21st Aug - change of blog address

Apologies for any inconvenience, I have had to change blog providers, I have transferred to

http://norfolkbirdtours.wordpress.com/

from now on you can find my news and pictures there !

many thanks
Stuart

15th August 12 - Cley & Blakeney point

Cley reserve produced 5 Spoonbills, Garganey and a good selection of waders, 22 species were seen or heard including Greenshank, both Godwits, 2 Little Stints, 50+ Ruff, LRP and Wood Sandpiper.

After the tour I headed out to blakeney point with a birding mate, the forecast had looked promising with SE winds and a band of rain coming, anticipation was in the air! We weren't to be disappointed with two good self found birds.

We saw a Hobby trying to catch meadow Pipits and a Whinchat fairly quickly, past the boat wreck we flushed a BARRED WARBLER which was nice, it only showed in flight a few more times but was readily identifiable, reaching half way house we saw the first of 6 Pied Flycatchers, a lovely bright Redstart, wheatear and Garden Warbler (nice comparison for the earlier Barred). Reaching Yankee ridge we had a juvenile Black Tern come in off the sea and head into the harbour, also the first of at least 10 willow warblers. Moving on and a WRYNECK appeared from nowhere and flew past us and away, we followed it back to yankee ridge where we had some more good flight views. The plantation was quiet with just one pied fly. Heading back we saw a Reed Warbler creeping around in the sueda at the hood which quickened the heart rate briefly, also of note 2 Painted Ladies.

After 7-8 miles of walking on shingle we were back at the beach car park by 9pm tired but happy! Now I remember why I rarely walk out to Blakeney point !

9th Aug 12 - London

We were lucky enough to get tickets to the athletics today, fabulous stadium and great atmosphere. Should be back to birds very soon !

3rd Aug 12 - Cley area

We started today's tour on Beeston bump with superb close up views of the ALPINE SWIFT, it showed on and off for 30-40 minutes often coming withing a few metres ! Awesome bird, very hard to photograph though !

On the reserve we saw 7 SPOONBILLS, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls, Bearded Tit, 3 Gannets, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Marsh Harriers and 17 Species of wader including, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, 50+ Ruff, 2 Golden Plovers in summer plumage, 4 Whimbrel, Little Ringed Plover and Greenshank.

1st Aug 12 - Teddington

A day at the olympics produced reasonable views of Bradley wiggins as he sped past on the time trial ! I also manged to year tick Ring-necked Parakeet (a bird I've never seen in Norfolk)

29th July 12 - Raptors & Titchwell

On tour today at a spot near Fakenham we saw 4 Red Kites, 4+ Marsh Harriers & Buzzard. While we were there the farmers were cutting the crop, one of them came over and asked me to identify some ground nesting birds, there on his i-phone was a close up photo of 2 Marsh harrier chicks ! Luckily they cut a square around the birds. Moving on we saw 2 Turtle Doves and Yellowhammers. After lunch at Titchwell we were treated to 20 different species of Wader including an adult Curlew Sandpiper, 16 Spotted Redshanks, Bar-tailed & Black-tailed Godwits, Whimbrel, Greenshank, 20+ Sanderling and my first 2 Golden Plover of the Autumn. Also 5 SPOONBILLS, 2 Little Gulls, 2 Eider, a close in Common Scoter & juv Yellow Wagtail. En route home we saw Corn Bunting & another Turtle Dove.

juvenile Dunlin

28 July 12 - Cley area

An afternoon/evening tour produced 18 species of wader, including 5 Curlew Sandpipers, Knot, 300+ Black-tailed & 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, Little Ringed Plover chicks, Whimbrel, Greeshank, Spotted Redshank & 30+Ruff, also 6 SPOONBILLS, 2 Bearded Tits, 2 Stonechats, 2 Yellow Wagtails both juveniles and 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls. After a fabulous sunset we only heard a brief churr from a nightjar, but did see Barn Owl and had lovely close up perched views of Tawny Owl.

27 July 12 - The Brecks

Black-tailed Skimmer

On tour today at Lakenheath we saw 3+ Bearded Tit, Grasshopper Warbler(h), Water Rail(h), Cetti's Warbler, 3 BITTERNS including one good long flight view, 4 COMMON CRANES including a juvenile, Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail & Green Sandpiper(h). After lunch we visited a couple of spots around thetford forest seeing Firecrest, some nice big Brown Trout, 2 Stonechats, Yellowhammers, flight views of Woodlark, a Tree Pipit still feeding young, a few Tree Sparrows and finished with 11 STONE CURLEWS.

25th July - Birds of prey

During a morning tour from a spot north of Fakenham we saw, 3 Red Kites one of which came right over our heads (see photos), still a nice sighting here in Norfolk, c10 Marsh Harriers, 5+ Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawks, Kestrel, Yellowhammer & Grey Partridge.

