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

Norfolk birding (49 Viewers)

Fowl weather this winter

American wigeon, easy to pick out in Eurasian wigeon flock below Walsey Hills today. My previous record December 2009.

A new self-found species for me today: Ross's goose. With seven barnacle geese and between Cley Serpentine and Walsey. Wonder where it (and perhaps the barnacles too) escaped from!
 
Paul Woolnough said:
American wigeon, easy to pick out in Eurasian wigeon flock below Walsey Hills today. My previous record December 2009.

A new self-found species for me today: Ross's goose. With seven barnacle geese and between Cley Serpentine and Walsey. Wonder where it (and perhaps the barnacles too) escaped from!
Click to expand...

Paul

Think you will find this is the flock that has been hanging around Kelling since mid Dec. The Barnacles should number 6 plus a Barnacle/canada cross. Can get to within 40yds of them with the dog on my walks round the Quags and they never take any notice.

John
http://kellingnaturegallery.fotopic.net/
 
More Ladies (cont. from #10678)

My friend, who lives in Sichuan, has seen over 40 in one day (well over 200 last year) and says they ‘hardly ever flush a bird’- ‘they’re nearly always road-walkers’.

He has rarely, in fact, seen them fly at all.

They almost invariably ‘scurry into the undergrowth’.
 
firstreesjohn said:
My friend, who lives in Sichuan, has seen over 40 in one day (well over 200 last year) and says they ‘hardly ever flush a bird’- ‘they’re nearly always road-walkers’.

He has rarely, in fact, seen them fly at all.

They almost invariably ‘scurry into the undergrowth’.
Click to expand...


Hmm, a fairly poor candidate for natural vagrancy then....
 
Titchwell January 6th

Today's highlights

Northern harrier - immature male east over fresh marsh @ 16:05
Water pipit - 1 on fresh marsh
Common scoter - 2000 offshore
Long-tailed duck - 4 offshore
Slavonian grebe - 3 offshore
Red-necked grebe - 1 offshore
Dark-bellied brent goose - 540 on fresh marsh
Scaup - female on fresh marsh
Twite - 1 on beach
Whooper swan - 1 in field by access road

Paul
 
Re: #10684

I agree, Andy.

Even with unprecedently sustained and strong easterlies, the likelihood of a 'natural' vagrant is infinitesimally low- it would take a lorra 'scurrying'.
 
stuart white said:
Also don't they (golden & Lady A's) fly horizontally away, if at all (more likely to skulk off) hence are much harder to shoot. I thought that was one of the reasons why they stopped releasing them back in the day. Unlike the less intelligent cousin that flies vertically upwards and is much easier to shoot !
Click to expand...
Absolutely: the reason why Lady Amerhurst has declined in the UK has sadly been in the main due to removal by gamekeepers. As you said they have an unfortunate tendancy to keep low when flying, if they indeed do get off the ground (in organised shoots this can obviously be very dangerous). The other reason often cited is to reduce the amount of birders encroaching on land for shooting.
 
Titchwell January 7th

Today's highlights

Great Northern diver - 1 offshore
Red necked grebe - 2 offshore
Slavonian grebe - 3 offshore
Long-tailed duck - 10 offshore
Snow bunting - 7 on beach
Twite - 17 on brackish marsh
Scaup - female on fresh marsh
Water pipit - 3 on fresh marsh
Bittern - 1 in flight over reedbed
Whooper swan - 1 in field by access road

Paul
 
Paul Eele said:
Today's highlights

Great Northern diver - 1 offshore
Red necked grebe - 2 offshore
Slavonian grebe - 3 offshore
Long-tailed duck - 10 offshore
Snow bunting - 7 on beach
Twite - 17 on brackish marsh
Scaup - female on fresh marsh
Water pipit - 3 on fresh marsh
Bittern - 1 in flight over reedbed
Whooper swan - 1 in field by access road

Paul
Click to expand...
That's a good selection Paul!:t:
 
Has anyone seen the female Scaup at Titchwell (Paul?) I was there yesterday and had a good scan but could only see a female/1st year type tufted duck...(or so I thought) It was slightly Scaup like but had the beginnings of a tuft. As I said I was probably looking at a different bird to the reported Scaup, but having seen reported Scaup's in the past turn into tufties I thought I'd check to see how gen this record is?
PS the sea really was that good yesterday a lot of the above in Pauls post were seen in 2-3 scans!
 
The Darling Buds of . . . January ? !

or, spring IS on its way

Having waited hours for the rain to stop, I finally emerged into an almost howling gale- well, not quite. It was unpleasantly cutting, though.

Gramboro’ was the site of the sight attached: two buds of willow.

Cley Beach Road had a male Stonechat.

Kelling Heath produced a ringtail Hen Harrier and a flyover Redpoll sp.
 

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Titchwell January 8th

Today's highlights

Iceland gull - 1 east towards Brancaster @ 14:00
Shorelark - 9 on beach east of boardwalk late afternoon
Mealy redpoll - 1 in alders by visitor centre
Twite - 53 on brackish marsh
Red-necked grebe - 2 offshore
Slavonian grebe - 2 offshore
Velvet scoter - 6 offshore
Waxwing - 8 west @ 11:20
Bittern - 1 from Fen Hide early afternoon
Scaup - female on fresh marsh
Spotted redshank - 2 on fresh marsh
Whooper swan - 1 in field by access road

Paul
 
ben_lewis said:
Has anyone seen the female Scaup at Titchwell (Paul?) I was there yesterday and had a good scan but could only see a female/1st year type tufted duck...(or so I thought) It was slightly Scaup like but had the beginnings of a tuft. As I said I was probably looking at a different bird to the reported Scaup, but having seen reported Scaup's in the past turn into tufties I thought I'd check to see how gen this record is?
PS the sea really was that good yesterday a lot of the above in Pauls post were seen in 2-3 scans!
Click to expand...

Hi Ben

There must a two-bird theory somewhere here!

There is a female scaup that has been present on the fresh marsh since Thursday morning. It has been feeding by itself at the back of the lagoon near the sluice. This morning there were 3 female tufties present and one of those does have some white on the face. These birds were with the pochard feeding on the south side of the lagoon and never went near the scaup.

If only it have been a couple of weeks ago as I needed it for my yearlist.

Paul
 
Cheers Paul, thought I'd better check.
Shame it didn't make it onto your list and congrats for getting the reserve record last year, I got to 206 in 2007 and that was just about every spare minute I had at Titchwell so you beat that by a fair bit! Hope to catch up with you next time i'm there.
 
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I had a 3rd year 'Herring' type Gull fly west past Happisburgh at noon today with an almost wholly dark tail; a very striking bird. It appeared very similar to the bird in the photo below as found on the 'Birds Ireland' website here. Click, scroll down a bit...

It was just a brief flypast but very interesting; one to keep an eye out for further up the coast.

James
 

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MEGA - MEGA 1st for Britain: Red-capped Coot

Many more buds are appearing at Gramboro’: spring is truly on its way.

I was unable to park in any of the car parks at Titchwell, as they were full. Hence, the entrance road was the alternative.

In addition to the well-advertised juicies, it gave good Sanderling (see pic). Half a dozen Siskins were above the picnic area. There were dozens of Goldeneye, too.

A few unusually-plumaged birds were advertised along the boardwalks: the Coot depicted, in addition to Wood Pigeon and
Gold(frankincenseandmyrrh?)finch.

I heard an interesting proposal this afternoon: that any records withheld (I would not use the term ‘suppressed’), without sufficient reason, should be deemed unworthy of submission to the BBRC- thus, rejected even before consideration.
 

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