When Wednesday’s BirdGuides review of the week told of this bird making an extended stay within an Atlantic Grey Seal colony on the north Lincs coast it seemed like an unmissable opportunity to connect with the only British Skua I had not observed previously. Settled ones on land do not occur too often, so though 180 miles from home is further than my preferred driving distance I at once resolved to go. Like my first Little Auk in Oslo earlier this month, making the trip would be greatly preferable to trying to sea watch fly-bys somewhere.

Personal records of the three other Skua species had all come locally from Oxford’s Farmoor Reservoir: Great in October 2017 (see here), Arctic (Nov 2013) and Long-tailed (Sep 1995). But it would be very unusual for a “Pom” to turn up at such an inland location, and thus lingered a rather glaring omission from my national and life lists. Earlier this autumn another land-bound individual was found early in the day at Langstone Harbour in Sussex, but when I arrived there it had flown off not to be seen again.

Today’s Pomarine Skua (adult)

The weather was due to change for the better on Friday and so at around 9:30am I arrived at Donna Nook NNR in cold and clear conditions. One of the car park volunteers said the bird was still present, and on enquiring of a departing birder I was pointed towards a spot where the presence of green clad optics carriers indicated where my quest must be. And there, sitting out on the salt marsh alternately dozing and preening, was my first ever Pomarine Skua – things this time were as simple as that.

First sight of the Skua

Flying Pomarine Skua

Numbers of these seabirds are seen on migration around British coasts in both spring, when I understand a particular wind direction is needed to encounter them, and autumn. This one has possibly reasoned that the all day, as much as it likes buffet offered here by the plentiful placentae that litter such a large breeding seal colony is preferable to moving on. But rather worryingly it is also said to have an injured leg and so may just have been left behind.

Before long the Pom took to the air then landed besides a placenta a few metres within the viewing area boundary fence, a brute of a bird. This was a picture opportunity such as all the birders present craved, and the object of our attention set about tearing at its meal with typical Skua-like relish. A lady standing next to me said if she photo-shopped out the after birth she would then have a nice picture. I have since seen the same view expressed on another Oxon blog and must confess to not seeing what the sensitivity is here.

Were I a photographer these are definitely the “shots” I would want. The food source is after all why the bird was here offering such exceptional views of itself. I am also not either a doctor or biologist and so open to correction, but were we not all once followed into the world by one of these perfectly natural items that nourished and allowed us to breathe in the womb? No … there’s nothing wrong with a nice bit of placenta, as this Pom clearly agrees.

Pomarine Skua

Pomarine Skua

Having gained such acceptable studies of this latest life list addition, I next turned my attention to its hosts. The seals were possibly the most awe inspiring wildlife spectacle involving large animals I have enjoyed since experiencing Florida’s Alligators in January 2018. An information board today announced a recent count of 469 bulls and 1629 cows on site, while 1554 pups have been born so far in the current season.

Donna Nook NNR is one of four Atlantic Grey Seal colonies on the English east coast, the others being Blakeney and Horsey in Norfolk, and the Farne Islands. The Lincs Wildlife Trust administered site covers around 10 km of coastline and consists of dunes, slacks and inter-tidal areas. Deposition of material from the River Humber has resulted in mud flats offshore, and the advancing dunes have trapped areas of salt marsh behind them. Every November and December large numbers of seal cows come ashore to give birth, before being mated again by the waiting bulls.

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The first pups are born in early November, with numbers peaking around the time of my visit. How rapidly these grow was all too apparent today, and after 18 days the young seals are weaned and the cows return to sea. After moulting into their first adult coat the juveniles follow and by January the beach is empty again. Lesser numbers of the smaller Common Seal also breed at Donna Nook.

