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

Norfolk birding (13 Viewers)

not sure that's quite how I'd have described it ;) stunning birds though.

http://www.blueskybirds.co.uk/pomskua.php

compared to the ugly brutishness of Bonxies, i'd say they look positively angelic, i had it dozing in the afternoon sun - it looked cute!

also had it eating some sort of duck - teal, have you seen any interesting behaviour, have you seen it catch anything? any unusual interaction with the other adult Pom?
 
http://www.blueskybirds.co.uk/pomskua.php

great photos, you can even see the pomarine bill -

Po´ma`rine
a. 1. (Zool.) Having the nostril covered with a scale.Pomarine jager

"pomarine jaeger" is from a combination of Greek and German words, "pomarine" meaning--believe it or not--a "horned nose" (having nothing to do with the distinctive spoon-shaped double tail of the bird which identifies it in the field but with a horny protrusion over the nostrils), and "jaeger" meaning "hunter" in German. Rhinocerous, by the way, is the opposite of pomarine, because it is Greek for "nose horn," and so the rhinocerous auklet is a seabird with a nose-horn!

"parasitic jaeger" comes from the way the birds hunt by robbing other birds, such as gulls. The name "skua" which is used by Europeans has a quite different origin, interestingly enough, from a Scandinavian word meaning "tassel," which apparently describes the peculiar tail feathers on all types of jaegers.

"phalarope" has a Greek origin from two words meaning "white-spotted" and "lobe-footed," and so it is a seabird that gets its name from its appearance, both the white on its neck or face and the lobed feet with which it swims.


some great photos (and impressive no's) on this site -

http://seawatchcgn.free.fr/
 
Titchwell on tuesday - still Little Auks going through and cashed in on the woodcock influx - 1 flying west was a seawatching tick. There definitely seems to be an influx at the moment - i read somewhere that there is such a thing as a woodcock moon - corresponds with the spring tide and they move when the moon is full, anyone know more about this - what stage is the moon at at the moment.

Still Little Auks going through today with 22 past Holme NOA. Also 6 Waxwings south there. I had 6 Woodcocks at Holme Saturday including 1 low west past and 3 in off-defo an influx with 10 overall that day and 6 still at Holme today.

I also had a ringtail hen Harrier go low south over the A149 at Titchwell RSPB on Sat.

Cheers,

Connor
 
compared to the ugly brutishness of Bonxies, i'd say they look positively angelic, i had it dozing in the afternoon sun - it looked cute!

also had it eating some sort of duck - teal, have you seen any interesting behaviour, have you seen it catch anything? any unusual interaction with the other adult Pom?

I guess so... I also watched it munching what looked to be a teal on Sunday, on Monday it was feeding on fish. Seemed to be making no effort to hunt, but then I guess the floods will have left plenty of food, which is no doubt why it's been hanging around. I've not seen any unusual behaviour, the only time the two were close together they both decided to have a kip (within two feet of each other). I'm hoping they stay another night as I'm planning to go back again in the morning, hopefully catch up with the purple sands at Salthouse too.
 
awesome birds

watching them scything through the winds at speed as they passed by close inshore at Eccles in good numbers has been one of the highlights of the year. And so close to home too! If I'd stood on the bed I'd have them on the garden list
 
Thanks for this Pom. Sadly, as I said, the only points I noted were the intermediate size and the fairly stumpy, yet pointed bill. Nothing else struck me as massively different from a Razorbill/Guilli/Little Auk in plumage as it flew away from me.

Not much more in it, I'm afraid. One of the pitfalls of still being such a mediocre at best birder :)

Jason


Hi Jason, the brunnich's went past at 11.55, so you can rest easyish, the two main ID features seem to be a mostly blackish head, some white on the throat but at range this appears dark, also the feet extend past the tail (as in guilli), and very clean plumage i think if you had a good view you'd be thinking why is there a summer plumage bird going past - the main confusion (apparently) is 1st win Razorbill, its pretty similar in size to the two common auks.

As i say the bird was Id'ed by one of the top birders in Norfolk and only on pager as a probable because noone else saw it.

However it could have been sitting on the sea so do any of these points ring a bell!?
 
Last few days have produced a flock of c32 Twite at Morston Quay, 1 Short Eared Owl mobbing one of 2 Marsh Harriers on Blakeney Point, along with 2 Merlins, several Little Auks, including quite a few rogue landward birds buzzing past, c9 Snow Bunts on the point and large groups of Eider along the coast.

No better place to be working than the Norfolk coast

Jason
 
I am coming over to your neck of the woods this weekend. I see that 2 Lapland Buntings are being see between Salthouse Beach Car park and Little Eye. I know where the Beach car park is, but where is Little Eye. Is it one of the small pools out in front of the Dun Cow ?

I see that a flock of Twite have been seen at Morston Quay. Is this a good spot for them. Is there anywhere else better ?

Finally the Pom Skua is commuting between Salthouse and Whalsey Hills NOA. Where is Whalsey Hills NOA ?

Sorry if I am asking a lot but I only have 2 days on your patch and would like to see as much as possible.

