches, along with a Blackcap. Then we heard the distinctive call of a Yellow-browed Warbler – just the bird we had hoped to find – but it seemed to be deep in the trees. The flock looked like they might come down to drink and bathe in the puddles on the path, two Coal Tits kept trying to drop down but were too nervous. Then the whole flock disappeared back towards the birches over by the toilet block.
We walked all the way round to the birches and found the tit flock again in the trees. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the Yellow-browed Warbler with them now, although we did have a nice view of several Goldcrests feeding low in the birches. Then the whole disappeared up into the tops of the pines.
There were lots of Pink-footed Geese out on Quarles Marsh, but nothing in the bushes in the open area the other side of the main path today. We walked on as far as the drinking pool, but it was quiet here too. A Jay flew up from where it had been bathing and stopped to preen in the trees. It was just too breezy this afternoon and the tit flocks all seemed to have gone into the pines to find shelter. We decided to cut our losses and headed back to the car park.
To finish the afternoon, we headed round to Stiffkey Fen. As we walked down by the river, we found a tit flock in the trees. A Goldcrest was in with them, but despite following them through the sallows all the way down to the seawall we couldn’t find anything else.
From up on the seawall, we could see a single Spoonbill out on one of the islands. It was awake but quickly went to sleep – typical Spoonbill! Most of the large flock which gathered here at the end of the summer had departed now, probably to Poole Harbour where they like to spend the winter, but a small number are still around, for the time being at least. Five Little Egrets were tucked up in front of the reeds at the back, out of the wind. A flock of Black-tailed Godwits flew in from the harbour and dropped down onto the Fen.
Looking out the other way, we could see a distant Marsh Harrier quartering over the Point. A Kingfisher skimmed low over the harbour channel below us and disappeared upstream. Through the scope, we could see three Red-breasted Mergansers out in the harbour. Lots of Oystercatchers, Brent Geese and gulls were scattered around the muddy edges.
Unfortunately it was time to head back now. As we walked down the path beside the river, a Green Sandpiper flew up from the direction of the Fen and disappeared off west. A nice bird to end the day on, but we were looking forward to more tomorrow.