22nd July 12 - Titchwell area

On tour today we saw a lovely adult ROSEATE TERN in full summer plumage, c20 Common Terns, Sandwich & Little Terns, 4+ Arctic Skua including one close overhead, 19 Spotted Redshanks, juvenile Yellow Wagtail, 20+ Turnstone, 20 Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwits, Little Gull, c50 Common Scoter, another early summer plumage Red-throated Diver, Greenshank & Whimbrel. Also at inland sites 3 Grey Partridge, Marsh Harriers, Buzzards, Sparrowhawk & 2 Turtle Doves.

distant record shot of the adult Roseate Tern

Arctic Skua

21 July 12 - Cley area

A good afternoon & evening tour today starting on the reserve seeing, male Bearded Tit, lots of Marsh Harriers, 10+ Ruff, 5+ Little Ringed Plover, Greenshank, c10 Common Scoter, 4 Gannets, Little Terns, Red-throated Diver in summer plumage, 12 SPOONBILLS sleeping, feeding & preening, a very smart first summer Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, Spotted Redshank, 3 Yellow-legged Gulls all in near adult plumage & Whimbrel over calling.

juvenile Spoonbill

After fish & chips in Holt we headed off for the night birds. On one of the heaths we had excellent views of 2 NIGHTJARS both males, with lots of fly-bys, several perched views and 2 more churring birds heard but not seen. We then tracked down an almost fully grown juvenile Tawny Owl which along with 2 others were squeaking away begging for food.

And to top it all off Bradley Wiggins secured the first ever British win in the tour de france ! Hurrah

20th July 12 - The Brecks

On tour today at Lakenheath we saw 3-4 Kingfishers, a family of 5 Green Woodpeckers, a group of 4 Bearded Tits showed well, an adult COMMON CRANE on the deck somewhat distantly, a Snipe displayed briefly overhead, lots of juvenile Marsh Harriers begging for food from their parents, 2 Bitterns including a good long flight view plus a second distant bird in flight, Hobby, Water Rail(h), Greenshank(h) & Treecreeper.

After lunch we visited a couple of sites around the forest seeing Marsh Tit, Nuthatch, Firecrest(h), 2 Siskins, 5 STONE CURLEWS in flight and on the ground and c10 Tree Sparrows.

Reed Warbler - still feeding young

juvenile Marsh Harrier

Green Woodpecker

A very well camouflaged Stone Curlew

female & juv Beareded Tit

18 July 12 - Buckenham

A brisk walk late morning produced the following beast, a cracking adult CASPIAN TERN. This was combined with a trip to the local tip, so not even really twitching ! Only my third in UK, not massively rare but often hard to catch up with due to their mobile nature.

12th July 12 - North West Norfolk

Finally a nice sunny day with not too much wind and absolutely no rain ! We checked out a few sites for birds of prey in the morning seeing lots of Buzzards, Marsh Harriers, 2 Red Kites, Barn Owl, 4 Turtle Doves and a possible distant Honey Buzzard. After lunch in the Titchwell area we saw another 2 Turtle Doves, Corn Buntings, Yellowhammers & Yellow Wagtail. On the reserve we had fabulous close up flight views of a BITTERN, 2 SPOONBILLS, c2000 Knot swirling around in the sky, 85 Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, 6+ Spotted Redshanks, Bar-tailed & lots of Black-taield Godwits, a few Ruff and a Little Gull.

Yawning Spoonbill

Spotted Redshank in summer plumage

Avocet

11th July 2012 - Cley area

A reasonably prodcutive afternoon/evening tour seeing 4 Green & 4 Common Sandpipers, 4 Little Ringed Plovers, c300 Black-tailed Godwits, c20 Ruff, 2 Bearded Tits showed well, a Hobby bombed over east bank, Little Terns & Gannet offshore, 5 SPOONBILLS, 2 Red Knot, 30+ Dunlin, summer plumage Bar-tailed Godwit, adult Yellow-legged Gull, 8 Whimbrel over the first returning birds I have seen and Greenshank.


Black-tailed Godwit in summer dress

After a hearty fish & chip supper we dropped in at Stiffkey fen seeing Barn Owl, Green & 2 Common Sandpipers and a first summer Med Gull.

We finished on one of the heaths, it was quite cool by now which limited the amount of activity but we had some brief churring and a good flight view of a female NIGHTJAR, also 2+ Woodcock roding overhead making their weird frog like & squeaking calls.

8th July - Titchwell area

A couple of hours on the reserve in the morning were very pleasant with only one other couple braving the weather forecast, it was actually pretty dry! We saw a flock of 14 Spotted Redshanks mainly in summer dress, 2 Greenshanks, 6 Little Gulls, a Short-eared Owl which appeared to come in off the sea!, a Skua species briefly very distant chasing a tern, a few Lttle Terns, 2 Gannets, c20 Common Scoter, 300+ Knot including red adults, 20+ Bar-tailed and a few Black-tailed Godwits, SPOONBILL and 4+ male Ruff.

