Norfolk Broads birding...

[Karl J]

With all the best intentions i thought it'd be good to have a 2006 local thread for this area, but 3 weeks into the year and i've only now got around to it.

Anyhow this peaceful low-lying area of east Norfolk is, to quote directly from the broads authority homepage, "Britain's largest protected wetland and third largest inland waterway, with the status of a national park. It's also home to some of the rarest plants and animals in the UK"

Some of which include the harriers & Hobbys, Bitterns, Bearded Tits & Cranes plus the summer butterflies (Swallowtails :king: ), wildflowers, dragonflies etc. Personally i think its a fantastic place to get away from it all.



Ok, i'll kick it off...

After last weeks Rough-legged Buzzard, i took a trip round the quiet (and rather muddy !) lanes of Horsey & Hickling yesterday, in what i fully expected to be a poor day for birding (i had "thick grey cloud cover=no birds" stuck in my mind) but actually turned out quite the opposite. After several hundreds (1000's ?) of Pink-footed geese, lots of Lapwings & 2 Kestrels along Horsey Rd and a (probably) Merlin just north of Hickling village i went down Stubb Lane late morning; along which 22 Curlew flew over, a flock of Long-tailed Tits & a Robin flitted about in the bushes and at the watchpoint 8 Marsh Harriers circled above the reedbed, a Kingfisher flew past calling out as it went and i finally got my first-of-year Gt Crested Grebe.

Amongst the bushes & trees in the muddy lane behind Potter Heigham church, by the path to Rush Hill scrape i found a flock of c.100 Redwing, c.30 Chaffinch, a few House Sparrows, 8 Yellowhammer & 2 Great Tit, plus small loose flocks of Goldfinch & Greenfinch nearby.

A ringtail Hen Harrier was my next year-bird, flying right across the road near Thurne, and between Thurne church & the Broads Authority office at Oby 2 (seperate?) loose mixed tit flocks had a Brambling in one and few Siskin in another.

Though i failed completely on the reported Black-necked Grebe on Filby Broad there were several Tufted Ducks & 2 Goldeneye, and later on 1 Greater-spotted Woodpecker near Ormesby.

Good birding indeed.

I'll attempt to keep this going through the year, and post a few pictures, and i personally think it'd be interesting to hear from from other birders & other sites in the area, so if anyone else is about feel free to chip in any sightings etc....

edited to add a photo of marshes at Stubb mill

[Geoff Pain]

Shall follow this with interest.

[Karl J]

Though i've no intention of making a "daily occurence" report i did happen to be at Filby broad (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=645000&y=315000&z=5&sv=645000,315000&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&ax=645500&ay=313500) again early this morning. With binoc's only, other stuff presumably inc. the Black-necked Grebe thats still reported there, were off at scope distance.


In about 45 minutes,

8 Goldeneye
c.30 Tufted Ducks
2 Gt Crested Grebe
flyover c.400 Pink-footed Geese
flyover 21 Lapwing
c.10 Coots
2 Robins, 1 Gt Tit
and a few Mallards

nearby also -
24 Bewick's Swans on Filby heath
1 Barn Owl in fields near Fleggburgh village hall

(couple of photo's taken in December)

[Karl J]

Called into Upton Fen NWT (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=637980&y=313655&z=3&sv=637500,313500&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf) for a quick couple of hours this morning, with a noticeable NE wind blowing it was chilly & still partly frozen underfoot but clear enough. (The reserve entrance being well off the beaten track, up a dead-end lane at TG 380 138)

As i arrived the first of 3 Greater-spotted Woodpecker was drumming from surrounding trees, shortly followed a Green Woodpecker "yaffling" somewhere in the garden of a nearby house - These are the first woodpeckers i've heard this year - Signs of Spring i guess ?

In amongst the tangled "wet woodland" there were various numbers of Gt Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Robins & Blackbirds plus a Goldcrest being very acrobatic in its feeding on Alder catkins amongst the trees & c.3 Marsh Tit around & abouts. At one point a flock of c.30 Siskin dropped into the tree tops chattering away before disappearing again fairly quickly. Several common enough larger species were also about - Woodpigeons, Magpies, a few Crows, and a single Jay flew up from the footpath.

Out across Upton marshes 1 female Marsh Harrier came from over the reedbeds and i also had flyovers of 41 Lapwing, 12 Redshank and numerous Common gulls, plus a family of nearby Mute Swans.

