Norfolk birding (44 Viewers)

jimmyg said:

It doesn't seem like it sometimes!!!!!!!:-O

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:-O:-O:-O:-O:-O...... nearly ALL Sundays I work 11 1/2 hours ASWELL as working 37 1/2 hours in the week Mr Jimmyg posting shortly with MASSIVE bird list

My 'little break' got extended into..... well, I have just got home 9.30pm!!!!!

Went to Lynn Point and very lazily viewed horse paddocks from car and saw nothing. Parked the car at the end and passed a birder on his own who later introduced himself as Steve (friend of Ashley Banwell). I asked him if he had seen the ring ouzel to which he replied he had, about half an hour ago, he was then going back to the horse paddock and if he saw it again 'he would give me a shout'. I carried onto the 'point' and could see several avocets on the tide line, greylags and a huge flock of brent geese came and landed on the marsh. There were also several shelduck and a seal was watching me. I then decided to walk through the gate area (east of where you park your car) and walk along the seabank which also follows a deep tree/bush lined ditch. I could hear a chiffchaff singing and also several meadow pipits flying about and a couple of robins. I walked a long way round, beyond where I ever walked before and found a pool area at the end and also what looked like a very inviting path which was lined with beeches and pines etc - I walked through this and flushed 2 jays and also very close to me after 'pishing' 2 blue tits and a chiffchaff. Behind this area was a large concrete area where I watched a female marsh harrier over the fields and a little egret flew out of a ditch. Several carrion crows flying about and on the way back a yellow wagtail went over. Two new year ticks: several house martins and sand martins flew over! A pair of red leg partridge exploded from a ditch. As I almost got back to the car 'Steve' very, very kindly had come to look for me:t: to say he had seen the Ring ouzel again! So I followed him back in my car to horse paddock. Now I know why I didn't see it before, serves me right for being lazy - it was tucked down in the dip - the horse paddocks slope back very steeply to a tree lined fence. While we stood there (in the rain now!) waiting for it to appear 2 birders from Briston turned up who had been to Eyebrook reservoir to see green winged teal and a whole list of raptors they had seen including black and red kite and osprey etc etc, it sounded an impressive list! Anyway someone suddenely spotted the stunning male Ring Ouzel sitting in a bush next to the fence, shortly after that it bounded down into the paddock:t: 2 whimbrel flew over calling. Left here (crap road for your car, very pot holey, just had tracking down on car!) and I stopped in the docks area to views the gulls and Steve had parked just ahead of me and came back to say the peregrine was sat on a railing on the grain silo (3.05)!

Arrived 'sunny hunny' (Hunstanton) to Vegas and bought a bag of chips and then went and parked by the cafe and bowling green on cliff tops. Blackbird in the bush by the 'viewing scope' by cafe and on the beach I counted 16 turnstones, 5 redshanks, several oystercatchers, a flock of brents on the sea close in and of course fulmars and pigeons on the cliffs and lots of dogs and owners.

Next stop was the lighthouse, which I VERY rarely go to, basically because you have to pay to park! I cheated and drove through right to the end past the cafe and went for a quick scan without getting a ticket! Followed the little path through the bushes and pines (boiling hot and sunny now) and 'pished' out a chiffchaff. I didn't walk far along the beach huts as I wanted to get to Holme to see the Red Crested Pochards (ha ha). I wish now that I had because I bumped into someone later who said they had seen a black redstart there earlier in the day!!!

Arrived Holme about 4pmish and on the way down the Firs road there were 7 magpies all in one tree! Pausing at Redwell marsh I could see swallows and house martins over the marsh. Did not see the red crested pochards, apparently they went west at 2pmish (morning is best obviously!). So I went down the NWT wader pools to see if they were hiding there - nothing but did see the pair of Med. gulls again amongst hundreds of black headed gulls which I counted later on and a barn owl was hunting over the marsh. Walked up past the Firs and by the NOA entrance a flock of goldfinches sat in the tree with a chiffchaff. Went through to HBO and saw 2 bramblings sitting on the sycamore tree in front of observatory. At the far end of the broad water the pair of Ruddy Duck were enjoying the evening sunshine. Walked back through the pines and all up the NWT Forestry, but only found 3 chiffchaffs and a wren and a couple of hedge sparrows.

