• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Norfolk birding (7 Viewers)

Just returned home after spending Monday-Friday in Norfolk. It was a family break so I spent very little time birding, however on Wednesday we went on one of the Bean's boat trips out to Blakeney Point and I had a really nice Pomarine Skua which landed on one of the sand bars just beyond the point itself. Also saw a couple of Arctic Skuas chasing terns.

Managed a couple of brief evening sorties which produced nice Barn Owl and Marsh Harrier sightings over the fields between Wells and Holkham. Had a fairly distant Short-eared Owl there too. At one point (completely by accident) I had a Barn Owl, Marsh Harrier and Muntjac all in the same scope view - cool!
 
Did anybody else there today have the White-Fronted Goose in with the Greylags and Canadas that were mobile but mostly on the brackish marsh. Light was fading fast by the time I picked it up but it looked suspiciously like Lesser White-Fronted Goose...

Cheers,

Hi Conor

The whitefront sp has been reported for the last couple of days and there was talk of it possibly being a lesser. I haven't managed to see it but not really tried! I am sure the presence of 2 Ross's geese and the hybrid greylags won't help its cause whichever whitefront it is. I am spending the day on the reserve tomorrow so will check them out.
 
Party going on in my street until 1am which included massive bonfire of someone's hedge, got up at 6am to wash piles of ash off my car!!!! (not happy!)

Arrived at Holme main beach at 10am. Walked along dune paths to Gore Point - beautiful morning, had a stunning female Northern Wheatear sitting on buckthorn briefly and then flew off to beach. There were dozens of swallows and housemartins gathering on the beach in the distance, it was a beautiful sight. I counted 12 ringed plover, 1 curlew, 4 little egrets, a juv. pied wagtail playing in the tidal pools, 2 dunlin, lots of meadow pipits. Crossed the beach at Gore Point and had a good look round NWT Forestry (11am) , 1 juv. kestrel and all in one sallow bush, had 2 chiffchaffs, 4 long tailed tits, 1 blue tit and one very nice lesser white throat flicking about in the sunshine, 1 heron over marsh. Left the forestry and walked back along top coastal path behind back of bungalows and saw a great spotted woodpecker fly into a willow and then back to village carpark to where car was parked by loos. As I then drove down the Firs road, I saw a spectacular sight ahead of me - at least 200+ swallows and martins jostling for space and chattering away on the telegraph wires either side of the Redwell Marsh entrance gate!!! 5 linnets and a wood pigeon got up from a puddle in the road. Parked at NOA carpark and walked towards the Firs House to buy icrecreams for Chris and Jackie Mills who were manning the Bird Observatory today, when I spotted a lizard on the steps next to house, as I made a bee line towards it, a massive labrador sitting next to owners at picnic table having an ice-cream gave a masssive deep bark at me, which of course terrifed the lizard into the undergrowth - not alot of point in me getting the camera out now!!! 1pm - Sat at HBO having lunch and ice-cream and chocolate cookies - lovely!!! 3pm - Chris picked up a male marsh harrier, sparrowhawk and a hobby all within half an hour of each other!! Around 4ish I left and was then going on Titchwell but decided to just pop over to dunes opp. carpark as tide was in again - saw one common scooter flying by west and 13 gannets going east. A couple in the carpark had also just seen a kingfisher.

Got to Titchwell at 5.30pm. Had Spoonbill fly over path!!! and 10 minutes later was watching Pectoral Sandpiper along with several other people!! I counted at least 12 juv. pied wagtails on the scrapes, 2 egyptian geese, 2 bearded tits, dunlin, knot, assortment of usual gulls, 13 grey plover, 57 canada geese and loads of greylags, 1 redshank, several juv. shelduck, 2 curlew, 2 herons, 26 little egrets roasting on dead trees along with cormorants and a male marsh harrier sitting on post in front of reeds. On the sea, 3 eiders - tons of waders feeding by sea edge on mussels etc including oystercatchers, knot, turn stones, sanderlings, 22 ringed plover, herring, lesser black backed, common, black headed and black blacked gulls. Finished off with 3 long tailed tits in carpark - now 7.30pm. Chinwag with parents and then home.

Best Wishes Penny:girl:
 
Last edited:
Morning all. The sea was quite productive off Happisburgh this morning. I watched from 06:45 - 08:00 and logged Bonxie W3, Arctic Skua W7 & E6, Sooty Shearwater W2, Gannet E165 & much smaller numbers W, Kittiwake W9 & E2, Teal W35, Scoter W2 and Red-throated Diver E2. Herring Gulls, mostly 1W birds, were heading westward over the dunes too; I saw about 35 pass when I didn't have my eye jammed into my 'scopes eyepiece....

James
 
Sounds like the sea has also been reasonable of Titchwell RSPB this morning with 4 Manx Sheearwaters and 2 Puffins rptd in an hour.

Cheers,
 
3 Great Shearwaters north past Flamborough head, E. Yorks this morning. If the strong northerlies predicted for tommorow do happen it has to be a possiblilty off the Norfolk coast.

Cheers,
 
Sounds like the sea has also been reasonable of Titchwell RSPB this morning with 4 Manx Sheearwaters and 2 Puffins rptd in an hour.

Cheers,

Hi Conor

For Titchwell, the sea was very productive. Between 0700 and 0900 (when the heat haze got too bad) 370 gannet, 5 manx shearwaters, 29 arctic, 7 great skuas, 69 common scoter, 19 fulmar, 2 puffins, hobby chasing terns offshore, 25 teal and 6 kittiwakes.

