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

Norfolk birding (19 Viewers)

Would have been at Incleborough Pomskua but I like Dotterels too much! While there is surely no doubt some of the birds in Britain are wild, surely birds are moving between Suffolk and Norfolk (eg. see birdguides for a pic of a Black Kite Norfolk by Andrew Easton that has been identified as a bird previously in Suffolk) and all/the vast majority are likely escapes, especially considering the presence of the Black-eared Kite...

Connor
 
Superb day out in East Norfolk. Due to the demands of my course (pgce) I havent been out as much as I like to, but after seeing the Lark last week I was determined to head out and find my own birds this weekend.

Started off in Sea Palling. 10 Whimbrel in a field made for a good start. Decided to try some horse paddocks in the village; had a black redstart here a couple of weeks ago. I was in luck- yellow wagtails in abundance! Fascinating variations in plumage, and one certainly appeared to be of the Blue Headed variety but then im no expert. The 2 guys who were there before me certainly were though, cheers for the advice. Can anyone offer anything as to the races of these birds? I believe there may have been a siberian one in there too.

Onto Waxham. A scan of a scrubby area of farmland revealed 2 chineese water deer. A walk amongst the dunes produced both lesser whitethroat and whitethroat, willow warblers in full song and my first house martins of the year in amomgst the swallows.
5 cranes were circling the carpark at Horsey.

Last stop was Happisburgh. Parked up (Wheater nearby) and headed to the paddocks. A brambling was a nice find in a mixed finch flock. Furthermore, 3 yellow wagtails- again, possible blue headed. Obvious white super even at a distance. One white wagtail also. 4 sandmartins were around the cliffs, and 2 sandwich terns jostled at sea. Superb stuff!

nothing groundbreaking I know, but a great day out and a great mix of species.
Cheers,
Jim.
 
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firstreesjohn said:
Female Grey-headed Wagtail in field east of Beeston Regis church this morning, with c20 Yellows, until spooked by Sprawk and cleared by canine. This, and the cricket pitch immediately to the south of the church, are currently looking good for flavas. There were 5 White Wagtails on the latter, 'til evening. Wheatear near waggies and Lesser Whitethroat singing in area.
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Well done on finding the Grey-headed wagtail “firstreesjohn”. Went out birding with Tim this weekend and we also had a wagtail bonanza.

Also found a Hoopoe and a Black Kite. Details on my website.
 
jimbob said:
The 2 guys who were there before me certainly were though, cheers for the advice. Can anyone offer anything as to the races of these birds? I believe there may have been a siberian one in there too.
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Hi Jim

The Sea Palling paddocks at various times in the day had four Blue-headed wagtails (M. f. flava) in it and there were several others around in east Norfolk, so the other you thought was this, is quite likely to have been. These originate from mainland Europe. There was also one very pale headed one, which superficially resembled Sykes's Wagtail (M. f. beema), which breeds near the Caspian Sea and east towards India. The head was too pale for this though. I suspect it was what people refer to as "Channel" Wagtail (basically a hybrid between our Yellow Wagtails (M. f. flavissima) and Blue-headed Wagtails as occurs on the Channel Islands. The Sea Palling bird had a very white throat, which neither Blue-headed nor Yellow usually have (although Blue-headed sometimes does), which seems a bit odd. That said, they can be quite variable, and a presumed Channel Wagtail at Kelling last year looked almost identical to the one at Sea Palling. A photo of the one at Kelling is about half way down on this page:

http://www.birdingworld.co.uk/CleySpring2007.htm
 
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The field just east of Beeston Regis church held fewer Yellow Wagtails this morning, a few Wheatears, BUT . . . a superb male Lapland Bunting. He was in almost full summer plumage, with just a few white ‘drips’ on his bib. Ian Prentice saw what must have been the same bird earlier at West Runton. He’d also had 40+ Wheatears and some Rousels.

Following the heavy rain in the afternoon, I zoomed down to Salthouse, where a male Whinchat had appeared west of the Beach Road. Some Yellow Wagtails included a couple of ‘odd’ ones- but they were far too brief. Probably female Blue-headed and possibly hybrid female Yellow/Blue-head. The Little Gull was in attendance.

Emboldened with this minor success, I decided to essay the trek out to East Hills again. This would be a proper christening of my new bins- paid for by my insurers, following the theft of the previous pair at the start of my last trip to Andalucia. The track was easier today than last week: drier and less slippery. Almost out where the sea would have been had the tide been in, a ringtail Hen Harrier sullenly flapped away. A Swift scythed west and Whimbrels occasionally yattered overhead.

Unfortunately, the anticipation today exceeded the actuality. Whilst the ‘woods’ (mainly the eastern sycamores again) held migrants, the trees and bushes were not so laden that they were bowed over. 2 Lesser and a Common Whitethroat, 6 Blackcaps and c10 Chiffies were slightly surprising in both the paucity in numbers and variety of species.

3 Redpolls tittered away high over the trees.

A Greenshank plaintively tee-you cubed as I left, to trudge back across the sandflats which, by now, resembled parts of Utah. The main creek had slowed to a trickle. Ordinary shoes would have been sufficient to keep the feet from getting wet.

It’s so nice, though, to be able to ‘see’ properly once more.
 
kittykat23uk said:
Hi all

anyone been at Wacton recently? we are thinking about going this evening and wondered if the owls were still showing well? I know its a long shot to find out at such late notice.

thanks,

Jo
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went 2 weeks ago short eared and dark breasted showing well at 16.00 hrs
 
thanks Ilya, thats really useful. An intrigiung group of birds.
Jim.

