Borded Straw and Spoonbills Galore!

BORDERED STRAW

I am soooooooooooo glad I didn't go to Hartlepool to the see White-throated Robin. Not been seen all day!!!!!!!!!!!!! But feel really sorry for birders who travelled there today. Very, very unfortunate when people who work Monday to Friday have been waiting and hoping that the bird would stay until the weekend - torture for people when it was seen Friday night - sadly that's the way it goes sometimes.

Went into town to TK Max to buy a Trekmate 'Bivvy Bag' and a 'Storm Shelter' for a little expedition I am planning to do!

Arrived at my parents at lunchtime and spent the afternoon with them. Father still having vertigo problems and not himself, but better than yesterday. Helped father sort through his moth trap, which resulted in a Small Elephant Hawk Moth, a Flamed Shoulder, Buff Ermine, Burnished Brass and a BORDERED STRAW amongst others (see pics). Father also told me that he had the 2nd UK Eastern Borded Straw in Sheringham on 28th May 1958 (2nd UK record) and another in 3rd June 1958.

Burnished Brass.

Small Elephant Hawkmoth.

Flamed Shoulder.

Buff Ermine.

Gun Hill, Burnham Overy Staithe — 6.10pm to 9pm

A wonderful evening walk and I didn't pass a single person! Several sedge warblers along the main path and mute swans with goslings. At the end of the main sea wall (which they are re-building) a Spoonbill flew over west and landed on Scolthead Island at 7.55pm. Several brightly coloured linnets in the sueda bushes. Walked all round the end of Gun Hill trying to magic up a male White-throated Robin or something! Watched the little terns over Scolt Head. Another Spoonbill west at 8pm on the way back. On the pool east of the main bank 21 Black tailed Godwits, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 tufted duck, 3 avocets, a cormorant, 9 coots, 3 redshanks and my third Spoonbill 'spooning' away in the evening sunlight! A reed bunting and a linnet sat on a hawthorn bush in the reed bed. As the sun was setting and shimmering a burnished gold blanket over the mudflats, a redshank stood on top of a post calling. 2 cuckoos chased each other alongside the lower path and 2 little egrets flew over west. 2 barn owls and a marsh harrier were flying round the marshes and there were tons of swifts flying around at 8.30pm.

On the way home through Stanhoe a Little Owl was sitting on a telegraph pole!

Sedge Warbler.

Spoonbills.

Linnets.

Redshanks.

Sun setting casting a gold bronze glow over the mudflats.

Sun setting over Burnham Overy Marshes.



Sun setting over Burnham Overy Marshes. (iphone)

I was in the midst of arranging a lift for tomorrow to see the WTR but when I got home from work I found out that my father is not very well and don't want to end up too far away. So I will be birding in Norfolk all weekend.

Father is ok this evening and nagging me - so he can't be too bad!!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL WHO ARE GOING!

White-throated Robin still there!!!!!

Posted on birdforum at 5.45am this morning!!

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=202466&page=14

South East Winds and Rain on Sunday!!!!!

for Norfolk!!! Our turn for another MEGA?

Collared Flycatcher at Holme and FIBO - the same bird?

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=202815

Sharing Bird Songs from around the World

Just discovered this very useful site:
http://www.xeno-canto.org/browse.php?query=golden+oriole

Not looking good for White-throated Robin Twitch!!!

No sign of the White-throated Robin since 11.25am!!!

Very odd, this disappearing in the day - I hope it hasn't fallen fate to a predator!

Doing an early shift tomorrow aswell, which mean't I would have been finished by mid afternoon and could have potentially gone up then, if someone had offered me a lift. My car getting too old for long journeys!

Oh well, you win some, you lose some - sounds like I will be doing Blakeney Point instead which will be alot less stressful!!!

There are some particularly nice shots of the bird on Surfbirds Stop Press by Paul Hackett, Mike Lawrence and Colin Bradshaw.

Ruddy Ducks - Important!!!

If you see a Ruddy Duck - ANYWHERE - don't tell anyone you don't know and don't write down your siting in ANY visitor sightings books at nature reserves and we might, just might be able to save a few!!!

LGRE also now highlighted the above on his website.
ALSO please don't forget to sign the petition to save the Monk Parakeets also being shot by DEFRA!!!!!!
http://uk400clubrarebirdalert.blogspot.com/2011/06/please-help-monk-parakeet-and-please-do.html and this petition takes only a few seconds to complete: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/stop-the-monk-parakeet-cull/

Also see: LGRE's very informative post in August 2010 2010http://uk400clubrarebirdalert.blogspot.com/2010/08/saving-ruddy-duck.html

Just found this in the 'Daily Mail' on 27th May 2011
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-169970/6-000-ruddy-ducks-culled.html

Very Bad News for remaining Ruddy Ducks!!!

