Penny Clarke
Well-known member
FANTASTIC DAY'S BIRDING!!!
Snettisham Coastal Park - 7.30am - at least 3 Grasshopper Warblers reeling, poss. 4. While scanning the bushes for other migrants a 'black' bird with wide white chest band came into my view with a 2nd and 3rd following in a dead straight line going east - 3 Ring Ouzels at 8am, this got me on a real high!!! I was very excited now. Bumped into BF Irene a few seconds later who said she had had a male redstart near entrance to coastal park! Also bumped into Ray R who I could not resist telling about my Ring Ouzels!!!. At 8.30am I had a single Redwing sitting in a hawthorn and also 1 mistle thrush. Lots of sedge warblers singing and willow warblers. Went back near to entrance to try and find Irene's redstart but no luck BUT did have brilliant views of a cuckoo! at 8.45am. 1 snipe got flushed by a dog. Water rail squealed and a single wheatear. A lovely surprise of a pair of bullfinches in the big willow tree along with a green woodpecker too just behind the row of pine trees by carpark!!! (never seen bullfinch here before). Dogs and owners were everywhere now, people shouting and whistling out of control dogs - time to go!
Connor had kindly phoned me about a female black redstart and 2 yellow wags that he had seen this morning in the gardens by the lighthouse at Hunstanton, so this was my next stop.
Hunstanton Cliffs/Lighthouse - Several birds dropping in the bushes along the cliff top including blackbirds, robins and linnets. Took some pictures of the fulmars and then walked round past the lighthouse and past the row of houses and then right past the public toilets to the far right hand corner and had fantastic views of the black redstart 10.30am. Spent awhile here photographing and then at 11.00am I couldn't believe my luck when a stunning male Redstart shot through the garden I was looking in and over the wall!!!!! - there was me thinking I was going to get some pictures, but I never saw it again, it vanished completely! Anyway two other birders then joined me and we suddenly realised there were not 1 but 2 Black redstarts sitting on the wall! MAGIC. Andy W. then joined me to see both black redstarts. We walked along the middle fence line to pitch and putt area and there was at least a couple of hundred meadow pipits feeding several pied wagtails, along with 9 Yellow Wagtails and 1 stunning Blue Headed Wagtail 11.30am which I took lots of pictures of - will post these on here by end of tomorrow - no time now as need some sleep as big day out tomorrow!
Holme - on NOA carpark 1 Lesser Whitethroat 1.15pm sitting on hawthorn, flock of at least 40 siskins over Firs House, a Cettis Warbler, 1 Fieldfare from main NOA bank. Thornham Bank, 1 Grasshopper Warbler 1.50pm reeling below bank. Walked to the end of the bank and walked down through marsh to Jamensons' Wood/copse which had an EXTREMELY sloppy muddy section - came back with newly coloured brown trousers! - how I did not fall over I will never know! Only 2 chiffchaffs in here along the track, along with one male blackcap and 2 reedbuntings, 1 robin and 2 hedgesparrows. On the flooded field, 2 avocets, 2 redshanks, 1 female Ruff and 2 meadow pipits bathing. Lots of skylarks singing. NWT Forestry area - 3 linnets, 2 red legged partridge and 1 Wheatear. From the bank by the the 5-bar gate fantastic views of a Short eared Owl over the marsh to left of Holme church at 4.25pm.
Ringstead Downs - being greedy I was hoping for some more Ring Ouzels but nothing really was found there apart from chiffchaffs singing, a few blackbirds, robins and several red legged patridges. Andy W. then left to go home.
Castle Rising - (road/track there has no vehicular access before the main Castle Rising turn off, heading towards Lynn) I arrived here at 6.30pm - getting tired now!!! Tons of hares, pheasants and Red Legged Partridges all over the fields. Very close views of a Barn Owl hunting, Mistle thrush high in a tree, a nice flock of 30+ goldfinches in an oak tree on 'onion corner' (as it is known locally), great tits, blue tits and robins. Walked to an area I have never been to before (too complicated to explain where exactly) but I found a fantastic collection of trees which held a great spotted woodpecker tapping away and a green woodpecker. On the way back I had a single Yellowhammer sitting in a small tree.
