Migrants at last!!!

14/4/07 Snettisham CP Leaders; Simeon
I went to Snettisham to do some more ringing training and ringed 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Chaffinch and a Wren. I also managed to do a bit of birdwatching and got 4 Ring Ouzels (showing very well), many Willow Warblers and Chifchaffs, a Sedge Warbler, a Grasshopper Warbler, a male Cuckoo, 17+ House Martins, 10+ Swallows, 2 Redpolls and a Blackcap! All good good!

Not bad...

2/4/07 Blakeney Point, Titchwell RSPB and Snettisham RSPB Leaders; Simeon, James and Matt.
We met up with Matt at Knights Hill roundabout and headed on to Blakeney. On arrival just before 9:00 we got at least 7 Shore Larks on the shingle. A Sandwich Tern flew over us at Halfway House followed by another 2 and a Stonechat. Stuff was definitely moving! The next good bird came at the visitor centre itself when a Hobby flew over terrorising pipits! Another early migrant. A Scandanavian Rock Pipit and a migrant Goldcrest were also nearby along with 2 Fieldfare, a male Wheatear and 3 Redwing around the plantation! The walk back only provided a Swallow which only James and Matt saw! A Red-Throated Diver flew past on the sea. After that we headed to Titchwell but couldn't find anything, not even a Med Gull a Little Gull or a Brambling! Instead of going for the Serin at Heacham, we went to Snettisham RSPB, but missed the Red-Breasted Geese! Nothing was of note there either except for the resident Scaup! All in all it was an ok day apart from dipping loads of stuff!

Handy!

31/3/07 Snettisham RSPB Leaders; Simeon and Connor
I went down to Snettisham Coastal Park at 7:00am and did some ringing with a few others. Due to strong winds and sunlight we only caught a few birds. 2 Goldcrests and a female Bullfinch (see gallery) were nice though. Connor arrived after a while and when the ringing finished we went to the pits to see the Red-breasted Geese. Onthe way down we saw 4 Shorelarks and a male Wheatear. Then a large flock of Brents flew onto the mudflats fairly close to the first hide and we managed to pick out the Red-Breasteds. The light was realy poor, but then they flew over the pits again and landed in the fields. We quickly walked across the bridge and got good views of them in the flock of Brents. A Pale-Bellied Brent was also present in the flock. With a couple of hours left we went to the coastal park again and found another male Wheatear and a singing Willow Warbler! It had been a really good day with several year ticks.