November 2006
norfolkbirding with chris mills
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4th November - Holme - Sunny 0/10 cloud - Light NNW - Max temp 15c
0730 - 0900 Gore Point
With the wind still in the NNW, and the previous days passage of seabirds & reasonable numbers of passerines I decided on a couple of hours vigil at Gore Point. It was clear that on leaving the car the weather had undertaken a significant change - a bit fresh!!
My decision to stand at Gore Point soon seemed to have been a good one as waves and waves of Starlings vacated the dunes and started moving past me along the coastline heading west - in fact in 2 hours I estimated around 10,000 Starling with the day total approaching 15,000.
I was also kept busy with a steady stream of other birds; 1-2's of Snow Bunting totalled 15 east, Lapland Bunting 1 east, 1-2's and a group of 20 Brambling totalled 35 west, a nice single group of 15 Twite west, 310 Chaffinch west, 150 Greenfinch west, 30 Reed Bunting west, 1 Redpoll west, 200+ Skylark west, 10 Fieldfare west
A superb ringtail Hen Harrier also swept by, and hunted up and down Lavendar marsh scattering many waders and duck including 15 Snipe, it then headed off over the main marsh.
Out on the sea, I nailed my first Long-tailed Duck with 2 west and 2 drakes & first Red-breasted Merganser of the autumn; a close inshore Black-throated Diver flew by showing nicely a key feature of the big paddle feet stretching beyond the tail tip.
Two ad Little Gulls danced across the bay, and with 100 Wigeon west, 70+ Shelduck west, 12 Great Crested Grebe on the sea, 2 Red-throated Diver west, 80 Common Scoter west with 2 Velvet Scoter I was kept nice and busy.
I decided to head off towards the Hunstanton end, and as I walked along the dunes I flushed a Woodcock.The shoreline produced the hoped for quarry as it passed close inshore - a single Little Auk sped by heading into the Wash. Unfortuantely this was not the last one as later in the day I met Margaret Clarke who had collected a dead one from the dunes & then an exhausted individual was found in one of the dykes.
The broadwater held 2 Water Rail, and a good count of 6 Little Grebe.
150+ Pink Feet were out on the main marsh, and a singing Cetti's Warbler was near Redwell in the caravan garden adjacent to the stream.
As it warmed up in the afternoon the late warmth from previous weeks still manged some very late insects from around the Observatory area:- 1 Common Darter, 1 Migrant Hawker, 1 Red Admiral & amazingly a Hummingbird-Hawkmoth
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5th November - Scolt Head - Cloud 0/10 cloud - Light W - Max temp 15c
1000 -1400
Walked out to Scolt on the low tide - didn't score with a great deal single Lap Bunting by far the best bird, also had 3 Marsh Harrier, 1 R/t Hen Harrier, 5+ Stonechat, 1 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Goldcrest, 5+ Blackbird.
Highlight was whilst eating lunch at Burrnham Deepdale back at the car just after 2PM, 2 Waxwing flew over our heads and into garens on the south side of the road, although we did not locate them again we did hear themn several times
18th November - Sennowe Estate area - Clear sunny, cold - Light SW - Max temp 7c
Casual loaf around my local area resulted in 4-5 Common Buzzard, a superb Red Kite, 150 Teal, 120 Wigeon, 60+ Gadwall, 30 Tufted Duck, 8 Goldeneye & 2 Ruddy Shelduck.
I also took some time out to photograph and capture the superb late autumn glow from the last leaves on the beech trees.
19th November - Holme Frost overnight -1 then max 9c, clear and sunny
Walked in from Thornham to the Obs and wandered the shoreline. Best birds were a nice flock of 30 Twite, geese had clearly arrived and increased since my last visit. c5000 Pink - Feet including a leucistic individual & 300 Brents all out on the freshmarsh. Thornham Creek held 80 Shelduck. Offshore 30-40 Little Gulls were way out in The Wash, 40 Common Scoter passed east, late in the day a big flock of around a 1000 birds were present off Thornham Creek.
A late Red Admiral flittes around the Obs, I also spent an hour photographing the Redshank in the channel.
