[Denis J]

Or both:@)
can anyone help? My wife and I are spending a week in norfolk May29th-June3rd and have a trip planned to weeting to see the stone curlews we do not drive and have booked a taxi to take us from wells to weeting so its a one off trip, looking at birdguides I see that golden oriole can be seen 3 miles away at Lakenheath. The taxi is booked for 6:15 so we should arrive there around 7am would it be better to go first to Lakenheath and walk to weeting or start at weeting and walk to lakenheath? which option would give us the best chance of seeing either and hopefully both birds?

[Ruby]

Hi Dennis,

From what I can understand, Stone Curlews are best seen very first thing in the morning, or at dusk.

But I also believe that the best chance of seeing Golden Orioles is early in the morning too...

Hmmmm? A dilemma....

I'm not sure that it's quite so critical to be there at crack of dawn for GO, so my suggestion would be go to Lakenheath first, find something to do all day, and then aim to arrive at Weeting in the later afternoon/early evening.

There are also breeding Woodlarks at Weeting too.

Hopefully someone else who knows the area a bit better than me may come on and advise....

Good luck anyway....

[Ruby]

PS.... Neither bird is at all easy - a good bit of luck and perseverance is needed in both cases.... I would have said that SC is maybe more likely than GO

[Stephen Dunstan]

Denis,

Can you get in to Weeting at that time of day?

When I went to Weeting a couple of years ago the Stone Curlew were dead easy early afternoon, Golden Orioles immediately afterwards were a bit of a challenge.

Later on I tried for Nightjar in Thetford Forest, didn't have a site and just picked a likely looking area. Great views of flying birds at dusk, a great day all round.

Stephen.

[deboo]

Denis,

The earlier you can get to Lakenheath the better..
You will even be able to hear the Orioles from the new carpark!!
I'd reckon it would take about 1 hour to walk from Lakenheath to Weeting..
I've always managed to see Stone Curlew and Woodlark at Weeting..at any time of the day...although the Sun can be a problem later in the afternoon.
BUT....it took me 3 goes before I actually saw an Oriole at Lakenheath!!
So ...You pays the Taxi and you makes your choice!!!

Happy Days.

Dave.

[Rob Smallwood]

Just come back from both sites.

Weeting has had a disaster and there are times when there are no birds present - I believe the nests may have been predated, and not necessarily by animals or birds. We saw one forlorn female lamenting her lost clutch. Woodlarks and Tree Pipits were, on the other hand, giving great views.

The Orioles are a different matter. We completely dipped on Saturday morning when no birds were singing, 5 were reporeed showing well on Sunday and we spent 7.5 hours at the site on Monday. I had brief views of a perched male, and several very distant and even briefer views of flying birds. They were calling all day, and we could track the progess through the canopy but one of the three of us never saw the bird at all!

Discussing the matter in the car park late afternoon we met a range of people who had seen nothing to a couple who had a singing male 30 feet away on an open branch!

My recommendation would be to go to Weeting first, find out if the birds have returned and if not carry on to Lakenheath. If you get the Orioles you could walk back to try for the SCs later.

Lakenheath (or Hockenwold as I believe it may yet be called is quite a site, we also had brilliant views of Garganey, Black Tern, Common Tern, most of the commoner warblers, Cuckoo, Marsh Harrier (at close range) and Hobby (over 30 together) - well worth "putting in the hours" as one local called it.

[Michael Frankis]

When you're done at the one site, stand in the car park & talk to any other birders there, compare what you've seen, etc; and then ask if they know how long it takes to walk to the other site - someone's bound to offer you a lift

Michael

[Rob Smallwood]

Now that is a good idea!

