31st Dec

Looking at what birds were available not too far away I settled on the lesser white fronted goose at Buckenham, which showed although distantly shortly after my arrival amongst the taiga bean and pink footed geese also of note was a Chinese water deer and two peregrine falcons. I aborted the visit to Cockshoot broad as the road was flooded out, so instead I went to Ranworth Broad where the ring necked duck was quickly located. With little else about I headed to the Horsey area to find some cranes but had no luck so ended up at a rather quiet Hickling broad so after a while I went to Stubbs Mill. Here at least was some birdlife in the form of a couple of cranes that were on the deck. A sparrowhawk the only raptor not a marsh harrier. A few more cranes came in before I gave up and headed for home after a rather mixed day.

30th Dec

I spent the entire day in the Fakenham area, Farnborough John and I started at the Great Grey Shrike which was showing quite nicely but we did not study the features or discuss its possible subspecies instead we headed to Sculthorpe Moor to try to see the harvest mouse I discovered two days before. Three bank voles were showing nicely but no mouse. We persevered using the time to watch the good selection of small birds on the feeders until mid afternoon, when the harvest mouse appeared. It showed well several times and made the trip worthwhile. To thaw out we wandered round the reserve and had several barn owls, little egret, lesser redpoll, willow tit and the resident golden pheasant before we left.

29th Dec

An early moring visit to a rather quiet Fowlmere gave up my second Otter sighting there which made the visit worthwhile.

28th Dec

A day out in Norfolk away from all the Christmas festivities started at Titchwell as the sun rose, the golden plover flock entertained over the freshmarsh, the only bird of note was a Caspian gull. Back at the Visitor centre the redpolls proved elusive, but I located one of the Meally's amongst the lessers after a short search, but the Coue's artic redpoll proved very elusive during my stay and I had to settle for a couple of brief views before heading off to Cley. A brief stop at Wells Harbour for the Red necked grebe was made on the way. The Western Sandpiper was quite easy to locate associating with a few dunlin. A search through the thousands of pink footed geese did not produce the Ross's goose so I headed to Sculthorpe Moor for a couple of rather noisy hours. Some of the occupants of the Fen hide were lacking in hide etiquette and were downright disruptive, but I managed to ignored them. It was quiet, only a few bullfinches and a single willow tit of note but I was looking for voles and one appeared briefly but it was not what I was expecting it was actually a Harvest mouse. It showed well but it was getting quite dark so I struggled for photos only managing a few record shots. I did not find any golden pheasants but did have a nice barn owl on the walk back to the car.

25th Dec

Merry Christmas

24th Dec

I hit the supermarket well before dawn, the plan seemed popular with many others but after my lat minute shopping I returned to Woodwalton Fen for those Chinese Water Deer. My first encounter was with two muntajc but they were not very co-operative. A couple of good encounters with Chinese Water Deer and a couple of near misses in the couple of hours I was there. Next stop was a new reserve for me - Ouse Fen, which was down a rather muddy track. I met another birder who found the snow bunting, rough legged buzzard and a hen harrier in a short period of time. I spent most of the afternoon at Fowlmere but only had a few fallow deer for my efforts before heading home.

23rd Dec

Finishing work early I headed up to Woodwalton Fen for some Chinese water deer I almost had the perfect photo but managed to screw it up and then torrential rain set in as I was furthest from the car magic!

17th Dec

Catching a wood mouse and a house mouse in the garage during the week lured Farnborough John up for the day in what turned out to be very wintery weather. After a snowy photo shoot with the mice (who were considerably larger than when trapped) we headed into Hertfordshire to visit the black squirrels of Letchworth. We could have stayed in the warm car to observe them but ventured into the cold and watched them for a while, there were at least three in the few yards we ventured, one rather photogenic jet black one, half tail who had had some sort of accident resulting in the loss of half its tail and looked strange, and a very brown individual. The next stop was the Deadmans hill area, near Therfield where we searched for Raptors but found plenty of Hares and a nice herd of fallow deer including a rather large stag with incredible antlers. We joined some other birders looking for raptors in the freezing cold but did not have much luck. Eventually we gave up and headed to Fowlmere where we had excellent views of a female hen harrier which had been present for a few days. Some fallow deer and a couple of muntjac gave themselves up in the fading light before heading home.

12th Dec

After a little time away from wildlife I got back to it with a real spectacle, I was in London so popped over to Wormwood Scrubs - No not there but the park just behind the famous prison. My timing was perfect the pre roost of ring necked parakeets was just building. And in the 45 mins or so an experience evolved. This site you can get amongst the parakeets and being surronded by them in the main roost was an awesome experience better then the Esher rugby club roost, even if the numbers are not quite as high.

