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July - December 2008 Highlights
July
July started with the Lesser Yellowlegs and 4 Spoonbills still at Cley, and the Red-backed Shrike at Sea Palling. Also at Cley at least one Roseate Tern continued to be intermittently seen, with others seen at various locations around the coast. Manx Shearwaters were still occasionally being seen offshore, with the odd Little Gull also to be seen passing by.
The Spoonbills at Cley increased to 6 on the 6th, and fairly unusual away from their Breckland stronghold, a Stone Curlew was a good record on Weybourne Camp from the 8th. Arctic Skuas were now a fairly regular sight offshore, and were to be seen performing their spectacular aerial pursuit of Sandwich Terns which were heading back towards their colonies with fish in their bills, also offshore a few Razorbills and Guillemots were also to be seen, along with a few Gannets and Kittiwakes.
Mid-month saw Golden Orioles, Honey Buzzards and Montagu's Harriers all continuing to be seen, and the Red-backed Shrike was still at Sea Palling. On the 18th the second rare wader of the period was recorded with a Pectoral Sandpiper at Cley, which continued to host the 6 Spoonbills. Also at Cley the odd Yellow-legged Gull could be found amongst the summering flocks of Lesser Black-backs, and around the reserve were a few immature Little Gulls, Brent Goose, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Whimbrel, Ruff, good numbers of Dunlin, and a Bittern gave good views as it flew across the reedbed.
Signalling their return to their wintering grounds, waders became fairly evident passing by offshore from the third week of the month with species such as Curlew, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone and Oystercatcher all to be seen. The sea was also a feature on the 21st with the first moderate north-westerly of the autumn when in addition to good numbers of Arctic Skuas and a few Manx Shearwaters, I was fortunate to see a Storm Petrel off East Runton, with it or another off Sheringham that evening.
Cley came up trumps again on the 22nd when a White-rumped Sandpiper was found there, and although it was only showing distantly, as is the norm with most birds on North Scrape, it could easily be picked out amongst the large Dunlin flock, which also contained the Pectoral Sandpiper that had turned up a few days previously, and a Curlew Sandpiper. 5 Spoonbills and 4 Yellow-legged Gulls also added to the spectacle, along with Greenshank, Little-ringed Plover, Ruff, Green Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwits, Avocets, Curlew and Knot. Marsh Harriers, Bittern, Little Gull, Brent Goose, Little Egrets and Common Terns completed the amazing selection seen from just one hide over a couple of hours!
A report of a Brunnich's Guillemot drifting east close in off Cley on the 24th had us scouring the sea in the adjacent area, but unfortunately it could not be subsequently found amongst the adult and juvenile Guillemots and Razorbills offshore, although 2 Black Terns, a few Arctic Skuas and a Little Gull brightened up the afternoons search.
As the month closed, Waders continued to be a feature with a Pectoral Sandpiper at Titchwell, and in addition to the other species mentioned above, a few Little Stints and Wood Sandpipers were also to be found at Cley.
August
Early August highlights saw a couple of Spoonbills remaining at Cley, with presumably some of the other birds which were previously there having relocated to Titchwell, where the Pectoral Sandpiper was still to be seen.
Onshore winds on the 8th produced reports of Long-tailed Skua, Sabines Gull and Balearic Shearwater passing offshore, along with good numbers of Manx Shearwaters and Arctic Skuas, and I recorded my second Storm Petrel of the year with one off Overstrand.
A Tawny Pipit spent a couple of days on Blakeney Point on the 9th/10th, and in a heavy rain storm on the 12th a Cattle Egret appeared at Cley before moving to Blakeney Freshmarsh the next day, although it remained fairly mobile throughout much of its stay.
A Marsh Sandpiper was found at Hickling on the 18th and stayed for the rest of the month, and onshore winds on the 23rd produced good numbers of Sooty Shearwaters plus a small number of Balearic Shearwaters passing along the north coast.
An elusive Wryneck was found on Kelling Heath on the 23rd, showing mainly in flight, and the Tawny Pipit reappeared on Blakeney Point on the 24th for a couple of days.
September
As usual seawatching was again one of the features of the month, with the highlight of the month being the 2 Cory's Shearwaters which passed along the north coast on the 7th being seen at several localities. Other highlights that day included a few Sabines Gulls and good numbers of Bonxies. An Alpine Swift put in a brief appearance at Mundesley on the 8th and was then relocated at the other end of the coast at Holme where it spent the evening.
Winds finally swung round to an easterly direction and produced a big fall of common migrants during the 13th-15th with big numbers of Redstarts and Wheatears, along with smaller numbers of Whinchats, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers. Another feature of the weekend was the large numbers of Honey Buzzards which made landfall along the east coast of Britain, with Norfolk getting more than its fair share with many birds being seen coming in off the sea all along the coast. Also involved in this movement were a number of Ospreys.
As usual a number of scarce species also arrived, with a Red-backed Shrike which I found at Overstrand on the 14th, when a Red-necked Phalarope was also discovered at Titchwell which went on to stay for 10 days or so along with a Pectoral Sandpiper, with 2 of the latter also being seen at Hickling.
