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July to December 2007 Highlights
July
Waders were the feature of the month with a Red-necked Phalarope at Cley on the 11th, with the same site also hosting a Pectoral Sandpiper on the 14th, with another at Buckenham Marshes on the same day. Cley also produced a Temminck's Stint on the 21st-22nd.
Roseate Terns were intermitently seen at Cley and other east coast localities during the month, and there were a number of Quail to be heard singing. As usual Honey Buzzards, Montagu's Harriers and Golden Orioles continued to brighten up the month. However the undoubted highlight of July was a Slate-coloured Junco which was found in a birders garden at Langham on the 14th. Being only the 2nd Norfolk record (the other was caught by a gas platform in the North Sea in 1980) it proved a very popular bird as it showed on and off for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
August
With the return passage of waders through the county continuing, it was no surprise that a few scarce and rare species occurred with Pectoral Sandpiper at Cley on the 4th, White-rumped Sandpiper at Breydon Water 14th-24th, and Red-necked Phalarope at Cantley beet factory lagoons on the 24th-28th.
Scarce and rare passerines were also a feature from the third week of the month with inclement weather on the 21st producing a few Barred Warblers, Wrynecks and Red-backed Shrikes, Icterine Warblers on Blakeney Point and at Weybourne, and good numbers of passage migrants including Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Whinchats and Garden Warblers. However it was the record numbers of Greenish Warblers that was the outstanding event of the month, with 5 being found on Blakeney Point on the 21st, and over the course of the next few days at least a further 20 individuals were reported at various sites in the County. A local highlight was a Nightjar that was found by a birding colleague roosting on his fence in his back garden and which stayed there for most of the day giving superb views of a species rarely encountered during daylight hours.
The same windy conditions over the 21st/22nd that caused the fall of migrants also produced a small passage of seabirds with Manx Shearwater, Great and Arctic Skuas and a few Little Gulls being the most notable species that I recorded.
September
As usual September produced some very exciting times within the county, with the trend of scarce and rare waders, passerines and seabirds continuing throughout the month.
Rare waders were well represented with the White-rumped Sandpiper again at Breydon Water, four Pectoral Sandpipers, including a popular bird at Titchwell, Red-necked Phalaropes at Buckenham Marshes and Cley, a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Happisburgh, 3 Grey Phalaropes at Cley and a Long-billed Dowitcher at Titchwell all being seen during the month.
The first good seawatch of the year occurred on the 10th, with the main highlight being the 15 Great Shearwaters which were reported past Sheringham by a lucky few, and although we did not pick any of these birds out just a few miles to the east off Cromer, we did record Sabines Gull, Leach's Petrel, Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and Great and Arctic Skuas during the afternoon, with another 2 Leach's passing off there the following day. Further good seawatches were had on the 18th when we recorded up to 3 juvenile Sabines Gulls off Sheringham, and on the 26th when off Cromer we had another 2 juv Sabines Gulls, 1+Leach's Petrel, 3 Sooty and 15+Manx Shearwaters, 40+Bonxies, 10+Arctic Skuas, a few Arctic Terns and Little Gulls, good numbers of auks and ducks, and even a Little Grebe on the sea!
On the 15th a Snow Goose arrived at Holkham amongst a returning flock of Pink-footed Geese and which subsequently went on to stay for the remainder of the year and into 2008, and in the Broads up to 28 Common Cranes were to be found.
Common and scarce passerines were recorded in small numbers during the month, but it was not until the last week of September that things really took off as winds finally swung round allowing an arrival of birds from Scandinavia and further east. As usual Red-breasted Flycatcher, Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike and Barred Warbler were recorded in small numbers, and a good influx of Yellow-browed Warblers occurred from the 27th. Little Buntings were seen at Wells and Weybourne on the 27th and an influx of Great Grey Shrikes also ocurred with at least 12 birds being recorded from the 28th onwards.
A juvenile Sabines Gull at Cley was a popular attraction as it spent a few days there, often to be seen at close quarters on the eye-pool just inside the single ridge. Once just a mythical species for most British birders, Red-flanked Bluetails are now being increasingly recorded, and one was trapped at Weybourne on the 29th and subsequently released in front of a lucky few, but it unfortunately flew off inland never to be seen again. A Blyth's Reed Warbler was found on Gramborough Hill, Salthouse on the 30th, and as I had missed the previous Norfolk bird in 1996, it was nice to see this one, however the rarest bird of the month might well prove to be the Subalpine Warbler that was found at Holkham the same day, but more about that next month.
October
The month started with 2 Grey Phalaropes and a Red-necked Phalarope together at Cley, where the Sabines Gull was still to be seen. Another Red-necked Phalarope was between Morston and Stiffkey from the 1st, and another was at Kelling Water Meadows from the 8th.
Following the influx of Great Grey Shrikes in September, around 15 were to be seen at the beginning of the month, and a Lesser Grey Shrike was also found at Holkham on the 1st. Also at Holkham the Subalpine Warbler was still to be seen, and from its call it was suspected to be a Moltoni's Subalpine Warbler. Yellow-browed Warblers were still very much in evidence along the coast, with double figures at Holkham, and I found three on my local patch in the first week of the month.
A Radde's Warbler was at Holme on the 5th-6th, a Hume's Yellow-browed Warbler was at Holkham from the 6th, a Rosefinch was a Warham from the 7th where there was also a Wryneck from the 15th. 9 Barred Warblers were recorded including a long stayer at Kelling and Red-backed Shrikes, Red-breasted Flycatchers and Richards Pipits were also recorded. At Wells a Little Bunting was seen 3rd-5th, where there was also a Rough-legged Buzzard, and 2 Great White Egrets were to be seen there and elsewhere along the north coast throughout the month.
