Leader & Bird List: David Laurie
Reporter: Mandy Etherington Nine of us met in the car park at RSPB Frampton Marsh. The weather seemed ideal, warm with a light breeze – a bit cloudy so not too bright or hot. Almost immediately we saw a Hobby fly past and had fantastic views of a Sparrowhawk overhead. It was going to be a good day! We gathered in the Visitor Centre to use the facilities (stopping on the way to admire some Eyed Hawk-moth caterpillars on some bushes at the car park entrance) and the bird list started straight away as we looked through the fantastic picture window in the viewing area. In fact, David had to remind us that we were going to walk around the reserve!
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Coordinator: Keith Walker
Leader: Chris Stone Reporter: David Laurie Bird List: Seamus O’Dowd It was a 9:00 start on a day promising sun with a light westerly wind and as we assembled the trees and bushes around the car park yielded Lesser Whitethroats, a Chiffchaff and a Blackcap. We made a party of 13 and our first call was the woodland by the visitor centre in search of the Spotted Flycatchers that have nested there this year. The adults and three juveniles are reported to be around but escaped us on this occasion. But we did see a Treecreeper. Leader: Nick Edwards
Reporter: Cath Robinson The weather had been so good up until the Sunday....Eight of us turned up at the Winterton Beach car park hoping that the forecast for rain later in the morning might be wrong. We started off, most of us prepared with waterproofs just in case. And after a short hike along the dunes, we arrived on the beach near the roped off sector, already hearing the cries of Little Terns. There were, literally, hundreds lined up on the water’s edge occasionally all taking off and swirling in a cloud above the sea. On our other side we picked out many nests in the roped section, some with quite large chicks; some with adults still incubating and there were also a few Ringed Plovers sitting on nests and also roaming the beach. It was an amazing sight and a real treat to see so many Little Terns. Coordinator: Alan Hughes
Leader: Andy Rhodes Reporter: David Laurie Bird List: David Gibbons Firstly, a big thank you to SMHOT for allowing Andy (who volunteers there) to take us on a walk beyond the flower meadow into a part of the reserve not normally open to visitors and later on a short excursion into the 50 acre Beaver enclosure to see signs of their activity. Sixteen members started at 9:00 on a day with a brisk and chilly NW wind that persisted throughout, though rain was thankfully confined to a short spell at lunchtime. We began with a pair of Red Kites over the car park and a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker perched obligingly in a tree. The feeders by the Visitor Centre had a House Sparrow. Leaders: Alan Hughes and Andrew Waddison
Reporter: Steph Plaster Bird List: Paul Adams Around 24 hardy souls turned out for the guided tour around Wild Ken Hill, the large coastal estate of some 4,000 acres in North West Norfolk that’s promoting a new form of conservation and regenerative farming management to improve soil health and increase biodiversity. Dominic Buscall who founded and manages the estate gave an extremely interesting talk to the WVBS on 21st March this year and this was the follow-up visit for up to 25 members. Although the weather threatened to be wet with thundery downpours it stayed dry for the majority of the trip around the estate and the sun even came out on the way back. The tour included wooded areas, grassy regenerative zones that were once arable and the Eurasian beaver enclosure. |
Please feel free to read through our reports from our monthly outdoor meetings. Archives
January 2025
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