I expect you've been wondering why we've all gone quiet here. Thare have been lots of good birds (my personal favourite has been a low flying Montague's Harrier which went right over my head), but I'm afraid family commitments have meant that I have not been able to continue making regular updates. To sort this situation out we have now created, in true Collective fashion, a "wiki" website so that each of us can update our birdnews directly. So, to go to the new website, click here . Good birding!
15 April - winds have been from the north for
several weeks and migrants have been slow to trickle in. Today
saw at least six Ring Ouzels, quite a few Swallows, a Great Northern
Diver fly-past, and Lesser Whitehroat. Over the last few weeks
Green Sandpiper and some more Avocets have been good birds. A
Dartford Warbler was singing for a day, but has not been located
since.
28 March - Black Redstart and Firecrest today.
27 March - seven Avocets going south on the sea
were a parish mega, as was a Corncake amazingly seen coming in
off the sea by AG. Swallow also seen today, going north, and
one of the Dartford Wablers was also seen again.
26 March - Ted had a Firecrest in his garden
this morning.
17 March - The first Sand Martin today.
11 March - Tim and Andrew saw the year's first
Red Kite today, going North (which seems slightly unusual - most
Spring birds tend to go south...)
10 March - The last few weeks have seen a steady
trickle of good birds - Jack Snipe in the toad pools, a Black
Redstart in farmland just outside the parish, two Dartford Warblers
at the Northern end, and a Bean Goose from the Holmes Road. The
first Chffchaff (except for a couple of wintering birds) has
been heard singing. Blossom is everywere. Spring is arriving
early.
4 Feb - In a pea-soup fog Pete located the seven
Shore Larks and Sean and Ted hot-footed it down to see them whilst
recovering wheezily from the effort. They were a Parish lifer
for the johnny-come lately webmaster, though Pete and Ted fondly
recalled some seen about 20 years ago...
2 Jan - December ended witha few nice birds;
in paeticular Terry's Christmas Eve find of at least 3 Tree
Sparrows along Low Road, which were still present on New Year's
Day. A little flock of Lesser Redpolls, seven Shorelarks (preseumably
the Caister birds up for the day), a Dartford Warbler in the
marrams (!), and a Grey Wagtail on the roof of the Chicken Sheds
were also good birds.
10 December - the village Village Weaver appeared
briefly in Pete's garden today. A Blackcap was there yesterday...
28 November - Six Shore Larks were an even better
find for Pete!
18 November - Three Shore Larks were a nice find
for Terry today.
2 November - A morning seawatch for about four
hours, and another visit at dusk, produced around 300 Little
Auks, as well as a lot of other stuff, including
3 Great Crested Grebes, Eider, Pintail, 2 Velvet Scoter, 2 Shoveller,
2 Tufted Duck, 4 Gadwall (on the sea!), a Pochard (a massive
rarity), 7 Red-breasted Mergansers, over 20 Goldeneye, a few
Kittiwakes and Little Gulls, about 500 Brent Geese, and around
1000 Black-headed Gulls!
1 November - A strong northerly blow resulted in about 20 Little Auks this afternoon, plus a Slavonian Grebe, and, whilst others huddled in the lee of the cafe and wiped spray from their optics, Andrew, luxuriating nearby in the comfort of his car, saw a Sabine's Gull! We believe his eyes are actually manufactured by Questar. Earlier in the week there have also been a few Little Auks, as well as a Lapland Bunting and a Shag.
22 October - The last week has seen a few Ring
Ouzels go through, (including a juv eating a slug in Pete's garden!),
and a male Velvet Scoter has been seen off the cafe for the last
few days, along with quite a high number of Mediterranean Gulls
(five). The winds have gone South so there has been little visible
passage.
15 October - an afternoon walk along
Low Road, through the Secret Nature Reserve and around the Totem
Pole Bushes produced several little flocks of Bramblings and
TWO Firecrests. Redwings are now in in good numbers.
11 October - At last some easterly winds producing
an instant result with 114 Song Thrushes and 37 Bramblings arriving
in small flocks late afternoon. Ted and Andrew scoured the bushes
in the North Dunes and turned up a late Wheatear (not actually
in the bushes of course) Ring Ouzel (in a bush), 2 Dartford Warblers
(in two different bushes) and an eastern form of the Lesser Whitethroat
known as Steppe Lesser Whitethroat (seen only by Andrew in a bush).
