Global Birdfair and elsewhere in the UK

Sorry for the delayed update, in recent weeks I have been super busy, and also lost some motivation to photograph birds and especially to use social media. The combination of super hot weather my crazy country falling apart makes me want to dig a cool burrow and jump right in. As long as I can still bird in it... My birding is concentrated to super early morning sessions - later on it becomes unbearably hot and sticky. 

I visited the UK earlier in July. The visit was focused on Global Birdfair, that happened in Rutland Showground during July 14-16. I am late to the party - so much has been written on social media about this event. So many selfies... I travelled there with Alen from my team, and we represented BirdLife Israel at this fantastic event. We promoted there our conservation work, including Champions of the Flyway: The new project for COTF24 was launched - tackling illegal killing of birds in Tanzania, working with Nature Tanzania. How exciting!

The new Birdfair was a great success, in my opinion. Tim, Penny and their team managed to generate the hype, the buzz that was so distinctive in the 'old' British Birdfair. It felt very 'right' to be there - it certainly was THE place to be. Great to hang out with so many friends from all over the world. My selfie motivation has dwindled too, so not many photos from birdfair.

Damn it, it had to be done

I enjoyed the VR birding experience offered by the talented Sounding Wild brothers - very cool! Can't wait to get you guys down to Eilat for some reeeaaaal migration.

Everyone complained about the weather. I loved it! Such a welcome respite from the heat in Israel. Good to see wetland restoration happening in real-time.

Of course, early morning birding had to be done. En route, Alen and I stopped at Grafham Water, where we were glad to relocate the Lesser Scaup that had gone missing for a few days. Too distant for photos but a welcome WP tick for me. Somehow I managed not to see one during my four years in the UK.

Birdfair morning sessions were dedicated to checking different Rutland Water hides - I actually enjoyed birding there quite much. I screwed up a possible Pec on July 16th, out of Dunlin hide. It was distant but looked good in the bins. By the time I got the baby scope on it, crows flushed it and it was lost.

I like it!
Enjoyed birding Rutland Water NR using this @SwarovskiOptik baby. Now heading to @GlobalBirdfair - final day. @Team_eBird checklist streak secured. But who will be eBirder of Birdfair? pic.twitter.com/16KlJS1V3l

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) July 16, 2023

Then Alen and I continued to London for two days of meetings with supporters there. The meetings went well. Early morning birding sessions were done in Totteridge Valley, not far from where I was staying, they were OK too. Firecrest was the best, Mandarin was a photo tick...

Then I went to Norwich, oh Norwich... A couple more days with friends, beach walk, birding and beer. Another Lesser Scaup on Colney Pits, again too distant for photos. Enjoy this Norwich soundscape - I appreciate Groppers. Haven't seen one in Israel yet - maybe this year?

Back home in Israel, migration is picking up, mostly shorebirds at the moment. See you again when I find the energy to pick the camera up.

The autumn that keeps taking

Contrary to autumn 2016 that didn't stop giving, this year east coast birders are getting by the Gods of Birding for our sins and there is nothing here. Despite the lack of birds resulting from the consistent wrong winds, I went out with James to Wells Woods this morning. It was a sentimental morning - today we celebrated (just about) three years of friendship. Contrary to today, on 14 October 2014 we birded in proper fall conditions. Three years later, and I am getting older - didn't do a selfie with James!
Birding was slow and hard going. We worked Wells Woods properly but the few birds that were there on Tuesday had evidently cleared out. The only birds of interest were three Yellow-browed Warblers and two Firecrests. None posed for a photo. They joined mobile tit flocks and wouldn't settle. I was depressed by witnessing a twitch after someone spotted a Pied Flycatcher. And when people started asking directions for Yellow-browed Warbler, it was time to go.
Just as we walked back to the carpark we learned of four Eurasian Cranes heading our way, first spotted over Cley and Stiffkey. We quickly picked them up and they did the right thing, flying over our heads, calling 'hrruu!'. Again, the perspective - in the Hula Valley numbers today have built up to 15,000. But in Norfolk context, even though these birds are probably migrating from the Broads to Welney, it was still cool to see them.

The only other winged thing I photographed today - Red Admiral

Autumn sprites

Joined our University ringing group this morning - similar to last year we held a ringing demonstration for the fresh MSc students at Waxham, our regular site. I love this site. Even when migrant numbers are low (as is normally the case), it delivers the goods. This morning the wind was sort of alright but no rain to knock birds down. This resulted in few migrants in the air and on the ground. Throughout the morning we had a few mini-waves, or trickles of fresh-in migrants. Even these micro-events are magical. Suddenly Goldcrest calling from the surrounding bushes; or a small group of Song Thrushes dropping out of the sky. But lack of numbers was compensated by quality. First smile of the morning came in the form of the expected Yellow-brow, our first of the season, right on schedule:

Yellow-browed Warbler

A very bright individual. Note the pointed and abraded tips to tail feathers, indicating this is a young bird. Fresh in from Siberia.

