Andamans Part1

Andamans 2024

This was a custom-built trip to the Andaman Islands of India organised by Neil using local agents The Tribesmen led by Shakti.

Monday 18^th November

I got to Dagenham Heathway for the first District line tube of the day at 5.05 and changed at Whitechapel for the Lizzy line with the intention of taking it to Heathrow. Unfortunately over-running engineering works meant it wasn’t running beyond Paddington and the Heathrow Express was also not running so I had to go the slow way on the Piccadilly line. I arrived at T2 at 7.15 and checked in much later than planned. There was just about time to grab a coffee and hot roll before heading straight to the gate where boarding had started. We took off on time at 8.45 on the Air India flight to Delhi.

We landed on time at around 10.30pm but it took ages for the steps to get connected as all the normal gates were in use. As we walked across the tarmac to a waiting bus we could taste the smog as well as seeing the poor visibility. We had to collect our luggage as they no longer transfer it directly and then we checked in and had a long wait in the terminal before boarding our 05.30 flight to Port Blair in the Andamans.

Tuesday 19^th

It was only a three and a half hour flight and we were bumped up to Premium Economy so had plenty of legroom and caught up on some sleep. On arrival the local immigration officials found us and quickly checked our credentials as the islands are considered a restricted area. We quickly collected our luggage and headed to the exit where we were met by one of our drivers. Our hotel was only over the road and as we weren’t going out until the afternoon there was time to rest, have lunch and get ready for our first excursion.

Lemon Tree Hotel, Port Blair

We went out at 2pm and stopped by a rocky beach where a couple of Collared Kingfishers were perched on rocks. On the beach there was also Tibetan Sandplover, Common Sand, Whimbrel, White-throated Kingfisher (I still prefer its old name of Smyrna) and two Pacific Reef-Herons, one of each colour phase.

Tibetan Sandplover

Collared Kingfisher

We carried on and stopped by some fields where a Chestnut-headed Bee-eater was perched on a roadside wire next to an Ornate Sunbird. In the trees was a flock of Daurian Starling. As we progressed further down the road, new birds kept being seen including Plume-toed Swiftlet, Red-whiskered Bulbul and Oriental Cuckooshrike. A trio of Long-tailed Parakeets were perched up high amid our first endemic – a dozen Andaman Green Pigeons.

Ornate Sunbird

Andaman Green Pigeon

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Long-tailed Parakeet

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the Chidiyatapu Biological Park. It’s mostly forest with paved trails but there are a number of animal enclosures so it’s quite a popular place for visitors. 

Even so, we saw a good variety of birds here such as Andaman Drongo (Endemic #2), Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Alexandrine & Red-breasted Parakeets and Andaman Shama (Endemic #3). As we walked back to the entrance an Andaman Crake was found preening just inside the forest (Endemic #4).

Red-breasted Parakeet

Andaman Drongo

GIMP or Green Imperial Pigeon

After a short stop for coffee we went owling. It gets dark very early here as there’s only one time zone in India and the Andamans are a long way to the East of Delhi. 

Dusk across the bay from the coffee stall

A typical roadside shop

At dusk we first tried for Hume’s Boobook. We heard several and got regular brief views but it took a lot longer to find one that sat around in the open (Endemic #5). We moved to another spot and saw Andaman Hawk-Owl (or Boobook) (Endemic #6), making it a very successful night session. 

Hume's Boobook

Andaman Hawk-Owl

We returned to our hotel where they had a buffet laid out for dinner. We finished the evening in the bar over a round of Kingfishers. 

Wednesday 20^th

After a good night’s sleep we met up at 5.40 and took the ferry across the bay to a different part of the island. It was on a small ferry with only room for a few cars but was pretty packed with motorbikes and foot passengers who use it for commuting.

View from the ferry crossing

A roadside stop by a marsh got us several Pacific Golden Plover, some Pintail Snipe, the first of many Brown Shrikes, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Black-naped Oriole and a single White-breasted Woodswallow.

Pacific Golden Plover

Pintail Snipe

We explored a small patch of forest which was very productive. We soon started adding more endemics starting with Andaman Cuckoo-Dove (Endemic #7). Dusky Warbler was heard and a Pacific Swift flew over. A Himalayan Cuckoo was seen well, these winter on the islands. We had a picnic breakfast and then it was time for more endemics with another trio seen: Andaman Flowerpecker (Endemic #8), Andaman Woodpecker (Endemic #9) – a large mostly black woodpecker with a red nape and Andaman Bulbul (Endemic #10).

