Norfolk birding (15 Viewers)

mcapper said:

Hope that Kite stays till 22nd Feb. A birthday birding trip is on the cards!

Matthew

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Hope it stays for your birthday Matthew, reckon you have a good chance :t:

For norwich birders..?

Apparently there is a couple of waxwings lingering (seen today) in a couple of berry trees opposite the old city wall on chapelfield road (west of st stephans roundabout).

..not been that many this year if you really want one!

Matt

matt green said:

For norwich birders..?

Apparently there is a couple of waxwings lingering (seen today) in a couple of berry trees opposite the old city wall on chapelfield road (west of st stephans roundabout).

..not been that many this year if you really want one!

Matt

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Cheers Matt. Not a Norwich birder as such but I tried for them/it yesterday after work. No sign between 2 & 2:30 but I gather there was a sighting later. A couple of lovely Rowans here though, plenty of feeding for a few more days hopefully.

James

Frootshoot said:

No sign between 2 & 2:30 but I gather there was a sighting later. A couple of lovely Rowans here though, plenty of feeding for a few more days hopefully.

James

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You must have just missed my mate! (who saw them just after mid day)

Don't know the exact spot,and didn't think to grill for a grid ref.If anyone else
wants to try their luck I'm assuming (from approx directions over phone!)
they are somewhere in the red highlight on the map.Might easily be toing and froing from chapelfield gardens?

Matt

Penny Clarke said:

Birdline: 3 Waxwings at Burnham Thorpe, Black eared Kite still at Snettisham RSPB and Lesser Yellowlegs still at Thornham Harbour.

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The three waxwings were still at Burnham Thorpe this morning - they were showing very well just along from the bus stop. They do a fairly large circuit of the village but seem to return to this spot every 30-45 mins.

The yellowlegs was also showing very well today, it was feeding and preening in the creak to the west to the road at lunchtime.

Birdline:

3 Waxwings still at Burnham Thorpe still, along Walsingham road, by bus stop.

Black eared Kite still at Snettisham RSPB on the south side of reserve, also Hen Harrier there.

Lesser Yellowlegs still at Thornham Harbour, along with 30 Twite.

At Cley, Little Stint on Pats Pool, water pipit west of the sluice, near Cley beach carpark.

took an afternoon ride up horsey and around to Stubb Mill today. not much around Horsey just some Tufted ducks, wigeon & Teal on horsey mere, and some Skylarks singing like it was Spring already.

Stubb mill was gorgeous in the unbroken sunshine and remained so as the evening came on, the disappearance of the sun coinciding rather well with the full moon coming up over the far horizon. Just wonderful.

approx 12 - 15 Marsh Harriers,
1 ringtail Hen Harrier, a good view of a bird i was particularly hoping to see today.
1 Harris Hawk, and now i'm as sure as i can be this was the bird i saw last week (as much as i wanted it to be a Rough-leg buzzard though !)
1 small raptor, (Sparrowhawk / Merlin ...?) but couldnt get my bin's in place & focus in time.
no Cranes by quite late-on although they had been calling away to the north earlier, and no Owls either, oh well next time maybe.

1 Chinese Water DEer,

and a fantastic tailwind-assited moonlit glide home down the coast...

Raptor afternoon

Thought I would spend the afternoon, as the weather was so good, having a better look at the BE kite. Walked in along the footpath from Dersingham and had good views of the bird over the farmland.
The bird was interacting with other raptors all afternoon including a ringtail hen harrier, common buzzard (3 others in the area) and at one time at least 4 marsh harriers.
Also around were 3 barn owls, one showing very well, 2 displaying sparrowhawks and a female stonechat. Talking to another birder apparently the male stonechat which is also in the area has a yellow colour ring on - anyone have any ideas where it could be from?

2 singing tree sparrows near Ringstead in the morning.

Paul

Fantastic day today, beautiful weather, beautiful birds


Mission today, Black eared Kite!

There is a massive Willow that reaches to the skies a couple of gardens from me, biggest one I have every seen - it is seems to be a very popular rest stop for a lot of birds, who land in and then shortly take off and carry on. Anyway while eating my porridge early this morning, I spotted several birds flitting about in the top branches, rushed to get binoculars, and 5 bramblings were taking a break in the sunshine! lovely, never seen them from my garden before, very pleased. Several greenfinches and goldfinches in the garden, robin, blackbird. On leaving King's Lynn, I saw my usual sparrowhawk.

Driving down the road off the A149 to Snettisham RSPB, a jay bounded across the road. Parked up, loads of cars in car park. What a wonderful day, not much on the first pit, apart from a few cross ducks, mallard, an egret and a redshank. Mudflats: Golden plovers, shelduck, redshanks, wigeon, etc etc. 2 scaup, pochard, several golden eye, little grebes etc from shore hide. Walked right up far end and headed for the bodies and scopes!!!!! Standing on the high bank I had wonderful views of 2 short eared owls (which 3 other birders had picked up) over the marsh and then shortly after that I had very distant views (AT LAST!) of the black eared kite (12.20pm), with marsh harriers mobbing it as well!!!!!! Then after this had brilliant views of a barn owl, also pair of reed buntings sitting in the gorse. Stood by the sluice eating sandwiches and cup of tea, it was like a summer's day. Walked back along the high bank, saw my first heron of '07!!! red legged partridge, and a little egret flew over, I then joined with some other birders, further along on the bank (1.20pm) to watch brilliant views of the Black eared kite in the sunshine soaring in the blue sky, with 2 marsh harriers near Snettisham Church!!!!! 1.35pm a couple and myself had stunning views of a Male Hen Harrier - Wow what a day!!! Walked back along the causeway and along the top and back to carpark. Cup of tea and chocolate! Then on to Holme HBO, 3 long tailed tits in the Tamarisk shrub by centre, and then 2 short eared owls displaying over the marsh, directly opposite, with I watched along with Jed, Sophie and Connor. Pink feet coming in for the night on the marshes, sun setting over the broadwater. [Lesser Yellowlegs still at Thornham today and so were the Waxwings at Burnham Thorpe]. Silouttes of starlings on the wires against pink skies down the track. A mistle thrush sitting on the telegraph wire by pay hut. Stopped at Redwell marsh and sat in the hide until 5pm and had a Merlin over Holme church flying west!!!!! Tea and cake at parents, home. :bounce: :girl:

