Interesting article in Ibis 146:165 (abstract below) suggesting slender-billed curlews may ahve been regular winters in Holland in the early 20th century. Therefore Suffolk may be almost part of normal winter range?
" In modern ornithology, the use of oral traditions as sources for fact-finding about birds is rare. Nevertheless, when it comes to reconstructing the abundance, distribution and life-history of extinct or nearly extinct bird species, anecdote and 'oral' history may be an important source of information (e.g. Jukema & Piersma 2002). The Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris, which is now classified as of 'critical' conservation status (BirdLife International 2000) and as Europe's rarest bird species, is a case in point (e.g. Danilenko et al. 1996, Baccetti 2001). From unspecified breeding areas in central or south-west Siberia, Slender-billed Curlews migrate west- and south-westwards to coastal wintering areas in the Middle East and the Mediterranean (Gretton 1991, Piersma et al. 1996). In this contribution we summarize and interpret the spoken account of Pieter Mulder (1921-1999) as it was related to us in February 1999. Pieter Mulder's story suggests that Slender-billed Curlews (1) may have been regular winter visitors to the Zuiderzee area before closure with a dam (the 'Afsluitdijk') in 1932, and (2) may be unique among shorebirds in possessing patches of fat-producing powder feathers."
