Birdline East Anglia Report November 2008
Birdline East Anglia report for November 2008
The easterly winds at the end of October continued into the first week of November. These favourable winds for the arrival of late autumn migrants from the continent resulted in many Waxwings along the north Norfolk coast. These rapidly filtered southwards and inland to Suffolk & Essex and Cambridgeshire & Bedfordshire respectively in a matter of days. Otherwise November was all about Red-flanked Bluetails (and Suffolk’s third Desert Wheatear).
Norfolk
Three Red-flanked Bluetails in the county was a record. The first being at Muckleburgh Hill, Weybourne found at the end of October and still present until 4th November. With the first clear skies in the evening of the 3rd it departed. A Dusky Warbler was found there 3rd-6th. A second Red-flanked Bluetail was found at Brancaster 4th and almost unbelievably a third was on Blakeney Point 6th. The latter was the seventh Norfolk record. A Radde’s Warbler was on Blakeney Point 7th and an elusive Hume’s Warbler was at Wells Woods 7th-8th.
Pallas’s Warblers were seen at Holme, two or three Wells Woods, Burnham Deepdale, Blakeney Point, Cley and Yellow-browed Warblers were at Wells Woods, Holkham, Burnham Deepdale, Holme (two), Blakeney, Burgh Castle, Great Yarmouth, Paston, Muckleburgh Hill, Sidestrand, Cley and inland at Lakenham 13th. Great Grey Shrikes were at East Hills, Warham Greens, North Walsham, Holme NWT 7th-8th, Buxton Heath NWT 8th onwards, Foulsham 10th, Grimes Graves/Santon Downham area 19th-30th at least and Denver Sluice 28th-29th. The only Shorelark was at Breydon Water 20th-21st and the only Rough-legged Buzzard flew over Horsey 22nd.
A juvenile American Golden Plover found at East Harling Heath in October remained until 13th at least and the Dotterel until 9th. The Black-bellied Dipper at Glandford was seen on and off until 15th. A Great White Egret flew west over Cley, Titchwell RSPB and Holme 12th. It was seen again at Holme & Thornham Marshes 14th-16th.
Slightly out of habitat was an Iceland Gull that flew west over Wells Woods 8th. A period of northerlies from 20th resulted in a few more of these ‘white-winged Gulls’ with sightings of both Glaucous and Iceland Gulls. Seawatchers at Overstrand had one Iceland and up to three Glaucous Gulls past 22nd. Both an Iceland and a Glaucous Gull were at Blackborough End Tip. Other Glaucous Gulls were seen at Salthouse, Cley NWT and Sheringham. The northerly blow also resulted in another Grey Phalarope at Cley NWT 22nd-27th. Black Guillemots were seen off various spots between Weybourne to Blakeney Point and one at Titchwell RSPB was later found dead 26th. There were only a few Little Auks the maximum count being six past Sheringham 22nd. Apart from Great Northern Divers seen passing offshore, others were at Wells 23rd and Titchwell RSPB 24th. An inland Shag was at Wroxham Broad 28th and two were at Denver Sluice 29th.
Waxwings continued to be seen but gradually filtered out of Norfolk into the rest of East Anglia. A Raven flew over Fakenham 1st and two flew over New Costessey 8th.
Two species of wildfowl were found in Norfolk that originated from North America. The first being a female Ring-necked Duck at Whitlingham CP 11th-22nd and the second was a Lesser Snow Goose among Pink-feet at Repps-with-Bastwick 30th. The first five Taiga Bean Geese returned to Buckenham Marshes RSPB 9th increasing to sixty-eight by the end of November. The first Black Brants were at Stiffkey and Titchwell RSPB from 1st. Two Tundra Bean Geese were at Rollesby 11th and two were at Happisburgh 14th.
Away from The Broads two Common Cranes flew northwest over Norwich airport 18th and two flew east at Downham Market 27th. A late Redstart was at Holkham 5th. Wells Woods had a Siberian Chiffchaff and a Northern Treecreeper at the beginning of November. Northern Treecreeper is a migrant from Fennoscandia and there have been birds showing characteristics of this form have turned up at least three times before in Norfolk. Last year there was one at Gramborough Hill in October and the two earlier records were both in November, the last being at Holme in 1987. A Spoonbill was at Lynn Point 23rd.
This article was written by Robin Chittenden from Birdline East Anglia.
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