England – Minsmere, Dungeness and County Durham

Atlasville, 24 Nov 2011

My wife and I are just back from a 2-week trip visiting family in the UK. As always, I managed to set aside some time for birding while in London, with visits to both RSPB Minsmere near Saxmundham in Suffolk and RSPB Dungeness near Lydd in Kent. While visiting my father in County Durham we spent some time on the moors near Stanhope and the coast at Hartlepool.

Apart from the moors of upper Weardale in County Durham the birding was focused on seabirds, waders and waterfowl.

At Minsmere I recorded 8 duck species, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Common Shelduck and Mallard. Of the larger waterfowl Tundra Swan, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose and Brant Goose were all seen. The list of waders included Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Common Snipe and Sanderling, while gulls noted were Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, European Herring, Yellow-legged and Black-headed.

Close to the visitor centre I photographed a Eurasian Magpie, which in the right light is quite a colourful bird. On the feeders at the visitor centre I found European Goldfinch, while underneath was an opportunistic Common Pheasant waiting to mop up any spillage.

Dungeness turned up very little not already seen at Minsmere, but I added Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Plover and Great Egret, as well as Common Kestrel and Western Marsh Harrier.

The feeders at the visitor centre here were populated by Eurasian Blue Tit and Great Tit.

The beach and rocks at Hartlepool provided Common Redshank, Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Sanderling, Red Knot, European Rock Pipit and a lifer, Purple Sandpiper. Our drive over the moors from Stanhope in Weardale to Middleton-in-Teesdale provided lots of opportunities to see Red Grouse in their winter plumage.