Norfolk birding (1 Viewer)

[Happisbirder]

Alpine swift at Snettisham this evening according to RBA - seen over the reserve at 7pm, showed for ~5 mins before flying out of sight.

One has been on the cards for days! I'll keep my eyes open for it again tomorrow as I probably missed it on it's first pass through here... 3

Does anybody know if any Hen Harriers are still coming in to roost at Stubb's?

James

 

[ben_lewis]

Good to see you too Sue, To be honest the fllight shots were a bit of luck. I was about leave when I saw 2 people walking towards us, I stayed a little longer pre-empting the fact that the plover would react, luckily it did. Do you think the toes project beyond the tail? Head pattern looks good for AGP to me but proportions of the bird and mantle colour look more like PGP. I think we need some plover experts on this one..

James, I have seen at least 2 ringtail Hens and a male from the Bittern Hide at Hickling at dusk for the past 2 weeks, presumably these birds are going to Stubb's roost

Ben

 

[Penny Clarke]

Today's highlights

Redstart - male in ploughed field viewable from carpark gates although very elusive. My 1st ever spring male on the reserve!
Bittern - male booming in reedbed, 1 in flight from Fen Hide
Common buzzard - 1 south over the reserve
Hen harrier - ringtail east along beach
Spotted redshank - 5 on fresh marsh
Brambling - 2 males on feeders
Lesser redpoll - 5 on Meadow Trail

Paul

Thanks Paul:t: might have a look in that field tomorrow!!!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

 

[Penny Clarke]

Alpine Swift at Snettisham, hmmmm......... jolly good, hope we all find some more exciting birds over the weekend.:t:

HAPPY EASTER Everyone:t:

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

 

[Tractorboy69]

'Rubicola type' Stonechat

Highlight on the patch over the last few days was a rather stunning Stonechat at East Runton 'showing characteristics of' the continental race Rubicola.

Most obvious feature was the large white rump and upper tail coverts, although the latter were streaked ruling out Siberian. It also had a large white neck collar which almost joined on the nape, and unlike the majority of 'our' stonechats (Ssp hibernans) which mostly have solid orange-red underparts, it had a white belly which extended up onto the lower breast into the bottom of the orange-red breast band and the flanks were a much paler and contrasting peachy colour. (Light conditions have intensified the underpart colour in the last pic)

I think that I'll be keeping a much closer eye on the Stonechats moving along the coast in spring in the future as looking into the id of this bird, and looking at the recent threads in the Q&A id section, you start to realise the large variation in plumages of all the (sub)species that occur.

Simon

 

[mr.sim]

Went down to Denver Sluice this morning as the our dad's car "got hit" so we couldn't go to Breydon :-C (Thankfully no-one hurt)
At least there was some nice weather and quite a few new migrants; 5 Willow Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 4 Sedge Warbler, 7 Swallow, 2 House Martin, also quite a few Chiffchaffs and a nice White Wagtail on the way back.

 

[Jono L]

Good new photos Ben. The one of the bird sitting next to the herring gull does have a rather AGP-like wing structure, with tertials falling short of the tail tip and the primaries projecting beyond. Having looked at flight shots of both species online, AGP toes can appear to be at or just past the tail too at certain angles. An interesting bird!! Hopefully it will still be around next week...

 

[gordon hamlett]

Strumpshaw this morning produced a commom tern over, drake garganey, barn owl, plenty of sedge warblers, willow warblers, chiffchaffs and blackcaps and cetti's warblers seemingly everywhere, including one right out in the open and close enough to peer down its yellow gape when it sang

Best birds at Buckenham marshes were three flyover pintails and a ruff

Gordon

 

[James Emerson]

Several Blackcaps around Norwich today, one along Lakenham Way, and another two males singing at Sweetbriar Marsh.

James

 

[Irene Boston]

Snettisham Coastal Park

A fair few Sedge Warblers, Willow Warblers in the coastal park in the rain this evening and at least 3 Groppers, which must be my earliest yet there.

Sadly, no sign of the Dartford (but then who'd stick their head out in the rain apart from daft birders?) or any supersonic swifts bombing about.

Irene

 

[matt green]

Strumpshaw this morning produced a commom tern over, drake garganey, barn owl, plenty of sedge warblers, willow warblers, chiffchaffs and blackcaps and cetti's warblers seemingly everywhere, including one right out in the open and close enough to peer down its yellow gape when it sang

Best birds at Buckenham marshes were three flyover pintails and a ruff

Gordon

I too was at Strumpshaw and Buckenham today (I think me and my companion might have chatted with you at the fishermans carpark at Buckenham!!)

Best bird of the day for us was the adult Little Gull over the broad at the tower hide, Willow Warblers seemingly everywhere including a particularly showy bird by the fen hide!!

Matt

 

[Happisbirder]

Thanks Ben for the Harrier info...

Saw House Martin over the garden this afternoon, a useful year tick as they say. However, I was completely astounded early afternoon when a Raven appeared from the SE and circled overhead and away to the NW calling as it went. At the same time, heading SE, appeared a Red Kite; the Incleborough/Overstrand bird I guess.

James

 

[Tractorboy69]

Highlight of the day on the patch was the above mentioned Red Kite, which following a tip off that it was heading my way, I managed to pick up over Overstrand as it passed over SE.

A walk along Cromer GC resulted in a Marsh Harrier heading east out at sea, Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear, a few Willow Warblers, 2+ (local?) Common Buzzards and 7 Greylags (2&5) heading west.

