Norfolk birding (5 Viewers)

[Locostella]

Kieran and i guess this goes for Oliver as well it does appear that quite a few people have doubts about some of your sightings (although i admit Norfolkbird/er does seem particularly monosyllabic) at the moment but there are a number of things to bear in mind.
Firstly don't think you are alone in being being doubted - it has happened to anyone who enters the Norfolk scene and can almost be seen as a rites of passage. When i first moved to Sheringham 4 years ago I seawatched most days and as i result saw some decent birds. I had already been told, like a few other BF stalwarts to 'keep my head down for ten years' something i found fairly proposterous. Pretty quickly i was getting questioned online and simply had to fight my ground, then since seawatching is probably my forte, was be able to call seabirds during big passages to show people i knew what i was talking about (not that i felt i had to do this). People can see you guys are keen and also a bit cocky (a good combination for bird finding) but not sure you have found anything that people can properly twitch yet, you just need to keep at it and prove people wrong (you might have to twitch less to do this). If people are photographing YOUR Pied Wheatear there is not much they can come back with. Just see it as a good challenge and not constant criticism (a lot of it is tongue in cheek too)

Sorry if this all sounds a bit too much like Lee Evans but its worth chilling out a bit.

Pomskua,

I am absolutely gob smacked by your post.

Quote: it does appear that quite a few people have doubts about some of your sightings?

What sightings have I submitted that have given anyone anything to doubt? The last good bird I found was two Long tailed Ducks at PentneyGP and they were photographed, videoed and seen by several birders in the area. Please inform me of my birds that have given people anything to doubt because I haven't a clue what your on about.

Quote: Firstly don't think you are alone in being being doubted .

I have no problem being doubted, I understand how the class system works. I gave an honest and polite reply to a mans question, that is all.

Quote: People can see you guys are keen and also a bit cocky.

Cocky? in what way? I barely message on this thread and when I do I am always polite and have the utmost respect for people. As for you GUYS, please do not tie your thoughts of me in with the thoughts you have for any other birders, just because I choose to spend time with them. Oliver has come under a lot of negatives of late and I have spoken to him many times about this and the way I think he should deal with it. We are not the same person, I choose to bird with Oliver some days because we get on and have a good laugh. I do not choose to bird with someone so it will higher or lower my reputation being seen with them. I want to be judged by my own ability, not those I choose to spend time with.

Quote: (you might have to twitch less to do this)

I am not patching at the moment because I am off the road and just moved house, most of the birding I have been able to do is with my partner and with friends, this has limited my time to search for my own birds as I am limited to others movements and time schedules. When back in Swaffham I visited my patch (Pentney GP) twice a day on days off and every evening when I was working. So please don't lecture me on how to spend my time birding when you know nothing of my circumstances.

Quote: its worth chilling out a bit.

I can far from chill out when your writing things like this Pomskua, you don't know me, it has no fact and no substance. i can't wait for you to tell me about the birds of MINE people have doubts about? or are you just putting me together with Oli and wrapping me up in the Cory's situation?

Since I have moved back to Norfolk its just birders slagging other birders, class wars, whos said what and so forth. I keep myself to myself, I don't get myself involved with the antics on here. All I did was answer a mans question that he had the right to ask and you have given me a stringy past, shifted my personality to cocky and told me to chill out when I was perfectly calm before you got yourself involved.

I look forward to your reply.

Regards Kieran 'Not another man or birder' Nixon

 

[Johny121]

Well as I joined birdforum to contribute to bird sightings I'll add to the fieldfare sightings of today - a good number churring (not like a nightjar but you know) away in the garden with more redwings and some 80 starlings later c100 finches arrived which is nice, but costly on my nyjer seed budget, nothing rare, but hopefully I wont be doubted ( tongue in cheek). Tomorrow I should be going for my first ringing session at UEA, which Im looking forward to despite a 6am and very dark and Im guessing cold start.

Spending a few days at the coast next week -( parents have booked a house near cley - so its goodbye dissertation for a while )- if anyones about

 

[rachk116]

Hi there. I am a Norfolk girl born and bred but moved up to East Yorkshire about 10 years ago so I'm a bit out of touch.

