Hunstanton & Holme Bird Observatory

I fell asleep at the computer last night and just couldn't do any more. So I spent the morning sorting and adding yesterday's pictures to blog and various sites and writing up the Norfolk news for yesterday. Made sandwiches, flask, got ready and then decided to cook some lunch. There is no one at home to cook my meals when I have been out birding all day, so I tend not to cook. I have not had a hot meal since Thursday night, so decided I needed one! Whilst preparing this, news came on the pager of a Red-flanked Bluetail at Garden Drove, Warham at 11.35am – BOTHER! There was no more news for ages, so phoned RBA who put out a 'no sign of' message out at 12.48am. You find that this usual jogs someone into bothering to put the news out, it works every time and at 12.58am a message came through of it still showing at 12.15pm. Now, there has been no news since this one all afternoon, so I presume that it has not been seen, or is it that no one with pagers and phones has bothered yet again to phone it out? We are not in the days of flags and letters going out when a 'rare' turns up – its 2013 and those people that have pagers and phones should (in my opinion) out of courtesy make the effort to update their pager service, which then in turn informs other birders. Its all about team work and sharing information with others. I heard from a birding friend talk of suppression and also that there might be two RFB's!!! Anyway, rant over, for now!

UPDATE 

Understandably Graeme Spinks who found the Red-flanked Bluetail (along with John Archer) was not over the moon with what I had written about the rumours of the bird being suppressed and emailed me. I replied back with an apology etc etc and had a lovely email back from him. I felt that it would be nice to add the account of his find on here for all to read. From Graeme's email, he had obviously phoned the bird out straight away, so no suppression occurred at all! Note to self: don't write any more 'rumours' on my blog again!!! Anyway, congratulations to both Graeme and John on their spectacular find!

"We'd been birding the Garden Drove track since about 9.30am. I found the bird at just before 11.30am, as we returned back towards the car. We’d seen just a couple of other birders during the morning and no one had seen (or at least mentioned seeing!) a Bluetail up to that point.

Initially I had quite a brief, slightly silhouetted view of the bird, which then flew into cover and showed very briefly again to both John & I and allowed him to confirm my identification.  John was immediately on the phone to RBA to report the sighting.

We then spent the next half an hour plus failing to relocate it, during which time ten or so birders gathered & we briefed them. We then spread out and a short while later the bird was relocated by those further down the track, close to where our first sighting took place, and showed quite well for perhaps five minutes or so.

You’re right that no one phoned it in again when it was relocated (I guess the person re-finding the bird might reasonably have done) but John then contacted RBA again when he got the/your message requesting an update. We left at about 1.30pm and to the best of our knowledge the bird wasn’t seen again after the 12.15pm sighting........"

Hunstanton
With lack of news on the RFB, I decided to go and see the 'showing well' Bluethroat at Holme (ha ha). On route the pager bleeped up with Barred Warbler in a bramble next the belt of pine trees, next to the 'Le Strange Arms Hotel' at Old Hunstanton. Little detour on route to the Bluethroat! Parked free at Hunstanton by the lighthouse and walked along the cliff top. Found one other birder also looking for the Barred Warbler. I know that they can be little b*ggers, but sometimes you get lucky, today I wasn't. No sign whatsoever. I then decided I fancied finding a Red-flanked Bluetail myself and spent a bit of time looking round the area where the recent Bonelli's Warbler was, near the lifeboat station and inland gardens and sycamores. Found lots of robins, blackbirds, hedgesparrows, redwings, chiffchaffs and blackcaps, but nothing more exciting. News came on the pager of the Bluethroat at Holme being caught and rung – oh dear, that was that then. Alot of birds tend to shy away from the area they favoured after they have been rung, so my chances of seeing this bird was not looking good now. Also if I had not been to see a non-showing Barred Warbler. I would have already have been at Holme and watching a Bluethroat in the hand. I know its not the same as seeing it in the field, but at least I would have had excellent views! Walked back to the car.

Holme Bird Observatory
Parked up on the NOA carpark and made my way onto the main bank that leads up to the observatory. Several people standing here looking, but too much noise and idle chit chat going on. No hope whatsoever. Several birds in the heligoland trap area including Chiffchaffs, Robins, Blackcaps, Redwings etc. A bit later on Ray Roche very kindly came running along the bank to inform us that the Bluethroat was showing the other side of the Broad Water. I sprinted along the bank and luckily viewed the Bluethroat distantly through Ray's scope at 3.30pm, just before it bombed behind the bramble bush, phew! Thanks Ray! Glad I saw it, but obviously no pictures obtained whatsoever! A birder just arrived back from Thornham bank who said he had seen FOUR Great Grey Shrikes!!! This I had to see, so off I went. Along Thornham bank I passed Robert S., Andy B., and Chris M., who kindly told me about two of the Shrikes and also two 'cracking' Black Redstart's at the machinery compound at the end of the bank. One Great Grey Shrike was east of the bank and a second one way out in the marsh, west of the bank, two out of four wasn't too bad! The Black Redstarts were stunning, but wasn't able to get any pictures of them. It was too late in the day now to get to Warham, so would have to miss out on the elusive RFB and all the goodies at Wells.

I declared to two birders that I was now going off to find a Pied Wheatear and they wished me good luck. I walked along a dune ridge which is lined with lots of sueda bushes. Its a bit like a mini Blakeney Point and I used to walk this area alot when I was a youngster. I was talking about this to mother this evening and she told me how there was a Short-toed Lark there once, I can't remember about that though. As I walked through the sueda, several LBJ's appeared and then disappeared. A few Robins revealed themselves and also a few Redwings. OMG!!!! You won't believe what happened next – a white rump appeared out of the sueda, it was the back view of a Wheatear sp. – it dived in the end of the suada bushes!!! I did not take my eye off the spot where it landed, my heart was thudding, could it be, no surely not, it had to be a regular Wheatear? That wheatear disappeared off the face of the earth. I searched and searched for that bird, walking through every bit of sueda I could physically walk through and then searched the beach the other side of the dunes, nothing! The one that got away, again!

Walked back to the observatory and had a chat with Ray Roche and Sophie and then Richard Brooks turned up who also had no success photographing the Black Redstarts on Thornham Bank. The bluethroat had remained on and off the other side of the Broadwater and not come any closer since it had been caught. Left here and had a late look in the NWT forestry (if G.H is reading this I will be in trouble again). Lots of birds in there including Redwings, Blackbirds, Robins but no RFB's yet! I didn't take a single picture today! Big day tomorrow, need to work hard – my last day.

See R.M's account of birds between Wells and Burnham Overy HERE!