MEGA DAY!!! COLLARED FLYCATCHER AT HOLME!!!

COLLARED FLYCATCHER
HOLME
2nd for Holme, 4th for Norfolk.

Found by David Roche at 3.48pm


Pictures below added 21st May

I took the first pictures of this bird and this was my third attempt!


Above - 15th picture of many!











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A very happy David Roche!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Dave Appleton, Steve Gantlett and others!

Me, left; Sophie Barker, right, AW for HBO (soon to be Warden, Congratulations!) & David Roche, back right.

Julian Bhalerao, Pete Snook and others.

Can just see a bit of Connor here I think - far left!

Pete Snook and others.

By 'Sandyridge' house opposite the static caravan.

Watching the bird from beneath the canopy.

Round the back of the bungalows where it moved later on.

TODAY was very unexpected! I HAD to finish editing some photos for a magazine by the end of today. Its my own fault, I should have done them weeks ago. Was going to do them last night and then get to Cley at first light to hopefully see MG's Citrine Wagtail and then I was going to walk Blakeney Point. BUT I was so tired last night, I went to sleep early instead. Woke up at 6am, got up, put all birding gear in car, had breakfast and sat at the computer sorting photos until about 1.30pm. Phone call from Connor at some point about a Wood Warbler showing at the static caravan at Holme. Bother springs to mind, but I couldn't go as had to finish these photos. Spent a long time sorting out the lost scope and tripod situ. RBA kindly emailed me with the scope owner's mobile and landline, who had contacted them. I suddenly thought being as the landline was a Brancaster number I would contact them to leave it at Titchwell RSPB instead and then I could also see the wood warbler without having to go to Cley at all being as the day was trickling away. No answer from the landline or the mobile, so left two text messages to say I was going to leave the scope at Titchwell. Drove to Titchwell RSPB to drop the scope BEFORE I saw my Wood Warbler (glad I did).

Holme - I could see the only car parking space next to Redwell marsh was taken up, so opened the 5-bar gate just after there on the right, to park my car in the NOA Redwell Marsh carpark. I had not even had my lunch at this point, but thought I would see the Wood Warbler and then eat lunch on route to see the Cit wag at Cley and also hand deliver my DVD of pictures. I walked down to the static caravan opposite Sandyridge House (where my family used to live for a while, many years ago) and walked down the narrow path adjacent to the caravan to join a few others including Dave Holman, Ray and David Roche, Connor and Billy Rand etc. Saw the Wood Warbler flicking about the sycamore leaves, but too high up and distant to get a decent shot of. I moved round to on the road and stood for a while craning my neck up into the sunny sycamore leaves for a glimpse of the wood warbler. Shortly after this David Roche and I were standing by the gate to the property of the static caravan when David said 'There's the Pied Fly Penny' and his head was a only a few inches from mine as he leaned to point where it was..... 'no its not - its a bl**dy Collared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' I was shaking, as I tried to photograph a COLLARED FLYCATCHER at 3.48pm!!!!! I just couldn't believe what I was seeing - this was something else!!!! It went missing for approx 10 minutes before anyone else saw it. It was so exciting. Someone phoned the bird out straight away and it didn't take long for even the Cley birders to get here!!! Good old crowd, RM, MG, SG, Eddie M., John F., Stuart W., Pete S., Andy W., Justin L., Sue B., David N., Dave A., Pete A., Andy B, Andy S., Pete D., Garry H., Sophie B. Julian Bh., etc besides all the people who were here already! Excellent views were had by lots of people. Very difficult to photograph in the very tall sycamore and white poplar tree and it was very windy. The bird stayed high the whole time and didn't sit still for more than a few seconds most of the time. For me, this was better than seeing the Alder Flycatcher - this bird was just so stark black and white, most definately a top draw bird! Some birders had the bonus of seeing the elusive Wood Warbler as well. A Grey headed Wagtail and a Red Kite were also seen by others by the 5-bar gate which I was going to see, but instead joined others to see the Collared Flycatcher which had relocated to round the back of the bungalows where we watched it until 7.45pm.

Another birder pointed out to me that really my name should go on the record as well - I don't see how really as David saw it, ID'd it, but I did see it in the same minute and was first to photograph it for ID purposes - it then went out of sight for approx 10 minutes before anyone else saw it - my pictures would certainly ID it along with David if it had flown off without anyone else seeing it! ....don't know really! Anyway thanks David - you have made alot of people very happy today!!!

I had overheard a conversation in the crowd about the Eagle Owl at Hunstanton and apparently it was sitting on a roof in Clarence Road!!! Justin had left before me and kindly sent me a text to say it was still there. This EAGLE OWL is awesome. It just sat there in the midde of the roof looking very comfortable and at ease whilst a blackbird at each gable end mobbed it in vain! After a while it flew to the next house and perched briefly before flying to another roof a bit further down the road! Just before I left, a birder, Andrew Bloomfield who had not seen the C.F. earlier as he arrived late, thanked me for telling him which was the favoured tree for the collared fly as he had seen it in there at around 8.35pm and was extremely pleased

I drove back to Holme to show my parents the pictures. My father had the first Collared Flycatcher for Norfolk in May 1969 (I was 4 - so can't tick that one!). Father wouldn't come out this evening as he can't stand the 'twitching scene' - I wish he had though. Maybe, just maybe he will go and look tomorrow.

WOW - what a day!!!

EAGLE OWL

Of unknown origin on a roof in Clarence Road, Hunstanton this evening.
(see my previous posting about this)