These accounts are not tales of woe, far from it, because for the most part the twitches were successful. However, each was fraught with tension and neither went as planned, mainly due to my own misjudgement but also because of a bit of bad luck. So however you read this blog, I am grateful for seeing the target birds even if it doesn't seem so!
Friday 21st July; On a Wing and a Prayer!
Back in April this year a Black-winged Kite was seen hunting over a Welsh valley by just two observers. A video taken at the time confirmed the first accepted record of the species in the UK. Unfortunately the bird was only seen for a brief time and couldn't be relocated again. Fast forward to the evening of Monday the 17th of July and another (or the same) Black-winged Kite was observed at Stubb Mill in Norfolk. That bird was also photographed well and more importantly, was seen to seemingly go to roost in the marshes of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's reserve. For the most ardent of the country's twitchers that was green flag enough for them to assemble in the dark the following morning in the hope that the first for Britain had stayed overnight (read a firsthand account of that in Ewan's blog here).
The Kite was seen for the first few hours of the Tuesday morning before flying off high to the north-west and disappearing. There was no sign of the bird in the evening or at the previous roost site so it was thought to have departed. So it was a big surprise when the Kite was found again in the same area the following day. Better still it remained in the Horsey area throughout the day although was never easy to see in very poor weather (read my mate Jim's account of a really tough twitch for it on the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning here). As Jim details, the bird was found at the same roost spot on the Thursday morning and many more birders were able to enjoy the bird. I began to make plans for the Friday, initially deciding that we'd drive through the night and be on site at first light which appeared to be the best tactics for the best views of the bird. However, several factors conspired against me on the Thursday. Firstly I ended up having to work on my own that day which meant I was still slogging away much later than I normally would and as a result was extremely tired by the time I got home (I am knocking on a bit these days). Besides, the Kite itself had once again disappeared mid-morning and wasn't seen again afterwards. When I got home I was pretty much done in and almost felt glad that, even though I had Friday off, there wouldn't be anything worthy of twitching after all.
When a Black-winged Kite (obviously the same one) was found hunting along the sea wall at Felixstowe Ferry midway through the evening, I didn't exactly welcome the news. I should have but I didn't. Further updates were posted up until around eight o'clock, and then the bird was seen to "fly off". I succumbed to slumber thinking that the bird had probably headed off somewhere else to roost for the night. I was out like a light so didn't see the final reports saying that the Kite had actually flown into roost near a derelict building close to Felixstowe Ferry just before dark so its location was pinpointed, until five o'clock the next morning. When I awoke and saw the late news from the previous night, I cursed myself because I'd abandoned my earlier well laid plans to travel through the night if the Kite had stayed in Norfolk. Suffolk is a lot closer! I could have got away with leaving home at two-thirty. I checked Twitter and saw that the Kite was showing superbly well right by the sea wall perched up in a bush. I could have cried.
So it was a rather sombre mood in the house as Mrs Caley and I drank our morning beverages half an hour after seeing those tweets. It seemed as if the Kite was settled though, although birds have wings and are able to fly away at any moment and without warning. We decided to get ready and drive straight to Felixstowe. We'd arrive by nine o'clock so it was fingers crossed that the bird stayed in the area. We had also decided that if it had gone then we'd stay in Suffolk all day and try again in the evening in the hope that the Kite kept to the previous nights pattern by roosting at the same place as it had done in Norfolk. Thankfully the drive was trouble free and we did keep to schedule. Mrs Caley had kept an eye on reports while we travelled and every update announced that the Kite was still present. It was a very nervous drive though and the closer we got the more twitchy we became. At five to nine we ditched the car outside the Ferry Inn, quickly grabbed the optics (not the spirits from the pub but the essentials for viewing the bird) and legged it to the path that ran alongside the seawall. At the start of the path a couple of birders were stood in discussion and more were walking back towards us. It's never a good sign to see birders returning to their car from a rare bird. I asked the inevitable question, 'Is it still showing?' and was told, 'It's flown from the roost tree but has been coming and going for the last hour or so'. BirdGuides hadn't made any suggestion that the bloody bird was flying around and the fact that it was would no doubt make things much more difficult for us. My heart sank.
We followed the footpath anyway and noticed a group of birders about two hundred metres away all staring high up in the sky away to the south. I panicked but followed their gaze as best as I could but couldn't see anything other than a couple of Gulls. We carried on walking until we were nearly up to the birders who were now all looking back over our heads. A chap shouted, 'Is everybody on it?' and continued, 'It's high above the mast drifting north. I swung around and found the Black-winged Kite. It was high up and far away but it was the bird, pale grey coloured and soaring on raised wings. Thankfully it was indeed almost directly above the radio mast of a prison that was on the opposite side of the river. I got Mrs Caley onto the bird so that she got the tick as well while erecting the scope. Through the scope I had a good view of the bird, I was able to discern the black wing patches that give the bird its name as well as the raised wing profile of the otherwise grey and white bird. I transferred the eyepiece to Mrs Caley so that she could get the better view as well. And that was it. The bird drifted further away until we couldn't see it anymore. We'd seen it, my 411th bird for the UK which was a relief at least.
However, it soon became evident that the people who had travelled through the night and been at the site at first light had a fantastic view of the bird both perched and flying, just see the marvellous photo by Mike Alibone below. It had shown superbly well for almost three hours too until the bird began to drift higher and further away before the final departing shot that we had. Thus my own feeling of seeing the mega rare bird was tainted by the all too brief view that I'd had. I didn't even get a chance of gaining any photos of my own. I should be grateful for seeing the bird of course, friends of mine didn't even get the opportunity, but I was left with wanting much more. Much much more.