[Denis J]

Originally Posted by Michael Frankis

When you're done at the one site, stand in the car park & talk to any other birders there, compare what you've seen, etc; and then ask if they know how long it takes to walk to the other site - someone's bound to offer you a lift

Michael

There I think speaks the voice of experience:@)

Thanks for the help everyone I think we will make our mind up on the day but I am leaning toward Lakenheath first I think ....or possibly Weeting
Either bird would be a lifer for us as would Nightingale and Woodlark
Nightjar would be a lifer for my wife and I have only ever heard 1 we are also visiting Titchwell,Cley,Salthouse heath,walsey hills,Kelling heath,Holkham and Great ryburgh so any and all are a good possibility:@]

[Reader]

I can give you the exact site where you can get Stone Curlew without having to pay but I would do it as a PM. It is not a site that should be put out onto the public domain because of a) pressure on the birds (it is open country and not protected by hides/screens and so the birds are clearly visible by you and also you are clearly visible to them. b) egg collectors. Sensitive site details should never be broadcast in my opinion. The other thing to take into consideration is that it is much further away from Lakenheath. About 5 or 6 miles I think. Still, if you had the taxi wait a short while you may get the birds straight away. I saw them, earlier this year, within 2 minutes of arriving. If that happens your taxi could take you on to Lakenheath. Just a thought.

Regarding how you should do it. My own personal opinion (if the alternative site is out of the question) is Weeting first. There are currently at least 3 Stone Curlews there as well as a few Woodlark (which can also be seen the other side of the road from the car park - as can Stone Curlews sometimes). Michael is spot on with his thinking with a possible lift. Maybe if someone else is there a suggestion that you may be prepared to give something to pay for the small amount of fuel used would go down well.

Lakenheath can be a nightmare for Oriole. Last year I got there just before 7am and it was 16:50 before I saw the male. Still it was a lovely day and the bonus is that you should also be guaranteed Hobby, possible Lesser spotted Woodpecker and all manner of things on the open water and river if you stay long enough.

If it's sunny it could be a nice relaxing day waiting for the Oriole's to show.

Regarding Nightjars. The best site (IMHO) is near Sandringham. It is on a road facing the Wolferton Triangle and I have had birds touching my hair they are so close. They land on the wires above your head and give brilliant views. I have been going there for a few years and have never been dissapointed. You also get good views of Woodcock there as well.

[Geoff Pain]

Totally agree with Reader about Sandringham for Nightjar and Woodcock,went last year for the first time and it was absolutely brilliant.Hoping to be there in a weeks time.

[Tony Knight]

Denis

perfect timing for starting this thread. I had planned to get to Lakenheath early this morning and wasn't aware of the stone curlew at weeting. As a result I now have photos of both! Didn't see any stone curlew at "the triangle" described above (it was 10 then) but there were 3 at the Weeting site and the oriole was accomodating (though at a distance) when I was there (6.30-8.00)

Tony

[Rob Smallwood]

Is it responsible to continue discussing sites for rare breeding birds on an open Forum?

[Nick-on]

Originally Posted by Rob Smallwood

Is it responsible to continue discussing sites for rare breeding birds on an open Forum?

I often think that paranoia about egg collectors is overdone (and used in some instances as an excuse to form little elitist cliques) but in this instance it does seem a bit careless/casual to give out details about an easily disturbed bird like Stone Curlew especially as Weeting is only a few miles away and you would have to as 'visibly impaired as a bat' not to see them there.
Incidentally, for future reference, not giving out the exact location was not very secretive it took me and presumably anybody else,all of 2 minutes to find "the triangle" on the net !!

Nick

[tom mckinney]

Originally Posted by Nick-on

I often think that paranoia about egg collectors is overdone (and used in some instances as an excuse to form little elitist cliques

Not true.

Under done if anything.

[CJW]

Originally Posted by Reader

I can give you the exact site where you can get Stone Curlew without having to pay but I would do it as a PM. It is not a site that should be put out onto the public domain

I don't understand this. One minute you say you can pass the information on by PM (to a, presumably, total stranger) and the next you say it shouldn't be in the public domain.
I disagree entirely with the passing-on of this kind of information - especially to people you haven't met or know at all well.
I am not suggesting for one minute that the request for information came from an egg collector, but who knows who is watching the forums. You could be about to divulge information of an extremely sensitive nature.

