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

Norfolk birding (49 Viewers)

Had to walk to work again today - when I got home this evening I spent 20 minutes clearing all the snow off the car - just looked out of the window - why did I bother!!!!! Its all thick snow again - its snowing AGAIN!:eek!: - ok its really pretty, picturesque etc etc BUT I NEED to get the car out PLEASE and want to do some coastal birding at the weekend and the way the weather is going I will be spending Christmas Day on my own:-C There is no way the roads around here will be clear enough to get the car out by Friday if it doesn't start melting soon - it certainly won't be melting in the morning if the temperature now is anything to go by - I am sitting in my centrally heated house with a scarf wrapped round my neck - its chilly even with the heating on! Roll on springtime!:t:
 
Paul Eele said:
Today's highlights

Common buzzard - 1 west over reserve, 1 roosting near dead trees this evening
Hen harrier - ringtail hunting over saltmarsh during the day and roosted in reedbed this evening
Peregrine - 1 hunting over saltmarsh
Water rail - 4 in ditches by bird feeders
Snipe - 20 feeding in ditches by feeders
Woodcock - at least 6 feeding in scrub around the visitor centre
Twite - 8 on brackish marsh
Great Northern diver - 2 offshore

Last post of the year from me for Titchwell as I am on my hols now.

Hope you all have a good Christmas and a bird-filled 2010.

Paul
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Thanks for the updates Paul. Merry Christmas to all on the Norfolk thread.
Most of my recent exploits have been south of the border; do not fear, an abandoned strip of coast somewhere in the east will be tapped up before long....
Cheers,
Jim.
 
Merry Christmas

& A Happy New Year to you all
​


Thanks to everyone for all the updates, advice, pictures, banter etc on here!:t:

GOOD BIRDING IN 2010;):t:​


Best Wishes Penny:girl:​
 
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Blakeney Resident said:
thanks Paul for keeping us updated throughout the year,

cracking day at Titchwell today, the area around the visitors centre was really busy with Water Rail constantly on view, Woodock crunching about it in the snow and Snipe trying to get to the ditches which seemed to be one of the few sources of open water + the LEO may still be about - was in Ivy just off the main footpath yest. Lots of Skylark, Lapwing and Snipe on the move over the beach. The Hen Harrier was really beautiful against the snowy saltmarsh, underwing gleaming in the afternoon light. Lots of starfish on the beach including quite a few sunstars and an unIDed 11 starred one. Probably one of the view days of the year could walk the entire boardwalk without seeing a single other person.

Missed the bus home so currently on the voddie and orange howling like a Red Indian on Ringwood Downs in my Speedos, no Owls yet but getting a bit scared of the sheep.
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Suggest you move to V&T remember it goes up in January.

POP
 
Frootshoot said:
Today at 5:47pm the Earth's tilt reached 23° 26' at which point it began moving back the other way. This point marked our furthest distance from the Sun during the year which means that... SPRING IS COMING!!! :-O

There are Snipe in good numbers over my way too and a Woodcock was flying out to fields about an hour before dusk at Lessingham today. I've also seen 2 Jack Snipe in with a wisp of Snipe here recently but haven't had a proper chance to seek them out since. I was rather surprised as I thought they were mostly solitary birds and when flushed never fly far; these were actually flying around as part of the Snipe flock. Has anyone else noted them in flight with a flock of Snipe?

James
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Yes James I had a Jack Snipe on Sunday at The Forge or is it The Lodge anyway on the West side of Happisburgh at the Church Road junction. It was in a field that had a mix of Lapwing, Golden Plover and around 50 Snipe.

Gary
 
Frootshoot said:
Today at 5:47pm the Earth's tilt reached 23° 26' at which point it began moving back the other way. This point marked our furthest distance from the Sun during the year which means that... SPRING IS COMING!!! :-O
Click to expand...

To be tediously pedantic we are approaching our closest distance to the sun (perihelion), which currently happens about 2 weeks after the northern winter solstice. It's the tilt away from the sun that makes it colder in winter not the distance from it.

Days are getting longer though - tomorrow will be 8 seconds longer than today :t:
 
PYRTLE said:
Oh no, they'll be dancing with no kit on around a fire near Ringstead Downs tonight, wailing gobbledeegook to the spirits of the wood and quaffing cheap red wine. Hope they don't frighten the owls.
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Darn, I thought my secret was safe. All welcome, especially if they bring booze and mince pies.
 
Brian Stone said:
To be tediously pedantic we are approaching our closest distance to the sun (perihelion), which currently happens about 2 weeks after the northern winter solstice. It's the tilt away from the sun that makes it colder in winter not the distance from it.

Days are getting longer though - tomorrow will be 8 seconds longer than today :t:
Click to expand...

I'll be even more pedantic and boring. The day is the same length, the daylight is increasing. Yet to decide what I shall do with those extra 8 secs of daylight.
 
I thought I would spend a tide on the North Coast yesterday and it was a cracker. Clear bright sunshine and the snow making everything look so much brighter than normal. It was very cold as I crept down a gutter to the main creek only disturbing a pair of redshank. I set up a small hide below the marsh top in the side of the main creek just as the tide started to drop. In a short while a mix of dunlin , redshank and curlews gathered very close to me. It was great watching the curlew feeding within a few feet of me , mainly taking ragworm and small shellfish. There were jack snipe everywhere , perhaps 20 of them, sometimes fliting across the creek and at others landing on the saltmarsh close by. Some brent joined them along with a dozen teal , the drakes looking stunning in their winter plumage. More and more brents came in to the creek until there was at least 500 within 30 yards of me with some coming so close that they saw me or rather the outline of me behind the hide and wary swum off a few yards , but never panicked. Then a succession of pinks started to fly overhead along with a couple of small parties of white fronts. For over an hour the geese came past , I guessed they were moving up from the Broads. As the tide drained out of the creek in came the wigeon … about 100 along with a couple of stunning drake pintail , a goldeneye and my first scaup of the year. Red necked grebe and lots of little grebes fished the declining pools , with a small group of little egrets.