Walked back to car and then counted the black headed gulls, I got to 300 and then got in a muddle!!! but I estimated maybe between 400 and 500 sitting on the scrape opposite the Firs! along with a cormorant on the fence. I then drove up to Redwell Marsh. A song thrush sat on the wire and from the hide I saw 2 pied wags on wires, 1 gadwall, 1 heron, 1 snipe, shoveler, tufted duck and 1 redshank along with the usual coots and moorhens. I noticed someone had written in the log book that they had seen a green sandpiper today! Popped into mother's for cheese scones and father gave me a picture that he had dug out which I had completely forgotton about - a painting of a green woodpecker that I had done as a birthday card for him when I was 17!!! (I was at art college then).

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

Glad you saw the Ring Ouzel Penny. That pager will have you zipping all over the place
Sue

Penny Clarke said:

:-O:-O:-O:-O:-O...... nearly ALL Sundays I work 11 1/2 hours ASWELL as working 37 1/2 hours in the week Mr Jimmyg posting shortly with MASSIVE bird list

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Owned!:t:

Glad you had a great break

Simeon saw a Crane on the way to school today - he was sitting 3 seats away from me, but did he tell me? Fat chance! Knowing me I would have missed it anyway, but it would have been nice of him to tell me!!!!!!!!!

ACTUALLY Penny, I just realised that I work 6 hours per day plus homework, adding up to 40+ hours a week. And I don't even get paid! In fact, I have to pay!

Life is meanB

Its a good thing we have birds to cheer us up. And periodically make us want to cry and shoot them.:t:

Something that maybe of more interest to Norfolk birders in general that I was thinking about today is the Sandringham Golden Pheasant population. Apparently they are all hybrids, but in Biology today I was taught that hybrids are sterile because they have parents from different species so homologous chromosomes can't pair up (because they have random chromosomes instead of pairs) and therefore meiosis cannot occur so no gametes (egg/sperm) are formed. A hybrid can become fertile if polyploidy occurs (doubling of chromosomes), but this only happens in plants - or so I was told, hence all animal hybrids should be sterile.

If this is the case, how on earth are there any Golden Pheasants left in Sandringham - they should have died out years ago? Unless of course they are not hybrids. Or Golden Pheasants live for thousands of years. Or Connor has been systematically replacing the population from stock bred in his bedroom.

If anybody has any info/thoughts on this it would be extremely interesting (to me at any rate!). Thanks!

MICK SAUNT said:

Conditions still not looking brilliant but you never know - will be on Incleborough Saturday so might see you there. I think best chance for something decent more likely to be wintering stuff moving out like peregrine, hen harrier or rough-leg although there still appear to be a sprinkling of red kites about.

Interesting to see some of the views on the black kite(s?) during the week. Don't see any problem with the timing (there are a sprinkling of records of black kite in late march/early april in Britain) but some of the other evidence points the finger at the wire-jumpers from London Zoo (assuming the know facts on the 'great escape' are correct).

Firstly, there appears to have been a multiple occurrence with at least two and possibly three birds in Norfolk/Suffolk. Usually such multiple occurrences are invariably linked to periods where there has been a warm southerly airstream (usually in May) and unless I've missed something here in central Norfolk I don't think that has been happening of late. Also, the fact that the bird was tracked along the coast does not necessarily prove credentials for a wild bird - over the years a number of obvious escapes have been tracked moving along the coast including Crested Caracara and Turkey Vulture. Ultimately, though, we shall never really know and that what makes birding so interesting!

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Yes looking at it objectively i think these black kites seem more likely to be escapes but i don't think the situation is totally straightforward.

