African Fish Eagles displaying in the Kruger National Park. The 'Kruger Challenge 2026', is a unique, non-profit, conservation fundraising race, with teams competing to record the most species of bird and mammal across the full extent of South Africa's flagship Kruger National Park between 12th and 21st February 2026. The International event, organised by BirdLife South Africa and Rockjumper Birding Tours specifically raised funds and awareness for one of Africa's rarest waterbirds; the small, critically rare and very elusive, White-winged Flufftail. The event was sponsored by Zeiss, together with SANParks, Painted Wolf Wines, Firefinch App, and the Santa Nature Reserve. The Kruger Challenge is staged entirely within the Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s oldest, largest, and most celebrated protected areas. Six teams comprising more than fifty participants from around the world competed in a friendly and exciting contest over an eight-day period. Each team of nine members travelled in its own open safari vehicle, accompanied by a professional safari driver-guide and an experienced volunteer Rockjumper Birding Tours leader. Teams earned one point for every species of bird or mammal recorded, with the top-scoring team crowned the Birding and Wildlife Champions of Kruger during a festive final evening at Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp.

Between 12th & 20th Feb I was part of a UK/SA team competing in the Kruger Challenge 2026, a fund raising event for the endangered White-winged Flufftail. Our objective was to see the most species of birds/mammals in Kruger NP. I’ve written up our experience in my blog: travellingbirder.blogspot.com

A first-summer Ross’s Gull, a bird of the high and remote Arctic, spent the day following tractors around newly sown potato fields south of Thornham in North Norfolk after an initial brief sighting at RSPB Titchwell. For much of the day it was distant in heat haze but occasionally better views if you happened to be in the right place, but later on gave itself up close to a road feeding with summer plumaged Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls.

The unpredictability of UK birding is so much part of the fun. Who would have predicted a Ross’s Gull in mid April walking around behind a tractor in a potato field in North Norfolk? Great find by Trev Girling who got the news out immediately and superb relocate by Matt Lonsdale. #NorfolkBirding

Thought the chance of seeing Twite in Norfolk this winter had gone so delighted to see this flock of 16 at Cley this evening. Also the first time I’ve seen Twite in the UK feeding on Salix buds (a behaviour I have seen only in Armenia with ssp brevirostris Caucasian Twite). #NorfolkBirding

Hi Bill, I use a PhoneSkope original adapter with an iPhone 15 Pro Max with no issues at all. Very simple design and easy to use. Worth checking them out. Been using PhoneSkope for years, great support as well as great product. Recommended.

An adult Red-breasted Goose with Barnacle and Dark-bellied Brent Geese in a field at Morston in Norfolk. The bird is unringed and associates with the 7 Barnacle Geese. Perhaps not the ideal host species for a wild Red-breasted Goose? Typically they turn up here with Dark-bellied Brents which do have overlapping breeding ranges.

Definitely weather to stay indoors, broken by a brief dash to nearby Morston when an adult Red-breasted Goose was found by some intrepid souls. It is unringed, associating with 7 unringed Barnacle Geese within a flock of c500 Dark-bellied Brents #NorfolkBirding

A very contrasting bird to yesterday’s Todd’s Canada this large, bulky and long-necked Canada Goose is likely a wild canadensis Atlantic Canada Goose. Feeding naturally on harvested beet among a huge flock of Pink-footed Geese it has been seen occasionally in different areas of North Norfolk this winter. Thankfully the few feral Canada’s here don’t generally associate with Pink-feet and haven’t developed a fondness for sugar beet.

After yesterday’s lovely slinky Todd’s it was a surprising contrast to (re)find this big, presumably canadensis Atlantic Canada Goose in a flock of harvested-beet feeding Pink-footed Geese today. Big lump of a long-necked bird, behaving naturally and probably a genuine wild vagrant #NorfolkBirding

A Pink-footed Goose with satellite collar and white darvic numbered 95 seen at Burnham Overy Marshes today

Also at Burnham Overy today was this satellite-collared, white ringed Pink-footed Goose (White 95). Possibly the bird seen a few days ago at Cley by @markgolley.bsky.social? Details sent to @kanebrides.bsky.social via email. #NorfolkBirding

Todd’s Canada Goose grazing on Burnham Overy Freshes with host Pink-footed Geese, Dark-bellied Brent’s, Russian White-fronts, Greylags and Barnacles. A smart, small, dark brown bodied individual with slim, thin and relatively short black neck and narrow white face extending under chin.