Hopefully I may see some of you about
 
Trip to NWT Cley yesterday. Nearly ran over a Little Auk coming in to Stiffkey around noon. Turned the car around and had a good look at it resting on the gravel "beach". It seemed as interested in me as I was in it. Eventually it took off along the road and went through the hedge about 3 inches off the ground with its little legs still trailing. Happy ending as far as I know and I didn't get run over either!

Chose to ignore the marshes and walked inland by Walsey Hills on a circular route. Nothing much to report from my inexperienced eye except loads of blackbirds in the hedges, lapwings on the fields, a jay and a barn owl hunting low over sugar beet next to Lavender Hill.

Finally confirmed the chocolate and hazelnut cake was tasty too after Penny's report on the Plum cake.
 
I am coming over to your neck of the woods this weekend. I see that 2 Lapland Buntings are being see between Salthouse Beach Car park and Little Eye. I know where the Beach car park is, but where is Little Eye. Is it one of the small pools out in front of the Dun Cow ?

I see that a flock of Twite have been seen at Morston Quay. Is this a good spot for them. Is there anywhere else better ?

Finally the Pom Skua is commuting between Salthouse and Whalsey Hills NOA. Where is Whalsey Hills NOA ?

Sorry if I am asking a lot but I only have 2 days on your patch and would like to see as much as possible.

Hopefully I may see some of you about

Little Eye is the small hill west of the beach car park, though today the Laplands were seen in the opposite direction from the car park.

Walsey Hills is the NOA site by the coast road, it's almost opposite the end of Cley east bank. Today the pom was easiest from the beach road at Salthouse, it is fairly mobile so keep your eye open. It's worth scanning any of the fields as it seems to spend a fair bit of time resting.
 
also had it eating some sort of duck - teal, have you seen any interesting behaviour, have you seen it catch anything? any unusual interaction with the other adult Pom?

Well today I finally saw it catch something... a not very healthy looking common gull. It spent about 20 minutes battling with it, and then only fed for a couple of minutes.
 

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Had the American Golden Plover at Waxham today. It was in the field directly next to Bogrove farm with Eurasian Golden plover flock. Good clear scope views where had and I'm as positive as anyone can be that it was the Yank bird. Several snipe also in the same field along with three Ruff . Woodcock seen in the field opposite the old church.
Also had fantastic views of the Penduline tits at Walberswick on Wednesday. I know it's in Suffolk not Norfolk but not a million miles away from me as I live on the Norfolk/ Suffolk border.
Happy birding
Alan
 
Well today I finally saw it catch something... a not very healthy looking common gull. It spent about 20 minutes battling with it, and then only fed for a couple of minutes.

Hi Postcard CV,
Very interesting, what was the method of capture, was the C.Gull already on the deck ? & how did it kill it, was it budgeoned with the bill. I assume that normally they drown their prey at sea. On Sunday i noted that the Pom fed mostly sat down (as it would at sea, whilst floating on the water?)
Rob.
 
Hi Postcard CV,
Very interesting, what was the method of capture, was the C.Gull already on the deck ? & how did it kill it, was it budgeoned with the bill. I assume that normally they drown their prey at sea. On Sunday i noted that the Pom fed mostly sat down (as it would at sea, whilst floating on the water?)
Rob.

Although I didn't actually see the attack start, but the common gull had been sitting on the deck looking unhealthy about half an hour earlier. So I'd guess that the skua noticed this and dropped on it. It just pecked and bashed until the gull gave up.
 
Although I didn't actually see the attack start, but the common gull had been sitting on the deck looking unhealthy about half an hour earlier. So I'd guess that the skua noticed this and dropped on it. It just pecked and bashed until the gull gave up.

Awesome pictures on your website of Pom Skua:t:

Best Wishes Penny:girl:
 
Well today I finally saw it catch something... a not very healthy looking common gull. It spent about 20 minutes battling with it, and then only fed for a couple of minutes.

amazing photo with the Pom, i had it eating a big fish and covered in blood and guts, so shows that it does stay true to its normal diet of fish rather than gull!

seawatching was still good on Thursday even though winds have now dropped, fair no's of eider and quite a few goldeneye passing distantly at Sheringham also about a dozen little auks and a slav grebe which has been pretty scarce off there this autumn.

on Wednesday at Sheringham (i was not there) the 5th largest movement for norfolk in terms of no's of birds was recorded off sheringham, with 14 species of duck and big no's of Brents and Eider.
 
4 Cranes this morning on way to work btw Sea Palling and Waxham

no sign of any GPs. Has anyone seen this AGP well enough yet? Axillaries or wing-tip etc?. There have been a few belated reports of 'probable' or 'reported' AGP? Edit: juvenile at Brograve again earlier... although not shortly after... neither myself nor the other chap who works the area heavily have had sight or sound of it yet despite looking hard. I will give it a good go tomorrow morning though...
 
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Sorry if I am asking a lot but I only have 2 days on your patch and would like to see as much as possible.

Hopefully I may see some of you about

Hi darren another site worth going is warham greens for the hen harrier roost, i know theres been at least 1 ringtail and a male there recently, its further on towards Wells than morston down a dirt track north off A149. You can quite often get them flying in infront of masses of pink foots against the backdrop of the saltmarsh. Good luck

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.s...orfolk+&searchp=newsearch.srf&mapp=newmap.srf
 

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