Grey Seal bull

Grey Seal cow and pup

Grey Seal cow

Grey Seal bull

Grey Seal cow and pups

Suckling cow and pup

The uniformly dark-toned bulls are impressive beasts indeed, up to 2.2 metres in length and weighing up to 300 kg. Here and there I observed them halfheartedly sparring or attempting to mate, but mostly they just slumbered their time away. Some bore the kind of battle scars I have grimaced at in many a wildlife documentary. There seemed to be a concentration of very large bulls out on the tide-line. Cows are pale with darker patches, growing to 1.8 metres long and weighing up to 150kg, and mostly give birth to a single pup each season.

Grey Seal cow and pup

Grey Seal pup

It was of course the pups (pictured above) that stole the show. Like many of the adults they seemed to prefer lying on their backs in variously comical poses, and would roll around, smile and chuckle just like human babies. Their “cute factor” is understandably what brings large numbers of visitors to this NNR, necessitating a one-way system through lanes out from the nearest village of North Somercotes and back. Parking on site is £4 / vehicle and must be a very welcome source for funding reserve management.

Around midday I returned to my car for a sandwich and to retrieve money for the donations box. Many more general public were now arriving and I was amused by the perfectly white pumps heading in the other direction into a muddy area behind the sea wall that had been flooded just a day earlier. A few ladies were attired straight from the high street or possibly somewhere more exclusive, and two fellow multi-layered welly wearers I joked with said they had seen a man dressed in running shorts in the very chill wind.

Pomarine Skua

Pomarine Skua

Returning to the viewing area I sought out the Pomarine Skua again and soon relocated it. The light had improved somewhat and it was now that the lead image in this post and those immediately above were gained. Then at around 1 pm I headed for home, completing the four-hour return journey without even a loo stop or batting an eyelid. Maybe I should go beyond range more often, and this had certainly been an uplifting day out.

Today I gained my best ever experience and pictures of one of the regular wintering passerines that occur around the East Anglian coast. Whilst staying with friends in Suffolk for a couple of days, my birding time out at this site was to try a little late for what by now was a long staying Eastern Yellow Wagtail. That bird wasn’t seen but an attractive flock of Snow Bunting coming and going continuously during my 4½ hours on site was a pleasing diversion.

Winter male Snow Bunting

The 20-something Buntings were particularly attracted to a patch of grass on the shingle beach (pictured below) where seed must have been put down for them by birders twitching the EYW on previous days. Some of my pictures indeed show them eating what doesn’t look like a natural food source.

These birds tolerated a very close approach and I was able to get within feet of them at times without causing them to scatter. I hope I have identified  the various individuals correctly as to gender and age (below), but if not am open to correction.

Winter male Snow Bunting (all images)

Snow Bunting (fem 1w)

Snow Bunting (fem 1w)

Last winter I had twice observed a Snow Bunting flock in very windy conditions on the north Norfolk coast at Holkham Bay (see here). Due to the closeness of today’s encounter I enjoyed it that bit more. Other past personal records were from Reculver in Kent (Nov 2014), Cley in Norfolk (Oct 2014), locally at Farmoor Reservoir  (Feb 2012), Walberswick again (Feb 1986); and twice as a teenager in the family home back garden in eastern Greater London – yes really!

Today’s Snow Bunting flock at Walberswick

Where the Eastern Yellow Wagtail was concerned, I agree with the day’s only post from the site that it was not seen. But others amongst the observers present kept calling it confidently from the briefest of glimpses, something that not being a proper birder myself I am always dubious about. Some trusted Oxon birding colleagues had been here before me so I knew exactly what to look for (see here), and also came armed with a printed picture. It is mostly only possible to make subjective judgements about how knowledgeable people I meet in the field are, but some of the things being said here just did not tally. And when the bird being called eventually showed itself clearly mid-afternoon it was a first winter regular Yellow Wagtail (pictured below). Neither bird was reported on the following day (21st).

Definitely not the Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail (first winter)

I am not greatly enthused by new splits that might only be distinguishable on call or by DNA analysis of faecal samples. But these are “tickable” and so in my current low state of national birding motivation this one seemed worth a look. The Eastern Yellow Wagtail had been present at Walberswick Corporation Marshes on the Suffolk coast since 28th October, and was confirmed as such from a sound recording on 9th November.

