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

Norfolk birding (8 Viewers)

Titchwell November 19th

Today’s highlights

Hen harrier – male and female around reserve all day. Both roosted last night
Red crested pochard – female on East Trail
Snow bunting – 1 on beach
Long tailed duck – 7 offshore
Goldeneye – 20 offshore
Red breasted merganser – 20 offshore
Water pipit – 1 on fresh marsh
Waxwing – 3 on East Trail this afternoon

Paul
 
On 16th Sept 2000 (is it really 12 years ago?) an exhausted juvenile gannet was picked up on a nearby stubble field and released on one of the Lyng Easthaugh gravel pits. It was'nt there next day, but whether it expired or recovered and flew off I don't know. Cracking Wensum Valley tick though.

Stew
 
The sacred ibis was showing off by the boardwalk at Cley Marshes at lunchtime today. Old news for locals, but pretty impressive for me as a first-time visitor to the reserve!
 
Thetford

Unfortunately there was no sign of the Black-bellied Dipper anywhere in the Thetford area today but at least in looking for it I got to explore the whole of the river system running through the town for the first time. An Otter showed well, down to just a few feet, and I could even hear a snorting / wheezing sound coming from it as it traversed the river under my own bank, out of sight but right under my feet. A pair of Goosanders also showed very well on the Little Ouse River near the A11 and one of two Water Rails crept along the far bank. The other was near the Nuns Bridges. Treecreepers, Goldcrests and Marsh Tits were regularly encountered and singles of Little Egret, Kingfisher, Nuthatch and Grey Wagtail were noted. A large flock of c200 Siskins fed in alders at the weir by Abbey Heath and among them were just two Lesser Redpolls but they were both very colourful males.
 
seabirds around the city

Thanks for the information. Has anyone else had seabirds around the city?

Hi James, this is quite an old record now but of interest:
Great Skua
27th June 2004

The bird flew low over the reserve pools at Strumpshaw,scattering gulls and duck , it then circled for about 15 minutes gaining height all the time until almost out of sight before flying north easterly.
 
Quote Bloody love the broads

No Gannets, but a splendid day in The Broads.
Began early doors and worked the Langley-Claxton-Rockland-Surlingham circuit. Loads of stuff moving, including at least 5 Bullfinch, small groups of Redpoll and Siskin, Green Sandpiper and large Tit flocks with both Marsh and Coal. There was a male Peregrine over the river at Buckenham and a flock of 90 Lapwing at Wood's End, my highest patch count. A Brambling wheezed in the churchyard at Surlingham, my first this year surprisingly.
After a superb roast dinner at the Marsham Arms, my better half accompanied me on a roost watch. 3 Cranes passed overhead, and a more distant flock of around 16 headed away from us to roost. Nice work with the GWE, Eco.
Conditions were almost too good, I imagine Owls will hunt all night emerging late. We did have one Barn Owl and a Shortie in near darkness as we drove home.
Bloody love The Broads, so much life out there today.
Cheers,
Jim.
With you on that my friend can it get any better. Its a wonderful life :t:
 
I've never heard of a Gannet in the Norwich area (Fulmar, Arctic Skua and Kittiwake have all been claimed though - I don't know any details about them).

Fulmar over Sandringham Road, Norwich 28th May 2007 while pushing a pram in a rain storm.

Paragraph from the Birdline East Anglia report May 2007

'Strong north-easterly winds on 27th resulted in unusually high numbers of Manx Shearwaters past the north Norfolk coast. The maximum count was at least 430 past Cley NWT and in the evening one Balearic Shearwater and six Sooty Shearwaters flew past. Single Fulmars were seen the next day over March and Norwich and one was at Rutland Water 30th. '
 
Titchwell November 20th

Today’s highlights

Long tailed duck – 6 offshore
Little auk – 1 reported offshore
Hen harrier – ringtail to roost in Thornham reedbed
Hawfinch – 1 briefly along Meadow Trail mid afternoon
Snow bunting – 30 west along beach
Spotted redshank – 1 on fresh marsh

Paul
 
Nice view of a Rough legged Buzzard this afternoon seen from the Road Bridge at Haddiscoe Marshes

Must have missed this msg earlier! Were you looking South (ie. towards Lowestoft), or North ? ... in which case was it on the island or to the West of the New Cut (ie. on Thorpe marshes).