Afterwards, heading through nearby villages of South Walsham & Panxworth, a sizeable mix of Fieldfare, Redwings & Goldfinch were in one field / horse paddock and 3 Long-tailed Tit in the adjacent hedgerow.

[Karl J]

Generally i thought bird numbers seemed down on previous weeks, maybe some blown out by the NE wind or now moving north ? Well, whatever, it didn't stop it being an absolutely gorgeous sunny, and totally cloudless day; the sort of day the low winter sun makes the reedbeds appear to almost glow golden yellow.

Wandering along somerton boat dyke seemed a little birdless except for a few Jackdaw but round at Martham Broad (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=645830&y=320125&z=3&sv=645500,320500&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf) there were more to see in the shape of c.200 Wigeon, 100 Teal, 4 Goldeneye, 1 Pintail, 1 Shoveler & 11 Tufted Ducks plus 1 Herring Gull, 2 Cormorants & 11 Black-headed Gulls. Along one edge the 3 Dunlin picking away in the mud were a little flighty but with 4 Marsh Harriers patrolling the reedbeds close by that was hardly surprising !

Nothing too unusual along Horsey Rd that i saw; the usual mix of geese, Starlings, Golden Plover, corvids, Grey Heron etc. A few Lapwings pee-witting & chasing each other about, and 1 Skylark thinking about a songflight gave me the impression of early spring but nothing too much so. At various other inbetween-places - a mixed flock of Blue, Long-tailed & 1 Marsh Tit ... various numbers of Redwings, Fieldfares, Woodpigeons etc

At Stubb Mill watchpoint fortunately i didn't have to wait long to see 3 Common Cranes fly over, calling away and a Kingfisher sat in the bright sun on a reed stem, its back shining a brilliant electric blue (oh for some decent camera equipment !). And 3 more harriers.

Good birding, brilliant sunshine !

[Karl J]

After a quick look amongst the c.200 Wigeon, 3 Coots, 4 Mute Swan & 1 Gt Crested Grebe on Horsey Mere (without a Green-winged Teal in sight), last evening Stubb Mill (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=643690&y=322060&z=5&sv=643690,322060&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&dn=851&ax=643690&ay=322060) (TG437 220) beckoned me for the evening roost

Along the way, in the in-between places at varying distances Red-legged Partridge, Common Pheasant, Redwing, Fieldfare, Starlings etc & a flock of 12 Curlews

At the watchpoint gatepost (pic in post No.1), under a blanket of leaden grey cloud with no wind the temp. felt no higher than probably 1 or 2 degrees at most, and so the misty murky marshes weren't totally ideal but still enjoyable enough.

A short way from the watchpoint i had a cracking view of 2 Barn Owl , 1 out on the marshes & another through the cover of some trees hunting really quite close

c.18 Marsh Harrier (Top Sight of the evening were up to 15 harriers in a single scope view all circling around, just flying around each other & occasionally dropping into the reeds & bushes)

1 ringtail Hen Harrier
1 Kestrel,
1 Merlin
1 Greater-spotted Woodpecker
a flock of Long-tailed Tits

18 Common Crane, in 2 groups 14 (maybe more, i caught them as they went behind the trees) + 4 shortly after. And the 'harris hawk' flyover

Last birds of the evening were the c.1000 pinkfeet geese coming into roost in their broken & disjointed V skeins looking like crazy-paving in the sky

On the way back along Stubb Lane, a single Chinese Water Deer stood stock-still in the field and half hour later With Horsey Rd really rather dark the Lapwings were still pee-witting & Wigeon still whistling away (and a tractor was driving along with no lights on :eek!:)

[Keith Dickinson]

Hey Karl, that first photo with the kingfisher on it, can't believe how hard it is to see it. You would expect that the blues would shout out against the reeds but it really does fade into them.

[JohnnyH]

Sounds awesome Karl, I'm coming up for a long weekend soon ,never been to Stubb Mill before can't wait!

Cheers,

John.