Next reason for a big smile was this brilliant male Firecrest - fantastic little bird:

We had a good team and lots of eyes and ears, so throughout the morning a few more good birds were picked up - Short-eared Owl zooming across accompanied by angry crows (Phil); a few Brambling calling, in-off; a second, unringed Yellow-brow; and Purple Sandpiper down on the beach (Daniel). Early on I heard a Red-breasted Flycatcher inside our trapping area, but only in the late morning I managed to see it. It dodged our nets and eventually went missing, but nice bird anyway. Anyone who might try to search for it, I suggest to give it a miss - it's deep inside an area with no public access, and anyway the bird did not stick around.
Later on in the morning we had some Lesser Redpolls flying over and we caught two males:

Great day to be out with the team - Iain, Dave, Phil, Jen, Harry and Daniel. Thanks.

Wet and happy

After a few days of easterlies, that did bring a sprinkle of scarce birds to the east coast, last night weather shifted and heavy rain and storms hit the Norfolk coast. This was a day I just had to be out, despite my aching body after the bike accident I had a couple of weeks ago. As I switched on my phone in the morning I saw the message: 'PGTips ringed at Spurn'. Shit. A dream bird to see in the WP, but 4 hours drive and there was no positive news of it after it was released. So after a quick consultation with Dougal, my birding companion for today, and a few more friends, decided to skip and and stick with Plan A - East Hills. I had to accept that this is the closest I would get to a PGTips today:

Yesterday our mate Dave had an Arctic Warbler on East Hills which Dougal needed, and I just wanted to get out there and see some birds. We started walking at 09:30, hoping the tide would drop enough to cut across the deepest creek and save time, but sadly the water was too high still, and we had to walk all the way around along the beach. It was raining hard, the wind picked up seriously, so the walk itself was hard work. Also my dislocated shoulder was killing me - maybe this activity today was a bit too extreme? But our spirits were high as it all looked well for a good arrival of birds.

We got to East Hills and it was still raining hard, but it was evident that there were birds around. From the first line of trees we already had Spotted Flycatcher and a few Willow Warblers. Dougal was keen to look for the Arctic Warbler, but I worked my way across the hills slowly. Along the way I picked up more migrants - Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, two Tree Pipits and more Willow Warblers. After a short while, while scanning a mixed flock of tits and Goldcrests, I found a Firecrest - fine bird. Sadly it was in the canopy of tall conifers, so no photos. Unlike some of the Goldcrests that foraged very low, possibly because of the howling wind.

By the way, this bird with some grey on the nape looks like a continental bird. See here.

It was a very tough day for photography. Most of the time I daren't get the camera out of the bag because of the heavy rain. And light was..., well there was no light today. And all the better birds I saw today did not play ball at all. But good birds kept on coming. Immediately after Dougal called me to say he had just had a Red-breasted Flycatcher (probably the same one from yesterday) I heard a familiar call, a call I had spent many days listening out for - Greenish Warbler! I knew exactly what it was. It gave several clear calls, and then I located it for a second or two very close to me, maybe 4-5 meters away at eye level - it was in  a small conifer, good views but all too brief. I knew excatly what features to look for. I saw the wingbar well, and the good supercilium meeting above the small bill. It was a relatively bright bird so I assume it is a 1cy. It vanished quickly - the whole tit and goldcrest flock had moved on and the bird was gone. I spent some time trying to relocate it, and was joined by Dougal and Pete (another birder who walked with us out to the hills) but without success. I am really happy with this bird. I saw one a few months ago in Suffolk, but it feels good to find a fresh migrant in a migrant hotspot. 

We continued to work the habitat for a couple more hours. I was mostly searching for the greenish. We saw more Pied and Spotted Flys, Redstarts, one Cuckoo and a few other bits and pieces. I actually saw some fresh migrants falling out of the sky into the trees - pretty cool. There was this miserable Siskin there - it was very wet like all birds today:

Eventually I got brief views of the Red-breasted Fly but it was very shy, like most other birds today, because of the fowl weather. All three of us heard and saw a Yellow-browed Warbler - probably the same bird, and one was there yesterday as well so probably the same as yesterday. The view from the far end of East Hills towards Wells Woods was rather gloomy today. Lots of birds on the mud but I didn't have a scope and my brain was on passerine mode anyway. I did notice some 50-60 Brent on the saltmarsh.

Then the weather became so bad that we hardly saw birds anymore, and we just wanted to get back home. The walk back was again very wet and quite cold - bye bye summer I guess. We got back to the car drenched but rather pleased. It was a good day, with quality and decent numbers. This is very good compared to the rather weak results from nearby strategic points in N Norfolk - Blakeney Point and Scolt Head - very few migrants in both these sites today.