Best Wishes Penny:girl:
Snettisham Coastal Park - 7.30am - at least 3 Grasshopper Warblers reeling, poss. 4. While scanning the bushes for other migrants a 'black' bird with wide white chest band came into my view with a 2nd and 3rd following in a dead straight line going east - 3 Ring Ouzels at 8am, this got me on a real high!!!
I was very excited now. Bumped into BF Irene a few seconds later who said she had had a male redstart near entrance to coastal park! Also bumped into Ray R who I could not resist telling about my Ring Ouzels!!!. At 8.30am I had a single Redwing sitting in a hawthorn and also 1 mistle thrush. Lots of sedge warblers singing and willow warblers. Went back near to entrance to try and find Irene's redstart but no luck BUT did have brilliant views of a cuckoo! at 8.45am. 1 snipe got flushed by a dog. Water rail squealed and a single wheatear. A lovely surprise of a pair of bullfinches in the big willow tree along with a green woodpecker too just behind the row of pine trees by carpark!!! (never seen bullfinch here before). Dogs and owners were everywhere now, people shouting and whistling out of control dogs - time to go!Connor had kindly phoned me about a female black redstart and 2 yellow wags that he had seen this morning in the gardens by the lighthouse at Hunstanton, so this was my next stop.
Hunstanton Cliffs/Lighthouse - Several birds dropping in the bushes along the cliff top including blackbirds, robins and linnets. Took some pictures of the fulmars and then walked round past the lighthouse and past the row of houses and then right past the public toilets to the far right hand corner and had fantastic views of the black redstart 10.30am. Spent awhile here photographing and then at 11.00am I couldn't believe my luck when a stunning male Redstart shot through the garden I was looking in and over the wall!!!!! - there was me thinking I was going to get some pictures, but I never saw it again, it vanished completely! Anyway two other birders then joined me and we suddenly realised there were not 1 but 2 Black redstarts sitting on the wall! MAGIC
. Andy W. then joined me to see both black redstarts. We walked along the middle fence line to pitch and putt area and there was at least a couple of hundred meadow pipits feeding several pied wagtails, along with 9 Yellow Wagtails and 1 stunning Blue Headed Wagtail 11.30am which I took lots of pictures of - will post these on here by end of tomorrow - no time now as need some sleep as big day out tomorrow!Holme - on NOA carpark 1 Lesser Whitethroat 1.15pm sitting on hawthorn, flock of at least 40 siskins over Firs House, a Cettis Warbler, 1 Fieldfare from main NOA bank. Thornham Bank, 1 Grasshopper Warbler 1.50pm reeling below bank. Walked to the end of the bank and walked down through marsh to Jamensons' Wood/copse which had an EXTREMELY sloppy muddy section - came back with newly coloured brown trousers! - how I did not fall over I will never know! Only 2 chiffchaffs in here along the track, along with one male blackcap and 2 reedbuntings, 1 robin and 2 hedgesparrows. On the flooded field, 2 avocets, 2 redshanks, 1 female Ruff and 2 meadow pipits bathing. Lots of skylarks singing. NWT Forestry area - 3 linnets, 2 red legged partridge and 1 Wheatear. From the bank by the the 5-bar gate fantastic views of a Short eared Owl over the marsh to left of Holme church at 4.25pm.
Ringstead Downs - being greedy I was hoping for some more Ring Ouzels but nothing really was found there apart from chiffchaffs singing, a few blackbirds, robins and several red legged patridges. Andy W. then left to go home.
Castle Rising - (road/track there has no vehicular access before the main Castle Rising turn off, heading towards Lynn) I arrived here at 6.30pm - getting tired now!!! Tons of hares, pheasants and Red Legged Partridges all over the fields. Very close views of a Barn Owl hunting, Mistle thrush high in a tree, a nice flock of 30+ goldfinches in an oak tree on 'onion corner' (as it is known locally), great tits, blue tits and robins. Walked to an area I have never been to before (too complicated to explain where exactly) but I found a fantastic collection of trees which held a great spotted woodpecker tapping away and a green woodpecker. On the way back I had a single Yellowhammer sitting in a small tree.
Best Wishes Penny:girl:
Last edited:
