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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Norfolk birding (13 Viewers)

Just as I was leaving a pair of Egyptian Geese swam past with 7 goslings...anyone else seen any young birds yet?

Only Egyptian Geese at Holkham in February - they're often the first young birds to appear, soemtimes weeks ahead of anything else. Have seen them on 10th Feb before.
 
Titchwell March 26th

Today's highlights

Tree sparrow - 3 on feeders all day
Bittern - 1 'grunting' in reedbed
Water pipit - 2 on fresh marsh
Willow warbler - 1 reported on Meadow Trail
White wagtail - 1 on fresh marsh

Paul
 
Black Kite reported today, flew over Unthank Road in Norwich! Alpine Swifts still about, and finally its the weekend! Heres hoping for a good half term.
Cheers,
Jim.
 
Black Kite reported today, flew over Unthank Road in Norwich! Alpine Swifts still about, and finally its the weekend! Heres hoping for a good half term.
Cheers,
Jim.

Surely it's Easter holidays rather than half term?

Cracking day today started with poor views of Alpine Swift at Hunstanton and nothing noteworthy on a long walk to Holme NOA. A nice male Red-Breasted Merganser flew past on the sea and the walk back to Hunstanton was much better! Quite a few Chiffchaffs were around and someone showed me a Wheatear they had seen come in off. I looked through my bins and found 3...which soon became 4! Further along towards Hunstanton at the start of the chalets I stumbled across 2 female Black Redstarts...slightly silhouetted, but when they alighted on bushes their red tails were fanned and looked superb! 3 Siskins flew over too and nearer the lighthouse over 50 Meadow Pipits heading South. At the lighthouse I was priveliged with fantastic views of the Swift, which flew right over my head several times as I stood alone on the clifftop...through binoculars I could even note the faint scaling where the white band meets the dark wing on the underside! Brilliant :t:
 
not a bad day out today, stonking views of alpine swift at cromer, then various punts which came to nothing, until a farmer produced 4 White Wagtails behind his plough below Bard Hill salthouse, some unexpected Black Redstart action in Blakeney then the attached mystery bird. A pint to whoever can ID it.

quick rant, how can an alpine swift not be mobile ? Kept getting pager messages about a mobile alpine swift, surely if it wasn't mobile it would either be dead or asleep ??
 

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not a bad day out today, stonking views of alpine swift at cromer, then various punts which came to nothing, until a farmer produced 4 White Wagtails behind his plough below Bard Hill salthouse, some unexpected Black Redstart action in Blakeney then the attached mystery bird. A pint to whoever can ID it.

quick rant, how can an alpine swift not be mobile ? Kept getting pager messages about a mobile alpine swift, surely if it wasn't mobile it would either be dead or asleep ??

Nice to see your photography is coming on so well Stu - cracking shot!

Thought it was a sun spot at first but on close inspection I can see it's clearly a Ring Ouzel. Not sure which way round it is though. Hope the pint is mine...
 
not a bad day out today, stonking views of alpine swift at cromer, then various punts which came to nothing, until a farmer produced 4 White Wagtails behind his plough below Bard Hill salthouse, some unexpected Black Redstart action in Blakeney then the attached mystery bird. A pint to whoever can ID it.

quick rant, how can an alpine swift not be mobile ? Kept getting pager messages about a mobile alpine swift, surely if it wasn't mobile it would either be dead or asleep ??

is it a Rough-legged Buzzard?

cracking, stonking, spanking day indeed dude, concur with ludicracy of ''but mobile'' Alp Swifts, why not have done with it and just have ''but flying''
 
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Nice to see your photography is coming on so well Stu - cracking shot!:-O

Thought it was a sun spot at first but on close inspection I can see it's clearly a Ring Ouzel. Not sure which way round it is though. Hope the pint is mine...

I reckon its a MALE Ring Ouzel - MY pint?;););)

Have a good weekend everyone.

I have sandwiches etc packed and WILL be leaving the house early for a change - might start off with the 'mobile' Swift!!
 
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"mystery bird"

Could it be that melanistic penguin, wearing a white top, similar to the ones Catholic prelates inhabit- an amice ? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:An_amice_exp.jpg)

Look at the photo (http://www.parishofstluke.net/photos/sacredvestments/priest/8 Amice.jpg) through half-closed eyes and you'll see what I mean.

"Surely it's Easter holidays rather than half term?"

It bl--dy well better be Easter ! Nevertheless, I'd be even happier if it was Whitsun half-term.

There was a less than perfect male White Wagtail in the ornamental, cliff-top gardens at Cromer, together with a female Wheatear. This was just after I parked and crawled painfully (back trouble) out of the car, in the quest for The Swift.