Todd’s Canada Goose today on the freshmarsh at Burnham Overy, Norfolk. A nice textbook bird, similar size to a Pink-foot, though longer in the body, nice and dark brown including the chest, snaky little slim neck, etc. Hopefully it stays in an easily viewable non disturbable location #NorfolkBirding

It’s not a Tit so should be named a Reedling, but if we’re going to change the English vernacular we should also recognise it is not Bearded either, so Moustached Reedling would surely make more sense?

Female Taiga Bean Goose North Point Norfolk (Photo: Jim Lawrence)

However reference measurements show a Taiga Bean bigger than the average RWFG is comfortably within its size range?

Fabalis: L66-90 W140-175
Rossicus: L66-80 W140-174
Albifrons: L64-81 W130-165

There seems to be a misconception that all Taiga’s must be the size of a Greylag? #NorfolkBirding

Female Taiga Bean Goose North Point Norfolk (Photo: Jim Lawrence)

Their concern relates to the perceived exceptionally small size of the bird, which they even call “a runt”, justified as “barely bigger than the Russian White-fronted Geese it was associating with”. #NorfolkBirding

Female Taiga Bean Goose (left) beside a feral, some might say ‘oven ready’ Greylag Goose. The wedge shaped head, high and forward eye and long, relatively narrow bill all point to an ID of Taiga.

The Taiga Bean Goose at North Point, Norfolk is a female, based on size and its passive behaviour. Birdguides continue to report as ‘Probable’ despite acknowledging “For all intents and purposes, the bird resembles a female Taiga Bean Goose.” in their weekly round-up. #NorfolkBirding

A brightly plumaged Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham, Norfolk catches a Sea Slater, a large, woodlouse-like crustacean found on rocky shores. It spent more than five minutes passifying and dispatching its meal before trying to swallow it. Clearly a difficult snack it sat with its bill pointing skyward and wide open as it tried to force down the bug before sitting uncomfortably on the groyne for several more minutes trying to digest it. If it can deal with the discomfort there is an endless supply of Sea Slaters along the sea defences.

Was amazing to watch the Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham trying to kill, swallow and digest a large Sea Slater Ligia oceanica on Sunday am #NorfolkBirding

Common Cranes, Glossy Ibis and Black-shouldered Kite at Ludham Bridge and St Benets Abbey, Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree and Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham. Norfolk is rocking this Christmas!

After being away from Norfolk for perhaps the most bird productive five December days ever I was relieved to catch up on some great seasonal birding on an amazing Sunday. Black-bellied Dipper, Eastern Black Redstart, 35+ Common Cranes, Glossy Ibis and Black-shouldered Kite #NorfolkBirding

Absolutely, the subtle plumage tones on all three change depending on light, shade & angle & my impressions of each have been formed over hours of observation on different days & conditions. The photos used confirm their general field appearance. As you say similar to a Sibe Chiff in this regard.

Hume’s Leaf Warbler (left two) and Yellow-browed Warbler (right two) showing the subtle but distinctive differences between plumage tones and patterns.

A comparison of Hume’s Leaf Warbler (Wells Woods), left, and Yellow-browed Warbler (Holkham), right, from the last two days. Subtle but distinctive differences between these two similar Phylloscopus species supported by their quite different calls. #NorfolkBirding

Juvenile Red-throated Diver shows a typically white face and gently upturned bill

Juvenile Great-northern Diver, big, dark with a bulbous forehead and dagger-like bill. The square block on the side of its neck also distinctive

Divers spend a lot of time under salt water and therefore frequently flap their wings to dry off

Some great views of Divers at Wells-next-the-Sea over high tide this morning included a juvenile Great-northern and a couple of Red-throated nearby. #NorfolkBirding

Three Hume’s Leaf Warblers are currently inhabiting the Holkham NNR and unlike the consistent looking Yellow-browed Warbler show a variety of plumage tones, which seem to change tone in different lights and at different angles. Of the two in Holkham Pines one is grey/greenish above and a bit scruffy (top left), one is buff/cream and clean (top right), and the bird at Wells (bottom) is grey above with lovely contrasting yellow/greenish secondary edges and a pale central crown. Such lovely birds well worth putting in effort to see.