26-27th Nov

I did some small mammal trapping with the Cambridgeshire Mammal Group this weekend, mostly wood mice but an unexpected catch was three house mice in a field quite some distance from any buildings. Apart from that I had a little wander round Fowlmere but not much doing apart from a few deer, some grey partridges, brown hares and a common shrew.

20th Nov

Just got my copy of this years PTES Calendar, I did not make the cover but got a photoin for October so very pleased. You can get a copy here.

19th Nov

Not much this weekend apart from a few hours enduring the springwatchers at Fowlmere with only a sparrowhawk, kingfisher and muntjac for my efforts. Still the sparrowhawk sat nicely for photos pity the light was so poor.

13th Nov

I awoke just before dawn at Haxuley Nature reserve after a few hours sleep, a quick trip to Amble to use the facilities before heading onto the reserve, however I got the wrong hide missed the signs in the dark. The Greater Yellowlegs could be seen in front of another hide so off I went. I arrived just as it left high to the south but spent some time watching the grey phalarope and a cracking male hen harrier. Another birder let me know it was in front of the next hide and a short walk later it was showing very nicely and I had it for some time until news got out and birders started to appear and my cue to head off, picking up a scaup on the walk back to the car. But my next stop was only a short drive away at East Chevington a drake green winged teal. My last stop was in Whitley bay where in a lake was a goosander and my target a lesser scaup which kept diving making it hard to photograph. A speckled teal was also present presumable not all the way from South America!

12th Nov

I had a few hours to spare so I finally headed to Minsmere to see Red Deer for the year, somehow I had not managed to bump into any so far. I had a look round Westleton and Dunwich without luck so headed to Minsmere which is a bit of a building site. Anyway I got away from the noise and in the woodland caught up with some red deer and a muntjac. I headed to North Warren but the Dusky warbler was nowhere to be found in rather poor conditions. Next stop was Kent to investigate the Eastern Black Redstart which was showing very nicely, a stop at Oare Marshes on the way home produced very little.

7 and 8th Nov

Staying local with a visit to Burwell Fen and Fowlmere the former for Short eared Owls with plenty present and a few roe deer. Fowlemere only had a few fallow deer. But an e-mail led me to go on my first moth twitch to deepest darkest moth infested Dartford. Arriving a Chez hunter's vegetationless garden a small group were assembled to see the UK's first Black-Spot Chestnut (a female) caught by Norman Winterman in his garden (presumably containing some vegetation) a short distance away. Whilst we were admiring it another was caught in James's moth trap this time a male so we had the UK's first and second records at the same time.

6th Nov

Plans changed this weekend due to a family bereavement, but I managed to get out on Sunday to help with some local small mammal surveying. We caught a couple of field voles, plenty of bank voles and wood mice a single harvest mouse which was very nice. Despite the strong cold wind I still headed to Kelshall to see the Great grey shrike, it was showing nicely but it was hard to keep the scope from blowing over. A quick visit to see Black squirrels (a melanistic form of the grey squirrel) before heading home for lunch.

31st Oct - 2nd Nov

Continuing the trapping produced a field vole, water shrew and the expected plethora of bank voles and wood mice and incidental views of plenty of muntjac a roe deer and a water vole.

29th October

An early morning doing some small mammal trapping at a local nature reserve produced loads of bank voles and a few wood mice. I headed to Horsey for the shrike but it had done a flit, so I made my way to the beach to see the grey seals about 30 or so were about and I spent some time there. I popped in at Strumpshaw on the way back but it was full of springwatchers and noisy kids so I gave up, and checked on the traps on the way home.

25th October

Another brief visit to Fowlmere early morning and I had the place to myself, I had 30 mins at the spring hide before wandering round and it was well worth the stop. The moorhens and water rails became very nervous and eventually flushed as an otter, my first in Cambridgeshire came down the channel briefly, but enough for a record shot. I wandered round with a cracking merlin causing chaos with the small birds over the mere. There was a single muntjac, 25+ fallow deer and grey squirrels, rabbits and a couple of wood mice for good measure.

23rd October

With poor weather in Yorkshire we headed east to the sunshine on the coast, our first stop was Greatham creek where a dozen or so common seals were entertaining the large group of birders waiting for a view of the pallid harrier that apparently never showed. We had excellent views of the seals and their interactions in the sunshine. We then popped in at Saltholme pools RSPB for a look round but there was not much about, but we had a wander round anyway, and it was lucky that we were in a hide overlooking Saltholme pool, when a phone call was received by another occupant from someone watching a semi palmated sandpiper from the road, and we were all quickly on to it even if was a little distant. But it did eventually come closer but only for a moment but that was enough and I had a photo, before it was flushed by a duck. The wander round also gave us good views of snipe and black tailed godwits before we headed for home spotting a couple of red kites on the journey south.

