Eldernell 9 December 2000
by Gordon Hamlett
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PBC Trip Report Eldernell 9 December 2000 by Gordon Hamlett |
Peering into my crystal ball on the Thursday before the trip, I was convinced that a combination of Christmas shopping and an atrocious weather forecast - it looked like a toss up as to whether I would be blown out to sea or drowned - would mean a lonely afternoon at Eldernell. What do I know? Come Saturday and the wind had dropped, the sun was shining, there wasn't a hint of rain and there was an apparent breakout of Bah! Humbug! towards the festivities as no less than 17 brave souls turned out for what is always one of our more popular trips.
Conditions looked ideal. There was still a lot of flood water remaining but large lumps of greenery were beginning to appear. The only problem was that the birds looked widespread with plenty of Wigeon and Pintail out towards March Farmers. Almost as soon as we arrived though, the wildfowl started moving with small groups of Bewick’s Swan flighting in - there were about 80 by the time we left.
Walking down towards Lord's Holt, the air twice came alive as thousands of Lapwing and Golden Plover rose in panic. The problem in cases like this is finding one bird among 6000 or so waders and on each occasion, the hunter went un-noticed. Scanning the waders when they had settled again, revealed 16 Black-tailed Godwit, about 50 Dunlin and a couple of Ruff.
Small birds seemed to be in particularly short supply, especially thrushes. There were a few Blackbird, three Mistle Thrush, just one Redwing and no Fieldfare at all. Most unusual. All the migrant birds seem to have moved straight through this year.
Returning back to the car park for a dusk raptor watch, the shout soon went up for a ringtail Hen Harrier. This confused those at the back of the group; by the time they got onto the bird, it had turned into a Marsh Harrier. Things were soon resolved as we soon saw the latter mobbing the former, a cracking sight. The Marsh Harrier looks as if it might overwinter. It should have migrated long ago though there is a precedent - a few birds winter on the Norfolk broads each year.
A Barn Owl drew the usual chorus appreciation and we were then treated to two Peregrine having a bit of a tussle overhead. There was a pristine adult female, black moustache and white cheeks showing clearly, and an immature male, about a third smaller and streaky brown in colour. We tracked the male towards the waders and it showed its lack of hunting experience by swerving towards anything that moved from the Marsh Harrier downwards. The birding ended when the Hen Harrier gave us one last flypast, the white rump showing brightly against a dark background in the low light
But PBC doesn't just concern itself with the birds. A clear sky and near-full moon led to scopes being trained on that. It seemed that every geographical feature, craters and canals, were showing to perfection. Things got even better though as the planets rose, leading to excellent views of Venus, Jupiter including three of its moons, and, the clear highlight for many despite the excellent birding, Saturn with the rings showing very clearly. Who needs Christmas shopping anyway?