Himalayan Cuckoo

Andaman Cuckoo-Dove

A couple of Hill Mynas flew over and a Freckle-breasted Woodpecker was also seen. In a fruiting tree there were a few White-headed Starlings (Endemic #11) but they kept inside the canopy so we didn’t see them that well. After a few Small Minivets came in it was time to head back to the hotel for a rest and lunch.

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

We met up again at 14.45 and headed out to a wetland area. A couple of Edible-nest Swiftlet flew past and a Dusky Warbler was heard tacking away in the undergrowth. Out on the marsh were several Grey-headed Swamphens (AKA Purple Chickens) and some Lesser Whistling Ducks while Blue-tailed Bee-eaters hawked for insects. Joining the ubiquitous Smyrnas were Collared Kingfisher, a flypast Stork-billed Kingfisher and a skulking Blue-eared Kingfisher.

The Andaman Teal weren’t on their usual lake as it had a few people in it and we couldn’t locate them on the adjacent ones either. A couple of Cinnamon Bitterns were seen and the muddy edges held good numbers of Pacific Goldies as well as a Redshank.

Cinnamon Bittern

As we drove to the next spot an Andaman Coucal (Endemic #12) was perched briefly by the side of the road. This spot was more marsh and grassland so there were a few Long-toed Stints amid the common waders, plenty of Eastern Yellow Wagtails which sound almost like Zitting Cisticolas and a flyover Red-throated Pipit. In the reeds an Oriental Reed Warbler was heard.

Long-toed Stint

We stopped for coffee then headed off to our next owling site. In one site we had excellent views of an Andaman Scops Owl (Endemic #13) and heard Oriental Scops Owl and Hume’s Boobook.

Andaman Scops-Owl

November birding

After returning from Norfolk on Nov 1st, I only had a couple of weeks birding in London before going away to India. Autumn migration tailed off pretty quickly and the only cold weather of the month occurred after I went away. It's been a pretty poor vismig season for finches, apart from an influx of Hawfinch.

Rainham Marshes

I only managed four visits this month but did add another three year ticks: Cattle Egret (finally!), Jack Snipe and Dartford Warbler taking me up to 153 species. There seems to be at least two Dartfords hanging around the Enclosed Bay so hopefully they'll overwinter if the weather stays mild enough.

Staines Reservoir

I was tempted by the photos of a tame Lapland Bunting on the causeway so decided to trek across to the other side of London. I walked up from Ashford station as the bird  was on the east side. There were two small groups of people five metres apart with the bird feeding quite unconcerned in the middle. It was only the second one I've seen in London and certainly the closest Lap I've ever seen.

Lapland Bunting

Walthamstow Wetlands

I decided to make one of my rare visits to this site to see the two long-staying Black-necked Grebes. They were at the far end of Lockwood and unfortunately on the other side so too far away to get any photos. I had a short look around on the south side where the Peregrine was at home on its pylon and a female Red-crested Pochard was on No. 1 res.

Red-crested Pochard

Photographs

A productive month with six new species photographed this month including finally getting Chaffinch and Goldcrest plus one upgrade. I'm now up to 139 species this year; I won't manage 150 but I'll aim to get one more to make it a round 140.

Brent Goose, Rainham Marshes

Golden Plover, Rainham Marshes

Jack Snipe, Rainham Marshes

Goldcrest, Dagenham Chase

Mistle Thrush, Rainham Marshes (upgrade)

Chaffinch, Dagenham Chase

Lapland Bunting, Staines Res

A week in Norfolk

Norfolk 2024

Monday 28th October

I met up with John & Janet at Kings Cross where we took the 10.42 train up to Kings Lynn. It was a fairly quiet journey up with just a few small herds of Roe Deer seen along the way. Once in Lynn we crossed over to the bus station and took the bus up to Hunstanton. Our usual B&B had sold up so we were staying at a new one which was fairly close to the other one. We checked in and met up with Darren who had been up a couple of days.

