11.01.2026 - Winter Bird Count

By Cath Robinson

The Bird Count often comes up with some new challenges: Covid stopped it for a while; we had floods last year and this year we had ice and it hardly got above freezing all day. A lot of standing water was frozen after a prolonged period of very cold temperatures, so it was a challenge to find wildfowl. Last year there was so much water they could be anywhere and this year there was so little they were just as hard to find!

16 hardy people met up in the hall at the end of the day; 3 others did a morning count before the appeal of a Norwich City home match lured them away and 1 person did a garden count so 20 participants and 9 teams.
David Gibbons has collated the results sent to him; there was a total of 644 records altogether with 97 different species seen or heard across the patch. Last year’s winners won again: Sacha Barbeto and Mike McCarthy counted 83 species (so some room for improvement there boys!).
The count might have been higher but Pintail at Pensthorpe was excluded as were 2 Bearded Tits there which had brightly coloured rings and were considered escapees. Certainly the aviary is not fully enclosed and I’ve seen beardies outside the canopy there before now.
Highlights of the day included the Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree Mill which was showing well for most of us, 4 White- Fronted Geese, a Scaup at Sparham and also at Swanton Morley gravel pits, a Goosander at Haveringland, 5 Marsh harriers at Guist Common, both Med Gull and Greater Black-Backed gull on pig fields along with Shelduck, Raven at Pensthorpe and Firecrest.
My team had the wonderful sight of a large mixed flock of finches just by the North Elmham animal pound on the way to Gateley. Initially we thought it a small group and spotted Brambling , Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Goldfinch high in the trees but when we started exploring we discovered a large field of sunflowers gone to seed which had attracted 300-400 finches which were dropping down to feed and then going back up to the trees. Oh, and about 200 Wood Pigeons as well.
Many thanks to everyone who took part: I think we all enjoyed a good day out birding despite the cold and hopefully more will be tempted to take part next year.