Can anyone please tell me if the Pinkfeet are around in any numbers and if so where is the best place to see them. Am possibly going to be on the coast on Wednesday after a trip to see family and go to the Norwich Beer Festival and would really like to catch up with them.

Thanks in advance
Rachel

 

[dbradnum]

Sure, they're back in decent numbers already, great to see skeins arriving last weekend. Holkham is probably as good a place as any to see them, on the freshmarsh west of Lady Anne's Drive.

Enjoy!

 

[rachk116]

Sure, they're back in decent numbers already, great to see skeins arriving last weekend. Holkham is probably as good a place as any to see them, on the freshmarsh west of Lady Anne's Drive.

Enjoy!

Thank you, I always remember seeing them there. I really miss going up to see them every weekend during the winter. I never realised how much I loved birding in Norfolk until I moved up to East Yorkshire. It's not that it isn't great up here just that Norfolk is a very special place.

 

[dbradnum]

At least you've moved to an area with some good birding of its own.... think about those of us who've moved to London! ;-)

Know what you mean though - wandering around in lovely weather, without another soul in sight, on Gun Hill (nr Burnham Overy) at the weekend was glorious.

 

[postcardcv]

I started out at Stiffkey this morning but with little to report apart from decent numbers of thrushes and skylark moving through... did hear a very odd call, but couldn't convince the bird to show. Then headed on to Titchwell where the jack snipe eventually showed quite well.

 

[Johny121]

I started out at Stiffkey this morning but with little to report apart from decent numbers of thrushes and skylark moving through... did hear a very odd call, but couldn't convince the bird to show. Then headed on to Titchwell where the jack snipe eventually showed quite well.

Impressive photos:t: Where abouts has the Jack snipe been seen?

 

[rachk116]

At least you've moved to an area with some good birding of its own.... think about those of us who've moved to London! ;-)

Know what you mean though - wandering around in lovely weather, without another soul in sight, on Gun Hill (nr Burnham Overy) at the weekend was glorious.

Yeah, definitely a great place with Spurn and Flamborugh. Just get that strong urge pulling me back to the big skies and beautiful coast.

 

[petehasset]

Hi there. I am a Norfolk girl born and bred but moved up to East Yorkshire about 10 years ago so I'm a bit out of touch.

Can anyone please tell me if the Pinkfeet are around in any numbers and if so where is the best place to see them. Am possibly going to be on the coast on Wednesday after a trip to see family and go to the Norwich Beer Festival and would really like to catch up with them.

Thanks in advance
Rachel

Lady Ann Drive is now pay & display parking

 

[postcardcv]

Impressive photos:t: Where abouts has the Jack snipe been seen?

thanks - the jack snipe has been showing from island hide looking back towards the main path (also viewable from main path).

 

[Joseph N]

People can see you guys are keen and also a bit cocky but not sure you have found anything that people can properly twitch yet

I think keen and enthusiastic is the way to put this rather than keen and cocky, something I entirely connect with as like Kieran and Oli I am a young birder and always keen to get out in the field and find my own stuff. I was birding with these guys last week and they are certainly in no way cocky at all, they are very keen and modest and are able birders. Sorry to do an old story to death and you are of course aware of this, but we all know how difficult it is to find rares in Norfolk, just because they haven't found something twitchable as of yet and because they're younger than most that doesn't mean they are not able birders and that they should be doubted with anything they do happen to find like this BTD. There are plenty of able birders, these guys included, out there in Norfolk who haven't found any rares yet due to the sheer density of county coverage, someone out of luck always gets there first. There are one too many unfounded, somewhat malicious assumptions here that were attempted to be sly and I will not comment on them, but please, never judge a book by its cover. It really is unfair, especially on young enthusiastic birders like Kieran and Oli who enjoy birding to the full. Surely you don't want to put such a negative edge on their birding? You may well have done so. The younger generation of birders are supposed to encouraged, not constantly condemned like Oli and now Kieran have for no reason whatsoever.

Joseph

 

[petehasset]

Impressive photos:t: Where abouts has the Jack snipe been seen?