Dark-bellied Brent Geese were still moving with over 300 counted,
11 Eiders flew north and 6 Snow Buntings were about the beach
and North Dunes.
10 October - Ted and Andrew enjoyed a pleasant southerly
movement of Dark-bellied Brent Geese in the late afternoon with a total of
747 counted with also 3 Mediterranean Gulls seen.
8 October - Tim worked hard to find a few birds with
the main prize being the first Short-eared Owl for the autumn and a late
Sand Martin plus also Redstart, 2 Blackcaps, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest.
6 October - Thank god for the sea as the land holds
few birds at present and Andrew counted a remarkable 533 Razorbills along
with 114 Red-throated Divers, 314 Gannets, 25 Dark-bellied Brent Geese,
18 Eiders, 3 Arctic Skuas, 2 Great Skuas and 86 Guillemots.
3 October - The sea provided the interest today with
34 Red-throated Divers, 317 Gannets, 8 Arctic Skuas, 53 Common Terns
and 64 Little Gulls.
2 October - Andrew and Tim had a late Swift today
with plenty of Swallows and House Martins enjoying the barmy October
weather.
1 October - The month began with a Yellow-browed
Warbler in the Valley, found by Andrew. Tim made it back in time
to see the Harrier, so it's on all our lists. We await with excitement
the coming month...Let's hope there are plenty more rarities to
hound to death (see below).
30 September - The Pallid Harrier is still here
(which will delight Tim, who returns today from Up North), but
sadly the Rose-coloured Starling died after torrential rain on
the 25th. Its fate aroused local anger and national interest
(see, for example http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006450462,00.html,
or http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5394324.stm). The truth
of the matter is that the bird was very weak, and would probably
have died several days earlier if it weren't
for birders repeatedly shooing away the assembled prowling feline
cast. Still, a sad end.
On a brighter note, there was a sighting of three
Egyptian Geese flying over Low Road last week.
23 September - The Rose-coloured
Starling was again around after disappearing for much of yesterday.
It is looking a bit off-colour and has two very large ticks,
which have increased dramatically in size overnight. More astonishingly,
a juvenile presumed Pallid Harrier was found just within the
parish boundaries at about 10am and settled briefly in fields
along the Corn Bunting track. It then flew off south, seemingly
forever, but has now apparently returned (2pm) so everyone is
off to look for it again!
22 September - Peter discovered a Rose-coloured
Starling which necessitated the opening of the upper storey window
of his centrally heated bird hide/house for the collective to
view the bird (see photo of the bird in the hot shots section).
Further excitement was provided by Tim who found a Wryneck in
the North Dunes where there were also a few other migrants -
2 Wheatears, 2 Whinchats, Chiffchaff and a Redstart.
17 September - Andrew, joined later by Tim, enjoyed
a notable seawatch for duck enthusiasts! Red-throated Diver 17,
Gannet 201, Brent Goose 3, Shelduck 43, Wigeon 1,414, Teal 1,212,
Pintail 12, Shoveler 3, Tufted Duck 6, Eider 2, Common Scoter
127, Grey Plover 3, Knot 58, Dunlin 106, Bonxie, Arctic Skua
11, Little Gull 27 and Kittiwake 4. Tim also had good numbers
of Wheatears (10) in the Valley and a Pied Flycatcher on the
edge of the Chalet Park.
16 September - Tim struck again this morning
with a Red-backed Shrike along the bank by the Chalet Park. It
was a good morning on the sea as well, with half a dozen or so
Arctic Skuas and similar numbers of Great Skuas, plus a Manx
and a Sooty Shearwater, and very large numbers of Gannets.
Institutional Update: There have been a number
of personnel changes in top ornithological organisations recently.
For example the BOU has commissioned the services of the well
known and wide respected birding athlete Richard Millington,
to provide additional pace and stamina for its celebrated, yet
still somewhat slow, Rarities Committee. The WBSC is no exception
to this trend, and after several months of careful deliberation
the Sub-Committee Membership Selection Sub-Committee of the Steering
Group has reported to the the Main Committee. Its findings were
that the success of the WBSC mission would be enhanced by the
creation of the post of Scientific Special Officer Designate.
It was felt important that the post-holder should be able to
provide much needed intellectual rigour to the Collective's research
arm, and should be someone who could be bothered to get out of
bed early on several successive mornings, should the need arise,
as well as someone who knew how to update the website. It is
therefore with pleasure that we are able to announce to the UK
and international ornithological scene (and particularly our
brothers and sisters in the Yarmouth Bird Club (whose website
now, alarmingly, links to ours) the appointment of Mr Andrew
Grieve to the said post. Andrew's immediate duties include mounting
an assault on Tim's yearlist, and updating the website more regularly
that the current team. To this end all records should be submitted
to him, though records submitted through existing communications
protocols will of course be forwarded by the Hub-Sub-Committee.
Welcome aboard Andrew!
27 August - Sorry for the long delay folks -
it's been a busy summmer and the principal web-author has had
a lovely solo birding holiday in Arizona and been paying for
it ever since! Anyway - there have been a few good birds over
the last month - Sooty Shearwater for one - and I'll bring you
the details as soon as they are forwarded to me. Today however,
a HOOPOE was found by Tim in the North Dunes just north of the
Concrete Blocks - a good bird to kick of the Autumn (though there
has been a fairly steady stream of the commoner warblers moving
through in the past week).
22 July - a Hobby flew over Old Chapel Road and
caught a Swift. It returned in the late evening and soared high,
occasionally making a speeding sortie after another Swift.
21 July - another Arctic Skua on the beach tonight,
this one a very dark adult with colour rings (red over white,
on left leg). Two further pale phase adults flew north just before
dusk. 20 July - 2 adult Arctic Skuas (one pale and one intermediate)
were sitting on the beach this evening,after a storm. Three Little
Terns remained - though none bred this year - they all went to
Great Yarmouth where they've been successful (300 chicks have
been ringed).
29 June - the Hobby is still around in the evenings,
and important news from just beyond the parish boundary is that
one Corn Bunting was seen by the farm houses between Winterton
and the windmills.
27 June - the Hobby was again giving splendid
views in the Valley this evening.
26 June - a Hobby in the Valley this evening,
and suggestions that Reed Warblers are breeding along the Holmes
Road. A male Bullfinch was seen by a Spotter's Wife in their
garden this evening. The unfortunate Spotter failed to connect
- and it would have been a year tick...
5 June - A Tree Sparrow was in Pete's garden
this evening. Late news from May has been received about a Marsh
Tit seen on the Holmes Road but ruthlessly suppressed by Tim
(further questions have to be asked), and yet another astonishing
wader record from Les - Common Sandpiper.
27 May - Tim came up trumps again with a Hoopoe
in the North Dunes. It was duly looked for during the course
of the day but didn't reappear until late evening, when Phil
Heath relocated it north of the Warren, and good views were eventually
had by most. Pete had 19 calling Crossbills fly south over the
Holmes Road.
24 May - Four Spoonbills circled out to sea at
midmorning and at least five Spotted Flycatchers were in the
Valley this evening.
21 May - Well, it's been a largely quiet May
all round really, although last weekend apparently Tim saw a
Red-footed Falcon but for some reason he did not submit his sighting
through the official Collective hotline, choosing instead to
inform only Colin and Ted, both of whom were away! Questions
will be asked about this extraordinary lapse, which is certainly
against Collective ethics, and may be a court-marshallable offence.
Other birds seen lately have been Grasshopper
Warblers, Hobbies, Nightjars (first seen by the visiting Terry
at 8.00am on 19 May), Turtle Doves, Spotted Flycatchers, and
the odd Lesser Whitethroat. As far as we know (Tim?), there has
only been one Whinchat recorded this spring, by Pete in the North
Dunes on the 17th. But pride of place must go to Terry's fantastic
sighting of a Bee-eater in the Valley on Friday evening, followed,
amazingly, by his sighting of ANOTHER Bee-eater (or the same
one), at the North end of the parish the next morning!! He was
the sole lucky observer on both occasions.
Another interesting development is the appearance
in the parish of a pair of Mandarin Ducks, along with a pair
of Carolina Ducks and a solo Bahama Pintail, all now in residence
on Duffel's Pond, minus a set of primaries each, and courtesy,
apparently, of Jeremy Lubbock.
7 May - a quiet weekend. A Ring Ouzel in the
Valley on Saturday.
5 May - AG: Little Egret north, Swallow 80 north,
House Martin 56 north, Tree Pipit, Goldfinch 100 north, Linnet
110 north
4 May - AG's migration watch: Common Scoter 3,
Eider 2, Bar-tailed Godwit 14 south, Whimbrel 11, first summer
Glaucous Gull north, Sandwich Tern 26, Kittiwake, Swift 5, Sand
Martin 26, Swallow 1250 (mostly south), House Martin 53 (mostly
south), Tree Pipit, Wheatear, Goldfinch 150 south, Linnet 220
south.
3 May - MORE SWIFTS!!! All over the village now.
Hooray!! AG's migration watch: Tufted Duck 5, Hobby, Sparrowhawk
11, Green Sandpiper, Whimbrel 3, Sandwich Tern 151 south, Stock
Dove 22, Wood Pigeon 1000, Cuckoo, Swift 23, Sand Martin 21,
Swallow 1500 (mostly south), House Martin 145 (mostly south),
Yellow Wagtail 7, Wheatear 3, Reed Warbler singing, Rook 120,
Carrion Crow 107, Goldfinch 69 south, Linnet 200 south.
2 May - SWIFTS!!! 9 in this evening. Andrew's
migration watch: Little Egret, Common Scoter 5, Sparrowhawk 16,
Greenshank, Whimbrel 3, Turtle Dove 2, Yellow Wagtail 9, Wheatear,
Siskin, Goldfinch 160 north, Linnet 350 north.
1 May - May began with a torrential downpour
that confined most of us to barracks for most of the day, although
Tim, staring wistfully out of his French windows, did find a
pair of Bar-tailed Godwits and a Fieldfare on
the chalet park lawn, and Colin had a Lesser
Redpoll visit his front garden feeders intermittently
throughout the day (which was seen by everyone, eventually).
The rain stopped by late afternoon and Ted and Tim had three Spoonbills flying
north. In the evening, there were four Wheatears close
to the village in the North Dunes.
30 April - The unmentionable duckies are still
present. AG's migration survey records: Red-throated Diver, 2
Spoonbill north, 2 Gadwall, 7 Cranes over, 4 Whimbrel, Greenshank,
Turtle Dove, Tree Pipit, Garden Warbler singing, 120 Goldfinch
north, 400 Linnets north. (A Little Egret over Horsey was seen
from Winterton Dunes)
29 April - AG: Red-throated Diver, 40 Gannets,
Hen Harrier, Hobby and 260 Linnets north
28 April - AG's migration watch: 2 Brent Geese,
2 Gadwall, Lesser Whitethroat singing, 139 Goldfinch north and
340 Linnets north.
27 April - A Fieldfare was
in the horse fields this afternoon. Peter returned from Spain
and walked up the North Dunes to see two Cuckoos and
at least 4 Wheatears. AG's daily
update: Little Egret south, Merlin south,
4 Swifts north, 2 Lesser
Whitethroats singing, 66 Goldfinches north
and 230 Linnets north.
26 April - Andrew continues his early visits
to the north of the parish. Today her recorded 2 Red-throated
Divers north, 2 Gadwall north, Tufted
Duck north, 296 Common Scoters,
8 Whimbrel, a Bar-tailed
Godwit north (also seen by Ted), 2 Arctic
Terns north, a Turtle Dove north,
7 Swifts north, a Ring
Ouzel, 2 Wheatears, and 400 Linnets.
A certain pair of duckies that we
don't want broadcast (thank you RBA) were also still present.
24 April - Andrew's early morning visit produced
16 Ringed Plover (in ploughed field
along access track) a high figure of 9 Ring
Ouzels, and 26 Wheatears (15
in the burnt area alone).