This was emailed to me from Roger Bird today.

Roger emailed 'The Fera Correspondence Unit' on the 3rd June to ask if "the Ruddy Duck eradication programme has now been fully completed and no more shooting will take place from todays date?"

Roger received the following email back today including attached pdf (which I had to change to jpgs in photoshop to attach here)

"Dear Mr Bird

Thank you for your email of 3 June regarding Ruddy Duck eradication work. Although the EU-funded eradication project ended on 31 March 2011, further work is being carried out during 2011/12 with the aim of progressing towards complete eradication by 2015. I attach a copy of our project bulletin from April 2011 which explains this in more detail.

Regards.


Fera Correspondence Unit

Central Correspondence Unit
The Food and Environment Research Agency
Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK

Email: ccu@fera.gsi.gov.uk
Web: http://www.defra.gov.uk/fera
Phone: +44 (0)1904 462296 "


Open the three sections below as you would view a picture to enlarge and read.

Legal move in fight against King’s Lynn incinerator - Home - Eastern Daily Press

Legal move in fight against King’s Lynn incinerator - Home - Eastern Daily Press

White-throated Robin still here on day three!

The bird that had them all in a flutter - Local - Peterlee Mail

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/06/08/twitchers-flock-to-see-rare-white-throated-robin-115875-23186830/

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/251410/What-a-flap-to-see-Robin-whitebreast

Also see very amusing account on: http://randombirding.blogspot.com/2011/06/snow-white-and-seven-dwarfs-of.html

Don't forget to keep reading the White-throated Robin thread on Birdforum for updates - one of the best and most entertaining threads there has been and has now had at 11.55pm 27,682 views and 281 posts!!!!!

Possible "BLUE ROCK THRUSH" in Devon!!!!!

http://devonbirdnews.blogspot.com/2011/06/few-more-details-from-dartmoor.html

Fair Isle in 'The Guardian'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jun/04/fair-isle-shetlands-scotland?INTCMP=SRCH

Norfolk Birders in Tabloids!!!!!!!

White throated Robin in Hartlepool

I can see Justin Lansdell and Sue Bryan here so far!!!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3623130/Bird-lovers-getting-twitchy.html

http://m.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2000224/Dozens-twitchers-lay-siege-bowling-green-sight-rare-white-throated-robin-normally-TURKEY.html

Also a bit in 'The Times' - but have to pay a pound to join, to view it all!

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/bird_watchers_flock_to_headland_for_rare_bird_s_visit_1_3454259

This picture on birdforum is absolutely brilliant!!!! http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2162140&postcount=173

LGRE on here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIDJYMUL0mc

A VERY sad, bored, pathetic person who needs 'to get a life' just joined Birdforum to wind everyone up that the 'robin' had been captured' and he had seen it 'on a website', but when asked which website, he declined to answer and then finally said something like 'don't believe me then'. He was then promptly removed from BF by Steve. Going by his wording, he was probably a teenager and probably doesn't know the difference between a robin and a blackbird!

Holme this evening

Sedge Warbler.

Juv. Common Whitethroat.

The Collared Fly tree (as I will now be calling it) by the static caravan, half way down the Firs Road at Holme, produced a male Blackcap only - there was other birds high up in the sycamore leaves, but couldn't get on them. Round the back of the bungalows I saw several common whitethroats, sedge warblers, cuckoo, pair of bullfinches flew over my head and two linnets sat on a hawthorn as the sun set. Photographed a whitethroat and a sedge warbler. Tons of dog crap everywhere, its getting behind a joke now. Left at 9.30pm.

Honeysuckle. (iphone)

MEGA - White throated Robin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Britain's third for Britain, but first twitchable

WHITE THROATED ROBIN
Hartlepool

This information taken from RBA's Account

Thats typical that is...... had two weeks off and the second, the very day, I go back to work something HOT turns up. I knew as soon as I saw the rain coming down this morning there would be something mega turn up somewhere!!! Now I don't twitch outside Norfolk very often but I would have gone to see that!!! It has inspired me though - just home from work and having a VERY quick tea and then off out to find a Norfolk MEGA whilst several Norfolk birders I know are up north!!!!!!! How cool would that be! Andy W. said to me at lunchtime as he was just leaving, 'I don't suppose you'll be able to get the afternoon off? ' he said to me - Ehhhhh, no I have just had 2 weeks off, I wouldn't even ask my team leader that question!!! Nice to be in a job where you can do that at a moment's notice - we have to have 2 weeks notice for a day off!