Simon

 

[Penny Clarke]

Barn Owl at Ringstead Mill on route.

Titchwell RSPB - first Blackcap of the year in the carpark. Looked on field - no redstarts or ouzels!!!!! Singing on the reserve - my first Reed Warbler of the year. Cettis Warbler singing in Fen Trail. Sedge Warbler singing along main path. Lovely drake Gargeney on the fresh marsh in the sunshine. Water rail squealing. Several Marsh Harriers. Swallow. Walked up to Thornham Point which produced a wheatear, 2 chiffchaffs and 1 blackcap and several meadowpipits, few shelduck and a sparrowhawk.

Redwell Marsh Reserve, Holme - 1 Ruff, Swallows, house martins, little grebe, ruddy duck, black headed gulls, teal, mallard, shoveler.

Holme Reserves - dipped on most things here!!! Seen today at Holme but not by me - a ring ouzel at Gore Point, a grasshopper warbler on Thornham Bank, common and lesser whitethroat. Seen by me: male stonechat, linnets, chiffchaffs, robins, swallows and housemartins.

NWT Forestry - 1 Wheatear

Old Hunstanton Lighthouse area/pitch 'n' putt. Phonecall from Connor about a massive number of meadow pipits and a few yellow wags on the pitch 'n' putt made this my next stop. BUT when I arrived only 15 minutes later there were only red legged partridge and woodpigeons!!!!!!! I walked round in pouring rain and had a good look in the bushes along coastal path by beach huts and found NOTHING! Back by the lighthouse, 1 blackbird and a couple of pied wags.

Snettisham Coastal Park - dusky now, silly really but sometimes grasshopper warblers do 'reel' quite late in the evening, but not tonight!!! which was hardly suprising in the dingy wet weather! Only heard chiffchaffs here on my very short walk round.

Just noticed on pager someone had an Osprey here at 4.30pm!!!!!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

 

[gordon hamlett]

I too was at Strumpshaw and Buckenham today (I think me and my companion might have chatted with you at the fishermans carpark at Buckenham!!)



Matt

Hi Matt,

Yes it was me - guilty as charged I'm afraid. Annoyed at missing the little gull seeing as how there has bee4n a fair passage this last week.

Gordon

 

[ChrisBish]

A trip to Breydon yesterday morning produced Sandwich Tern, Yellow-legged Gull and the Lesser Golden Plover amongst the expected species. I'm leaning towards AGP for the plover, mainly due to a long primary projection beyond the tail tip (see Id Q & A thread).

I then journeyed up to Sea Palling where there was a Yellow Wagtail in the paddock before stopping at Horsey briefly where small numbers of Swallows passed through heading South and plenty of Willow Warblers were in song.

Took the kids to Winterton in the evening and it appears there was a fire in the south dunes, perhaps half a mile or so from the Beach Road. We didn't investigate but there was a lot of smoke and I could see people with paddle beaters. Hopefully there hasn't been too much damage.

Chris

 

[sacha]

Even though I havent seen the Lesser Golden, from photos I too am leaning towards AGP..the head pattern and long wing projection alone seems to scream of American over Pacific!
Instead of going to see it decided to look for migrants at Blakeney Point...Not much seen but certainly more birds moving than last week:
5+ wheatear, 2 swallow, 1 yellow and 2 white wags in the Eye Field
2 chiffchaff, 1 willow warbler, 4+ Wheatear and lots of M.Pipits at the point.

 

[Happisbirder]

The 'Breydon Plover' is now on RBA as American Golden Plover. In capitals. The concensus of opinion on the Bird ID thread seems to be leaning this way somewhat too...

EDIT:Regarding the fire at Winterton, I have heard 2nd hand that about a hectare was burning. Hopefully it didn't spread much further than this...

James

 

[Tractorboy69]

A trip to Titchwell this afternoon produced the pair of Red-crested Pochard on the freshmarsh, 3 Ruddy Ducks (1 male) on the pool on the west side of the main track, a Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Bittern booming on and off most of the afternoon, Sedge Warbler and a good flock of Swallows & Sand Martins.

Also Arnolds Marsh, Cley had a good flock of roosting Sandwich Terns (still haven't seen one locally yet) and four Wheatears on the shingle bank.

Simon

 

[Connor Rand]

An early start at Hunstanton lighthouse was a bit dissapointing, with 2 Yellow Wagtails S, 35 Siskins (3 S, 32 N), 1 Redpoll briefly grounded in lighthouse garden bushes then N, 188 Meadow Pipits S, 8 Pied Wags S, 35 Swallows S, 3 Linnets S, 11 Goldfinches S and 2 Greenfinches S in 1.5 hours. The lighthouse gardens promised much for the coming day with 2 Black Redstarts and a cracking male Redstart seen over two attempts, while the pitch and putt course was again full of birds, with 250 Meadow Pipits, 7 Pied Wagtails, 3 White Wagtails, 14 Yellow Wagtails and a pretty classic male 'flava' Blue-headed Wagtail (I blame the light yesterday evening for my initial doubts and hesitant manner upon finding the bird )

Next I gave the recording area at Holme a good bash. Highlights included a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in the dunes and a singing Cetti's Warbler in the carpark, as well as 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Common Whitethroat, 2 female Wheatears, 1 Redpoll W, 50 Siskins and a Fieldfare W. Reasonable numbers of common migrants included 21 Chiffchaffs, 11 Willow Warblers, 6 Sedge Warblers, 5 Blackcaps, 60 Swallows and 3 Sand Martins W.