Migrant totals for today 11:00 - 14:00 on East Hills:

10 Pied Flycatcher

5 Spotted Flycatcher

1 Red-breasted Flycatcher

8 Redstart

5 Song Thrush

15 Willow Warbler

10 Chiffchaff

20 Goldcrest

1 Firecrest

1 GREENISH WARBLER

1 Yellow-browed Warbler

2 Blackcap

1 Garden Warbler

2 Tree Pipit

1 Cuckoo

2 Wheatear

30 Swallow

2 House Martin

Firecracker

What a bird and what a way to start my day. Switched my phone on in the morning to see message from James - 'Firecrest singing in my garden!', accompanied by a stunning photo. I have seen many Firescrests before, including the one and only (to date) in Israel, but never managed to get a decent photograph. Understanding that I might have a chance here, and in UK context it is a scarce bird, I carried my gear with me doing schoolrun, and then headed over to James's. Was greeted by good coffee and warm hospitality, and very quickly the bird was performing. A stunning male. Jaw-dropping, almost like an flippin' Blackburnian Warbler. He was singing constantly and apparently holding territory between a large spruce and an apple tree, complete with crest-pumping. He was constantly chasing the local Goldcrests and was being chased by them. Will it find a mate and breed here? He was quite a feisty little thing, moving constantly and not so easy to photograph, but eventually 'we nailed him' as they say.

Goldcrests are usually personal favourites, but today they were clearly shadowed by the real deal:

Urban birding at its best! I am proud to be the first avian twitcher in James's garden - he has had moth twitchers before. Thanks to Sharon for this photo. Someone should design a camera with a nose-cavity for large-nosed individuals like myself:

Poll: birding or cherry-picking?

I had a week of torture. I sat in front of my computer at work, watching all those rarity reports pouring in from Norfolk, and I just couldn't get out until today. So today I had to decide what to do - to try and check an area with habitat to try and find my own birds, or go cherry-picking? What would you do? And there were many cherries to pick in Norfolk yesterday and today: 2 Red-flanked Bluetails, 3 Daurian Shrikes, Blyth's Reed Warbler, several Pallas's, Radde's, Hume's and Dusky Warblers, Olive-backed Pipit and a few other bits and bobs. That's an impressive line-up! I guess for the blog it would be wiser if I got great shots of these rarities, that I could promote on social media. But eventually I decided to go and try my luck in finding something new. I just know I wouldn't enjoy spending a full day chasing after long-staying rarities (that I don't 'need'). As I left home in Norwich a flock of 120 Redwings flew over, so my expectations were pretty high. I headed out to my regular hunting ground - walked from Stiffkey Campsite almost to Wells and back. The wind was too strong today which kept the birds silent and not very active away from the few sheltered spots. In the sheltered spots it was clear that there were huge numbers of Goldcrests - many new arrivals, feeding in less-than-optimal habitats, and some jumping right by my feet. I quite like this photo - the blackberries and the spider web:

They are just lovely aren't they? Can't have enough of them

In the campsite woods there was one Yellow-browed Warbler and a Firecerst with the goldcrest flocks. I then started walking west. After a short while I bumped into the Great Grey Shrike but it kept its distance and was very mobile, so no images. There were many thrushes in the trees and bushes, but because of the strong wind they refused to move out of bushes so I guess my estimate of 150 Redwings between Stiffkey and Garden Drove is conservative. There was one Ring Ouzel and one Fieldfare with them. Another Yellow-browed Warbler was somewhere halfway, and I heard and saw briefly the Pallas's Warbler at Garden Grove. It showed badly in the canopy of the large sycamores there, no photos either. There were many finches as well, about 15 Brambling. Other birds of interest were 2 Redstart and 2 Lesser Redpolls.

Lesser Redpoll

Only Brents showed nicely today, shame the light was crap. Large numbers already, and also several hundred pinkfeet were seen today.

After I was done I had time for a very quick look in Wells Woods. I couldn't bother chasing the rarities there - there were too many birders around, some running - not my cuppa birding. So I birded off the main track for a bit, more thrushes etc. and I bumped into the Hume's Warbler without planning to - heard it calling and it showed badly high up in the trees. 

The Golan is on fire!

This morning I went with Ron to twitch the Firecrest found by Frank & Tuvia yesterday. It was a long drive but we arrived early enough to enjoy the terrible weather - cold, windy and heavy fog. We met up with quite a few others, and rather soon the bird was relocated in the same grove where it was seen yesterday by Barak, Avner and Eyal. It behaved very badly - it was silent and went missing for long periods, and I got only one very short glimpse of it during the first part of the morning.

We decided to walk around a bit until the weather improved, and went to search for the Radde's Accentors nearby, found by Barak et al. about a week ago. After a short search the two birds were relocated, and one of them showed relatively well, feeding out in the open. Photography was hard though - when the light was good it perched on an ugly fence, and when it perched on a nice branch it was against the sun. However it's a great little bird and I was very happy to see them.

Later on we returned to the firecrest grove. The weather became a bit more bearable, and the bird showed slightly better. I managed to grab a couple of record shots.

This is the only semi-decent one:

Firecrest - 1st for Israel

This one is closer to impressionist art:

Radde's Accentor

Again - congrats to Frank and Tuvia for this great find. But next time, guys, please try to find a mega a bit closer to my house. I am tired of all of this driving around.