[matt green]

enjoyed your account of upton fen,i have an aunt that lives in the village.

wonder if she wants a lodger for a week or two ;)

matt

[Karl J]

yes i think upton fen is a fantastic litle place Matt, and never anyone there. Got all 3 woodpeckers & actually saw a Grasshopper warbler there last year (but not all on the same day ;) )

interestingly re. Marsh Harriers ... i've just had an email from a local round-robin which says there are now slightly fewer than the peak count of 70 there. Anyone know if there are any "official" counts done ? (or was that it ? ... me not being in on the who's-who of birding & all that)

[Karl J]

Bicycle-ticked along the misty and overcast Johnson Street / Ludham bridge / Upper Street (A1062) area early this morning,

6 Grey Partridges
c.30 Bewicks Swans (though with only my Tesco £4.99 bin's i couldn't tell if any Whooper Swans were hidden in there)
6 pairs of Egyptian Geese & 5 more individuals
a few Redwing

[Karl J]

An interesting couple of hours in the Yare valley marshlands late this morning / lunchtime

From the footpath across Cantley marshes (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=637770&y=303825&z=3&sv=637500,303500&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf), beyond Burnt House Rd level crossing ... a fair mix of Lapwing, Starlings, Wigeon, corvids and (Common & Black-headed) Gulls which all seemed very usual really ... until up went a Skylark into the first song flight i've heard this year. Not just a brief few notes, this was a full scale sky-high for a full (and i timed this - how sad is that ?) 3 and half minutes at least, until it was lost amongst a flock of raucous overflying corvids

Enough movement / flyovers to keep anyone busy all day really, but as i didn't have all day to spare it was kept to definite id's from the footpath ... c.65 canada Geese, 4 Curlew, 3 Ruff, 4 Snipe, 2 Redshank, 3 Mute Swans

Behind the cover of the cattle-pens midway across the marshes i spied 2 Marsh Harriers circling above a far treeline, and with my scope set upon them was lucky enough to have "at least 7" taiga Bean Geese drop into view a short way off, which was rather nice as i'd thought they'd all gone by now. Actually there could very well have been more than 7 but the cover of undulations in the field & the tussocky grass made them difficult enough even at this relatively short range, and from the next gatepost along they were totally hidden from view.

Around the old lane to Hassingham and amongst the fairly numerous Fieldfare were an odd few Redwing, and among a mixed flock of finches etc in some overgrown 'cover-crops' were 3 Reed Buntings and a singing Dunnock

And onto Buckenham marshes RSPB (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=635070&y=305580&z=3&sv=635500,305500&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf) . Lots of whistling Wigeon, 1 Grey Heron, 31 Shelduck, c.20 Teal, 2 Shoveler, 36 Mute Swans, 6 Coots, c.20 dunlin, 5 Snipe, plus both (1000's ? of) Lapwings & Golden Plovers

Two more firsts for the year were, 1. during a spell of intermittent sunshine a calling Cettis Warbler from across the river and 2. in the wet meadows near the fishermans car park several pipits including 2 certainly Water Pipit

:king:

[matt green]

don't suppose the hide has been returned by the old mill at buckenham yet?

matt

[Karl J]

No Matt... mind you i thought it was in the wrong place anyway, if there was anything good on the scrape everyone had to cram up one end

On Birdguides as 11 Bean Geese seen mid-morning at Cantley, i must have missed a few !

[Andrew]

Nice thread. :thumbs:

[Karl J]

Cheers Andrew

Had a very spring-like lookabout the other day, first stop - Burgh Castle (TG 476 051) with Skylarks in song-flight high above the fields in the sunshine (longest one was 4 mins 40 secs today) and a Cettis Warbler calling from deep in rough scrubby undergrowth by Tescos in Yarmouth.

From the lookout in the roman fort, mostly down n "the bay"

220 Black-tailed Godwit
c.25 Redshank
3 golden Plover
1 Avocet
15 curlew, across the river
6 Snipe
2 Oystercatcher
21 Black-headed Gull
4 Common Gull

1 Cormorant
12 Shelduck
3 Shoveler
c.30 Teal
11 Wigeon

In the bushes usual common enough birds inc. 2 Gt-spotted & 1 Green Woodpecker and some rather raucous Jackdaws & Rooks at the nests in the churchyard.

Horsey Rd seemed a little quiet though, very few Lapwings or geese about & not too many ducks either but there was a flock of c.150 Linnets & 7 Goldfinch feeding round a muddy pool and a Barn Owl quite a way off across the fields.

And the usual Marsh Harriers, the best one was a male chasing ducks in the field by the windmill.

called into birder-devoid Hickling Broad NWT quickly

1 redhead Smew
1 Little Grebe
4 Gt Crested Grebe
c10 Goldeneye
lots of Coots & Tufted Ducks
1 Cettis Warbler, calling rather quietly by the obs tower

Anyone else seen much about ?

