Norfolk birding (19 Viewers)

Less than two quid a week

john miller said:

The question was asked earlier as to the Lady Anne`s Drive parking charges for next year. A season ticket for Wells and Lady Anne`s Drive will be £90. The parking is being now run by RCP Parking, who say improvements will be made over the winter, including increased parking attendants, to help the public!!! ie make sure everyone pays. Would not put it past them to make surrounding areas no parking as well, now it is run by a commercial concern. They do not know day rates, at moment £3.50, but as the season ticket has increased by over 30% cannot see that will remain as it is.
So if you want to find your own birds get a permit, I am sure there will not be as many other birders there as at the moment.

john

http://kellingnaturegallery.fotopic.net/

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Thanks for that info John, still worth it for those of us who can go to both sites regularly - pity though for the short period visitors who try to get to all the places in a few days....they must end up paying a small fortune.

davethebird said:

The Twite flock was showing well at Titchwell today.

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It's amazing that so many of these birds are marked, and it would be great if you have a higher res pic to look at so we can see more colours. If so, then drop me an PM here or amil me at the BTO and we can sort them out.

The pink colour indicates thease are almost certainly birds from the south east Pennines and there is a hint of a striped ring which might indicate these are 2009 birds...

Mark Grantham
BTO Ringing Scheme

Seawatching off West Runton this afternoon produced a Long-tailed Duck, the first one off the patch this year.

Also passing by were a couple of Eiders, a few flocks of Kittiwakes and the usual Gannets, Divers and Auks.

Simon

Birders PBR blues

PYRTLE said:

Thanks for that info John, still worth it for those of us who can go to both sites regularly - pity though for the short period visitors who try to get to all the places in a few days....they must end up paying a small fortune.

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We were told that the daily rate for both Lady Anne's Drive and Wells Woods is going up to £5 and that parking near the pub is to be more restricted/stopped?.

There is also talk of charging for parking at the Hall.

If you're not a member of RSPB, NWT, National Trust and a season ticket holder then a long weekend in North Norfolk could cost you dear if you want to leave your car and do some birding.

Dave

timmyjones said:

Anyone been to holkham recently? Are the starfish still on the beach and if so has this attracted a lot of birds to feed on them?

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Hi there were some large starfish on the strandline on Monday but nothing feeding on them. I remember a couple of years ago a big starfish wreck at Cley and the Gulls went mad for one day i believe when the starfish were still alive, although they were struggling to eat them.

timmyjones said:

Anyone been to holkham recently? Are the starfish still on the beach and if so has this attracted a lot of birds to feed on them?

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Didn't get to Holkham but there were certainly a lot of Starfish on the beach at Holme/Hunstanton on Tuesday last week! There weren't many birds feeding on them there, I saw a fair group of Common Gulls but they were more interested in the Razorclams.

Last Tuesday the Snow Buntings down on the beach/dunes at Holme were up to ninety, was a wonderful sight! Thursday/Friday there were huge numbers of Golden Plovers on the south side of Blakeney Point too, on some exposed sand bars in the creek system - well over a thousand although I've never seen big flocks of birds like this before so couldn't start to imagine how many there really were! Probably very commonplace for all I know but for someone used to small numbers it was really astonishing! There were small flocks of Snow Buntings on the marshes at the sea wall track that runs around the Fresh Marshes and Blakeney Eye too (between Blakeney and Cley, south of the Point), plus quite a number of Barn Owls there - last Thursday (3rd Dec) I saw three Owls as I was walking north from Cley along the River Glaven part of the sea wall, plus at the Blakeney end of the track I saw a pair again. Cley is extremely good for Barn Owls at the moment!

RCP website gives season ticket prices for Wells and lady Anne's Drive as £150 for the year if you buy before 31 March and £165 for the year after 31 March. Quite a hike from £90 but still worth it if you use one of the car parks more than once a week.

Rob

PYRTLE said:

Thanks for that info John, still worth it for those of us who can go to both sites regularly - pity though for the short period visitors who try to get to all the places in a few days....they must end up paying a small fortune.

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Does anyone know what's up with the NWT's website? I tried to get on there by several different routes and it never worked. I was trying to find out exactly where they were planning on creating their new reserve in Hilgay if anyone has the answer?
Thanks

RobLucking said:

RCP website gives season ticket prices for Wells and lady Anne's Drive as £150 for the year if you buy before 31 March and £165 for the year after 31 March. Quite a hike from £90 but still worth it if you use one of the car parks more than once a week.

Rob

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This is a puzzle. I have the renewal letter here, it states £90 for renewal before 15th March, for Lady Annes and Beech Rd combined. I agree the website states £150, will ask tomorrow. The charge for horse boxes is the same at £600 on the letter and website, just in case anybody want to take a horse down there!!