23 April - A lot more Ring
Ouzels were reported. Andrew saw three Little
Terns, and there were two nice White
Wagtails, along with two equally nice Yellow
Wagtails, (as well as two - equally equally nice - Pied
Wagtails) on the first Horse Field.
22 April - Astonishingly another pair of Garganey were
on the North Pond all day. Andrew saw them first, along with
three Grasshopper Warblers (heard
if not seen), and a Water Rail in
the reeds along the Holmes Road. In the afternoon there was a Ring
Ouzel in the first horse field along Low Road, and later
a Yellow Wagtail. There was a Redstart in
the Valley this morning, and several Cuckoos called
through the day. Blackcaps, Whitethroats, Willow
Warblers and Chiffchaffs are
now frequently encountered throughout the parish.
21 April - Andrew's migration watch produced
a Hen Harrier, 8 Whimbrel south,
7 Sandwich Terns south, 4 Ring
Ouzels south, a Redstart and
275 Linnets north.
20 April - Andrew's migration watch produced
3 Gadwall, Little
Ringed Plover north, Green Sandpiper south, Kittiwake south,
a Ring Ouzel, 2 Wheatears and
2 Grasshopper Warblers singing.
19 April - Terry's last day for his Easter visit
was another good one for him with 5 Yellow
Wagtails and a Blue-headed Wagtail,
3 Sandwich Terns and a Hobby in
the North Dunes. His brief visit enabled him to record an excellent
99 species - more than some of us have seen all year. See his
photo of yesterday's Pied Flycatcher in
the Hot Shots... This evening Colin found a Redstart in
the same place.
18 April - A male Pied Flycatcher in
the Valley was an unusual spring record, whilst at least 16 Wheatears on
the burnt patch in the North Dunes was a welcome and reassuring
arrival. Ted had a Firecrest in his
garden! In the evening a Heron stalked
the little pond in the last horse field, (with a female Blackcap in
the tree above).
17 April - Terry found a Northern
Long-tailed Tit in the Secret Nature Reserve this morning.
In the north of the parish there was no sign of the Garganey today,
but appropriately for this page (listen!), 17 Bramblings flew
north this morning, along with over 400 Linnets and
at least one Tree Sparrow. Other
good birds were a Peregrine, several Whimbrel,
a Curlew, two Arctic
Terns and a pair of Gadwall flying
north offshore. Some remaining Pink-footed
Geese were seen by Andrew, a Reed
Bunting was near the pond, and a Grasshopper
Warbler sang in the same area. One House
Martin and two Wheatears were
also seen, and the first Cuckoo was
heard in the North Dunes.
16 April - Black
Redstarts were in the Valley and along the Holmes
Road. At least four Ring Ouzels were
seen, and there was a Grasshopper Warbler in
the North. Tim surged forward to take the Cream Egg Trophy
from Pete by ONE HOUR - reaching 100 species for the year
at about 10.30am. He saw five new species this morning, culminating
in a wonder pair of Garganey on
the Holy Northern Pool (which were seen by several of us
later in the day, along with a pair of Shoveller and
a Shelduck on the pool too).
Tim saw a Sandwich Tern as well,
and there were fairly good numbers of Swallows,
and a few House Martins. Terry,
our newest member, (welcome!) saw three Bramblings today
as well. Finally, there were eight Fieldfares in
the horse fields along Low Road this evening. The big mystery
of the year so far is WHERE ARE THE WHEATEARS?
15 April - The Black
Redstart was present again
14 April - Black
Redstart, Whitethroat and
singing Grasshopper Warbler in
the Valley and a flabbergasting report of a Nuthatch by
the Hermnanus. If only it were true... AG
recorded 3 Red-breasted Mergansers and
a Tree Sparrow
13 April - Woodlark (AG)
10 April - AG recorded
a staggering 107 Fulmars flying
north, plus 23 Gannets and 16 Red-throated
Divers
9 April - Colin saw
a Buzzard over the village.
8 April - Ring
Ouzel in the Valley.
7 April - the first Swift (non-Alpine)
was seen today by Les, and a Ring Ouzel by
Andrew.
6 April - Slavonian
Grebe and the year's second Green
Sandpiper (AG)
5 April - the Whooper
Swan is still present on Somerton Holmes
3 April - a late Snow
Bunting was seen by Andrew.