Spoonbill

Up at Choseley barns we had a Hobby bomb over the road and saw both Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer on the wires. After lunch we headed to a couple of other sites where we saw 6 Turtle Doves and the MONTAGU'S HARRIER sitting on a fence post for 45 minutes!

The Brecks - 7th July 2012

We spent the morning at Lakenheath today, the Orioles were a struggle. We only managed to hear the male GOLDEN ORIOLE calling and singing a few times but no views were had. We did however score with a COMMON CRANE in flight, 2 Bitterns in flight, 2+ Cuckoo still around and calling, Water Rails (h), lots of Marsh Harriers including fledged juveniles, a Hobby hawking for dragonflies and a Cetti's Warbler singing and seen close up in flight.

male Cuckoo still singing

Great Spotted Woodpecker

After lunch we visited various sites around the forest seeing a male Firecrest still singing, Tree Pipit displaying, Sparrowhawk and 6 STONE CURLEWS.

6th July 2012 - Cley area

A funny start to today's tour, walking down to Bishop's hide I spotted an Egret flying over the reserve, my immediate thought was that look's big, it appeared to land on Billy's wash. We sped round to the beach car park and started walking towards north hide. One of the group then asked me if what she was looking at was a Tern, I looked with a naked eye and said "no, too big probably a herring Gull" ! I did then scope it and realised it was a tern and most likely a CASPIAN TERN, aaggghhh, too late as the views weren't good enough, we never saw the egret again either! Some days are just like that.

After the early excitement we had an excellent afternoon and evening tour. On the reserve we saw 14 SPOONBILLS, 30+ Dunlin, c10 Ruff, 200+ Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Little Gulls, 6 Wood Sandpipers, 10 Gannets, a Hobby which buzzed north scrape scattering all the birds but just missed out on a dunlin supper, 2 Greenshank, summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, Stonechat, 3+ Green Sandpiper, LRP & 2 Common Sandpipers.

juvenile Swallow

After some very nice fish and chips in wells, we headed to Stiffkey fen seeing Yellowhammer, no less than 10 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Barn Owls, 2 Common Sandpipers, Green Sand, Greenshank & a Chinese Water Deer.

Stiffkey marshes

We finished the day with lovely views of a NIGHTJAR dsiplaying plus two more churring and 2+ Woodcock roding like there was no tomorrow and another Barn Owl.

1st July 12 - Birds of prey tour

An interesting tour today seeing Marsh Harriers, lots of Buzzards, Kestrels, Sparrowhawk, Red Kite close up and with some patience good views of the MONTAGU'S HARRIER were had. Other birds included Yellowhammer, 2 Grey Partridge, a flock of 14 Stock Doves & 3-5 Turtle Doves.

A group decision then led to us twitching the SQUACCO HERON at Welney which showed well in flight and fairly distantly feeding on the ground, also several Whooper Swans and a Corn Bunting to finish.

30th June 12 - The Brecks

Another excellent tour today starting with a Barn Owl from the car, then brief views of 2 GOLDEN ORIOLES, the adult male and probable female, also Water Rail (h), a fresh juvenile Marsh Harrier just on the wing, 2 Bitterns in flight, Cetti's Warbler (h) & Bearded Tit. Then back at the wood more views of the ORIOLES, this time much better and prolonged views and even tending to a half built nest also a Cuckoo (h). Unfortuantely photos were harder to come by today. I did manage a headless shot of the male!

After lunch at various sites we saw male Firecrest, Blackcap, Kingfisher, 3-4 Tree Pipits and 3 STONE CURLEWS.

29 June 12 - Cley area

A very windy tour produced, 2 Bearded Tits, c100 Black-tailed Godwits, Knot, the Sacred Ibis of unknown origin, 2 very nice Spotted Redshanks in full summer plumage, Cetti's Warbler(h), Little Terns fishing offshore, Stonechat, Greenshank, Water Rail(h), c5 Ruff, 7 SPOONBILLS around the reserve, 2 first summer Little Gulls & 2 Little Ringed Plovers.

Moving on to Stiffkey fen we saw 2 LRP's, 3 Green Sandpipers and an adult Mediterranean Gull.

24th June - The Brecks

After a long morning of wind, rain and frustration we were treated to superb prolonged views of 3 GOLDEN ORIOLES, what looks like an adult male and 2 young males, though there is still hope one is a female ! The green bird I saw well looked heavily streaked underneath, indicating a juvenile male. While at Lakenheath we also saw Hobby, Grasshopper Warbler (h), Cuckoo, Sparrowhawk, Garden Warbler, Treecreeper, a Red Kite over and brief flight views of a Bittern. Moving on to a couple of other spots we had a male Firecrest + another heard, 2 Tree Pipits song flighting, 3 STONE CURLEWS and a Tree Sparrow.

One of the group also found a new friend !