[Andrew]

Smew! Nice one. I'd like one to turn up in Devon alright.

[Geoff Pain]

Was down at Horsey on Friday,going to watch the roost.Got a S.E.Owl hunting at the side of the road and 21 Cranes at Brograve Farm so gave the roost a miss and carried on to the digs at Hunstanton.

[Karl J]

Not too much to shout about since the last posting but out & about today near Burgh St Peter (ok so technically its in Suffolk, but hey-ho its close enough) when i came across a flock of some 30 or so Reed Buntings in a hedgerow down one of the quiet little country lanes,

I can't recall ever seeing Reed Buntings in a flock before...

In another mixed flock totalling probably ~200 i noted (mostly) Chaffinches plus Blue TIts, Gt Tits & a couple more Reed buntings

Also 2 Green & 1 Gt Spotted Woodpecker, still a good few Fieldfare and the odd Redwing or two. According to Birdguides there's a number of Yellow-legged Gulls around the Aldeby tip area too (but gulls & tips aren't my strong point !)

[Andrew]

Wish I knew of a good gull tip down here.

[Karl J]

Noted as being in song along Horsey Rd, on a nice blue-sky, if a little blustery, spring morning ...

Blue Tits
Great Tits
Robin
Chiffchaff (had my first of the year only Thursday too)
Cettis Warbler x3
Yellowhammer
Skylark
Greenfinch
1 green Woodpecker

3 Marsh Harriers circling away across the reedbeds, and several pairs of Lapwings chasing each other about.

Still a few winter visitors around - c.10 Fieldfare & some geese (but i was on my way home again & going much too fast on the back of a tailwind to tell what sort they were)

[Karl J]

Monday 3rd April - 2 House Martins in Stokesby village (first ones i've seen this year)

Anyone else seen much about ?

[Karl J]

Had a bit of a circle around this morning. Of particular note to me.

along Horsey Rd - 2 Swallows, flock of c.25 Linnets, c.20-30 Lapwing, 1 male Marsh Harrier, 2 Kestrels. ...
Noted the following in song - 2 Cettis Warblers, 3 Yellowhammer (even got a pic of one), 3 Willow Warblers, numerous Chifchaffs

Barton Broad, from the boardwalk - 9 Gt Crested Grebe (inc 2 courting pairs), c.15 - 20 Common Terns, 1 Little Gull (and cheers to the guy who let me look through his scope just before i left :t: )

Alderfen Broad - 2 Common Terns, 1 female Marsh Harrier and 1 of each the following - Cettis Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff

[Reader]

Hi Karl

Our paths might cross soon as from next weekend I will be in Norfolk for a fortnight. One week at Eccles and one week at Narborough. I'm really looking forward to it.

John

[Karl J]

Had hoped to get to Minsmere for the BF Minsmeet but didn't have anything like enough time so settled in for 90 minutes at Upton Fen instead

In the late morning sunshine - :cool:

2 Hobby's, hawking insects over the reedbeds & upton marshes
1 Kestrel
1 Sparrowhawk
1 male Marsh Harrier, out on the marshes
1 Cuckoo
1 Blackcap

In song in the reedbeds -
2 Sedge Warblers
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 Cettis Warbler

And a fair number of Willow Warblers in song, 2 grass snakes.

Butterflies - a good few Brimstone, and couple of Peacock & Small Tortoiseshells

(From Birdguides - a Ring Ouzel earlier this morning)

Very nice too.

Sorry John, i missed your reply there ... yes there's probably a fair chance our paths will cross if you're about this way somewhere. Look for a bike with scope & tripod on the back ;)

[rjb25073]

a very useful thread, thanks very much. If I see someone on a bike weighed down with a scope on our visit this weekend I'll say hello.

Richard

[Karl J]

2 Swifts over Breydon Water yesterday morning,

[Reader]

Sorry John, i missed your reply there ... yes there's probably a fair chance our paths will cross if you're about this way somewhere. Look for a bike with scope & tripod on the back ;)

Hi Karl

Well it seems our paths didn't cross, or if they did I missed you.

I had a mega two weeks. 141 species in all and yet I misses silly ones like Nuthatch and Goldcrest and Peregrine.

John