Norfolk birding (90 Viewers)

[Penny Clarke]

ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE ALPINE SWIFT IN KINGS LYNN RIGHT NOW PLEASE - JUST COME ON PAGER???????????? flew sse over Fairstead??????

Unfortunately my pager is not working properly at moment and am waiting for a replacement so THANK YOU to Sue Bryan who phoned me while I was having 40 winks in the armchair Raced up to Fairstead/hospital area (as did Sue) but no sign and my goodness its getting dark quickly now in the evenings! Also did a circuit round Bawsey, Pott Row and Gayton and back onto bypass. Might have to go into work at little early in morning just in case its still hanging about!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

 

[dbradnum]

What do people think about the birding prospects for Thursday onwards, given the weather forecast? It's due to be several days of (approx) NNE coming direct from Scandinavia which is potentially useful... but a big high pressure will probably leave the skies clear, so I'm not sure whether anything will actually drop when it has crossed the sea?

Any thoughts?

 

[Penny Clarke]

What do people think about the birding prospects for Thursday onwards, given the weather forecast? It's due to be several days of (approx) NNE coming direct from Scandinavia which is potentially useful... but a big high pressure will probably leave the skies clear, so I'm not sure whether anything will actually drop when it has crossed the sea?

Any thoughts?

My thoughts - birding dawn 'til dusk NE winds with cloud on Saturday - BP here we come!

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/ee/docking_forecast_weather.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/2479

See discussion here about the North easterlies etc http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=150881

I have booked off the following Thursday and Friday and the week after for birding - wish now I had booked it a week sooner!!!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

 

[Songkhran]

What do people think about the birding prospects for Thursday onwards, given the weather forecast? It's due to be several days of (approx) NNE coming direct from Scandinavia which is potentially useful... but a big high pressure will probably leave the skies clear, so I'm not sure whether anything will actually drop when it has crossed the sea?

Any thoughts?

looks v, good, similar conditions to the big Redstart, Pied Fly fall last year, they all arrived with no rain at all but I believe initially there was a more easterly component, so the NE should be even better?

Read the discussion and don't really understand about duel/Azores highs etc, but NE/Easterlies in Sept, rain or no rain - get out there.

 

[dbradnum]

NE/Easterlies in Sept, rain or no rain - get out there.

Good, that's pretty much my attitude, and definitely my plan! I've been 'burnt' by this before when the forecast has looked good but hasn't delivered, so perhaps I just needed someone to inject some optimism! Hopefully early news from Thursday and Friday will be good to get people out there in numbers (as long as they do some looking as well as some twitching!)

Fingers crossed...

 

[Irene Boston]

Forecast

Hoping that the forecasted high will indeed move up and over us and eventually into Scandinavia. Been tantalised before by promised highs moving up from the Azores which then never move far enough and end up stuck just below producing westerlies.

The second high further east is the interesting one I think - the two combining 'should' open a window for some stuff from further east? (Although the low lurking above Scandinavia is presumably currently producing westerlies and not encouraging much stuff to leave there?).

Whatever happens, it surely can't be worse than the last couple of weeks with relentless westerlies and searching empty bushes! Where, at the end of the day, I think I'm on a winner if I've come across ONE migrant!

Good hunting everyone...

Irene

 

[Songkhran]

thanks Irene, that explains it really clearly.

Heres the pressure chart for 15th Sept last year that produced large no's of common passage migrants, i.e c90 Redstart on Blakeney. Situation was different i think because the high was centre right over the centre of Scandanavia although the consensus was the most of the birds had come from further east.

maybe the earliest signs we will get are tomorrow afternoon, very quiet in a quick search around Blakeney this afternoon.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/topkarten/tkfaxbraar.htm

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/europe/surface_pressure.html

 

[Irene Boston]

A bit of rain might help ..... but I guess we can't have everything!

 

[stuart white]

would be good for my lawn too !!
I had a very Frustrating day today, got up at 5.15 intending to go sea watching at sheringham, got out the front door in Norwich and it was still blowing a SW wind !!
What to do, got in the car anyway and had a brainwave to drive to haddenham for the pallid harrier, then changed my mind and headed to sheringham then went round the block and back to bed ! Around 10am foolishly I went to haddenham as the harrier was seen early doors, obviously no sign when I got there in a very large area. To add insult to injury got a couple of pager messages with sea birds in norfolk !
Out of desperation I drove to cley where I saw 4 arctic skuas and a possible distant sabs gull in horrible light with Kittiwakes. Let's hope tomorrow fairs better

 

[Robert Smith]

Hi all, Does anyone now what time high tide would be tomorrow at Holme? I've lost my tide table :-C

Thanks,

 

[firstreesjohn]

Hunstanton high tide Thurs 10 Sept.