I expect there will be more opportunities since, as familiarity with the new species grows, proper birders are likely to identify others. That will have to wait, but here and now the wintering Snow Buntings at this site had made for a worthwhile visit. I nonetheless returned home thinking it may have to be something a bit special to tempt me out again nationally this winter.

When I read about this on BirdGuides it was something I just had to do. Late October had seen the largest south-westward movement of Pine Grosbeak since 1976. This had already eclipsed an irruption in 2012 when one bird reached Shetland, and numbers were expected to multiply further in southern Scandinavia through early winter (see here). With 60-something regularly occurring species still required for my pan-European bird list, a spring trip to Sweden is on my next-up agenda. But the iconic far-northern Finches are not on the target list for the tour I am considering, so this at once seemed my best chance of recording them.

There is some anticipation amongst British birders presently as to whether PG will arrive on these shores again in the near future. But after such a dull autumn within my range at home I felt that getting to southern Norway from London Stansted airport would be rather easier and more affordable than reaching such far flung locations as offered the British Isles’ hardcore birding interest through October. So thus it was that on Wednesday (6th) Ewan and myself stepped off a 9:30am Ryanair at Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport to meet our guide Simon Rix then go in search of PG and some other rather special regional birds.

Pine Grosbeak (adult male)

Simon cited two hill-top locations on the northern edge of suburban Oslo at which he had observed groups of Pine Grosbeak in recent days. At the first, Grefsenkollen he had been interviewed at first light on national radio, such is the interest that thousands of these birds moving through Norway each day is generating. When we arrived there a number of his local birding colleagues were staking out the site, but no “Grozzers” had been seen again since 8am. So after a brief look around ourselves we moved on.

Now we went to the area around Holmenkollen ski jump, an up-market residential district that commands panoramic views over the city and Oslo Fjord. It was a cold, clear and crisp early winter’s day and we drove around checking the stands of berry bearing mountain ash or Rowan (sp) trees that grow here. These provide a ready food source for the taiga breeding avian visitors in what is an exceptional berry year, and the birds are likely to start high up then work their way down to lower areas of the city as the fruit is stripped.

Pine Grosbeak (adult male)

Pine Grosbeak (adult male)

Before too long our quest was located in good light, a flock of seven then 17 more flew over. The first group contained just one red-toned adult male, whilst females and first winter birds are difficult to tell apart. These are Redwing-sized and often extend their necks downward into elongated postures when feeding, before stripping the berries of their skins and digesting the pulp within. In doing so their acrobatic jizz is reminiscent of Waxwings, but my favourite trait is when they shimmy sideways on their twig and branch perches to re-position themselves. What absolutely stunning beauties they are … words such as captivate, enthral and allure, or derivations thereof, barely do them justice!

Pine Grosbeak (fem / imm) all images

These birds alternated between feeding on the Rowan berries and the buds of Spruce trees, moving regularly between the two food sources. When in the berry trees the PG were quite fearless of human presence, allowing us to approach very closely. But they were much more sensitive to the threat from above and with Sparrowhawk active at the site would scatter at intervals. At one point a Pygmy Owl even flew through fast, though only Simon noticed it.

We stayed here taking pictures for around two hours. Rather noisy machines were busily creating snow cover for cross country ski tracks just below us, causing a constant fine spray to drift through proceedings. This served to interfere with camera settings and lowered the air temperature that would naturally have been a couple of degrees below zero. Eventually something spooked the Grosbeaks and they all flew off, but after a brief drive around checking other locations we returned to find a new flock of a further 10 birds. Now the quality of picture on offer took a turn for the better, including most of those that appear above and below.

Pine Grosbeak (fem / imm) all images

Pine Grosbeak’s breeding range is in the mature, undisturbed taiga forests of northern Fennoscandia and Russia. There in contrast to their bold behaviour when feeding in winter they are unobtrusive and retiring. This present irruption is somewhat earlier than is typical and unusually high numbers have also penetrated Denmark. But they are not known for making long sea crossings, so multiple arrivals in Great Britain would be truly exceptional.

