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

Norfolk birding (4 Viewers)

Please could some kind person tell me the best place to park and view the shag roost at Hunstanton. Also what time would be the most productive. Many thanks Steve

Hi Steve, The Shag roost is best viewed from the Salad Bowl Cafe at the southern end of the cliffs. Best time is late afternoon just before the birds go to roost as they can be seen on the sea and flying backwards and forwards from the cliffs before they settle. Birds also depending on what the tide's doing sit on the rocks below the cliffs which gives a good opportunity to get any colour ring codes. I haven't done the roost myself this year yet but a friend on the 9/1 had three birds one of which was ringed (NUR - green darvic) as a chick on the Farnes last year - http://northwestnorfolknaturalists....vers-mergansers-grebes-and-shags-off.html?m=0

Hope this helps and good luck!
 
Hi Stew.

I photographed the murmuration over St Stephen's Street on Thursday at around 16:30 and have just counted the birds visible on my photo - approximately 520. As the final flock is made up of smaller groups coming in from different directions it is possible that more could have joined them before going to roost though. The flock is certainly noticeably smaller than last year, although still a great spectacle to see on the way home.

Regards,

James

Thanks James,
When I saw it, the flock was more densly packed than in your photo and I think there were more birds, but given your count there were certainly not as many as 1500! Any idea where they are roosting?

Stew
 
Thanks James,
When I saw it, the flock was more densly packed than in your photo and I think there were more birds, but given your count there were certainly not as many as 1500! Any idea where they are roosting?

Stew

I believe they roost on the Aviva buildings and the numbers have varied a bit this year most evenings I have seen several hundred birds but there was one evening last week when the flock must have tripled in size to an easy 1500
 
Can anybody help with directions for the Iceland Gull Kings Lynn docks and how to get to Holkham lake.Hope to visit mid-week.

Re Holkham Lake, in Holkham village at the crossroads where Lady Anne's Road is north of the A149, turn instead south up the slope for around 350m to the village car park (free, but can be muddy: don't leave anything in sight in your car: 52.957197N, 0.814466E) on your right. Walk 200m to the main gate, go through the pedestrian gate to the left of the main gate, turn right along the (likely muddy) track until you reach the lake.

Google Earth shows all this clearly, although Street View doesn't take you up the slope.
MJB
 
Directions

Re Holkham Lake, in Holkham village at the crossroads where Lady Anne's Road is north of the A149, turn instead south up the slope for around 350m to the village car park (free, but can be muddy: don't leave anything in sight in your car: 52.957197N, 0.814466E) on your right. Walk 200m to the main gate, go through the pedestrian gate to the left of the main gate, turn right along the (likely muddy) track until you reach the lake.

Google Earth shows all this clearly, although Street View doesn't take you up the slope.
MJB
Thanks for your help really appreciate it.
cheers.John
 
Any opinions as to the likely origin of this bird seen at Salthouse Duck Pond on 29th. January will be gratefully received and acknowledged.

The finding details have been forwarded to the BTO but the absence of a metal ring leads me to suspect this particular ringing venture may not be registered. Bearing in mind what great travellers Coots can be, it would be very satisfying to have an answer.

My thanks in anticipation.

My thanks to the observer for sending me full details of the ring inscription observed at Salthouse Duck Pond this morning:- "Left leg: Pink-Purple ring with white (stained yellow) code F*100008#A528 where *= 09 and # = AVF both vertically rotated 90 degrees and read from bottom to top." As the observer stated, a code of this complexity must indicate a level of organisation behind this ringing venture which hopefully included registration with the relevant national colour-ringing coordinators.
 

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Titchwell February 9th

Today's highlights

Velvet scoter - 2 drakes offshore late morning
Water pipit - 2 on grazing meadow
Avocet - 40 on fresh marsh
Merlin - 1 over saltmarsh
Brambling - 1 on feeders
Chiffchaff - 1 in carpark

Paul
 
A nice couple of hours bird-watching was undertaken this afternoon along the lane between Long Stratton and Wacton Common.

There are plenty of good hedgerows and a couple of rough fields in this area which are currently great for small birds and the birds of prey that might predate them.