After an hour I saw someone else walking down the bottom of the main creek 400 yards off. A wildfowler. He set up a hide like mine and kept out of sight . He did have a few shots at the duck , but they just swirled around and resettled a few hundred yards further off. The birds in front of me never moved.

The whole 5 hours I spent in the hide the draining creek was alive with birds all feeding or resting with no idea I was so close to them. There were rock and water pipits too and just above my head on the marsh top 42 snow buntings. It was spell binding , that was until a couple of birders in dark clothing wandered across the marsh top putting everything to flight. Why o why do people have to walk along the top of the sea walls and marsh top when you will get so much closer to the birds if you creep down the creeks out of sight. They stood frightening everything off for 500 yards in full view and had no idea I was there only 50 feet from them. Having done their damage at a time when feeding time is so important to wetland birds they wandered off back to the top of the sea wall and stood in full view of everything deterring most birds from coming back.

Finally they left and after a long wait a few birds started to return. Perhaps the best part of the day was when I squeaked a hen harrier within 10 feet of the hide . I dare not move , it was so close. As the light started to go I carefully packed up the hide and crept back up the side creek and made my home along the bottom of the sea wall , privileged to have been witness to the activities of so many birds that never knew I was there.
 
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Tideliner said:
I thought I would spend a tide on the North Coast yesterday and it was a cracker. Clear bright sunshine and the snow making everything look so much brighter than normal. It was very cold as I crept down a gutter to the main creek only disturbing a pair of redshank. I set up a small hide below the marsh top in the side of the main creek just as the tide started to drop. In a short while a mix of dunlin , redshank and curlews gathered very close to me. It was great watching the curlew feeding within a few feet of me , mainly taking ragworm and small shellfish. There were jack snipe everywhere , perhaps 20 of them, sometimes fliting across the creek and at others landing on the saltmarsh close by. Some brent joined them along with a dozen teal , the drakes looking stunning in their winter plumage. More and more brents came in to the creek until there was at least 500 within 30 yards of me with some coming so close that they saw me or rather the outline of me behind the hide and wary swum off a few yards , but never panicked. Then a succession of pinks started to fly overhead along with a couple of small parties of white fronts. For over an hour the geese came past , I guessed they were moving up from the Broads. As the tide drained out of the creek in came the wigeon … about 100 along with a couple of stunning drake pintail , a goldeneye and my first scaup of the year. Red necked grebe and lots of little grebes fished the declining pools , with a small group of little egrets.

After an hour I saw someone else walking down the bottom of the main creek 400 yards off. A wildfowler. He set up a hide like mine and kept out of sight . He did have a few shots at the duck , but they just swirled around and resettled a few hundred yards further off. The birds in front of me never moved.

The whole 5 hours I spent in the hide the draining creek was alive with birds all feeding or resting with no idea I was so close to them. There were rock and water pipits too and just above my head on the marsh top 42 snow buntings. It was spell binding,

Perhaps the best part of the day was when I squeaked a hen harrier within 10 feet of the hide . I dare not move , it was so close. As the light started to go I carefully packed up the hide and crept back up the side creek and made my home along the bottom of the sea wall , privileged to have been witness to the activities of so many birds that never knew I was there.
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Beautifully written and very evocative! I envy your patience and blood circulation. I'd love to hear more like this!
 
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Managed to get out one more time before Christmas. Stu's gonna regret he never checked Holkham Lake because I saw not an awful lot, a huge roost of Gulls, a few Poachard (still going) and Tufties. In the woods a party of Treecreepers and 2 Woodcock. The Gap was teeming with birds mostly Skylarks that have congregated in the last few days, around 8 Snow Bunting, Rock and Meadow Pipit, Goldfinches in big flocks. Someone i spoke to had earlier seen 9 Shorelark and 4 Twite. The real prize was putting up a Jack Snipe that then landed and allowed me to have scope views as it crouched motionless in the snowy tussocks. Was extremely chuffed as it is a bird i see on a surprisingly infrequent basis. After a murky morning was able to enjoy a really sunny afternoon and feeling nostalgic for what has personally been a glorious years birding, rounded off the day with a pair of Long-tailed Ducks on the sea, another Woodcock in the Dell and 2 Goldeneye on the boating lake and finally two Barn Owls together at Stiffkey Fen.

Thats it for me, I'm working until after Christmas now so Happy Christmas all BFers and good luck and good birds for the New Year : - )
 
Dint See It said:
How do? I'm a yorkie + i'm prob gunna visit norfolk in a week or 2, could anyone advise on where to see crane at this time of year
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Your best bet would probably be to go to Stubb Mill (near Hickling Broad NWT reserve) in the afternoon, where there is a viewing platform. The cranes are usually visible briefly as they fly in to roost. There are large numbers of Marsh Harriers and other stuff to occupy you until they arrive. Other than that, anywhere along the coast between Waxham and Horsey can lead to sightings.

Blakeney Resident said:
Thats it for me, I'm working until after Christmas now so Happy Christmas all BFers and good luck and good birds for the New Year : - )
Click to expand...

Have a good Christmas, and roll on the new year!
 

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