Firstly i happy that the bird at Burnham Overy - which could have been either of the birds that were seen simultaneously earlier at Barns Drift and The Point was an adult, fairly uniform unstreaked underparts, quite neat upperwing coverts with no paler edging to any of the upperwing feathers, a well defined tail were features i could remember. On the rare bird forum there is a thread about Black Kites and some chaps girlfriend works at London Zoo and all the escapees were meant to be adults and apparently at least ten years old.
. As you say Mick, weather was good for passage and they became apparent as they were tracked along the coast. For them to be lingering seems unusual as all Blacks are usually seen once and never again and most up to about 1998 seem to have occured in May, so earlish April although not unfounded is unusual.

I think the only thing that seem to confuse matters is the events of last year. In May a Black was again tracked along the coast and lingered for a number of days around Burnham, there were then sporadic reports in the Holkham areathrough the summer there was then a long stayer at Nocton Fen and even a photo on Srfbirds taken in Lincs of a possible hybrid Black/Red.

I think it shouldn't be ruled out that we could have had returning birds although i think this is a lot less likely than escape theory.

it is what makes birding interesting, and i am enjoying how these slightly farcical Pythonese events are unfolding, apparently at the Zoo they knew there was a hole but didn't fix it and not only the Kites but a bunch of Gyrs and other 'exotics' snuck out. the only frustrating thing is there is bound to be a genuine Black sometime this spring but can probably kiss goodbye to it being accepted by the committee, flippin London Zoo!

We had the Red Kite over Incleborough yesterday, Steve (who had another cracking bird today but Matt G will probably tell that tale) picked it up again directly over our heads, higher than the last one going directly east and we last saw it just South of Cromer, was the only large raptor we had in 3 hours, so no passage to speak of, as a mate said an example of 'local fluttering'. Sheringham has been good last few days with White and Yellow Wags, Ring Ouzel hopping about near my bike (missed as i was too busy looking at the sky), Gropper this morning and a few Wheatears. Easterlies later this week from Weds are they any good. - they are quite a rare wind.

pomskua said:

Easterlies later this week from Weds are they any good. - they are quite a rare wind.

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In general terms they have to be better than south-westerlies! PLEASE!!!

Dont they generally bring in Red Kites as well?

Connor

Connor Rand said:

In general terms they have to be better than south-westerlies! PLEASE!!!

Dont they generally bring in Red Kites as well?

Connor

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Maybe they might bring a few 'exotics' in

Strong Easterlies on Thursday and Friday with rain! Maybe something for the weekend...! :t: Good luck everyone!

Sue - Ive PMed you about a trip to Blakeney.

I saw a Common Crane this morning!:eek!: It was standing alone in a field just outside Emneth (near Wisbech) when I went past it on the school bus (hehehe)!!! So school does have its good points...mind you, it wasn't even a year tick after those 5 at Holme!!!

pomskua said:

Yes looking at it objectively i think these black kites seem more likely to be escapes but i don't think the situation is totally straightforward.

Firstly i happy that the bird at Burnham Overy - which could have been either of the birds that were seen simultaneously earlier at Barns Drift and The Point was an adult, fairly uniform unstreaked underparts, quite neat upperwing coverts with no paler edging to any of the upperwing feathers, a well defined tail were features i could remember. On the rare bird forum there is a thread about Black Kites and some chaps girlfriend works at London Zoo and all the escapees were meant to be adults and apparently at least ten years old.
. As you say Mick, weather was good for passage and they became apparent as they were tracked along the coast. For them to be lingering seems unusual as all Blacks are usually seen once and never again and most up to about 1998 seem to have occured in May, so earlish April although not unfounded is unusual.

I think the only thing that seem to confuse matters is the events of last year. In May a Black was again tracked along the coast and lingered for a number of days around Burnham, there were then sporadic reports in the Holkham areathrough the summer there was then a long stayer at Nocton Fen and even a photo on Srfbirds taken in Lincs of a possible hybrid Black/Red.

I think it shouldn't be ruled out that we could have had returning birds although i think this is a lot less likely than escape theory.

it is what makes birding interesting, and i am enjoying how these slightly farcical Pythonese events are unfolding, apparently at the Zoo they knew there was a hole but didn't fix it and not only the Kites but a bunch of Gyrs and other 'exotics' snuck out. the only frustrating thing is there is bound to be a genuine Black sometime this spring but can probably kiss goodbye to it being accepted by the committee, flippin London Zoo!