Previous two records were Calf of Man, 22nd June, 1983 and Skokholm, 27th-30th May, 1990.

Being discussed on Birdforum here with links to other youtube videos and accounts/pics on blogs etc and video on birdforum TV here Now the national press want pictures - see here - be quick!!!! Blimey, looking at one of the youtube videos (via BF link) people were climbing ladders to look over the wall at the bird - chaos!!!

Pictures here on Surfbirds already, a video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXHMSukeid0 and another below:

I can see Justin Lansdell and Sue Bryan in someone's pictures on birdforum!

Now on the BBC website, story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-13675833
Film of birders here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-13676339

Mad Day Last Day of My Holiday and Mega Seawatching!!!

Gannets early morning from Cley Coastguards.

I decided that my last day would be a mad day. After having very little sleep I arrived at Coastguards, Cley at 5am!!!!! I was the first one there and in fact remained on my own until 6.40am!!! I am sure I missed loads being as I was on my own. Most of the passage had tailored off by 6.45am (ish). I didn't want to miss anything going through the breakers so crazily stood on the shingle in the cold, so I could see everything going through. This definately paid off as most of the Little Gulls, if not all, were flying low, close in. Had I been standing in the shelter, I would not have seen them. At least half of the following list I saw on my own and a few other birders joining me to assist with my count! Phoned the following list to RBA but they only put out the Little Gulls and Manx Shearwaters.

Coastguards, Cley — 5am-10.10am

Gannets – 276
Auk sp. – 72
Little Gulls – 18
Razorbills –3 (sitting on sea)
Guillemots – 46 (3 sitting on sea)
Manx Shearwaters – 6
Little Tern – 44
Common Scoter – 11
Cormorant – 6
Fulmers – 7
Kittiwake –1

Also seen but not counted, loads of common terns and sandwich terns, also black headed gulls, great black-backed gulls and common gulls. Five hours standing in the cold was enough, so went to the Visitor Centre for breakfast. the only problem was they don't cater for vegetarians for breakfast - only food on offer was a bacon bap (no) or a fruit or hot cheese scone - well you can guess which one I chose with my pot of tea, yes a hot cheese scone! Sat with the Cley lads: Eddie M., Andy J. and M.G. and counted up/sorted my seawatching numbers. News came through of a Black Tern seen from Coastguards - 15 bloody minutes after I left!!!!!! Picked up by Trevor D. and Robin A., we found out later when we all returned to Coastguards, just in case any more decided to put in an appearance. No black terns passed through when we arrived!

Walsey Hills NOA - sun now blazing and hot and I had got tons of layers on! No birds of note in here, apart from several common whitethroats. Several Sandwasps around the main steps. Photographed a small tortoiseshell and bees at the bottom of the public footpath. Poppies created a colourful display, intermingled with grasses and Vipor's Bugloss with lots of insects buzzing. Walked round the top of Walsey and lay down for a wonderful snooze on the bank overlooking Arnold's Marsh. I relocated to the Visitor Centre for lunch.

Bumble bees at Walsey Hills NOA.

Small Tortoiseshell, Walsey Hills NOA.

Poppies at Walsey Hills NOA.




More poppies, Walsey Hills NOA. (iphone)

Coastguards - one of the few places in Cley I can get a phone signal. Parked car overlooking Eye Field, reclined seat and slept for a long time.

Seawatched again from 5.55pm to 7.30pm. Well not as seriously as I did this morning, but did see at least another 45 Gannets going east, another 13 Little Gulls all low and close in again and one line of 13 Auks, east. Spent the last half an hour sitting on the shingle close to the rolling surf trying to improve yesterday's attempt at photographing Little Gulls.

Had a coffee and drove home.

The last day of my holiday!!!! I'm not ready to go back to work at all!!! In fact the way I feel right now, I may well be at home tomorrow - the same things going on, as put in me in hospital a few weeks back.

Sunset at Coastguards, Cley.

Awesome Seawatch at Cley!!!

Common Whitethroat, Kelling Water Meadows.

Had a rubbish night's sleep because of cold and tickly cough.

