After picking up Julie in Rushden we headed off. After a fair drive, there was one diversion on the way there. This was to catch up with a Long Billed Dowitcher at Livermore Lake, near to Bury St. Edmunds. As it turned out we went to the wrong area of the lake and found nothing that resembled muddy edges. The place was a shooting lake with plenty of cammo and rickerty looking walkways put up to shoot all those ducks! Eventually we found our way to the right place, towards the north end of the lake. This was better, another wet bit, but this time with muddy edges and other birders to match. Straight away we were put onto the bird, asleep of course! Eventually he awoke to reveal a stunning-looking Long Billed Dowitcher in summer plumage and also was a lifer for me. It was on our side of the lake too and showed well at times, when it wasn't hiding behind a bloody shooting hide! There was also a Common Sandpiper kicking around.
After having our fix we headed back to the car with the next stop being Minsmere, still a good hour away, but a great start to the day!
We arrived at Minsmere around 10am. The first target bird was a Wryneck that had been lurking around the North Bushes not too far from the visitor centre. There was plenty of people looking around for it. With currently no sign of the bird we headed for the hide overlooking the scrape. just as we did so, a shout went up that it had re-appeared. Sure enough, there it was a Wryneck right in the top of one of the bushes, frigging fantastic! Amazing looking things, looking just like a big lump of bark with eyes! For the next half hour or so it showed though not amazing well. The scrape hide failed to bring up anything too special however there were a few good birds. Several Little Terns were knocking about as well as just a handful of Avocets, a single summer plumaged Knot, several Turnstone, Barnacle Geese and insane number numbers of Black Headed Gulls! On returning to the North Bushes, the Wryneck was now showing incredibly well at the base of a gorse bush. It was at this point I managed to rattle off some half decent photos!
The day was going great with 2 lifers! A bit shameful I hadn't yet caught up with a Wryneck until this one, but the fact was I'd just simply been f***ing unlucky several times!
Next we went towards the beach and along to Dunwich Heath with Dartford Warbler a big target species as this was a bird I hadn't seen for years, my last one being At Aylesbeare Common, near Exeter. The NT wardens suggested we would do well to see one due to the dull and slightly windy weather, but we were keen to prove them wrong!
Not long into the heath, a Woodlark started singing and a short while later Dace picked up a male Stonechat, a year tick for me. Soon after a Dartford Warbler started calling a short way away. Annoyingly Dave managed to see it but I didn't. It never showed after that, grrr!
But slightly further along the path one was singing and it wasn't long before I picked it up with the naked eye! It gave great views singing away. We loved along the path a little and gor even better views. Another one began singing nearby too, meaning we had probably at least 3 birds, great stuff!
After Dunwich, we headed back to Minsmere for some tasty lunch before heading out to the Bittern Hide and walk round the reserve. The reedbeds held at least 2 booming Bitterns, one very close to Bittern hide. This was the first time I'd actually heard one and gotta say it was pretty dam cool to hear...such an amazing sound! There were several Bearded Tits flitting around and 'pinging' as well as 1 or 2 squealing Water Rails, several fly by Marsh Harriers and some very loud Cetti's Warbler.
There was talk of Stone Curlews being present in fields by the approach road to the reserve so we headed there next. They apparently were close to a bridleway crossing the road and it wasn't long before we saw several birders kicking around and the said bridleway.
Straight away Dave spotted a handsome male Ring Ouzel bouncing round the edge of the field south of the bridleway showing really nicely. A further walk up the bridleway and the Stone Curlews were duly pointed out, although they were some distance away, lurking close to a couple of lone gorse bushes in the short-grassed, rabbit infested field...classic Stone Curlew habitat really! 2 or 3 Wheatears were on show, as was a gorgeous male Whinchat along the field's wire fencing.
We then headed for back for a sneaky cuppa at the visitor centre. After this I thought it was worth checking the NE corner of the car park as there had been a female Black Redstart in this general area. I didn't hold out much hope of seeing it, but suprisingly I latched onto it almost straight away, perched quivering her tail on a bit of wood was a female Black Redstart. Result! We watched her for a bit, however the bird was very flighty and in the end disappeared.
To finish off the day we headed back to the scrape which turned out to be a right old mission wading through the flooded path. We also had an insanely close encounter with a Cetti's Warbler, with it breaking into song virtually at Dave's feet before coming to investigate us no more than 6 feet away! We had fab views of Red Deer before heading back to Bittern hide for a while. Managed to see a fly by Kingfisher, as well as the occassional boom of a Bittern. A Brent Goose was on show in the distance with Barnacles close to the ruined abbey.
Finally we headed back to the scrubby area close to the works depot, quite close to the Car Park. Here we hoped to finally catch up with a singing Nightingale, something we'd failed to catch up with! Sure enough, a birder had found one and we listened to it singing intermitantly and even managed to see him =)
By this time is was 19:00 and it was time to head for home, with at least 3 hours of driving for Dave to endure on our behalf! A wicked days birding with 2 lifers...bonus!!
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