We hung around on the path for another hour but the Black-winged Kite didn't show again. It had gone elsewhere for the day. It had disappeared throughout the day when in Norfolk too, so we hoped there would be a chance that it would return later that evening. At just past ten-thirty we decided that we needed some food so headed to the Ferry Cafe for a breakfast. A very fine plate of food it was too.
The Kite hadn't been reported again so we decided to travel to Aldeburgh and to the Town Marshes there to look for a couple of birds that would join the Kite on our year list. The last, the only, time we had been birding at Aldeburgh was to twitch a superb Alpine Accentor at the end of October last year. Unfortunately I never got around to blogging that encounter up but it was a very successful twitch eventually even though it was somewhat of a bun-fight to actually get close to and see the bird.
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| Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris), Aldeburgh 28/10/2022 |
This time we'd be looking for a couple of not anywhere near as rare species but birds that we needed for our year list nonetheless. As a Black-winged Kite flies it's only eleven miles between Felixstowe Ferry and Aldeburgh. However, to drive it takes well over an hour to travel thirty-two miles since the journey involves travelling back to the Ipswich ring-road via the A14 before heading up the A12. So we were already well into the afternoon when we drew up alongside the marshes. The walk to the flashes where the birds were took around twenty minutes. Nobody else was around so we had the place to ourselves.
Optimistically I kept looking up. The Town Marshes would be as good a place as any for the Black-winged Kite to spend the day hunting. Obviously it didn't select us for a private viewing but some people do get very lucky sometimes. Other people do anyway. I'm not a lucky birder apart from feeling fortunate every time I go out with Mrs Caley to a place where we're away from most other souls. The first birds we saw, other than the expected Black-headed Gulls, Mallards, and such like, were three Bearded Tits which pinged away in a strip of reeds and then flew up and over our heads.
We reached the flooded pasture field that in the past week or so had produced a Pectoral Sandpiper and three Wood Sandpipers that were present just the day before. We couldn't find any of those so we'd have to wait to add the former to our year list. We did find the two Glossy Ibis that had been frequenting the marshes for at least a couple of months. One of them very obligingly flew into a smaller flash right next to the path allowing me to gain some photos, both on the ground and in flight when it scarpered having been ousted by a Grey Heron.
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| Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellis) |
The majority of the birds on the largest flash were Black-tailed Godwits and a fair few were feeding close to the viewpoint. Most were asleep though, assembled at the furthest edge away of the water. Other birds were dozing there too and I carefully scanned through them in case the Pectoral Sandpiper was there. I only found a single Dunlin in the small bird category and Lapwings and Oystercatchers in the larger. Two Whimbrel were sleeping in amongst a round thirty Curlew in the field next door.
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| Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) |
Little Egrets were frequent visitors to the edges of the flash but were also the victims of attempted muggings by the Grey Herons so never stayed close to the path for long. Little Egrets are a well established part of our avian fauna these days whereas the predicted expansion of Glossy Ibis into all areas doesn't appear to have happened yet, they're certainly still hard to come by in our home county of Oxfordshire.
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| Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) |
At three o'clock we gave up trying to spirit both a Pectoral Sandpiper and a Black-winged Kite out of nothing and went to find some sustenance in the shape of coffee and cake. We tried another decent looking cafe but one that ultimately failed to deliver a top-notch Flat White. Another one to strike off the list. I only remember the establishments that can serve me a good strong coffee that is hot. Too often the offerings are either too weak or too cold or worse still both. Cake was good though. It always is.
We made the return journey to Felixstowe Ferry ready for the Black-winged Kite flying into roost. To kill time we supped a pint and a half in the Ferry Inn but made do with a packet of crisps each since my meagre income wouldn't extend to the evening food menu. I need my money for petrol. We weren't alone back on the wall of Kings Fleet, a few other folk had the same ideas and we re-met a few birders that we'd encountered in the morning, all of whom had been even less fortunate than we'd been and had failed to see the Kite at all.
While we waited, a pair of Little Owls adorning the ruined house chimney stack and a pair of Barn Owls hunting over the fields and golf course entertained us. Plus we chatted to our new found friends. All of us were hopeful that the Kite would turn up but none of us really expected it to. It just felt like it had gone.
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| Little Owl (Athene noctua) |
To cut a long, boring and obvious night-time story short the Black-winged Kite didn't show up so we left with just the ninety-second high, wide and handsome view of it from earlier in the day. At least we'd seen it!
Late that night an unravelling of a post on an Essex Facebook group determined that the Black-winged Kite had been seen near St Osyth around thirty miles south of Felixstowe. We didn't get home until almost midnight and I didn't have the energy to go again just a few hours later. The Saturday morning dawned extremely wet and windy so I assumed that the Kite wouldn't be seen anyway. Of course it was re-found and probably because of the rain performed better, and stayed in the same place for longer than it had on any day before. We would have easily been able to get to it before it disappeared again, this time for good unless it pitches up somewhere else. That's typical of my birding luck lately but then, if you don't put the effort in then you definitely won't see the bird. I must try harder next time.
Year List additions;
267) Black-winged Kite, 268) Glossy Ibis
Thanks to Mike Alibone for use of his excellent photo.
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