[Tony Knight]

Given this is a rare ground nesting bird with recent intereference suggested by the emails above I guess it pays to be extra cautious.
There is a thin line between sharing knowledge of a rarity and putting a nest at risk. Had I missed the stone curlew at weeting and then seen it at the triangle it would have made my day. I guess that is why there are few "sightings" of stone curlew on birdguides other than at Weeting - probably sensible.

Tony

[Darren Oakley-Martin]

For what it is worth, and before Tom's excellent thread on the subject, I considered that this thread offered a little bit too much information.

Can we all bear in mind that the birds are the important issue here, not the tick. And giving pinpoint directions to a particular bird, well that is another matter altogether. Smacks of collecting postcards or something.

As Tom suggested, and others have intimated, maybe a little collective paranoia in this particular area is not a bad thing.

Regards

[tom mckinney]

Maybe a bit of moderatorial deletion of some of the above posts?

Weeting Heath is a brilliant place to see Stone Curlew. And, as I said somewhere else, how you can miss them there is beyond belief....?

[CJW]

Originally Posted by tom mckinney

Maybe a bit of moderatorial deletion of some of the above posts?

Done.

[pduxon]

Originally Posted by Darrenom

Can we all bear in mind that the birds are the important issue here, not the tick.

sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

as Tom says Weeting is excellent and I find it hard to believe that it isn't in our best interests (and the birds) to visit Weeting put some money into NWT which can be put back into providing further good habitat for Stone-curlew.

[Rob Smallwood]

Enough said!

[Denis J]

Blimey I did not expect this thread to go the way it did!
As I said in another thread while I appreciated the offer of directions to an alternate site I did not take it up.
The Weeting site is obviously publicised to keep pressure off other sites in the area and make sure access to the birds is controled and that is good enough for me.
After all birds are not there for our benifit and imho the welfare of the bird should always come first even if it means you do not see it.
Thanks to everyone for your help we have decided to go to Lakenheath first then move on to Weeting later on in the morning hopefully we will see both birds but its not the end of the world if we don't:@)

[robinm]

Originally Posted by Denis J

Blimey I did not expect this thread to go the way it did!
As I said in another thread while I appreciated the offer of directions to an alternate site I did not take it up.
The Weeting site is obviously publicised to keep pressure off other sites in the area and make sure access to the birds is controled and that is good enough for me.
After all birds are not there for our benifit and imho the welfare of the bird should always come first even if it means you do not see it.
Thanks to everyone for your help we have decided to go to Lakenheath first then move on to Weeting later on in the morning hopefully we will see both birds but its not the end of the world if we don't:@)

We did precisely that just over a week ago (May 8th). They are only 10 mins drive apart. Unfortunately we dipped on the oriole - the weather was bad. We did see it on 15th so all worked out.

Weeting is very good - good stone curlew and woodlark views to be had.

Good luck.

[Reader]

Originally Posted by CJW

I don't understand this. One minute you say you can pass the information on by PM (to a, presumably, total stranger) and the next you say it shouldn't be in the public domain.
I disagree entirely with the passing-on of this kind of information - especially to people you haven't met or know at all well.
I am not suggesting for one minute that the request for information came from an egg collector, but who knows who is watching the forums. You could be about to divulge information of an extremely sensitive nature.

Chris

If you had been following the Polite but serious thread you would have seen that already I had already acknowledged the fact that it is probably wrong to assume that just because you are a member of Birdforum then you are naturally just a birdwatcher. That is a lesson I have learnt. You will also have read that the information I had was readily available in a well know bird site book so therfore already a well known site. I still feel that I actually highlighted the points in going to these sites quite well. Also if you approach the warden at Weeting Heath he will tell you that this site is well known and as long as you are careful there then there is no problem.

It is a very open expanse of land and Stone Curlews that are there can see you long before you see them. I can think of other sites where there is no way that I would divulge the locations even to my most trusted friends.