Hume’s Leaf Warbler is a variable bird. The 3 currently inhabiting Holkham NNR all look different. The two I found on 16th: a grey/greenish rather scruffy bird (top left), & a buff/cream clean bird (top right) & Ash Saunders’ Wells bird is grey with contrasting green secondary edges #NorfolkBirding

Ah, ok. The scaling and white feather edges clearly apparent in your boc, which for some reason are not at all visible to me in the original video? Thanks for sharing the better image.

A remarkable coincidence in pattern on the chest but this is surely a leucistic male Blackbird. A Ring Ouzel would have a different jizz, longer profile, and the feather edges on the wing would be white. It would also show some scaling on the underparts particularly at this time of year.

Thanks.

A Hume’s Leaf Warbler showing its distinctive muted shades, buffy supercilium and wing bars was joined in a flock at Holkham Pines in Norfolk by a Pallas’s Warbler, a Yellow-browed Warbler, a Siberian Chiffchaff, 3 Common Chiffchaffs and a Firecrest! Norfolk November birding at its best.

Yesterday with Sibe Phylloscs all around the best I could find was a late Willow Warbler. Today at Holkham I made up for it: first up a Hume’s was soon followed by a Pallas’s and concluded when they were joined in a flock by a Yellow-browed, a Sibe Chiff, a Firecrest & 3 Chiffchaff! #NorfolkBirding

Great find after a lot of effort. Well done matey.

Great find Phil, lovely reward for your efforts on your patch! Well pleased for you 😁

The juvenile American Golden Plover at Titchwell RSPB briefly lands beside a roosting Northern Lapwing on the saltmarsh beside the main path. The darker, greyer plumage, small size, long wings and bright white supercilium contrast with the more golden European Golden Plovers it is associating with.

A distant, cropped and out of focus phone scope shot which captures the dark grey underwings of the juvenile American Golden Plover, contrasting with the bright white underwings of its European cousins.

After hearing the American Golden Plover was showing well I popped in to Titchwell but it had gone missing. Managed to find it distantly showing just its head above a bank before the flock flushed and it landed close to the path. Four hurried phone scoped shots later it was gone. #NorfolkBirding

Two Isabelline Wheatears today and a Desert Wheatear yesterday. So just how lucky were @jameslowenwild.bsky.social and me when late this afternoon we found a Northern Wheatear beside the golf course at Brancaster 😢 #NorfolkBirding

That’s some garden. I can only imagine what it will produce when you’re there full time and not distracted by chores…😜Good luck getting the jobs done tomorrow!!

A Yellow-browed Warbler quickly moving along a coastal hedge at Warham Greens showing a double wing bar and long supercilium

A very elusive Dusky Warbler eventually gives a brief view. Mainly heard ‘tacking’ and ‘tucking’ from a dense Ivy and Bramble hedgerow behind North Point Pools

A very elusive Dusky Warbler eventually gives a brief view. Mainly heard ‘tacking’ and ‘tucking’ from a dense Ivy and Bramble hedgerow behind North Point Pools

A very elusive Dusky Warbler eventually gives a brief view. Mainly heard ‘tacking’ and ‘tucking’ from a dense Ivy and Bramble hedgerow behind North Point Pools

A nice end to what had been a fairly quiet walk around Warham Greens when I got back to North Point and in very quick succession a Yellow-browed Warbler was quickly upstaged by a calling Dusky Warbler #NorfolkBirding #UKBirding

Gyr Kestrel!! Wow. That is quite stunning.

Has anyone got or seen a photo of the 5x reported adult female Pallid Harrier around Warham Greens and North Point over the last 10 days? #NorfolkBirding #UKBirding