Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Chilled Birding at Holme Reserves!
NORFOLK BIRD NEWS & MEGAS!
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Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Raining Birds?
Very poor birding at Wells. Only a handful of Goldcrests amongst the dripping sycamore leaves, Chaffinches, a Jay and nothing else of note. Searched hard in The Dell for the recent Red-breasted Flycatcher and Yellow-browed Warblers, none found – I was glad I had my wellingtons on, as it was very flooded in this area. Headed to the drinking pool and the glade just west of there and sat in the wet grass to wait for something colourful and exciting to appear – best I found was a red toadstool!🤣 Bumped into Chris M. on the walk back, who had seen 2 Yellow-browed Warblers in The Dell, after I had been there, typical! Couldn't go back to look, as ticket was about to run out, ok it had run out!
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MEGA!!! TENNESSEE WARBLER on Shetland!
Burravoe, Yell, Shetland – breaking news from Rare Bird Alert!!!
In sycamores in back garden of house at Burravoe.
Discussion here:
- 1995 at St Kilda 20th September.
- 1982 Orkney 5th to 7th September.
- 1975 Fair Isle 24th September.
- 1975 Fair Isle 6th to 20th September.
Monday, 28 September 2020
Garden Drove, Warham Greens & East Hills, Wells!
Garden Drove, Warham Greens
I had a few essential jobs to do this morning, so didn't get out until the afternoon. Headed east and parked up on the concrete pad at Garden Drove, Warham Greens. The hedge-lined track was alive with birds! Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, one of which I heard knocking on a dead tree stump, before I saw it, Blue Tits, Great Tits, also Chaffinches, Goldfinches, several Goldcrests feeding amongst the sycamore leaves, a Chiffchaff, Blackbirds, several Robins, Hedge Sparrows x 2, Wren, Redwing, male Blackcap and the best bird I found was a Redstart along the fieldside of the hedge, just west of the end of Garden Drove (where the Brown Shrike was). Nothing of note in the copse at the north end though – no bluetails! Another birder kindly pointed out a Yellow-browed Warbler to me, approximately half way along the track, lovely views but sadly didn't get a photo.
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AUTUMN HOLIDAY – THREE WEEKS IN NORFOLK!
Sunday, 27 September 2020
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Saturday, 26 September 2020
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Friday, 25 September 2020
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Thursday, 24 September 2020
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Wednesday, 23 September 2020
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Tuesday, 22 September 2020
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Rare Books Sell For Thousands As Auction Attracts Global Interest!
Including "The Ornithology of Francis Willoughby", the first bird book printed in
English, sold for £1,300 at an auction led by Durrants and
Swaffham-based auctioneer, Fabian Eagle.
Raise fixed penalty notices for littering the countryside and beaches to start at £1000.
Please sign this petition if you are sick of selfish people littering our countryside. Thank you.
Monday, 21 September 2020
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Sunday, 20 September 2020
Hot Birding At Wells Woods & Holkham Pines!
It took me ages to actually see the Red-breasted Flycatcher in The Dell, but eventually I did! Cracking little bird – I sat on a bank for ages and watched it flitting around in the branches. I also saw the Red-backed Shrike perched on a bramble next to a fence in the big field, just south of the The Dell. The most shocking scenes today of hundreds of dogs and people. All I could hear all morning was barking, yelping and owners calling their dogs, so much for listening to nature's sounds! No hope! It was very stressful to hear continuous barking and growling. I think I might purchase a set of headphones that cancels out noise!!! I also saw 2 Treecreepers, a Bullfinch, several Robins, Blue Tits, Great Tit, Coal Tits, male Blackcap, a Chiffchaff (along the caravan path/track). Walked to the drinking pool and west of here found Dawn and Pete Balmer and Bethany watching a Yellow-browed Warbler in a glade, just west of the pool (the one that Ashley Saunders found a RFB in). Lovely views of the YBW, but the sun was in the wrong direction, so walked to the opposite side of the glade to take some pictures, but I never saw it again! Lots of Goldcrests appeared and there were 6 together, just in one small birch tree and also saw Blue Tits and Robins here too.
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Probable, flew west past beach car park at 8.45am and east at 12.50pm at Cley, Norfolk
Saturday, 19 September 2020
BROWN SHRIKE Twitch & Wells Woods!
Warham Greens
I spent a wonderful afternoon watching the Brown Shrike at Warham Greens, which Alex Berryman found yesterday and congratulations to him, what a find! I saw the first for Norfolk at Weybourne Camp on 21st October 2018 and had only one short view, so wasn't very memorable. The Brown Shrike just west of the north end of Garden Drove at Warham Greens was stunning to watch, as it perched in the hedgerow and caught various bees and insects in the sunshine – it was truly magical to watch and was joined by a Redstart and a Robin. Nice to bump into some familiar faces including Dick Filby, Carl and Tania Chapman, Cat and her family, Mike E., Paul H., Keith T. and Jill W. amongst others. Just before I left for the mega news, there was only around half a dozen of us left, which increased our opportunity to get better pictures as the Brown Shrike started to come closer, but......
News broke on the pager of a YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING at Wells Woods, so most of us promptly left and marched back to our cars! I saw the first one for Norfolk at Holme Bird Observatory on 19th and 20th September 1992 (28 years ago to the day!) – it was a massive twitch and I remember my father being very angry with my mother, as she had been putting tons of bird seed down daily for weeks on end and my father was worried something big would turn up, which of course it did! My father was not a lover of Twitchers at all, as I'm sure some of you know and he was not a happy bunny that weekend!
Anyway, back to today's bird! I speed walked back along Garden Drove with retired dentist Mike E. who sympathized with my awful dental experience this week – we both jumped in our cars and headed to Wells beach car park. Arriving on site, long story short......there was news that it wasn't 100% and that it was only a 'possible' – bother!!! I popped an hour's worth of money in the machine and walked to The Dell to find lots of other birders – I didn't see the Red-breasted Flycatcher, even though it landed close by and Steve G. did see it and photographed it later on! Neither did I see any Yellow-browed Warblers or anything else that was on offer today, but did see a very smart Pied Flycatcher in the birches in The Dell area. I searched the area where the possible Yellow-breasted Bunting had been seen at dusk, but the light was fading fast and I made my way back to my car. I asked the ticket man what time the gates are open in the morning for the car park and he said they open at 5.45am. The daily parking costs are as follows: Up to 1 hour £2.00, Up to 2 hours £3.50, Up to 4 hours £6.50 and All Day £9.00. I'm hoping the car park will be packed out with birders in the morning, as then there won't be a dog in sight!!!