22nd October

A glorious day, perfect for Salmon watching, and after the short drive from our North Yorkshire base I was at Stainforth Force and was quickly watching salmon leaping up the waterfalls, it was quite spectacular watching some very large salmon tackle the large waterfall, quite a few making it, but as the morning went and afternoon came the water flow increased and it became increasingly harder for the salmon to make it up and attempts tailed off prompting my departure. This was slowed by a pair of dippers showing quite nicely just up from the falls. A short drive I was in Kirkby Stephen for ice cream and then to search for the parrots that live in the town. I tracked some down, mainly scarlet macaws, and a single ?? amazon. During my search I located a tawny owl roosting and it was not bothered by my presence or that of the parrots.

21st October

Another brief visit to Fowlmere early afternoon was less productive due largely to noisy children, but still had a water rail and a couple of Muntjac and a lone roe deer

20th October

A brief visit to Fowlmere was quite productive with 8 mammal species, fallow deer were everywhere in the reserve, as were the grey squirrels and rabbits, singles of red fox, wood mouse and a water shrew dashing into the stream. 4 muntjac and a brown hare as I left rounded off a nice little visit.

15th October

Simon West and I joined the rest of the hardcore birders at Wareham Green at dawn for the start of a very frustrating day. The rufous tailed robin had vanished or perished overnight but while we chewed the fat a barn owl put in an appearance and earlier as we parked we had a woodcock. After a while the birders drifted away and we headed to Holme to join the melee in search of a red flanked bluetail which had been trapped and released earlier. It was turning into a bit of a farce and as we already had some reasonable views it was off to Titchwell. The car park was rammed but we got lucky with someone leaving. The yellow browed warbler was quite elusive with a very brief view before we gave up. The Brambling which was with siskins and redpolls was much more co-operative. There were a few birds around but it was quite quiet on the reserve apart from a noisy flock of golden plover, the pick was a small flock of twite and a flyby bittern. The beach was a bit more lively with plenty of waders and a few red throated divers on the sea and a harbour porpoise put in a brief appearance near some feeding gannets. We cut our losses and headed to Lowestoft to join the search for an olive backed pipit which did show eventually but only brief views were had, but it did salvage the day.

12 - 15th October

Some small mammal trapping round my garden and its environs has been productive, with plenty of wood mice but 2 Bank voles, and singles of field vole and Pygmy shrew. The hedgehogs have been active in the garden feedign up before hibernation.

8th - 11th October

A short family break to North Wales so no real wildlife watching apart for a few hours in Snowdonia watching feral goats some incidental sightings included merlin and peregrine, but the highlight was on the way home with a polecat running down the road.

7th October

Finishing work early I headed to the West Country and had a short time at Chew Valley Lake but only managed distant poor views of the spotted sandpiper and ring necked duck before I had to leave. I met the Bat group and we set up at a well known swarming site and it was not long before we started catching bats. Mostly Natterer's, but a few lesser horshoe bats were ones I was particularly keen to see. We also had quite a few Daubenton's, Brown long eared and whiskered bats and singles of Barbastelle and Bechstein's bats. We also caught another bat I was keen to see a greater horshoe bat which rounded off a great night and thanks to all involved.

2nd October

I headed to Bridlington for a day out with the Yorkshire lads Mike Richardson and John Sadler. After a cup of tea we headed off to Hornsea Mere where we quickly found a little gull but the Pectoral sandpiper was out of sight from our viewpoint. But a quick drive and we easily found it about 2 foot from a boat of photographers who had much better views then us. Our next stop was a small stream where we quickly saw a water vole, we dipped little owl but did get some grey partridges on the way to our final destination of the day at Tophill Low. We had a look round for grass snakes but the weather was not ideal for them so we made do with a cracking fox instead. We then met up with the East Yorks Bat Group for some box checking, the first box had a soprano pipistrelle the next few had nothing so we moved to the next area with boxes and the from the first box dropped a Nathusius' pipistrelle fortunately someone quickly caught it and we had some good views of all the identifying features. The next box also held one but it escaped, the very warm weather made catching the bats a bit of a problem and we had several escape most flying to another box. Natterer's bats were new for the site and we had two and we could hear the other species caught from some distance a large female noctule was making quite a racket. Walking to the last area a weasel ran right across the path infront of the group and then we heard the scream of a young rabbit but it escaped and the weasel gave a brief view before disappearing. We had a few more bats mostly soprano pipistrelles to finish off the checks. We stayed on the reserve for a little while longer and managed to add kingfisher and sparrowhawk to the days tally and a brown hare as we left the reserve. We rounded it off with fish and chips in the pouring rain before the long drive to the sunny south - a great mammal day.