Norfolk birding (112 Viewers)

[O.Reville1989]

Thanks Kieran - kind words.

To clarify, the purpose of my post was put Oliver at ease. Firstly to demonstrate that there was every probability, from the information presented, that the person who sent the mail was doing so in all good faith and with no malice or part in any wind-up - not that I know that to be the case, just that it seems most likely to me. Secondly to point out that as unwelcome as it may have been, the type of prank that seemed to have been perpetrated is typical of many that are intended light-heartedly whether they are felt that way or not. I do appreciate the rawness Oliver may feel following the discussions earlier in the year, and I can see why this may have rubbed salt into the wound, but I genuinely didn't and don't think there is any point in assuming malicious intent.

If, as hadn't been clear to me from Oliver's initial post, the note in the sightings sheet was simply attributed to an unspecified Oliver then it is even less to worry about. As you say it was probably someone else entirely and not even a wind-up. It might have been a mistake for the mailer to assume it was this Oliver I suppose, but there aren't many Olivers actively birding in Norfolk (I can't think of any others) so it's not an entirely unreasonable mistake to make. Personally I'd have just politely replied informing them that it must have been either a wind up or a different Oliver as you hadn't been there or reported it, and left it at that. But heh, we all make mistakes and we learn by them, so drawing that line under it sounds like a good plan to me :t:

Dave
I have been informed that my full name was used on the hide sightings book.
As Kieran says a joke is only funny when all involved find it amusing.
I see your point about letting it go, which I had done until this.
I just find it frustrating how clearly immature ans pathetic people can be, I dont why this was thought to be amusing.
As you say it might as well be left alone now, its just something I am clearly going to have to get used to.

 

[Lightthiscandle]

Really is a fantastic place though and one I'm glad to have as my patch.

I love Kelling WM: and yes, it does have an almost spooky feel at times, even in the Spring...

Incidentally: there was a Rough-legged Buzzard perched on a bush literally yards from the A47 at Middleton yesterday (2.30)

 

[Johny121]

Following some Googleresearch, I discovered this:

Thanks John, your pics and posts are a delight to read.

 

[Paul Eele]

Titchwell January 17th

Today’s highlights

Coues’s arctic redpoll – still present. It seems to be best viewed early morning when it has been feeding on the ground with chaffinches.
Long tailed duck – 4 offshore
Snow bunting – 5 on east beach
Hen harrier – ringtail over saltmarsh
Pintail – 60 on fresh marsh

Paul

 

[firstreesjohn]

Not to be cowed !

I omitted to say (although it was there, if you followed the weblink to the book excerpt) that, afore he was Coue’s, he possessed a grave accent (and I don’t mean he sounded like an undertaker) and was Couès- which would have been pronounced ‘coo-ess’. Complicateder and complicateder.

Thank you, Johnny121, for your acclamation. I do my best to educate, illuminate and captivate, mate.

Don't Gorillas eat nettles?

Lighthiscandle: I’m not at all nettled by your questioning of the verisimilitude of my facts and will pander to your understandable lack of knowledge of the diet of our hairy relations, by asking you to read the screed below, taken from a Uganda/Rwanda gorilla tour website (http://www.travelhemispheres.com/uganda-safaris/gorilla-safaris/gorilla6.html):

“The diet of mountain gorillas largely consists of foliage. Over 142 different plants, whose leaves, shoots and stems are eaten, constitute gorilla food. For the shoots, the gorillas enjoy mainly the rainy season mountain bamboos when still green and tender. Because the bamboo shoots are 84% water the supplement of trocatea, young bamboo leaves, tsile’s leaves, stems, flowers and roots, celery’s stem without the tree bark, urela cameronesis leaves and stem bark and dry season black berries grown on high attitude provides a nutritious delicacy for mountain gorillas.”

Yum, yum ! Don’t you just wish we hadn’t evolved quite so far, now ?

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Does anybody have any details on the King eider reported from Holkham gap today? Another interesting bird in the brecks this week, with a GGS of indeterminate race (as of yet) near Thompson...

 

[Connor Rand]

Does anybody have any details on the King eider reported from Holkham gap today?

'Rptd King Eider Holkham was erroneous'

 

[dwatsonbirder]

thanks for that Connor, I would be trying to relocate it then!

 

[stuart white]

Another one for the redpoll enthusiasts among us

http://www.birdingworld.co.uk/Cley 2012.1.htm

good comparison between a very pale mealy and the coues's, see how much more bull necked the arctic looks and the plain buff face with less of a dark ear covert surround compared to the mealy. The mealy has amazingly unstreaked flanks though, don't know if the rump is streaked or not, not having seen the birds myself. The mealy looks long billed with reduced feathering around the upper mandible base. The angle of the arctic isn't the same but the face looks more punched in. Also the greater covert bar is pure white on the arctic but slightly brown at the outer part on the mealy.