1023h.

I presume this is the one to use.

 

[Peter Dolton]

Put 'tide times Norfolk' into google!

 

[Penny Clarke]

Flew over to Cley after work hoping to add Pec. Sand and Scaup to my surfbirds county list BUT only managed one out of two!

Left King's Lynn at 6.10pm arriving East Bank carpark at 6.55pm. Most definately a North East wind blowing this evening!!! On the far side of Arnold's Marsh two drake Scaup were swimming about (just after 7pm) in the evening sunshine on the far right side of the water. Continued walking up to scan sea - freezing cold, no seabirds at all in the 10 minutes I stood there. Walked back to join Eddie M. and another birder (who I always see about and works in Cleyspy but don't know his name) to watch the scaup again - this time on far left side just beyond a fenced area 7.30pm. Walked back along East Bank with plenty of entertaining banter from Eddie!

Left here for a very quick moonlit walk around Walsey - 1 robin. Crazy really as everything had gone to roost but you never know!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

P.S. DOES ANYONE KNOW THE SURFBIRDS ADMIN TEAM AS I HAVE EMAILED THEM TWICE NOW TO INFORM THEM THAT I CANNOT UPDATE MY COUNTY YEAR LIST AND NO ONE HAD REPLIED - 2ND EMAIL SENT TODAY?

So to remind myself - will update on here NORFOLK 234 - 9/9 - Scaup

 

[Penny Clarke]

Hi all, Does anyone now what time high tide would be tomorrow at Holme? I've lost my tide table :-C

Thanks,

The tide sponsored by accurist will be 10.15am precisely!!!

 

[Robert Smith]

thanks all.

 

[Tideliner]

On September the first I saw a single pink footed goose at Holkham and in the darkness several small bunches could be heard lifting of the fresh marsh and heading inland. Pinks seem to have been very early arriving in the UK this year with many reports of the in East Scotland from mid August sometimes in numbers up to 2 thousand. At first I found this hard the believe and thought they were miss IDed greylags . but I now have about 10 reports of them from reliable observers including a party of 23 over Swaffham in the last week of August.

How many make it down to Norfolk this month is debatable as bad flooding in Scotland has left a lot of grain fields uncut. I was chatting to a Angus farmer online who said he has 300 acres of wheat under water. What a draw for the pinks .

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust goose newsletter makes interesting reading suggesting there were 350,000 pinks in the UK last winter and there may be a similar threat to the destruction of arctic breeding areas from over grazing ( and the knock on effect on other Tundra birds ) along the lines of the snow geese in America.

 

[PYRTLE]

Few signs today at Holme of some migrants, NOA reported and had a piedfly and garden wobbler whilst the east end of the pines definitely held some passerines - no sign of a w.t.e. though. Looks good for the next few days with light NE winds and a bit of cloud. A few pinkfeet, seaduck also this am.

Morning High tides for the Holme area for the next few days are Friday 11th 1059hrs
Sat 12th 1158hrs
Sun 13th 1324hrs
The next spring tides are....18/09/09 0633 (7.1mtrs)
19/09/09 0714 (7.4mtrs)
20/09/09 0753 (7.6mtrs)
21/09/09 0833 (7.5mtrs)
22/09/09 0911 (7.2mtrs)

 

[dbradnum]

A Little Auk was reported from Holme today, and four (I think) yesterday.... seems extraordinarily early, anyone know more? Is there a precedent in early September, or should I assume someone's got a bit carried away?!

 

[mr.sim]

Had an Auk sp. off Holme last Saturday (2nd Sept.) but it definately wasn't Little. I know the observer of at least one of the Little Auks off Holme yesterday and he is reliable...

 

[Paul Eele]

Titchwell September 10th

Today's highlights

Pink footed goose - 1st of the year, 22 east over reserve
Little stint - 2 juvs on fresh marsh
Wigeon - 12 on fresh marsh

Paul