Ilya Maclean said:
Hi Jim

The Sea Palling paddocks at various times in the day had four Blue-headed wagtails (M. f. flava) in it and there were several others around in east Norfolk, so the other you thought was this, is quite likely to have been. These originate from mainland Europe. There was also one very pale headed one, which superficially resembled Sykes's Wagtail (M. f. beema), which breeds near the Caspian Sea and east towards India. The head was too pale for this though. I suspect it was what people refer to as "Channel" Wagtail (basically a hybrid between our Yellow Wagtails (M. f. flavissima) and Blue-headed Wagtails as occurs on the Channel Islands. The Sea Palling bird had a very white throat, which neither Blue-headed nor Yellow usually have (although Blue-headed sometimes does), which seems a bit odd. That said, they can be quite variable, and a presumed Channel Wagtail at Kelling last year looked almost identical to the one at Sea Palling. A photo of the one at Kelling is about half way down on this page:

http://www.birdingworld.co.uk/CleySpring2007.htm
Click to expand...
 
Great day yesterday playing cricket at Stiffkey. Had a great view of a Hobby skimming the trees but at around 5pm a Goshawk displayed overhead for a few minutes before being joined by a female and settling in the woods! It was enough to stop the match for a few minutes as half our team are birders.

Oh, we lost by the way!!
 
A nice after-school session at Holkham NNR produced good views of the superb Whiskered Tern feeding over the freshmarsh to the west, viewed from Lady Anne's Drive. Other bonuses included a 1st summer male Blue-headed Wagtail with a group of Yellow Wagtails east of Lady Anne's Drive (thanks John!) and a Ring Ouzel chacking near the pay hut. Several Blue-headed Wags and 'channel-type' Wags were present before I arrived. Quite a few friendly faces present as well, so a good evening out...

Cheers,

Connor
 
The field east of Beeston Regis church held 15-20 Yellow Wags this morning, with a few dubious (hybrid) characters amongst them. 5 Wheatears were an increase in number from yesterday and the male Ring Ousel fed quietly out in the open for long periods. This is a reasonably non-flighty individual.

A visit to Lady Anne's Drive this evening was notable for the attention paid to the brown and black creatures with four legs (believed to be 'cows'), in the field to the east. These intriguing animals looked rather fetching, with their yellow, numbered plastic earrings as fashion accessories. The latter occasionally, but certainly not always, proved useful in locating other yellow objects, this time often underneath.

These were WAGTAILS ! ! : 30 plus flava, probably 5 Blue-heads (one with a complete necklace and pendant) and a few hybrid types. However, pride of place went to an all-too-brief yellow-headed bird which, if I were in Israel, I'd have no hesitation in assigning to lutea. This striking bird had an almost completely yellow head: no discernible eye-stripe or super and just the hint of a shadow to the rear of the crown and nape.

It gave a couple of the county's finest bird photographers no chance; first flying too far away and then doing a vanishing act.

A Rousel chacked a couple of times, without showing itself.

The other side of the road was some kind of marsh tern- my first of the year.
 
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Decided after to work to go and see the dotterel before they disappeared and had fantastic (although distant) views of 8 beautiful dotterel in the field near Choosely Barns:t: A marsh harrier flew over, also at the barns had spectacular views in the sunshine of corn buntings and yellow hammers feeding along with a stock dove. It was too tempting not to go and see the Whiskered tern;), so carried on to Holkham - on route had a barn owl at Burnam Overy. There were several familiar faces at Holkham, including Connor, JL and AW etc. The Whiskered Tern had disappeared off up 'tuther' end when I arrived! But BF Firefox32 picked it up again for Connor, his father and I - thanks for that:t:;) Wonderful bird to watch, my last one was at Lakenheath, which I think is 2 years ago now. Decided to go for fish n chips at Wells, but annoyingly, one shop was closed and the other had a private party in!! Drove back along coast road, stopping at Burnham Norton to watch a barn owl swoop in the big willow next to me and sat on the branch watching me! One marsh harrier flew over marsh. Carried onto visit parents for 5 minutes and now back home having cheese on toast!

Nice little jaunt out;)

Best Wishes Penny:girl:
 
I forgot:

I found a bit of a telescope case at East Hills on Sunday. If anyone has lost this, please send me a private email, with make and colour, and I'll arrange for you to collect it.

This morning, at Beeston Bump, the rather dull male Redstart was extremely wary of any kind of close approach. There were Common & Lesser Whitethroats and a Reed Warbler singing.

The fields by Beeston Regis church were devoid of Yellow Wags- mown yesterday. Was this the cause ?
 
hello members,coming down to titchwell reserve this saturday from Doncaster wanting to see and photograph the bearded tits,can any member recommend any area on the reserve where I might be able to see them?also is there anywhere else that might be interesting to visit for a spot of birding and photography(never been down that neck of the woods before) many thanks Brian
 
I popped along to look at the dotterel today, they were very distant so not very satisfying... however the stacks of yellowhammers and corn butings at the barns along with a nice pair of turtle dove made it well worth the trip.
 

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briwig said:
hello members,coming down to titchwell reserve this saturday from Doncaster wanting to see and photograph the bearded tits,can any member recommend any area on the reserve where I might be able to see them?also is there anywhere else that might be interesting to visit for a spot of birding and photography(never been down that neck of the woods before) many thanks Brian
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The best place I find is on the main path just before the first hide - the reeds here often have bearded tits, although you will have a job to photograph them as they usually just pop up and down again, or take a short flight. Good luck. The lagoons are great for non-passerine photography.
 

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