Flocks of c300 Linnets (probably my biggest ever) and 40 Chaffinches were noteworthy with smaller numbers of Skylark, Fieldfare and Blackbird. Single Golden Plover, Bullfinch, Goldcrest and Song Thrush were seen. 265 Woodpigeons were feeding and a nice flock of c30 Stock Doves was a pleasing count.
A further flock of 100 Woodpigeons flew north which attracted a Peregrine after them. Although initially a long way behind, this bird gained ground on them rapidly but unfortunately the whole lot disappeared behind some trees before I could witness any bird action.
It was something of a raptor and owl fest today and apart from the Peregrine, I also noted three Common Buzzards, two Kestrels, one Sparrowhawk and two Barn Owls.

Steve.
 
Titchwell February 10th

Today's highlights

Long tailed duck - drake offshore
Barn owl - 2 hunting over east trail
Brambling - 3 on feeders
Bittern - 1 from Fen Hide
Velvet scoter - drake offshore
Avocet - 48 on fresh marsh this morning. New winter record count
Water pipit - 2 still on grazing meadow

Paul
 
Not too long ago I knew of several locations in North Norfolk for pretty well guaranteed occurrence of Tree Sparrow. I've seen none there in the last several years... :-C

Disappearing birds in the same include Corn Bunting, Hawfinch, Little Owl and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker...:-C:-C
MJB

Like MJB, I too could virtually guarantee finding Tree Sparrows at 3 locations within a 5 mile radius of my house in NR11 but not so within the past 8 years.

The desertion at one location could be explained by the construction of a new road through the breeding site but losses at the other locations are less explicable. Summers-Smith (1995) in his monograph states "the Tree Sparrow in its traditional range (in Europe at least) is subject to dramatic cyclical fluctuations in numbers." This statement backs up one of the findings of Alexander and Lack(1944) that "Colonies fluctuate markedly for unknown reasons."

First hand experience of these cyclical fluctuations was related to me by the landowner at one site who stated that over a period of 40 years, he had noticed exactly the sequence of events quoted by Summers-Smith.
 
Titchwell February 11th

Today's highlights

Water pipit - 2 on grazing meadow
Avocet - 49 on fresh marsh
Spotted redshank - 2 on tidal pool
Common scoter - 1000 offshore
Long tailed duck - drake offshore
Peregrine - 1 hunting over fresh marsh
Hen harrier - ringtail over saltmarsh late morning
Goosander - female west offshore

Paul
 
Norfolk Bird Atlas volunteers found that Tree Sparrows had withdrawn massively from east Norfolk between 1980-85 and 1999-2007. Black crosses are tetrads lost, green are gained and the tetrads occupied in both atlas periods are shaded pink.

By 1999-2007 Tree Sparrows were strangely patchy, occurring mainly along Norfolk's main watershed (roughly Diss to Hunstanton) and in the Fens.

We'll need big support in just a few more years for the next Norfolk tetrad atlas, to see what another two decades will have brought. It is amazing what concerted surveys can achieve!
 

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Titchwell February 12th

Today's highlights

Greenshank - 1 on tidal pool
Barn owl - 2 hunting around the reserve
Brambling - 1+ on feeders
Spotted redshank - 1 on volunteer marsh

Paul
 
Titchwell February 15th

Today's highlights

Red kite - 1 over the east end of the reserve mid afternoon
Water pipit - 2 on grazing mradow
Avocet - 38 on fresh marsh
Barn owl - 2 hunting around the reserve
Greenshank - 2 on tidal pool

Hen harrier - 3 ringtails roosted on Friday and Sunday evenings

Paul
 
Titchwell February 16th

Today's highlights

Avocet - 30 on fresh marsh
Greenshank - 4 on volunteer marsh
Brambling - 4 on feeders
Water pipit - 1 on grazing meadow
Stonechat - female on East Trail

Paul
 
For anyone still wanting to see Hawfinches at Lynford Arboretum, the best chance at the moment seems to be at the southern end of the paddock in the late afternoon when birds seem to have a pre-roost gathering here. At least three or four individuals were seen to fly in from the direction of the hall. Two of them landed right at the top of the pines on the west side and a female showed well for some time in the trees in the middle of the paddock.

Steve.
 

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