We went for a walk south along the beach. The tide was close to high so there wasn’t much beach left for waders, just a few Oystercatchers and Sanderling among the usual Turnstones. Best sighting was a Harbour Porpoise not too far out in The Wash, the first one we’d seen on this stretch of coast.

Turnstone

With a bit of drizzle in the air and the approach of dusk we popped into a café for a hot drink then back to digs. In the evening we headed down to The Mariner for dinner and a couple of beers.

Tuesday 29th

We headed down to the seafront for some pre-breakfast birding. It was fairly gloomy but the sea was calm. Out in The Wash was a distant flock of about 300 Common Scoter and a single Eider was a bit closer. A Peregrine buzzed the waders on the beach below us. We saw yesterday’s Harbour Porpoise again, only this time there were two of them. Apart from a few Chaffinches very little flew over so we headed back for breakfast.

We were down at the bus stop in time for our usual 09.28 bus to Holkham. We wandered slowly along Lady Anne’s Drive as there was plenty to see, particularly at the far end where a flock of a dozen Cattle Egrets were associating with their bovine buddies.

Cattle Egret

Although there hadn’t been any recent reports of Shorelark or Snow Buntings we walked down to the roped-off area to look anyway, then had a look out to sea from the dunes. There were a few Common Scoter offshore along with a couple of Gannets, a Red-throated Diver and two late Sandwich Terns. Waders tried to feed on the beach but were regularly flushed by dogs.

Next we walked west along the pines and had lunch in one of the hides. A Great Egret was on the largest lake but we didn’t see a single Little Egret here to complete the set. Marsh Harriers, Buzzards and Red Kites drifted over. We carried on to the end where a new hide had been constructed to replace the old one that had been closed for the past two years as it was falling to bits. On the way back we heard a Firecrest and several flocks of Pink-footed Geese and Starlings flew past. 

Pink-footed Geese

We ended up with a list of 70 species at Holkham which was pretty good. We tried to locate a Barn Owl towards dusk but there was no sign of any.

Wednesday 30th

We started the day with the usual seawatch by the beach. As the tide ebbed and exposed some rocks I started looking through the Turnstones in case there was a Purple Sandpiper there – and the first bird I looked at was indeed a Purple Sandpiper! A few Fieldfare flew over with more Redwings, the first I’d seen this autumn. It was soon time for another hearty full English breakfast.

Purple Sandpiper

We spent the rest of the day at Titchwell, starting off on the Fen Trail which was a bit quiet. We tried not to stop along the west bank too much as we wanted to check out the sea before the tide dropped too much. However, we did stop and look for the elusive Jack Snipe on one of the islands but there was no sign of it. We spent an hour looking out to sea – at first glance it appeared empty but after a while birds began to appear and it ended up being really productive with Black-throated Diver, Slavonian and Red-necked Grebes seen. There were a lot of waders out on the beach and even a flock of Spoonbills.

Spoonbills

We spent some time in the main hide looking at the waders and ducks while having lunch. Several hundred Golden Plover were roosting on one island and there were a few Ruff and Dunlin scattered around and the Spoonbill flock flew in and landed. We tried again in vain for the Jack Snipe then headed back to the cafe for a mid-afternoon cuppa. Once refreshed we went back on the west bank to see what flew in to roost. Only a handful of Marsh Harriers appeared but there was no Hen Harrier this evening.

Brent Geese

Dunlin

Golden Plover

Ruff

Spoonbills

Where's Wally?

As we waited for the bus there were a few Red-legged Partridges in the field behind us and a Short-eared Owl flew over. We ended up seeing a credible 80 species at Titchwell, a record count for us at this time of year.

Thursday 31st: Halloween

There were no spooky sightings pre-breakfast so we elected to spend our spare day walking from Thornham Harbour to Holme. It was noticeably colder this morning. We had a good start as we saw a covey of Grey Partridge from the bus just outside Old Hunstanton. At Thornham Harbour there was another flock of six Cattle Egrets feeding out in the fields and two Dartford Warblers zipped past.

Fungi

We passed a lot of people as we walked along the main coastal footpath. At Holme Dunes we cut inland and went to the cafe at the reserve for a much needed coffee and cake. The regular Jack Snipe had been located so we headed out to the hide but it was mostly hidden from view. After a while it walked out into the open then, realising its mistake, scarpered off deep into the rushes. There wasn’t a lot else to see on the reserve so we carried on walking along the dunes and looking out to sea.

We were hoping to get Shore Lark or Snow Bunting but neither showed. Instead we saw two Short-eared Owls, one in the dunes and another that had just flown over the North Sea. It landed on the beach but soon got mobbed by gulls so flew right past us and into the dunes. 

Short-eared Owl

We ended up by the Peddars Way crossroads and took the bus back from there and then treated ourselves to a final dinner at Chives.

Friday 1st November

We only had time today for a short pre-breakfast look on the beach where the only new bird of the trip was a Red-breasted Merganser. It was then time to pack up, have breakfast and head back to Lynn on the bus and the train home.

 

October birding

After returning from Indonesia I only had a couple of days at home before I was off on another trip. 

Spurn

I had a three day trip up to the Spurn area with fellow Dagenham Chase patch birders Vince & Sam. We stayed in a nice self-catering 3 bedroom house in Welwick which was conveniently located next to a pub.

On our way up we had planned to stop at Frampton but nothing had been reported there so we carried on up to Bempton to look for the Isabelline Shrike. It was very windy when we got there and although it had been seen earlier in the day there was no sign of it. At least one Yellow-browed Warbler was heard by the feeding station which also housed a small flock of Tree Sparrows, the first ones I'd seen this year.

Tree Sparrow

The following morning was spent at various sites in the Spurn area. We tried for the American Wigeon at Kilnsea but it was either hiding or asleep. However, there was Little Stint and Spotted Redshank there. In the afternoon we crossed back over the Humber Bridge and made a short exploratory stop at Far Ings NR. There weren't many birds visible from the first hide but we did have great views of an Otter.

Far Ings NR by the Humber Bridge

Not the Loch Ness Monster but an Otter's tail!

Our main target was the goose roost on Read Island and we next went to a viewpoint where a few other birders had gathered. Pink-footed Geese started coming in up the estuary and we scanned through them and then Vince found a small flock that were flying in from the north with two white birds in it. Through the scope we could see that they were the two Snow Geese we were looking for. They did a circuit over Read Island but decided not to roost there and carried on up the Humber.

Pink-footed Geese

We stopped for dinner at a carvery before driving back to Welwick. While Vince & Sam had a nightcap across the road I went to scan the skies for the Northern Lights as they had been forecast to show and a few reports were coming in. After a few minutes a large streak of red light was visible next to a patch of green sky. I retrieved the others from the pub along with all the other patrons and we watched the spectacle.

Northern Lights

For our last day we walked down to Welwick Marsh from our cottage. There were quite a few birds around in the adjacent fields and there's a nature reserve at the end of the track.

Great Egret

We then headed back to Kilnsea. We decided to give the wigeon another go and after a bit of a search found it on the eastern pool. As we walked back a Red-throated Diver swam towards us before flying off south. A few Whooper Swans flew past as well.

Red-throated Diver

Whooper Swans

We walked back, seeing a Little Owl by the farm, then went up the road and heard a Yellow-browed Warbler. There wasn't a lot being reported in the area so we went back to our digs and checked out. We had a last look down Welwick Marsh then drove home. Although we hadn't come across any rarities from the east it was a nice break with 90 species seen.

Dagenham Chase

I made eight visits here this month and it proved to be a very productive October as I saw three new patch birds: Bearded Tit, Cattle & Great Egrets. I did several dawn starts in the hope of some good visible migration but it was fairly quiet apart from on Oct 16th when 900+ Redwings flew over. Despite Bramblings and Hawfinches being seen at many other sites we couldn't manage either one.

Bearded Tit

Cattle Egret, just the second ever record at The Chase

Great Egret, also seen flying over The Slack

My second Marsh Harrier of the year at The Chase

Rainham Marshes

I only managed five visits to Rainham this month but that was enough to get one new patch tick - a Hawfinch that flew over the old silt lagoons as I was walking along Coldharbour Lane. Having missed three the day before I was very pleased to catch up with one, especially so as it was my 150th  bird there this year which was my target. I also spent some time looking for a probable Dusky Warbler but it had presumably moved on. I was up in Norfolk for the last few days of the month so missed the Long-billed Dowitcher.

Photographs

A very poor month for photographing new species - the only one was the Cattle Egret at Dagenham Chase which brings me up to 134 this year.