A Yellow-browed Warbler at Salthouse on the 15th was the first of a number that turned up in the county during the rest of the month, and a flycatcher that was thought to show characteristics of Semi-collared was found at Waxham, but without it being critically examined in the hand, identification of it will inevitably remain unresolved.
A confiding Dotterel was found at Cley on the 19th, and a few Leach's Petrels past various north coast localities was the highlight of seawatching on the 23rd.
With the winds in the north-east, a good number of scarce and rare birds arrived in the county, with the major highlight being the Melodious Warbler that was found on Blakeney Point on the 24th. With only two previous county records, both of which were in 1957, this bird which was found late afternoon was very gratefully received by those of us who managed to see it that evening, especially as it was not present next day.
Also found on the 24th was a Lesser Grey Shrike between Weybourne and Sheringham, and a Siberian Stonechat at West Runton, with a Blyth's Reed Warbler being discovered there next day.
There was a couple of elusive Radde's Warblers at Holkham, a Barred Warbler at Cley, a Greenish Warbler at Sea Palling and a few more Yellow-browed Warblers along the coast, along with a few Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers.
The last good bird of the month was a Woodchat Shrike which was found on Beeston Bump on the 28th and went on to give good views throughout the next day.
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Roseate Tern, Cley. June-July 2008
Spoonbill, Cley. July 2008. One of a number present
from June through to August.
Stone Curlew, Weybourne Camp. July 2008
Pectoral Sandpiper, Cley. July 2008
Cattle Egret, Blakeney Freshmarsh. August 2008
Red-backed Shrike, Overstrand. September 2008
Dotterel, Cley. September 2008
Woodchat Shrike, Beeston Bump. September 2008 |
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October
With south-westerly wins dominating for much of the month, October was fairly quiet until an easterly airstream prevailed for the last few days of the month.
Early highlight of the month was a Wilson's Phalarope in the Salthouse/Cley area. Although initially very mobile and elusive, it eventually settled down and gave good views, especially when on Cley NWT Reserve where the picture of it below was taken. Being the first to be widely seen since a spate of records in the mid 80's, this proved to be a very popular bird during its 10 day stay.
Wilson's Phalarope, Cley NWT Reserve. October 2008
Grey Phalarope, Kelling Water Meadow. October 2008
A Hoopoe at Cromer on the 8th was the only other bird of note in the county, until a Grey Phalarope was found on Cley NWT Reserve on the 25th. After a two day stay, it then moved to Kelling Water Meadows where it could be seen at close range performing its characteristic spinning feeding technique. As a bonus whilst watching the Grey Phalarope, a Greenland White-fronted Goose made a surprise short visit to the same pool before flying of west when it was seen flying over Cley before heading off along the coast.
Greenland White-fronted Goose, Kelling Water Meadows. Oct 2008
In the south-west of the county, an American Golden Plover and Dotterel frequented the same fields at East Harling from the last week of the month into November.
With an easterly airflow for the last few days of the month, things finally started to pick up with the first Waxwings beginning to pass through. Also a few Yellow-browed and Pallas's Warblers were found along the coast, but the major highlight was the Red-flanked Bluetail which was found on Muckleburgh Hill, Kelling on the last day of the month. Unfortunately my photos below don't do this little gem justice (the rather gloomy conditions weren't the best for digiscoping) which went on to delight many visitors over the next few days.
Red-flanked Bluetail, Muckleburgh Hill, Kelling. Oct/Nov 2008
November
Early highlights of the month was the continued presence of the Red-flanked Bluetail at Kelling, where a Dusky Warbler was also found, although it remained very elusive throughout its stay. Incredibly a further two Bluetails were found in the county with birds on Blakeney Point and at Brancaster also during the first week of the month.
Small numbers of both Yellow-browed and Pallas's Warblers were still present at the start of the month, and the American Golden Plover and Dotterel continued to be seen at East Harling.
A Black-bellied Dipper was found at Bayfield on the 1st, with later events showing that it wintered in the area as sightings continued into January. More Waxwings moved through the county, with the largest flock at Overstrand which numbered over 40 birds.
Waxwing, Overstrand. November 2008
A Ring-necked Duck was on Whitlingham Broad, Norwich from the 11th, and northerly winds on the 21st/22nd produced very small numbers of Little Auks passing by and a Grey Phalarope at Cley which went on to stay for a few days.
Norfolk is famous for its Geese, and by the end of the month Englands sole wintering flock of Taiga Bean Geese had returned to east Norfolk, and both Black Brants and Tundra Bean Geese were being recorded in the Brent and Pinkfeet flocks respectively.
Final highlight of the month was the arrival of a juvenile Glaucous Gull in the Cley/Salthouse area on the 27th, and which has overwintered in the area.
December
Ruddy Shelduck, Cley NWT Reserve. December 2008
Glaucous Gull, Kelling Beach. December 2008
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