Bought LADY GAGA'S latest album 'BORN THIS WAY' - brilliant!!!!!
http://www.ladygaga.com/bornthisway/


A beautiful sunny day, but a nippy north east wind on the coast!

Started the day at Kelling Water Meadows - lovely family of common whitethroats along the main track. Lots of linnets, a reed bunting, goldfinches, including a massive flock over the rape field. Lots of sand martins going through and one landed on the fence wire for me to photograph! Best bird here was a stonechat just off the left track/branch off, as you reach the pool/scrape. Just before I walked along this track an electrical van squeezed through the brambles and continued along the track to come out at Salthouse - I wonder what they were up to! If they have dumped anything - I have a nice clear picture of the van!

Sand Martin, Kelling Water Meadows.


Linnet, Kelling Water Meadows.

Reed Bunting, Kelling Water Meadows.

Chaffinch, Kelling Water Meadows.

Cley Visitor Centre for jacket potato/salad lunch and had to buy my OWN stem-ginger ice-cream - hmmmm........ (hope you are reading this Mr *!!!)

Kelling Heath - met up with Pete S. here. Photographed a beautiful Tiger Beetle. Good views of a Male Stonechat, a distant Common Buzzard, but not alot else. Pete went home to watch the football.

Tiger Beetle, Kelling Heath.


Steam train, Kelling Heath.

Muckleborough Hill - walked round here thoroughly - only found a few chiffchaffs and whitethroats.

Walsey Hills NOA - very little here, usual chiffchaff, willow warbler, hedge sparrows and chaffinches.

Daukes Hide NWT - M.G. pointed out a pair of Gargeney on Whitwell Scrape - very nice! Sat in the hide with M.G. and Andy J. and after seeing a few gannets go behind North Hide (where Eddie M. was sitting) we decided it would be a good idea to relocate!

Coastguards - the sea was awesome and it was bitterly cold. A continuous passage of Manx Shearwaters (50+), Gannets, Auks, Little Gulls, Med. Gulls, Terns and Fulmars from 7.30pm (ish) to 9pm - with M.G., Andy J. & Eddie M. Every so often I rushed across the shingle in the wind to attempt a few photos - got a few gannets and little gulls on the camera!

Got home 10pm.

Gannets, Cley Coastguards.

Little Gull, Cley Coastguards.

Capercaillie - Highlands

My good friend Pete Snook has sent me another one of his brilliant videos. This one of a Capercaillie in the Highlands of Scotland where he was recently on holiday.

For more of Pete's Videos including Great Snipe, Citrine Wagtail etc go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/norfolkvidiscope

A chilled day!

Kiss FM, promoting in King's Lynn.

"MUSIC IS LIFE"

I felt awful when I woke up this morning, but decided not to let a cold beat me. Finally got up after 9am.

Went into town to take sandals back and to buy a second pair of 'big' trousers!!! (see previous trouser issue). Kiss FM had a huge marquee near Argos and were playing loads of funky music and handing out flyers and mobile phone holders. It made me want to dance, but I thought better of it in birding clothes and the fact that I must remember I am not 18 any more! Chatted up the funky lad there for a 'Kiss' mobile phone holder! Got shopping for parents from Sainsburys, then on a whim I decided to do something I have been meaning to do for a while. My MJ CD has been stuck in CD section of car radio for months and months. At the time I decided to live with the fact that the CD player packed up as the radio still worked. But shortly after that, the radio was fuzzy on a regular basis and I am fed up not being able to listen to any music whatsoever. So went to Elite Audio and Security in Austin Fields and at last got a new JVC radio fitted - now I can 'pump up the volume' - yep I am 18 really, well I drive like one! Means I can now play my latest albums in the car - hurrah! It was lunch time by the time I got home and had planned to go birding at some point. I decided to cook some proper food - I don't do dinner when birding, which is probably part of the reason why I don't lose weight, eating bread all day! A courier service knocked on the door to deliver my Nikon P7000 - blimey, talk about quick service - I hadn't expected that yet!!! Hung washing on the line etc etc and now its 5.25pm!!!! Maybe I will go out for a little wander this evening OR I could just get into bed early for a change and be out at dawn for all those easterly goodies - here's hoping!

Update: I didn't go out this evening as I feel REALLY ill - must have man flue I reckon!!! Streaming cold, headache and tickly cough. I NEVER get colds in the summer - its not fair on the last few days of my holiday!!! I also felt too ill to even think about going through photographs to add to my posts - oh dear! Goodnight.