We overlook the marshes to the NW of the A143 and bird Thorpe marshes daily while checking our sheep but haven't had Rough-leg yet this winter - although we have seen them nearly every winter we've lived here. For anyone birding the area it's worth knowing that the Common Buzzard with a pronounced pale rump present last winter is still knocking around & has caused confusion previously - at least when perched ;)

Chris A.
 
The Bird aha, was I mistaken? I know it was seen by other birders but! were they wrong too? I have to admit I did only see it perched and perhaps believed it was the rough leg, perhaps a lesson learned. Um maybe I was wrong and I feel silly lol.
 
Black-bellied Dipper

Hi Robin,
What's the story on this?

No sign in Thetford again today. Really bad luck for weekend birders .....my husband is not best pleased with me!

Hi Dawn,

What was presumed to be a Dipper called, as it flew past the observer, at Harrold-Odell CP 18th. The observer didn’t get his binoculars on the bird. Could this be the Black-bellied Dipper from Thetford?

It is quite a simple journey: Take the River Thet downstream and turn right at the Little Ouse then left at the River Great Ouse. A few twists and turns later and you are in Bedfordshire. So if the bird stayed true and reached the upper reaches of the River Great Ouse it could be in Northamptonshire or Buckinghamshire, perhaps between Brackley & Wappenham.

Or perhaps the Bedfordshire bird was another that had arrived from the continent and the Thetford bird has simply moved upstream a few bends. Anyone checked the River Thet between Thetford, East Harling and Shropham?

Photos of the Black-bellied Dipper at Thetford will be uploaded soon at www.harlequinpictures.blogspot.com
 
The Bird aha, was I mistaken? I know it was seen by other birders but! were they wrong too? I have to admit I did only see it perched and perhaps believed it was the rough leg, perhaps a lesson learned. Um maybe I was wrong and I feel silly lol.

Not trying to trash your report (I know RBA also reported a possible rough-leg on the island on Monday morning) ... just trying to narrow down where it had been reported!! 4 marsh harriers & 3 common buzzards on Thorpe Marshes this morning including the pale rumped individual over Thorpe Hall at 10.30am.

Chris A.
 
Hi Dawn,

What was presumed to be a Dipper called, as it flew past the observer, at Harrold-Odell CP 18th. The observer didn’t get his binoculars on the bird. Could this be the Black-bellied Dipper from Thetford?

It is quite a simple journey: Take the River Thet downstream and turn right at the Little Ouse then left at the River Great Ouse. A few twists and turns later and you are in Bedfordshire. So if the bird stayed true and reached the upper reaches of the River Great Ouse it could be in Northamptonshire or Buckinghamshire, perhaps between Brackley & Wappenham.

Or perhaps the Bedfordshire bird was another that had arrived from the continent and the Thetford bird has simply moved upstream a few bends. Anyone checked the River Thet between Thetford, East Harling and Shropham?

Photos of the Black-bellied Dipper at Thetford will be uploaded soon at www.harlequinpictures.blogspot.com

Hi Robin
The area around East Harling is being checked regularly. No sightings there yet. There is a local rumour that a jogger saw a Dipper near the Thetford Garden Centre but that area has been checked too and there doesn't appear to be any habitat there.

Dawn
 
Titchwell November 21st

Today’s highlights

Water pipit – 1 on fresh marsh
Long tailed duck – 6 offshore
Spotted redshank – 3 on fresh marsh

Paul
 

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