John

john miller said:

...........The charge for horse boxes is the same at £600 on the letter and website, just in case anybody want to take a horse down there!!

John

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There is a notice at the end of Lady's Anne's Drive, saying strictly NO HORSES! so they won't need to get out of their box:-O

I think it is WICKED charging people 24 hours to park AND increasing the charges in Lady Anne's Drive - NOW I will have to walk a very long way to do my favourite walk - I will NEVER pay to park there! But to SOME people £5 for one walk is nothing I suppose:C

Try this link: http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/protectingwildlife/projects/hilgay/

It doesn't say exactly where but gives you some background.

mr.sim said:

Does anyone know what's up with the NWT's website? I tried to get on there by several different routes and it never worked. I was trying to find out exactly where they were planning on creating their new reserve in Hilgay if anyone has the answer?
Thanks

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Can someone please PM me more details of where to look for the peregrines at buckenham if they're still in the area? Is it a scope job or do the come close enough to be seen without one?

Cheers,

Jo

Would anyone like to recall their highlights of the year : - )

Blakeney Resident said:

Would anyone like to recall their highlights of the year : - )

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Siberian Thrush, Great Dot, Hoveton Ferruginous Duck o oh, sorry you said, 'Highlight'!

Blakeney Resident said:

Would anyone like to recall their highlights of the year : - )

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Steady guys, the year isn't over yet. The best is still to come (maybe) :smoke:.

Dave Appleton said:

Steady guys, the year isn't over yet. The best is still to come (maybe) :smoke:.

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It must be if you're at home!

Will soon be 2010!

Blakeney Resident said:

Would anyone like to recall their highlights of the year : - )

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Dave Appleton said:

Steady guys, the year isn't over yet. The best is still to come (maybe) :smoke:.

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David Norgate said:

It must be if you're at home!

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The birding is not exciting this Saturday pm, clearly!

For me NO Norfolk ticks in 2009 but four, with two lifers 2008.

Never too late in the year for a lifer...
Ross's gull early afternoon of 31 December 2005 west of Cley Coastguards
and at dusk at Ranworth Broad 31 December 1992 ring-necked duck!!

No Norfolk ticks in 2009 as great knot and possible semi-palmated sandpiper red knot and probable little stint respectively.

One "highlight" is discovering my Cley Square BOU list is exactly 250. The only new species in the square in 2009 the September spotted crake.

Just to prove 2008 was better than 2009 my three Cley Square ticks in 2008 were (most recent first)
Wilson's phalarope county bogey bird tick
and two Norfolk firsts
trumpeter finch and white-crowned sparrow!!!

Had a nice trip out to see the seals at Horsey followed by a quick trip to Buckenham. No peregrines seen while we were there but thanks to the couple who put us onto the Great Northern diver.:t:

Blakeney Resident said:

Would anyone like to recall their highlights of the year : - )

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I'm back in Essex after my second north Norfolk trip of the year and it's rather unlikely to add any new Norfolk highlights so I'll venture some, although they'll be rather common sightings to you old Norfolk hands as I didn't see any Taffy-winged Quetzels or Buff-flanked Bluetoes. Only joking. ||

On my week-long trip at the start of December I got to see big flocks for the first time - living in mid-Essex and almost entirely being a local patch walker means I see small numbers of birds for the most part (plenty of variety for my modest taste though) so I haven't seen big numbers before except for a recent trip to Hanningfield reservoir where I saw lots of Tufties and Pochard (have only visited Norfolk in the summer before). The big flocks of geese were amazing and seeing 600-odd Brents feeding in the meadows at Cley Marshes was really brilliant.

I had my first sightings of Grey and Golden Plovers, the latter also in the biggest flock I'd ever seen, a huge number of those out at Blakeney Point and when they flew up and crossed the channel to wheel over my head I was really blown away. I saw Snow Buntings for the first time and it was just the most wonderful sight - I'd gone hoping to see one or two but not the amazing view of a big flock that we got... I'm rather besotted with them now! I saw my first Ruffs too, and Pink-footed and White-fronted Geese were also new birds for me. I saw my first Hare out on the marshes at Blakeney in the summer, which was an animal I'd somehow managed to miss seeing all these years (strange considering I'd already seen a Badger - just one of those things).

Getting lots of sightings of Barn Owls hunting, including watching a pair hunting along the ditches near the River Glaven was lovely, and having a Marsh Harrier flying low back and forth over my head in the summer really blew me away too.

What was 'the' highlight though? Difficult to pick one as it was such a good pair of trips for me but it's going to be a non-birdy one I'm afraid (although it does involve flying thingies): being surrounded by Bats hunting along the coastal path between Blakeney and Moreston. There is a fair sized colony there and having so many bats flying just inches from us as we crouched down on the path was really magical. They're just amazing creatures and experiences like that tick all the boxes for me - superb! :t: