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

Norfolk birding (42 Viewers)

Forgot to comment on my Norfolk holiday list that the bird I was most surprised NOT to see during the five days was a buzzard! We didn't see one from leaving home to getting back again.

Sandra
 
Norfolk Cranes

I'm planning another foray up to Norfolk this weekend and was wondering whether anyone could offer some advice on the best place to see cranes. I know they can be seen coming into roost from Stubb Mill but I was wondering where one can best find them during the day.
 
gnome said:
I'm planning another foray up to Norfolk this weekend and was wondering whether anyone could offer some advice on the best place to see cranes. I know they can be seen coming into roost from Stubb Mill but I was wondering where one can best find them during the day.
Click to expand...

I've been there twice early afternoon very recently & seen multiple groups of cranes both times.
 
gnome said:
I'm planning another foray up to Norfolk this weekend and was wondering whether anyone could offer some advice on the best place to see cranes. I know they can be seen coming into roost from Stubb Mill but I was wondering where one can best find them during the day.
Click to expand...

To be honest "gnome", as the breeding season approaches, people are probably going to be a little more reticent about precise locations, and rightly so. However, the time-honoured strategy is to drive the road between West Somerton, Horsey and Waxham and stop wherever you can safely do so to scan the fields. Or sit on the dune tops at Horsey and scan inland. Or loiter around Stubb Mill / Hickling area. With a bit of effort, you should be rewarded.

Best of luck

Andy
 
Titchwell March 4th

Today's highlights

Red crested pochard - 3 (2 drakes, 1 female) on grazing marsh before moving to the fresh marsh. Possibly the returning breeding pair from last year
Twite - 67 on fresh marsh inc 12 colour ringed birds
Black throated diver - 1 offshore
Woodcock - 1 showing well in picnic area
Bittern - 2 in flight over reedbed
Spotted redshank - 6 on saltmarsh
Avocet - 47 on fresh marsh

Paul
 
At Strumpshaw today I achieved my best-ever views of an otter! (Two, actually!)
Walking round onto the Fen Hide access path, I found myself in eye-to-eye contact with an otter five feet away on the bank! We sized each other up for over a minute before he slipped into the dyke to join a somewhat smaller individual: the pair then porpoised away along the dyke! Astounding!
 
New birding venue ?

The photos show what I first, wrongly, imagined was the relocation of the Michelin 3-star restaurant to Norfolk. I've passed it three mornings a week for months, also wondering if it could be connected to the NWT.

No, this could be of interest to birders, in search of a new site.

Its website (www.thewatersiderollesby.co.uk) is "Currently Under Construction".

It's just off the A149, at the east end of Rollesby, on the banks of its Broad.
 

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Lightthiscandle said:
At Strumpshaw today I achieved my best-ever views of an otter! (Two, actually!)
Walking round onto the Fen Hide access path, I found myself in eye-to-eye contact with an otter five feet away on the bank! We sized each other up for over a minute before he slipped into the dyke to join a somewhat smaller individual: the pair then porpoised away along the dyke! Astounding!
Click to expand...

I'm green with envy! I've been there at least once a week for the past month & all I have seen is an otter head swimming on the far side of the great broad.

What time of day was it?
 
firstreesjohn said:
The photos show what I first, wrongly, imagined was the relocation of the Michelin 3-star restaurant to Norfolk. I've passed it three mornings a week for months, also wondering if it could be connected to the NWT.

No, this could be of interest to birders, in search of a new site.

Its website (www.thewatersiderollesby.co.uk) is "Currently Under Construction".

It's just off the A149, at the east end of Rollesby, on the banks of its Broad.
Click to expand...

Website works for me.

Might be a decent place to have a bite to eat and birdwatch at the same time.

Opens 29th March.

Regards

Dave
 
Springing slowly

A walk out to Gramboro' gave me the first Ringed Plover of the Spring on the small, brackish pool, together with an adult (brown) Redshank with florescent red legs.

No sign of the male Stonechat again; Reed Buntings gone.

Meeting Mark G on the Cley Beach Road, he confirmed that 'his' Stonechats seem to have disappeared recently, too.

I got there 2 minutes too late- he'd had a Bittern in flight over the Reserve.

Some geese or other were present (!).
 
Titchwell March 5th

Today's highlights

Avocet - 62 on fresh marsh
Twite - 35 on brackish marsh
Red crested pochard - drake on fresh marsh

Paul
 
A walk on the beach at Caistor yesterday yielded 23 Snow Buntings. They really are magic little birds. Nothing else except a couple of turnstones.
 
Cringleford redpolls

Managed one definite Mealy redpoll this afternoon, plus 7 redpoll sp.
Still can't find any Jack Snipe, if anyone fancies sharing some info please PM me
 
Tideliner said:
Swans on the move.

I was out well before sunrise this morning and crossing eastwards a few miles north of the Wensum valley came a number of groups of Bewicks swans. Guess they are starting the migration home. For the second time this week I had a pair of ruddy shielduck overhead. It looks as though they are going to nest localy again.
Click to expand...

I had a group of 38 Bewick's Swans East over my house on Monday morning. The warden at Welney said that some of them are starting to leave the washes now, and that the bulk of them will leave this month.
 
Titchwell March 6th

Today's highlights

Mealy redpoll - 1 in trees around visitor centre
Spotted redshank - 4 on fresh marsh
Avocet - 50 on fresh marsh
Water pipit - 1 on fresh marsh
Bittern - 2 over reedbed
Great Norther diver - 1 offshore
Woodcock - 1 showing well near picnic area

Paul
 
firstreesjohn said:
No sign of the male Stonechat again; Reed Buntings gone.

Meeting Mark G on the Cley Beach Road, he confirmed that 'his' Stonechats seem to have disappeared recently, too.
Click to expand...

Saw my first Stonechat on the patch this year today so they are obviously on the move, they had previously disappeared from round here following the snow before christmas.

Simon
 
Having a little chat

Yes, Simon: a 'new' Stonechat (female-type, too far away to be more certain than that), east of Gramboro' today.

A few more Mipits today, too.

A whole load of Avocets have arrived at Cley NWT.

Friary was cold (walking into the wind) and not really worth the effort.
 
cracking day on the coast today in spring-like conditions (minus the chilly wind), including the glaucous gull down to fifteen feet, snow buntings down to 5 feet, bittern in the open at Holkham, firecrest in the pines, 2 barn owls mid-afternoon, over 60 white-fronts, 3 buzzards on the thermals over holkham, whimbrel and to top it all the waxwings in the sun in norwich on the way home. Now waiting for the first migrants to arrive.... it can't be long can it?
 
Andy Musgrove said:
Oh, and following up from last week's emails about coverage for Bird Atlas 2007-11, good to see on

http://blx1.bto.org/atlas-results/species-richness.html

that there are now only 2 Norfolk squares not filled in red for the winter - the Coltishall square has clearly had a few records added - thanks Sacha or whoever else might have added these! Suffolk still has its single non-red square, so we can still beat them!

(Note, red means over 90% of species seen in the previous atlas have been found for the current one. However, it doesn't mean every possible species has been found in each square yet, so still plenty left to look for).

Cheers

Andy
Click to expand...

Have entered my winter records so TG24 is now red, so only the TF73 (Docking) square needs adding to now by someone to complete Norfolk.....

Simon
 

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