On the lagoons, 530 greylags inc 1 Ross's goose and 1 lesser whitefront , 278 lapwing, 38 ruff, pec sand and 5+ juv curlew sands. Had a pink footed goose go over west calling but then came back and landed on the brackish marsh with the greylags. Pinkies are very scarce on the lagoons even in the winter so may be of unknown origin.

Common buzzard over the drying barns on the way home.

Paul
 
Hi all. Enjoyed my 1st trip to Norfolk last week. It really is superb for wildlife as I'm sure you already know. Viewed this thread for tips beforehand so thanks to you all for your posts.

Half-hoped we might see Cranes but to see 19 of them fly in & land whilst walking the dog near Waxham was a pleasant surprise.

Here are my photos if anyone's interested.

Cheers Mick
 

Attachments

  • 090907crane2 (Small).JPG
    090907crane2 (Small).JPG
    67 KB · Views: 96
  • 090907crane1 (Small).JPG
    090907crane1 (Small).JPG
    56 KB · Views: 77
  • norfolk0907 534 (Small).jpg
    norfolk0907 534 (Small).jpg
    53.3 KB · Views: 72
Cheers Matt. You're right-just wasn't expecting them to be so obliging. I'm new to this birding business. In fact never seen a barn owl wild until last week in Norfolk. Then one keeps me awake all night whilst tenting. Was worth it I guess.
 
Know how you felt, Mick. I was in a hide on Hickling Broad in July this year when one of those things flew past. I didn't even know there were cranes in UK. I got the fright of my life - it looked like a 747 on final approach!
 
Holme & Tiree

Hi everyone,

Fairly quiet at Holme Saturday, 5 Greenshanks over during the day, 2 Green sands over, 1 Green Sand & 15 Snipe on Redwell, Penny had a Greenland Wheatear in the dunes. Did have Marsh Harrier, Hobby & Spar in a one hour spell during the afternoon.
Lots of insects out, bushes around the Obs esp good, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tort, Speckled Wood, Common Darter, Migrant Hawker all around here.

In the Moth trap good numbers, the best was double fig's of Archers Dart a limited distribution coastal sp. also White Line Dart.

For anyone interested I have posted a brief trip report from a weeks visit to Tiree, Western Isles (looks like I was a week early - 3 Buff Breasts & a Rosefinch in the last 5 days!!) Trip report & pics click here

ATB Chris
 
Looks like I had the least productive gaze out to see this weekend! Spent a little time at Cromer, Weybourne and Salthouse in the afternoon. 1 Sandwich Tern at Cromer broke the monotony of Gulls. Lots of Swallows and Martins at Weybourne though.

Rubbish! :'D
 
lots moving through Norfolk at the moment

Sabs, Leaches, plenty of Skuas, Balearic etc.

just saw a Long-tail from half a mile up from my house - glad to see it was erroneous though..

one crappy meeting then home.... and some seawtching!
 
Wow, am I naffed off? I know people on this forum are not very pro twitcher, but as a Norfolk lister who works, it would have been nice to know that there had been an all day passage of Great Shearwaters off Sheringham. One off Blakeney and Cley did not inspire me to make an after work dash to the coast, but 15 - a different story! Yes, I know they had no 'requirement to share the news etc, etc. But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and again no option to people like me was given (yes, I know I am sad!)
 
Wow, am I naffed off? I know people on this forum are not very pro twitcher, but as a Norfolk lister who works, it would have been nice to know that there had been an all day passage of Great Shearwaters off Sheringham. One off Blakeney and Cley did not inspire me to make an after work dash to the coast, but 15 - a different story! Yes, I know they had no 'requirement to share the news etc, etc. But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and again no option to people like me was given (yes, I know I am sad!)

No, not sad at all...

I'm mildly hacked off, as a Norfolk lad living in London, with no prospect of being in Norfolk at all today.

My Dad is quite fed up since he is still based in the county, but had no chance of getting out birding today.

But for anyone who could've been there - you really do get my sympathy. I can't recall there ever being a genuine passage of large shears off Norfolk (whether Cory's or Great). It'd be interesting to know who's been in the shelters all day today keeping stumm. You have to walk about 30 seconds back up onto the prom to get a mobile signal.
 
This evening me and dad did a sewatch from Holme NOA from 6:30pm-8:00pm
1 Leach's Petrel west (missed by me! grrr), 1 Sooty Shearwater west, 6 Manx Shearwaters west, 1 Puffin west, 2 auk sp, 1 Razorbill, 80 Kittiwakes, 20 Bonxies, 10 Arctic Skuas, 20 Fulmars, 10 Common Terns.

unfortunately the two Sabines that went west past Titchwell RSPB were not seen. Grrrr...

cheers,

Connor
 
Raced off to Holme after work and arrived about 6.45pm. Freezing cold, tons of clothes on including gloves. Stood at Gore Point (unbeknown to me Connor and gang were at NOA end - found this out after I sent him a text as I was leaving, there was me thinking he was at home doing homework!!!)

Thousands of starlings gathering over Holme marsh to roost.

Had brilliant views of 1 Sooty Shearwater close in going east and a Puffin going hell for leather west (same one as Connor had I think!). Loads of gannets and bonxies and loads of other stuff I couldn't ID because it was too far out and my tripod was rocking (must get a heavy duty one for strong winds/winter!!!).

Several curlew flying in to roost on shore. Spectacular evening, sun setting and now back home in the warm with 2 more year ticks.;)

Best Wishes Penny:girl:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top