Foot It - Sunday incursion

 

86 species - 45 miles - 94k steps

I wasn’t going to Foot It today, I thought about maybe doing some chores, working or trying to maintain a Foot It - life balance. Then I saw the long weather forecast and couldn’t ignore the blue sky. However, bitterly cold. By midday I was out the door…

As a barrier to the cold I trialled wearing a pair of joggers underneath my trousers, with no pants. It was certainly warm - but absent pants the resulting chaffing is pretty bad. Why do these things happen to me?

The target was Timworth Church, some 4 miles as the Raven flies from my house. There is a stream, wet woodland and some set aside and game cover which can be good:

Timworth Church 

Whilst I couldn’t locate the hoped for Stonechat, I did add Snipe and a particularly pleasing drake Brambling. I was worried Snipe were all frozen out, so this one on the stream was ideal. Brambling are also really thin on the ground. I heard before seeing the Brambling - so when a black-faced male came into view - the hype was very real!

Redwing are absolutely abundant at the moment, literally everywhere apart from my garden apparently. I’ve only seen singles of Fieldfare this year till today, when a 20+ strong flock was chacking about near the church. I even papped one with my phone - mental the quality of phone cameras these days:

Fieldfare - Timworth Church

The only other addition to the list today was Great Black-backed Gull. There has been an adult hanging around Hall Farm for over a year, so it could be that bird - or a different one. Who knows?

Great Black-backed Gull - Hall Farm, November 26th 2024

Great Black-backed Gull - Hall Farm, November 26th 2024

Tomorrow, I have actual meetings and have to work. Which is distressing. The only chance of a Foot It tick would be if I see something on my lunchtime run with Mira. We did find a Black Redstart on a lunch run back on 04th December. I’ve also had Waxwings up on the same airfield - I’ll be sure to walk out to the start - just in case… 

Lachmöwe

Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls - Livermere 26th June 2025

June to August is the peak period at Livermere in my oh so humble, expert opinion... 

It is outside of shooting season, firm under foot, large congregations of breeding/ post breeding birds and the potential for almost anything to drop in...

I mean, probably not a Griffon Vulture or a Puffin - but certainly dispersing wildfowl, gulls and waders. 

I've seen some great birds mid-summer; there is currently a Ruddy Shelduck in attendance and Black Tern, Black-necked Grebe, Whinchat and Wood Sandpiper have all been logged in August. There is inevitably others I've forgotten... 

There is also the thrill of the first juvenile Yellow-legged and Mediterranean Gulls of the year. Scaly juvenile Meds are a particular favourite. Expectantly searching out these gems keeps an inland birder away from alcoholism / recreational drugs / midlife crisis during the sultry, summer months.  

Another favoured past time when views allow is ring-reading. Tantalisingly, I've seen one colour ringed Yellow-legged and two colour ringed Black-headed Gulls recently, all of which kept just out ring-reading range. 

There was one Black-headed which did the honourable thing, coming into ring reading range. Turns out it is a German!

Black-headed Gull 'A730'

I gratefully received the birds history - in German - luckily I am completely fluent and could read every word. The bird was ringed on a lake called Binnenalster in Hamburg back in March of 2013. It has since Rotterdam in 2013, 2022 and 2024, Poland in 2017, Birchington, Kent in 2018 and 2019 and finally - it graced the mighty Livermere on 26th June 2025. 

This is a very, very high level of science. 

I am going to leave you with a gratuitous Yellow-legged Gull photo, because there is currently double figures at Livermere and I like them.

Yellow-legged Gull - Livermere 25th June 2025

Blackpool-headed Gulls...

With family up in Blackpool I make the pilgrimage to Lancashire and the Fylde Bird Club recording area annually, often at Christmas.

Walks through Stanley Park have become a post-pandemic tradition. The park provides great birding, with congregations of gulls and wintering wildfowl in particular. The bird feeders also attract a great selection of woodland birds, notably Nuthatch. Ring-necked Parakeet seem to have become increasingly common over the last few years too.

I take a lot of pleasure in reading colour rings, predominantly Black-headed Gulls, but I’ve also seen ringed Herring Gulls and Mute Swans there. The rings have been applied by the Waterbird colour-marking group, with some 2,450 birds ringed and over 16,300 resulting sightings. A proportion of which are mine from Stanley Park jaunts.

Most of the birds reported this year loaf about Stanley Park itself, with few if any reports from elsewhere.

One bird ‘219E’ has had annual forays down to Poole Park, Dorset the last three summers. Presumably joining a breeding colony there.

The star of the show, however, was ‘2J52’. This little beaut was ringed as an adult up in the Lake District back in 2008 and has since made forays down to Lincolnshire back in 2019 and most excitingly for me; Norfolk last year.

Norfolk sightings include Sheringham, Scolt Head and Blakeney Point. Blakeney Point is particularly hallowed ground, with many fond memories crunching the shingle with friends.

In writing this I also noticed the scientific name ‘ridibundus’ which is the Latin name for ‘laughing’ or ‘laughing a lot’ it's also used in the scientific name for Marsh Frog. Who knew!