Penny Clarke
Well-known member
'Penny have you gone mad, 5 posts on the trot !!.......'
Well I have not posted for a while so thought I would make up for it and yes of course I am mad!!!!
'Penny have you gone mad, 5 posts on the trot !!.......'
Have you counted pallas's warbler ? You saw the bird, it was just a bit dark !!
Today's highlights
Common buzzard - 1 west over reserve, 1 roosting near dead trees this evening
Hen harrier - ringtail hunting over saltmarsh during the day and roosted in reedbed this evening
Peregrine - 1 hunting over saltmarsh
Water rail - 4 in ditches by bird feeders
Snipe - 20 feeding in ditches by feeders
Woodcock - at least 6 feeding in scrub around the visitor centre
Twite - 8 on brackish marsh
Great Northern diver - 2 offshore
Last post of the year from me for Titchwell as I am on my hols now.
Hope you all have a good Christmas and a bird-filled 2010.
Paul
Hi John
Never took you for a dirty white raincoat wearer (perv). I will be making a note of this
cheers John Have a good christmas
thanks Paul for keeping us updated throughout the year,
cracking day at Titchwell today, the area around the visitors centre was really busy with Water Rail constantly on view, Woodock crunching about it in the snow and Snipe trying to get to the ditches which seemed to be one of the few sources of open water + the LEO may still be about - was in Ivy just off the main footpath yest. Lots of Skylark, Lapwing and Snipe on the move over the beach. The Hen Harrier was really beautiful against the snowy saltmarsh, underwing gleaming in the afternoon light. Lots of starfish on the beach including quite a few sunstars and an unIDed 11 starred one. Probably one of the view days of the year could walk the entire boardwalk without seeing a single other person.
Missed the bus home so currently on the voddie and orange howling like a Red Indian on Ringwood Downs in my Speedos, no Owls yet but getting a bit scared of the sheep.
Today at 5:47pm the Earth's tilt reached 23° 26' at which point it began moving back the other way. This point marked our furthest distance from the Sun during the year which means that... SPRING IS COMING!!! :-O
There are Snipe in good numbers over my way too and a Woodcock was flying out to fields about an hour before dusk at Lessingham today. I've also seen 2 Jack Snipe in with a wisp of Snipe here recently but haven't had a proper chance to seek them out since. I was rather surprised as I thought they were mostly solitary birds and when flushed never fly far; these were actually flying around as part of the Snipe flock. Has anyone else noted them in flight with a flock of Snipe?
James
Today at 5:47pm the Earth's tilt reached 23° 26' at which point it began moving back the other way. This point marked our furthest distance from the Sun during the year which means that... SPRING IS COMING!!! :-O
Oh no, they'll be dancing with no kit on around a fire near Ringstead Downs tonight, wailing gobbledeegook to the spirits of the wood and quaffing cheap red wine. Hope they don't frighten the owls.
Darn, I thought my secret was safe. All welcome, especially if they bring booze and mince pies.
To be tediously pedantic we are approaching our closest distance to the sun (perihelion), which currently happens about 2 weeks after the northern winter solstice. It's the tilt away from the sun that makes it colder in winter not the distance from it.
Days are getting longer though - tomorrow will be 8 seconds longer than today :t:
I thought I would spend a tide on the North Coast yesterday and it was a cracker. Clear bright sunshine and the snow making everything look so much brighter than normal. It was very cold as I crept down a gutter to the main creek only disturbing a pair of redshank. I set up a small hide below the marsh top in the side of the main creek just as the tide started to drop. In a short while a mix of dunlin , redshank and curlews gathered very close to me. It was great watching the curlew feeding within a few feet of me , mainly taking ragworm and small shellfish. There were jack snipe everywhere , perhaps 20 of them, sometimes fliting across the creek and at others landing on the saltmarsh close by. Some brent joined them along with a dozen teal , the drakes looking stunning in their winter plumage. More and more brents came in to the creek until there was at least 500 within 30 yards of me with some coming so close that they saw me or rather the outline of me behind the hide and wary swum off a few yards , but never panicked. Then a succession of pinks started to fly overhead along with a couple of small parties of white fronts. For over an hour the geese came past , I guessed they were moving up from the Broads. As the tide drained out of the creek in came the wigeon … about 100 along with a couple of stunning drake pintail , a goldeneye and my first scaup of the year. Red necked grebe and lots of little grebes fished the declining pools , with a small group of little egrets.
After an hour I saw someone else walking down the bottom of the main creek 400 yards off. A wildfowler. He set up a hide like mine and kept out of sight . He did have a few shots at the duck , but they just swirled around and resettled a few hundred yards further off. The birds in front of me never moved.
The whole 5 hours I spent in the hide the draining creek was alive with birds all feeding or resting with no idea I was so close to them. There were rock and water pipits too and just above my head on the marsh top 42 snow buntings. It was spell binding,
Perhaps the best part of the day was when I squeaked a hen harrier within 10 feet of the hide . I dare not move , it was so close. As the light started to go I carefully packed up the hide and crept back up the side creek and made my home along the bottom of the sea wall , privileged to have been witness to the activities of so many birds that never knew I was there.
How do? I'm a yorkie + i'm prob gunna visit norfolk in a week or 2, could anyone advise on where to see crane at this time of year
Thats it for me, I'm working until after Christmas now so Happy Christmas all BFers and good luck and good birds for the New Year : - )