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

Norfolk birding (15 Viewers)

In regards to the Lesser White Fronted Goose, it has no clear signs of being an escapee and is apparently very wary of humans. Some have suggested it is from some Dutch reintroduction scheme. I suppose the scepticism of the bird being truly wild is the time of year it has turned up. See these two posts for more info - http://birdsoftheheath.blogspot.com/2019/04/lesser-white-fronted-goose-at-potter.html and http://birdsoftheheath.blogspot.com/2019/04/lesser-white-fronted-goose-black-kite.html
 
Just a (very rare) post to say how much I enjoyed the Pensthorpe Bird and Wildlife Fair: reasonable entry (all the talks were free!) good, inexpensive food and plenty to see, do and spend money on! I'm hoping this will become an annual event.
(Pictures on blog)
 
North Point, Wells-next-the-sea

I keep seeing references to a scrape at North Point, Wells (mainly from Ms P. Clarke) but I have been unable to find out where it is. Googling didn't turn anything up and it doesn't seem to appear on any maps. Could somebody please tell me where it is?

Incidentally I have just returned from a week in Wells and experienced the Outlook visitor's centre at Holkham for the first time. I think it is a brilliant addition to the area. Really good sandwiches, drinks and, most important, toilets. We enjoyed sitting at our table while watching the Swallows nesting inside, above the windows. There was not a lot of action on the scrape while I was there but it made the walk beside the woods from Wells to Holkham even more enjoyable on a couple of hot, dusty days.

Ron
 
Hi Ron, it's a newly created complex of pools to the east of Wells at approximately TF 93188 43329. If you look on google maps, you can see the waterbodies on the aerial photography. I've not been since it's creation, but it sounds like an excellent area, viewable from the N.N. Coastal footpath. The small copse immediately to the north can be productive in autumn, a few years ago we found 2 YB and a Pallas's warbler in there, but it doesn't hold birds for long.

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks Daniel, that is really helpful. We did walk along the coastal path but didn't go far enough this time. Last year we walked quite a bit further and I think I know where the scrape is now. There were some waders there but I assumed that the area was just flooded. |=)| I will have a look the next time I am in the area.

Ron
 
Hard work in the relentless heat but a few bits to be found

26th August Wells to Stiffkey fen and back

Five Green Sandpiper on pools east of Wells town. Two Great White Egret, 17 Greenshank on saltmarsh. Five Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, two Whinchat, 6 Lesser Whitethroat along coastal footpath. 53 Spoonbill, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, 16 Greenshank Stiffkey Fen.

27th August

East Hills: Seven Pied Flycatcher, 11 Willow Warbler, five Whitethroat, Blackcap, three Whinchat. Four Green Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, two Pied Fly, Whinchat and Garden Warbler between Wells and main Warham Greens track. Four Pied Flycatcher Wells Woods and another calling behind Washington Hide, Holkham.

Apart from a few people looking around the pools on the east side of Wells town I didn't see a single other birder over the course of the two days!

David
 
What has this Kingfisher caught?

I was watching and photographing a Kingfisher in front of Fen Hide at Strumpshaw Fen today. When I looked at the photographs tonight I discovered that what I had assumed at the time was a fish, was actually something else and looks rather unpleasant. It appears to me to be some fishing tackle with vicious looking hooks on it. As shown in the second photo the bird managed to get rid of it and a few minutes later had caught something rather more tasty, so hopefully no harm was done.

Does anybody have any idea what it was that it caught? Surely there shouldn't be any fishing tackle in the water at Strumpshaw Fen.

Ron
 

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Just a heads up I have posted several Books with a Norfolk interest for sale in the for sale section of Birdforum which may take your interest.

On the birding front its shaping up to be one of the quietest autumns in East Anglia I can remember and no sign of it picking up any time soon.
 
Either can be good: Hickling itself (from the Bittern Hide) too. Area around Thurne can be productive...
 

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Ring Ouzel knocking around St Nicholas’ cemetery, Salthouse if anyone’s local. (About 5pm). Lots of vis mig especially Redwing but not much else.
 
Salthouse, NOA and 20 mins at Cley (before I got bored) - Abysmal day’s birding in wind and rain. Must have walked 10 miles - apart from a YBW at 7.30 this morning on my way up to the Heath, that was squabbling with a Goldcrest over breakfast, absolutely nothing else about other than some spectacular vis mig of Redwing, Mipits, Fieldfare and Starling - a few Sibe Chiffs around and the Jack Snipe at NOA still bouncing about - please, please may the East wind blow ������->E.
 
Hello all,

I'm a newby. We are lucky enough to have a place near Warham Greens & Stiffkey marshes, and I am hoping to learn a little bit more about the type of wildlife we can see in the area.

Welcome to Bird Forum! You're ideally situated to explore from there. A good indications of footpaths and rights of way is at http://maps.norfolk.gov.uk/highways/#

This facility has been updated, and so to zoom in, double-click a point on the map; a small window opens with a 'zoom' link on it and with that all the categories of roads and tracks (listed to the left of the screen, become interactive and appear). Previously, this feature operated as soon as you went to that map, and so it operated all the time. Now it operates only when you activate it as above.

That should give you your bearings, and I'm sure others on Bird Forum will add their recommendations!
MJB
 
So I was at Burgh Castle today and at around 12 a Great White Egret flew over the river into Halvergate. Have they got commoner lately or was I just lucky. (I confess I haven't been keeping up on birds - I keep getting blindsided by what's breeding here nowadays)
 
So I was at Burgh Castle today and at around 12 a Great White Egret flew over the river into Halvergate. Have they got commoner lately or was I just lucky. (I confess I haven't been keeping up on birds - I keep getting blindsided by what's breeding here nowadays)

They are pretty common nowadays but always nice to see :t:
 
They must be more common as even I have seen a few. Apparently one flies in to roost at Carlton Marshes most evenings. I don't know where it spends the day.

Ron
 

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