An “Eastern” Stonechat was found last week in fields at Salthouse in Norfolk.After much debate all week with birding friends and further reading on this species I decided to go and see it.Currently this species can only be validated 100% by DNA analysis which thankfully was collected last week and sent off.This was my first opportunity to observe this taxon since the adoption of IOC taxonomy, giving Stejnegeri as a full species.
Sean Cole rang me on friday morning offering to drive so I asked Malc curtin if he was up for it and he was and also Cliff Smith,car full!WERE GOING!I picked Malc up from Northwich at 4.30am and we headed across the country to meet Sean and Cliff.A quick change of car and we were on site for just before 10.00am with plenty of Red kites and thrush movement keeping us all awake on the way.I soon got on the bird after we arrived but the bird flew into a hawthorn bush.The bird was really elusive but we did get a few flight views of it.The bird then went missing as it had flown quite along way from where it was originally so I headed back there.Me and Cliff stood scanning the fields when the bird flew around us and popped up in a bush giving good views before flying off again.
Probable Stejneger’s Stonechat-Salthouse,Norfolk
This was a really interesting looking bird but I couldn't believe how elusive it was.Anyway the bird appeared again in the reeds and then flew into the fields and showed distantly for a while.I will just have to wait now for the DNA to come back for confirmation that it is a Stejneger's Stonechat and it could also be my 500th bird for Britain 😀.
The Twitch
There have been three previous records of Stejneger’s Stonechat:2016 Landguard-Suffolk-1CY male S. m. stejnegeri,trapped- 6th–7th October.
2016 Spurn-East Yorkshire-1CY female S. m. stejnegeri-22nd–26th October.
2012 Portland Bill-Devon-first-winter male,trapped-24th to 26th October.
After good views of the bird we moved on to Cley and did some seawatching which was really good and we saw some great birds:
1 Great Northern Diver
1 Black Throated Diver
2 Red Throated Diver
5 Pomarine Skuas
1 Slavonian Grebe
10+Red Breasted Merganser
4 Great Skua
18 Teal
1 Long Tailed Skua
14 Wigeon
30+ Common Scoter
200+ Kittiwake
7 Little Auk
1 Short Eared Owl-Off the sea.
2 Manx Shearwater
18 Brent Geese
13 Goldeneye
30+ Gannets
5 Razorbill
9 Guillemot
Cliff,Malc and Sean enjoying the seawatch
After freezing conditions we headed back into Wells for some well deserved fish and chips arriving home just after 10.00pm.A great days birding and hopefully another lifer on the list!
