The previous Thursday, I presuaded birding mate John Pilgrim to let me go with him and two of his friends from Southend for thr Rustic Bunting at Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire and the wintering Spotted Sandpiper just up the road at Fen Drayton Gravel Pits. We were picked up from Fifers Lane, Norwich, at 7.30am and after a short kip, arrived at Fowlmere, to find smiling birders, sunshine and none of the earlier fog. The general impression of people leaving the site gave me hope that the Rustic Bunting was still present. It felt like it was going to be one of those twitches where you show up, see the bird, and leave. However, the bird had other ideas, spending most of the time hidden feeding in a stubble field. Fortunately, every so often, the finch flock would flush, and the birds would fly up and perch on a barbed wire fence or in the scattered bushes. When this happened, we had to quickly scan the perched birds in an attempt to find the bunting before it dropped back into the field. As it turned out, it was quite easy to pick up in the scope and over the next little while, we got great views of the bird, allowing us to drink in its features. The bird seemed to be wintering here with a flock of finches, Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers and may well have been overlooked since the autumn. Nevetheless, a great inland find and a lifer for me.
Next, we drove up to Fen Drayton where a Spotted Sandpiper had been wintering on the gravel pits. On arrival it was not long before some birders pointed the bird out to us as it picked its way round the edge of some gravel islands. Though about 50 metres away, most of the salient features could be seen, including the distinctly yellow legs, shorter tail than a Common Sandpiper and distinct eye ring. After watching this little American wader for a a while, we wandered round the pits to have a look for the reported Smew. We failed in this respect, but did see a selection of ducks, including Goosanders, Gadwall and Goldeneye. There was also a Green Sandpiper present.
(photo Rob Wilson)
We drove back east towards Norwich and decided to pop in to a couple of sites in the Brecks to look for Golden Pheasants. Brandon Park was our first stop, but a fruitless search through a forest was all that entailed. We then, as a last resort, headed to East Wretham Heath. One of John's friends had seen Golden Pheasants and Hawfinches here a few years ago. We walked about three miles through the pine woods to a small knoll where he had seen the pheasants previously. I was not surprised that there were no pheasants present. On returning to the car we decided to check some Hornbeams and bushes which looked good for Hawfinches. On walking round the bushes a male Golden Pheasant suddenly screamed at us as we startled it in the undergrowth. Very soon, six males appeared along with four small rufous females, all of which gave us great views. We had to creep through the Hawthorn scrub to get good views- this was rewarding but I managed to snag my dreadlocks on the thorns several times, which was pretty painful! I managed to escape after a while, satisfied with my views of these exotic birds. A good end to a most successful day.
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