As for this, I agree with both Josh and Stuart: 'in flight' (or similar indications) would, obviously, preclude the need for 'mobile'. However, it wouldn't be 'mobile' whilst roosting on the church tower. I've seen them in southern Spain nesting on cliffs, where their wings cross in an ungainly fashion and they seem to crawl/stagger along on their feet.
 
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Alpine Swift in "mobile mode" yesterday morning at Cromer lighthouse, taken by my friend Danny. Other birds noted were over 500 Chaffinchs east as well as a selection of Corvids (but no Raven) & a couple of Swallows.
 

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I'm presuming the Saker Falcon reported at Breydon (?) yesterday was an escape, or else, why is no-one talking about it?
 
Alpline Swifts can be mobile!

is it a Rough-legged Buzzard?

cracking, stonking, spanking day indeed dude, concur with ludicracy of ''but mobile'' Alp Swifts, why not have done with it and just have ''but flying''

A mobile alpine swift - interesting concept!! Clearly many "dudes" are unaware that birds do indeed fly. Indeed, swifts fly quiet a lot and not round and round in circles over a lighthouse so they can tick them through their brand new swaros!! Some of these individuals have highly responsible jobs - makes you wonder!!! How did we win two world wars!!!

Having said that everybody should have seen Alpine swift by now - both still there today!!:cat:
 
The usual patches

The day started nicely, with a Grey Wagtail from my kitchen window. I presume this is a female (?). These are usually regular visitors later in the season, when they are with their young.

Hearing of nowt special from Runton way, I drove west, to Salthouse. It was nearly the same here, save for a pristine male White Wagtail, which I flushed from the brackish pool by Gramboro’, almost before I’d seen it.

A visit to Friary Hills produced my first migrant Chiffchaff, calling strongly and singing- I was kindly alerted to this by someone who’d already been ‘around’ once. There was another further east. Searches for Ousels were fruitless. However, the Duckpond was most fruity: with drake Falcated Duck attempting to mate with drake American Wigeon- stymied by drake Chestnut Teal (thank you for the ID, SJG). Were one of these to have been female, the ensuing offspring would be too horrible to contemplate.

Three visits were necessary to nail down the Black Redstart at Morston Quay. For those who are still without, it favours the boats surrounding the gorse, just to the west of the Info. Centre. It ‘disappears’ most effectively.

BTW: great photo of the 'Vodafone Swift', from Danny, via Rob.
 

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The day started nicely, with a Grey Wagtail from my kitchen window. I presume this is a female (?)

With that much black on the throat I'd be inclined to think it was a male. Typically in late March/early April the black throat on a male isn't solid black and a female will have a mostly white throat. Both sexes are variable so I wouldn't rule out a well-marked female but I rather doubt it.

Here are a male and female of one pair and a male and female of another pair.

About time I saw one of these swifts...
 
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Big surprise late this afternoon when I noticed a bird on the wall of the churchyard in front of my house at around 6:20pm. Grabbed my binoculars and saw it was a female Black Redstart! I watched it for at least 20 minutes as it caught flies, and it went to roost in a nearby garden. Huge grin on my face - not a bad record so far inland!


Record shot attached.
 

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An excellent day with two self-finds!:t:;) until.......:C


After dropping off shopping and papers off at my parent's house I arrived at Hunstanton Lighthouse at approx 7.45am. The Alpine Swift could not be located in the skies around the cliffs, but did have my first Swallow of the year. I decided to amble along the chalet/buckthorn area towards Holme to relocate the black redstarts seen yesterday. On route I passed a couple of birders who had already 'done' the chalets and found nothing. Grey horrible skies still, no sun. Big movements of chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, linnets and meadow pipits, but sorry didn't count them! No sign of the black redstarts or any wheatears either, which surprised me, especially as I almost reached Holme main beach gap - this area along here is almost guaranteed a wheatear. A barn owl was seen and a reed bunting sitting on buckthorn and a few goldfinches sitting about, but not alot else.

Made my way back up the cliffs - talk about perfect timing - as I reached the lighthouse area, two birders were standing to my right - the second I stopped next to them, one of them picked up the Alpine Swift above the roof tops (9.30am) - it made its way over the narrow belt of pines and I last saw it over the A149 by the very sharp corner in the road in Old Hunstanton. The skies were still dull and the views were no where near as good at the Holme one I had and photographed in 2008, BUT I shouldn't grumble as several birders dipped out, as they had been in the chalet area looking for black redstarts. I stayed on the cliffs chatting to a couple of birders about the old days, as you do and the skies brightened up - blue skies and sunshine! so I stayed longer in hope the swift would return for my camera, but alas it didn't and my blackcurrent jam roll beckoned! Walked back to car and enjoyed jam roll and coffee.

