Black-bellied Dipper site
Hope everyone had a productive start to the New Year. I had a wander around Houghton St Giles this afternoon in an enjoyable (but admittedly fruitless) search for the Black-bellied Dipper. I hope this info might be useful in case anyone is going to try.
As you can probably see from the OS map, there are two fords in the village (southern one at GR 922 354 and the northern one at GR 924 356). The southern one is near the car park for the Slipper Chapel, which is off the minor road from N. Barsham to Houghton St Giles. There's room for a couple of cars on the grass verge on the east side of the northern ford, which is accessible from the road from Houghton to the Walsinghams. I wouldn't recommend trying to drive anything other than a 4w-drive or high clearance car through either ford!
It's not that easy to see the river in its entirety through the village, but you can get glimpses if you walk along the minor road on the west side (the one past the Slipper Chapel). The very southernmost and northernmost bits of the river Stiffkey through the village mostly have grassy banks and don't automatically scream Dipper habitat. But there is a tasty section from the northern ford going north towards Walsingham. The road runs right along the river and the banks look more suitable with more perching places, overgrown tree roots, exposed 'shore' etc. There's also some likely looking droppings in various places but it may be wishful thinking on my part to be sure they're of Dipper origin!
We didn't wander too far in either direction as daylight faded in the end but in a couple of hours we did get Kingfisher and a Green Sandpiper (the latter from the bridge at GR 927 358 just north of Houghton St Giles). It looked as if it might be possiblet to get the extra height needed to view the invisible bits of the riverbank from the footpath along the old railway line, just west of the village but didn't get time to try that. If anyone wants any more info or any of the above is as clear as mud, feel free to contact me.
All in all, an enjoyable rummage in a village / river area I've never visited before. We were the only birders there this afternoon so we could easily have missed stuff. Shall keep trying for the Dipper (if only to catch up with a bird which I managed to miss 10 times last year, but both Connor and Ray Roche saw, as they've not stopped reminding me since!)
A morning at Salthouse for the Glaucous Gull, plus the Hawfinches at Felbrigg started off the day nicely. Although we had a Mandarin-less lake and were obviously so preoccupied with watching the water that we failed totally to notice a Little Owl sitting in a tree apparently!
Irene
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