2 April - Another
good day today. A Firecrest remained
in the Valley, and the morning produced two Buzzards,
several female Hen Harriers, a Crossbill, Sand
Martins, and a White Wagtail.
Amazingly, the Sand Martins were
actually flying in the right direction - ie North, unlike almost
all the other migrants. Mute and Whooper
Swans in the same field was unusual. The finch passage
was lighter today, but there were still good numbers of Linnets and Siskins around.
There were quite a few singing Willow
Warblers and Chiffchaffs around
too.
1 April - Colin proved
to be nobody's
fool today when he found an ALPINE SWIFT over
the vilage around 4pm. Unfortunately he was the only lucky
one. Presumably this was the bird that was seen yesterday at
Minsmere and Lowestoft. It was a good day for Tim too, who
found two Firecrests in the Valley.
Other nice birds were several Swallows,
and a Chiffchaff. Siskins still
seem numerous, as do Linnets in
the Valley. A Fulmar and a Lesser
Black-backed Gull were year ticks for some.
31 March - Andrew
saw a Spoonbill this morning.
There were slightly fewer Chaffinches (800)
and Linnets (200) flying south
- along with a Sand Martin and Bullfinch.
The usual question arises: WHY are they going SOUTH? The Whooper
Swan found by Pete on 28 March was still present too,
and other yet to depart Winter visitors seen by Andrew were
11 Redwings and 3 Brent
Geese.
30 March - A corker
of a day for those on holiday (temporarily or permanently)
- Red Kite, the first Swallow,
1500 Linnets and 2000 Chaffinches south
at the Northern Holy Lands between 7 and 12 this morning, another Woodlark,
and seven Siskins in Ted's garden.
And the rumours of a lingering Peregrine are
true! (All I get to do is write the bloody report! Bah!) From
yesteday - Short-eared Owl in
the N Dunes. We
must thank Andrew G for many of these records - Ted in particular
is grateful for the Woodlark today...
28 Mar - A Wheatear was
the first for the year in the North Dunes, and there was a Whooper
Swan and a flock of c9 White Wagtails along
the Holmes Road. Other birders (welcome to our little world,
Mr Grieve) reported two more Woodlarks, several Sand
Martins and a large movement of Chaffinches.
27 Mar - The first Chiffchaff of
the year was in the Valley (hooray!!) and Colin found a Woodcock in
the SNR
26 Mar - Still no
Summer migants, although this weekend brought Merlin and Grey
Plover, a male Siskin which
did the rounds of the village bird feeders, and reports of Woodlark, Short-eared
Owl, White Wagtails and White-fronted
Goose from other birders.
19 Mar - A lot of Red-throated
Divers this morning (c40), plus a Great-crested
Grebe, and the Barn Owl which
has been hunting around the Warren was out again. The Year
List Great Tit was formally presented to Tim today for his
2005 achievements. Will he be victorious in 2006? He's been
up for the last two weekends running, and the Chalet Park
isn't even OPEN yet. Surely this is an indication of his
ambitions. Why else would anyone spend
£45 a night on an Oompaloompa Hut??
13 Mar - Not much
to report as yet this year. We'll keep you posted.
23 Jan - The first Merlin of
the year was seen in the North Dunes this morning.
21 Jan - Two tricky
yearlist species today. Bullfinch on
the Holmes Road and Green Sandpiper flying
out of the southern edge of The Warren. Two Cranes fed
on the northern boundary.
15 Jan - Four Waxwings along
Low Road was an excellent find for Colin and Gemma - a species
not seen in the parish at all last year. A female Blackcap spent
much of yesterday intermittently in Sean's garden, feeding
on a peanut feeder!
1 Jan - A Water
Rail in the Low Road Rail Hotspot (that's Rail Hotspot,
not Rail Hotpot, Tim) started the year off well, and
Sean and Colin retrospectively jammed a small flock of Brambling by
call in the Chalet Park after a gambling session in the Hemsby
penny arcades.
2 Jan - Ted saw a Hen
Harrier along Low Road.
3 Jan - Pete saw a Barn
Owl hunting over the Warren.
2005
Archive Here
