Going Up. Year list additions, August 17-20th 2019

The Birdfair weekend. Although we have long since become tired of this so called birding extravaganza, which of late has become little more than a hard sell trade fair, we still go on the Friday morning each year. For my sins I collect stuff and the Birdfair offers me a chance to boost my collection even though it is getting harder to find anything worth having and prices have rocketed in recent times. We tried sitting in some of the lectures once but despite a few appearing to have appealing content, soon found ourselves bored with merely looking at other birders photos and stories of their own experiences (note to myself there and hoping the readers of this blog don't feel the same!). I'd much rather forge my own memories and take my own photographs. Foreign travel is not a big draw for us either despite all of those wonderful birds in other parts of the planet so the majority of the trade stands don't interest us at all. I think the main reason of us attending the Birdfair is to use it as an excuse to continue onto Lincolnshire and Norfolk and have a weekend birding there.

So after having met a few friends and had a chat or two we were headed to Frampton Marsh yet again (fifth time this year!). The afternoon weather forecast was very poor with heavy rain predicted to arrive around 2 o'clock, about the time we'd get there! It actually began raining well before we even reached the Lincolnshire coast so rather than rush straight there we enjoyed an excellent early afternoon tea at a farm shop near Spalding. Over the years we have seen some nice birds after the Birdfair, a male Red-footed Falcon and a Pectoral Sandpiper being the most notable. This year Frampton Marsh was hosting a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and that would be our main quarry for the afternoon. Our one and only Buff-breasted, after a few frustrating misses, was seen last August at Blacktoft Sands in North Lincolnshire. We were keen to add to that sighting but watching the rain hammering at the windows of the cafe was not very inspiring!

Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Blacktoft Sands, 08/08/2019

Luckily Frampton Marsh has a small carpark right by the area where the Buff-breasted Sandpiper had been seen. It had been present for a couple of days but had never shown closely, you can always tell how well a bird shows by the quality of images that get posted on social media and the only shots of this bird had been distant and fuzzy! We parked easily alongside just another four cars and then watched the rain for a few minutes while cursing our luck. This weather just wouldn't do at all and there would be absolutely no point in walking any distance away from the car. The other birders were using the tailgates of their cars as makeshift shelters from the rain which was blowing in from the south so I turned my car around and did the same, always take note and learn from the locals. I spoke to a couple of them and apparently the Buff-breasted had been favouring a narrow grassy promontory that ran northwards away from where we were. It had shown very briefly about an hour before but not since so I set my scope up and concentrated on that area. Visibility was poor because of the sheet rain and all birds were hunkered down in the thistles and tussocks. We did see the Long-Billed Dowitcher in the distance but having obtained really good views and photos of it a month before it wasn't worth getting wet in order to get closer (see Rare Sandpipers). After an hour of peering through the scope and the rain unrelenting we gave up and vowed to return the following day if the bird was found again. I hadn't taken a single photo!

Our overnight stay was to be at Hunstanton, chosen because of its proximity to Titchwell but also because of its name, the "Caley Hall Hotel" for obvious reasons. Ultimately we were disappointed with the hotel, accommodation was very good but the restaurant and staffing was indifferent and I hate "buffet breakfasts" where all of the food is pre-prepared and left in those warmers to go dry (a note to never choose another place that offers buffet of any type) and allows other guests to sneeze all over the offerings. It was a treat and for the money I expected much better. Saturday morning dawned in complete opposite to the Friday afternoon with wall to wall sunshine and we were eager beavers as we marched down the footpath towards the fresh marsh at Titchwell. Birds were seemingly everywhere with lots of birdsong emanating from the trees and reedbeds. We spent a while in the Island Hide where a Purple Sandpiper, exhibiting very atypical behaviour in choosing gloopy mud rather than a rocky foreshore, had been seen over the previous few days. We didn't see that bird but there were lots of Ruff, Dunlin, both species of Godwits and Avocets to keep us occupied.

Avocet

Dunlin

Ruff

Once the hide had begun to fill up with other birders we made our leave and chose a bench on the path to view the marsh. From there we could look westwards as well and I spotted a Whimbrel tucked into a tussock. I'm always pleased to see a Whimbrel! I searched the fresh marsh for anything different but contrary to our exciting visit in July when we scored with a life tick Semi-palmated Sandpiper and other scarce waders (see Rare Sandpipers) there was little to get moved by. We did spot a distant group of 16 Spoonbills and an odd looking Goose got me head scratching but the most entertainment was provided by Bearded Tits that cruised the reeds along the footpath although none could be captured owing to the breeze causing the reeds to sway far too much.

Whimbrel

hybrid Goose (Greylag type)

Then at 10 o'clock the update arrived via the phone that the Buff-breasted Sandpiper had been relocated again at Frampton Marsh so we hit the road once more and returned to the same car park as the afternoon before. I know it would have been far more sensible to have chosen a place to stay in Lincolnshire rather than Norfolk but what if we'd found a rare bird at Titchwell or one had been found elsewhere on the Norfolk coast? The drive around the Wash had been fraught to say the least and took far too long and a coffee stop had gone south when the cafe coffee machine had blown up but everything happens for a reason and all the delays actually helped for once. We were the only birders at the carpark and I set up the scope on the viewing mound, pointed it towards the grassy strip and immediately spotted a Yellow Wagtail. Mrs Caley looked through the scope and said "what wagtail?" but also added "what's this bird?". On looking through the scope there was the Buff-breasted Sandpiper! Lucky for a change and #255 on the Old Caley year list!

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (foreground) & Black-tailed Godwits

The Buff-breasted Sandpiper stayed in view, on and off, for at least half an hour but was always distant and my photos reflect that. It generally associated with Black-tailed Godwits but was also seen with some Ruff when just how small the species is in comparison could be appreciated. I added the converter to my lens to gain a bit more reach but there was little improvement in image quality. Unbelievably it had started to rain again despite the favourable weather forecast and with the onset of the rain the Buff-breasted disappeared and we never saw it again.

I studied the antics of a group of 13 Spoonbills, one of which was extremely interested in stray feathers and grass stems. Spoonbills are odd looking birds with that extraordinary bill belying their true elegance but of course they are adapted for a specific purpose and they are thankfully thriving across many parts of the UK now. Hopefully we'll get some that take a liking to Otmoor soon.

A pass by a Peregrine spooked all of the birds and the air was just a whirl of wings and the birds dispersed to all points of Frampton Marsh. The only bird I managed to get the lens on was one of the Spoonbills.

Dodging yet another heavy rain squall we made our way to the 360 Hide which is a fabulous place to get close views of many of the wading birds. A Spoonbill flew low overhead presenting me with a great opportunity to get a really good photo. One I took gladly but on reviewing the image I realised that my lens had fogged up. Aaargghhh! A drop of rain must have got in when exchanging the converter earlier. That put paid to my photography for the day since it wouldn't de-mist despite me trying every trick that I could think of. All of those terrific photo ops just went to waste as I gazed disconsolately out of the hide windows.

But we'd seen the Buff-breasted Sandpiper so we drove home happy enough.