Adding to the Snow Goose from September, 2 Ross's Geese appeared amongst the incoming Pinkfeet during the month, and 4 Black Brants arrived amongst the incoming Brent Geese, but a Lesser White-fronted Goose at Holkham was probably an escaped bird. A Temminck's Stint was at Titchwell on the 4/5th and the same site played host to a Little Bittern on the 19/20th. A couple of Pallas's Warblers were found on the 20th at Waxham and Winterton and an elusive Olive-backed Pipit was in Wells Woods from the 27th.
November
The month started with a Great Grey Shrike just inland of my local patch at Northrepps on the 1st, and during November overwintering birds were at Dersingham and Roydon Common.
The sea was again a feature in the first couple of weeks of the month, with strong onshore winds and high tides combining to cause a great deal of flooding in the Cley and Salthouse area. Pomarine Skuas were recorded from the 3rd, with good passages on the 6th and 9th when I recorded 30+ birds each day, and after seeing a single bird on the 5th, numbers of Little Auks significantly increased and I recorded 250+ on the 9th, 100+ on the 10th, 50+ on the 11th, with double figures continuing till the 14th. The major highlight of my seawatch on the 9th was up to 3 Storm Petrels off Cromer which are still a very good bird to see in the county, with a high vantage point being essential to pick the birds out as they pass between the waves. White-billed Diver and Surf Scoter were however the rarest birds seen by other seawatchers in the county.
Other notable birds that I recorded passing offshore during the week included Glaucous Gull, Sooty Shearwater, Bonxies, Great Northern Diver, a few Shags, Red-necked Grebe, Velvet Scoters and Purple Sandpipers. When the wind started to drop, movements of non-seabirds were also evident with a few Woodcock seen to come in off the sea along with good numbers of Lapwings, Starlings, Thrushes and Skylarks and a flock of 30+Snow Buntings flying along the coast. Later in the month I saw a further 6 Little Auks along with a Pomarine and two Great Skuas on the 23rd.
Whilst the ingress of salt water was detrimental to the marshes, the flooding of Cley and Salthouse did serve to provide a refuge to some storm driven birds, with Grey Phalarope, Pomarine Skuas and Little Auk all lingering on the floods, although the 3 Richards Pipits that were at Salthouse on the 3rd-8th were pushed off. Following the receding of the flood-water, Salthouse played host to a few Snow Buntings and at least 20 Lapland Buntings which showed very well for the remainder of the month and beyond as they came down to seed provided for them.
An Iceland Gull spent a month at Edgefield Landfill Site from the 19th, and a Rough-legged Buzzard was to be seen over Gapton Hall Marshes nr Great Yarmouth. A second Snow Goose arrived in the County and along with the two Ross's Geese, they lingered amongst the mobile Pinkfeet flocks. Black Brants were still to be found amongst the Brent Geese flocks and the Taiga Bean Geese flock in east Norfolk had risen to over 100 by the end of the month. Up to 30 Cranes were to be seen in Broadland, 3 Shorelarks arrived at Cley for the last week of the month but the star passerine of the month was a Desert Wheatear at Horsey which showed very well from the 24th.
December
The month started with the Desert Wheatear still showing well at Horsey and which stayed till the 10th and the Iceland Gull at Edgefield till the 16th. The Snow and Ross's Geese continued to be seen throughout the month, as did a few Black Brants. Adding to the Taiga Bean Geese in east Norfolk, a few Tundra Bean Geese were recorded amongst the Pinkfeet flocks during the month.
Great Grey Shrikes continued to winter at Roydon Common and in the Brecks and a Green-winged Teal was at Hickling until the 7th. A Scaup on my local patch was a good record, especially as it choose an irrigation reservoir as its home from the 7th into January. Double figures of Lapland Buntings remained at Salthouse, where the Snow Bunting flock continued to increase as the month progressed, and as usual good number of Cranes continued to be seen in Broadland and the year closed with a Richards Pipit on Terrington Marsh. |
Red-necked Phalarope, Kelling Water Meadows.
A good number of Red-necked Phalaropes were seen this autumn with records in July, August, September and October.
Barred Warbler, Kelling Water Meadows.
Following suitable weather conditions, a number of Barred Warblers were seen in the last weeks of August and September, and in October when 9 were seen.
Grey Phalarope, Cley/Salthouse.
As well as a number reported during seawatches, 3 Grey Phalaropes were at Cley from late September into October, and one or two birds were present on the floods in the Cley/Salthouse area in November
Lesser Snow Goose, various sites in north and east Norfolk.
Having been tracked down the east coast of Britain amongst a returning flock of Pink-footed Geese, one Snow Goose arrived in the county in mid-September, and a second arrived in November. Along with two Ross's Geese which arrived in October, they toured both the north and east of the county amongst the mobile flocks of Pinkfeet.
Great Grey Shrike, Roydon Common.
Following an influx consisting of at least 15 birds in late September/early October, at least a couple stayed to overwinter in the county.
Lapland Bunting, Salthouse.
A flock of at least 20 birds delighted many throughout November and December as, along with Snow Buntings, they gave very close views as they came down to seed provided for them on the edge of the shingle beach.
Tundra Bean Goose with Pink-footed Geese.
As usual a few of these birds were discoved amongst the Pinkfeet flocks within the county during December.
Mediterranean Gull, West Runton.
Good numbers winter in the county, with a number of sites being regular haunts.
Scaup with Tufted Duck, Sidestrand.
A good record for my local patch which stayed into 2008.
Water Rail, Sculthorpe Moor.
Although they are resident in the county,this bird was notable as it gave regular good views at a feeding station on the reserve. |
