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Norfolk birding (10 Viewers)

Just returned from a very enjoyable day at strum shaw fen. The fen hide has turned into kingfisher central with regular shows from very uninhibited birds. They feature hovering displays, fishing masterclasses and even a sitting very still demonstration. There appear to be three protagonists who all seem to be real posers especially when they hear the click of a shutter.



Yes it was good with the Kingfishers there today & the hovering was superb
 
A surprise and welcome visitor to my small garden in Hopton this morning was a Common Whitethroat. It's the first time I have seen one in the 25 years that I have lived there.

With reference to the two posts about Kingfishers at Strumpshaw, all I can say is that "you were lucky". I spent about three hours in Fen hide on Saturday and saw two Kingfishers which landed on the most distant perch and refused to come any closer. One of them remained there for about 30 minutes, just out of reach for a good photo.

Ron
 
Some decent Wader counts from Breydon and Cantley this morning; here are records for the latter site:

Ruff 20
Knot 4
Green Sandpiper 15- conservative estimate
Common Sandpiper 5
Wood Sandpiper 1
Greenshank 1
Common Snipe 2
Redshank 2
Dunlin 2

Few Yellow Wagtail knocking about, Beardies pinging. Godwits galore at Breydon, full details on blog. That hide at Breydon, discuss!

Cheers,
Jim.
 
That hide at Breydon, discuss!
A prominent hide on the outskirts of Yarmouth with public access and no supervision is never going to be a pleasant place to spend time. A shame really, as there are some brilliant birds to be seen, right on my doorstep. A great report of a fine day's sightings Jim.

Ron
 
Strump today!

Well, the Kingfishers were just too far away for photography, but what a line-up!
Bearded Tits and Water Rails calling, Water Deer in plain view and an Otter swimming about next to the KF's perch for ten minutes!
Great place!
 

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Having grown up in Tottenham....

Nice to know there's a fellow North Londoner posting on the Norfolk thread. I grew up in nearby Edmonton and you will know Pymme's Park from where I will forever have vivid memories of my first ever birding ventures out into the field back in the late seventies. Please forgive me, but even as I type this, I am being overwhelmed with nostalgia and can picture now, my first ever Moorhen at the back of the pond, the summer plumaged Black-headed Gulls circling over same pond, the Wren at the base of the tree, the Jay on the lawn and so on...... ;)
 
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Titchwell this morning

Despite having a digger and 4 workers in high vis on the seawall this morning, the fresh marsh is hooching with waders.

Green sand - 3
Spotted redshank - 14
Dunlin - 40
LRP - 1
Golden plover - 33
Ruff - 21
Common sand - 1
 
Nice to know there's a fellow North Londoner posting on the Norfolk thread

I'm originally from Walthamstow: moved up here 38 years ago for the birds and the angling and stayed!
 
Titchwell August 13th

Today’s highlights

Spotted redshank – 14 on fresh marsh
Green sandpiper – 3 on fresh marsh
Golden plover – 250 on fresh marsh
Wood sandpiper – 2 on fresh marsh
Curlew sandpiper – 2 reported on fresh marsh late afternoon
Grasshopper warbler – 1 singing on grazing meadow
Spoonbill – 1 over reserve
Long-tailed duck – female offshore

Paul
 
I'm originally from Walthamstow: moved up here 38 years ago for the birds and the angling and stayed![/QUOTE]

So that makes three of us. Are there any other closet Londoners out there on the Norfolk thread?

I moved up here with my parents 32 years ago when they took over the Hall Inn pub at Sea Palling of all places! We were only there for three years and although I had some great birding moments during those early days, I must be honest and say that at the time I didn't realise the birding potential of my own village. There was probably a Yellow-browed Warbler or some other goodie in our own garden at some point and I wouldn't even have known it.
I do vividly remember a trio of birders who came into the pub one day during 1979, who when finding out that I was interseted in birds, told my dad that he really should take me to Horsey Mere where there were three of the then recently arrived Cranes displaying. He did take me along and sure enough, there they were, displaying like there was no tomorrow. An amazing and unforgettable experience!! ;)
If there's any birders out there right now who are one of this kind trio, and who remembers being in the pub that day and telling a keen young lad and his father about those fabulous birds it would be great to hear from you and say thanks for fuelling a growing passion that has lasted to this day. SB.
 
Cley was pretty good for waders today, we had 21 species including 2 juv Little Stints, 3-4 Wood Sandpipers, 11 Whimbrel, c6 Spotted Redshanks, 5+ Greenshank, c15 Green Sandpipers & 3 Common Sandpipers. Also Black Tern past coastguards early on, Garganey on pat's pool, Wheatear and 10 Spoonbills.
 
Cley

Hobby 12.50pm East Bank, several yellow wags

Bishops Hide: 6 Common Sandpiper

Juv Gargeney from Daukes this evening at 7.55pm along with yellow leg gull, wood sandpiper, little gull, whimbrel, 11 Spoonbills.