 

[knotsbirder]

Does anybody have any details on the King eider reported from Holkham gap today? Another interesting bird in the brecks this week, with a GGS of indeterminate race (as of yet) near Thompson...

From what I've heard there is more to the King Eider than it may seem...

 

[Mark Batten]

thanks for that Connor, I would be trying to relocate it then!

More stringing then? Have been Informed that this may be a reliable sighting? Previous record off holkham which i recall dipping by a few minutes.

 

[O.Reville1989]

More stringing then?

Has there been any stringing recently in Norfolk? Genuine question.

As for the King Eider; Knotsbirder is correct in his statement.....

 

[Mark Batten]

Have pm you on the subject oliver.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Have you got some inside information on stringing then Mark? Maybe you would care to share with the rest of us?
Regards
Daniel

 

[Mark Batten]

Have you got some inside information on stringing then Mark? Maybe you would care to share with the rest of us?
Regards
Daniel

Stringing is just part of birding and most counties have observers with track records of dodgy records. Given that Norfolk has such a large number of birders, it does suggest that the number of dodgy claims will to be higher? Stringing magazine provides useful help on the subject. Here is an article on how to get your dodgy Merlin through the local rarities panel http://leicesterllama.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-get-merlins-accepted.html

On the current conference calls pocast, the solution to the high number of birders in Norfolk is to instigate a cull, although I suspect this is a joke! Having said that, a cull could be limited to those residents who consider Norwich to capital of England; that a passport is required to travel to Suffolk, Cambridgeshire or Lincolnshire and that a small population of nettle eating Gorilla's who answer to the name of Gerald (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beCYGm1vMJ0) are resident in Wells woods!!!!

In terms of recent dodgy, Blue Rock Thrush and multiple Feas Petrels off Cley come to mind. In a year when Cornwall has no Feas recorded, Cley has a week when birds are seen almost daily off the back of a genuine record at Sherringham. Indeed, I suspect just about every rare seabird with the exception of Tucked Puffin has been claimed off Cley coastguards over the the years!! Some of these records will of course be kosher.

Clearly for the birder wishing to see rare seabirds there is no reason to travel in July/August to Cornwall or Ireland. Indeed, all that is required, is to roll up at Coastguards after tea, scones and ice cream at the vistors centre, with a gentle southwesterly wind and it is only a matter of time before rare and exotic seabirds appear on the horizon!!

I look forward to the next mega alert "Great Auk Cley Coastguards - showing distantly"!! Now we would all believe that!!

 

[O.Reville1989]

Have you got some inside information on stringing then Mark? Maybe you would care to share with the rest of us?
Regards
Daniel

Wouldn't be inside information if he shared it with everyone else would it 8-P

 

[Mark Batten]

Oliver your message box is full.

 

[O.Reville1989]

Oliver your message box is full.

Problem sorted!

 

[Lightthiscandle]

Lighthiscandle: I’m not at all nettled by your questioning of the verisimilitude of my facts and will pander to your understandable lack of knowledge of the diet of our hairy relations

Hmmm.......... MY lack of knowledge? Nettles are the preferred food of both species of Gorilla.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECmkUI1-ZY0

 

[firstreesjohn]

Nettles are the preferred food of both species of Gorilla.

“wild western lowland gorillas are not known to feed on nettle” [Rogers et al., 2004]. Rogers ME, Abernethy K, Bermejo M, Cipolletta C, Doran D, McFarland K, Nishihara T, Remis M, Tutin CEG. 2004. Western gorilla diet: a synthesis from six sites. Am J Primatol 64:173–192.

Dave (I think): as I admitted, I have never seen wild gorillas. (Those at Holkham were perfectly polite and well-behaved and spoke good English.) I was neither wishing to ‘diss’ you (and obviously failed to phrase my reply to you in enough of my usually light-hearted manner), nor can I claim to be an expert on our hirsute cousins, but can only go on what I read online. In addition to the research article cited, I referred to Wikipedia- which, of course, is currently unavailable for 24 hours.

Nowhere did I see that nettles were their ‘preferred food’, but only that it formed part of a varied food intake, including, at times, insects and invertebrates. I fear that those at Holkham must have long since departed, so I am unable to ask them.

Those stung into pursuing this fascinating branch of enquiry should peruse the following:

American Journal of Primatology 70:584–593 (2008)

An Experimental Study of Nettle Feeding in Captive Gorillas
CLAUDIO TENNIE_, DANIELA HEDWIG, JOSEP CALL, AND MICHAEL TOMASELLO
Department of Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany