Norfolk birding (4 Viewers)

[willowgrouse]

Good flock of hawfinches in the paddock this morning, attached is a very poor photo showing part of the flock of at least 28 ...

Ron, either there is fly excrement on my screen or there's 24 of 28+ HF in your picture. It doesn't get much better than that for HF in Norfolk terms. Its a long, long time since I saw that many together. Nice photos. Very interesting.

Willowgrouse

 

[John Marchant]

BTO two-letter codes

I share an office with the code-master, John Marchant. QUOTE]

Thanks for all the fan mail on this topic! I do what I can to make any new codes memorable, within the shrinking set of codes still available for allocation. AG is another I'm proud of (Silver Teal). The codes are widely used for local and national surveys and databases, with BTO maintaining the master list as a service to all users.

I use the codes a lot for quick notes in the field, especially for everyday birding, but would need to look up many of the codes for species I don't see regularly.

 

[willowgrouse]

Thanks for all the fan mail on this topic! I do what I can to make any new codes memorable, within the shrinking set of codes still available for allocation. AG is another I'm proud of (Silver Teal). The codes are widely used for local and national surveys and databases, with BTO maintaining the master list as a service to all users...

Well deserved credit John, and welcome aboard! In truth I'm a little disappointed that you're not using the pseudonym 'code-master', but hey-ho!

One question you could answer for me, please: Is the . on the end of single-charcter IDs (eg. R. for robin) a result of input into Excel spreadsheets where the 'program memory' wants to insert the same series of letters it did on previous lines? Hope that makes sense.

 

[John Marchant]

Well deserved credit John, and welcome aboard! In truth I'm a little disappointed that you're not using the pseudonym 'code-master', but hey-ho!

One question you could answer for me, please: Is the . on the end of single-charcter IDs (eg. R. for robin) a result of input into Excel spreadsheets where the 'program memory' wants to insert the same series of letters it did on previous lines? Hope that makes sense.

Just for any computer application really - it helps in programming if the codes are all a predictable length (i.e. two characters). I don't use the dots in my own notes or on survey field sheets, but I know some people do.

 

[firstreesjohn]

'Code in the whole'- a scheme of things

This morning, before diverting slightly from my usual route to work I’d seen, for micro-seconds and through a gap in the roadside trees, a crowd of birds (corvids?) in the sky and what appeared to be an airborne, flapping barn door. These were immediately obscured and not re-glimpsed. Subsequent pager messages indicate I may well have seen The Eagle. Curses (in the manner of Muttley) ! I then drove through an ‘cilla-free Ormesby St Margaret.

John, I'm a bit surprised you haven't picked up on Al's arctic redpoll at Kelling (AL). More study needed!

I have my limits and am quite happy solely to enjoy all Al’s ALs: A1 birds inter alia and surely not the products of AI, whether down the A1, or not (wotta lotta coincidences!).

ID-wise, I profess myself as completely unworthy to pontificate on an acknowledged minefield. (Even I can recognize the difference between occasional levity and foolhardiness.)

There is no way I would enter into competition with the upper echelons of Birding World and two long-time British experts on the creatures. (Anyone else with dodgy knees fancy running 100m against Usain Bolt ?)

An interesting insight into how difficult this all is was given to me last weekend, when I was told that close examination of the ‘white’ Kelling bird revealed features inconsistent with Arctic ! ! ! I’m afraid you’ll have no more from me on this: my lips have just been coated with Araldite- and my fingers have stuck to them.

The codes were originally derived for the Common Bird Census and obviously there are only a limited number of combinations, hence the most obvious letters / codes are generally reserved for the most common species

I share an office with the code-master, John Marchant. QUOTE]
Thanks for all the fan mail on this topic!

I mis-read this, briefly as Fan-tail (ZC?).

More fascinating revelations, from the horse’s mouth, on the code sagas. I warmly applaud AG- the chemical symbol for silver and yet another source of the 2-letter ciphers- with the firm wish that his office becomes warmer soonest.

 

[David Norgate]

An interesting insight into how difficult this all is was given to me last weekend, when I was told that close examination of the ‘white’ Kelling bird revealed features inconsistent with Arctic ! ! ! I’m afraid you’ll have no more from me on this: my lips have just been coated with Araldite- and my fingers have stuck to them.

You're such a tease!!

 

[postcardcv]

does anyone know if the Arctic redpoll is still showing at Kelling?

 

[john miller]

does anyone know if the Arctic redpoll is still showing at Kelling?

Hi Pete

Have asked every time I have passed, have not spoken to anybody who had seen it since yesterday am. Still about a dozen Lessers there though plus at least one common.

John

 

[postcardcv]

Hi Pete

Have asked every time I have passed, have not spoken to anybody who had seen it since yesterday am. Still about a dozen Lessers there though plus at least one common.