Full update on blog later.

Penny
 
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Away from the madding crowds at Lynn Point were:

3 Common Sandpipers
4 Ruff
1 Avocet
1 Whimbrel
6 Curlew
1 Common Snipe
1 Little Egret
20+ Barn Swallows
1 Chiffchaff
2 Common Whitethroats
20+ Greylag Geese

and lots of big juicy Blackberries!!!

Sue
 
That hide at Breydon, discuss!

Cheers,
Jim.

Some jobsworth is going to say i'm not allowed but there is nothing to stop anyone from walking (with appropriate field skills and subtly) out in front of the hide and nestling down in the marsh, had much closer views of for instance Roseate Tern from here. An even better place to watch from is to carry on towards Berney til you get to the first stile. - there is in fact a car park space from the acle straight here(be very careful pulling in on this dangerous road). You have more height here than the south side.You've the Tern platform in front of you and the area where waders congregate to your left, great skies very relaxing just to sit and watch 'the evening commute as the tide comes in ,I've found anything visible from the South side just as visible here.

As for the hide itself, my most enduring memory is entering it to find to two young tykes attempting to set fire to it, they weren't getting far as they were only armed with paper and matches. We shooed them out mock threatening to call the police and as they peddled away on their BMX's one of them fully grassed the other one up shouting out his full name and address :-O
 
:-O
Some jobsworth is going to say i'm not allowed but there is nothing to stop anyone from walking (with appropriate field skills and subtly) out in front of the hide and nestling down in the marsh, had much closer views of for instance Roseate Tern from here. An even better place to watch from is to carry on towards Berney til you get to the first stile. - there is in fact a car park space from the acle straight here(be very careful pulling in on this dangerous road). You have more height here than the south side.You've the Tern platform in front of you and the area where waders congregate to your left, great skies very relaxing just to sit and watch 'the evening commute as the tide comes in ,I've found anything visible from the South side just as visible here.

As for the hide itself, my most enduring memory is entering it to find to two young tykes attempting to set fire to it, they weren't getting far as they were only armed with paper and matches. We shooed them out mock threatening to call the police and as they peddled away on their BMX's one of them fully grassed the other one up shouting out his full name and address :-O

Also, correct me if I'm wrong (that incident was a few years ago and I havn't been in or near the hide since) but I seem to remember that said hide has some kind of metal sub-frame, so the little wol's would have had more chance of burning down The Old Man of Hoy!! :-O
 
Cley

Walsey Hills NOA - Two skulking Lesser Whitethroats in the bramble just right of the feeders. At least 5 Blackcaps around the reserve a single Chiffchaff and 5 Whimbrel flew overhead west.

Salthouse
- Beach Road - Two Wheatears were in the Eye Field at 12.05pm along with linnets and several pied wags. 6 Whimbrel flew west over Little Eye and another 6 also going west over Gramborough Hill a bit later. In the brambles at Gramborough (1.30pm) I get very excited over a very elusive warbler, which eventually turned out to be a Reed Warbler!!!

Dauke's Hide NWT1 Yellow leg Gull, 1 Little Stint, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 7 Spoonbills, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpipers.

Full update on blog.


Penny:girl:
 
Red Kite and Buzzards galore!!

Its amazing how often birds can turn a seemingly normal work-day into one that's rather special. Such was the case today when I heard Common Buzzards mewing over my post-round in Hempnall Village. They have become something of a usual sight in the last few years and dare I say something I've began to get used to, so I looked up expecting to see one, maybe two birds circling but it was slightly better than that. There were no less than ten birds up on the thermals at varying heights. A couple were play-fighting, a couple more were hanging on the wind before plummeting in a downward spiral. It was fantastic. This is easily the biggest gathering of the species that I've seen in my area and knocks my previous local record of four into oblivion!
They didn't seem in a hurry to go anywhere so I headed back home to get the birding gear and get a closer look. The possibility of pulling an HB out of them was also at the forefront of my mind.
It took me about 15 minutes to get home and back again and in that time, half of the Buzzards had drifted off, never to return. The remaining half were all Common Buzzards and a Hobby had joined them. I was enjoying much better views through the optics, congratulating myself on my decision when I spotted a longer winged raptor circling in from the west which to my utmost pleasure turned out to be a Red Kite! Talk about icing on the cake. Only my third ever record locally, the kite headed slowly east and just before I had to get back to work, a Sparrowhawk put in an appearance bringing the raptor fest to a close. I presume that at least some of the Buzzards were migrants, and the appearance of the kite seems to back that idea, but regardless, it was a brilliant experience.

Also of note and worth mentioning was the House Martin, also seen in Hempnall, which was singing its heart out from a telegraph wire whilst flapping its wings Starling fashion. Cant say I've ever noticed behaviour like that before from a House Martin, so all in all an amazing day with some great new experiences!! ;)
 
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