Myself and Ewan (right) at Holmenkollen, courtesy of Simon Rix

In the early afternoon we relocated to Forneba, another exclusive residential district on the shore of Oslo Fjord, to seek out Little Auk. Recent weeks have seen numbers of them moving down eastern British coasts, as is usual in any autumn when birds from huge Arctic breeding colonies migrate to their north Atlantic wintering grounds. Some southward bound Auks stray into Oslo Fjord especially after squalls at sea. So as with the main target, being guided to this second lifer for the trip in Norway seemed like a safer option than trying to guess a good sea watching point then hoping they pass by at home.

As things turned out it was myself who called the single individual we found here (below left), which proceeded to offer exceptional views as it made long dives close in along the shoreline. This experience was greatly preferable to trying to sea watch one in England, a type of birding that has never appealed to me given the distance at which passing birds are mostly seen. We also observed three Guillemot (below right) at Forneba, which upon checking I find was my first sighting anywhere since 1991; but I haven’t been looking.

Little Auk

Guillemot

We ended the daylight hours by trying for a Great Grey Owl that had been reported along a forested road near the airport. But now our luck on what had been a superb day in Oslo ran out, then we did not find the long shot again on the morning and late afternoon of 7th. It could have been a lifer for both Ewan and myself, but not this time.

Overnight we stayed at the excellent Thon Hotel Gardermoen four miles from the airport, that itself is a 40-minute drive from Oslo. Here an adequate evening meal and superb breakfast were both included in the room rate, being real value in a country I concluded is prohibitively expensive due to its very high economic level. For that reason I feel disinclined to bird in Norway again, other than on one or two day trips such as this.

Holmenkollen on day two

Thursday (7th) fell a little flat by comparison with our superlative first day. In the morning we visited the forest park of Lindenkollen from where Simon had recently published video of a Hazel Grouse on his blog (see here). I particularly wanted to see this species as it was an only trip target not gained on the April 2017 tour I joined in Estonia. Our guide re-located the bird and heard it calling several times but it just would not show itself, possibly because it was watching the three of us and so was very wary. This was a repeat of my experience in Estonia with the guide knowing a bird was present nearby that I didn’t see.

Nutcracker

Parrot Crossbills

Whilst in that forest we also observed three Nutcracker and parties of Parrot Crossbill and Willow Tit (record shots above). But we all wanted some more Pine Grosbeak action and so returned to Holmenkollen in the afternoon. Now the weather had deteriorated and light conditions were poor. The snow machines had also succeeded in covering the area with a light dusting. And once again we came across another PG flock of 18 birds that this time contained three adult males.

Pine Grosbeak (adult male)

Pine Grosbeak (adult male)

Pine Grosbeak (adult male)

Pine Grosbeak flock

One of the snow machines in action

Pine Grosbeaks (m & f)

We thus estimated having seen 34 of the main trip target at this site over the two days. The latest contingent proceeded to entertain us just like the previous day’s birds. At one point a similar number of Waxwing flew in and the two species fed communally in the same Rowan trees, which was quite a novel experience.

Pine Grosbeaks and Waxwings

Ultimately it was disappointing to have converted just two of the four trip targets, but the Pine Grosbeaks of our main intent were absolutely superb value. They have some competition to be my birds of the year – including Allen’s Gallinule and Dwarf Bittern in Fuerteventura, the Cape Rhir Bald Ibis flock again in Morocco, and everything I saw on June’s Wildwings tour of Turkey – but I think these Scandinavian stunners probably make it. Very important is the trail blazing aspect of this visit to “Groslo” since myself and Ewan are the first British birders to undertake it. So all in all it was a highly worthwhile and unforgettable exercise. Cue a fade out …

For Simon Rix’s own account of these two days see here