John

Thanks for the info John, will still have a quick look in the morning but won't give it too long.

 

[Matthebirder]

Hello Norfolk Birders; has anyone been searching for the Two-barred Crossbill(s) any more since Tues? Any negative reports appreciated. I may well be having a look on Saturday on a general tour of the Brecks. I guess it is still around!
Thanks
Matthew

 

[willowgrouse]

...There is no way I would enter into competition with the upper echelons of Birding World and two long-time British experts on the creatures...

No, John, quite correct. Nor was I suggesting anything of the sort. My comment was directed simply at the AL code for Al's bird and your undoubted skills at generating a little word-play. Nothing more.

Your eagle scenario must have been highly frustrating! Your time may come. Cilla may still be hiding somewhere in the depths of Broadland and history suggests a tour of the coast is highly possible

 

[davethebird]

BTO Norfolk birdwatchers Conference

I received the following e-mail today.

<< Dear BTO Supporter,

We’re holding a regional birdwatcher’s conference in East Tuddenham, Norfolk, on Saturday 14th April and we’d love to see you there. We’ve lined up some excellent talks on subjects ranging from Norfolk nests to Seawatching, bird ringing and patchwork. We hope to have good representation from local bird clubs and societies, some trade stands and a raffle. The full programme and booking form is available on the BTO website here: http://bit.ly/zsSAfl . We’d be very grateful if you could help us spread the word about the conference and look forward to seeing you there.

With very best wishes,

Ieuan Evans >>

I hope the mods accept this as suitable for this forum.

 

[willowgrouse]

Just for any computer application really - it helps in programming if the codes are all a predictable length (i.e. two characters). I don't use the dots in my own notes or on survey field sheets, but I know some people do.

Thanks Code-master

 

[firstreesjohn]

The eagle’s passed- candid

Your eagle scenario must have been highly frustrating!

Not particularly. It’s dully amusing and just one of those things that happens (far too frequently for comfort), when you bird. The sky may suddenly go dark and I might get lucky over my forthcoming 4-day weekend, anyway.

In any case, I’ve seen WE several times in County and, in compensation, had 4 (?) Glossy Ibises (IB- also, International Baccalaureate and two-thirds of a distressing condition) last night flying over my dwelling. Unfortunately, there were two things amiss with this sighting: I was asleep and they had straight bills.

As for Al AL (not a misspelled Middle Eastern airline), I was taking your comment in both senses, as you rightly guessed.

I, like Matthew, would be interested in 2-barred news. (Please: no gate exclusives.) Any excuse for another trip to Lynford.

 

[Andy Musgrove]

I had a look for the Two-barred at lunchtime yesterday (Wed) in the rain, without luck. Despite the weather, crossbills were fairly active with about 10 in total but all looked and sounded the same to me. Also 18 Hawfinches in the paddock.

Didn't manage to make it out there today, tomorrow first thing might be a possibility if I can haul myself out of bed early enough...

Cheers

Andy

 

[Matthebirder]

Thanks Andy/John; weather looks good for Saturday so will be having a look around makes a change to stay in East Anglia, the M25 has got a bit too much just recently despite the rewards out west!

 

[Andy Musgrove]

And another walk round Lynford this morning also failed to pay off. That'll do for me, unless someone else relocates it! Obviously, it's a big forest and there's probably every chance it's still around somewhere, but based on the evidence of this week, it just doesn't seem particularly closely tied to the larches by the entrance. If you're going, just enjoy the walk and make sure you've genned up on the calls beforehand.

Andy

 

[Matthebirder]

Must be better than being in the office like me all week! Are there any other reasonably public places nearby worth checking for crossbills, say 3 miles radius?
Thanks
M

 

[Andy Musgrove]

Must be better than being in the office like me all week! Are there any other reasonably public places nearby worth checking for crossbills, say 3 miles radius?
Thanks
M

Hah, I am in the office all week, just able to get out before work and at lunch.

The whole of Thetford Forest has crossbills to be honest. Just find a car parking spot and have a wander! Don't know if there are any stands of larches anywhere near Lynford that might be a focus for the species though?

Back to work...

Andy

 

[willowgrouse]

Wintering and breeding marsh harriers

The question of whether the marsh harriers that winter in Norfolk are of local stock has always interested me. Its never been easy to prove that the wintering population also breeds here, though its long been suspected.

Today I watched the first nest-building activity of the spring between two recognisable birds that have wintered at the site. Both reed and sticks were being carried into a reedbed. The last week in Feb seems to be the norm for this behaviour these days. The pair have been roosting together for over a week, bonding, and defending the roost site against incoming harriers and loosely harrasing other intruders (including carrion crow and buzzard) during the day. No sky-dancing as yet, but clearly both the temperatures and the sap are rising.