Paul

There have been a number of Stonechats colour ringed in Thetford Forest. I presume it had a metal ring as well. Did you see which leg these were on. I will see if I can put my hands on the colour codes used

Peter Dolton said:

Paul

There have been a number of Stonechats colour ringed in Thetford Forest. I presume it had a metal ring as well. Did you see which leg these were on. I will see if I can put my hands on the colour codes used

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Unfortunatly I didn't see any of the ringed birds myself. The person I was speaking to said the male had a yellow colour ring and a metal ring.

2 barnacle and 1 greylag with 300 pinkies near Ringstead this morning

Paul

Hi All
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near the monument on Saturday and 3 Waxwings at Burnham Thorpe near the bus stop.
On Sunday we saw 6 Shorelarks at Cley, 400 metres west of coastguards and 30 Snow Buntings at Salthouse. There was on Velvet Scoter with the Common Scoter at Titcwell as well as a couple of Spotted Redshanks on the brackish marsh. The Lesser yellowlegs showed well at Thornham Harbour but we couldn't find the Twite.
Wasn't it a lovely day yesterday!
Sue (down with the flu!)

day trip (sunday)

Black brant at wells-next-the-sea on pitch and put golf course
Lesser yellowlegs showing well at thornham harbour
Black eared kite at snettisham
Bramberling/cettis warbler/waterail at titchwell rspb reserve
thanx
steve

Treated to lovely views of 2 Short-eared Owls cruising around over Gapton Marsh in Great Yarmouth yesterday. After watching them for a couple of minutes a Barn Owl came into view. One of the shorties was having none of this and after a brief "dogfight" the barn owl thought better of it and disappeared into the next field. Don't know if this is normal behaviour or whether the short-eared are normally tolerant of barn owls, but made great viewing anyway. Fantastic.

interesting B, i wonder whats the possibility they were the same 2 on the Stokesby marshes up til late Dec. never know i guess, but nice anyway

incidentally those 2 were in pretty close proximity to barn owl(s) too

Binoculators said:

Treated to lovely views of 2 Short-eared Owls cruising around over Gapton Marsh in Great Yarmouth yesterday. After watching them for a couple of minutes a Barn Owl came into view. One of the shorties was having none of this and after a brief "dogfight" the barn owl thought better of it and disappeared into the next field. Don't know if this is normal behaviour or whether the short-eared are normally tolerant of barn owls, but made great viewing anyway. Fantastic.

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Ain't birding brilliant!

Struck lucky this morning as I was ferrying some firewood homeward... 2 Waxwings atop a tree beside the A149 outside Stalham. They'd gone by the time I returned 30 minutes later. Perhaps the same birds reported by the same road at Sutton last week.

James

Binoculators said:

Treated to lovely views of 2 Short-eared Owls cruising around over Gapton Marsh in Great Yarmouth yesterday. After watching them for a couple of minutes a Barn Owl came into view. One of the shorties was having none of this and after a brief "dogfight" the barn owl thought better of it and disappeared into the next field. Don't know if this is normal behaviour or whether the short-eared are normally tolerant of barn owls, but made great viewing anyway. Fantastic.

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I saw Barn Owl and Short-eared Owl clashing once, in the Highlands.

James

Yesterday I had a bit of time in Yarmouth so I cruised the sea front looking for med gulls (no joy). When I got to the end near the harbour there was a bloke feeding bread to the gulls. Approx 25 turnstones were running in with the gulls, fighting for breadcrumbs - and astonishingly 2 Sanderling. Now I've seen turnstones go for bread before, but never sanderling - anyone else seen it?

Oh yes, water pipit on Braydon south bank, just opposite the rugby club, around 3pm. Also the tamest dunlin I've ever met - it came up to about 4 yards away from me. Something flushed everything over the area in front of the asda hide but I didn't see what. (They appear to be replacing the steps to the hide at the moment by the way - wish they'd do more - it was bitter out in the wind and a cosy hide would have been just the thing.)

PS Where's gapton marsh? only it looks like I'll be moving to yarmouth at the end of the year so I need to pick up where the good spots are.)

Still at home with the flu so my birding is confined to what I can see out the bedroom window. I did manage to slouch my way over to re-fill all the feeders this morning, which seem to be emptying at an alarming rate now compared to a couple of months ago. One bird table is less than 2 metres away from my window and there is a very cheeky Jackdaw on it. He must be the best fed Jackdaw in Norfolk!
Sue

Hope you get better soon Sue!!

..enjoy your jackdaw.

Matt