Sunday 15 March 2009

Spring on the way

Pleasant weekend of sunshine and a cold wind. Yesterday [Saturday] had a brief visit to the bird hide at Abbey Farm, Flitcham. Always a great place to stop to have a quiet birdwatch on the way back from shopping in King's Lynn. Highlights were a Common Buzzard, singing Chiff Chaff, half a dozen Bramblings and a Tree Sparrow.

A herd of a dozen Fallow Deer on the edge of a wood between Flitcham and the Anmer turnoff was unexpected. Popped into Titchwell for an hour before dusk and got my second spring migrant of the day a Little Ringed Plover on the Fresh Marsh. Also saw and then briefly saw a Bittern in the reedbed.

Today popped down Dersingham Bog with Bricker and Phil for the Great Grey Shrike which we had good scope views of plus lots of fly over Crossbills and Siskins.

Got this grab shot of a hunting Barn Owl over a field on the south side of Barrow Common yesterday afternoon. If Norfolk has a signature bird species surely this is it.

2 comments:

NORFOLK COAST said...

Not sure about the signature species, though it's an interesting question.

How about the geese that fill the skies pre-dawn and dusk for the winter months..?

Bullofthe Bog said...

The Geese are great for 3 -4 months of the year and if you live on the coastal fringe of NW Norfolk and the Broads. The Barn Owls are here 12 months of the year and spread across even what Mark Cocker describes in Crow Country as 'Abandoned Norfolk' the intensively farmed agricultural interior as well as the more interesting wetalnds and coastline.
Cheers