26th June 2010
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I decided to follow up on reports of a possible Cattle Egret seen heading in the direction of Trowse on Friday. The bird could well have continued east to Berney or south towards Caistor, but I was content to check the meadows along the river between Old Lakenham and Whitlingham. There was an immediate score with a Little Egret in the river near the Cock Inn. This is only my second record in the Norwich area, and only a mile or so from becoming my first patch record. Not knowing anything more about the Cattle Egret this was probably coincidental, so I kept searching. Walking along the river I saw thousands of small fish, a Lapwing and some dragonflies, and that was about it.
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I could think of two more local herds of cattle, the first being at Trowse Common. A quick walk across it was enough to rule it out of the equation. Walking down Whitlingham Lane I encountered my first Meadow Brown of the year whilst scanning the cattle in the fields opposite Whitlingham. I completed my circuit by going up the Lime Avenue, round by Whitlingham Hall and back through Trowse , seeing a number of butterflies but no more birds of interest. On getting home I began to plan for a trip to Strumpshaw to look for the reported Marsh Warbler (a bird I'm yet to catch up with), only to then find that it had been re-identified as a Reed Warbler. Drat.
Yet another bird good goes over Norwich, unseen to all but one.
ReplyDeleteGolden Triangle? More like Bermuda Triangle
Everyone knows it was a Little Egret.
Of course it is more likely to have been a Little Egret, but I'd rather people put out possibles/probables for others to check out than not mention it. Quite a few will never be pinned down, but now and again a Glossy Ibis may be lurking...
ReplyDeleteEithe way, I try not to criticise local records where I don't know any more information, a) to avoid pissing off other local birders and b) because I don't want any decent birds I find to be dismissed out-of-hand.
Regards,
James
The answer is to find birds that don't disappear.
ReplyDeleteSome people manage it very regularly. Others seem to have the vast majority of their birds 'disappear'.
You get a handle on these things after a few years in the saddle
It's a fair point. I'm yet to find a single "rare" bird this year, but I hope that if/when I do that it sticks for a while. If I don't find anything, its still all part of the learning curve.
ReplyDelete