We had the Red Kite over Incleborough yesterday, Steve (who had another cracking bird today but Matt G will probably tell that tale) picked it up again directly over our heads, higher than the last one going directly east and we last saw it just South of Cromer, was the only large raptor we had in 3 hours, so no passage to speak of, as a mate said an example of 'local fluttering'. Sheringham has been good last few days with White and Yellow Wags, Ring Ouzel hopping about near my bike (missed as i was too busy looking at the sky), Gropper this morning and a few Wheatears. Easterlies later this week from Weds are they any good. - they are quite a rare wind.

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Good to see another red kite chalked up for Incleborough although nothing like that in five hours on the Saturday - in fact no large raptors at all and that was with two extra pairs of eyes in the shape of Paul Lee and Rose Votier who were also there most of the time.
They were back there today (Monday) and could only manage a single marsh harrier in four hours so still no sign of real movement.
Weather looks to go downhill later in the week with a huge band of wet weather way to the south so not a lot of large raptors will make the move through that. Best we can hope for is a bit of an influx of red kites which are already well north of the system as they often seem to arrive on the back of a bit of easterly.

mr.sim said:

I saw a Common Crane this morning!:eek!: It was standing alone in a field just outside Emneth (near Wisbech) when I went past it on the school bus (hehehe)!!! So school does have its good points...mind you, it wasn't even a year tick after those 5 at Holme!!!

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I assume this bird was in Norfolk (and not over the near-by border of Cambridgeshire, as has been reported on some bird services)?

Yes it was in Norfolk. Emneth is just into Norfolk, but Wisbech is on the border.

jimmyg said:

Owned!:t:

Glad you had a great break

Simeon saw a Crane on the way to school today - he was sitting 3 seats away from me, but did he tell me? Fat chance! Knowing me I would have missed it anyway, but it would have been nice of him to tell me!!!!!!!!!

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He didn't tell you!!!!!!!!!!!! Lovely little bruv!!!!!!:eek!:

jimmyg said:

ACTUALLY Penny, I just realised that I work 6 hours per day plus homework, adding up to 40+ hours a week. And I don't even get paid! In fact, I have to pay!

Life is meanB

Its a good thing we have birds to cheer us up. And periodically make us want to cry and shoot them.:t:

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When you DO get paid James, it all goes on mortgage and bills etc, so you won't have any anyway!!!!!!!, so yes it is 'a good job we have birds to cheer us up':t:

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

SueBryan said:

Glad you saw the Ring Ouzel Penny. That pager will have you zipping all over the place
Sue

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Thanks Sue. Hmmmmm...... yes it thats what I am looking forward too!!!!!!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

pomskua said:

We had the Red Kite over Incleborough yesterday, Steve (who had another cracking bird today but Matt G will probably tell that tale)

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The Green winged Teal at Martham Broad?

It was a nice find (I would have walked straight past it!!) especialy as it was in the company of only a couple of other dozen Common Teal!!

....or did you mean cracking views of the Eels foot pub Hawfinch!!o

Matt

Where the hell is this Hawfinch and is it still about? Any chance to get a good view of this species is not to be sneezed at.

The Hawfinch is well worth a look as it shows very well, although can go missing for a good hour at a time.

The Eels Foot pub is signposted from the A149 just before you leave Rollesby towards Ormesby (heading towards Great Yarmouth) on the right-hand side. Follow the short track to the pub and park in the carpark. If you then look back up the track from the carpark there is a line of trees/bushes immediately on your right and then another line of trees/bushes a bit further right with grass in between the two. The Hawfinch goes between these two lines of trees/bushes and is often feeding on the ground. The further right trees have a green box at the far end of them and the bird tended to favour that area when I was there, but it did spend time on both sides

The whole time I was stood by my car which was in the carpark, while the pub's handy for a nice drink. My daughter, who's 6, even managed to get on the bird with my bins!

I think I'll try again this eve if I've got time...

Chris

Should've added that the Hawfinch is still there today, per RBA.

Chris