Plenty of Fieldfare's at Stumpshaw Fen this afternoon , along with Goldcrest's Redpole & lots of Robin's & Wren's & the Late Hobby being harassed by a Crow

 

[Johny121]

thanks - the jack snipe has been showing from island hide looking back towards the main path (also viewable from main path).

Cheers, Ill keep an eye out and bring the camera in case - not expecting anything like your one however!

Nice to know that Pete, hopefully some stuff about for the weekend!

 

[petehasset]

Cheers, Ill keep an eye out and bring the camera in case - not expecting anything like your one however!

Nice to know that Pete, hopefully some stuff about for the weekend!

I hope there is lots to see this w/end ,

 

[Winterdune]

I started out at Stiffkey this morning but with little to report apart from decent numbers of thrushes and skylark moving through... did hear a very odd call, but couldn't convince the bird to show. Then headed on to Titchwell where the jack snipe eventually showed quite well.

Lovely pics Mr Postcard! Are they taken with your Panasonic 100-300?
Sean

 

[postcardcv]

Lovely pics Mr Postcard! Are they taken with your Panasonic 100-300?
Sean

thanks - nope not with the Panasonic - these were taken with my Canon 500 f4.

 

[Penny Clarke]

My parents had a Turtle Dove in their garden today, I have just found out.

 

[O.Reville1989]

Plenty of Fieldfare's at Stumpshaw Fen this afternoon , along with Goldcrest's Redpole & lots of Robin's & Wren's & the Late Hobby being harassed by a Crow

Good to hear Pete! Chances are there will be a Siskin or two in with those Redpoll's as per last winter!

 

[O.Reville1989]

Not to fight fire with fire Pomskua (sorry unaware of real name!) I will attempt to respond to your comments.
I completely understand your comment about keeping your head down for 10 years but the truth is I have been a keen birder for around 15 years now. I would discount the first 5 years as I was very young and despite the interest I didn't go birding regularly enough to call myself a "birder", despite having my head buried in bird books during this period.
I can understand peoples doubts about my sightings, very few Norfolk birders know me as until this year I have kept myself to myself and gone about my own business. However I do think that the approach some people have taken with regard to myself and now to Kieran is beyond patronising, it is actually a bit insulting. In addition it is not acceptable to bind Kieran's latest sighting to my own previous ones, as he says we are two different people.
Speaking on behalf of Kieran and myself I can safely say that yes our knowledge isn't up there with someone who has birded for 40 years and we both can make mistakes, but there was no doubt in our minds as to the sighting of a Black-Throated Diver at Winterton the other day. Even though it was a "lifer" for Kieran he is a good enough birder to know one when he sees one and I have seen them several times before, including this year.
In addition, like yourself, I am a very keen sea watcher, in fact I spent the years I had a break from birding still doing sea watching regularly, both in this country and abroad.
To echo Joseph's point about us being cocky, this is the real sour point of your comment. I consider myself an able birder, as does Kieran, by no means an expert but certainly able. If this belief transpires into "cockyness" then that is how it is, for me it is just enthusiasm.
I bird watch for my love of birds, and the hope of finding something rare to share with the community. I am not a massive lister and my priority is to observe and making sure that my observations are accurate, something I feel a lot of young birders are also attempting to do.
As Joseph says, criticism and being attacked on an internet forum is not the way to go about encouraging young birders. By young birder standards I am quite an old one but I can imagine a lot younger birders being serious distressed and hurt by some of the comments that were aimed at me over the Cory's Shearwater topic, it will just lead to less and less youngsters taking up this hobby.
It seems like you do understand our point of view to an extent but you have reached the stage now where you feel you can pass judgement on us, sorry if that is out of line but just how I perceive it.
If I am honest I would like nothing more than the birders that criticise me to speak to me in person to discuss my sightings and perhaps, if need be, explain to me why they think as they do, rather than flame me from behind a keyboard, I'm sure others would appreciate this as well if the opportunity arose.
As I said I am not going to fight fire with fire on this one. I have no doubts about my level of ability and only aim to improve as a birder for the gains of myself and others. I hope one day members on here are at a twitch of a bird myself or people I associate with have found, as is often used by birders, it would be like winning the lottery/world cup.

Oliver