Old Hunstanton Church Yard - Beautiful weather now - the churchyard looked lovely with lots of primroses and daffodils out and birds zipping about all over the place. I have seen grey wagtails here before on the church roof, but not today. 3 Pied wagtails on the church roof. Several blackbirds and at least 3 Chiffchaffs flitting about fly catching. Long tailed tits collected nesting material, great and blue tits in the hawthorn hedge. 2 Jays by 'Park House'. Note: Old Hunstanton Park which is owned by the Le Strange Arms Estate is adjacent to the church and can be visited by the public on Thursday's only if anyone is interested - I have seen some good birds in there in the past including Spotted Flycatchers, pied flys and Common Buzzards, nuthatches etc.

Holme Reserves - Parked on the right just before the Firs road entrance and had a sandwich and 40 winks. 'Rocked' down the Firs road in the car - the pot holes are almost as bad as they were when I was a teenager!!! In fact it felt like I was on the The Good Shepherd!!! Parked half way down by the 5-bar gate and walked to the NWT Forestry. The flat area to right of board walk had a good number of meadow pipits feeding, along with a lovely female Wheatear. A Swallow flew through and there were several goldfinches in the elders. Continued through the Forestry area hoping to see a Ring Ouzel maybe but no luck, BUT as I almost reached the last track an owl appeared from what appeared to be the sea side of the dunes - a beautiful Short eared Owl!!!!! 1.30pm, which I photographed as well!!! The SEO veered off right as if going towards the Firs Road - on further investigation it had completely vanished and no one else saw it but me (smug face!) Walked back to car and watched the wheatear again on route and drove down to the NOA carpark.

Walked up to the bird observatory - real sun trap here - felt like summer, lovely;). Had a chat with Jed and Sophie who hadn't really had very much today. New seat on the main bank in memory of Ian Burrows. Scrub clearance being going on and another pond adjoining the existing one in front of obs. Walked across to the beach where it was now high tide, but no birds of note. Two young ladies in bikinis who were swimming/sunbathing on beach obviously thought it was summer - they must have been freezing! Made my way back along the beach and through the pines, passing the back of the NWT entrance track and over the dunes towards the NOA carpark. The narrow path which follows the buckthorn area opp. the carpark has a small area cut out/set back - I stood here and squeaked my Audobon birdcall and after a few seconds a stunning male Firecrest appeared, flitting about amongst the lime green branches in the sunshine!!!!!!! 3.44pm. Annoyingly though I was not able to photograph it - I sat for ages in hope it would come out again, but it retreated further into the buckthorn. A couple of red legged partridge emerged from the road side by the carpark.

Drove back down the road and stopped by the pay hut to stand on the Hunn Bridge to watch 4 Chiffchaffs flitting about.

Redwell Marsh Reserve - 2 Water Voles following each other across the river (left side of bridge to hide). From the hide: loads of noisy Black headed gulls pairing up, a Ruddy Duck ducking and diving, shoveler, tufted ducks, two Little Grebes, mallards, Shelducks and Canada Geese and Greylags on the far bank.

4 Pied Wagtails in the one of the last piece of grass/garden at end of Firs Road.

Hunstanton Cliffs again 6.10pm - No sign of the Alpine Swift, but a beautiful sunset.

Fish 'n' chip shop - Hunstanton - collected chips for parents and I - mother cooking fried eggs..... Drove to Holme and after the twisty bend (just before the crossroads) just after the "Holme" sign with a 30 underneath was a lovely policeman with a speedgun (b*stard - sorry but I want to add a whole string of nasty swear words here!!!!!:C:C:C) who 'got me' with his speed gun - how dare he!!! AND in MY village - I am fuming:C - ok, ok I know I was obviously doing more than 30 as I went over the hill, but I am always doing 30 by the time I get to the crossroads where the 'flashing 30' is - how bl**dy frustrating!!!!! Cr*p end to the day:-C

Best Wishes Penny:girl:
 
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A swift(ish) retreat

Finally, reasonable views of the Black Redstart at Morston Quay this morning, with some photos- using the car as a hide. (Thanks, Tony.) It didn’t seem to want me to get the sun behind it, though. This was until two other birders decided to walk behind me and flush it. I was later told the same thing happened to other people taking photos of it yesterday.

A walk around Friary Hills failed again to reveal any Rousels. However, a thrushy call that I’d not heard recently alerted me to this solitary Redwing, that almost showed well in the sun. Yesterday’s Chiffchaff was in the same place.

The Swift later proved ‘most mobile’- with poor, distant views obtained from Cromer and Overstrand. I admitted defeat.
 

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